Mike's musings

Ballet and a party

(backposting) The weather can't seem to make up its mind at the moment - more snow, or not more snow. Well, we had some today, and enough was still around in the morning to make some of the drive to ballet interesting, but we got there, and I had a haircut during the event (such as it is). Afterwards, we headed off to Amber's party, and a bowling alley in Sudbury. Not for siblings, so I took Miri to the Giggle Factory indoor play place, which we had lots of fun at.

Labels: party

New toy and cross-dressing

(backposting) Toshiba NB200 12B arrived this morning. Very nice. Tried Ubuntu lucid on it, but it was just too alpha, so I went for karmic in the end, which is gonig fine. I was very proud of myself for not even turning it on until I'd made the (albion) chocolate elk. And then the pannecotta bread and butter pudding which I needed to create when I realised that I'd seriously under-whipped the first batch of eggs for the first pudding.

Party at Si and D's in the evening, and they'd arranged for baby-sitters for all of the kids at the other end of the house, so our two wandered through from time to time until they both fell asleep. We had a good time, and all of the men who'd cross-dressed (as per instructions - I got a new outfit, of course) looked rather unconvincing. Apart from Pete. Hmm.

Labels: geekery, party

Zombies in drag!

(backposting) Well, just one. That would be me. Amazing what the fantastic ladies at Age Concern in Halstead managed to drag up on a Saturday morning. Shoes, a dress, bra, fishnets, and a hat.

Moo insisted that cross-dressing wasn't spooky enough, but just deviant. So she forced me to make up as a zombie, too. The kids at the party were a bit confused. Not sure whether it was the dress or the cries of "Brains! Brains!". If you're a friend of mine on Facebook, you'll find the picture easily enough. The come with warnings.

Labels: party

Oh, dear

(backposting) So, although Jo's ballet went well, there was something of a trauma afterwards. I was given the opportunity to take Jo to a party in the village at 1200. We headed off, with Jo in her Stephanie (Lazytown) outfit. And her silver shoes. Which don't fit her. They really don't. So she fell over and grazed her knee. Quite badly. So, a few tears. But she calmed down and we went into the Post Office. But as we came out, she realised that she was bleeding quite badly.

Melt-down.

And then we made it to the party venue. It was very quiet. And locked. So I called Moo, and Moo'd got the wrong day for the party.

More melt-down.

I carried Jo back, and we cleared up the blood. And then we took them to the cinema, just as something to do with them. We watched the vaguely diverting G-Force. I don't think we'll be watching it again, but it used up an hour or so, and was quite enjoyed. And then we went to a local Frankie & Benny's, which also helped.

The girls are really, really tired, poor little things.

Labels: films, food, party

Windows and a party

(backposting) Not Microsoft Windows, obviously. But our windows. John, a window guy, came around to look at what we can do about the fact that some of the windows in the front of our house a) don't close properly, b) are broken (in that the glass is broken) c) will not, in their current configuration, allow for secondary glazing and d) are part of our house, which is Grade II listed. He had some good suggestions, and thinks that he can sort everything out. Hopefully it won't be _too_ expensive.

The afternoon was mainly given over to a party with one of Jo's friends. Jo was accused (by said child) of holding the egg during the egg and spoon race. I have video evidence that shows her doing very well until she drops the egg, at which point she picks it up, puts it back on the spoon and runs the last couple of meters whilst _sort_ of holding the egg on. But only because she'd just dropped it. I kept quiet.

Labels: party

39 today!

Yes, it's my birthday today, and I'm 39 years old. I woke up too late to make it to the 8 o'clock service, and decided that spending time with family was more important that the canon law requirement to receive Communion every Sunday. So, we headed off for brunch (I'd had pirate cake for breakfast, and had a knickerbocker glory. We then headed off to Freeport where I bought more shirts and a pair of trousers for work. The girls started to lose it, and Miri slept all the way home, and for 20-30 minutes even after we got back.

And then, a birthday party. It turns ot that one of Jojo's pre-school friends, Amber, shares my birthday, so we went there for a children's party. I took the pirate cake (I'd just have ended up eating it all over the week), and everyone had a great time. However, towards the end, Miri put her elbow out again. It was pretty obvious, and _this_ time, I managed to put it back in, which was an enormous relief.

