The Way I Concentrate (by sarah)

I have worked out that part of the problem with house work, bills, contracts etc... is the way I concentrate - I focus and focus deep generally on one project and even when I'm not actively doing that project I am still mentally chugging away at it.

This means that I don't always notice 'interuptions' and end up with like a pile of post and dirty dishes - this is one of the reasons I like people visiting as means I'll notice the dishes!

Now with Jean at school I've been trying a varient on my pacing methods for the pain - the 10 mins just was not working becuase I just get into something and have to change - so I experiemented to see if I could get my tolerance level up to 20 mins - most of the time this works well - though afternoons are a complete write-off with this system.

It seems to be working though - I am starting to get on top of the house work and am writing and drawing alot - being more productive than I have been for most of this year!

Basically I get Jean off to school and then pace - 20 sitting reading, writing, drawing and 20 minutes doing household or gardening stuff - I have even managed to tackle a hedgerow harvest in this way this year!

The plus side is that the house work is not mounting up and 20 mins stints at it isn't leaving me flaked in the way trying to do a solid hour of it was and because it is manual work my brain is free to mull over the next thing I'm going to write - and I have found I due generally only want to work on one project a day - maybe even for several days in a row!

This is actually a revolution for me 🙂

Of course when Jean's about pacing goes out the window but thats fine too 🙂

The Maiden’s Dream (by sarah)

I have put my poem The Maiden's Dream up on Turquoise Monster it is a rhyming one that is supposed to portray a sense of fairy tale magic.

Again Feedback would be appreciated 🙂

Desolate was the Playground (by sarah)

I awoke and me and dad got Jean ready for school - there were books to find and lunches to make and teeth to brushed and Jean's to be shouted at when they flop and make dressing them hard and so on and so forth.

It was dark when I got up and I thought - hmmm bout time those clocks change.

And we struggled our way to school.

And it was deserted the playground desolate and forlorn - empty of childs hurtling around it was a grey expanse of tarmac with a dreary fence. Where was everyone?

No cars in the staff parking - no lights in the windows - cold and empty - I look at Dad 'When do the clocks change?'

'Not yet'

'Surelly its soon?'

'Your mother didn't say anything about it and I would have expected a sign in the playground'

'Hmm well they must have changed - there's no one here'

So we come home again and I look up daylight saving and find out the clocks change this weekend - so then I'm panicking - have I missed some school trip? Were they all supposed to be at some train station somewhere or something?

No - its half term - yesturday was the last day - Mew 🙁

So then Dad's annoyed cos he could have still been sleeping and Jean's annoyed becuase she doesn't want a holiday - she wants to go to school and play with her friends!

And I ment to talk to some of the mothers about the half baked plans for them to visit during half term :/

Sigh - I just can't manage with the amount of stuff I have to remember for school - and yet I know that other people manage this stuff perfectly well :/

Fortunatly I had got in lots of craft stuff and that to do with Jean and Co during half term anyway- she is currently happily colouring a dinosaur sticker and colouring book and has a spooky ghost one waiting for her attention 🙂

I also have wooden skulls for decorating - and skull bags to sew and ghosts to glitter! I love pound shops and the like 🙂 (Plus I cut alot of the stuff out myself from my craft paper collection!)

I've got cooking activities and everything lined up for Jean but am sad to be two days shorter on sorting house out time 🙁

Sheds – stress (by sarah)

Barbara came back from holiday yesturday and I excitedly showed her the shed - but I got this sinking feeling that she doesn't remember the two or three conversations we had about putting a shed in early this year 🙁

I am now awaiting her getting really upset about the fact that it appeared whilst she was on holiday.

Good Drawing (by sarah)

Today when I went up to the school the teacher told me that Jean has been doing really good drawings and paintings - so much so that the Head Master has commented on it - she is being very careful and precise with it and generally doing stuff that is beyound her age range 🙂

I had noticed these last two weeks that Jean's drawings and colouring in have really really improoved - instead of random scribbles and things there is structure and now there is secondary, tertiary and even quarternary structures. I even found her drawing a map though she insists its not a map:

'It's not a map! It's what things look like if your up up all the way in the sky.'

Unfortunatly she has also been drawing war machines with whirrling blades on them - not entirely sure where she's got that one from!

I showed her how to draw stick men and she drew one and then added a stomach and a face and hair and things and it was recognisable as a person!

She also drew aload of circles and said they are what's blood :/

I'll try and photo some of these and put them on the blog as I think they are interesting!

But then I am her mother 😉

I was a whole year older than her before a teacher commented on my use of perspective! Plus I'm glad she's drawing and stuff becuase she had started saying she didn't want to becuase they weren't good like mummy's pictures 🙁