Even porridge is complicated...

Having one of those mornings where it occurs to me that families complicate everything. Most of the time it is worth it, but why can't we even get through breakfast? Offer to make pancakes? Doesn't work. Do we want American pancakes, or crepes? Or the baby can't have them, or I am trying to be wheat free, or there is fighting over the toppings, maple syrup or lemon and sugar. And then there is the one who doesn't like jam? Who doesn't like jam? Ok, so toast for the boy, and I'll make porridge instead, for two children. But one has it with rice milk, cinnamon and grated apple - with or without dried fruit. And the other doesn't like it that way - it has to be made with cow's milk and cinnamon and sugar. Too much sugar if you ask me. :-) So - we can't even get through breakfast. 4 people having 4 different breakfasts. And then there is the one in bed, who isn't eating properly at all. There are 6 people living in this house and between us, we probably fix 12 seperate meals a day. I wonder how there is enough food left over for me to still be so fat?

Bah humbug....

So Sadie got mugged. In Bristol, on her way home. Crap. But she is ok, so we should be grateful for that.

Christmas spirit

I do find it hard to get into the holiday happy mode when we are so busy. When the kids were little, we used to spend time painting or embossing cards, going for walks along the Mersey getting holly to make our wreaths, baking gingerbread men and generally having a nice time. We even spent years getting Indian take away, so we would spend Christmas day WITH the kids, rather than in the kitchen, cooking a meal they weren't going to eat anyway.

Now they are older, and we have several end of term concerts and productions and fairs and parties, from Scouts, Guides, Music service, for Charity, fundraising, drama, and the home ed group. And a couple of birthday parties thrown in, which are more important so those with December birthdays don't feel left out. And phew. Christmas spirit goes out the window, and grumpy stressed out mother who needs December to be 6 weeks long is here.

Plus it has not been nice for Al, as there have been 6 redundancies at his work in the past fortnight. It is a small company, so this is a big deal. Nobody wanted it, but I guess it was either some people go, or everybody is out of a job. And those left behind get no overtime payments anymore, and have to do the same work, with less people, for less money. There was a week of worry about who was going, and then the interviews and announcements and it is all yucky. He is very sad, and I am sad for him, but also just stressing out about the financial side at home, and thinking I may have to get a job. Which I was looking forward to a couple of years ago, but not now we have a 14 month old. I am really enjoying being a parent of a toddler, with no other toddlers or babies, and having learned not to stress about all of the baby stuff, I think I may do ok this time.

And I haven't finished any Christmas knitting. I just kind of wish the world would let me off for a few days, and then I promise to come back and be productive.

Some knitty news and thingswhatImade...

So I did get some yarn when I went to America. Not much, but I got some Addi Clicks as well, so I am in no way complaining. 

These were all from Nancy's Knitworks on Wabash Ave in Springfield, Illinois. The Plymouth Select worsted is hopefully going to be for a Little Red Riding Hood cape for the baby. I have a year or two to get that one finished. :-) And the Berocco vintage chunky is maybe for a waistcoat for me. I just fell in love with the colour, so bought it on a whim. Of course, I promised myself that I would not do that while I was in America. I don't want to get to the last 6  inches of a project and realize I don't have enough yarn, but I have done it anyway, and no doubt I will end up making something with this yarn for somebody smaller, but who doesn't like it as much as me. :-(

I also went to Knitwits, which is also on Wabash Ave. Acutally, everything in the world that you could ever need is on Wabash Ave, the wool shops,  a game shop, the health food shop, most of the places I wanted to go to get things for people. :-)

From there I got some Rosewood DPNs, which aren't as fabulous as I thought they would be to knit with. They are beautiful to look at though. The Addis are just so much nicer. And some sock yarn.

The colours are lovely, for me anyway - but it was ridiculously expensive. So the socks will be for me too. If I ever get around to knitting anything.

