Nurtured by Love is the first - one I came across via a Suzuki violin email list, but they are also an unschooling family and I love some of the posts about general education. Quite inspirational. Also induces the green-eyed monster in me as I think I would love to live in the Canadian mountains!

Behind the Child is the second. Can’t remember how I found it, I think I’d read an article about a book (When the Bough Breaks) which linked to it. Anyway, it is a blog written by an adoptive and foster mum of special needs children - entertainingly written, and I like it for all sorts of other reasons too, especially now given my sphere of interest at work.

And now I must get up, the open air orchestra concert has been cancelled due to the heavy showers forecast for today, but that means we have a rehearsal as usual …

Yesterday
Lots of people at work in a hoo-ha about the strike. I have sent off my unison application form so will be joining in with whatever strike action ends up happening.

Feet feeling very vulnerable today as I’m wearing flipflops at work, unusually. This is due to having driven not cycled because of leaving early for violin exam, and knowing that Tuesday mornings are swimming sessions. Still, it leaves toes at risk of all sorts of accidents!

Lady at Miscarriage Support Group brought in all her Fimo craft stuff to show me. She makes some lovely jewellery pieces and has offered to do a workshop for me and the girls over the summer if we can organise ourselves.

Today
Woo hoo, today is our last proper Wednesday of the term - next week we’re at the Donkey Sanctuary and the week after we’re on strike, then the Wednesday after that is the first day of the holidays!

Steve brought home the industrial carpet cleaner from work, thank goodness, the kids’ bathroom was beginning to smell like an old people’s home.

Breathed a sigh of relief to go back to Suzuki violin after a month of solid exam preparation - started book 3 tonight which was fab. Playing mainly by ear is so much easier than anything else!

I find Wimbledon so boring. Can’t decide which is worse, watching Wimbledon or watching Steve race virtual cars around virtual tracks. Not to mention listening to random Italians on PS3 headsets talking to one another throughout the race

Home then to clean out guinea pigs, get some washing done, and generally relax for the evening.

On Sunday we didn’t have a morning church meeting so got a welcome lie in. Steve went off to work to catch up on some paperwork, dropping the rest of us in town. Bagged a new geocache at the station, then shopped a bit before meeting Steve and coming home for lunch. Then in the afternoon we had our piano teacher’s end of term concert to go to, followed by a late afternoon outdoor joint church meeting including a BBQ tea. Both those events happened at the kids’ school, which was good as I didn’t have to drive anywhere!

What song best represents your driving style?

Answers in a comments box below, please … and then I’ll tell you what I said. Not sure it would win the competition though! You can do what song best represents Steve’s driving style and then another song for your own driving style if you like, as I suspect they might be different

On Tuesday Abigail had a special trip up to an event at the University; from what I gather it was a Devon County event for schools to do with generally being green and environmental issues. [yes, I am informed - a Travelwise Schools' Event.] She and three other friends from their school Environmental Group got to go - lunch was laid on, so that was a treat. She enjoyed herself so much that she forgot to come home after school and visited the book fair instead, spending someone else’s money in the process!

Needless to say, Come Straight Home Unless We Have Arranged Otherwise has been added to the ever evolving list of after school ‘guidelines’ for the kids, along with Don’t Light Candles Unless An Adult Is There, and Raiding Of The Snack Box Prohibited Until Mummy Gets Home. I have been somewhat surprised at the mischief that can happen in the 10 minutes between when they get home and when I get home!

All of this week Anna has been madly doing last minute rehearsals for her Year 6 Play - Roger Ravenbeard, Scourge of the Oceans. Performances began with dress rehearsals in front of other classes on Wednesday, then they had two real performances on Thursday, and the final one on Friday night. Anna was playing Mrs Ravenbeard, Roger’s mother, and was on stage almost all the time. She did really well and we enjoyed watching the final performance, not to mention the takeaway with Grandma and Grandpa afterwards.

Not much to report on Josiah I don’t think … still working hard on music exam stuff, and he received multiple compliments from his accompanist at our rehearsal on Wednesday, so that was encouraging.
Steve and I not up to much other than work either; he’s been working on Gran Turismo racing and not improving all that much.
I’ve been trying to keep up with housework (constant battle! think I’ve caught up a bit tis week but it won’t last long!), and attempting to fit the odd cache in here and there.

I’m not sure, however, that I particularly agree with striking. Especially when it affects the children. Even if I agree with the issue at stake (pay, in this case). Then again, is there anything else one can do that has an effect? Does striking itself have the intended effect? So - even if I did join the union should I/would I strike?

Anyone got any comments?

Long awaited and definitely lived up to expectations, tonight was Stringfever night. A fabulous evening, great show, quality performances of all types of music, highly recommended by all of us. I ended up on the stage playing the last note in Ravel’s Bolero (which the 4 musicians performed on the one cello - amazing!), that’s what comes of sitting in the second row and your children saying ‘you, Mummy, you’ when they look around for volunteers from the audience!

Joe got a bit tired towards the end but even he enjoyed the evening as well. Just hope they don’t go getting any bright ideas, I once stupidly said that they could get electric instruments when they reached full size, as both Anna and Josiah have expressed interest in playing electrics, but that was before I looked at the price list!

A weekend of following this cello girl around, as she has another concert tomorrow as well! Today’s was fun; after the usual Children’s Orchestra practice, when we went home, the Youth Orchestra jumped on a coach together and went down to Exmouth for a performance in Manor Gardens, at what is apparently known as their ‘performance stage’, although it looks more like an upmarket bandstand to me!

It was slightly drizzly at first, but having cancelled the concert last week it went ahead today anyway. Abbie, Joe and I had picked up Aunty Esther along the way, taken her home for lunch, and then took her out to Exmouth and subjected her to the concert as well

We armed ourselves with details of a few local geocaches to find; glad we did, as it kept us moving until the sun came out. Did a couple of micros, then the last one was a tiny magnetic nano, very well camouflaged to look like a bolt head, it took me far too long to find it despite the fact that I was looking in exactly the right place! Afterwards, the sun finally appeared, so we bought ice creams and sat in the park for the rest of the concert.