Category: Random thoughts

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Life More about me Random thoughts

Shoe size

I don’t own many shoes; I’m just not the type. (Sorry, those of you who are!) So when Hubby convinced me to join his gym several years ago, I splurged on a second pair of sports shoes, to use there. Fast forward to a few weeks back, when I looked at them and realised I should probably replace them.

So I did. Unfortunately though, the shop I went to (and didn’t have time to get to another) didn’t have any size 8 1/2 left – so I bought size 9 and decided to just deal with it. They weren’t too large anyway, I discovered, after wearing them to the gym a few times.

The following week though, school returned. And as per usual, I wore my size 8 1/2, non-gym sports shoes, on the day staff wear sport uniform.

By 3pm, I noticed not only did my shoes feel tight, my feet were really rather sore! Perhaps I’d been wrong all along, and am actually size 9 instead of 8 1/2?

So it was off shoe-shopping again yesterday. And I’ve concluded I really don’t like the current trend of sports shoes. Where have the colours gone from a few years back? Buying plain white or plain black sloes makes me feel like a school kid again. Sigh.

Have a pain-free day today yourself, dear Reader!

– KRidwyn

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Random thoughts teaching

Leaping

This came across my Facebook feed the other day:

And when I finished laughing (gotta love those subliminal messages!) I wondered why – from a writer’s point of view – I found it so funny.

I’ve decided it’s because of the leap needed on the part of the reader. The story is headed in one direction (they make each other laugh; they have a good time) but then leaps to a completely different one (I’m in jail) and it’s the juxtaposition of these two ideas that is startling and therefore humorous. We get a clue it may happen (one was a police officer) but the brain does’t immediately think ‘going to be arrested and therefore need bail money’ and so when it happens, it’s a surprise but not an out-of-the-blue one.

Which made me think of my story from a few weeks’ back… again, boy meets girl and mesmerises her with his eyes – but then ends up being a vampire (I tried channelling Twilight with the ‘mesmerising’ bit). And I wonder if this ‘leaping’ idea is why Janet Reid liked my ‘Stillborn story’ where the reader is led in one direction, but then reader understanding is needed to follow the story to the conclusion?

Anyway, just a few random thoughts this morning. Have a leap-full day yourself, dear Reader!

– KRidwyn

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Life Random thoughts

Resistant…?

Visitors to my home quickly notice housecleaning is not one of my strengths. Far from it. I’m a believer in ‘good enough’ rather than ‘good’ in this area; living with a husband and three cherubs aged 15, almost 13 and 12 – none of whom I’ve managed to train with any huge degree of success in ‘tidiness’ let along ‘cleanliness’? – this is a battle I choose to NOT pick. Sanity trumps in this matter.

Not that I enjoy the clutter and dirt. I do what I can, within the limits of my sanity and potentially-undiagnosed-OCD-ness. And preparedness helps too.

For example, I buy clothes which don’t need ironing. And which don’t require specialised ‘wash-by-hand’ instructions. Yes, I’m one of *those* people who read the clothes labels!

The other day though, I was bamboozled, flummoxed, mystified (pick your adjective because I’m still so puzzled by this turn of events, I can’t!) because I read the label on my new five-pack of sports socks only when I was home, removing the tags.

Did you catch those bullet-points? The bottom one proudly asserting these socks were resistant to washing and dry-cleaning?

Resistant to washing. Really. On SOCKS???

If there’s anything you’d want for socks – arguably the clothing item prone to the most dirt and smell – you’d want them to love being washed! To embrace the process of cleansing; to relish the removal of smell and dirt and grime from their pores. To long for it, be eager for it, desiring all else to be clean, be greedy for the water and soap detergent more than any other clothes, to savour the cleanliness at the end of the process… and so on and so forth.

To deliberately design clothes – especially socks – with ‘washing resistance’? I don’t know. I guess I’m missing something here. Because to me, that simply beggars belief.

Here’s hoping you have a more enlightened day yourself, dear Reader!

– KRidwyn

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Random thoughts Work Writing

Reacquainting

I thought I might try this again today. Reacquaint myself with my blog, with the whole process of writing-and-sharing which hasn’t happened in… well… quite some time now.

I’m healthy, and have been all year. Riddled with guilt for being so healthy, when so many aren’t. But as a teacher, I’ve been run off my feet. How much of ‘not blogging’ is due to the former; how much to the latter? Who knows. And does it matter anyway?

