Finally, the fish story!!

So it turned out that the fish story was not finished. or maybe it was like, I thought it was a standalone book, but then there turned out to be a sequel. Whatever. Point is, I know I didn't post again as soon as I promised, but I swear, there was more trauma, and it took me, like, twice as long to get over this trauma. But finally, here it is in all its glory!

So, one of my new house-mates has 3 fish. She has carefully moved them over from her old house to the new one. She has set them up in her room, and they look pretty happy. Problem is, she's going away to Dubai for the summer, because that's where her dad works. so she asks another house-mate to look after them over summer. And this other house-mate agrees. But then this other house-mate decides to go away for the weekend. Now, because I'm still in town, I reassure the first house-mate and tell her I'll check in on the fish and make sure they have food. So I go to the house, let myself in, find the key from the empty washing powder tub, and unlock my house-mate's room. The weather recently has been scorching - think weeks of unbroken sun, with little wind and no rain. So when i go into her room, it's pretty warm. The curtain diagonally across from the tank is open, and sunlight is streaming directly into the tank, which is a no-no for fish. So I go round, open all the windows and close all the curtains.

Then I go to the tank. I have a quick peer inside, looking for a long-term feeder - you can get fish feeders which last 1-2 months, or pellets which last a few days. I can't see anything like that, so I lift off the lid of the tank to take a look, in case the feeder is floating near the top. And the smell that hits me is just foul. I know you often read in books about a stench of death and how awful it is, but this didn't smell like I imagined the stench of death would. It just kind of smelt like a sweaty composting bin. Nothing major about that, in this weather, but I make a mental note to myself that fish really smell. Then I see it. One of the fish is lying on its side. It's resting on top of the water filter and looks really, really ill. so I give it a prod (with my bare finger, I know, DON'T JUDGE ME!) and it floats out into the main tank. Still on the surface of the water, still on it's side. The other two fish are swimming around fairly calmly, but this one seems... Dead. Really dead. Like, so dead that bits of it start falling off - or rather, floating off since the water stops them from actually falling! and I swear, for a moment my heart stops. we haven't even started living together yet, but I have to tell my new house-mate that her fish is dead. It feels like a surreal moment. I get my mobile out, dial her number, and wait. No answer. I try again. still nothing. so I go onto facebook, and message her, saying, "one of your fish is dead. I'm really sorry but what do I do?" And then I ring my best friend, who, I know, had a fish when she was younger...

H: Hey, what's up

Me: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! I don't know what to do! Oh my goodness...

H: Oh my goodness, what's wrong hun? Are you alright?

Me: It's dead! And it's not even mine!

H: Wait, what's dead?!

Me: My house-mate's fish is dead! And I found it! And she's not here!

H: ...your house-mate's fish is dead? Have you told her?

Me: I tried, but she didn't answer, so I left her a facebook message saying I'm sorry but her fish is dead. (cue much laughter)

So she kills herself laughing whilst I panic about what to do with the dead fish and how to tell my house-mate. And in the end I fish the dead fish out with a net, change all the water and then ring the house-mate again; and this time she answers...

L: hey, which fish is it?

me: The black one.

L: Are you sure it's dead? because he likes to pretend to be dead a lot. He's like a dog.

Me: He's definitely dead. Really, really dead.

L: Okay, you can flush him or bury him. I'm really sorry!

Me: It's okay, I'm really sorry too!

So, the fish ends up in the washing powder tub, and my house-mate's keys go into a different box for safekeeping. I take the washing powder tub outside, thinking I'll bury the fish. And as I get outside I realise I have nothing to dig a hole with. But, since I haven't seen the garden, I take a wander round it, past the burnt out bonfire of mattress springs, through the lumpy, bumpy grass, and round the trees. And I stick my foot in a hole. It's like the kind of hole that an animal lives in, like a rabbit or a rat or something. And as I'm stood there, I begin to think that actually, it's about the same size as the washing powder tub. In fact, it would fit in there really nicely. and I can bury it later. Stop judging me! I was in shock! So I stick the tub in the hole, cover it with dead grass so nobody would be any the wiser, and make a swift exit. I check on the surviving fish one last time, then leave.

And there I thought my story ended. But apparently not. Some author thought that this story needed a sequel, and the sequel was about as welcome as Saw 2, 3 and 4.

So moving day finally arrives for me. I've packed all my stuff, hired a van, and I'm all moved over. I realise something crucially important: moving is awful. There must be a section of hell reserved for people who leave houses without paying their rent, where they're constantly packing and moving and unpacking and packing and moving and unpacking, for all eternity. But anyway, all my stuff is brought up and dumped outside my room, and in a moment of procrastination decide to check on my house-mate's remaining fish. the other house-mate messaged me in the week before I moved asking about the location of the key to feed the fish, so my visit is just cursory, really.

