Archives: fireworks

All the kids were asleep when I left this morning. That hasn’t happened for… well – some considerable time. Peaceful & stress free.
You kinda miss them though.

Yesterday Eve was completely & utterly tired out. She was ready for dropping off to sleep before 7, but then the fireworks started & it was at least an our later before she could keep her eyes open no longer & flopped down from the bedroom window & was willing to be carried over to her bed. Just a few seconds before she fell asleep then. Jack stayed at the window watching the fireworks around the town for another half hour or so before he was wrenched from the window & dropped into the bath. It took him quite a bit of reading before he would calm down enough to slip into sleep.

I tried to get a haircut again yesterday & failed miserably – annoying that. Queue to big at the barbers in Manchester (I could well have missed the train I need to get – so off home to try the 2 others. Tuesdays one closes (I’m sure I managed to get a cut there on a Tuesday before…) & the other one has a notice declaring that it’s closed – just for today. Petty frustrations…. Ah, talking of which; my other petty frustration – my Apple CD of 9.2.2. still has not arrived. [Summary:] I got my OSX install CD the week before last & realised that I could not do a straight upgrade, because OS 9.0.4 on my machine would not be compatible for use in OSX’s ‘Classic’ environment (allowing usage of the current apps I have). No OS 9 upgrade CD is packaged with the latest version of OSX – thus I have to send off to apple with monies for P+P & ‘handling’. Done 25/26 of last month.. & I’m being very good… I’m being adult & not installing OSX & then sorting out the problems later -!
I’m just waiting – I’m BEING PATIENT! gah! Most unlike me & ‘new toys’. Excuse me while I just go & sulk in the corner for 5 minutes…

Heh… While Jack was on holiday the other week it was ‘photo’ time at playgroup. Someone comes around to take those ‘your child (nearly) smiling photos’ like the ones they take in schools. All the brood went to have their picture taken. Louise was a bit worried how the photo would turn out, as Eve was a bit nervous of it all. It has turned out very well! We have an adorable photo of the three of them sitting in a row – smiling (well – Jude is more quizzical & Eve’s smile is not carefree – but Jack is on full ‘charm offensive’).

Oh, my brother & Jess are hopefully dropping by this weekend – it will be good to see them – it would also be good if I could get in touch with him to figure out what his plans are… but those are just details.
We’ll then have Caroline coming to visit in a few weeks as well if things work out. We are a bit ‘socially booked’ at weekends at the moment… weird.

Took the foolish step of deciding to put some more of my old comics online last night – so was up later with the scanner than I should have been. Not suffering too badly from it this morning.

Sunday was my weekend this week after having to work Saturday. When I got home Saturday Eve was already asleep… which is a little sad – not seeing her off to bed… Jack was still awake & pined to the window watching the fireworks. He was also very tired… not that he’d admit such a thing. He was gibbering somewhat though. They had had a good day over at grandma’s by accounts – & had a nice time in Manningham Park – near to where she lives. The council seems to be putting some money into the park & it sounds to be very nice there now (I’ve seen the renovated boating lake & they did a nice job there). They have drained a water feature stream, which leads to a waterfall into the lake, it seems, & Jack was most put out by that. It seems there’s another stream running at the moment (this gets confusing as it’s what Jack was telling me – consequently not that clear) & Jack seems to have got it into his head from somewhere that they will not be starting the old stream up again. I said I could not see why, but he was most insistent that they would not be. What evidence there is for this belief, I don’t know… but I can’t see then ridding themselves of a waterfall feature by the lake… seems a bit extreme. Nevertheless, I tried to persuade Jack in this delirious state of his that there was no reason to mourn the loss of the stream as yet – they might be doing clearing, repairing, or whatever… but no – he insisted on taking the doomful view that all was lost.
He then proceeded to tell me several time the meaning of bonfire night was fireworks, but I don’t seems to recall him coming up with a reason for fireworks, other that it being bonfire night. Louise came back with the best one there, saying that it meant it was early November. A lot shorter than my foolish attempts to explain such daft abstracts as ‘gunpowder, treason, & plot’ while avoiding anything as gruesome as effigy burning & sectarian war. sigh.

Sunday would have been a better day if Jack had not taken it into his head that he would be what we would call ‘naughty’ in the evening. Trying to annoy us – I guess to get our attention. I of course fell for it & got mad at him. I find it difficult to react other than how I … uh… react. I’m not good at masking my annoyance. Still, it all calmed down enough in the end. I do not know what to make of these situations – I feel like homer simpson.

3:00 pm

Back from work – sitting in the dentist’s waiting room wondering if everyone else is here? Jack has an appointment at 3 – or was it just before 3? Whatever, they are not in the waiting room & the receptionists has not answered the “Ring once & wait” bell – so all I can assume is that they are in there, & Jack is having his teeth looked at…
Naturally I am now hypersensitive to my own teeth – as the smell & general aura of the dentists must always make you. Not been for far too long – I really should etc, etc.
Bother… I am getting itchy that they are not even here now – I cannot hear enough behind the door to tell, but I certainly would expect to hear something from either Jack or Eve… Darn the receptionist…
Hey ho.
The day passed rather quickly today – so much so that I realised I had missed the boat in terms of actually getting anything done… (In terms of ‘personal work’)
What a bother.
At least my brother wrote with his address, so I can get his pressie off to him at last. I worry now that I have bought him a repeat present… Did I get him that book last year? Uh, oh! That makes one more “we shall see”.

Half hour later…

Ah.. That’s OK – sitting around proved the right thing to do – I was early! I thought Jack’s appointment was at 3:00, whereas it was 3:20 – so Louise arrived with the kids a little bit ago & I have been left in reception on my own again looking after the pushchair… I would rather have gone with them but I guess that I need to look after the pushchair.

Returning from a day at <shudder> work!
Hey ho
Louise & the kids have had a day out at Louise’s mum’s – where they would have met up with Louise’s auntie, who was 80 yesterday. There’s a ‘do’ tomorrow that we will not be attending, but Louise is meeting her today for the ritual exchange of gifts & goodwill (as much as can be spared). Sigh… I feel a little guilty really as she doing this absolves me of the duty – but it would be a distinct lack of fun to have to work today & then the niceties with the relatives tomorrow. Not really much of a weekend…

Hmmm can see a few bonfires burning on the journey home. There is no bonfire in Tod organised this year… A shame. Jack would have enjoyed it. Not sure what Eve would make of it – she may seem fearless, but I think that close up, a firework display is another level beyond her experience. She’s seen a few fireworks from the window. If fact each time she goes to the window at the moment & sees a light – or perhaps… well, anything – she says, “firework!” She also says, “Come on Fireworks!” if there has been some – to will on more. Heh – there are a few nice things she says at the moment… She counts quite well – knows which number comes after another, but really – I don’t think she knows the concepts.

Then again, she knows 2 – as if there’s more than one of something she has said “2 [whatever the object is]”. She also is learning the words for colours, but again doesn’t really have the comprehension of colour identification. She sees a bus or a train & calls it a “yellow (bus/train)”. Yellow seems to be the colour of choice for anything that she wants to identify chromatically.
Hmmm – not sure where the train is now (does it stop at Walsden station on this run?) – so best pack up in readiness of leaving the train in a hurry…