Monday, October 29, 2007

Morwell Primary School #4692

On Oct 20th 2007 Crinigan Rd Primary School celebrated 50 years as a school. It went from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

All three of my children attended Crinigan Road as children. I saw the first notice about the reunion in the Sun Herald about a month before and then in The Latrobe Valley Express on the Monday and Thursday prior to the day.

I spoke to Meg first about going, but she did not seem all that keen. I then spoke to Kathleen and she was very keen. I said that Meg could bring her and the girls down from Yallourn North. We could meet at Donald's (as he lives just around the corner) and then walk from there. I then got her to work on Meg. I spoke to Donald and said as he had the kids it would be a perfect opportunity to show them where he went to school and give them some history.

Well we met at 10 a.m. and went. Strange thing, the people who enjoyed it most were Don, Meg and Kath. They loved finding pictures of themselves and had a great laugh at how they used to look.

They were amazed by the changes they saw:-
The class rooms and hallways have carpet instead of lino ( I believe this to be a backward step as carpet is bad for people with allergies)
The classrooms have blinds and air conditioners
All the classrooms have three computers, this includes the prep classroom
The classrooms not longer have chalk boards but white boards
The library is in the same room but only has half the space it once did as the remainder is taken up with twenty computers
The classroom that was once one of the sixth grade rooms is now a conference room
There is better off street parking
A ramp for wheelchairs has been put in going from the street to the school
There is shade cloth over the assembly area

They did not see anyone else from their years which was a disappointment.

At 1 p.m. there was to be a roll call by year of starting. Photos were to be taken of that year but we could not stay for that. Donald had to leave at 11 a.m. to go to cricket. The girls and I stayed till noon. I will see if I can get a photo.

Unfortunately both Talhia and Kirsten were having an off day. They seemed to bounce of each other and both were sulking. Jasmine was too young to understand. I think Brooke and Maddie liked the tour, but Connor and Samuel acted bored.

I was amazed to see how many people my age were there, but then again when you get to be my age you do reminisce about the past, after all there is more behind us than in front of us. I saw three ladies all still friends who had started at the school at the same time. They said they still lived locally. They had been transferred from Tobruk Street when Crinigan Road opened. They went into third grade. I was in second grade in 1957! There were also a number of older gentlemen and it was lovely to see two of them meet. They shook hands and clapped each other on the back. Hadn't seen each other for nearly 30 years!

So I enjoyed the day too! I did buy the C.D. 'History from 1957-2007.'

Monday, October 22, 2007

Moe Cup

The original plan had been for Meg and I to go to the gym then home. I would shower dress and come up to Yallourn North about 12.30 p.m. to pick up Meg and Simon.

The first tning that disrupted this plan was Sooka. He bacame sick over the week end and Meg took him to the vet. The vet rang early Thursady morning and said he could go home at 5 p.m. Thursday so Meg and Simon needed to take their car to go and pick up the cat.

Then I get a phone call at 9.25 a.m. when Meg was suppose to be picking me up between 9.15 and 9.30 a.m to say she had run out of petrol but would ring me when she was leaving and met me there.

So I went to the warehouse to see about buying the shelving units, I wanted for my study, and was kept waiting by the assistant for over twenty minutes while he checked if they had them. Me rang and said she was at gym and had TEXTED me when she had left home. Unfortunately my texting alert is not as loud as my ringing alert and I did not hear it. So as the assistant was not back I left adn went to the gym.

She had started witout me and it was now 10 a.m. so by the time I got to the shop, picked up Cliff's bets got home showered and dressed and had a bite to eat it was 12.30 p.m.

I couldn't find most of my make up and believe that Kirsten had been playing with it.

I jumped into the car and took of. It was not till I was leaving Morwell that I realised I'd left my hat behind. One of three days in the year I get to wear one and I missed it!

From Morwell to The Moe race course turnoff near McDonald's, Moe I was passed by three cars and a bike, not bad considering I did a steady 110 kms all the way, after all it is a 110 km zone. I passed two cars and a ute.

I had hoped to be there before the start of the second race. But by the time I parked and walked the kilometer to the course I got there just as they started. The horse I wanted to have a bet on placed "Abitofun" I decided I would go and place all the bets and then find a seat in the stands. It was while standing at the betting windows I realised that the newspaper Cliff had given me was no longer in my bag. I had taken it out while eating brunch and picking out my bets. I had put the pen and my glasses back in the bag but couldn't find the paper. (When I got home it was still on the bed!)

So I found the seat in the stands and rang Meg. I asked her to get the paper as it was $5 for a racing book. I had budgeted $12 for the entry and $5 for the racing book as that had been the price in 2004, but the entry fee had risen to $20, $17 with concession, so I had no money for the race book.

They did not arrive till after the third race which turned out to be okay as the horse I had wanted to back in that race didn't place.

I went and had all my bets and rang Cliff to get his AGAIN.

I was pleased to see some things had changed re fashion on the field but disappointed that they had not changed enough.

A good change was that there is now a section for men. Meg said they had it last year too. But like the women's fashion the winner was wearing black. Not a bad colour for a funeral, wedding or church but as I have said over and over NOT a spring carnival colour. Now the young man in the ornage suit had the right idea! and he was a big boy too!

We have just had winter, beak, black and grey days, brown, white days. Spring is about yellows, greens, orange, reds, COLOUR.

There were 14 women in the final and this year unlike the 8 years I have come from 1997 till 2004 there were only 50% of the finalists in drab clothes, instead of the 85-95%. Also there was ONE older lady who was also more than a pencil thin woman. One improvement was that there is a section for hat now as well as fashion on the field, but I think there should be three prizes (AT LEAST) for each section. I also believe there should be fashion on the field for over 50's and a section for under 50's instead of lumpng everyone together. Of the finalists even the older lady would have been mid 40's, and there were many older ladies, walking around, dressed better than the finalists on the dias.

