A change

Today has been a bit strange because for the last two years the children have gone fortnightly to their dad for the weekend on a Friday evening, but the girls are due to start Stagecoach Theatre Arts which is a Saturday morning, and as I am taking responsibility for it financially, I want to ensure they get there! So, the children now aren't going to be at their Dad's until Saturday after lunch, so I have 'lost' another 12 hours of child-free time. I'm thinking it is ok though...it doesn't feel like I've sacrificed anything right now and they would have left a couple of hours ago if we were still on the old regime. It is so strange being a single parent of home-educated children as it is rather all-or-nothing and a bit like the Marie Celeste when they go, even though I crave some time to myself. Then, by Sunday, I've really settled in to having the place to myself and before I know it, they're back.

Anyway it was Shinies home ed group this morning with more new people. It'll be interesting to see how home-ed develops over the next few years and how it is viewed by the mainstream.

Having let the big chickens out yesterday, they were clamouring at the gate again this evening:

They scooted straight ou into the field:

They did look rather gorgeous in the sunlight:

On the knitting front, I have had to unravel the Norwegian hat (Tristan is devastated) as it was an uphill struggle with the wrong needles and wrong wool. I found the pattern straightforward enough though so it bodes well for when I have the correct needles and the correct wool...

Revision for my two end-of-module exams is going ok; I quite like exams as it's a chance to empty one's brain and there's a certain feeling of 'if I don't know it now I never will' so I'm not feeling nervous. I felt quite pleased as my friend John who always does really really well got almost the same mark as me for his last assignment so maybe it was a tricky paper. Of course he is really disappointed and I was trying to tell myself it's a good mark but bless him, he wants and needs a First so it is more important for him.