Sybil Witters On
Continuing from Wannabe Sybil's Witterings, where I just chat about my life.
Friday, 1 July 2022
Unsurprising
Thursday, 30 June 2022
All Tired
Sharon - I sometimes feel that my attention span is like when you drip water onto a red hot pan and it hisses and sizzles and scatters everywhere. I will share if I find the secret of how to get things done. It sometimes seems impossible.
Eileen - that is great advice, and I feel incredibly hugged. Thank you.
I took another pic of the fuchsia. The rest of the garden is something of a fail, but this at least is glorious.
I dropped bear off this morning, then called in at Tesco. They had some frozen stuff that we like which they hadn't had for a while, so I stocked up. I thought that while I was at it, I would do one of the two 10% off shops that I get per month. I'm sure I forgot loads, but I remembered things like toothpaste and stock cubes. I also picked up some candles that were on sale for me and some fruit and nut mixture for DH. The candle that I started with is very disappointing. It's quite a large one, and if I had paid more than £3.50 for it, I would have been very upset. I also picked up half a dozen packs of cereal for bear. There are so many cheaper ways of getting breakfast into him, but this works and he finds Tesco own brand acceptable. All in all, with offers, Clubcard prices and the 10% off I got a total of around £15 off. There wasn't much fruit and veg - there is plenty of frozen veg in and I only buy fruit as needed, but there is enough of the frozen stuff to make family dinners for weeks. I need to make an ongoing list, so that when I come to the next 10% off (not until 20th July) then I can get all that I need.
I didn't get much done today. By the time I had got home from shopping, it was nearly time to leave for pick up. DH isn't well. He's had to go to the doctor today, and I'm quite worried. I'm trying to think of good ways to make a fuss of him. Then I picked up bear and, after he got changed at home, took him climbing. It's a new place that they have just opened and it's awesome. Bear spent an hour or so there, which I think is great for him. He didn't have any exams today, and he just has one tomorrow. Tomorrow's exam is quite long, so he may be late out of school, and then he has some sort of presentation thingy before the whole dratted thing is over by 6th July. I'm encouraging him to go climbing regularly, as often as he likes, because I think the exercise is good for him among the studying. He was doing a practice paper tonight for his exam tomorrow, so it's not as if he's neglecting his schoolwork.
Bear is exhausted after climbing and all the exams. DH is exhausted because he isn't well and they aren't sure why. I'm just exhausted. I'm going to make a list of things that I need to do tomorrow and then crawl off to bed. I'm hoping that if I make the list, even if I only tick one thing off, it at least makes it harder for me to forget things.
I think that will be my first step - to commit to making a rough list of things I should remember for the next day. I won't expect perfection, it's just a way of organising my thoughts.
Hugs and good health to all.
Leaf or Leaves
Wednesday, 29 June 2022
Blast from the Past
I haven't got anything decent for Jan 2014 in my photo reel, so here is one of my favourites from March 2020.
Tuesday, 28 June 2022
I Worry
Cherie - I'm considering a bin bag! Bear has not given me access, but hasn't complained of losing anything so I'll take it as a win. I can't remember whether it's the cheap one, the expensive one or what. There's three and a half weeks left until the end of the term and then we can work on getting something (inexpensive) that he wants.
Bless - thank you. I can walk but I'm not enjoying moving. I first had it when I had bear, and that pretty much crippled me!
Eileen - thank you!
Bear had Chemistry and Biology exams today. The poor kid is shattered. He thinks he did okay in them, but we'll have to see. He said there were a few bits that he didn't know from last school year when he was spending so much time at the hospital. He is so much better now that it's hard to remember how much time we spent going back and forth to the hospital. I asked him if he would be okay to catch up and he said he would be fine. There are loads of YouTube videos about the exams, he said.
And this is where I started to worry. Bear told me that there are dozens and dozens of sites that promise that they could get kids 9s in their exams. 9 is the top mark these days, with 1 at the bottom. A 5 is considered a reasonable pass and I think it's the mark that is the equivalent of a C and will get you into most basic 'needs half way decent maths and English' starter jobs.
There is so much pressure on kids, though, that I worry. I wonder how many of these sites are scams, or misleading, or just wrong. I haven't got a hope of telling which is which myself. How could kids of 15 and 16 be expected to know? I hope bear can find his way through this, and I'll do all I can to encourage him, but it's a worry.
I'm off for an early night now after failing at sleep last night. I did get a pic earlier about some strands of the healthy(ish) honeysuckle that have intertwined. I think I need to get some string over them and coax them along to the trellis that we bought for the dead honeysuckle. Sigh.
It's not brilliant, but it's the best I've managed so far.
Hugs and good health to all.
Monday, 27 June 2022
Thinking of Something Else
Friday, 24 June 2022
Out of the House
Deborah - I blame father. He planted a allegedly small fuchsia in the house where I grew up. It was massive, cracked a sewer pipe and had to be hacked back regularly so that the postman could get through. My mother took cuttings before we left during the divorce, but they never really did anything as it was her and not my father. This is just the same. I am absolutely stealing that tip about thread and socks. Currently, bear has grey socks for school, but that won't last and then it will be black socks all round!
Bless - Thank you. Lists are such a help. I love seeing pics from your garden.
Cherie - I may try rooting honeysuckle cuttings. Do you recommend rooting powder?
Eileen - I am definitely the shortest now. Bear is no longer a little lad. He hasn't been for some time. I am also the least intelligent of the three of us, and I don't consider myself particularly slow. You learn to keep up or switch off in this house. I am still annoyed by the bag. I hope I have learned my lesson - haunt the charity shops and be patient.
I spent most of the day out of the house. I dropped the car off at the garage for a full service and MOT. I got all the fancy add ons for the service. The poor car rarely goes above 40mph and spends a lot of time in queuing traffic, which isn't good for the engine. She is 7 years old now, and I hope to keep her going for a few years yet. She needed two new tyres and some parts for the suspension, which isn't surprising given the condition of the roads. I could have held off on these, but I thought I would get them done so I didn't worry.
I called into Leeds, but I was too hot and headachy to want to shop. I took a pic of the inside of the Corn Exchange (didn't get anything) and the Time Ball building (used to be a noted clockmaker).
As the buses to the garage are only one per hour, I got the bus back before they called me. They were happy for to sit in the waiting room where there is complimentary tea and coffee and no pressure. They were also fine with me sitting there and knitting for a few hours. They were really awesome. It's a chain called In n Out Autocentres, and they are described as 'female friendly'. They are also recommended by Which. I didn't bother with the tea or coffee, but I really enjoyed the chance to knit. I took a pic of the start, but forgot to take a pic at the end of the afternoon and I've knitted another inch or two since. This is the start.
And it's about double the length now. I'm knitting a lace curtain (King Cole's Opium in white, cast on 101 stitches, plain knit for the first three rows, then eyelet stitch to thread the curtain wire, then plain knit until it's long enough). I need two - one for each side of the porch and one slightly longer for the inner door. I'm hoping that they will provide some protection from heat and cold while still allowing light through.
Bear had a day at home pretty much to himself, as DH was working upstairs. He looked a lot more relaxed when I got home, and he was talking about the maths revison he had done. He said it was something about proofs and circles. I hadn't a clue.
Hugs and good health to all.