Archives: paul

Well – I finished off the wallpapering in the bedroom the other day. As it was just a bit above the door, It was a bit ‘is that it?’ – an anticlimax. I now have to varnish the paper. Joy. Still, that should not take too long, &then it’s protected. I guess we now have to plan an expedition to Ikea to get the kids new beds.

Jack takes a keen interest in Louise’s tum (growing babe). He likes to listen to it, & feel the baby kick. The other night Louise woke up & Jack had fallen asleep on her tum. Whether he’d moved in the night or what it’s difficult to tell, but it’s right sweet.

I’ve been trying to ensure I get to bed early. Well, when I say early, it essentially means, not late. But I have been falling behind on getting what I want sorted done. ZUM! is progressing annoyingly slowly again & My own reviews have slipped again. I am not meeting my exacting demands… thankfully I don’t work for me, or I might get annoyed with me. I remain frustratingly nearly focussed.

We went to a ‘parent’s evening’ at school last night. The 1st of many in this parental duty thing I guess. Jack’s teacher seems overall pleased with him. There were a few interesting insights. It seems he is more serious than we thought he might be. Studious. He was also not that keen at playtimes to start with. They were in the same playground as the rest of the school, & he must have found it intimidating. He would stay near the adult helper/teacher. It’s reported that he is now seen less near the adult, so must be getting used to this. It seems a little odd, as he is such a social creature, but then a playground full of screaming kids intimidates me. Also got an insight into the structure of their learning at this stage, which was interesting. He understands to look at the whole word when reading a word, that sort of thing… so I guess you could say he is doing well. Nothing ill to report at all, really. Louise & I were relieved that the teacher was not strict with us.

Stormy night. The wind was raging & the rain thrashing. The river in town was the highest I’ve seen it… it’s normally at 3, but it’s now 15… but I’ve no idea what the measurement is. It certainly looks dangerously fast.

Bit tired, as for one reason or another I did not get the best night’s sleep. However, I do not feel fatigue tired as I have been of recent.

America (& its British lap dog) started ‘the offensive’ on Afghanistan last night… sigh. Well, I guess it was inevitable, but it does not make it less palatable. Ended up watching a Panorama documentary last night, that seemed to end up vilifying the Taliban leadership & nearer claiming that Bin Laden bank roles their government & engineers the leadership. A bogeyman, it seems, with a pathological hatred of the Western world… If that is the case how has he come to be that way? What, in his upbringing & philosophy has brought this into such a focus? All that the documentary felt like it ended up being a justification for wiping the Taliban off the face of the Earth. They are a foolishly repressive regime, & in some way’s, like the Khmer Rouge, want to rewrite history in a nation for their own ends. The way it was all presented made me sceptical for a more balanced argument though. A balanced argument at the moment seems out of the question. The part of the documentary I wholeheartedly agreed with was that, if Afghanistan is left without assistance, after whatever means are met by this blasting then it will only create more trouble later. It needs help to establish the stability & order that the Taliban claimed they would bring when they came to power. The people there have suffered war & deprivation beyond many western minds imagination.

sigh…

I wonder what it’s like to be American & have such wholesome righteous indignation to cover any doubts & worries.

Still not finished the wallpapering in the bedroom! Well, I have but all except a little patch above the door. It’s delightful to have got thus far. Now I need to put the clear varnish on to finish it all off. I have been distracted by fatigue & silly things; like my printer running out of ink & how to get my mac to record analogue input so that it can be converted to Mp3. I’ve sorted the latter – a little app called “Coaster” helps, but I need to use something better than a dodgy old Walkman with a bad connection on the right hand channel before I can record with any quality. That will have to wait until the attic is sorted & the mac & stereo are closer together.

What have the kids been doing? I feel I should talk about them, but I have trouble thinking of details & anecdotes. They play well together, they are loving & sweet.

Brain is focussed on stomach again, which this morning is feeling gripey. Bah. Feel run down a bit; too many things to do & wanting to try to cram too much into the day. Mornings (writing on the morning train) are not the best time of the day for me at the moment.

