Beautiful Mondays
Until my license comes through I am effectively carless. Yesterday Peter couldnt get us till 9 pm and with Peter you are never sure what time he arrives, so it could be anything between 9 and 11 pm. Oisin, who works until 5.30 pm said, why don't we just take the bus and because I just couldn't hack staying at my mom's until 11 pm waiting, I said, ok, why don't we just try that?
But BEFORE that, Ghin and I walked back to my mom's. It has been quite blustery and wet the weather and a downpour took place just before we got back to the house. We were utterly SOAKED, but at least when we got back we were dry. And warm. I have now promised myself that I would do my class prep as soon as I can - i.e. just after I get back from school. This is because I have found that I sleep best when all class prep is done and the longer I put it off after school the more difficult it gets to do.
So I class prepped and this took us to 5 pm, where we walked down to get Oisin from Heidi's and the boys then had to eat something. So we stopped at Cafe Neros. They had a panini and I had nothing cos I had bought lamb chops at Corries. I had promised myself that I would treat myself today because I had caught up on all the admin. I deserved the feckin treat, I tell you. Also I promised myself a treat if I managed to get all my class prep done, which I also did.
After Nero's we went to the bus stop, where we played guess the service. It turns out that Oisin had no idea which bus he had taken, so it became an adventure. Bus 1 arrived and I asked the driver if we could take this bus to Dundonald. He said no, but he would take us into Belfast and we could take the bus there. So we got onto the bus and we were off to Belfast.
Travelling in Belfast is not like travelling in Singapore at all. Belfast is extremely rural. I mean between Holywood and Belfast, there is almost no traffic and there were only three other people on the bus. The evening was bright and clear and the boys were messing. There was a lot of laughing and teasing, and honestly, I cannot tell you how lucky I am to spend the days with my sons. I know that I will look back one day and go, my god, what a privilege that I was able to spend all this time with them. Anyway, we were deposited at the Holywood Arches and the evening was now well and truly gorgeous, if somewhat cold. Ghin had some bagels from lunch in his bag and he took it out to feed the pigeons. Here are the boys feeding the pigeons.
We got home and the boys were full of the panini. I did my chops and I had a glass of wine while we watched the Great British Bake Off at the dining table which meant more laughter. Oisin, inspired by the baking asked if he could go to Nisa to get cake batter so he could eat it raw. I said, are you serious? Remember when you were small? He said, I know, you would make cupcakes and I would eat the batter raw. I really want to do that now. So I said, I will make the batter for you. We have all the ingredients. I made enough batter for one egg and put vanilla essence into it. And he ate it with a bagel.
After this it was time for bed. It has been a long day. I began with writing at 5 am and then a run at 6. It works out really well this way. Everything done in the afternoon, and then we head home. I have loved it. We sat at the dining table today, Oisin and I watching the Bake Off, Ghin semi watching, mostly drawing, the three of us giggling and having the best time. I could not ask for more really.
I have rediscovered my favourite drink/snack. It is a mix of carageen, slippery elm and local honey. It is super easy to prepare and fantastic for the digestive system and the skin. It is also great at protecting against colds and infections, not to mention all the trace minerals and vitamins. I think if I added lemon, that would be just perfect. It is slimy, it is crunchy, it tastes like the ocean and the summer. I know for a fact that since having taken it, my digestive system has improved considerably. I feel more energetic, in a good way. The best part is that it is really very affordable. I love eating sea veg. I don't know what it is - just perhaps my mermaid past.
I am blogging now because I woke at 1 am and couldn't get back to sleep and thought, if I blog now, I can just sleep through to 6 am and wake up then and go for my run. My writing would have been done. I think, I am hoping, that i finally fall into a rhythm which has been missing from my life now for a few years when I've just played catch up. The boys are older now, of course, and can help around the house. It really makes such a difference. I love our little house. I have never ever wanted a huge house. Never. My sister says her dream would be to live in a Downton Abbey type building, but I can tell you those places are draughty, cold and a headache to keep. Having stayed in a few of them, in fact teaching in one of them now, it seems more romantic than it really is. Don't get me wrong I LOVE it, but it is NOT EASY.
So i love coming back to our little house, with its cosy dimensions and as Oisin has pointed out more than once, it is HOME. He will not move for all the tea in China.
