Water, water everywhere....

Hmmmmmm, hope the Gloucester Echo (or was it the Citezen?) don't see that - completely nicked that headline from one of their papers today!
It's all gone a little crazy here - we've had a LOT of rain (what we'd normally get in a month we got in a day apparently), so we first of all had loads of flooding which wasn't that great. Now since yesterday, as the river still rises, one of the water pumping stations has had to be flooded, so the water supply is gradually running out (I still have it at the moment, but Glocuester doesn't), and then the power also was cut for a bit today as one of the electricity stations also got flooded. It has since come on again for some parts of Gloucester and the surrounding area (which includes me).
It's so weird how much you rely on power, as an aside - I was in Churchdown, internet down (that's also been flooded), TV off, Radio off, phone off (have a cordless so no power = no phone apart from mobile). I didn't have a clue what was going on, so had to rely on talking to people on my mobile, which then started to loose its battery!!
And people have gone mad - I guess understandably so (I have joined them to some extent!). You're lucky to find a super market that is a) open and b) has any bottle water/bread/milk left on its shelves. People have begun to panic buy petrol (as I joined them in that I happened to chance upon a garage which had just had a load of bottled water delivered..............I couldn't resist - I got 9 Litres!!!!! - it's ridiculous, I'm going away on Friday for 4 weeks!)
Anyway, to give a bit of a flavour, take a look at these pictures. I especially love the first one!

But I guess if anyone is feeling like all is lost and that life is terrible (and I must admit I've had moments of that today!), don't panic, because it's not all doom and gloom in the world..........check out this story......Wow, I feel so much better!!!!! (sarcasm is a little lost in a blog I feel.............!)

Must get rid of the spider......

I am getting fed up of seeing that disgusting fried spider on the screen every time I log in, so I thought I'd post something new to move it down a bit. (yes I know I could delete it, but that would be unaccurate to get rid of a post!!)

Last night I did something really cultured (or perhaps 'old). In some ways I still can't believe I went!). On Sunday our church had advertised a piano concert that was going to be held there last night. We decided to go to it as something different to go to and it actually had moments of being fantastic! We dropped the average age of people there considerably (it was sponsored by the Christian Buisnessmens' fellowship which is ironic as all the 'buisnessmen' there must have been retired, there's no way they were still working!!). But the guy who played was very good. He was from South Africa (always nice to listen to a different accent) and had written 'I lift My Eyes, to the Coming King, to the Great I AM, to You I sing......' (that's all one song, I didn't think anyone would recognise it from just the first verse!). So it started with a bit of worship before him playing a few classical pieces and then telling his testimony but linking it to various bits of music. So when he was talking about playing in clubs, he would play a bit of music that he would have played at that point of his life. He was a fantastic pianist. And the piano we have at church is a gorgeous one and sounds even better when it's played by someone who can actually play. (the only thing is that they had moved it out into the front of the church, it's normally at the side, at a certain angle.......I'll bet they haven't moved it back as it was - annoying, a group of people had been subtly moving it an inch at a time to have it at the right angle without certain people finding out.)

Ewww ewww ewww!!

Yesterday as part of my literacy lesson we were looking for animals on Google. We are going to be writing poems about them. One of the girls wanted to do a spider so to get a picture of a nice big hairy spider we decided to search for a tarantula. I was letting the children decide which pictures they wanted to choose to illustrate their poem. Most of them went for the obvious pictures that really showed the animal to all its glory.

This is the one that girl chose. If you're thinking the tarantula looks slightly strange.......it's coz it's been deep fried! Seriously. Ewww!

Catch up

Thought this morning that I really should sit down and write a post, but now that I am sitting here looking at the screen, I am feeling the pressure! Can't think of anything to say!

Have got that bleary early morning feeling at the moment - I have joined the rest of the staff who are fighting off a cold at the moment. Am determind to win the fight!

Mum and Dad came up to visit me (and properly meet Luke) this last weekend. With one thing and another they haven't actually come to see me since before Christmas, so it was nice that they came, although because of the above bracketed comment it was the teeniest bit nerve-wracking! They've recently bought a caravan so instead of staying with me they camped in a nearby site. Is that really cheeky of me?! They seemed to enjoy it though - and it was a lovely site - next to a field of cows and sheep so all very country like and picture-esque.

It's class photo day today. Wish I could post a picture of the photo up on here, but would hate to think of the potential mine-field that could cause. But I can just imagine the kind of photo that will be the outcome of those 30 seconds. There will be at least one child looking the wrong way. Probably two children deliberately not smiling - in fact sulking. At least 2 children will be cross-eyed. I would be surprised if I didn't have 3 children not in uniform. 2 children will be talking to each other, and I will have noticed and will be giving my 'evil eye' to them JUST as the shutter clicks. Great. Another year, another class photo. Will let you know how it goes!

Ah, another day at work.

I have to admit my attention has been drawn away from blogging recently. Apart from being distracted by the excitment of life away from the computer, I have discovered the wonders of facebook. How exciting to be 'in touch' with people you haven't seen or spoken to in 15 years! (Although it has to be said that this so-called being 'in touch' with them is pretty much just the initial "hi, how are you" before resorting to having a nose at their profile every now and then....but it's great that should the need arise, I could contact loads more 'nepal' people now then I could 2 weeks ago - has it only been 2 weeks?!)

Anyway, it's 8am and I'm sitting in my classroom on the internet - have been for half an hour - the only thing I've done that's actually productive is water the seeds we've planted for a science experiment. Might have to fiddle the results for that one - the one with no air is growing and the one with air isn't.....the one with water isn't growing at all either...........(and no, before you say it, it isn't me being corruptive - I can't have a class full of children thinking that watering a plant will kill it or that they don't need air to grow!)

My head has just walked down the corridor humming - I know from past experience this is a bad sign.........

My child geniuses.....sort of!

We've just been doing a topic on scultpure, and I wanted to show you some photos of the sculptures my class have been making. They're based on the sculptures we saw on a class trip to the sculpture trail in the forest of dean.

Trust me, works of art they are (not)! This is the 'Observatory'

This is the 'Giant's Chair'
This is the 'Heart of the Stone'

Ahh, half term, a chance to sit back and relax, sleep in until mid-day, watch bad morning TV.......let's face it, it's probably the reason most people become teachers. So why am I feeling crazily busy and rushed off my feet?! Anyway, thought I would force myself to find some time to post something coz it's been a while.
I'm back at Mum and Dad's for 2 nights and once I've got over the initial shock of not being in my own house in my own space, it's lovely to be back! Last night I spent some time with them filling in a form for short term mission and I was once again struck by how blessed I am to have parents that I respect and who share my beliefs. This morning I dragged myself out of bed when they got up for work (see, no mid-day lie in!) and joined in with their daily bible reading and prayer time round the breakfast table. I love that time, it used to be nice as a child, but there seems to be something more special about doing it as an adult now. Today's reading was Psalm 139 - a Psalm that's probably overquoted, but reading it again today reminded me why it's so popular. It's a slightly weird one for me because whilst I find it really comforting to read how much God knows about us and our lives, it's also slightly disconcerting that he knows my thoughts because I know a lot of them aren't honouring to him. But at a time when I needed to know HE is in control and has a plan for my life, it was the perfect Psalm for me this morning. So I thought I'd share it with you.

1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.
19 If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,
and abhor those who rise up against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.