Wednesday 2 July 2008

I'm still here - just!

It's been over a month since I last wrote a post! Just as well I'm blogging without obligation! LOL

Firstly, thank you to Delighted Hands who contacted me recently to see if I was all right - I am, thank you!

I was so pleased to have that interview back in March - little did I know where it would lead! As I've said in a previous post, I got work almost immediately. Then I was offered ten hours a week block for this term [April-June]. It meant I had steady work on Monday mornings [9am-noon], Thursday afternoons [12:45-2:45] and all day Friday [9am-2:45] plus one hour paid for related duties [never had that in my teaching life!]. After just two weeks, the Monday morning stretched to all day Monday. Then an extra 90 minutes was added to Thursday morning; this then became an extra three hours for five of the last six weeks! Plus, my hours were extended in my first job from six hours a week to eight hours a week. So, in total, I have been teaching all day, five days a week plus one evening a week for the past eight weeks. Or, to put it another way, I was doing 133% of the load of a full-time teacher [across two jobs]. In addition, because I have volunteers at my first job, I was doing an extra eight hours preparation every week. I'm not complaining, I love teaching English to adults from other cultural backgrounds - I'm just looking forward to a break!

Then came the engagement party! I booked a caterer so I didn't really have to do anything on the night but turn up and socialise with our seventy or so guests! But it was still a hectic time - the day before the engagement party was WM's birthday. It was also the day my parents arrived from the country for the party. We went out for dinner and stayed up way too late talking. WM and I still had to work the following day. Saturday was mildly busy, I had to drive up to the Knitters' Guild meeting to deliver some goodies [more about that in a moment] then take my parents shopping. On Sunday we went to see Phantom of the Opera - a matinee performance that started at 3pm but meant that we were away from home from 12.30 till 8.00pm! I was almost glad to be going back to work on Monday, except that I was tired, tired, tired! [read exhausted].

This is the last week of term for TAFE - I am teaching tomorrow then I have eleven glorious non-teaching days in front of me! I've been busy boning up on the intricacies of the new Certificates in Spoken and Written English and preparing classes for next term so I can relax and forget about it all! I was supposed to have a cortisone injection [hydro-dilatation] in my right shoulder during the holidays but I've decided to forgo; it can wait until September! I want to go to Bendigo for the Australian Wool and Sheep Festival in the second week of the holidays and don't want a sore shoulder for the long drive!

Now, back to my delivery to the Knitters Guild. I was disappointed my contact from Springwood church wasn't there. I would have liked to have seen the look on her face when I delivered 216 items for Australian Inland Mission! The photos don't do all the items justice, but in three photos you can see:
126 beanies
49 jumpers/cardigans/vests
17 scarves
7 sets bootees
5 hair ties
3 ponchos
2 rugs
1 pr leggings
set wrist warmers
1 bib
1 pr slippers
1 sunhat
1 pr mittens
1 pr tracksuit pants

Thank you to all the kind knitters/crocheters who donated through Knit4Charities and a special thank you to Pam who started the online group.

I have been knitting - I need something "mindless" to do at the end of a busy day! Since my last post, I have completed DD's poncho, made three child size ponchos, and almost finished one for mum [just have to do the fringing]. I've knitted another adult beanie and a long-sleeved vulnerable baby jumper. I've started another blanket for Wrap With Love, this will have some entrelac but only on the two narrow ends.

I haven't kept up with blogs though; my blogline feeds are up to 441!! Guess what I'll be doing with at least one day of holidays? LOL

6 comments:

  1. i did wonder about you recently and figured you'd show up some time!

    That's an astounding amount of charity knitting. Fabulous result!

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  2. Oh, Bells has already said what I was going to say! Good to hear your absence has just been to general busyness and nothing bad.

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  3. Glad to hear from you again. Have a great time in Bendigo. Jealous that I am unable to go. :)

    Hope to catch up soon. Yeah for school Holidays.

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  4. Haven't you been busy! Fantastic effort with the charity knitting and congrats. over all that work. See you soon, I hope?

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  5. Oh how lovely to see a post and with pictures. I had wondered about you too. It definitely sounds like life has been hectic. How is the shoulder feeling now?

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  6. Welcome and so glad to know it was good buies that kept you off screen! Thanks for sharing the charity knitting-it is inspiring to see that collective donations do add up! Have a great break with your daughter!

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