Bah

Louise hosted an ‘NCT’ meeting at our house yesterday. It’s not an official ‘National Childbirth Trust’ meet, more a group of mothers, but still… It went well to all accounts. Eve was not phased by all these people descending on the house, & there were a lot of babies, to which she exclaimed “‘Nother Baby!”

Another Eve saying at the moment is “Parpy bottom” (A self-descriptive term).

New hours started at work yesterday. It didn’t really occur to me going in yesterday morning, as the start time is the same… However, we finish earlier.

It was a bit odd… it felt like I was sneaking off early, which I guess I was (DUH!). Getting home early is distinctly pleasant. I like that a lot. Eve was asleep when I got back & it was time to wake her, as we needed to get off to pick up Jack from school. She was lying on the bed, so I lay in front of her, so she could see me when she stirred. We had prepared the way for a wake up of a grumpy girl, but it was not needed. Louise woke her by putting her boots on, she saw me, & smiled, & I smiled back. I think she was glad to see me as she had a very good wake up & was exceptionally cheery. I carried her down to Jack’s school & she just kept smiling & exclaiming her delight at the world in general. Ah, the sort of thing that really cheers the heart.

Jack was glad to see me as well. A bit of a surprise. Took advantage of me & got a ride on my shoulders home. Eve demanded a ride on Louise’s shoulders for a little while as well. Human transport. The television did not go on at home. Jack has got into the habit of flopping in front of it a bit when he gets home from school. Not something that Louise approves of; just tolerates, I might add. Another habit broke.

Of course this is just the one-day, so it remains to be seen how it will all span out. I am hoping that it will prove a useful chance to get the decorating sorted as well. Not much papering remains, then varnishing the paper & it’s ‘all change’.

Another morning on the train where I sit in front of the eMate & say… “Grunt”.

It’s not like I was late to bed. We went to bed early last night, but that does not stop you feeling like my brain has been replaced by mucus.

Anyway, yes, it was a good weekend. Caroline hopefully had a good time. We pottered about a bit. On Friday, after watching Jack do his sponsored run they went off to Hebden Bridge. The run sounded delightfully chaotic. The children were supposed to be running the one way around the pitch, but ended up that some groups ran one way, & others counter. I don’t know what the goal was, but Jack ended up doing 5 or 6 rounds. It’s a good job we put the relatives (who are unaware sponsors) down for ‘fixed amounts’ or we might have been out of pocket there. One of Jack’s friends was going in a ‘counter’ group, so they apparently stopped for a chat once or twice. Also, he had a friend from his class running with him, who was flagging a bit. Jack is a good runner.

Saturday we all went of to Howarth. Over the tops on the bus, top deck to see the views better. Went past the church & there’s some ‘allotments’ there where people keep chickens & goats, so the Jack & Eve enjoyed that. Up onto the start of the moors, just for a mini-walk. We did have the pushchair, so anything really adventurous way out of the question. Eve needed picking up when some horses went by on a nearby path. Like dogs, she is braver when they are not so close.

We had hoped we might catch a steam train from Howarth, but we missed one… Shame, as the kids… well, Jack especially, would have enjoyed that. He asked on Sunday (next day) if we could go to Howarth again… A sure sign he enjoyed himself, or perhaps is aware there’s something he missed out on… Ended up in Leeds from Howarth, but as it was getting on a bit, it was not really a major stop. As the trains were out on the Caldervale line that day, (Leeds refurbishment work?) we had to catch a coach back home. Eve so nearly made it home, but we were just getting back to Tod when travel sickness got the better of her. All in all it was a very busy day & the kids did very well. Were well behaved even though we were late getting back & they must have been truly fagged out. An easier day on Sunday, as Carloline needed to go home. As Jack woke up he asked (as mentioned) if we were off out anywhere special (Howarth). When told not because Caloline was going back to London today, he was most upset that she would be leaving. Both Jack & Eve really love her. We went off to Hebden again & as (yet again) the trains were not running, it was a coach at the station that took Caroline on her journey back. It was, of course late. Louise went to change Eve’s nappy, & while they were off the coach came. Jack & I said the good-byes. As Caroline settled on the coach Jack said, “I’m really sad now”. I gave him a hug & pointed out Caroline at the window, & then the coach pulled away. Jack returned a few blown kisses & started to cry.