I have been crocheting a lot for a while. I don't get as much free time as before baby, but I do still get to do a few things.  Here are some photos from the craft fair I did at Fallowfield Library.

I sold 4 hats, which was ok, considering there were harldy any punters there. There were only 5 stalls, and it wan't advertised very well. I guess it was sort of a trial, to see if they will be having more. And it was a fun day, because I did it with Tish, who sold her first pair of earrings.

This weekend in the Explorer Scout's Christmas Fair, which is really stressing me out for some reason. We are doing all sorts of things there, and I will try to set up another craft stall, to sell things for the Scouts going to the Jamboree next year. I really like making things - but I don't like having to sell them. :(



Women Unbound

So the Women Unbound reading challenge is finished. I must admit, that  like many participants, no doubt, I started off with more energy that I could maintain. I did, however, manage to read lots of books, even if I didn't blog about them. I did blog about a few, but lately I am finding it hard to find motivation to blog at all. Of course, I am also finding it hard to find time to read.  But I did complete the challenge, which is nice, although I am a Bluestocking, rather than a Suffragette.  ( I think, really I lost count!) That is because I was reading books by men as well, and a few young adult novels, in order to keep up with the kids' books, so we can talk about those. Actually, I wonder if I can include Halo, by Zizou Corder. It is about a young girl, raised by Centaurs, disguised as a boy in the war with Sparta, and there are some Amazons thrown in for good measure. Nice adventure book with a female lead.  So I think I will count it.  Thanks to the women who organized the challenge. I am already thinking what reading challenge I will do next year, although I may decide life is challenging enough. :-)

The funny thing is...

since coming back from America, I haven't had the urge to blog at all. I am trying to think of things to say, but really, I am just getting on with life. Being away really showed me that I quite like my life. So maybe I feel the need to write about it less, since I am not trying to convince myself that all is good. It really is good. :-)

Everything is still messy and cluttered, and we still have too little money, and the kids still bicker, and I still wish I had more time, but that is all pretty normal, eh? After all, it is 5.30 am and I am up baking cakes for C to sell at DnD to earn money for his Scout trip. And I don't mind. Maybe because this is the only time I actually get to use the computer...when they are all in bed.

I could be reading, currently trying The Road again. Started it at Martine's several months ago, but it wasn't her copy, and I never got around to getting it from the library. So I picked it up for a couple of quid in Chorlton Book Shop (best shop in the world!) and am finally getting to read it. Except, I'm not, because I keep falling asleep, or crocheting instead.  One week to the craft fair...and I really hope I make some money.

Here is what has been happening;

Baby's 1st Birthday, which was a month ago, actually. Her and me after birthday dinner.

And the cake baked by big sister.

R has been playing around with Photoshop and Gimp and Photoscape, all of which are on our not too great computer. Here she has cloned her yougner sister, as if I didn't have enough kids already.



I must get around to taking some photos of my new yarn, and all of the things I am making, and my new Addi Click needles, which are pretty cool. :-)

I don't really know who I am blogging for. When I started, this was for me. And maybe a few friends who live far away. But  I don't think they read anyway. And I can't figure out how to keep on blogging. It should be like a diary or a journal I guess. But I don't want all the private stuff to be on the internet. So maybe I have to re-evaluate what it is I am doing.

busy, busy, busy...

Things that are occupying my mind at the moment are, trying to home educate my remaining kids, care for the babe, and fundraise for the boy's Scout Jamboree trip. I am doing a craft fair, actually trying to sell some of the many things I make, at the end of the month. I really hope I sell some things, because all proceeds are going to the boy's Jamboree fund, and let's face it, my kids can only wear so many hats.

Although I am working on a couple of jumpers as well, which will no doubt still be there for me to work on in several weeks, after Christmas, when I shall have failed to finish them. :-) No expectations, no dissappointments...who says I haven't learned life's lessons? :-)

I am actually enjoying getting to make lots of things, without having to worry about the recipient, since the recipient will choose what they want. I just really hope to make some money, as I am freaking out about fund raising rather chronically these days. I can see we are just going to end up taking out a loan to send the boy, or else forgoing the trip altogether, and wasting all of this energy. I need to bake a lot more cakes. And the boy needs to get a paper round.

