School holidays are officially here and we are more than ready for the break after a "less than our best" term two.
Despite the holidays, we did continue with some reading. Generally we only read the Bible during holidays, but as we were near the end of this book we continued reading, finishing it on Friday. As I mentioned in the review I gave on both Goodreads and Storygraph, I have made reading the classics a key part of our English literature curriculum because I believe they still hold importance and relevance in this day and age. Yes, there are cringe worthy moments in many of them. Yes, the language and attitudes of the time are often vastly different to what is considered appropriate today. However, rather than ignore, brush aside, or ban them, I feel they give us a starting point and/or a bridge to deal with the difficulties of the past.
Sunday kicked off a pretty solid week of rain. We had some chunks of time through the week when it would dry out a little bit, but most of the time it was dreary and wet. I will admit that after twenty-six years here, I am spoiled by the sunshine here in Australia. Long periods of rain get to me, and MUCH quicker than it used to bother me in the states.
Traditionally, the first Monday of school holidays is MY day and I call it my "read and rest" day. It means that aside from basic work around the house, and meals, I ignore everything and focus on reading. This school holidays I needed it more than ever. It was a good day and I finished these two books. Both were excellent in their own right but I definitely preferred "The Invention of Wings" by Sue Monk Kidd. I will go into more detail about them at the end of the month.
Tuesday was my first "work" day and I focused on catching up the boys schoolwork. I did little marking (grading) through the term, and almost no recording in their portfolios so everything needed attention. I got Munchkin's completely finished and a good chunk of Monkey's done as well. In week two of the holidays I'll finish off Monkey's recording and make sure I am fully ready for Term Three. These two pictures show the balance of the day. I fuelled myself with a healthy(ish) breakfast and some reading before getting stuck into the work. As you can see from the second photo, I kept a close eye on the World Cup soccer scores while I worked. I chose not to watch the game as it would distract me too much, but with this set up I was able to monitor the score.
Wednesday afternoon Munchkin and I took a much needed trip to the shopping centre for groceries. The weather was somewhat clear, with periods of sun, so we decided to get that chore out of the way. Good that we did as Thursday it poured again. We discovered this little guy on our way. We stopped, snapped the photos, and ensured he would reach the grass safely before we continued our trip.
Wednesday night was the third and final game of this year's State of Origin Rugby League match between New South Wales and Queensland. Somehow, by some miracle of miracles, we pulled off a win and thus clinched the match title. Yes, there was a try we shouldn't have been awarded, but it may not have changed the result that much. If only New South Wales could play like this consistently. But I'll take that win, it was a fabulous game, and we'll see what happens next year.
No youth group for the boys on Friday, so no library trip for me. But as they are teenagers now and like to do their own thing of a Friday night, (this week it was many episodes of the Clone Wars show and a Narnia movie) I have oodles of free time. A mug of hot chocolate and a stack of books is my idea of the perfect Friday night. I read one chapter each of the two non-fiction books and several chapters of the novels. It was bliss.
Saturday the sun returned and it was glorious. I spent the morning getting a couple of loads of laundry on the line and admiring the cloud formations. As beautiful as they were, they were a sign that more rain was to come, and sure enough, the rain returned overnight. However, we have more sunny days than rainy days forecast in the week to come. So far this has NOT been the dry winter that was predicted.
Saturday afternoon Munchkin and I managed a quick walk in the afternoon to soak up the sunshine. When we returned we enjoyed a cup of freshly squeezed lemonade that some neighbour girls across the road were selling (it was made from lemons off their tree and was absolutely delicious) and I enjoyed more sun soaking on the front verandah. The Snake plant has been blooming (which interestingly is often a sign of stress) so I took the opportunity to photograph the flowers. When it is done flowering we will divide the plant into more pots as it IS looking crowded now.
No comments:
Post a Comment