The girls just about managed to stay awake until bedtime, and then Moo and I did more Wii Fit work. It's really impressive, I have to say, and I'm really getting into it. I did some ironing as Moo did her work-out, and then barbecued some lovely steak with a lovely bottle of red wine from James and Ruth (thanks!).

Tomorrow, I start my first day in the new job on a customer site - in Huntingdon, as it happens. Exciting, with some trepidation. It'll be good, I think.

I've had a good birthday, even if Moo's not finished knitting my present (a pair of lovely socks)...

Labels: birthday, drink, food, knitting, party, work

Family

Off to see Jim and Nina over near Milton Keynes, for Florence's 3rd birthday party. Not really a party (though Jo tried to organise games, and there was cake and (at our suggestion!) party bags at the end), but more a gathering of family. Poll and Lee were there, as were Hayley and Giles (and Sebastian), and Chris and Alan (Nina's parents), and some other friends (Sebby, Lucy and their daughter Matilde).

The kids played really well together, including Miri and little Frankie (who didn't do much playing with others, but is a lovely little boy). Now that they're closer, and the children are getting to an age where they can play well together, we're going to try to get to see them more often. We had a lovely time, and the girls had a good sleep in the car on the way back, as well as going straight back to sleep when we got home.

Labels: family, party

Gout, or party, or party (2)?

Woke this morning with the traces of a gout attack. Drank lots of water, took some paracetamol, had a hot bath, rubbed some ibuprofen gel on. Moo took Jo and Miri off to a children's party (party 1) and I had a sleep. And by the time I woke up, it was pretty much gone.

The children's party was good, and by the time we were finished, it was pretty much time for a barbecue a couple of houses down, with Jo, Jason and their kids. And lots and lots of other people. A few of the people invited were French, and after a couple of glasses of wine, I was well into it again. Lots of French and I never thought I'd be going through the finer points of Anglican theology (versus Roman Catholic theology) in French, but who knows anything really?

Labels: gout, party

Paaaaaaaaaaaaaaarty time!

(backposting) Jo's birthday and party today. The big package of party things which Moo ordered over a week ago hadn't arrived by the time I got Jo back from ballet (I'd had Miri, too, to allow Moo to do baking in quiet), and so I had to make an emergency trip to Sainsbury's (again with both girls). Let's not start on how cross Moo will be on the phone on Monday with the people who didn't ship stuff in time, but we got the party started (just about) on time. It was close getting everything set up, but we had a real blast. Tosha came and painted lots of faces, Nik came and got lots of kids very excited and tired by running around a lot. I organised party games: bobbing apples and face paints don't mix...; sleeping lions (to "Oh so quiet" by Björk); dancing ("Timewarp" and "Shake your tailfeather", which went down very well with the kids) and general fun.

How tired were the girls afterwards...? Very, very tired.

Labels: birthday, Jo, party

How to deal with a headache

(backposting) One way is to take a 3 and a half year old to a Christmas party where there are another 350 (OK, OK, maybe 35) other toddlers, a magic act and amped music. If you thought you had a headache before then, you'll find out whether you really did or not. To be fair, Jo and I had a lovely time, and it was lovely to see her enjoying herself so much.

Moo stayed at home with Miri who watched Enchanted (again) while Moo did work on a major tender for her job. It's due in on Monday by noon, and she's going to stay up tonight working on it.

Labels: party

Hellfire and damnation

(backposting) Today I preached on hellfire and damnation. It went down really well, and I got lots of approving comments afterwards (including "that was a damn good sermon" and "brilliant"). I finished it off on the positive note for John 3:16-17, pointing out that although Christ said that deserved/were subject to/were liable to hell (Matthew 5:20-22), that's luckily not what God sent him to us for. I really enjoy preaching, and I think it was a good sermon. I'm beginning to worry about the sin of pride, and I spent some time this evening retching over the bathroom loo, but decided that this may have had more to do with the unlimited kebabs and cakes available at the toddler's birthday party we had in the afternoon than God's judgment on me.

Or maybe not.

