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 Posted by: Lois Lindemann on: June 6th, 2010  Posted in: Everything Tags for this post: Food My Life.  8 comments - more welcome! I seem to be turning into Nigella Lawson. How splendid.
 It’s amazing what you can do with a bit of fondant icing and a cheap teaset Happily no-longer-a-baby A’s birthday cake made it to Granddad D’s house (where the party is) without mishap. Phew. Posted by: Lois Lindemann on: June 4th, 2010 Posted in: Life Tags for this post: TLC. One comment so far - more welcome!I can only conclude that the person who made this has never met a three-legged cat:
 from graphjam.com Even our cat-phobic neighbour fell under the spell of the furry menace once he only had three legs. Unfortunate? Certainly. But most definitely ad-awww-able. Posted by: Lois Lindemann on: June 2nd, 2010 Posted in: Life Tags for this post: More Cats. 8 comments - more welcome! Today started like so many other days: I woke up and found my furry companion of the last 18 years, George (aka Black Cat) sitting next to me. I got up and stumbled to the bathroom. George galumphed along with me, as was his wont. It being breakfast time, George nommed his morning meal of mince à la medicine with great enthusiasm. We are (mostly) creatures of habit, George and I. I stopped off on the way back to bed to switch on my newly de-Vistaed PC, so that my rather large collection of files could finish synching. George was having none of that nonsense, he galloped back to the bedroom to await the next step in our morning ritual: all mornings start with food and much George cuddling, there’s some kind of cat law about that. To say there was no sign of what was about to happen next would be untrue: George was 18, he had outlived his more famous three-legged brother by four years, despite having the same thyroid condition plus a side order of arthritis. When the vet told us last summer that George had developed a lump in his stomach we knew we getting near the end, especially when the lump started to grow rapidly. We decided to go for days out rather than a holiday, so that we could spend George’s last summer at home with him. We didn’t expect him to make it very far through it. George – aided by really excellent treatment from our vet – had other ideas. We asked the vet to help us to keep him comfortable and happy, which is exactly what happened. Provided George took his assorted medication and we left a light on for him to see at night he was fine: he still charged around the house, played with catnip mice, hunted real ones (ably assisted by the younger paws of Ginger Cat); got into fights (which seemed to me to be a bit like a 90 year old getting into punch ups, but who am I to judge?) and generally did as he pleased.
  We didn’t think that he would make the end of the summer holidays, but he did. One minor miracle occurred – the ominous lump stopped growing and caused no further problem, but the real miracle came from the vet – we’ve enjoyed four years with George that we wouldn’t have had without their help. He was still with us at half-term, then Christmas and then finally, seemingly-impossibly, George was 18 years old. Not bad for a moggy who spent his early years acquiring as many injuries and vet appointments as he could manage. The end wasn’t unexpected, but the suddenness of it was. One minute he was contentedly purring and demanding cuddles, the next he had lost control of his body and was obviously dying. I thought the seizure would be the end, but he came out of it, although by that point he was clearly in no state to carry on. There was only one decision we could make: an unexpected trip to the vet, a lot of tears and a George-shaped hole in our lives. After 18 years of having him as my shadow, his absence feels very strange. It’s going to take a bit of getting used to. Posted by: Lois Lindemann on: June 1st, 2010 Posted in: Life Tags for this post: Mr TLC. Leave a commentAn evening of impersonation for me today: time to do my best grandmother impression. Mr TLC’s beautiful granddaughter (who really needs a blog name, Baby A just doesn’t fit her anymore) is two today. Where does the time go? I hadn’t seen her for a while and the change was dramatic: from toddler to a very tall two year old little girl in the space of a few weeks. Wow. I had deliberately stepped back somewhat and encouraged Mr TLC to visit on his own in recent weeks. I initially pleaded pressure of work/having a highly contagious sniffle/insert your choice of lame excuse here, but the reality was rather different. I’ve noticed that when we both visit, someone called ‘Nana Lois’ (whoever that might be, she says, rolling her eyes) gets the lion’s share of the attention from no-longer-a-baby A, whereas Mr TLC – who is an actual genuine grandparent, not some Johnny-come-lately imposter – gets largely ignored. Anyhoo, we turned up bearing cake and gifts for the birthday girl. I thought no-longer-a-baby A would have forgotten me, but she flung herself at me with great enthusiasm, before teaching me the finer points of eating plastic broccoli and how to dismantle a much-loved doll. We sang happy birthday, blew out candles and ate cake. We discovered that the wrapping paper and bag were much more interesting than the presents. Isn’t that always the case? All in all, a lovely evening; although I don’t think I will ever get used to being referred to as ‘Nana Lois’ (not my choice of name, I’d have been happy with plain old Lois, but hey). Much as I love no-longer-a-baby A, in no way do I feel like a grandparent – after all Mr TLC’s son was already grown up when I first met him. It avoided all that awkward fake parent business, but apparently fake grandparent business was lurking instead. Still, it seems pretty easy so far: bake cakes, look at books and play with plastic broccoli. I can do that. Besides, it provides a good conversation piece, when people ask if I have kids and I tell them no, I skipped the kids part and had a granddaughter instead. Modern families eh? Posted by: Lois Lindemann on: May 9th, 2010 Posted in: Life Tags for this post: People Watching | The Job. 4 comments - more welcome!