I have come up with a couple more patterns I will post over on the other blog sometime soon, as soon as the kids grow up, and I get the time.

Musings and recollections on two weeks in the Midwest

So, the flying was fine, that baby was fine, even security was not as bad as aniticpated, even though they did make me take the baby's slippers off twice in St Louis. I don't think I was quite prepared for the shock of how much everything had changed. I had never been to my mother's condo and I think she has been there for over 10 years. It is quite a nice little place she has, but I didn't recognize anything really. My old school, the shopping mall, the major roads, even downtown is all different.

But it all seems to be fast food places. It is really weird, there are restaurants everywhere, and my mother drove me around town pointing out all the places she and her friends eat. I went out for lunch 6 times in two weeks, which I NEVER do, and it was getting to me a bit. Especially since the quality of the food was questionable in most places. Everything is protein, fat and carbohydrate. I had to balance it out with lots of salads made at home. :-) I can really understand why Americans are the fattest people on the planet.

I don't know how the economy can support all of these eating establishments. It was surprising, like the Osaka Sushi bar and Steak house,  or the nice cafe we went to (Garden of Eat'n) where I ordered the Greek salad, and got tinned olives and grated feta on an iceburg lettuce base. :-)

So, there were lots of high points. My mother getting to see the baby, and how happy that made her. I have little snippets of memory like Baby holding up her arms to Grandma to be picked up, and the Budweiser beer mats which were Babe's favourite toy; the little table that helped her get walking, and my mother's amusement at the bum shuffle little one does. :-) Grandma got  to be Grandma and bought things for grandkids, and show off the baby to her friends.

I did get a bit stir crazy and had to get out for a walk at Washington Park. It was beautiful weather the whole time we were there, and the autumnal colours are quite pretty. Baby and I played in the play park with some little Illinoisians, and then went for a long walk.

We visited lots of friends and family.

Uncle Bob

Aunt Edith

Edna Jayne

Cousin Libby

 Aunt Norma, Leo and Hunter

Cousins Theresa and Russ at Mac's Fire and Safety.

Abraham Lincoln

Susannah and her lovely family

They do Halloween BIG!

I am left feeling like I had a nice time, and I am glad I went, although I realized how much I actually like my life here in Manchester. I often complain about some aspects of city living, but I like that we can walk just about everywhere we need to, that we have some public transport, that the area we live in is ethnically diverse, and there are good shops to buy quality food, even if we can't always afford it. :-) Things are slightly more expensive here, but it is home now, and I think I finally realized that. I feel really American at heart.  I have qualities that my friends think are American, like my frankness, or lack of decorum. :-) My ideas about personal liberty, and the ideals that America was founded on, but based in a 21st C realism. America is not the land of the free for all of its ideology. I noticed huge race issues in the areas I was in; and political divisiveness since I was there for the election - and I voted!  I noticed huge class differences, but the ideology that working class midwestern Americans hold mean that they don't even know they are working class. The American dream means everybody expects to have their share of the pie eventually, but they don't control anything. Most people are just living their lives, which was nice in a personal sense, but odd in a political sense. Especially since so many of my friends are very political and all of the personal choices we make have political consequences. America is more about religion than politics, whereas the British would think religion a private thing, or even an odd thing. :-)  The Americans I met were really quite nice and chatty, and there is a lot more stopping to say hello to people, even strangers, than you ever get in Manchester. Partly, that is urban differences, and partly cultural differences.

There were nice bits and weird bits. But this is my home. It was nice to catch up with people, and to slot right in with some people, like we haven't seen each other in weeks rather than in nearly 20 years. It was nice to meet new people, and see my mother enjoy the baby. And it was nice to come home again.

