Saturday, November 07, 2009
Going out to lunch - properly
(backposting) It's been a while since we went there, but we had lunch with the girls at Scutchers in Long Melford. It wasn't cheap (not helped by the fact that we bought some of their award-winning smoked salmon for Christmas), but what food. The girls did pretty well, and, for a really good restaurant, it's brilliantly child-friendly. I don't think we've visited for maybe 2 or more years, but they were pleased to have us back, and it was a great call.Went round to see some friends in the afternoon, and went for a walk. We'd promised the girls that we'd go out in the evening to a see a bonfire and fireworks, and we were both 90% certain that they'd completely freak, and we'd have to head home early as soon as the bangs started. But they did really well. We stood a way back, but had a good view, and they loved all the colours, and even quite liked the noise. So, a real win.
Got home, worked. Things are very, very busy, and I need to get some bits and pieces completed as soon as possible.
Labels: food, girls, walk, work
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Bunkbed time
(backposting) We decided the other day to buy the girls a bunkbed for Christmas, and today we told them about this. This is because Mum and Dad wanted to buy the girls something special, and they'd agreed that accoutrements for bunkbeds - mainly duvet, pillow and cushion sets. So the timing worked quite well.Went for a great walk in the afternoon - one of the ones I used to love from my childhood. Both girls did lots of running, which was pretty impressive.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Walking - and blisters
(backposting) Ages since I had a blister, but after two walks, coming to around 6 miles, in sandals which are beginning to fall apart, I managed to develop one. Luckily, the weather's so warm that I can walk around the retreat bare-foot most of the time, and the people running the retreat centre had some special blasters which I can use.The second walk was with a good friend, Sue, and it was good to catch up with her, to share our thoughts about priestly life, our children, our jobs, and the rest, while walking through the fields and woodland around the centre.
The retreat's going well, and I managed to get some sleep in the afternoon. Last evening staying late at the pub tonight - not sensible to stay up the night before the big day.
Labels: friends, ordination, walk
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Retreat
(backposting) I spent much of the morning tracking down the original CDs for the music I want at my first Eucharist: Byrd 4-part Mass, Ley's setting of the Prayer of King Henry VI ("Domine, Iesu Christe") and, if we get the time, a couple of Purcell motets. Also, writing the directions for Jim, who'll be in charge of it all.Trying all that out, packing and doing a little tidying around the house took me up to setting off to Pleshey for the pre-ordination retreat. I was, by a few minutes, the first to arrive, and set off on an 80+ minute walk, using AFTrack to record where I went, ready to transfer the details to Openstreetmap at some point. I got pretty badly stung by nettles, but it was worth it: I walked 6 miles or so, I think, through beautiful countryside. Towards the end, a young fox walked out onto the path in front of me, downwind, and followed it for a few metres before crossing into the undergrowth to the side. Just something to treasure.
And so to the retreat. Good to get together with some good friends again, and, as usual, the "silent" bit of the retreat is somewhat relaxed down at the pub. Time to rest, get into the right frame of mind, and ready ourselves for Sunday.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Work and walk
(backposting) Doing lots of walking at the moment - I've done about 14 miles (20km+) over the past 3 days, and I'm loving it. I've started using AFTrack for S60v3 to record my walks, and I'm hoping to use the tracks it to update data in OpenStreetmap. Tried doing it this evening, but it was hard work getting into it. I _could_ have read some more of the manual, I guess...Work's been busier than late: a possible customer with lots of questions. Keeps me on my toes, I guess.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Walking or Trekking?