Oh, just got a bit of seashell in the carageen there! It is hard to believe I was feeling so depressed about life last week. Honestly. Tomorrow I am going to photograph stuff around the school and classroom. It is going to be great.
Just before I leave off, I was thinking about all the wounds we gather through life and how they transform us - if we learn from them, they make us beautiful. A blank page has its own beauty, but it is full of longing... right, time to return to bed. I am glad I decided to blog rather than watch something or FB. It feels like things are really coming together. Oh bonus! My feet don't hurt so much anymore - I think it is a combination of a change of shoes and getting used to standing all the time again.
But BEFORE that, Ghin and I walked back to my mom's. It has been quite blustery and wet the weather and a downpour took place just before we got back to the house. We were utterly SOAKED, but at least when we got back we were dry. And warm. I have now promised myself that I would do my class prep as soon as I can - i.e. just after I get back from school. This is because I have found that I sleep best when all class prep is done and the longer I put it off after school the more difficult it gets to do.
So I class prepped and this took us to 5 pm, where we walked down to get Oisin from Heidi's and the boys then had to eat something. So we stopped at Cafe Neros. They had a panini and I had nothing cos I had bought lamb chops at Corries. I had promised myself that I would treat myself today because I had caught up on all the admin. I deserved the feckin treat, I tell you. Also I promised myself a treat if I managed to get all my class prep done, which I also did.
After Nero's we went to the bus stop, where we played guess the service. It turns out that Oisin had no idea which bus he had taken, so it became an adventure. Bus 1 arrived and I asked the driver if we could take this bus to Dundonald. He said no, but he would take us into Belfast and we could take the bus there. So we got onto the bus and we were off to Belfast.
Travelling in Belfast is not like travelling in Singapore at all. Belfast is extremely rural. I mean between Holywood and Belfast, there is almost no traffic and there were only three other people on the bus. The evening was bright and clear and the boys were messing. There was a lot of laughing and teasing, and honestly, I cannot tell you how lucky I am to spend the days with my sons. I know that I will look back one day and go, my god, what a privilege that I was able to spend all this time with them. Anyway, we were deposited at the Holywood Arches and the evening was now well and truly gorgeous, if somewhat cold. Ghin had some bagels from lunch in his bag and he took it out to feed the pigeons. Here are the boys feeding the pigeons.
 |
| Right by C S Lewis Square |
 |
| Life is for laughing |
 |
| Here he is eating bagels with batter |
I have rediscovered my favourite drink/snack. It is a mix of carageen, slippery elm and local honey. It is super easy to prepare and fantastic for the digestive system and the skin. It is also great at protecting against colds and infections, not to mention all the trace minerals and vitamins. I think if I added lemon, that would be just perfect. It is slimy, it is crunchy, it tastes like the ocean and the summer. I know for a fact that since having taken it, my digestive system has improved considerably. I feel more energetic, in a good way. The best part is that it is really very affordable. I love eating sea veg. I don't know what it is - just perhaps my mermaid past.
I am blogging now because I woke at 1 am and couldn't get back to sleep and thought, if I blog now, I can just sleep through to 6 am and wake up then and go for my run. My writing would have been done. I think, I am hoping, that i finally fall into a rhythm which has been missing from my life now for a few years when I've just played catch up. The boys are older now, of course, and can help around the house. It really makes such a difference. I love our little house. I have never ever wanted a huge house. Never. My sister says her dream would be to live in a Downton Abbey type building, but I can tell you those places are draughty, cold and a headache to keep. Having stayed in a few of them, in fact teaching in one of them now, it seems more romantic than it really is. Don't get me wrong I LOVE it, but it is NOT EASY.
So i love coming back to our little house, with its cosy dimensions and as Oisin has pointed out more than once, it is HOME. He will not move for all the tea in China.
Oh, just got a bit of seashell in the carageen there! It is hard to believe I was feeling so depressed about life last week. Honestly. Tomorrow I am going to photograph stuff around the school and classroom. It is going to be great.
Just before I leave off, I was thinking about all the wounds we gather through life and how they transform us - if we learn from them, they make us beautiful. A blank page has its own beauty, but it is full of longing... right, time to return to bed. I am glad I decided to blog rather than watch something or FB. It feels like things are really coming together. Oh bonus! My feet don't hurt so much anymore - I think it is a combination of a change of shoes and getting used to standing all the time again.
Comments