Wonder how Jack will get on with the sponsored run around the cricket pitch next to the school today? Nothing exacting for him, as he has shown the capacity to run quite a way when he’s been in the park. It would be nice to be able to go, but… here I am on my train to work as per usual. The normal train is late, so the turn back train has come early, much to the initial confusion of my fellow passengers as it’s a normal train, not the usual ‘boneshaker’ they deploy for the turn back.

It looks like they’ll have a good day for the run, although the amount of rain over the past couple of days could make the whole thing a bit of a mess & the cricket club may regret to letting a school of kids run around there… heh. Caroline arrived yesterday teatime, so she will be able to go & see the great sporting event. We did not spend the night foolishly drinking, but we did stay up too late. Late enough for me to get to the point where your brain feels too heavy in the head. Late enough for me only to have the capacity to stare blankly at the world. Hmmm… Isn’t part of meditation the exercise of thinking about nothing? I can do that now with very little… um… thingy.

New fellas at work seem to be settling in OK. Can’t really say that much at the moment other than that they are personable & that they seem quite knowledgeable.

ooh… — view from the train: a heron sitting in a dirty puddle in a field… Well it isn’t going to catch much there.

Naaah

It doesn’t look like I’ll polish off that room this week. I took a night off & did no decorating last night. I decided that I wanted to put up a ZUM!& review… so I did. We also have Caroline coming up from London to visit us – which will be good! It would be a bit rude of me to do the decorating while she is here tho…

Eve woke at about 10:20 late night – rather upset. She has not woke at this time for quite some time (she sleeps rather well for at least the first 4 hours of the night, as does Jack). She would not settle either, so Louise took over comforting, & still she would not settle. It’s a bit distressing when this happens, as there is plainly something amiss. She was not comfortable… Stomach ache – possibly just trapped wind though as she did a few class farts. It did take her just over an hour to settle down again. She went off to sleep in our bed, me already drifting off & Louise trapped in her daytime clothes as she was not going to let her go. There was no recurrence in the night, so we can but hope that it was wind, & she is over that. She has got some ‘bug’ at the moment as she threw up her tea again last night. It would have stayed down save for the fact that Jack upset her again, & her upset spiralled into distress & puke. This has happened a few times of recent… & Jack has been warned about such foolish behaviour at teatime. Teatime is not going as smoothly as we would like at the moment. It did not help that I was very late home yesterday… the trains going a bit pooh on me, & all that.

New people started at work yesterday. There will be 3 in all, but we only saw 2 yesterday – such is the staggering of the introductions. Too early to say what I think of anyone & how I feel they will fit in. The fact that they turned up in shirt & tie (we have a relaxed dress code, thankfully) makes judgement all the more difficult.

We shall see…

Groggy (gosh, what a surprise) this morning – polyfillering late again… It seems I always find a little that I can do. My alarm is having to protest at me for me to get out of bed. I normally respond automatically & just start the day, but I’m getting a dangerous tendency to lig a little longer.

Eve was reluctant to sleep last night & made quite a fuss about going in the cot, but go she did & fuss she did. It took a good long while for her to calm down, but Louise did not get her out of the cot again. She cuddled her, but did not lift her. We do not want her getting the idea of a precedence set. It was Jack who eventually calmed her down… Well, distracted her by complaining at her that she was being, “Too loud” so he “could not hear the story” I was tying to read. She turned round as if to say “what?” & from then started to settle again. She was excepting enough to lay back down in the cot with her rabbit & milk (not a ‘bottle with a teat’ – she’s never had one of those). Jack drifted off to sleep as I read Whinie The Pooh (he doesn’t like “big books” a a rule, but this one does have quite a few pictures in it). I got up to turn the light out to leave & Eve’s still awake. Uh-oh… Feel like I’ve been caught doing something that I shouldn’t be so I flap my arms nervously, grin sheepishly & say to her that, “I’m just turning the light off” do so & lie back down with Jack again. Just so she knows there’s someone in the room, like. I give it 5 minutes before I check & she has drifted off to sleep now. She was slow blinking when I stood up, so I guess the darkness was the final blow to wakefulness.

