Not a good morning.  It's the last day of SATs and the Bunny had to be half dragged to school crying that she didn't want to go.  Silly girl never told us about it or how worried she was about the whole thing. 

Personally I think it's stupid to put them through this at such a young age but thats what you get when government thinks it can tell experts how to do their job.

Lots of attention and cuddles for the weekend I think.

Bunny is back with four more badges.  Going to have to start on the back of her sash soon, the front is nearly full.

http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/brownies/badges/holiday.html

http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/brownies/badges/cook.html

http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/brownies/badges/hostess.html

http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/brownies/badges/worldcultures.html

Of course when I ask her what she did to get any of these all I get in reply is "I can't remember".  Pity really because I'd really like to know what they did for the world culture one.

Jodie is off to her first Brownie camp today. By now she should be in a bunkhouse with 20 Brownies and hopefully asleep. I say hopefully as she was a bit tearful as they left. She was fine until the last moment when she suddenly realized "I FORGOT TEDDY!!!" Of course this was just as the bus was about to leave and so far too late to do anything about it. Luckily murphys_lawyer is off to help with ferrying them to the pony trekking place tomorrow and can take the precious bear to her. 

Since we have had no calls from Brown Owl to say she is totally distraught and can we come and get her I figure she's going to survive the night.  She's probably been distracted with the promise of cake since the camp ends on her birthday and we gave Brown Owl some money to get a cake for a little party the night before.

Hal has been given volume 2 of The Goodies as a treat to make up for not going to camp.

Hal is obviously one of those types who likes to take a germ and give it time to do its thing. Starting from just a few spots on Saturday he now looks like something out of a Warner cartoon that's just had a wasps nest dumped on its head. He also refuses to be painted with Calamine because it's pink. I'm also keeping an eye on his mouth because he says it hurts to eat and I'm not betting on it just being a sore throat from the cough. I'm just hoping that this is all the spots now and it's uphill from here. He's certainly not going to school for a week.

Hal has now added chickenpox to the nasty cough he's been cultivating since Easter. Somehow I don't think he's going back to school on Monday. At least he seems to be a milder case, it's a lot harder to join the dots and only a few are the real classic blisters.

Oh well, better start the clock again for when I can get down the blood center and bang goes my chance of getting to the garden center for those new tubs I want for the front for another week.

I meant to post this before Easter but Jodies last meeting was the day before we came down for the con so too busy packing. She's been a busy little bunny, two more badges to sew on. The second one is a total no brainer for her to pass of course. Anyone who's been in our house knows we have books not wallpaper in the back room (and the bedroom, and the landing, and the guest room...)

http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/brownies/badges/watersafety.html

http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/brownies/badges/booklover.html

books discussed included The Little Mermiad and Cinderella. Only the Disney versions I suspect but the originals are in the house somewhere.

Pluses :-
Good con with lots of people not seen in years appearing out the woodwork.
Getting kissed twice by Neil Gaimen.
Books.
Beer.
Managing to avoid working all weekend despite signing up for tech.

Minuses:-
Jodie getting Chickenpox on Saturday.
No real central passing area in hotel so sure I've missed people.
Sore feet from not enough chairs.
Snow.

Plots are already being made for two years hence for the water feature on the top floor. No, not the bottle of fairy liquid in the intake, unfair to maintainance and not enough movement in the water to make it work anyway. Hovercraft are another matter...

I remember meeting Sir Arthur C Clarke a couple of times in the eighties when he was still coming to Britain for signings and the like. He always seemed to me to be a gentleman. I think a few toasts in his memory will be raised this weekend.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7304004.stm

Jodie got her first Brownie badge yesterday.

http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/brownies/badges/circus.html

She was a bit unsure about whether or not she'd be able to do it but I think now she's got her first one she'll be fine. I see sewing in my future.

Hal seems to have settled into his new routine fairly well now. He's wearing the sea bands for the drive and has even learned how to make sure they're in the right place himself. I keep Polo mints and gingerbiscuits in reserve but for the moment the funky wristbands seem to be working as advertised. How much is a real effect and how much is all in his head I don't care. All in all it appears to have been a reasonably successful transition. What will happen when they try to get him to have swimming lessons next term will be another matter OTOH. He hates pools.

Jodie surprised me Sunday night. She sat down and did some of her backlog of homework without being nagged. I think it was really a ploy to annoy her brother who was trying to insist she watched TV with him. She seems to finally be getting fed up of the way Cartoon Netwok and Nikleodeon keep showing the same shows over and over again. There's hope for the girl yet.

Had to send Hal off with a travel pill today. Someone gave him chocci biccis Friday afternoon with unfortunate results on the way home. I don't want to have to keep doping him up for the journey so I went down to the pharmacy after he left and had a chat. They've suggested Sea Bands acupressure wrist bands. http://www.sea-band.com/UK/uk_seaband.htm I've picked a pair up but is there anyone out there got any experience of how well these work?