We soon learned that Loud Booming Phone Man plans to train as teacher, a maths teacher no less. I was momentarily tempted to jump up and say something wise or encouraging, but I am not given to jumping up and joining in other people’s conversations, besides which I was sadly lacking in wise or encouraging words, so I kept quiet and continued to listen in. How rude. But anyway… ‘Why do you want to be a teacher?’ asked Previously Neglected Drinking Buddy. ‘Because it’s a good job,’ said Loud Booming Phone Man [aw - bless him], ‘And if you teach A Level Maths you get paid more, so I’d be on top whack.’ [Hmm, that’s news to me. I was rapidly revising my opinion of this guy.] ‘Plus, they can’t ever change the syllabus [yes, he really said that – I’m not making this up!] so after a year I’ll have planned all my lessons and then it’ll be easy.’ Wow, evidently I’m doing this teaching thing all wrong… Other benefits of belonging to my profession allegedly include regular hours and a really big pension. (Now don’t get me wrong, I think the teacher’s pension scheme is excellent, but I’m not sure I’d describe it as really big.) Oh my. I wonder if Loud Booming Phone Man has got a place on a teacher training course yet. Mind you, he did get one thing right: teaching maths is a great job. I can’t fault him on that.
Photo: Black Sheep Beermat by russelljsmith. Used under Creative Commons Licence. Posted by: Lois Lindemann on: April 13th, 2010 Posted in: Life Tags for this post: France | My Life | Paris. 6 comments - more welcome!
Anyhoo, I’m having a very nice time, although sadly I will have to do some actual work tomorrow. Only some actual work though, I shan’t get carried away or anything. After all, someone’s got to keep those cafes in business. [Uploading my holiday snaps on the hotel wifi is proving to be a trifle slow, so pictures will magically appear later.] Posted by: Lois Lindemann on: March 16th, 2010 Posted in: Everything Tags for this post: video. Leave a commentA lovely bit of stop-motion one-upmanship. Enjoy Posted by: Lois Lindemann on: March 11th, 2010 Posted in: Life Tags for this post: The Job. 6 comments - more welcome!
Found what? Nothing less than the secret spark, the magic dust from Hollywood movies, the miraculous way to grab the attention of all my pupils. I know I’ve found it, because today it happened: I walked down the corridor and turned into a modern day Pied Piper, followed by a trail of enthusiastic children. I walked into my classroom and Y7 went wild with excitement. What could possibly have caused this? Had I planned a jaw-dropping lesson filled with wonders and delights? Er, sadly not. Actually, all I had to do to get this rather overwhelming reaction was to be seen carrying some ipod touches. Yes, that’s it. You were expecting something more? I’m quite excited about the idea of using our shiny new toys in the classroom. Apparently the mere sight of them is enough to send the students a bit crazy – even if they are still in their boxes and not quite ready for use just yet. Will the wild enthusiasm continue once we actually start using them? Let’s hope so. Better get ‘em set up quickly and find out. Photo: iPod touch 1.1.3 (main screen) by chrisdejabet. Used under Creative Commons Licence. Posted by: Lois Lindemann on: March 8th, 2010 Posted in: Life Tags for this post: The Job. 11 comments - more welcome!I have been doing a lot of thinking lately. Well, I have to do something with my time – and it certainly hasn’t been filled with blogging. I’ve been thinking about how much I love working at Current School. I’ve been thinking about how friendly and supportive my colleagues are. I’ve been thinking about my GCSE maths group. I’ve been thinking about how I’m just starting to get to know the Y10 form group that I’ve only been with since September. I’ve been thinking about the work I’ve been doing with primary schools and how much I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve been thinking about STEM Club. I’ve been thinking about the trip to Paris that I’m running in July. I’ve been really happy at Current School. I’ve thought a lot about that. But I’ve also been thinking about being a maths teacher. I’m not a maths teacher at the moment, I’m actually a maths, ICT and engineering teacher. Which has been OK, but after months of deliberating and dithering and postponing the decision, I knew it was time. Did I want to stay where I am (which is a great place to work), or did I want the chance to be a full time maths teacher? Finally, decision made. I spent today with a group of other candidates at a job interview at another school. We were given a guided tour, but also encouraged to stray from it and see whatever we wanted, so I did. I chatted to the staff. I visited lessons and talked to students – many of whom have friends at Current School, so that’s the three-legged cat out of the bag. I discovered a place where I felt very comfortable and felt I could be very happy. I did the interviews, was observed teaching, thought about all the things that I could have done better and hoped I’d done enough. Thankfully, it turned out that I had. I start there in September. I’m so pleased – I’ll be a maths teacher at a school that I’m really looking forward to being part of. I’m feeling very happy about it – but also feeling very sad to be leaving my current place. Fish, chips and champagne for tea. Time to celebrate. Even if it is a school night. Posted by: Lois Lindemann on: February 14th, 2010 Posted in: Everything Tags for this post: Maths | Mr TLC. 2 comments - more welcome!I don’t really do Valentine’s Day. To say Mr TLC dislikes it would be putting it rather mildly, so to be honest, it’s just not worth the hassle. I changed my mind today though, when Peter Rowlett tweeted a link to a Möbius Valentine’s card. (Yes, I am more than mildly obsessed with Möbius strips lately, but more of that later.) It’s really simple: two Möbius strips get glued together to make the ‘card’. When both strips are cut in half it forms two interlocking hearts. Very apt – and rather fantastic. I’ll be making these in school next year. Did I offer the card to Mr TLC? No, but I had fun making it. There’s an article here, the instructions are here. Enjoy! |
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