(backposting) Well, the obvious answer is "both", because I walked to Castle Hedingham today to drop off a repeat prescription, and then walked back. And I also went to see Star Trek, which I enjoyed enormously. It was a little over-complicated, possibly, but I felt that it was entirely in the spirit of the show and the previous films, so good for them. I really wanted to see it on the big screen, and now I want to see it again! I suspect that Moo won't be that interested...Friday, May 22, 2009
A good day, a bad day
So, Plan C is out. If I become unemployed in the next few months, I don't have anything definite lined up. This is a bad day thing. And then I started to wonder whether or not to keep my new Samsung i8910 HD. I really need VoIP, and there's not SIP stack on the phone. There are some other things that I'm not particularly happy about, too, including lack of decent GPS apps and the difficulty of uploading photos to flickr, and I wondered about sending the thing back and getting a Nokia 5800 instead. In the end, I discovered that the Nokia doesn't have a SIP stack, either, but managed to get Fring working with AQL (my SIP provider), and all's looking rosier. Took some doing, but I've found some OK GPS apps, too which I'm trialling.And I had some possible job leads, in case things go a bit Pete Tong on the employment front, which they may, so that helped too. I finished up the day with an hour's hard walk, listening to Finzi, Duruflé and Poulenc. Now sitting in front of the TV, trying to work out how to disable the Orange Photo app on my phone.
Labels: geekery, job, phone, walk
Saturday, April 04, 2009
In-laws
We've got Kate and Mac with us today - they arrived last night while Moo and I were at Jo's dance show. Moo got to watch it, as I watched the dress rehearsal, and this time I got to be backstage doing costume changes. Had a couple of beers and chatted to another Dad while Jo was doing her thing, and it all went well, by all accounts. We got back and grabbed a little food, and I slept rather badly, so this morning, while they headed off to Freeport, I had a bit of a sleep. Afterwards, I went for a lovely 4 mile (well, 4.945 mile) walk in the beautiful North Essex countryside. The sun was out, it was warm but there was a slight breeze, and I walked hard. I really love walking - just taking the exercise - and tend to listen to either podcasts or music while I do. Today it was Arvo P&adia;rt (various) and Bach (motets). Moo's backstage tonight and Kate, Mac, Mel and her mum are watching Jo.And I've heard in the past few minutes that Liverpool won today against Fulham, and are back at the top of the Premiership table (where they ought to be).
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Exercise
Started taking some proper exercise again today: a 3+ mile walk, over which I averaged over 4.4 mph (GPS on the phone provided the details). It was a lovely day: sunny, but not too warm, and I listened to a podcast on my phone as I walked.Labels: walk
Monday, June 09, 2008
Finished!
Still demob happy. Took the dog for a walk after the girls had gone to bed, then barbecued. It was great just being able to sit and not feel that I should be doing some reading!Sunday, May 18, 2008
Today, I shall mostly be ...
- ... sleeping in (but not as long as Jo and Moo)
- ... taking the girls swimming with Moo
- ... spending more money than I meant to in Waitrose
- ... clearing the dog poo off the lawn
- ... mowing the lawn (first time this year, if you exclude the two strims it's had)
- ... stepping in several instances of dog poo that I missed
- ... barbecuing with Si
- ... drinking beer with Si
- ... eating the barbecued food with Si, D, Morgs, Boo, Moo, Jo and Miri
- ... drinking wine with Si and Moo
- ... geeking with Si
- ... whilst drinking more wine with Si
- ... going for a walk with the girls, Moo and Buster
- ... having a bath with the girls (but not Moo and Buster)
- ... putting Jo to bed (very quick!)
- ... clearing around a bit
- ... loading the dishwasher
- ... doing some washing up
- ... and ... finishing my last essay for ERMC. YYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS!
Labels: drink, ERMC, family, friends, geekery, swimming, walk
Friday, May 02, 2008
Preparations
So, next Monday is a Bank Holiday. Clearly, I'm away on work. Flying to Toronto on Sunday, and being driven to Niagara by a colleague for a sales conference. At least I don't need to drive when I get there. I'll be leaving around 0800 UK time, and arriving at Niagara maybe 1945, so didn't really want to be having to drive for over an hour when I get there. Oh, and I can have a drink or two on the plane, too. Made sure that I had all of my ducks in a row for the travel, and had finished any obviously outstanding documents, etc.. I'm also giving part of a presentation, so had to agree that with a couple of colleagues. Good news from work in this Press Release. Honestly don't know much more about it, but we like this.Went for a lovely walk with Moo, Buster and the girls after their supper: we're trying to make a habit of this, as it's good exercise for everyone, and now that the evenings are drawing out, it's plausible.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Walking - almost
Miri's so nearly there. The most she's managed is four little steps towards me, before making it into my arms. She _can_ do it: she just needs to believe.I read Jo the Passion and Resurrection narratives (simplified) from her little Bible today. She asked "Who's God?" after a chat about Jesus. I explained about Jesus being God, and about God the Father (the Mother aspect was going to be too much!), and, in the interests of good Trinitarian theology, I felt I'd better mention the Holy Spirit. Not sure it helped matters particularly...
