dottyspots

We finally managed to go on Sunday and typically we were beginning to despair, having walked around the woods, at getting any sort of a reasonable amount when, leaving at the oppostive entrance to the one we'd entered by, we found enough to fill an icecream tub

We made apple & blackberry crumble (using apples given to us by next door) and froze the rest (I would make jam, but don't have any spare jars having given them away when we moved).  Then, whilst delivering Avon stuff today one of the ladies up the road gave us some more eating & cooking apples (and some tomatoes) - I'm starting to wonder whether we look needy   She asked the boys if they liked apples, they replied yes and she invited us into her wonderful (it really was beautiful) garden - she had planted an 'avenue' of pears and apples trained over a walkway and she and her husband were really interested to here that R. likes gardening - she showed him various different flowers inc. chocolate cosmos (sp?) that smells of chocolate.

Why can't I have a garden that looks like that?  Oh well, gives me something to aspire to!

It's been a rushed day getting orders sorted out, trying to get a backlog of paperwork organised (and in some cases chased-up-after) and sorting out bits for the new Parent & Child group I'll be running with Kris which starts on Thursday.

The books I ordered from Christopherus have arrived, but I've only been able to cast a quick glance over them.  They look good.  The Joyful Movement book has some great ideas for 'active learning' and the Form Drawing book should be great for Erk and his pencil control.  I also ordered the Kindergarten book for ideas for the Parent & Child group and because I guess some of the things will still be useful for the older ones too.  Just been so busy I haven't had my usual afternoon sit-down-with-a-cup-of-coffee-and-read, didn't even manage to read the children's story this afternoon (which is unusual for us unless we have visitors or are out).

I've started a cabled hat for Nin.  I'm going to knit two hats and sew one on the inside of the other one to make it warmer and reversible .  I could've finished the 1st hat today if I hadn't been so busy, still, it's sitting waiting for me (Nin even tried to bring it over whilst I was writing, saying, "Ninny's hat!  Ninny's hat!" She knows it's for her!)

Anyway, I need to get on and fold washing before I go to bed.

The past few days have flown by without me blogging anything.  I've picked up an infection (not anything that would have affected anyone visiting on Wednesday!) so am on antibiotics and feel really crap.  I've been sleeping pretty much constantly since Thursday, interjected with a bit of knitting and explaining the division of fractions to Erk and general fractions to R. (who seems to be picking it up really quickly, so I think we can spend next week finishing up before moving on to something else.

Wednesday was a really busy day, Sarah and gang came round to visit and in addition we also had Jax and Kirsty's children whilst they went shopping for yarn bargains. They brought me back some merino wool, DB baby cashmerino and some 'bog standard wool' for felting with, which was fantastic. Erk has started knitting a cuff from the Rowan 38 mag which he will felt and then embellish (he's after lots of different wristbands and has really surprised me recently by making some very thoughtful comments about designs in the new mag. and suggestions about how they might be adapted for other purposes, perhaps an undiscovered talent me thinks - anyway, he's happily knitting away ready to design a felted wristband).

So apart from the busy Wednesday (where despite a houseful of children, the day was relatively peaceful and everyone appeared to get on really well, even refusing suggested activities because they were too busy with their own inventions), it's been a very quiet few days. It has pretty much solidly p****d it down, so no blackberry picking for us (even if I was feeling up to fighting through undergrowth, which ATM, I'm really not) - oh and the fridge *still* doesn't work, we're moving up to the 2months now (I first phoned Samsung on 5th July and have had 4 engineers out so far), to say I'm a bit upset about it would be an understatement and it has now apparently been 'passed on for investigation' as I got a little irate last time I called.....

In typically scatty fashion, something else exciting did happen this week! I went for a scan and found out that I am expecting a little boy (well it was a bit hard to miss so YAY!

Anyway, I really must go to bed (the only reason I'm awake now is I spent most of this afternoon asleep) and get some more rest.

• Outspoken, ingenious and bored by routine
• Think of themselves as talkative, curious and self-sufficient
• May neglect the routine work required to make their plans successful

Big Thinkers are always looking for the next big idea or opportunity. They’re adept at spotting trends and thinking on their feet. Big Thinkers like to jump in and find innovative solutions to complex problems and are good at developing strategies for the future.

In the UK, Big Thinkers are most likely to book a holiday at short notice, according to a nationwide survey.

Big Thinkers are usually curious, logical and energetic. This chatty group enjoys a good debate and asserting their opinions. Sometimes others may find the way they express their ideas too abrupt or challenging.

In situations where they can't use their talents or are unappreciated, Big Thinkers may be rude, critical of others or rebellious. Under extreme stress, Big Thinkers can become preoccupied with unimportant details and lose sight of the 'big picture'.

Big Thinkers may ignore important details in their plans and overlook the impact their ideas have on the people around them.

The entrepreneurial spirit of the Big Thinkers often leads them to seek new challenges; this is often more important to them than working in a particular field or a specific career.

It's important to remember that no survey can predict personality type with 100 percent accuracy. Experts say that we should use personality type to better understand ourselves and others, but shouldn't feel restricted by our results.

Thanks to Deb at http://www.notsheep.net/ (for some reason blogigo doesn't like me doing a href stuff).

Oh and the blog from a few days ago: