Holiday at home: Day One
Jun. 9th, 2009 11:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ailbheToday we went to the library. We dressed the children and ourselves, which included putting Linnea's hair into three ponytails again, because Three Is Special Because No-one Else Has Three, put Emer's hair into two and a tiny one because that's just like Linnea, which is the only way to be, and walked to the library via the charity shop, where we disposed of the last polycotton bedlinen for the king-sized bed, much to my relief.
At the library we showed Rob the gypsy caravan with real curtains at the windows, the stepped seating area for viewing DVDs and videos, the outdoor terraced garden (no plants yet but there will be), the toilets for customer use, the murals, the lot. The new library is lovely, and, most important of all, it's open again.
The head librarian is a little nervous of its newness and anxious when people might soil its pristine loveliness, but it's only been open six days, so I expect that will wear off. I'm completely certain that the shiny new look will wear off, but it's so nicely done that even when it's not brand new it will still be very lovely.
The children's water-play area is mainly locked closed, though. I was nervous of that when I first heard of it and I'm even more so now I've seen the rest of the new development. It just seems tobe asking for trouble.
We went home for lunch and Rob and Emer napped. Linnea and I woke Rob before heading out for her first dance class, and Emer woke up shortly after we left, so Rob caught us up.
But I walked most of the way alone with Linnea, which was glorious. She was excited and enthusiastic and friendly. She voluntarily held my hand the whole way, pretty much, and even talked to me about the stuff that was on her mind. Before we left she and I had a big discussion about clothing appropriate to dancing - she wanted a ballgown and glass slippers, or a tutu, and I wanted her to wear clothes warm enough to walk in. We compromised by having her put her favourite dress (made by my mother from the skirt I'm wearing in this icon) over her pink patchwork trousers, which, especially with three ponytails, made her look like a very very gorgeous raving hippie loony child. I fell in love with her all over again.
She was quite shy and quiet about starting the dance class. We brought her to The County School of Dancing which is where Rob and I went before she was born. Many discussions with Linnea have told us that she wants to learn to dance but doesn't want to do ballet unless they actually DO ballet (Freya's class just pretended to be things, like behicles, which was no good, and didn't do any proper pirouettes at all) and I won't put her in serious hard-graft ballet classes this young; taking ballet seriously has really hurt several people I know and I wouldn't want her to get into it so early.
So ballroom and latin it is!
The clothing was ok, but she had a moment's doubt about her shoes, because several girls had heeled strappy sandals in glittering silver. Rob bravely went and asked the teacher and got Official Assurance that the sensible school-type shoes Linnea was wearing would be fine.
She walked through four dances in half an hour: waltz, quickstep, cha cha, and polka. She was incredibly serious until the polka, and then obviously loved every minute. She found it difficult to ignore the more advanced students and focus on her own feet, but she tried.
I think she'd like two lessons a week until she gets the hang of it. She really wants to catch up a bit.
At the library we showed Rob the gypsy caravan with real curtains at the windows, the stepped seating area for viewing DVDs and videos, the outdoor terraced garden (no plants yet but there will be), the toilets for customer use, the murals, the lot. The new library is lovely, and, most important of all, it's open again.
The head librarian is a little nervous of its newness and anxious when people might soil its pristine loveliness, but it's only been open six days, so I expect that will wear off. I'm completely certain that the shiny new look will wear off, but it's so nicely done that even when it's not brand new it will still be very lovely.
The children's water-play area is mainly locked closed, though. I was nervous of that when I first heard of it and I'm even more so now I've seen the rest of the new development. It just seems tobe asking for trouble.
We went home for lunch and Rob and Emer napped. Linnea and I woke Rob before heading out for her first dance class, and Emer woke up shortly after we left, so Rob caught us up.
But I walked most of the way alone with Linnea, which was glorious. She was excited and enthusiastic and friendly. She voluntarily held my hand the whole way, pretty much, and even talked to me about the stuff that was on her mind. Before we left she and I had a big discussion about clothing appropriate to dancing - she wanted a ballgown and glass slippers, or a tutu, and I wanted her to wear clothes warm enough to walk in. We compromised by having her put her favourite dress (made by my mother from the skirt I'm wearing in this icon) over her pink patchwork trousers, which, especially with three ponytails, made her look like a very very gorgeous raving hippie loony child. I fell in love with her all over again.
She was quite shy and quiet about starting the dance class. We brought her to The County School of Dancing which is where Rob and I went before she was born. Many discussions with Linnea have told us that she wants to learn to dance but doesn't want to do ballet unless they actually DO ballet (Freya's class just pretended to be things, like behicles, which was no good, and didn't do any proper pirouettes at all) and I won't put her in serious hard-graft ballet classes this young; taking ballet seriously has really hurt several people I know and I wouldn't want her to get into it so early.
So ballroom and latin it is!
The clothing was ok, but she had a moment's doubt about her shoes, because several girls had heeled strappy sandals in glittering silver. Rob bravely went and asked the teacher and got Official Assurance that the sensible school-type shoes Linnea was wearing would be fine.
She walked through four dances in half an hour: waltz, quickstep, cha cha, and polka. She was incredibly serious until the polka, and then obviously loved every minute. She found it difficult to ignore the more advanced students and focus on her own feet, but she tried.
I think she'd like two lessons a week until she gets the hang of it. She really wants to catch up a bit.
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Date: 2009-06-10 07:36 am (UTC)Are they mad?