Slightly busier in good ways, and less frantic in tedious ways

[ailbhe]

Current plant count on the table by the front window: 1 reviving avocado (two dead leaves and some promising new shoots), 2 avocado stones in water, 2 pots of tomato plants (about 9 plants in all, will need repotting soonish), 2 pots of basil (none big enough to eat yet, sadly), 1 pot of chives (as with the basil, I started by cheating and buying a supermarket one and will plant my own as I eat through the first one), 1 aloe vera which also needs to be repotted in something dry and not rich, moist compost which is what we have most readily available.

Pregnancy update: 23 weeks on Monday, and if I sit upright the bump rests on my thighs. It's pretty big, at least to me. And to Rob. I don't think anyone else pays quite such close attention to it. Rob and Emer have both seen movement, and today I think the baby stretched all the way out in an attempt to break free through my right-hand side, toes first. That or it's actually stabbing me with a big nail, as Emer suggested. All is going swimmingly well except that my physiotherapist is off sick and so I haven't had hydrotherapy or a support belt fitting yet, but I'm doing well with just my exercises.

Home ed: Emer is really enjoying learning to read but isn't convinced about the flagrant abuse and overuse of e-for-Emer in the English language. The other letters are more or less fair game, but that one's hers. Linnea is progressing nicely and apparently knows about fractions, though she's not saying more than that at present - yes, I was dim enough to ask her, but never mind. She will admit to it when she finds out more of her friends know about it. Her reading is not too bad at the moment; I think she has some sort of huge difference between what she does in her head and what she does aloud, but I haven't worked out what it is, though tone and inflection have something to do with it. I'm pretty sure she doesn't understand most of the Calvin and Hobbes she reads, but she does say some of the words aloud sometimes... if she doesn't know anyone can hear her. She can't stand trying to write or spell or anything faintly resembling that, and checks EVERYTHING with someone first, or better, gets someone else to do it.

Social: Rob's social and work commitments meant an evening out I had planned never got finalised, but I'm in a position to make plans again now. Tue/Wed/Thu evening this coming week are free, and the evening of Thu 25th, and I think I'm free on Saturday 27 March but something is niggling at me, so I might have forgotten something. And then we're insanely busy until about mid-May. Er. I have to arrange a party for Linnea, too, but she can't decide what...

Mad speculation: It turns out it's cheaper to get the sleeper train to Rome than to get the train OR fly to Sweden. Since we got the trains to Sweden only a year ago, this means it seems totally possible to go to Rome. And Linnea wants to go to Venice. I have been looking at accommodation websites into the wee small hours. This is partially because it's Winter, and partially because there's a sleeper train. Oh, wow...

That's about it for a current summary. I'm really, really tired, so I can't come up with anything more interesting right now.

Comments

[kcobweb.livejournal.com]

I think she has some sort of huge difference between what she does in her head and what she does aloud, but I haven't worked out what it is

This morning, I came downstairs and Elena was reading a book and wanted to show me something. I said, "Did you read that whole thing already?" And she said, "No, I didn't. I read it in my head." Clearly "reading" means "out loud when other people can hear you" or something - despite the fact that we both said we thought it counted as reading for our purposes.....

[ailbhe]

I wonder if that's something to do with it? I wish I could, you know, ASK, and get a meaningful answer. But butting out is my apparent role...

[kcobweb.livejournal.com]

I learned how to read fairly early - but I have a crystal clear memory of everyone in the family hanging out reading, and my dad asking me if I could please read to myself - he explained that I didn't have to say the words out loud, and instead I could pretend to say them inside my head (so he wouldn't have to listen to me, basically) - and I was *stunned*. That idea had just never occurred to me before.

Since we spend so much time reading aloud to our kids, I guess it makes sense - I wonder how many small kids think that the "aloud" part is an integral/necessary part of reading?

[the-changeling.livejournal.com]

Hugh considers 'H' in a similar vein. Especially as he has H at the beginning, and the end.

He will often read words from the end. I blame Polly Phonics.

[the0lady.livejournal.com]

Rome by train is easy peasy. The only bit we found less than perfectly pleasant is the waiting around at the train station in Paris, which is small and not well provisioned for things like snack bars and seats.

Bagsy Thursday Next if Becky can make it?

[ailbhe]

18th? I'll pencil you in :)

[beckyl.livejournal.com]

Sounds good to me. Somebody poke me as to where and when I should be.

[hfnuala.livejournal.com]

Yup, I agree. Also, the seat61 site says the buffet car is good. It wasn't bad, but it was expensive for the type of food and challenging with one small child - if we take that train again we'll buy a picnic evening meal in Paris and eat in our couchette.

[the0lady.livejournal.com]

Story! When we were taking the sleeper to Rome, the electricity failed in the dining car. I don't mean it was dark or anything, but apparently they warm teh food up via some sort of airplane-like travel oven contraption, and the thing wasn't working. so at first you got an extremely long queue of pissed off hungry people (hot, too), but within something like 30 minutes the train staff had magicked fresh bread, a variety of cheese and cold cuts up out of nowhere, and were serving handmade gourmet sandwiches (these were *French* bread, cheese, and meat, see) to the multitudes. I don't remember the last time I was so damn impressed with customer service.

But yeah, it was crazy spensive. We ate an early dinner in Gare du Nord and only had drinks on the train.

[ailbhe]

I think something like a picnic on the train and dessert in the buffet car might be more in our line, really - we'd be doing it with two small children and an infant, most likely, if we do it!

The more I think of it the more I like the idea.

[ailbhe]

I think we'd bring our own just because of dairy-and-soy hassle, really.

[pogodragon.livejournal.com]

Venice is quite posssibly my favouritest place in the world. I love it. And getting away from the hoards of tourists is not too hard.

But (I don't know if you've been before, if you have ignore this egg-sucking bit), it's walk and walk and walk. And steps, and slopes and more walking. And pretty much nowhere green and lots of unguarded canal edges.

To me totally worth the foot ache (I have plans, vague ones, to go again this year), but foot ache is a decided factor.

[ailbhe]

We do walk pretty much everywhere when I don't have SPD so that should be ok. I am not taking long trips of any kind until the SPD goes mostly away, anyway. (And Linnea walked her first full mile without a rest at 15 months, so that's not a problem either...)

[pogodragon.livejournal.com]

If you do go I have guide books that you can borrow, so long as you're not there at the same time as me ... though that would probably also work for guide book use come to think of it.

Want to go to Venice NOW!