Week 13 Wasps and Storms and Protest

Week 13 Wasps and Storms and Protest


Another week. More schoolwork to do. The girls are getting on really well with it and I know I have it easy compared to many homeschooling situations. But Bunnykins can be rigid. She has good ways of doing things (fortunately) but doesn't necessarily respond well to suggestions or guidance. Still we had a go at another of her science tasks - looking at the effect of different light sources on shadows, and I did my best to remain calm while trying to direct the work to what had been requested.

As we moved outside, the sun went behind the clouds, so Bunnykins shot off from her task to fuel up in the fruit bushes, where she was soon joined by Woo.

 More science stuff:

 Monday evening was our Ukuleleland practice. It was a beautiful evening so we were at Kevan's again - this time with Geoff - yay!. We go in across a field into Kevan's garden - which isn't the most straightforward to find, so this time again I parked at Ben's and we walked there. When we walked back, the sky was turning such a beautiful colour. It was a lovely stroll.

I loved my outfit. I've explained before about this t-shirt and skirt. I feel it is a pretty hard to beat combination for looking confident and maybe even a little fierce or intimidating (just a little 😀 ). It isn't that I want to be intimidating. It's just that sometimes it makes life easier to put on armour that communicates to all around "don't mess with me, if I am confident enough to wear this, I am confident enough to deal with you and take you down". My clothes are armour, a first line of defense to ward off judgement and conflict before it begins. So I guess that paints a negative picture of this outfit - which is a shame. It is just about confidence and communicating something about myself without having to do so much explaining. So anyway, Ben took some pictures - not quite instagram worthy - I'm not likely to make much of an influencer - but hey.

 By the time I got home the sky was flaming, and the light on the trees was magnificent.  It was only for a moment and the air was so still.

Ben and I had been talking about how we look in photos. I like the idea of there being nice photos of me. I want to capture who I am in these moments. I generally think I look good, for my age in particular. My skin is good, I can feel pretty - beautiful even at times. But regularly a photo will catch me looking old and even "witch-y". I don't mind character, I like to see myself happy and smiling and laughing - even if my face is entirely creased up. But sometimes I want to see myself as something that is still worthy of admiration. 

My favourite photo that was taken of me was this one below. It was taken in Chicago, years and years ago. Mark was working over there, we weren't married then. I can't remember the year but I think it was just after university. I went out to visit him. We were on the loop - the mass transit system in Chicago. It was so cold. I've never known cold like it. Before I went I had found a cashmere coat in a charity shop that was super warm. The sleeves were too short so I added fake fur cuffs and collar. This is an aside...but we were in a lift in Macy's and two ladies got in and one looked at me and shrieked "you look like a lion!!!" I think I just raised an eyebrow. Anyway. But this picture I loved. It wasn't posed. Mark took the picture while I was engrossed in that moment in exploring a foreign city. I think that is part of why I love it. That he saw something beautiful and wanted to capture it. And I feel beautiful in it. Calm, poised even dainty - which is something I never feel. 

Tuesday - Bunnykins is really starting to miss school. That she wants to wear her school cardigan might seem like an idle thing, but I don't believe that. She even asked me to set her a test on what she'd been learning. So I got that sorted for Wednesday.

 Back to Tuesday - we had our usual school field trip. This time it was a program with Simon Cowell talking about and reading some of Shakespeare's sonnets. He has an amazing speaking voice so that was some good inspiration for Friday.

 Tuesday evening saw a new Bunnykins-ism added to the lexicon. I was putting her to bed. Tradition has become that I sing her a two verse lullaby. It generally has the form:

Go to sleep, go to sleep, rest your sweet little....nose

go to sleep, go to sleep, while I tickle your toes

(repeat with a different body part)

The body part can be anything and the challenge is to come up with new rhymes - which is harder than it sounds. Anyway. Whilst I do the creative work, it is generally one of her "guys" her teddies that gets to perform the lullaby. I picked up Roo, but was told that "No, Roo is the side-kick tonight. Little rabbit is the main-kick". Main-kick - I love that. She's always done that. One of the earliest ones was "rolling-paper" - "Mummy, help! There's no rolling paper in the bathroom!". 

Wednesday morning I had a dentist appointment. Dentists have been closed since lockdown and only last week opened up. I have been having problems with sensitivity, so was keen to be seen. It was a strange experience. I felt quite safe, everyone was PPE-ed up to the max, but it was odd to have a stranger so close after all this time - well the dentist isn't a stranger and it's weird if any of the family were to stick their fingers in my chops and poke about - but anyway, the check-up was OK and I am booked in for a hygienist appointment and possible mouth guard for bed...which will be delightful I am sure. 

Not that it is particularly worthy of comment, but combination of my birthday t-shirt and birthday skirt plus gold birthday shoes (hard to see) oh and my mask...which is a thing these days (I came back via the high street to see what was open).

 Woo wanted to get on with her art club project. She was really keen to do some wood carving with an axe...we said no. She does love things that are more vigorous and suggestive of a wild heroic character - archery, fencing, axes... she once gave me hell for weeks because we saw a beautiful replica dagger at an re-enactment fair and I wouldn't let her have it (this was at least a year ago or more). We came to a compromise with letting her use a hammer and nails.