I was in London today, meeting a possible customer. Went well - oh, and stopped off at Hatfield Galleria, bought a pair of work shoes and a new shirt. My life's so interesting.
Labels: Jo, miri, theology, walk
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Miri, talking and walking
Miri's now walking very quickly if you just hold one hand, and loves it. It could be a good month or so before she's walking unaided, but she certainly gets the whole one foot after the other thing, and seems very keen.Miri's "cat" and "dog" (or "'at", "ca'" and "do'" or "'og") are getting more convincing, and today, she started to use them to refer to pictures in books or china ornaments (we were in a shop). Very impressive.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Church, walk, ironing, scrabulous
Took Mum, Jo and Miri to Halstead, where James was celebrating and preaching. Jo's tiredness showed through, and her attention span was much shorter than usual, but she did OK: Miri was a star. At communion, James very kindly gave me a portion of the priest's wafer, which I was very touched by.After lunch, we met Si, D, Morgs, Boo and Murphy (their dog) for a lovely walk near them, and had tea and chats before heading home to put the girls to bed. I cooked a chicken, and Mum did the ironing. Lots and lots of it. We're _very_ grateful! Then Mum and I played scrabulous, trying to get some decent scores against the people with whom I've got games going. She's _vicious_!
Monday, February 18, 2008
A beautiful day
(backposting) Very cold, frosty and foggy in the morning, but a day to be thankful for in the afternoon. I took Buster for a walk once the sun had cleared the fog away, and it was just beautiful.In the evening, after the girls had gone to bed, I prepared for a tutorial (in the "Christian Belief" module) on "The Holy Spirit". I'd done some of the reading before, but this rounded it off nicely.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Cinema trip
(backposting) We decided that a fairly safe, less-stress option for the morning would be to take the girls to the cinema. Miri, of course, would be guaranteed to sleep, Moo (who's still pretty ill) could hold her and have her sleep on her, and I could deal with taking Jo to the loo in the middle of the film (obviously). We discovered that the Cineworld Braintree - our local cinema - was showing Ratatouille, which had to be pretty safe. Unluckily, we'd forgotten how loud cinemas are, and Jo really didn't like the "crashes". She did really well, actually, but doesn't really want to go back soon.Took Miri and Buster for a good old walk today and used the new GPS bluetooth that Moo's given me (early) for our engagement anniversary on Wednesay (I won't be around). My phone supports GPS accessories by default, and it Just Works[tm]. Great stuff. Did about 3 and a half miles, and rather tired out poor Buster.
