Well whilst some of my friends are willing the temperature to rise above 30'F I'm willing it to drop below 30'C... we have had some ridiculously hot weather the last few weeks - especially last weekend. This week the drought was finally broken and our water tanks went from holding 5 days worth of water (filched from the creek, the rainwater supplies having been used up a while ago) to over a months worth in one day! However the temperatures still keep creeping up albeit not quite as high but the resulting humidity is just as stifling.
As you can imagine this is leaving us with a lot of hot, tired and bothered children and some very tired staff at work. It's getting to brain-malfunction point and those who are pregnant have resorted to borrowing the cold pack we keep in the freezer for bumps and bruises to mop their weary brows!
However it must be said the most fun we've had there in ages was a couple of days ago during the tropical downpour. At first teachers were bringing the kids inside which to me seemed a bit crazy given that we'd been hosing them down the week before, why miss out on a giant sprinkler system? But then a few of us decided pretty much simultaneously that we were happy to get wet and the next thing we knew we had half the kids out there running around with the biggest grins on their faces, shrieking with laughter as they ran under the water pouring off the shade sails and overflowing from the spouting. It took a few bumps to persuade them to keep off the wet decking as it turned into an ice rink with all the surface water and in the interests of safety (and our sanity) we had to keep them off the slide which had turned into a water shute, but without a pool to land in.
The mud that was created and enormous puddles on the grass meant the stopping of the rain did not signal the end of the days entertainment. You know those photos of Glastonbury on a wet year? Well lets just say our new shower tub got a lot of use that day!
Pigs and ducks couldn't have been happier =)
The weather forecast is for another downpour tonight and tomorrow. I think I'll pack a change of clothes for work in the morning....
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Monday, February 02, 2009
to do lists
Okay, bloods are done, medical is done, x-ray is next Monday... I'm getting there slowly. Actually I got there this morning a lot quicker than I expected to, not having been on the bike for about 6 weeks. I do believe (gasp, horror, surely not?) I might even be somewhere in the vague vicinity of being fit! Now there's a turn up for the books it must be said.
About 6 months ago Melina wrote on facebook about her 30 things to do before she turned 30 - these could be random little things or life changing events. Well obviously I missed the 30 by 30 boat by a long margin but figured that 40 by 40 was achieveable if I started then (ie with 18 mths to go rather than a year). On my list are big things like get residency here, the above visa process being a part of this plan, but also there are the small things too - like the long list of classic books and films that I really think I ought to have read/seen by now. I've made serious progress on the book front, need to be a bit more proactive with the films though somehow - joining the library today will hopefully help with both.
Also on my list though is confidently swimming in the sea when it's anything other than flat calm (calm being a rarity here!) - well more to the point getting to the point where I don't panic when I end up underwater (legacy of an unfortunate collision with a boogie board and some hefty surf a few years ago) and managing to 'catch a wave' and body surf in towards the shore. I'm getting there, slowly it has to be admitted, but after almost two years up here I finally waded out into water that was chest deep this weekend and tried to catch the waves rather than just jump up and hope not to get knocked over! I rather envy those who've grown up here and take to the sea like, well a duck to water (or maybe something a little more graceful!) - when your seaside experience as a child is a few days a year with the North or Irish Sea looking more grey than Mediteranean blue you become much better at building sandcastles rather than swimming in the surf!
However my sandcastle expertise does come in rather handy these days it must be said all the early childhood centres hereabouts have nice big sandpits - about as far removed conceptually from the trough of sand at my childhood playgroup as Ninety Mile Beach is from Whitley Bay!
About 6 months ago Melina wrote on facebook about her 30 things to do before she turned 30 - these could be random little things or life changing events. Well obviously I missed the 30 by 30 boat by a long margin but figured that 40 by 40 was achieveable if I started then (ie with 18 mths to go rather than a year). On my list are big things like get residency here, the above visa process being a part of this plan, but also there are the small things too - like the long list of classic books and films that I really think I ought to have read/seen by now. I've made serious progress on the book front, need to be a bit more proactive with the films though somehow - joining the library today will hopefully help with both.
Also on my list though is confidently swimming in the sea when it's anything other than flat calm (calm being a rarity here!) - well more to the point getting to the point where I don't panic when I end up underwater (legacy of an unfortunate collision with a boogie board and some hefty surf a few years ago) and managing to 'catch a wave' and body surf in towards the shore. I'm getting there, slowly it has to be admitted, but after almost two years up here I finally waded out into water that was chest deep this weekend and tried to catch the waves rather than just jump up and hope not to get knocked over! I rather envy those who've grown up here and take to the sea like, well a duck to water (or maybe something a little more graceful!) - when your seaside experience as a child is a few days a year with the North or Irish Sea looking more grey than Mediteranean blue you become much better at building sandcastles rather than swimming in the surf!
However my sandcastle expertise does come in rather handy these days it must be said all the early childhood centres hereabouts have nice big sandpits - about as far removed conceptually from the trough of sand at my childhood playgroup as Ninety Mile Beach is from Whitley Bay!
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