Heads up

I’m back from camping, although not yet back at home - writing from my parents’ house in Norfolk, and still rather muddy after a very mixed week under canvas. We ran the complete weather gamut, from glorious sunshine, through clouds, showers and sunny spells, to torrential thunderstorms and storm-force winds. The tent was seriously tested and stood up pretty well, springing only minor leaks around the zips and staying firmly on the ground despite everything the British summer could throw at it.

We did beach days, walks, barbecues and day trips, and T got to indulge his passion for board- and cardgames with a willing (and sometimes captive) audience of six children. No major disasters, only one argument, and my in-laws decided not to crash the party at the end of the week, despite threatening to turn up and muscle in. There was much rejoicing (by me, in secret).

Things I’ve learned this week:

1. I don’t like queuing for a cold shower.
2. I’m not really a beach person.
3. I’m slightly scared of crabs.
4. I’m good at putting tents up in a high wind.
5. I’m not good at taking tents down in torrential rain.

Home to the Midlands on Thursday, or whenever my parents get fed up of me hogging the washing machine and kick us out. More then.

Blog break

Our long-awaited holiday starts tomorrow - camping on the Norfolk coast with assorted members of mine and T’s family. All told there will be a possible eighteen in the party (including six kids, all under 12), split between four tents and a caravan. You know when you’re on a lovely quiet campsite and a huge convoy of vehicles arrives, all honking and cheering and greeting each other before setting up in a circle facing inwards for better defence against the natives? Well, that will be us.

So - no blog posts for about ten days. It says something about T’s present state of mind at work that a week in a tent with the kids seems like a relaxing option - I just hope he’s allowed to take the holiday he booked weeks ago. His project is nearing competion, but with deadlines all next week it’s not the best time for him to be away (although to be fair, the deadlines have all moved since we booked the holiday, so it’s not our fault).

Back to the packing. The tent is in the car, but right now no-one has any clothes packed except wellington boots. And it ain’t that kind of campsite… Bye all, see you in ten days.

Two words, one mind

The first one of these memes I’ve responded to - I’ve found it in a number of places during my online rambles, often tagging “whoever wants to do it”. So here I am. It appeals to me as a sort of snapshot, here and now, of my state of being. Carry it on if you want to.

I am: complex.
I think: I’m ok.
I know: I could be better.
I have: three children.
I wish: I could be more organised.
I hate: bad manners.
I miss: my mother, father and sisters.
I fear: losing loved ones.
I hear: my kids playing on the Wii.
I smell: furniture polish.
I crave: lunch.
I search: for more hours in the day.
I wonder: about many things.
I regret: not knowing my grandparents as an adult.
I love: my family.
I ache: after I run.
I am not: a Christian.
I believe: in myself.
I dance: around the kitchen.
I sing: with my kids.
I cry: often.
I fight: my own battles.
I win: sometimes.
I lose: myself in books.
I never: eat meat.
I always: clean my teeth before bed.
I confuse: ‘weird’ and ‘wierd’.
I listen: as hard as I can.
I can usually be found: at home.
I am scared: of loss.
I need: to be noticed.
I am happy about: my weight.
I imagine: a life without stress.
I tag: you, dear reader.

Concert #3

…in my orchestra’s summer season is this afternoon. The final one of this particualar run; we have six weeks off now until we start rehearsals again in September. I hope it will be a nice one - it’s at a garden party thrown by J, my friend and desk partner. We’ve shared the first desk of the first fiddles for four years now, and I couldn’t lead the orchestra without her - she’s reliable and probably a better violinist than I am, she keeps going when I stop, follows me when I change bowing mid-piece or have to bring the conductor back on track, turns pages in the right place and generally makes it possible for me to have one eye/ear on the music and one eye/ear on the conductor and the rest of the orchestra. Not that I’m a terribly good or professional Leader, you understand, but J’s presence makes it possible for me to do the half-arsed job that I can do.

The programme is about an hour’s worth of light summer/family classics - all stuff we’ve played before, many times, and which we knocked into shape on Thursday at rehearsal. My favourites - Pomp & Circumstance, the Pink Panther theme, Shepherd’s Hey, and a Slavonic Dance by Dvorak.  Least favourite - Rule Brittania (yawn).

The kids and T are coming with me (T leaving work to be there) - there will be champagne and strawberries after the orchestra have played, then a hogroast and disco in the evening. Should be a good do, if the rain holds off.

Holiday jobs

Today I finished my first holiday job - that is, my first editing assignment undertaken while the kids are on their school holiday.

It was hard. Not the work - that was almost trivially easy, comparing OCR-generated scans with photocopies of the original manuscript and correcting the text. What was tough was balancing the kids’ needs with the demands of the job - they need attention, stimulation and diversion, while I need peace, quiet and zero disturbance. With my work head on I’m not tolerant of distraction; even T offering to make me a cup of tea means I have to spend five minutes getting back into what I was doing. I know this about myself, and during termtime it’s not an issue - I work when everyone else is out.

In general the kids were remarkably good - they amused themselves while I worked for two or three hours a day, playing boardgames, spending time in the garden, reading and playing on the Wii when it rained. However, there were unavoidable times when one or other of them needed me - to intervene in arguments, make them drinks, provide minor first aid etc. The good thing is that they didn’t hesitate to come and find me; I would hate the fact that I was working to make them feel they couldn’t come to me. The bad thing is, the work consequently took longer, even though I tried to do as much as possible after they’d gone to bed.

I negotiated a slightly extended deadline for the job (the clients were very easy about this), but obviously I still had to meet the deadline. Which I did - I sent it back this morning. Through the whole process I only got cross with the kids once, when I was in the middle of writing the email and attaching all the various files. All three of them came and clustered round me in the study, yelling and complaining about different things - I’m afraid I told them in no uncertain terms to clear off and give me five minutes to get the job finished. I’m not proud of this - they should always come first, ahead of the job - but at least it was only the once.

And now it’s done. I’ll think very carefully before accepting any more work this holiday - a definite hitch in what I laughingly call my career plan, but I’m not sure I’m up to coping with the whole juggling act it requires right now.