Labels: films, GPS, illness, Jo, walk
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Thoughtfulness
(backposting) Jo seems suddenly to have "got" empathy. It's a big developmental step, it seems: she's suddently being thoughtful: anticipating what people might like, giving them things, doing to stuff for them, that sort of thing. We've been making a big deal of it, and saying how thoughtful she's being. And it's made a great deal of difference to the weekend. For a start, it made Moo's Friday with the girls a lot better, but we went into Cambridge today, and Jo's listening better and life is a lot easier. Yes, she loses it from time to time, but that's fair enough - she's not even 3 yet - and I think the fact that she can (more often) see why we're asking her to do things, because she can see things from someone else's point of view, makes her life easier, too.I took Buster for a lovely long walk today: finishing just as a beautiful sunset revealed itself. I really love walking: just using my body as it's supposed to be, and enjoying the countryside.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Church
(backposting) Went to Gosfield church this morning with Jo, to their Harvest Festival family service. Around 100 people there, lots of kids, and Jo was up for lots of participation. It didn't matter that she didn't know the actions (or, indeed, the words) to the song that was sung at the front, we had to go up there anyway. And we might not have brought any food with us (I hadn't realised that it was their Harvest Festival), but she was definitely going to go to the back and take a pack of biscuits up to the altar. We had a good time, and she stuck with it very well.Walk with Moo, Jo, Miri and Buster in the afternoon, and then swimming with Jo. I made a shepherd's pie for supper, and we watched some TV to finish the day.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Dark
1900 is officially too late to go for a walk with the dog in the country. Without a torch. And a very black dog. But we had a lovely time, and he really enjoyed it, as did I. Who needs light, huh? I chose a walk I know very well, and which doesn't have too much walking under trees, and I could pretty much see most of the time.Sunday, September 09, 2007
Double preaching
I preached at both Shimpling (0900) and Long Melford (1030) today. Same sermon, though it went better second time. According to Ian - who officiated at both (I took up to the Eucharistic Prayer, excepting Absolution) - I was very "ummy" and "ahhy" at the beginning, first time round, and he came out of it intending to tell me that I really need to write down my sermons (which I've tried, and don't like), but second time round it was much better and more fluid. It seems that I need to work on the beginnings. I tend to run through sermons lots of times in my head, but I think I need to work on the very first few sentences better, as that's what seems to let me down. Useful feedback.Poor Moo (who wasn't feeling great) had Jo and Miri for four and a half hours in the morning, in the end, and was very good about it. I took Jo for a good swim in the afternoon, and after the girls had bathed, took Miri and Buster for nearly an hour's walk. Pushed it hard, and my calfs (calves?) now hurt.
Joined Facebook last night, after Mark invited me. It was going to happen one day. You can find me there: "Mike Bursell".
Tomorrow is Jo's first day at pre-school. Oooh!
Labels: facebook, Jo, preaching, swimming, walk
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Buster back
Jo slept through till 0600, which isn't bad. Headed off to pick Buster up this morning, and he was very pleased to see us. The other thing we decided that we needed to do was to let Miriam try some real food. So, breast milk and mashed banana, but she needs a high chair. So, despite the astonishing money nightmare (two holidays, Catherine's job deciding that they'd overpaid her last month, and taking the balance off this months... - you get the idea), we went and bought a new one for Jo. Passed the old one to Miri, who didn't seem to care.So, Miri had her first meal, and did very well. She's been after it for quite a while, as mentioned previously, and was more convincing with it that Jo was, for her first meal. Speaking of convincing:
- cricket: we won convincingly (final one-day international against India, winning the series)
- football: we won fairly convincingly (3-0 against Israel)
- rugby: we won rather less convincingly that we ought to have done (28-10 against the USA)
Labels: walk
Monday, August 27, 2007
Bank holiday - aargh!
(backposting) Just when you want some rest, it's a bank holiday. Moo really deserves some, as she had to look after the girls all last week, one of whom (Jo) caught a bug, and kept throwing up. They were all with her parents, but Jenny, Turtle and Mouse were there, so little rest was had by anyone. Did a bit of work in the front garden with Jo also "helping", and in the evening when to Si and D's for a walk with the dogs and then supper. Ended rather later than we'd planned, but had a good time with them all, plus Andy and Zae.Sunday, August 12, 2007
Detoxing long walk
(backposting) Up at 0630 this morning with Jo, soon followed by Victoria with Sennon. Victoria and I sat around drinking tea and feeling somewhat sorry for ourselves while the children played. Moo came down after a couple more hours of sleep.I was planning to get to church with Jo after Victoria headed off, but Jo was adamant that she didn't want to go, and was very, very tired, so I set off on my own. I turned back within 500m, and came back to spend some time with Moo, and support her with Jo if required. I decided that there will be more than enough church next week (the ERMC summer school), and that family should come first. Jo had a big sleep in the end, which she really needed, and Moo and I had some nice time together.