Hal's first day was a bit of a mixed bag. The problem with being picked up by the bus is that we are the second stop and it then has to go round all the other pick up points before getting to school. This took over an hour and Hals stomach rebelled. They cleaned him up and gave him some spare clothes to wear for the day but it was not the best of starts. Once he was settled in class he seems to have had a good day and his teacher was impressed with his maths work but it was decided that maybe he shouldn't go home on the bus. Luckily there's another boy near here who goes in a taxi so they sent him home in that. He's gone in the same way today which should be under half an hours ride so here's hoping it suits him better.

One advantage of the taxi is he now gets picked up at 8.45 so Harry drops Jodie off at school on his way to the bus and I wait with Hal for his ride. On days Harry's away or has a really early meeting I can send her down the road to her friends house and she can walk in with her.

Off to town now to bank Hal's disability cheques and buy a present for one of Jodie's friends who's birthday it is today. She only told me last night...

Hal was picked up at 8 by the bus. A couple of ladies in the back to look after the kids as well as the driver so he's well looked after. We'll find out how he feels about the whole thing when he gets dropped off at 4. A long day for a 10 year old.

Other good news is he's been awarded disability payments. The kids got a better disposable income that I do (mine being what I can save out of the housekeeping and child allowance) . Most of that will get shuffled into a savings account for when he's older with the rest split between the household account to cover any extras he needs and my savings to help pay for our annual week at Center Park. He doesn't know he's getting cash, he'd blow the lot in Game if he had the choice.

I've finally heard from the education department. Hal's transport has been arranged and he transfers to his new school on Monday. All we need to know now is what time the bus will be picking him up.

He's going straight in full time instead of being eased in as they originally wanted but it's just not practical any other way since I never bothered getting my car license. He should be OK I think.

The house is quiet again. Managed to survive half term but the wallet is rather dented. It was doing OK until we went out to Ikea for a couple of shelves for the bookcase on the landing so we could get the last of the graphics shelved properly. The road out there goes past Ellend Road stadium where the Valentines Fair is held and as soon as the kids saw the rides they wanted to go. We managed a 24 hour reprieve due to lack of ready cash but Sunday was clear and bright if a little parky so off to the fair we went. I have now turned the paper money, the milk money and Hal's lunch money into a small pile of cheap cuddly toys including a rather nervous looking snow tiger that Jodie won for me.

All change today, the fog outside is so thick that I can't see the past the first line of trees in the wood at the end of the road (four houses and a street width away) and it's getting thicker with what is either light snow or the fog freezing out into little filaments. It's not real flakes, more like the bits you get if you cut fake fur and trim the pile as you cut. Either way it's the sort of weather that does not agree with my lungs.

We're still waiting for Hal's transfer to his new school. The place is there but the transport is still to be set up. Unfortunately the lady in the education department who is in charge of his case was off for the week before half term so nothing got done then and of course there is little you can do in half term because there's no-one in the schools to arrange anything with. Hopefully it can now get sorted but for the moment he's back at the old place. In some ways I'm not sorry, if the weathers like this in the city what will it be like 12 miles out in the country.

Well, what else would you do for awards for a convention called 2T0nic?

Thanks to murphys_lawyer for putting the pictures up here.

The UK Filk Awards went to:-

Best Serious Song (in the last four years) - Winner: Pictures in the Air by
Mich

Best Silly Song (in the last four years) - Winner: The Fish Song by Christo

'At Con' Performance - Winner: Paper Worlds by Rika and Band

Filk Gold (songs over four years old) - Winner: Paper Worlds by Talis

All packed and ready for the off.  Train at midday so should be in Grantham in time to help with any setup, crunchy joints from it being bloody cold permitting of course.  Just got to get something to read on the train.  Thinking of re-reading the Hobbit just to try and see how they're going to make it into TWO films?

Thats the Sams done for another year.  All in cloth since I was running short of time and it seemed easier to just carry on with what I was doing instead of changing tack for the silly one.  It's still silly enough though.  Just waiting for a little paint to dry before packing them.

All will be revealed on Sunday (except for the select few who get a preview of course.  Harry will be taking pictures tonight and posting them up after the ceremony.

Had a bit of bother with the Sams over the last few days.  I knew what I wanted to do but I just couldn't do it.  Thanks to some help fromclothsprogs it's all coming together now though.  Should have the Serious, Gold and At Con done this week and the Silly shouldn't take long because it's a lot simpler.  That's the one with card instead of cloth so I know more what I'm doing there.

I've been having trouble motivating myself this year, burned out a bit after the last four months I guess what with two friends dying and the fun of wading through the bureaucracy needed to get Hal statemented, but now I can see things coming together it's getting easier.  I just wish it would stop raining.

I don't know how much I'll be able to get done tomorrow though, Hal's classroom has been flooded and they can't let them back until the electrics have been inspected.  Something has gone fizz bang but they don't know what else it's done.  I just know I'll spend large chunks of tomorrow practicing my |\/|aD l337 23LDA 5kiL2.  (Too much Megatokyo is bad for your spelling)