I will probably post more, as I have the time, and things occur to me. But that is probably way more than enough for now.

So, I'm in America...

...and it feels quite weird. I feel like a foreigner, which I guess I am. There are a lot of things that I like about myself, that I consider to be a part of my Americanness, like my being direct, and loud, :-) but I guess I am more British than I care to admit. Although, I also think a lot of the changes have to be based on education or ideology, and that there are no doubt pockets within my home country where I would feel more at ease.

I can't upload any photos, because my mother's computer is too old, but I will when I get back. I am having a nice time seeing some people, cousins, family, and my friend Sue, who is coming to Springfield today from Peoria to pick me up for a visit because Peoria does not have a train station. I am still trying to get my head around that one.

More later. Oh, but I have been to the wool shops. :-)

She's 1!!!!

I can't believe it, but it has been a whole year! And I'll be saying the same thing until she turns 18...

moods a changing...

I am feeling a bit vulnerable today. I had planned to get so much done, and have accomplished very little. Had a nice chat with Jill though...drank too much tea, and ran around getting things done for kids and their friends. But I haven't done the crocheting I wanted to do, or had the talks I wanted to have, or had time to think about all of the things going around in my head. Oh well. Off to do the Guide run, but luckily I don't have to pick up. :-) Maybe I am just hormonal, or maybe I am stressing at the thought of the upcoming travel plans, or maybe I am tired, but I am feeling a bit like I am living in a glass bowl at the moment. Which would be fine if somebody came round to feed me every day. :-o  Here's a pretty photo to cheer me up...

It's one of R's.

It is a good day today!!!!!!

So a lot has been happening in the background, and I haven't slept in a couple of days because so much is going around in my head, but it is all pretty good!  I have had some positive news- thanks to email - so maybe I had better revise the opinions expressed in my last post!  My best friend Martine is here, and has found a house! She is moving to Manchester!

I wonder how long it will take for us to start annoying each other. :-) And she won't be coming to stay for long weekends, which means my cooker won't get cleaned. :-(

And a new wool shop is opening in the city centre! Purl city Yarns!  And Martine and I are going to check it out!

And the baby is still cute!

So the sun is shining...it is a glorious autumnal day...and I am going out to enjoy it!!!! (Before I fall asleep)

Why do we think that living in the digital age is a good thing?

So maybe technology is a good thing, or maybe I would think so if only I could afford a Mac, and a Bang and Olufsen stereo, and a car that gets better than 22 MPG. Or maybe speding weeks trying to sort out email problems is really a good way to use my time. But really I just think that for most of us, the time we spend maintaining our run of the mill technology could be better spent just using things like phones and pens and paper and feet.

On the other hand, I have been crocheting lots of stuff for a craft fair I am supposedly doing before Christmas in order to raise funds for the boy's 2011 Scout Jamboree fundraising - only £1700 to go! He is organizing a bag pack at Morrison's and has been collecting raffle prizes in Chorlton for a Christmas fair we are doing in December in Didsbury.  So if any bored millionaires happen upon this site, feel free to go to paypal here... 

http://tinyurl.com/2fzrmpk

and make a small donation. :-)

The musical Scout will be very grateful. :-)

Taking a break for a bit.

Haven't got the time for blogging right now. Baby, other kids, fund-raising, going to America soon, regular life, crocheting and knitting for craft fairs, and not sleeping mean this has just turned into one more thing I am not doing. So taking a break for a couple of months, and not going to worry about it. Well, I will try not to worry about it. I will worry about 600 other things instead. And maybe try to read a book.  I bought a couple of Cormac McCarthy books yesterday, as well as a couple of volumes of poetry, (from the great Chorlton Book Shop)and I am crocheting lots of squares, as well as fretting over family menus, and wondering what I should do that PhD on when I finally get around to it. So it isn't like I am slacking or anything...

Having a baby means...

very little knitting time.

But we have managed a short trip to Wales. Here is baby on Penlech beach - she thought the sand was very tasty. :-)

So. It was exams day...