After lunch, we all went to Broaks Wood, the other side of Sible Hedingham, for a bit of a walk. Just planning on 35-40 minutes, we got hopelessly lost (as we _always_ do when we go there - only more than usual, this time), and ended up spending more like an hour and a half there. Miri slept most of the time, and Jo did very well, though she did need some carrying. We collected leaves from various trees for her to do things with tomorrow.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Prime birthday
No, I'm not 41. Or 31. Somewhere between that, which should give you all the clues you need.I've asked for money from people to allow me to buy a cassock, which I really am beginning to need. Poll and Lee gave me a nice top, and Moo and the girls also gave me a random Wii game which has been annoying me throughout the day! (Which is kind of the point).
I was a bit grumpy to begin with, as I woke up rather early without enough sleep. Got a bit happier when my main machine broke: seems like a motherboard (Mobo) issue, which will require a new box, though I can use lots of bits from my old one. This made me happier because it's quite an old box.
Got a bit more grumpy when I had a look at our finances, which aren't really in a position to be buying a new box right now, after our recent holiday.
Had a good lunch with Ian, though. He gave me some good feedback on my evensong last Sunday:
- don't saunter when processing! Maybe OK when on my own in a small parish church, and he wouldn't want me not to be me, but... Entirely fair!
- at times, when I made announcements to the congregation, I didn't face them. Also entirely fair, though Ian did take my point that more than half of the people in the church were actually in the choir: in the other direction!
- I intoned the responses in a very formal way. Not how he does it, but no problem. Just good to know the style that I used by default. It was pretty intentional, actually, and it's such a lovely acoustic that I loved singing like that there.
A small supper, as I had a good lunch and lots of cake.
Labels: birthday, family, services, singing, walk, wii
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Mooism
"Come on, then, let's go Mrs Madam." Jo talking to one of her dolls, who was supposed to be coming "shopping".I've discovered that I'm supposed to be doing my assignments a little earlier than I'd expected - for August, rather than September, but that's OK. I do need to get them going, though.
Miri's been difficult for Moo today - very restless - and I feel a bit guilty that she was very good for the hour that I took her and Buster out for a walk. At least Moo had some non-baby time, though she did have to look after a rather awkward Jo.
Lots of travel coming up. Less time with the family, more time for ERMC work. Hmm.
Labels: ERMC, Jo, miriam, Moo, walk
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Walking, preaching, zooing and training
So, I'm sitting in front of Britain's Got Talent (please, oh, please don't let either of the two children win: and if one of them has to, not the dancing one - why am I in tears, oh _puh-lease_?), after quite a day. Father's Day, for course. Presents:- card by Jo
- picture of Jo and Miriam in a frame decorated beautifully by Jo
- Pirates of the Caribbean CD (from the first film) - great
- Songs for the Young at Heart, which is good car listening
- Jimmy Carr - Live Collection (very rude, but _very_ funny)
- Of Works before Justification.
- Works done before the grace of Christ and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, are not pleasant to God, forasmuch as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ, neither do they make men meet to receive grace, or (as the School authors say) deserve grace of congruity: yea, rather for that they are not done as God hath willed and commanded them to be done, we doubt not but they have the nature of sin.
But we went to have lunch, and then off to the zoo, which Jo enjoyed a lot. Was too scared by the "big train", but did the small one in the "familiar friends" area twice.
Then, as Moo was putting Jo down to bed, I took Miriam and Buster for another walk. Heaven knows that I don't treat my body as a temple, but I love walking. Hard, through the country, preferably with a dog, and a child strapped somewhere about my person. There's something so liberating about the physicality of it which I never would have expected to enjoy. So we thank God.
Labels: family, preaching, walk, zoo
Saturday, June 02, 2007
0600
No, not our waking up time (I was awake around 0430, Jo at 0500, Moo and Miri at 0545), but when Jo came into the spare room with me, we spent an hour negotiating (mainly my telling her that it wasn't morning time yet) and half asleep for some of that. But we were having a cuddle at 0600, and Jo said to me "can I see your watch?" I showed it to her, and she said "look at the little hand: it's pointing at the number six. It's six o'clock". We've been working on this, but wow!So, lots of marks to her. After some time with Moo and Miri, they went downstairs, and I got another hour and a half's sleep, which really helped. Then Jo and Buster and I went for a nice long walk again, and Jo came back filthy (she'd got her boots stuck in some mud, and fallen down more than once). A quick bath, and then out to Hartest (where we nearly bought a house once) for a lovely meal, then shopping, then home to let the dog have some quality time.