Labels: children, god, party, preaching

New Year's Eve

(backposting) Giggle Factory (Sudbury), after a Waitrose trip and the purchase of the next stage of car seat for Jo. Miri really needs to move to the next stage, and Jo's ready, so we've passed hers down: this is _much_ cheaper than buying the next set up for Miri, so it's worked out quite well. After coming back from all that, Jo and I took our scooters to Clare Country Park. She was given one for Christmas, but Jen gave me a scooter 5 or so years ago. It's harder work than I'd remembered - though I never really used it much - but we had great fun. Jo started to get it pretty quickly, including gliding, which really does require quite a good sense of balance.

After that, a quick supper for the girls, and off to Si and D's for a New Year's Eve party. Nora (a bloke), Kate, Chris, Naomi, Debs, Andy, Zae, Moo, me and a goodly number of kids. Lots of alcohol. Pheasant (shot by Si), ham (not shot by Si, as far as I'm aware), chocolate, including a dessert of which I'm pretty proud. A number of us ended up in their hot-tub (in swimming costumes, it should be stressed). Moo and I left around 0100 with the girls. I couldn't find my shoes...

Spent quite a lot of time having pastoral conversations, which was interesting in and of itself.

Labels: friends, party

Good Friday

(backposting) For me, this is the most theologically charged day of the Christian calendar. For reasons not worth enumerating, I knew from early in the day that I wasn't going to get a chance to go to a church service, which was difficult. I managed, however, to find 20 minutes or so to sit down with my laptop and listen to Tallis' "Lamentations of Jeremiah", streamed from home. We need to take the spiritual comfort we can, when we can, and this saw me through.

We had a good day, and the evening's meal ended up with my trying to explain the intricacies of the Anglican hierarchy to the assembled throng -

• Mac: I don't see why we don't just call all priests "vicars"
• Me: For the same reason that we don't call all doctors "GPs"

- and then talking about vocation - mine, and others. It was interesting, and an important part of my ministry, I think: to be open to the questions and probings of those around with little faith or none, but at least showing an interest.

Managed to make the end of a party in SecondLife to mark the opening of a new area for faith groups called Koinonia. Only stayed for a while, but caught up with a few friends, listened to the live music, etc., so at least I made an appearance.

Good Friday - some theology

Looking back on this post, I thought that I ought to spend a little time talking about why Good Friday is so theologically charged for me. There are other candidates, of course: Christmas, when the Word was made Flesh and dwelt among us; Easter, when Christ rose again from the dead in glory; Pentecost, when the disciples, remaining behind, unsure and leaderless, were gifted with the Holy Spirit and given a reality to their commission. These are the most obvious, but for me, it has to be Good Friday. Without the death of Christ on the cross, none of the rest of it would make sense, or have any substance. It is the rending of the curtain of the temple, the destruction of the split between heaven and earth, the kenosis, the moment when, in death, Jesus, a man, suffered and became Christ, our God. I should qualify that last statement: I don't mean that Jesus was not God before his death on the cross - that way lies heresy! - but that this moment is where the reality is revealed, the single moment of history on which the rest of the created order turns.

Easter is now possible: Christ, the propitiation for our sins, can rise in glory (but what a tear-obscured rising in the garden!). Christmas suddenly makes sense: there is a reason why God has made an appearance. And Pentecost is where we, God's church, need to take over the witness.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem: convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem: turn to the Lord your God.

Labels: Christ, death, music, party, secondlife, theology

No delight in death

They killed Saddam Hussein overnight. It was a legally and politically justified decision, I'm sure, but I can't take delight in it. I'm absolutely opposed to the death penalty, even when the guilt of the accused is without doubt, and the crimes are horrifying. But I struggle, struggle with the taking of a life - even in war, but yet more in situations such as this. I can't see that we have the right - I, at least, couldn't take it on myself, and I'm glad that our nation does not practice the death penalty, because as a citizen, I would be party to it.

Went to Digi's 2nd birthday party today: his parents are Tosha and Nik. Lots of people, and Jo had a good time, as did we. A really nasty drive back home - seriously bid rain and surface water on the road for much of it. Couldn't go above 35 for much of it. Money's not good at the moment. Heigh-ho. And I've got a nasty throat. If that's all we've got to complain about, though...

Labels: death, illness, money, party, responsibility