 I busied myself with collecting some raspberries.

Woo needed very little support once she'd got the idea and was absorbed in her task. But I hung around anyway. A storm was approaching in the background and despite Woo's exhortations that I should just go inside to get my jobs done; I felt it wouldn't be my finest hour of parenting to leave her outside waving around a hammer in an approaching thunderstorm...

By the time the storm front was near enough to worry - Woo was finished and we went inside. I left her starting the next phase - no input from me apart from a quick consultation on the colours for the fruit. I had no idea how she was going to apply the thread and when I saw the criss cross geometric effect I was supper impressed.

Bunnykins meanwhile wanted me to set her a test so she could review what she's been learning. She misses school quite a lot. It wasn't as easy as I thought as I had to look up most of the English grammar related stuff about modal verbs and present perfect tense. Tbh I was quite pleased when she got the stuff of present perfect tense wrong - I'm glad she didn't care that much about it and what it's called. Having looked it up, I know she's capable of using it, I just don't see the point in knowing what it is called. But hey.

She got that finished and with the tea already bubbling away in the slow cooker and Woo not hammering anything, I was free to pop out to the park to meet Ben. He had got his bike fixed up so now has a bit more mobility. He's always been a public transport guy - but covid-19 makes that much riskier. Buses do still run - we see them past our house as regular as ever - but you have to wear a mask on them now and many seats are roped off.


We got a drink from the hatch and went to find a spot to sit. This isn't an easy thing for me when the park is busy. I don't really like being around lots of other people. We wanted shade as the sun was out. I also don't want to be where people are going past with dogs as that has me on edge. I find myself panicking with the number of factors coming into the decision. But in the end I spotted the place we had sat with Hannah and that seemed to fit the bill.

It was lovely to chat. We had a good hour of talking before the rain started, at first quite gently. I had taken over a couple of umbrella's as the forecast had suggested as such.

But then soon it was really coming down. The park emptied quite a bit, but there were groups of people crowding into the bandstand and under the clock tower. I do try not to judge, but honestly, either get wet or go home! So we were OK with umbrellas and even though I wasn't staying completely dry it was funny - at some points the noise of the rain on the umbrellas was too loud to talk!

The shower passed and the sun even came out for a while. The park was quite quiet and we were glad to have persevered. We sat a while listening to the sounds around us of birds and children playing.

We heard a distant sound of thunder and I suggested that Ben get ready to go back as a storm was forecast. He started getting ready, but we still kept chatting. I never want to stop chatting, but each louder sound of thunder was a reminder and I kept chivvying.

He set off just before 5pm and as I started to walk back across the park, the skies were darkening. The rain came on just after I got home. I started getting the rice ready for the curry - it was really atmospheric in the kitchen - especially as a light bulb had gone 😄. 5.20pm there was an almighty crash of thunder and flash of lightening. I went to my phone to check on Ben, to find him messaging me to send me this picture and let me know that he was absolutely fine but sheltering under a bridge on the cycle path. He said it was exhilarating really and I believe it was! He did eventually get home after letting the lightening pass - soaked but entirely safe.

Woo had finished her artwork and I was mightily impressed!

Mark had a go at his artwork after a quick flash of inspiration regarding making fruit representations out of something (he chose marzipan).

I sat watching the storm and reading a bit of my book while Mark worked.

 Thursday morning was really wet. Mark had gone into the office. The girls were getting on with schoolwork and I wanted to pot on a hosta. Particularly given how rainy it was I thought it was a perfect time so watering would be minimal. I needed to get the pot and the compost from the greenhouse. I was in trousers with my raincoat and gardening gloves so when i got down there I felt quite well protected which gave me a false sense of security I guess. I noticed that the wasps were very quiet. The roll of black fabric was outside the greenhouse and I could tell there were still wasps inside but the nest on the outside had been broken up. I thought this was due to the rain - I didn't know it was Mark who had broken it up. I thought if I opened the roll a little that would let the rain in and help break up the nest further. So I opened it up and of course a load of wasps flew out. They were quite low to the ground so I felt no particular urgency as I stepped off the deck. Then I felt the sting in my forehead. It was horrible and I was then panicking because I couldn't see this thing on my head but I knew it was angry. I started beating and swiping at my head. In my gardening gloves I couldn't feel what was going on I was just hitting myself. I got inside the house and took off my jacket. A dead wasp fell from the hood onto the floor. My head was stinging and aching at the same time. It was hard to tell how much of the ache came from the sting and how much from the hitting myself on my head.

 I looked up what to do and it was suggested that I clean the area, so decided to have a quick shower. When I came out my head was still throbbing, so I took Ibruprofen and found some antihistamine cream. I got dressed and Woo came in to tell me some good news only to find me sobbing like a small child. She took good care of me.

Woo's good news was that her collage with her and Dziana had been selected as a runner up and highlighted on the RS live lesson she'd just had. The girls got their school work done by lunchtime and we decided to watch song of the sea as Bunnykins had been doing some school work on Selkies. 