I retrieve the key, unlock her bedroom door, and go to the tank. Immediately, I can see one of the 2 month feeders in there. But... I can't see any fish. You would think, you would think I have learned my lesson from last time. It's like watching a scary movie, when you're yelling, DON'T TURN YOUR BACK! DON'T TRUST HIM, HE'S OBVIOUSLY THE KILLER! and so on. I lifted the lid of the tank. And there started a second phone call to the wife which also ended with her in fits of laughter as I hysterically shrieked at her down the phone, "THEY'RE DEAD, THEY'RE ALL DEAD! THE OTHER TWO FISH ARE DEAD!"

I could go on, but I feel that the sequel had a very predictable storyline, which very much mirrored the first book, and was the author's excuse to add more gore. The ending was unsatisfying, and the entire plot lacked climax or resolution. But it does have a moral, which is NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER GET FISH. EVER.


Tomorrow I'll show you my latest sewing exploits and some other fun things!

Love love xx

Jam! Jam that I made! And a brief explanation of my next post...

Look! I made jam!

Yes! I made both strawberry, and raspberry jam! Not just these 2 jars, but not many more, as I made small batches - we only have small saucepans, and fruit is expensive. But I did it! All by myself! It's the first time I've made jam on my own - I've helped my mum with it before, but doing it myself felt like a great big grown up step.

I promise, tomorrow I will tell you the fish story, in all its glory. I'm still a little too traumatised to tell it yet. Plus, I need to go and get some photos to make it more interesting to read. Okay, so not photos of the main subject. But still, something to break the writing up. We all know it makes reading easier!

I'm pondering more exciting flavours of jam to make over summer. Have you ever made jam? What flavour jam would you like to see?

Love love xx

2 month disappearing act, Summer, Newport and Swansea complete with pictures of an air show and a baby buried in sand - but only up to his waist, plans for the day

Hey. I know, I've been missing for 2 months. I'm sorry. Life got stressful, and I got frustrated at my inability to both take pictures, and to get blogger to upload them. But then I bought a camera last week, so hopefully all frustration is gone! And don't worry, parents, it was a very cheap camera, and I spent some of my babysitting money to buy it, so I'm not frittering your money away!

I've finished Nanny College for the Summer - yay! I officially have 2 months before I start back! 2 months all to myself... except for the childminding and babysitting I'm doing; but I love doing it, so it isn't really work.

I spent the weekend in Newport, visiting a friend with her baby, her brother and his missus. I was only initially meant to be going for the Friday afternoon and evening, but it turned into the weekend, and I loved it. My friend, Mandibles, and I took her little one swimming on the Saturday - Bilbo loves the water, and even goes underwater without being fazed. He's almost 8 months, and is pretty unfazed by most things! And on Sunday we all went to Swansea beach and saw the Annual Air Show, including the Red Arrows. It was seriously impressive, and I would recommend anyone to go and see one of their shows:

 One of their close formations - they have enough for 5 minutes of white steam, and 1 minute each of blue and red. They used it really effectively!

They did a load of passes close to each other like this - in this one they filtered through each other.

I think they called this a gyppo? Not sure of spelling, and I don't know why it had that name.

They drew a heart in the sky!

And here you can see just how close they got - I think they said they fly within 5 and 8 feet  of each other - terrifying, but so impressive!

 Me (to mandible's brother): What if we buried Bilbo in the sand-
Brother: You can't do that! Bury him? What kind of nanny are you?
Me: Up to his waist! What if we buried Bilbo up to his waist in the sand and left him like that for Mandibles to find?

The result = sand in the nappy! Mandibles wasn't bothered, and neither was Bilbo judging by the smiles on his face! It was his first time on a beach, so very interesting for him.








So I got back Sunday evening, and yesterday woke up with eyeballs which ached when I moved them. Mammafairy says I probably have another virus. Boo. I've had endless amounts of them this term, barely recovering from one before I catch another. I'm starting to wonder if my immune system has gone on holiday without me. But I'm okay, it doesn't leave me feeling seriously deathly, it's more just an annoyance.

I have a cat to feed, plants to water, washing to put out, 2 fish to check on, and babysitting to go to this afternoon. So I'm going to stop now. But next time I will tell you the slightly traumatising story of the dead fish. It's okay though, it has a moral at the end. Sort of.

