Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Round Here Roundup

Annoying Things Going On:

Apple Problems.
Climber needs a new ipad for school after his bag fell off his bike. If we replace just the screen (cheapest option and not sure we could as the breakage is pretty bad) we lose the warranty, but as the ipad is less than a year old we can get a new one for half price. I'm prepared to do that, but we have to back it up first and our ipads can no longer connect with my dinosaur computer since the iO7 upgrade. I am putting off the repair while I try to work out what to do.

22 Nov 2013 7:29 am

Grots.
When I was growing up there used to be a television ad depicting people at a dinner party dropping bottles and food all over the floor. The tag line was You wouldn't litter your home. Australia's your home. Clearly they have not met my children, who routinely leave wrappers from muesli bars or frozen juice sticks lying around, despite my protestations.

Grots 2.
The people who now run the Tap Hall let someone hire it for a 13 year old boy's birthday party. We used to have a No Party Policy there but the new mob running it are disinterested and incompetent, probably because they are overworked with the rest of their job. Luckily I knew about it so was able to lock everything of mine away but the hall was not cleaned very well afterwards so I had to mop it repeatedly to get it to a standard where I could lay my tap boards down. It's the price I pay for dirt cheap rent so mustn't grumble. (But sometimes I have to.)

Coughs.
Fixit has started coughing again. I am still not over the 2+ weeks of cough-induced hell (and deafness) from September.  My tolerance levels are still hovering where they were at Days 8-15 of his last bout, which is homicidal rage at the sound.  And in case you're thinking Poor Fixit, let me put the cough decibel emission in perspective. Last night I was sat less than 2 metres from the television and he coughed from 2 rooms away and I couldn't hear the actors speaking.

Non-Annoying Things Going On:


End of year Christmas Concert Madness. 
My brain, it is full.  So many routines to create and teach and remember. One of the parents of a newish tap student was asking me about the Kidtap Christmas Concert.  I said it's pretty low key. She said is there a story? and I said you're not thinking low key enough. But then I thought maybe I could do a story?! So I had a think about the songs we're working with and decided it was impossible to come up with a link.  Then I couldn't let it go and forced my brain to find a connecting story (not involving the invention of a time machine or holiday postcards to Nanna) and now I just need to organise a few of my older students to do some acting for me. I explained the story thing to the senior classes and they were quite excited.  Cherub's class interrupted me through the whole telling but endearingly the Tapsters, featuring Climber and his cohorts, sat listening to me with rapt expressions while I went through it, listening like it really was a story. They have since been on the hunt for the funniest Doctor, Doctor jokes they can find.  You know: Doctor Doctor I think I'm a sheep. Hmm, that is Baaaaaaad.

End of year Gymnastics Display.

17 Nov 2013 2:05 pm

Climber is very happy because he has mastered a round-off into a backflip.



Cherub has also really come along this year. He looks very safe on the balance beam, surely the most difficult of all the equipment. His round-off into a cartwheel (not on the beam) was also impressive.



End of Year Junior Music Concert.
Climber has really improved with his flute playing, so much so that he is now playing with the Junior Stage Band as well as the Novice Band. He is also in the front row of the flutes with Novice Band, which I'm told denotes a certain seniority within the orchestra ranks. Both Climber's bands were really good, and you could see why their Novice Band achieved second place at the Royal South Street Competition.  Sadly the Junior Strings Ensemble had an off night, and there were a few audience members scrooching down in their seats in discomfort as The Strings mauled their Mozart. But I had nothing to scrooch about with Climber's performances.

Crafting
I sewed some quilt blocks for Aunty Cookie's sister and kids, who lost everything in a housefire.

24 Nov 2013 4:47 pm

Shannon is replacing their homemade quilts and put out the call to anyone who wanted to contribute. One quilt is mostly grey, one pink and the other purple. I haven't ever done a quilt block thing, but it wasn't too hard, provided you could work out the maths, cut neatly and sew a straight line.  I just improvised 3 blocks based on squares and patterns with squares. I had to invent ways of joining them neatly but they've come out all right. I did it find it very bitsy when I was doing it, but also strangely satisfying and maybe even a little addictive....

Day of The Doctor
We had Doctor Who mania at our house for the 50th Anniversary Show.

Watching The Day of The Doctor, 24 Nov 2013 6:50 am

We got up early to watch the simulcast and watched it again that night. We loved it. Loved the interplay between John Hurt, Matt Smith and David Tennant, loved the jokes and references to days gone by. Laughed, cried (at the end) and squeaked. Well done Steven Moffat

23 Nov 2013 11:12 pm

2 comments:

  1. What? Don't you remove the wrappers for these helpless little males. They might have to wait for their wivems/!partners to do it for them, and juSt think of the agonising trauma t.hey might endure.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's a lot of stuff going on!

    ReplyDelete

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