And R didn't want me telling people about her grades and things, but I don't know why. She only did 2 GCSEs, and the college were going to accept her if she passed them, so maybe she just wasn't worried about it. Or maybe she thinks she should have more. Or maybe I just embarrass her by being proud.

An A in Maths and a B in English. Pretty damn good. Especially considering that the Maths was done in about 6 weeks. Before that, R had too many other things to do, with Radio, and RNCM productions, and babysitting, and taking photographs, and sleeping. :-)

This is where it is hard for me. I don't rate the exam system at all. You should not be able to get a Maths GCSE, having not done formal Maths before, in only 6 weeks. But she worked for several hours a day for those few weeks, and she can feel proud. Nobody can ever take that away from her. :-)

So now I am only home educating 2 children.

More jam!

So I am a copycat. Or else, Martine just inspires me. :-)

Here is my attempt as blackberry and apple jam. It is still hot. We are waiting to see if it sets, but I am optimistic, because the stuff that I spilled in the pan set, and was quite tastey!

Ignore the big one that is half full. It started out as a completely full jar, for which I lost the lid, so it had to get transferred at the last minute. It will just be the first one we eat. Also, ignore the bits dripping down the side of the jars. It was after my unsuccessful ladelling attempts that I read it is a good idea to use a jug. So now I need a jam pot and a jug. :-) I know full well, I don't need either of those things, I am just having fun. Besides there is no room in my house for anything new...

Today I have been making Jam!

I have been wanting to try making jams for years. The biggest problem has been getting enough fruit. We make a lot of Blackberry and Apple crumble, but we don't get enough blackberries to do much of anything else. I think I will try to change that soon. Because today I made my first batch of jam ever - plum jam. The plums came from the community allotment.

It looks very pretty and clear. More so than in the photo. (The apples are from the community allotment as well!) But I don't know if the half jar will be ok, and there does seem to be some white stuff on the top of one jar, which I have read about in recipes. hmmmmm

I am slightly worried that I boiled it for too long, and it is actually going to set into very large plum flavoured boiled sweets, but we shall see. It was fun anyway, and I am ready to try again! And licking out the pan was tasty!

Daisy Day!

Or perhaps I should entitle this as "I finished something!"

I have been working on the daisy square for a while. Check out Krochet Krystal's blog. She has come up with a great Daisy pattern (info is on Ravelry as well).  When you join the Yahoo group, you get that pattern and are asked to "pay" for it by doing some squares which you send to Krystal and she crochets them together to make beautiful afghans for charity. It is a great idea, and it was nice to do and feel a part of something bigger, even though I only did a few squares.

Then I did more squares, for a poncho for M. My goal was to finish it at the weekend, but here is Wednesday, and it is done. But at least it is done! She didn't want any tassles or fringe or any shell edging or changes to the collar or hem. So here it is, the Daisies looking fabulous, without any help.

                                      
                                                   M isn't afraid of colour, is she?! :-)

here we go again...

So I am tired and cranky and struggling to eat healthy and stuff. I do, however, feel that I have turned a corner with my Pilates and that my back is at least getting better if not yet good. I am not sleeping well, and baby is teething a bit, although the not sleeping has more to do with me and not her.

I am making some nice crochet squares, the idea for which you can see here.  I have made some to send, now I just have to get to the post office. And I have nearly finished the poncho I am making for M with the same pattern.

Looking forward to doing little for the next couple of weeks, before life starts back up again, and gets more busy, and complicated, and expensive.

So things don't go according to plan...

and this is something I know by this point in my life. We went camping, we got blown away. Big huge tent is now a broken tent. So we cobbled together an old tent and went someplace else. And had a nice time. But didn't get any knitting done.

