I cycled to school, just a little. Well, several days a week, anyway. Then it turned cold, which coincided with parents' evenings and so driving became an acceptable and face-saving option.
We longed eagerly for snow, but, despite our proximity to France which received dozens of centimetres of the beautiful white stuff, we were disappointed. A few sleet and hail showers, a little fog and quite a lot of wind was all that the February Freeze had for us.
Oh well. We'd had more than enough moisture in January. The front lawn was still suffering the effects of skidding cars, with pools of water lying in ruts in the grass. It will all grow back. Eventually.
My parents' evenings were a delight, as always. I was amused to discover that one of the parents had been to school in Nairobi for a short time, born in the Middle East: very interested in what Cat and Jonny were doing in similar places...I love discovering connections and relationships. That aside, it is always good to exchange information about the children, finding that, in general, we were all on the same page in setting careful boundaries in order to set a firm foundation for the future.
Tiring, though. Interspersed were a couple of evenings of Sozo training: fascinating to see what a simple healing process it can be - looking forward to finding out more.
Then, one particular joy was being invited to our neighbours on each side and making contact again with Pat and Peter opposite. Catherine was celebrating her 40th, mostly with nursing friends and family. Her children are so delightful that it never matters when they kick the football over, though their parents are embarrassed about it. We certainly don't mind. The evening was great fun, particularly as there were two school parents there who were pleased to see us, and it was also easy to discover various Guernsey connections with various friends and relatives. Then Nicky and Richard had also invited us to supper a couple of days later...
After that: off to France for half term in The Beast. Details on TravelsWithPickle as usual.
The temperatures started to drop as the week progressed. By the time we were back at school on the last Monday of the month, we were treated to some snow flurries, with more coming in overnight. Woohoo!
Tuesday morning was snowy, clear and icy. I waited expectantly for the news that school would be closed... except that it wasn't! All the state schools on the island were closed and it was only ours, and the private girls' school, which remained open. Drat.
Rachel, a, colleague living nearby gave me a lift and we crept in together. Everyone was VERY cautions so our drive took 40 minutes instead of the usual 12. Better safe than sorry.
Once at school, I had 14 excited children, an extended breaktime out in the snow - both settled snow in the sunshine and then, half an hour later, thickly falling snowflakes - and a staffroom of disgruntled teachers, all with skidding car or 'having to walk in' stories.
The snow eased off... then started again... so thickly that Rachel and I started to wonder how we would get home. We live the greatest distance away from school and walking home wasn't an option... eventually we got permission to leave early, so crept home again.
An hour later, the sun came out. #feelingguilty #colleaguesandchildrenstillatschool. Oh dear.
An hour after that, a heavy blizzard came in. We'd timed it to coincide with a dog walk: we all returned encrusted in snow. Pickle was NOT amused. We thought we'd have a long 'drying off' job to do on her, but as soon as she approached the front door she gave a vigorous shake and the snow flew off. Didn't know she was so sensible....
So the snow settled, ready for the last day of February. Temperatures below zero, so freezing on to the ground. Tomorrow is another day....
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| Evidence of a trespassing rabbit, having a good look around... |
