End of the Year - a change of Pace

Well, my colleagues and I managed it.......we got to the end of the school year almost intact.  Every year is much fuller than any human can really cope with but this year has gone beyond even that.

Big structure changes, an Ofsted under the new guidelines, my timetable which even Superman would have blanched  at,various personal issues to deal with and much more.  Individually what we do is expected and accepted, it is the timing and trying to do it all at the same time which is the killer.

Anyway, I have borrowed the image above which Peg at Happy in Quilting used some months back and I also found on Google. it pretty much sums up how I look and feel  at the moment (without the fur and long tail I have to say).    So we finished on Tuesday and a close and long time friend is moving to another local school which is ideal for her but a shame that a colleague and close friend will no longer be around at work to say hello to day to day an work on various tasks and projects.  So I asked if she would like to go to a cute little coffee shop for tea and cake before we went home.

Well the size of the cake was MUCH bigger than we were expecting but it was gorgeous.  Mine is here, chocolate. caramel and something else which I forget (another symptom of being whacked out, little or no short term memory).  My friend had and iced lemon cake, equally as huge!
We chatted away for over an hour then decided we should make a move.  In my car it was registering 27 degrees and it felt like it.  Even the air conditioning was hot!  Hopefully we will have a record breaking summer for a change but some rain at night will stop all the plants etc struggling and everyone can sleep better.
I wish my friend all the best at her new school and hope that the gifts I gave her will be useful, forgot to take any pics never mind.  I gave a hard backed notebook for meetings and a hand made keyring for her classroom key and an embroidered zippered pouch, both made by me.
We shall meet up along with our other joint friends  in the near future but we have worked together for over 16 years which is a long time.  Many of my colleagues that I have worked with (and grown older with) have left I am beginning to wonder if it is time for me to also move on?
For now I shall stay where I am for several reason's which at the moment suit me and my family even if not for my career as such.
So we get to yesterday which was my first full day of the summer and my much looked forward to lie in bed

Google images
 and what happens........I wake up 10mins before the alarm at 6.30am!  I can not get back to sleep either so I get up and see Sophie off on her last day at primary school.
The rest of the day, which is too hot to sit outside, is spent doing............school work!  It is a myth that teachers do nothing for 6 weeks of the summer.  I have to boxes and two massive bags of work to do before September and the only reason I did not actually go in to school, which I normally do at the beginning of the summer, is because we have builders in and it is a Health and Safety issue.
I did get quite a bit done, paperwork mainly, class lists, timetable, and starting to look at my planner for the new year which I shall do another post on once I have finished it.

It is not going to be all work.  My Mum had knitted some little hats in preparation for The Big Knit which usually has a deadline in the Autumn and I am going to add some decoration such as mini crochet flowers and perhaps some buttons.  I shall take these with us as we make our annual trip to Seaford tomorrow to see my sister-in-law.  I like taking a little crafty project which will not take up too much room and sit outside and catch up with what she has been doing since our last visit.
Hence the need to do some more work later today but first I have a fridge to sort out, then I am off to have my nails done before the voucher my hubby bought me for Valentines runs out and then take Sophie to a dentist appointment then some packing.
I hope to see you all here a bit more over the coming weeks as I slot in some me time as well as everything else so please do pop back so that we can catch up as I know that I have been a bit absent from here over recent months and there is more news to share including my on-going crochet quest.
Take care and keep smiling.
xx