Month: June 2011

  • Thanks be, the week is over

    We took 40 Brownies away (OK, 39, one had a meltdown at a crucial moment, and had to be hauled off the coach in a manner reminiscent of drunken passengers being removed from planes, and then she came along later), brought 35 home (5 went home early), appear to have avoided drowning and trenchfoot (it rained. A lot) and passed our licences (rah).

    The worst bit was at 1am on Saturday, when I was finally assembling my bed. The second worst bit between 1 am and 5 am when the night was interrupted by the sound of thundering feet in wellies (why are they so loud) as children careered from tent to loo and back. It stopped only when it rained, so the night was interrupted by the sound of water on canvas.  The third worst bit was at 5am, when the tent dwellers woke up and started raising hell.  At 6am, I decided I could ignore it no longer and got them up.

    The other worst bit was a muddle with the forms, which I shan't go into here, but, my God, why can't people keep their data up to date. I need a hair dye job.

    I'm now sulking at home with a cold.  Well.  In all honesty, it's more exhaustion than a cold.  Add in that P and I have been having one of those long, in depth, discussions about how much Guiding I do. Yes, I know I do too much.  No, you can't expect me to drop it all instantly, but I will cut back. Yes, I do realise if I have children that I will have to cut back. No, I'm not going to worry about that until I actually have children.  I'm knackered, stop getting bolshy about it, I will only get bolshy back and that won't help anyone.  You sound like my MOTHER!

    Other than that, I feel like I've been going out with him for months, and it's only been three weeks.  There are disadvantages to having a man who lives 80-odd miles away.  It makes for a very uneven relationship.  I think, though, I'm getting this one right.  If there is such a thing as getting a relationship right.  Certainly, there's more communication going on in this relationship than any other I've had.  And useful communication. Not just noise.  I wouldn't say I'm madly in love with him at this point. I do miss him when he's not here. We never seem to have enough time with each other.  I am enjoying being wanted.

    Inner nineteen year old is still happy.  Outer 32 year old is giggling over the indescribable flag she was given as a present from Berlin.  I seem to have, de facto, turned into a collector of East German Youth Memoribilia.  I'll have to take photos.  Suffice it to say that blue satin with gold fringing and some really rather far out embroidery ("Fur Freiden und Sozialismus" anyone?) is hanging from my standard lamp in a manner similar to the Union Flag in Withnail & I.  I'm knitting him a scarf, with ideas of moving onto a hat.  Wednesday night, I started reading his latest book (is it dreadful of me to want to Tippex out the part of the acknowledgements that refer to his ex?  I don't think I'm going to, but, oh, the temptation).  I got a bit distracted as I couldn't for the life of me remember the difference between GDR, FDR (or FRG) and DDR so I checked my stamp collection.  This made it simpler, but I got totally distracted and ended up soaking a lot of stamps off envelopes.  Australian Airmail Stamps are the very devil to remove.

    I'm also knitting socks for my Daddy.  With a sort of a jogless spiral join.  As Grumperina explains.  I also intend to do an afterthought heel, à la Elizabeth Zimmerman.  This is mostly because I don't know how much of the second colour I have, so it seems sensible to just knit that up in a toe up stripey manner, and then see what happens...

    List

    • Pack Holiday Accounts, Evidence for Qualification and report for Henry Smith Charity
    • Tax Return as far as possible
    • Collect clobber from parents Parents, bless them, delivering clobber as Mum wants to go to John Lewis' sale
    • Stick stamps into stamp album
    • Knit
    • Rest
    • Brownies accounts
    • Maybe go for a short run On the basis that I was knackered half way through the walk to Brownies, this will be Sunday
    • Supermarket Shop
    • Laundry ongoing
    • P Sunday evening
    • Potter and tidy
    • Buy Dad's birthday present
    • Take iPad to be mended
    • Sort out Friday's Brownies just need to find circular templates... which I have put somewhere safe after PH.  Bother.

    Rather more achievable than the last list, really.  Although, I would like to point out that the 50 item to-do list was completed, to time, with minimal tears.

    xxx

  • The To Do List of Doom

    To be completed, as far as possible, by 7pm on Sunday, with the option of some help from P after 7pm until Sundown.

    • Brownies Accounts
    • Fill in bank form
    • Interrailling Meeting
    • New templates for tubs 
      • (including finding the lids templates)
    • Count up the tubs and only take the correct number plus a spare or so, not all 70
    • Pack craft stuff for camp
    • Locate spare blankets, locate badges, 
    • locate sewing kit
    • Laundry
    • Sort girls' forms into alphabetical order
    • Print timetables
    • Print room signs
    • Print sixes and points charts
    • Print room allocations  Twice, as I cannot spell Beauxbatons with any degree of accuracy.
    • Print fire drill
    • Print House Rules
    • Print Ice cream instructions
    • Book Paris Hostel
    • Sort out Receipts (not actually sure what this means on paper list, hoping inspiration will occur) Oh yes, print off receipts for stuff bought on ebay.
    • Type up home contacts list and send to B (or scan at work) Going to scan at work
    • Wash paint pallets.  Find out how to spell pallet?  Pallette?
    • Write names onto sticky labels for Brownies for Friday/Saturday/Sunday (one per Brownie per day) or perhaps print that?
    • Laminate stuff that needs laminating (room signs, ice cream instructions, ). 
    • Pack Laminator and pouches. Buy more pouches if need be
    • Count the night lights (7)
    • Print menus
    • Pack all paperwork apart from the last minute list, this is done
    • Make badges for self and Captain. Find out how to spell Professor MacGonagall
    • Buy glue (check PVA levels also if leaking)
    • Buy E45 bath stuff
    • Buy thank you gifts for parents, 12 leaders, 2 Japanese Girl Scouts
    • Assemble thank you gifts
    • Buy air mattress
    • Produce provisional plan for tent pitching
    • Make sure cheque book gets packed.
    • Order Costa Rica Challenge Badges (again)
    • Write cheque AP
    • Establish how much I am actually owed and try not to faint Somewhere in the region of £200
    • Hog Roast Saturday night (yay!)
    • Try and locate sitting room floor Apart from the templates, this is visible.
    • Work out how to get to Hog Roast
    • Retrieve Brownie badges from church, work out who has been away before and which advanced badges need buying
    • Buy 41 friends to animals badges, 15 PH, 1 PH Adv, 13 Camper, 3 Camper Adv (Monday) Ordered
    • Buy overnight badges for the one-nighters (Monday) Ordered
    • Find a container for the badges
    • Collect picture from framers
    • Buy new laminator, as Jo's has died.
    • FIND SOMEONE EXTRA TO COME ON THE COACH FRIDAY NIGHT AS SOMEONE HAS HAD TO DROP OUT
    • Do not require valium prescription.

    I need a lie down. On the plus side, one load of laundry is already done...

    xxx


    It is 6.50pm. I need a bath. Then the templates, wrapping Dad's Father's Day present, and an evening with P ignoring Pack Holiday for a few hours.

    Can't wait.  Need bath, though. Stat.

    xxx


    Ten minutes after I wrote that: I got told I had to reorganise the entire programme as we'd been double booked for climbing and abseiling. Less than 24 hours later, I got told that someone else may drop out, putting the whole event in jeopardy unless, essentially, Jo can come.

    xxx


    And the programme is now re-organised, and a substitute has been found. Wednesday night. All is, pretty much, sorted.

    xxx