22 Foxhole East

kerri_gt

Ugh, quoting for tiles is 'did you actually listen to what I asked for' 😤  
Skip prices and scaffolding availability have gone up from what I've heard from friends who've had work done...but not by that much! Best of luck with quotes mark II

f0xh0les

Currently quotes round IV, never heard of a roofer who was afraid of heights before. Apparently my house is too tall, I nod wisely, bid them farewell, and then fall on the floor pmsl.

Sent off the email about pay, and they pay on the last day of the month, so I have to hang on until Tuesday, but they did ask me officially to work with them in January... and I said yes.  £120+ a day is not to be sniffed at, and as I already have the uniform it will only cost me bus fares for the kids this time. 6 days work. £50 expenses

There is a jobs and recruitment fair on 4th January, so will attend that and see what is going on locally, and see if I can be properly gainfully employed by the end of January.

With this  in mind, I need to get over to step-gran and sort her out - she is sulking that I am looking for work when 'I do not have to' - obviously I am a selfish baggage taking work from someone who really needs it and have no need for.. oh, I don't know, maybe a pension in 20 years time?  anyway, she is not going to change now.

3 weeks left of school, DS3 has detention on Monday for disrespectful behaviour, his crime was disrespecting an 'everyone gets a certificate' certificate by screwing it into a ball and playing football with it after the lesson (it was a 'Bronze' certificate of 'leadership')- he now understands it is disrespectful to a PE teacher who has had to work out how to use a computer and print a meaningless certificate, and that it is unwise to use one with his own name on it as a football within sight of the PE block.

DH did not help matters by printing him out a certificate praising him for his creative disrespectful behaviour (bronze award) and telling him he was proud of him. DS3 wants it framed.

15 School Days left to go.  Silly season has begun.

DS1 is sad. I rang him this afternoon and he said he was feeling down. He did not get out of bed until 4pm.  Need to get down to see him as well.  Too much to do, not enough time with a school run!!

QueenJess

f0xh0les said:

DH did not help matters by printing him out a certificate praising him for his creative disrespectful behaviour (bronze award) and telling him he was proud of him. DS3 wants it framed.

That’s brilliant 🤣. Exactly the kind of silly thing that I would do.

Reminds me of my parents when I got a detention at school (my only ever one) for swearing at a boy in my class who was attempting to pick on me. I was very confused why my parents weren’t annoyed. They thought it was amusing and were pleased I could stick up for myself.

kerri_gt

Hmmm, perhaps the roofer afraid of heights needs a career change? Sewer engineer maybe? 🤔

Not sure what you can say to DS3, it is a bit like having no winners at sports day and everyone gets a participation medal. I can understand how its beneficial to some children, but doesn't really reflect the real world of 'it's tough out there '.

Hope DS1 is ok, is he missing home, the initial novelty of self sufficiency waning or overwhelmed? I'm sure he'd love a visit x

mark55man

well done @queenjess for sticking up for yourself - I think its very much of its time that you were punished for defending yourself against a bullying boy

f0xh0les

DS1 needs to find his tribe, his flatmates are very nice, but really 'not him'.

His swimming was cancelled this week as the coach's train was delayed and their insurance would not let them do the session without him.  No happy endorphins in his body

It is dark and he wants to hibernate, and did not get up til 4pm yesterday - he was awake from 1ish but did not get up.

He has just had a week  of tests and exams (he did well), so he had been fretting,

and probably everyone is talking about The C Word and we are pretty low key about it - no chalet skiing holiday for us!  

He is making friends at The Board Games Society, and was horrified when he went out for a birthday meal with a bunch of them, and was charged £5 for a lemonade (not just any lemonade,  hand squeezed unwaxed Amalfi lemons, don'tcha know). The meal for 6 came to over £350 and his share was £25.  Sushi can be expensive in the evening!  He is a Frugal amongst Spenders.

Had the in-laws ring last night - panicking s-i-l won't be able to come over for December-fest for the second year running.  There is no point second guessing -

I am getting annoyed at the whole 'A Return To Masks' news.  I never gave up wearing mine.  I know the older people I am coming into contact with have given up wearing them, but if there were more than 3 people in a room (who were not my kids),  my mask went back on.  I wore the bloody thing for 12 hours at a time (3 masks a day) all through the graduation job.  But the parents seemed surprised, and asked if they had to wear a mask to enter the hall.   I totally understand they are either going to wear them or not - but to pretend it went away and has suddenly come back is disingenuous.

Which means I am going to have to get to Step-Gran asap before the common travel area gets shut down or she wills herself into a stroke. Either way I need to get a move on.  The snow proved that - they stopped the boats

Today's plans involve an X-word fair in the 1390's built timber framed Guildhall, a vegan market, looking at twinkly lights, and there is an installation where it snows every 15 minutes on one street, and then  football at 2pm, plus the obligatory 'IT IS 5PM ON SUNDAY NIGHT AND YOU STILL HAVE NOT BROUGHT ME DOWN ONE SINGLE PIECE OF LAUNDRY!!!!!'  twilight bark.

f0xh0les

The response would have been different if it had not been a PE lesson (unless it was an RE lesson).

PE did not foster leadership when I was at school, only segregation and dissent.  It is only giving the PE teachers airs above their station (along with an excuse to wear a suit and have a clipboard and pen) and they have now gone power crazy. 

He will not be taking PE for GCSE

f0xh0les

Snow!! Great big cricket ball sized fluffy dollops of the stuff! Gods I love watching  snow.  Weather forecast for here overnigh! is -2  ... Oh the weather outside is frightful.. Going to hoick out the gloves cos I'm gonna be scraping the windscreen in the morning!

So far the shopping list for Tuesday reads ... (ahem, shuffles papers )... fleecy pjs, dressing gowns, winter duvets, fleece duvet covers, 3 more hot water bottles, Gin.

I would have bought it all on Friday if I had been paid, but I had not been paid, so I didn't.  Now they are complaining about being cold at 4am, so I have to take immediate (well Tuesday-iate) action.  Hot water bottles were deployed last night as well.  So it will be hot baths and hot chocolate before bed tonight, with a hottie to take upstairs with them. 

They do not believe me that I grew up in a house without central heating.

f0xh0les

Weather forecast for tonight - Brrrr

Weather forecast for tomorrow - More Brrrr

apple_muncher

No one seems to believe that I grew up in a house with single glazing where you would spend hours fascinated by the ice swirls on the inside of the windows!