Wall work – I still have not finished the wall. It occurs to me it would have been quicker to learn the art of plastering, & skim the whole lot over rather than sitting patching & smoothing & farting about. Still – tiz getting there now. Quite a bit of time put in has left me with the last bit of alcove & the wall to the door. If time is put in & if things go well… I might actually get the bugger done – papered this week.

Got a pot of matt acrylic varnish to go on top – so we should be able to start doing that as well, & then it’s done & I can move to sorting the attic out… Oh joy.

Cooo Just looked at the Manchester skyline as I’m on the train leaving for home & there’s the Manchester Arena getting ready for the games next year.

Trying to think of some anecdotes of what the kids are up to at the moment, but that part of the brain seems closed off at the moment due to me being too tired. Nothing unusual there, then… Alarm had to struggle to wake me up this morning. I put it down to the cough medicine I glugged in the night to allow me to breathe unencumbered. Coughing & wheezing again. Seems like the sort of thing I get from dust, but not been moving stuff about. I guess it could be polyfiller dust… or possibly yer actual cough (as the rest of the family has something at the moment). Kids with dribbling noses & Louise with a ‘razor’ throat.

Louise was saying how the ‘lump’ reacts when Jack & Eve are singing (especially). I think it also reacts when they make a lot of noise. Eve used to react when we were reading Jack to sleep or singing to him. Both of them love singing. Eve has songs that she sings at playgroup, like, “Wind the bobbin up” that comes with actions & wants you to sing & join in with them.

That last bit of typing reminds me how much I enjoy playing with the kids, but make me worry also that I might be treating Eve with more ‘favour’ than Jack. I would love to be completely even handed – treating both equally, but I don’t – as they are not equal really. It’s difficult to expect too much from Eve. She’s too young to respect a single word you say to her, whereas Jack understands fully. Actually, I suspect Eve knows darn well when she is doing wrong, but as with both of them it’s difficult to get them to listen to a word you say. I am starting to expect more from Jack & he does not really like being told not to do something when he has his mind set on doing it. He either gets sad or angry when told not to do something depending on the situation. Sad is OK, & you feel for him or if it seems especially ridiculous you cannot help bug hug & chuckle. Mad is not good, as there seems no obvious way to calm him down. He has kicked me a good few times, & I cannot ignore that, so the situation can escalate. My usual solution if things get fraught is to pick him up & put him down sometimes. If that does not work I take him to his room to calm down. The best way out of that sort of situation really is to distract him onto something else, but I cannot really do that, as I do not like being attacked. I really hope that this does not continue as a trait between us as I hate making him mad. It’s the disciplinarian in me, I guess.

Moved my work PC over to Windoze 2000
today. Still a few things to do to get it functioning as I might
like, but on the whole it was painless. For someone who is not
wholly confident with putting PC’s together in general – with a bit
of help it was all done in a day. The secondary HD (my old one) was
not being detected at 1st, but that was to do with the bios, so
thankfully that was sorted too.

Got all my old files & all that
malarkey, so, hmmm – not so bad.

Still -I liked NT4 even tho I was derided.
I’m derided for being a Mac user tho – so what would I
care?

Not really getting that much done at home
this week. Not really sure why, but – what the hell… I’m too
tired in general to be bothered by it, but can’t switch off enough
to dismiss it.

The kids are going to be tired this evening
– they were both awake before I left for work. Be nice if we could
get them to bed early, but that would be too much to ask. I’ve
designated tonight a ‘don’t prat about on the computer – get some
polyfilering done’ night. Needs must.