After that, we headed off to Long Melford. On the way to Hartest (which we'd reached via a circuitous route aimed at keeping Jo asleep for as long as possible), we'd noticed that there was a fair on the Green. So, we thought we'd take Jo there.
I "won" a cuddly tigger, Jo refused to spend more than a minute in a bouncy air-filled thingy, and then to go on anything else, but had a lovely time. She just seemed to like wandering around the fair (four times?), and eating a hot dog, so all was well.
We got home later, had some ice cream and jelly, and then put Jo to bed. Another walk with Buster, and then Grease is the Word on TV.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Suffolk Show
Today was the day of the Suffolk Show. Not the only day, and it's not as if we were all going. But Jo was going with Mel, and she (Mel) arrived around 0700 to pick up Jo: they were gone by 0730. And it was quiet. Yes, Miriam was around, but she was quite sleepy. We had a sleep, I did some work, had a bath, those sorts of things. It was fantastic.Around lunchtime, Moo and I took Buster for a walk with Miri again. We're trying to make it a bit of a feature, as it's good for all of us, and we had a lovely time again. Moo did some more work, and the health visitor came around. She's happy with Moo, and happy with Miri (57cm long, 5.38kg heavy - just under 12lb).
This evening in front of the TV, I finally got round to writing part of one of my "Life and Service" module assignments. We were supposed to create a liturgy for a major festival (I chose Good Friday) for a congregation that we knew. The second half of the assignment is to discuss the decisions made, and I know where I'm going with that.
I wrote a liturgy for a service with Jo, for Good Friday. I'd constructed a little one off the cuff for Palm Sunday, after we missed the benefice service, and it worked very well, so I thought I'd try it again. Jo had just turned 2, for reference, and Miri hadn't yet been born.
Good Friday
A liturgy for Josephine
Instructions are in italics. All other words are to be spoken by the adult. It is important to be ready to adapt the liturgy to accommodate Josephine's reactions, or to follow up on questions.
Preparation: tell Josephine that we're going to have our own special service, walk up to the church together.
Enter the church with Josephine. Pick up a hymnbook.
Let's go up to the front and start the service.
Walk with Jo to the front of the church.
Shall we sing a song now? A hymn about Jesus? You can sing too, if you like.
Sing “Lord of the Dance”.
Go to the altar rail, and sit down.
God, please help us talk to you and do what you want.
We've come into church for a special service, to say thank you to God, and to say sorry for things that we shouldn't have done.
Shall we kneel down on the cushion?
Kneel down on the altar rail cushion or a nearby hassock, and help Jo to do the same if she wants to.
Jesus tells us that we should say sorry for things we shouldn't have done, because he loves us.
Hold hands.
I'm sorry for the times I haven't done what I should have done, particularly when I've upset Jojo or Mummy. So “sorry, Jojo”, and “sorry to God” as well.
Jo – sometimes you need to say sorry, too, don't you? Shall we say sorry to God?
Sorry God.
Give Jo a hug.
God loves us very much, just like Mummy and Daddy, and he says that everything is OK because he loves us.
Thank you God.
Stand up.
Right, shall we read the Bible now?
Pick up Jo, walk to the lectern.
One day, Jesus went with his friends to a garden near Jerusalem, but one of his friends was feeling very nasty, and when some soldiers and other men came, he told them that they should take Jesus away. His friends tried to stop them, and one of his best friends, Peter, even hit one of the men. But it's not good to hit people, and Jesus told him to stop.
So the soldiers took Jesus away, and they were horrid to him. In the end, a man called Pontius Pilate talked to Jesus, and asked him lots of questions, but didn't really understand what Jesus said. So he asked the people who lived in Jerusalem, and they didn't like Jesus either.
So Pontius Pilate made Jesus go on a cross. And Mary, Jesus' mummy, came to see him with one of his friends, and she was very sad because Jesus hurt lots and lots. And in the end Jesus died, and all of his friends were scared, and they went away.