So then the computer broke, and now it is fixed....again. And today is R's birthday - she is 16. And I love watching these kids grow up, but am feeling sorry for myself because we have so little spare money and I can't get her nice pressies. :-(  We need money for her to go to college, since she is doing a photography course. We need to pay for film and developing paper, field trips (£150 in the first term for one trip!) and of course, buy a DSLR. As if. And S needs money for uni. And we are still supposed to be fundraising for C to go to Sweden, as if that is going to happen. And M wants to do an art course that costs £100. And they all need shoes and clothes first. blah. Just ignore me. I'll stop feeling sorry for myself soon, and enjoy the day.

Today is also the performance day for the Lowry summer school, Docker's Opera, which I cannot wait to see, as C and M and some of their friends are in it. So things to look forward to.

It's all about perception...

So I woke up this morning, and came down to use the computer while the other 6 people in the house were all still asleep, and there's an apple core on the desk, and one of the shelf. They are yucky and brown and should be in the compost. So my first reaction of the day, and it is anger. And then I thought, "Yay! the kids are eating fruit!"

How I love boxes!

Ok, so Al thinks I have too much yarn. Which I don't understand as I don't think there is such a thing, but I do acknowledge that I buy yarn faster than I make things with it. I haven't really had a yarn storage system, as I didn't really realize how much I had.   Most of it was in bags and a hotch potch of baskets and tubs, and quite frankly was a mess. No doubt it will be again but in the meantime, I have finally bought some Really useful boxes. I was motivated to do so for a couple of reasons, the mess, the fact that I could never find what I was looking for - but was sure to find something else and start a different project - and finally, a plethora a moths. There have been a few moths in the house this summer. I don't think I have any problems, but just in case, I got the boxes.

So I don't' have a before photo, but here there are now...

So I have a mini mountain which is just lovely, and I can see through the sides and know what I am going for.  There are 2 boxes of 64 litre capacity, and 2 boxes of 50 litre capacity, and a few more things elsewhere, but since that may be considered to be a bit much by some people, I won't mention the other bits. Although, I do have a couple of bags of things for kids craft activities, and spontaneous crochet lessons :-) which you can see in the foreground.   And the tool box in the photo has my needles and hooks in it.

I  hope people realize just how proud I am of my boxes and my stash. Please feel free to comment if you understand just how exciting it is to have organised your Rowan felted tweed, your Jaeger cotton, your Sirdar Click and even your King Cole  Homespun. And of course all the other lovely things.

Speaking of lovely things...

here is my Buttercup. 

...finally cast on ready for going camping, so I have some holiday knitting ready.

I have also decided it is time for me to start writing up some patterns. So I think I will start another blog with just patterns on it. Hopefully people can try them out, and tell me where I go wrong. :-)

Some thoughts on exams...

I have been having a lot of thoughts about the whole exams things, and really I have two views about everything.

Firstly, I would agree with Ted Wragg, who I met at a conference in 2000 and who said that people take their driving test when they are ready, so why aren't all exams like that? It seems to make sense. It would also make sense for people to be able to study the things they want to study.

What does not make sense is for exams to be so puerile, and for the exam system to be so geared to making sure everybody can pass on some level, and for certain exams to be compulsory, when it all adds up to a big FAIL!?

I have helped two of my 5 home educated children through the compulsory education years, and both of them have ended with a desire to do GCSEs. The first because she quite liked the idea of learning things, and has turned out to be quite academic and the second because she wanted to get into college to do what she wants to do.

Although I should point out that she started out wanting to do Psychology and Biology because they sounded interesting. I think it would have been great to do those, but we did struggle with finding a place for her to do them, and she wanted to do her formal learning in a structured setting. In the end, we gave up and she did English and Maths, because she decided to just jump through the hoops, and English was the only course we could get her enrolled on. We ended up doing the Maths at home anyway, although rather haphazardly, because she was so busy doing other things, and all she wanted was a C anyway. Again, with the hoop jumping, and how it demotivates people. She went from somebody who wanted to learn somethign interesting, to somebody who just wanted to pass what They wanted her to pass. :-(

On the subject of the exams themselves, I don't think they represent quality or knowledge. It is difficult to help your children through this system, and recognize that they are working hard, when you don't value what it is they are trying to achieve. Because they are not necessarily trying to achieve anything, they just want to get through. The curriculum does not allow for a lot of true learning to happen. And yes, many of the exams are just so basic, that I really could not believe it. The foundation Maths paper is something that 10 year olds should be able to do. My eldest managed to get all As at A level, and still got to university not knowing how to reference an essay. That is something I started learning when I was 13-14.