Love love xx

Blogger's sulking at me, so no pretty pictures of Gardening or Knitting, Plans this Evening

So I spent ages the other week trying to publish a post about the gardening I got up to with mamma, but for some reason blogger kept refusing to publish the post with its pictures, it kept coming up as an error. so now I've given up, and will simply tell you that the pots mamma and I planted up were very pretty. I think she possibly has a couple of photos on her blog if you want to see - find her at Mammafairy Sews.Whilst I was at the parents', I also made a block for QATWII; I made Anita's neighbourhood block. I was running out of time, though, so I made the basic block with the ideas sketched out that I wanted, put together all that I could and signed it - and mamma finished it off with a few extra details. I asked her to, as I did what I could in the time, but I could tell that it didn't feel finished. Again, I would show you a picture of it, but blogger doesn't seem to want to allow me to upload any photos, so you will have to wait until some unforeseen time when it stops sulking at me!

I have also very almost finished my first baby cardigan! All that's left to do is knit on the button band and attach buttons! I'm pretty chuffed with how it has turned out, and can't wait to start another one!

I'm out this evening, to spend the night with my discipleship group from church. We're having a sleepover at one of our houses, with a film and lots of unhealthy food! Then we'll all go to church together tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to it; it should be a lot of fun. The girl whose house it is is leaving in a couple of months to move to South America for a while: how long, we don't know. But that's where she feels she's meant to be, so that's where she's going. We'll all miss her, but we're celebrating for her!

That's all for now - with a bit of luck, blogger will stop sulking at me and I'll post again soon with some photos for you to see!

Love love xx

Poorly sick, Cakes and Knitting

I’m still poorly sick. It just won’t seem to go away, it’s like an uncontrollable cough which makes me dizzy and gives me pain over the top of my head. I went into college on Tuesday, but I’ve had the 2 days since off ill. It’s getting really frustrating, because I hate lying around doing nothing, but every time I try to do anything it just makes me more ill again.

On the plus side, when I was in college on Tuesday I had a lot of fun. I had cooking, and we were baking and decorating cakes as part of a module on planning children’s parties. My party theme is Thumbelina, so that’s the type of cake I did – look:

Even the cake inside was dyed blue! I don’t normally dye cakes, because I like my cakes to look their natural colour. But I think it worked with this cake! My teacher seemed impressed with it. I really enjoyed doing it, too. I think it helped that I planned what I was going to do before I did it – some others hadn’t, and things didn’t quite work out for them.

I’m getting along well with my knitting, too – it’s almost finished! I just have to knit the button bands and join the sleeves into it.

Hopefully I’ll be better soon, and I’ll have more interesting news to report!

Love love xx

Absence and illness, Gardening, Mandibles, Gorgeous Gifts from Family Friends

It’s been a while again, hasn’t it? It’s always been a while nowadays! I mean to be better, but Nanny College is so busy, and exhausting, and recently I’ve caught a lot of germs from children and been rather ill. I mean, it’s all very well washing your hands regularly, but when they cough and sneeze right at your face, there’s very little you can do. I caught hand, foot and mouth from a child, and I’d barely recovered from that than I caught another virus, which wiped me out. So I’ve been home with my parents for a few days, recovering. The problem with viruses is that there’s nothing the doctor can give you to recover more quickly. With bacterial infections they can give you antibiotics, but with viruses it’s the old fashioned bed rest and fluids method. At least my immune system will be stronger at the end of it!

Mamma and I have been in the garden today a little. I still get floppy and tired after too much time doing, so I’m currently on a rest – but we’ve emptied the flower pots, and transplanted a couple of roses into new compost. We went to B and Q this afternoon and picked up some lovely plants to go in the pots, although mamma doesn’t want too many pots that she has to look after.

I also saw a good friend today, Mandibles. She came minus the baby, and had lunch with us. It was great to see her; she is a darling, and I’m so fond of her. She signed some of my paperwork for Norland to do with acquiring experience with newborns. She’s been spending the warm weather clearing her stables, and making progress at backing one of the horses (getting him ready for riding). She put a great photo up of the horse with his saddle on for the first time! Once he’s used to it she’ll start adding things like the stirrups, and so on.

There he is - doesn't he look good!

I came home to a beautiful gift from a family friend. She recently allowed me to make off with most of her baby yarn stash, and photocopies of some of her baby clothes patterns. Well, I came home to find a gift bag containing a baby clothes pattern book; a knitted toys pattern book; and the bits and bobs to create a knitted toy, too! How amazing, how brilliant! Totally unnecessary, but appreciated very much! I can see that it will come in very useful indeed!

I also received another lovely gift from a family friend, who had heard that I wasn't well, and so dropped by with a cheering up present! It came in a lovely, reusable bag made of all recycled materials...

And inside was this...

It's a thermo wheat pack, one of those wheat bags you put in the microwave to heat up! Isn't that sweet of her?! And it has lavender in there too, so when it's warm it should smell amazing and send me right off to sleep!

Well, I have a quilt block I want to do, and some more gardening, before I go tomorrow evening. So I better get on with it!