Well, I’m trying again. Blogging regularly. Not sure if it’ll be weekly or – gasp! – daily. The worst that can happen? It doesn’t last. My pride cops another dent. Sigh. But no real biggie. On the flip-side, perhaps I can make blogging into a habit again. I like that idea. And I’ve noticed I’m always happiest when I’m writing.

So. Here goes. All things going well, I’ll see you again soon dear Reader! Until then, keep safe and well…

– KRidwyn

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#blogjune Blogging challenges Random thoughts

#blogJune day 15

So it looks like the rain has set in… meaning our fireplace wood is wet 🙁

 

But… apparently it was Winter Solstice yesterday. Which was good because I don’t like the cold. At all. So the days are getting longer again, and the weather warming up – this is a good thing for me!

Have a warm day yourself, dear Reader!

  • KRidwyn
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#blogjune Random thoughts

#blogJune day12

Check out this sign Miss12 showed me the other day – you might want to zoom in…

Now *that’s* clever marketing. (If you’re wondering – that’s not ‘roast’ duck under the third stream of gravy!)

Have a surprising day yourself, dear Reader 🙂

– KRidwyn

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#blogjune Random thoughts teaching Work

#blogJune day 4

When I first started my current position in July 2019, I was lucky enough to inherit two and a half extra-large containers worth of LEGO. And, of course, the obligatory paraphernalia which always gets dumped in LEGO containers. You know: Connect4 counters; marbles; dinosaurs; assorted playing pieces from various board games; matchbox cars; domino tiles; the odd ear or tongue or feet from a Mr Potato Head; and so on. The containers were rarely used, because when my younger students would dig around looking for pieces they wanted, they’d give up, disappointed.

Fast forward to Term One 2020. My cherubs and I watched LEGOMasters Season One (from 2019) and seemed keen to watch Season Two. So over the Easter school holidays, I lugged home the two and a half extra-large containers, and also purchased a couple of 4-drawer wheeled trolleys, so we could start organising it all.

It took several looooong weeks! But we kept at it, and when the kids tired of sorting, I soldiered on, and finally all the LEGO was sorted. I’ll have to post the photo of the fantastic looking trolleys sometime. But the first ever LEGO photo has to be this:

because it’s something my father made when he first visited, post-COVID19. He and Master11 sat together, building and playing, and it was a lovely sight to see 🙂

Anyway, that’s my LEGO story. Do you have one, dear Reader?

And that’s it from me. Have a great day, and see you tomorrow!

  • KRidwyn
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#blogjune Blogging challenges my novel-in-progress Random thoughts teaching

And… it’s #blogJune time!

Well, what a difference 12 months make!

May 31, 2019: I was employed as Head of Middle School at a local private school. I was stressed, exhausted and a fortnight away – although I didn’t know it! – from being made redundant. Man, am I glad I didn’t play along with #blogJune last year!

May 31, 2020: I’m employed as Teacher Librarian (and also Head of House) at a different local private school. I’m not stressed – in spite of tumultuous changes in schools because of COVID-19 – and I’m not exhausted – again, even though I’ve been working dozens and dozens of extra hours in both the school and Library areas of my job.

And these past few days, I’ve even managed to get back to writing again!

Not to mention some reading… but I’ll leave that for tomorrow. Have a great day, dear Reader!

– KRidwyn

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momentous events More about me Random thoughts

Returning you to your regular program…?

Possibly, that is. After all, it was March 9 when I last posted. Nine weeks ago. And that’s pretty sad.

But then again, the world is certainly a much sadder place than it was nine weeks ago. And I don’t know about you, but I’ve been having a hard time writing. Surviving-with-sanity-mostly-intact in this new world we’re inhabiting has been more of the order of the day.

Having said that though, I have good news. My baby budgie (well, born almost a year ago now) became a Mum just over a month ago. Making me a legit-grandma!

We couldn’t keep the baby though, for a variety of reasons, so I listed him on Gumtree yesterday morning… and he sold within 7 hours! Crazy…

Well, off into the week we go. Hope it’s a ‘sane’ one for you, dear Reader 🙂

– KRidwyn

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Random thoughts

On sound…

On my morning walk the other day, I was confused by an unusual sound, and stopped to work out what it was.

A no-longer-dry creekbed was rushing with water!

I hope your week as is plentiful, dear Reader!

– KRidwyn