Monday's musings

We started out on a roll and have slowed down somewhat as the day has progressed. I managed to get up, exercise, eat breakfast, feed chickens, water the garden, shower and be dressed and ready to go by 9.55am, with the kids only a step behind me. We had to go to the chapel to put up the backdrops for the Holiday Club drama; the Holiday Club starts tomorrow, so it will be all systems go there for a week.

After all that rushing, I slowed right down and almost stopped as I mulled the week ahead over and drank some tea. The FH went to his art club this morning, so I had a little bit of an early lunch, and the girls fended for themselves - tomato soup was on their menu, apparently. This afternoon, my early morning watering of the garden was proved unnecessary when we had a heck of a storm and torrents of water came out of the sky. I put some extra buckets out and caught some of it for the cucumber plants, and the poor chickens all retreated in to the house.

I strained the goose fat from yesterday's roast and I have it now in six sterilised jam jars, but it looks more like honey right now than goose fat. The wisdom of other home-fat-producers says that this kind of home-produced goose fat will probably keep for 3-4 months, so we'll see - if only I could keep it till Christmas! I bought some last year, and going on their prices, I've probably got about £30 worth of it. Hoping that it will solidify.

This evening, the YFG and FH went to the village band, and the EFG went to the band practise in the nearby town. All are making progress. I started on the shopping for the birthdays - the YFG has made her final decisions and so I have bought her iPod, engraved with her name, from the Apple store online - it should be here by Thursday, and then I got the phone she wanted from Argos tonight. There was a little contretemps in the shop as the online price was £5 cheaper than the one that came up on the till, so the manager had to be called to override the till. She did, so I was pleased. I wouldn't have bought it otherwise, as the YFG is seriously pushing the budget for this birthday - those two items are it this year. The EFG has less expensive tastes (but then she already has a phone and an iPod) so she wants a CD and a DVD, so far, but she has a week or so longer to go till her birthday. Both will get cakes of their choice too.

I have also been on the phone and the computer to arrange courses for the Head Coach and I for gym, and then to get an orthodontist appointment for the YFG and to change a hospital appointment for the EFG - I have already had to change that one once so the bookings lady was a little short with me. Oh dear.

I am so looking forward to September, not because the children will be back at school (hate that bit!) but because it symbolises a fresh beginning and I love those! I'll be spending some time thinking in the holidays about what this fresh beginning is going to mean to us in the Fens.