When Mark came home he wasn't too impressed with me. I had organised a wasp removal man for the following day and he felt this was an injury to his manly pride that he hadn't removed the nest. I didn't blame him at all. The sting was my own stupid fault but I certainly didn't want anyone else experiencing one if this process dragged out. 

Our art club had been postponed from Wednesday to allow Mark and Woo to finish their items. Mark had made some impressive marzipan fruits.

 I talked about my drawing and Woo showed us her finished work.

 Then Bunnykins unveiled her creation.

 She had (entirely independently) created costumes for her guys to dress them as foods. Little rabbit was a strawberry.

 Big rabbit was a potato

Maisy was a piece of cake (note the cherry on top)

 And Roo was a pineapple.

 Woo was keen to make another nail creation and once she found a suitable block of candidate wood she was off.

 My run on Friday morning was damp, but it was lovely in the park.

 Woo had a task for drama to make a set for a play in a shoebox.

 Later in the afternoon I started on tea which was paella and then a Spanish olive oil and lemon cake. https://spanishsabores.com/2015/09/08/spanish-olive-oil-cake-with-lemon-and-almonds/

 Sadly didn't quite turn out looking like the recipe, but it tasted pretty good.

Saturday morning we attended an event in the park for Black Lives Matter. There has been alot of protests recently, this is a really important movement. But some of these protests have become violent (mainly due to the presence of counter-protesters). There were concerns in our street WhatsApp group that descended into a couple of members posting about "All Lives Matter". I stood up against this and tried a calm explanation of why this isn't a helpful thing to say and that this wasn't the right forum to continue a discussion. Our street has BAME residents, this is not what this group was for and must be causing them alot of anxiety. Someone down the road replied with a very ill thought out message about bringing a baseball bat. I left the group. Mark stayed on and it all calmed down but it was demonstrative of how this is currently a really emotive issue and rightly so.


The event in the park was planned as family friendly. We wanted to go to express solidarity and given how close it was I felt it was safe, even with it being a group gathering - there is alot of space in the park and we were able to keep away from people easily. I asked the girls if they wanted to go and explained what it would be like. Woo was entirely on board. Bunnykins was anxious, she cares about rules and right now - staying away from people is an important rule. But she cares about the cause and it says alot that she wanted to go even with feeling nervous about it. She borrowed my badge from Hannah to help her feel she could communicate to people to keep their distance. It was her first protest event.

Woo and Mark went to get drinks for us, which we realised caused a slight conflict with our mask wearing 😄 but we had a spot well more than 2m from anyone so we felt OK with settling down with out masks for a while.

We stood around a while, chatting with a few people we knew. Then there were some speeches that were well thought through; informative and inspiring.

A young black man read out George Floyd's words as we were invited to be silent and take the knee (if we wished) for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. This is the amount of time that George Floyd's neck was knelt on until he died. It was difficult and emotional, hearing the words read out made it feel much more real. And being on one knee for that time makes you realise just how long it was.

A few more speeches and then it was finished. It had been peaceful and safe. It was a good atmosphere to see so many local people of different backgrounds coming together in support and solidarity.


Back at the house Mark and I planted up my new planters (that I got from a local social initiative) and some older pots that have been sitting in the greenhouse. It was nice to see this space looking a little brighter and more inviting.

Mark made us pizzas for lunch and we had our deferred poetry reading....pizza's and poems. Woo had chosen a Shakespeare sonnet.

Bunnykins went for some Rumi

And Mark a bit of Seamus Heaney

I read a Maya Angelou poem that we had heard a snippet of in the park.

We had a lovely surprise in the early afternoon (well I don't think it was a surprise for Mark - he just didn't tell me 😜). Marian and the kids came over to say hello and bring Mark's presents. We kind of broke the rules by there being 7 of us rather than 6 but as Bunnykins pointed out - well if one of us just left the gathering and the rest had caught it - we're going to pass it on anyway - so what's the point?

We sat round chatting for ages, then had a go at one of Bunnykin's board games. Mark was the dice roller and mover for our guests.

Nice flower crown

The kids managed to find a socially distanced game they could play of pop the bubbles 😀

And then soon it was time to say goodbye.

Just in time for a planned call with the Dickson family (plus yummy takeaway) in order to celebrate Mark's birthday ahead of the actual day on Monday.

Hannah had found a quiz for us to do. Mark and Woo made the killer team.

Bunnykins and I had a good go.

We had delivered an identical cake to the Dicksons ahead of the evening so we could all share, so that was nice 😀

On Sunday I got up thinking I would need to do lots of watering, but was glad for some overnight rain and the chance to just sit and look out at my plants while I ate breakfast.

Woo wanted to get started on another hammering project, this time for Mark's birthday.

Mark and Jason went for a run in the Quantocks. They were off super early but it looked beautiful.

The rest of Sunday was quiet. It was father's day, but we didn't do much of a take2. Mark took the opportunity to read more than he normally would - which is a good thing. I just busied around at nothing much. Despite not going anywhere really, it did feel like another eventful lockdown week.