Give Jo a big cuddle.
But don't forget that Jesus, although he died, came back to life, because he's so special and is God's son.
Let Jo down, lead her back to the altar rail, sit down on the cushion.
Now let's say some prayers. Is there anything you'd like to say thank you for? Or anyone who's not very well? Who are your best friends?
Jesus, please look after Mummy and Daddy and Jojo and the baby in mummy's tummy. And Megan and Wills and Buster, and Nana and Wa-wa and Granny and Grandpa.
Include any suggestions from Jo.
Please make all people who aren't very well feel better, especially Grandpa's eye. And look after Mummy and the baby in mummy's tummy.
Jesus, please look after everyone who's died, particularly baby Tommy and Suzy. Look after them and all the people who love them so much.
Sit Jojo on your knee, give her a big cuddle.
Let's say a special prayer that Jesus said to God and told us to say:
Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be they name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory
for ever and ever.
Amen.
Stand up.
Let's finish the service:
May God look after us and keep us safe for ever. Amen.
Kiss Jojo, hold hands and walk down the aisle together out of the church.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Reaching (and pooing)
Over the past few days, Miri's started reaching for things - and sometimes getting them, too. She's very smiley and interactive at the moment (when she's not asleep, feeding or crying, obviously), which is great for me, as I get some good non-asleep, non-feeding action - and some crying. She also had a poo in the bath today. With Jo. We played it down somewhat, and I don't think Jo realised, but it turned all of a sudden into a "why don't we have a shower?" experience.Had a lovely walk with Moo, Miri and Buster over lunch. Lovely until it started raining, obviously, but hey - who cares?
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Getting rained on
Today has been a beautiful hot day, with temperatures at least above 20 degrees Celsius. I took Buster for a walk at lunchtime, and as we'd been moving rather fast, and he was pretty hot, I let him have a swim in a lake nearby. I stood under a large willow tree - around 20m tall - and was somewhat surprised to find that I was being rained on.There was a gentle, but steady, fall of drops from the tree under which I was standing - I've never come across anything like it. I went out of the shade of the tree, and it stopped: it was definitely coming from the tree. I wondered if it was respiration (which produces water) or some condensation from the air (though it didn't feel that humid). In the end, I sent this SMS to AQA (Any Question Answered):
- I was just standing under a large (20m+) willow tree by a small lake. Although the temperature is in the high 20s Celsius under a clear blue sky, and it's nearly 2pm, the tree was dripping water on me, like light rain. Why? Condensation, respiration, or other reason?
- AQA: The tree was losing water by the process of "transpiration" through it's (sic) leaves. On a hot day a large willow tree can lose up to 5,000 gallons of water.
Monday, April 09, 2007
Dog, pub, shopping
(backposting) Well, everyone slept in, including the dog (not a surprise, given how late we went to bed), and when we finally got up, we met Dottie (another Newf) and her owners (Sonya and Paul) in Clare Country Park, where we went for a lovely walk. Both Moo and Jo walked very well, given their respective sizes, and it's a pity that Sonya and Paul are planning to move to Cornwall, because Buster and Dottie got on very well. In fact, Buster got Dotty swimming for the first time, which everyone was very pleased about.We went out to the pub (in Cavendish) for lunch, and sat outside, as the weather was so nice. Then shopping, and a lazy family afternoon.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Liturgy
(backposting) Jo and I went up to the church to catch the Palm Sunday service, only to discover that it was taking place at a different church in the benefice, and had started around 30 minutes ago. So I decided to create a little liturgy that Jo would enjoy and understand. We had a confession - where we said sorry for things - an absolution (an adapted version of the collect for the 21st Sunday after Trinity), a reading (a simplified version of the Palm Sunday reading - the Entry into Jerusalem), some intercessions, some thanksgiving, and we sang "Lord of the Dance". Jo seemed to enjoy it, and I think it was a rather good service.I'm supposed to be putting together a liturgy - and reflection on it - for Harvest, Christmas, or Good Friday, and I'm thinking of doing one similar to today's, but for Good Friday. For just me and Jo, maybe Kate (Moo's mum) as well.
