Blogging has been light of late. I have been very busy; work, the house, nationwide travel. I swapped my day for collecting the children from school to facilitate a work commitment. When I arrived, late, to collect the troops, herself was very cross. When I asked what was wrong she said, “It wasn’t your usual day to collect us and I was worried that you had forgotten us.” My poor misfortunate children.
Princess
On Punctuality
Me: You see, we weren’t late this morning and Daddy wasn’t cross.
Her: But he would have been, had we tarried.
“Had we tarried” really? What is she reading?
Timing is Everything
Me: Well done everyone, we’re in good time today. We’re going to be early for school. [Glancing at the dashboard clock] Well, maybe not early but we definitely won’t be late.
Herself: It’s called “being on time” Mum.
Failing to Walk in the Air
The Princess and I had a very traumatic choir practice the other night. The choir director for the Christmas carol service came (an important man who was far less interested in us than our normal choir director). The choir launched into various hymns (unknown to the Princess and me) in 5 parts. Sitting between the altos and the sopranos, with another three parts going on in the surrounding pews, and with no idea how to read music, I felt that I had zero chance of picking up any of the tunes. I was correct.
“Descant!” said the director. “What,” I hissed to the nice lady beside me, “is a descant?” Oh Lord.
Later one of the younger teenagers sang “Walking in the Air” alone. “That was lovely,” I said to her mother. Her mother repeated it to her and I heard her reply witheringly to her mother’s mortification “Anne, doesn’t even know what a descant is.”
The carol service is on Christmas Eve. The Princess and I are nervous. I think only prayer can help us now.
Mothers and Daughters
Me: Are you trying to drive your mother to an early grave?
Her: I don’t have to try.
The Goose is Getting Fat
Yesterday afternoon, the Princess wrote her Christmas cards. No, you’re not getting one; they are for her 27 classmates.
She and I made cranberry and orange sauce:
And we studded a couple of oranges with cloves:
And we made a paper chain of angels:
Did all this come at a cost? Well, yes, her brothers spent the afternoon playing on the computer so that we were free to do our worthy activities. Daniel did put a couple of cloves into an orange in a half-hearted way but quickly returned to FRIV (the very best free online games apparently). Look, at least the weather outside was frightful.