On Wednesday it was still summer here, yesterday was autumn and today is winter. We have an Antarctic front pushing up over central Australia which means the crispest and most driest of cold days and nights. Windy too, and it’s apparently bringing a dust storm. We had expected to wake this morning to a dust haze but so far we still have blue skies. It will be an inside weekend, that’s for sure!
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Week two of learning from home. Working for one son, not so much for the other. So we quit – for the one who it wasn’t working for. His school, which is also the school I work for, was offering paper based packs for families who didn’t have internet or access to devices. However, they made up enough packs for the whole junior school, years 7 to 9, five weeks worth of work, an incredible effort for the teachers and administrative staff. I picked up a pack and now I have a clipboard which I attach my son’s daily lessons to and he works his way through it and brings it back when he’s done. Not all kids are cut out for competent computer use, plus, I think my son learns better when things are laid out in front of him as opposed to flicking through screens.
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Joke of the week:
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Book of the week:
This one isn’t released until the end of June. It’s absolutely glorious, all of my favourite things woven into the one story. I’ll remind you about it when it releases.
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What I’ve been watching:
I’ve been watching a bit more TV than usual of late. First up, I finished series three of The Marvellous Mrs Maisel, which puts me up to date with this show. I really liked series three, there was a strong feminist theme and political tone running through it.
Then I gobbled up The Spanish Princess, a Starz production that follows on from their previous series, The White Queen and The White Princess. These series all follow the Philippa Gregory novels. They also provide a good background lead in to The Tudors, even though that series was made by different producers. I like watching these sort of historical dramas, I never get tired of them.
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Bonus joke of the week:
As a mother of two boys, I’m privy to a lot of toilet humour. This one did the rounds at our house this week:
I know! You can’t help but laugh… 😂
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What I’m reading right now:
This week I started a buddy read over in my Facebook bookclub. We’re all reading The Night Circus. I’m loving it and I can’t believe I let this book escape my notice for so long. This novel is also one from my isolation lucky dip reading list.
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Until next week… 😊☕📚
Theresa Smith Writes 
Good for you with the schooling stuff.
I can’t believe the rubbish I’m hearing about ‘our kids getting behind’. Behind what? The entire world is in chaos, schools are shut down all over the world in places with and without internet, with and without space to learn, with and without capable parents, with and without supportive schools and teachers and with and without food on the table. Some kids will thrive and some of them will struggle and a whole lot will be in between, and that will be the same all over the world. Our kids will not be ‘behind’, they will be the same.
And when things go back to normal what is going to matter is that parents will then need to raise hell to make sure that the strugglers will get all the help they need. So no penny-pinching cuts to education to fix up the deficit. And we will need to remember that ‘we’re all in this together’ so *all* parents will need to fight this political fight, whether their kids are all right or not.
And in the meantime what matters more than anything is that kids should be engaged in something purposeful that matters to them, so that when they look back on this time, they won’t see it as ‘wasted’ but the time when they achieved something that they wanted to do. IMO this could be a great preparation for adulthood, because everyone needs purposeful activity besides work/school.
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I fully agree. Each time I hear the getting behind trope it never fails to exasperate me. Also, Adrian is only doing two subjects per day, not the recommended three. His attention wanes after two, which takes him a few hours. Even though he is 14 and not ‘little’, he’s still a kid trying to fly solo. Besides, he’s spending a lot of time with the dogs, mowing the lawn and watering the lawn (he loves lawn maintenance) doing physical exercise and reading about health, fitness and football – his current passions. 😄 And of course, there is still Monopoly! We’ve found our groove and I send work back when it’s done rather than when it’s due.
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By the sound of things, he’s doing well. And so are you:)
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He’ll be fine. They both will be. As will I!
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It’s winter here today 100%- currently 9, feels like 4 where I am right now. We’ve had rain and wind for 2 days and it feels like mid-July. It’s miserable, I’m not a fan of this weather when it IS July, never mind when it’s still officially “autumn”.
I am keen to read that Kayte Nunn book too but I’ll wait until much closer to the release date. Good to see you enjoyed it though!
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I don’t normally read so far out from release dates but I couldn’t resist. Bonus is, I have a review scheduled for June 30th now! 😄
So, I should clarify, by winter, for our standards, we’re talking low of 10° with high of 24°. Tomorrow is supposed to be 7° to 22°, positively arctic! 😂
In all seriousness though, the wind chill drops it but it’s definitely nothing like the miserable Victorian winters I grew up in.
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I accidentally read a book with a July date, because the press release inside said for immediate release BUT everything else I can find still has it not released until July, including the publisher website. I still have to write the review, but I guess it’ll be a nice surprise when I get to July and there’s something already done!
I would give my firstborn for a day of 24! Lol, sorry Hunter.
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😂😂😂
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So much good sense on this page. And I love the cartoon. 🙂
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Thank you! 😊 Have a great weekend.
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Totally agree about the weather. Not fun at all. I loved The Night Circus and I have The Starless Sea waiting to be read. I was a bit late coming to it too, but it doesn’t matter. Loved both the jokes too. A good weekend for staying indoors and reading.
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I bought The Starless Sea as well, loved the cover and the sound of it! So far, this dust storm has failed to materialise. Still very fresh and cold though which is a lovely change from our heat.
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I am looking forward to The Silk House and also to warmer days than we have had for the last couple of days. Just a few degrees warmer would be nice.
Night Circus was a great book.
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I just finished it this afternoon and loved it!
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Great post! I adore Ms Maisel – so feel good!
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I’m looking forward to season 4!
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Finally, a show I think I watched before you, The Spanish Princess 😀
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😂
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