It's not going away...

 

Unfortunately this Covid virus is just not going away.  One week back at school and we have several positive cases among children across two year groups.  My sister tested positive at the weekend and even though she's double jabbed she's rather poorly.

Please keep taking care of yourselves everyone 💗

Hectic!

 

As expected going back to school on Monday has consumed my whole week which can only be described as hectic!! My classroom was ready for the kids on Wednesday only because I hid boxes of unsorted resources under my desk!  I'll get to them soon.

I have 19 wee 4 and 5yos in my care who are keeping me on my toes, literally.  My feet (and ankle especially) ache at the end of the day.  I've slept soundly through the night every night this week!  It's a steep learning curve for me being back in Primary 1.

I did make myself go to the plot one night to water the polytunnel and found 1 red tomato!  I have masses of green tomatoes so fingers crossed we have some heat to turn them red too.  And to be honest that tomato (Moneymaker) tasted rather ordinary.  Hey ho!

Bit of a clear out!

 

I know I had all Summer to do it but I started a massive clear out last week (I forgot to take a before photo, trust me it was bulging!)  I finally got rid of all the 'action' gear I had accumulated over the past 10 years.  Motorbike outfit, ski clothes, cycling stuff, wetsuit, plus all the equipment for activities I did with my ex partner and have zero plans to do any of them again on my own!!  Look at that empty cupboard ready to paint a rich plum colour 😉

It means I now have easier access to the storage area in the eaves.  I can finally put the Christmas decorations away properly! 🎄

I found my beloved Fly boots with the burst zip.  I didn't throw them out last Winter as I desperately hoped they could be fixed.  I think they're at least 4 or 5 years old.  They are so comfy to wear all day to school.  I looked up how to fix a broken zip and watched a few YouTube tutorials.  As you can see I managed to to zip them up! No idea if the zip will hold but I'm willing to try as I really love these boots!

I kept on going and cleared out the red wardrobe in my bedroom.  I also cleared out all my drawers and even sorted out my jewellery.  My bedroom is a calm and well ordered space again.  Just what I need for the coming week.

I'm back at work tomorrow 😭 Two days of Staff Development first before the kids come back on Wednesday.  I popped down to the allotment to dig up some potatoes and check on my tomatoes as I'll not get down again until mid week.  These are Charlottes.  They always fall to bits no matter how carefully I cook them.  They still taste fab though!

What's up, honey?

 

I went to get something from my storecupboard this morning and found a whole shelf was covered in sticky stuff.  At first I thought I'd knocked over an opened jar of honey and it had leaked.  But I quickly discovered that it was my unopened jars leaking.  I wondered if the recent high temperatures had made the honey expand in some way but a quick google revealed that my honey had started to ferment!!😲

I had to search a few beekeeping sites for information.  I knew the beekeeper that produced the honey was a very experienced guy so the processing wasn't an issue.  Was it the prolonged hot spell??  A quick taste showed it hadn't fermented too much so I decided to use it up by making some elderberry syrup.  I'd been planning to do it soon any way.  Recipe HERE

And I started a batch of Fire Cider too.  Instructions HERE from an old forum friend.  I was really pleased to be able to use my own home grown garlic, rosemary and thyme 😊

From past experience I know the syrup helps soothe my throat in Winter (occupational hazard when you talk all day for a living!) and the Fire Cider helps fight off the nasty cold bugs.  When we returned to school last year, a yucky cold bug swept the school as everyone's immune system was weak.

I'm just trying to plan ahead!!

Plot update

 

In between the heavy rain I managed to pop down to the plot and did a wee update 😊

Rain!

 

This Summer has been a mix of extreme heat and extreme rain!  We've had yellow and amber flood warnings a few times.  This afternoon was especially wet!!

So when I can't get outside to potter I stay inside and potter in the kitchen.

I played around with an old family favourite dish we call Irene's Chicken Dish.  I think it's actually called Chicken Royale, maybe someone will know.  I believe it's a recipe that was on the side of a can of Campbell's condensed soup.  Cooked chicken mixed with the soup, mayonnaise, curry powder and broccoli.  Then topped with breadcrumbs and cheese.  I swapped the chicken for halloumi and made it vegetarian by using celery soup.  I didn't have any GF breadcrumbs so used some of my rice crispies from my AF haul a few weeks ago.  It was delicious! 

I also made waffles and pancakes to put in the freezer.  I had to test some first of course! 😋

Blueberries from the garden! 

I popped into school earlier this week just to see what my new room was like as I was getting a new Smart Board installed.  I wish I hadn't.  They'd knocked down a wall and cupboard and replastered the wall (we didn't know they'd do that!)  They didn't move or cover any of the furniture or resources (or tell us we'd need to!!)  Everything was covered in dust and rubble.  

Since I'm back in P1 (Kindergarten/Reception) it's all play based learning so every single toy, game, resource and piece of furniture was like this 😖 It took me and my Headteacher (bless her) 2 full days to clean and wash everything (our brilliant cleaning staff aren't allowed to clean resources). We had to put loads of things through the dishwasher or dunk them in buckets of soapy hot water to get them clean.  We've still to shampoo the rugs but it looks like this now.

Now the cleaners can come in and finish it off ready for me to set up next week.  I can't believe I've only got 1 week left!  I officially start back on the 16th and the kids are back on the 18th.  It feels like it's been a quick summer holiday this year!