Back to our home.  Back to real life.  Back from a great holiday.  Back to the land of computers and internet and other time-consuming but necessary things.

I'm feeling ambivalent about the computer these days.  I spent three weeks away from it all--and the only thing I missed was the contact with family and friends.  Now I'm back, and under the tyranny of email again.  Oh well, one has to admit that the computer is very useful, and I doubt I could easily live without it for a long period of time.  After all I do everything from banking to menu and lesson planning on it.  I didn't have to do any of that stuff on holiday.

If none of this makes sense, I attribute it to jet-lag and the fact that I've been waking up anywhere from 2 to 4 a.m., and having to get up because at least one of the children wakes up then too.  Only five hours time difference--hopefully we'll be back to normal in another couple of days.

For the friends who aren't already aware, we are just back from a trip to Scotland.  We spent our time there visiting the other half of the family.  And we did a bit of sight-seeing on the side--to a couple of castles and museums.  We had a great time, and the weather was lovely--maybe the best it has ever been when I've been there.

Hopefully soon--once the camera and the computer get together--I will have photos to tell the story.  That is yet to happen, for I am in the throes of unpacking and laundry, and planning for next week, AND paying the bills.  The camera is a story in itself, for it has decided to go all jiggly and pink at times.  Fortunately I was able to get mostly clear photos--if I could be patient enough.  How does a digital camera die?  Does anyone know?

The biggest plus?  I got hours and hours of cross-stitch done (Relax TP--it isn't THE cross-stitch).  I even had time to take out a large chunk that I had stitched with two strands when it was only supposed to be done with one.  My travel project is a kit of Eilean Donan Castle that I bought on my first trip to Scotland about 13 years ago.  I was so motivated by it that I hope to be able to work on it more at home--whenever I can manage to get off the computer.

I also got to see two and a bit parts of the new four part BBC TV series of Emma by Jane Austen.  I am very upset because I will miss the last part, and BBC iPlayer doesn't work outside of the UK.  I did buy the book to read on the way home.  Hopefully I can finish it now.  I did read three books all by myself (not to the kids) while away.  I think that is the most I've read in that short a time since Boo was a newborn.

So it was a lovely time away, and now the house needs a clean and tidy, so I'm away too.

Man this was quite the bug!  I am over a week into it and still have a lot of congestion.  I think I've got chest wall pain from coughing, and while my energy has increased, I still don't feel 100 %. 

Boo had a fever from last Tuesday night until Monday morning.  I took him to the doctor on Friday, and she started antibiotics.  It still took two days until his throat felt a lot better, and nearly three before his temperature stayed below 100 degrees F.  He is still coughing a bit, but is much much better!  I was quite worried about him one night--a horrible croupy sounding cough and significant fever.  His cough changed sometime during that night to one considerably less scary.

She didn't put me on antibiotics, but I wasn't nearly as sick as Boo.  And I do feel like I am getting better--just a bit more slowly than I would like.

Belle is much better from her bout with it, but she also sounds stuffy and coughs quite a bit.  She had nearly a week's head-start on the antibiotics.

By the time we were feeling able to start on our lessons again, we'd had more sick days than we'd had days of school.  That was depressing!  However, we are picking up the pace again--if only I can keep up.  Our upcoming trip to Scotland will be here before we know it. 

Yes, a trip is in the plans.  It is time to go and see the other side of the family again.  I am looking forward to it, but not looking forward to getting ready for it.

Last night we took sandwiches with us and went fishing!  The kids loved it--I enjoyed the time outside by the pond, looking at tall trees and peaceful water.  Unfortunately for me, my fishing license had expired, so I was unable to spend time casting a fly into the water.  I was impressed by how my children's ability to fly-fish is increasing!  I took my knitting, but didn't knit.  Instead, I spent the time walking back and forth between the kids, watching their bees float in the water and chatting with them.  It was a very restful time, and felt like the first time I'd been out in two weeks (although it wasn't--I'd been out taking either kids or myself to the doctor).

On another note--today I finished a cross-stitch project that I have been working on (off and on) for nearly eight years.  I started it when I was put on bed-rest for pre-term labour with Boo.  I spent somewhere around five weeks on bed-rest, and got nearly a quarter of it finished.  Needless to say--the rest of the project took a lot longer to complete.  Remind me not to do another project with borders for a long time!  This one had double borders with design in them, plus gold lines around each border.  And the backstitching!!!! Ay yi yi!  This thing had backstitching on everything--on the borders, in the borders, on every aspect of the design itself.  Did I tell you that backstitching is my least favourite thing about cross-stitching?  The backstitching took two years to complete--I'd work on it for a month and then get fed up.  Did I not know all this before I started the design?  I did, but it was the colours in the design that grabbed me--blues and golds and pinks--Gorgeous!

But alas, my faithful readers will have to wait for the photo.  I have to wash it, block it, and figure out a way to display it (I don't have time to get it framed before the Fall Fair next week).  Only after that will you get a photo.  I am delighted that it is finished.  Now I have to find another UFO to finish--of the several that are in process.  I am thinking about one that is nearly done.  Then I need to find more time to stitch.....

We've had a week of stuff!  Belle got sick with strep throat symptoms last Thursday.  I took her to the doctor and he put her on antibiotics right away.  I was so glad of that because Grandma and Grandpa were coming for a visit on Friday.

The antibiotics took away all of her strep symptoms within about 36 hours.  That was great.  She was just starting to feel a lot better when she started coming down with a bad cold--cough, and low-grade fever again, and then the nose started to go.  At about the same time I got it--sore throat, post-nasal gunk, and swollen glands, but no significant fever.  My throat doesn't look bad, just red.

Today Boo woke up with a fever and sore throat.  The other symptoms haven't appeared yet, but he was walking around today with a temp of 100-102.  If it got above 101 he started asking for Tylenol, but he doesn't act or appear really ill.

School is a not-happening thing this week...my first week that was supposed to be a full one of lessons is turning out to be one of no lessons.  I am hobbling through, doing laundry and getting meals on at about half my usual speed.  We've spent time watching educational dvds and working on a jigsaw puzzle--which the whole family finished together tonight.  It hasn't been a bad week--unless I think about the things I would like to be doing and am not.

Oh well, this too shall pass. 

Thus goes this entry--the first of at least two--and at the bottom, so you can read it and move on to more satisfactory things.