On top of the roof

I have been up all the ladders and scaffolding today. Right up to the chimney pots. It's wonderful up there. The roofers are fixing so many problems and it looks so neat.

Three of us climbed up and discussed the most recent issues, peering under the edges of the roof tiles, putting my hand in the dry, dusty gaps between the wall and the roof. Holding different gutter fittings. Kneeling on planks. Holding the scaffolding.

From there we could see over the green gardens and fields. There are some bees at the top of one chimney all of a sudden, so I'll light a fire to smoke them out. It is our main fireplace, so they shouldn't be there.

Each set of ladders feels different. I hold on like a monkey and like the climbing up and down. I prefer being up there, it's like being on the sea bed being down on the ground again now.

The hottest day of summer = nursing a sore throat

This does feel very odd. I am sipping Lemsip, lurking on the sofa with my dressing gown round my neck, wondering whether some curry would kill the lurgy.

I love the way the air warms up and cools down during the day. The smell of the air changes. The birds seem to be chirping in a new way too. Maybe they are having a chilled out garden party from their branches.

It was delicious to walk out of Sainsbury's into the hot humid air. Mmm. I kept on taking my sunglasses off each time I went into a shop, then putting them back on after paying but before picking up my bags to go.

I made my way into my stable to sit there for a bit. The ivy is growing more lush in there, nettles are peeking in at the doorway and there is a sudden long tendril of bindweed too.

All the old wooden planks and old rubbish heaped up on the other side from *my* side looked as if they would target for gold spray paint. Imagine covering it all in gold! Or perhaps pure white gloss. My mother in law would be most cross because she has possessions from her previous homes there, but I can sit in my chair and imagine freely without hurting anyone's feelings.

The other event is that the lower portion of one of our big sash windows has been taken away to be repaired, so this room's window is boarded up. It is amazing how one minute a window is in its place and the next it has been taken out. I bet it has not been removed for 50 or 100 years.

Re-establishing the household

I have just realised why I have "got nothing done" this week. It is because I have been busy doing something else, re-establishing the household after the end of half term for T.

Knowing myself is a task of a life time! It is so simple: of course I need to sort out the mountain of laundry, refill the fridge and freezer, re-remember to do the things I usually do without thinking for T each day to ensure things run smoothly with school.

Then there is my desk...which had turned into a treasure trove of boxes of games, papers with very good ideas on them etc, but which are all burdens. All I need on my desk are my money management heap, diary, home ed log, daily book with online/in the house/out and about tasks all neatly separated out, my Amnesty actions file and the 2011 home education reviews project.

I had a statement of intent above my desk. It said "Minimise". It has minimised itself and disappeared! Time to make another one.

Living in a vicarage

The odd thing about this old vicarage is that there is no obvious chapel or holy corner. I would have thought that an oratory was about the only obvious room to have in such a house. It doesn't feel any different from our other houses either, none of which has had a prayer place.

Only 2 of my 7 educational institutions had a chapel, The Cavendish School and Trevelyan College, Durham. I think it is a special and wonderful thing to have a quiet, dedicated space for this.

One household I visited had an oratory with an exercise bike in it. I didn't go in or even put my head around the door. I wish I had now.

We have a falling down old stable in the back garden. It is a great place to sit and experience feelings with just the bird song and insects for company. It is dusty, cold, uncomfortable and wild. It is my favourite place in this household.

Meal in a box

Genius! This blogger has a photo of how she puts the ingredients for each meal in a separate box in her fridge. If it works for her it could work for anyone. Visual boxes probably work a lot better than written lists.

Enough posts for one day??