I’m a morning person. I’m up, most mornings, before anyone else. First cup of tea, with the back door wide open and listening to the birds waking up. The sheep in the field, one over, adding a low note every now and then.

Our fruit trees are heavy with blossom, filling the air with a sweet, floral fragrance. It hangs around the garden in an invisible pattern, competing with our lilac tree.

It’s not cold. It’s fresh.

I usually bake. Either bread or a cake for the day. At the same time, I might make a batch of granola. Breakfast and snacks covered for the rest of the day. I like baking when it’s quiet and calm. I can enjoy it fully. Sets me up, body and mind, for the rest of the day.

I need my mornings. I need my quiet.

This week started with a lot of digging and planting. We dug up part of the old kitchen garden and planted it out with spaghetti squashes. Everyone joined in, although thankfully, they form a tag team, coming out one at a time to help me. Doesn’t stop them competing with each other and wanting to dig more than their siblings. Competitive digging certainly clears an area fast and wears them out. I’m not complaining.

So many seeds popping out in their pots this week. My greenhouse is growing greener by the minute. My salad beds are beginning to show definite lines of green. Only failure so far are the spring onions. Time to start a new packet and cross fingers.

(spaghetti squash in the new veg bed)

Children were back to their school work on Monday. It was a slow start. Migrating from holiday mode to school mode is a lot easier when the venue changes. I’ll admit it was taking all my patience. It took a lot of talking and coaxing, but by the latter part of the week, they were in full swing again.

I noticed before the holidays that they’d forget the previous lesson, in whatever subject it was. I guess at school, the teacher would wrap up the lesson and then recap at the beginning of the next. I know I used to when I taught adults. I found that a good, relaxing lunch can temporarily wipe out a morning’s work for some people. Recapping was my friend.

Anyway, this week, I set up a card index system for youngest, as a substitute, and middle teen has adopted the system too. Idea is that they use one card to record key facts from the lesson and it reminds them when they start the subject again in a few days time. It seems to be working. No more “I’ve not been taught this.”

I’m doing my best to keep eldest teen going. Latest blow in her exam fiasco is that they may not run the exams in autumn, which she was counting on, if the school-given marks were not enough. As usual, it is vague. Some exams may run. Some not. No idea which subject will fall into each category. It’s left up to the examining board. What kind of mess is that? Might she have to wait a year? Also the date for the grades being issued is now put back to August.

I feel so sorry for this year group. They were born soon after the terrorist attacks in 2001, into a world distrusting others. They were guinea pigs for SATS at primary school. They were the first to experience the revamped GCSE exams, which cut out coursework and used a new grading system of 1 to 9. Teachers did their best, but most were too young themselves to have experienced exams which relied on the final exam only. They were learning at the same time.

And now this. No exams, but grades based on previous work, which the students were assured at the time, would not matter. Rules changing and rugs pulled out from under their feet.

We’ve talked and put a few things in place to help her. She’s keeping her subjects ticking over, but looking for other opportunities. This week, she’s plumped for a free online OU course, which should stretch her and provide a challenge in an area that interests her.

(bluebell arch)

I do have hope. They will be a resilient bunch.

I grow poppies in my garden. Despite my best efforts, they never quite grow where I plan. I spotted one this week, claiming its place in a broken pot, which was destined to be recycled as drainage at the bottom of other pots. The poppy has gained the pot a temporary reprieve. I know the flower will look stunning, in its unconventional setting. Not what I’d planned, but life has a way of doing that.

Joining in with Anne’s word of the week linky. My word is nuture.

(January 2017)

It is difficult to feel organized when my laptop refuses to charge and the washing machine is shouting error messages at me, but somehow this week, I feel like I’m winning. Yes, there are looming deadlines to finish before the end of January and also the people around me like to have clean clothes, but it is under control.

I can cope.

Only a couple of smashed plates littering the floor.

It probably helps that we decluttered the shoe cupboard last weekend and turned out three bags of shoes. Sounds a lot, but bear in mind, that we are not talking about shoes to fit toddler feet. Not many in each bag. Clear space is a good feeling.

Finally found a new pair of school shoes and coat for Youngest. Strangely we agreed on the school shoes, but found the choice limited. We’d have been fine if he had wanted Velcro fastening and pie crust shoes. Lots to choose from in that case, but did not fit the criteria of my boy.

(January 2016)

I remembered to add haggis and Chinese ingredients so we can celebrate Chinese New Year and Burns night, this weekend. I even found yummy fortune cookies ahead of time.

(January 2015)

Mr TTC cleaned the bird feeders and filled them, ready to entice our feathered friends to the garden for the RSPB Bird Watch this weekend.

(January 2013)

This week, I celebrated 10 years of blogging with cake and a walk down memory lane, looking back through some of the crafts I’ve tackled in the last decade. Times have changed. I loved looking back.

Another area that has changed is parenting for us, as the offspring grow. Somethings stay the same. They are still enthusiastic and inquisitive. I couldn’t help smiling as everyone gathered around the barometer this week, to witness the extraordinary high pressure it was reading. Listening to the explanation and the significance. They still turn up, when we call, although now they appear from all four corners of the house, pulling ear phones off so they can hear us.

Life changes.

At least there is less Lego to tip toe carefully over now a days.

Steps forward, this week, for them on the various activities. I feel sometimes like I should sharpen my pencils and have a folder labelled “Project Children”, with a project plan on the wall showing critical paths and budget estimates. I’m most definitely in Manager mode, with a team of teens to project manage. Although at times it would be easier to herd cats. I find myself digging deep and pulling out the tricks learnt from managing teams of grown ups in a previous life.

(January 2012 – they still can’t put their wellies away properly)

This week has felt more organized. I could do with my laptop being up to speed, but the part has been ordered. I’m using photos from the last decade of Januarys, as my laptop battery is obviously limited. Always fun to look back.

Joining in with Anne’s Word of the week.  Mine is organized, although it does feel like it is against the odds. I might be a bit late visiting everyone this week. Officially the fastest blog post I’ve written.