Love love xx

Photo March, Blogging April, Easter with Friends and Experiments, Poorly before Placement, College News, Knitting and reading, Work and Another Kind of Work

Hi! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’m sorry. Life gets so busy now, and then I find other things to do in my free time, and before I know it, a month and a half has gone already.

So March was meant to be ‘take a photo everyday’ month. Well. That didn’t really happen. I got some photos, but it wasn’t a success. Having to use my phone for photos rather than a camera was discouraging, and life just got busy, and I was too busy having fun to take photos. April was meant to be ‘blog everyday’ month – and you can see how successful that was!!

Easter was lovely – I caught up with lots of friends, and had lots of baby cuddles with my friend’s baby . He’s 5 months now! How time flies! A neighbour kindly gave me lots of baby clothes in 6-9 months to take back for him.

I blew eggs for the first time this Easter. I also dyed eggs for the first time. And filled hollow egg shells with yummy goodness for the first time. Look:

 

 Aren't they pretty?! And I dyed them just with food colouring! And they were brown eggs, not white, so I was amazed the colours came out so vividly.

A few green ones...











 This one was filled with brownie - yum yum yum!

This one looked rather aged, with an antique feel to it. I don't know why, it just came out that way!

 It is meant to look white inside - I filled it with a base of chocolate then white chocolate truffle mix on top. One day I will give you my recipe for it, but that might be challenging, since I don't really measure the ingredients at all...

See? So much fun to do! And so much fun to eat!











I didn't realise the dye would penetrate the inside of the egg, but it did. So the egg was a beautiful colour on the inside, this stunning aqua colour! It was slightly mottled too, which gave a gorgeous result.











I reached the chocolate layer... nom-nom...

Digging in with my spoon - it was a challenge to break into the chocolate on the base, but when I did, it levered straight out in one delicious piece!










 All gone! but see the pretty pieces left over? Well worth it, and something I hope to make a tradition of over the years!

I have a cold. Boo. It’s not too bad today, but yesterday was kinda rough. But there we go!

I start at my new placement tomorrow. I’m at the nursery attached to our Nanny College, which should be interesting. I’ve heard rather mixed reviews of it from other students – many say that there just isn’t all that much for students to do, as the placement operates a really strong keyworker approach. I think the approach is good in terms of forming strong connections with the children. But it must be a challenge for students. It means we can’t get practical experience of nappy changing, and things like that whilst we’re there. But I can understand why the placement works the way it does. For me, a person who hates to be doing nothing, the challenge will be finding jobs for myself to do so that I’m never just standing like a lemon. And of course I want to try to do as many creative activities as possible. They have an outside area there, so perhaps I’ll be able to do some gardening with the children. But we’ll wait and see what tomorrow brings!

We have new heads of Set. In first year, we get a new head and deputy each term. I hope they do well. It’s hard, because we’re asked to vote for the representatives we want; but we don’t know who actually wants to do the job. And without knowing that – well, there are 50 of us to choose from! There are so many people who would perform well in the role, but it’s very difficult to pick. It’s something I think I would be good at, but I’m not inclined to go for it in any way. I did so much of that in primary and high school, I’m kind of over the whole thing. Other people should get a chance, people who want to do it.

I’m knitting at the moment. But I’m not going to tell you what I’m knitting until I’ve finished it! I have some yarn for a pair of mittens too, but I’m going to wait until my current project is done before I start them. My sister has emailed me the first instructions for the mittens, so I’m all excited and motivated to finish the current work. I’m also still reading Sense and Sensibility. I’m really enjoying it, but I don’t often get the chance to indulge in reading purely for the sake of it. All too often I’m trying to do 2 things at once, and reading is not something where I can do that.

Not only do I have my first placement week starting tomorrow, but I have a module to work on next week. It’s a reflective blog, based on our time in placement and with a specific focus. My focus is free-flow. This is where the rooms in the nursery are divided into different types of rooms – creative, technology, sensory etc. and the doors are all open, so the children can all wander in and out of the rooms as they choose. There aren’t many resources about free-flow, but I’m planning to look at typical aspects of running a nursery which the free-flow design might affect, such as challenging behaviour, development, safety etc. This gives me a wider range of resources I can draw on, so hopefully this module should go pretty well! I also have 2 other modules to do this term – 1 on child health, where my focus in my group is immunisations. The other is on Working with families. I’m looking forward to them both, actually; I think I’ll enjoy them.

I also have a regular job! A family have asked me to babysit for them 3 times a week! They're lovely, with 2 boys, and I really enjoyed my first week last week. They're all so friendly, and so I enjoy it and enjoy the experience. The money helps, too - the security of it being regular is reassuring.

I’m hoping to start updating regularly again, but don’t hold me to that! Life can be so hectic, so I make no promises.

Love love xx