On a different note - I've been meaning to do a clean(ish) install of Ubuntu on my main machine for a while, and got round to doing it last night, which meant that I was a little late to bed. Not because it went badly, but because I went better than expected and I got more done, which is good. Luckily Jo slept well, and we did a bit of relay sleeping in the morning to top ourselves up.
Went for a lovely (if slow!) walk with Moo (who can't walk fast at the moment, but does maintain a steady pace) and Jo (who can walk fast, but stops for every puddle, stick, tree-stump and plant). Oh, and Buster - who kept running between them to check that they were both OK.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
A great weekend - and a difficult question
Yesterday we had a fantastic day out in Aldeburgh, and today a lovely day, too. Moo's engrossed in baby stuff putting together, baby stuff sorting, baby stuff washing, baby stuff ... You get the idea.In Aldeburgh, we ate at Regatta (terrible site, great restaurant) - very impressed to see that over half of the tables had children at them. The staff were friendly, helpful, and rushed off ther feet. We spent lots of time sitting on the beach, where for me mainly meant being handed stones by Jo, which I had to throw into the sea. I couldn't have been happier.
Today, we got up, did some tidying/hoovering, and then I took Jo to Holy Trinity, Long Melford. Apart from knocking down a portable display of books during the sermon (by a visiting preacher), she behaved very well, and I found that I had enough voice to sing "Guide me, O thou great Redeemer" lustily at the end. Ian, the incumbent, has pretty much agreed to supervise me for a placement, which is a relief and a joy.
Jo fell asleep in the car, so I left her there while Moo and I started our lunch outside - it was that warm today - and she joined us when she woke up. I then took her for a walk in the backpack we have for her, and we had a joyful 50 minutes chatting about pretty much everything, and to some horses we met. A cup of tea, then all three of us went swimming. Home, for a family supper, and then Jo to bed. I wrapped Moo's presents, wrote her cards (one from me (and the bump, codename "Fluffy"), one from Jo), and Moo's just gone up to bed. I'll probably log into SecondLife in a bit.
The difficult question is what to do about the dog we met on Friday. The RSPCA rescue kennel left us a message while we were out swimming asking us to come back if we're still interested. We're trying to work out if we still are. It'll make for a very complicated summer, but if the time is right, the time is right. We've decided to got back to see him again, to see how Jo takes to him in the open, to see how obedient he is, to ask how he is with kennels, and to try to get our heads round the whole thing. We'd like a dog again. Is now the time? Is he the dog? God knows (and I mean that).
Labels: church, dog, Jo, Moo, sea, walk
Monday, February 05, 2007
RSA 2007
(backposting) I'm at RSA 2007 this week. Started yesterday evening, went well. We've got a great booth, and had lots of visitors: let's hope it continues busy for the rest of the week.In the morning, I went for a long walk around San Francisco, encompassing the areas of Mission, Castro and some of Market. Castro was very interesting: it's the gay culture centre of San Francisco. Found some good books there, and got some badges, as I'd hoped.
Monday, January 01, 2007
A day out at Felixstowe
Visited the FBI today (not that FBI) for lunch. Then a walk along Felixstowe beach. Didn't go very far, partly because Jo didn't fancy walking much (why would you bother when you can sit on the sand or throw shells and pebbles in the sea?), and becuase Moo was finding it heavy going (she _said_ it was because she was having a stretchy tummy day, but I think that the enormous helping of haddock at chips may have had something to do with it). A lovely day out, though.Sunday, December 31, 2006
Last post of the year
Sitting watching Sense and Sensibility, which we recorded last night. We love Alan Rickman.Not sure there's anything much to blog about, to be honest. Meant to take Jo swimming, but all of the pools in the area seemed closed, so Sennon and Victoria came around instead, and we went for a walk. Made flapjacks, ate them, or some of them. Moo made a lovely fish pie for supper.
We've got a new synchronised blog coming up on the 10th January: spiritual warfare, which is a new subject for me.
Here's to next year, 2007. May it bring Light into the life of all who read.
Labels: cooking, friends, swimming, walk
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