Which makes one wonder, how is the schooling system failing children to such an extent, turning them off of learning to such an extent, that they cannot perform as competent people in society. Questions on the exam included things about reading train time tables. Yes there were harder questions but really, are we so desperate  to help people accomplish things, that we give them such low goals? Who can be proud of accomplishing some crap that somebody else tells them to anyway?!

I do believe that if we are going to have an exam system, it should be worth having.  Nothing should be compulsory. If one wants to do a physics GCSE, or a Chinese GCSE, or Law, just because they sound interesting, then one should be able to do so. But the exams should be worth doing, the curriculum should be thorough, and the exam should require study. And why are you not able to learn things without having to take bloody exams?! Desiring knowledge for its own sake is a good thing!

I acknowledge the fact that I have a tendancy to academic snobbery, which is ironic considering I am little more than an over-educated housewife. However, I do not believe that everybody should have to do academic subjects.  I just think that academic subjects, SHOULD BE ACADEMIC!!! I really do not care if my plumber or my mechanic have grade B English GCSE. I do not value my neighbours by their academic achievements. People have value on several different levels, and I resent a system that only values grades and certificates. And yet, because  of that very system, those grades and certificates are rendered largely meaningless.

If one has a talent for mechanics, brilliant. If one has a talent for numbers, fantastic. If one is good with children, wonderful. If one is musical, excellent. If one wants to spend one's life contemplating the fabric on the universe, that is fine. If one wants to get a job of drudgery in order to earn some dosh to pursue other interests, that is fine, too.

What is not fine, is an education system which is dictated by government and business rather than by learners. You will notice I do not say parents and teachers, because parents and teachers have their own agenda. 'Teachers' should be those who help learners achieve their own goals. And the sad thing is, that the system we have now distorts learners' goals.

What is not fine, is a whole system where the idea of success is measured by financial goals. Get a good education, get good grades, get a good job, make lots of money. Pay your taxes, and instill those values in the next generation.  It doesn't work like that. People are not happy achieving somebody else's goals. But the education system is so screwed, that people don't even know what they want anymore. That vacuum is filled with the desire for money and celebrity.

Young people who do know what they want to do, are prevented from doing so because they haven't got Maths and English. The system puts obstacles in the way of learners at every level. One cannot study things out of order, or things that are meant to be for older or younger people, or things that are obscure because it is not financially viable to put on courses for just a handful of people, and after all there are 7 complusory subjects on the National Curriculum. You are so busy doing what you HAVE to do, that you forget what you WANT to do.

     
I know there is more to say, but my blood pressure is rising, and for all of my education, the only thing I can think of to say about this is, "What a load of bollocks!"

Nice Things

Here are some nice things.
We have been growing a few berries in the garden. We have Raspberries, a couple of varieties of strawberries, (3 if you include the Alpine ones)  and we have 4 new dessert gooseberry bushes and 3 new blueberry bushes.

And here is the babe, with a pink face, after eating lovely raspberries...

She is also wearing a Confection Shrug that I made for her last week. I finished of with crochet instead of the ribbing, and the collar is a bit floppy, but it still looks cute, and is just the thing when the sun stops shining and it cool off.



Other nice things, the kids performed their productions today, from the Home Educators Drama Group Experience. I haven't laughed so hard for a long time. They were BRILLIANT! Absolutely hilarious, and real performers. I shall be laughing spontaneoulsy for ages.   :-)