In Race 4 I bet on "Taxicab." "Zunia" won, "Taxicab" came second, "Spectrum Blitz" came third and fourth was "Attadblue.'

In Race 5 I bet on "Jest for Fun." "Fabric of Dreams" won, "Kelthrope" came second, "Dismissal' came third and "Jest for Fun" ran fourth.

In Race 6 I bet on "Flou Shot." "Devil's Nite" won, "Flou Shot' came second, "We Wonder" came third and "Odd Angry Shot" came fourth. Cliff likes the double letters and bet on "Cape Clinton" "Sailor Salute" and "Mighty Milo." He did not see "We Wonder"!!

On the Moe cup I put a dollar each way on "Heavenly Run" and "Irish Noble" and did no good as "Captious" won "Hoaks" came second, "Roanoke" came third and fourth was "Stamen."

Janette Chipperfield came and sat in front of me at about the start of the fifth race so we had a talk and I got her phone number again. She said that she had seen Kath at the Pool Competition Awards Night, and asked her to say hi to me and to give her a ring, of course I had not got the message. She said that she had not got the note I had left in her letter box about three months ago. She said she and Fred had gone to England about that time for a couple of months.

By the time I caught up with Meg said good bye collected my bets drove home it was 5.30 p.m. when I walked in the door. I had lost $5.50 in bets so it wasn't too bad.

On the way home I passed two cars and a ute (Different ones from those on the way!) but was only passed by one car. Again I did a steady 110 but the car that passed me was flying he must have being going close to 150kms.

A full day to be sure.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Curves - Second Month

On the 12th of October, I had my second measurement day. Can't say I'm overly impressed, though admittedly I am not dieting at this stage but am just doing the exercise.

My complete report is as follows-
- Kilograms UP 1.90
- Waist UP 2.59 cm
- Body Fat LOST 0.20%
- Bust LOST 3.90 cm
- Abdomen LOST 0.40 cm
- Hips LOST 1.90 cm
- Arms LOST 7.94 cm
- Thighs LOST 7.90 cm (Just what my poor legs need to loss weight and have to
support a fat body, that hasn't lost weight!)

The idea was to get fit AND TO LOSE WEIGHT.

The ladies that work there all say, 'But muscle weighs more than fat." So that means if I'm building muscle I would weigh more.

Today I weighed my self (16th October) on their scale and low and behold I came in ONE KILO lighter than on Friday the 12th!!

I have two short term goals at the moment:-
1. To reach 94 kgs by 14th February, 2008.
2. To reach my 100 visit to Curves and get my free T-shirt!! also by the 14th
February, 2008.

In the mean time Meg is losing weight she can't afford to. She is now 67kgs!! Soon she will be all skin and bones!

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Sleep

According to Stanley Coren, in his book 'Sleep Thieves' "Science has identified two peak periods in our need for sleep - 3 a.m. and 3 p.m." The first causes no problems as it is in the 'dead' center of our sleep cycle, but the second is smack in the middle of our workday. Shouldn't we be napping in mid-afternoon? "At present, only 38% of us do." P. 139-140.

For nearly twenty years I try to have a nanny nap (as Kirsten calls it) every afternoon between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. of course there are days when it just doesn't happen and I feel terrible for the rest of the day, I get short tempered and tend to bite any one's head off that annoys me. However with a sleep I am an easy going patient person.

It doesn't seem to matter if I nap or not, I still don't go to bed to sleep at night till 3.a.m. I seem to have got over the hump of being sleepy. Of course the next day I'm yawning my head off.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

This and That

Still trying to finish up work before going back to TAFE on Thursday 11th October.

Have done another twenty pages in my journal, but am not up to date though I have now finished all papers up to 30th September 2007. Am 1/2 way through reading another book.

I did go to gym every day last week except Sunday, (But as it is not open Sunday that is O.K.) and so far every day this week though I don't think I'll be able to go Friday.

Looked through all the tapes and found an episode of Grey's that Meg had not seen. She was wrapped. Plus TWO FREE tapes, which was great as I'm running out of them and have noticed that it is getting harder to buy tapes. A lot of stores no longer stock them!!

Have completed up to 14th Sept 1666 from Pepy's diary which covered the Great Fire and as the fire is the finish of my children's story, I am not going to do any more.

Behind in other things with only one day to go!!

Not much else going on. Nose to the grind stone and all that.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Odds and Ends

Well it is the end of the holidays and I have done odds and ends.

I handed in the research for Children's writing, but only the first 9 months of 1665 of Samuel Pepys Diary. To write my story I need to finish the 1665 and 1666 reading and print out what I need for the story and put it in the research book when I get it back after the holidays. So far am only up to June, 1666.

Have to print out Maddie on the Murray to send to the Red Cross. Have done it all except the covers and I hope to finish them Monday to take to TAFE on Thursday and have it bound properly.

I did finish Anne's Story and sent it away to the Age competition, but knowing the winning stories from the last three years I doubt I have a chance, they like stories about YOUNG people and gangs and drugs and disfunctional family life.

Wanted to read a book every two days but only got five books read in 14 days.

Sorted out as many newspapers as I could find ( some as old as January 2005) and cut out the articles I wanted and put them in my journal with comments. Am now up to 15th September 2007 so hope to be up to date by Monday!! (50 pages in my journal.)

Did not get any of my non fiction done.

Read Anne's story but have not done the reader's report YET. Also have not done the editing on Kylie's story.

Have not gone through the ten tapes to see what I have got to give to Meg, but hope to do some of it this afternoon.

Did print out a hard copy of my blog.

I hope to have all this work done by next Wednesday.