Domesticali

Plus ça change

We got on the train this morning and travelled to London, and nineteen years back in time.

Back to school and a room-mate who I haven't seen since the day we left. Life and oceans got in the way. But as we stood today and watched our collective offspring splashing in the water, it dawned on me that it didn't much matter.

In spite of my best efforts to capture it, the summer is slipping past. Thoughts begin to turn to the start of the new school year. My soon to be silent playroom. And all I can hope is that, as in my friendship, the time invested in those years I spent at home with the boys means the hours between 8.50 and 3.15 won't matter too much.

I'd rather just stay home and read

Thankfully there are some activities the rain cannot spoil.

Like last night's talk at Mostly Books, from Nicola Beauman (of Persephone) and dinner afterwards with Monica (who'd driven all the way over for the event).

My lasting impression of the event is the (entirely unoriginal) thought - so many books, so little time. 

What have you enjoyed reading of late? Sell it to me in a comment and I'll pick one and send you a little book parcel giveaway in return.

An Index Card Summer

Johnny went on his 'big school' visit morning today. He seemed fine, but has pronounced it "too noisy". Spoiled by the Zen-like calm of his current Montessori setting, evidently. He only has 6 days remaining at his pre-school and I'll be so sad to see this phase pass. Leaving him there never felt gut-wrenching in the way that I feel about the bear pit that is Primary School.

Not that the boys' school is big, or bad. To the contrary. But it does mark the start of their entry into a dog-eat-dog kind of existence. Competition for scarce resources. Asserting yourself, or being lost in the crowd. Being popular or exiled to the sidelines. And that's just the mothers in the playground!

Anyway, we have a whole summer to wallow in just being, before we need to face reality and the boys are very enthusiastic about this project:

I fell in love, a while back, with an index card based project (the blog of which is now inactive and I can't find a link to it), and have decided to do my own this summer. The boys want in on the idea too. Mark has always been a scrapbook fan (I think it appeals to his pack-rat tendencies) and Johnny just wants to play with us big kids. It should also scratch the 'make something' itch, which tends to emerge in the school holidays when I have much less child-free time.

So a summer of documentation and creativity on little 6x4 cards. Can't wait for it to begin. Would you care to join us?

**Just after I hit post, I went off to charge myself up with blogging goodness and came across this via Alicia. Never mind joining us, I think we are going to join them!**