Mike's musings

Stop

I decided to stop work at a sensible time today, and managed 1940. This is the best so far for the past 2 weeks (bar my last day in Oz). Barbecue (as the last 3 days), and now watching "The Thick of It". And I'm going to take some leave next week. I really am.

Labels: holiday, home, work

And home!

(backposting) An hour late in, then slow on the baggage pick-up, but had a driver home, and got back at almost exactly 1100. Poor Jo wasn't very well, and although she perked up a bit during the afternoon (could the paddling pool have something to do with it?), she was pretty awful again by 1600, to the extent that we rang the out-of-hours doctors' service. They weren't concerned, but the poor thing's running a temperature which we can't get down, and is complaining of very nasty headaches.

Well, both Jo and Miri were very pleased to see me, and (as I expected) demanded presents immediately. They seemed content with the selection, and Miri's cuddly shark, in particular, has gone down very well. Given how Jo's been, it was no surprise that she (and Miri) went straight to sleep, and Moo and I managed to stay awake by watching "The Thick of It" episodes before heading upstairs, shattered, at 2030. Poor Moo had managed about 3-4 hours sleep for the past two nights, so it was touch and go which of us needed it the most. Asleep by 2100!

In case I don't make it clear, always, I'm always very pleased to see Moo (and she me!), but the girls tend to be the headline items!

Labels: home, sleep, travel

Incomplete

I've not managed to complete the work I came out here to do in time. Hopefully I can finish it off on Monday, when I'm at home, but I just don't think I have the information I need, and that's the way it is. The customer was very cool about it, and can see that I've put the hours in over the past 2 weeks. Tomorrow I fly home. On Sunday I see the girls.

Just 2 more sleeps.

Labels: home, sleep, travel, work

Jelly and Jerusalem

What we call jam, Americans tend to call jelly. So there's some sort of link with "Jam and Jerusalem" there, if only a weak one. Last time I preached, I preached on jelly (see entries passim): this time, I preached on Jerusalem, the William Blake poem. Today's Vocation Sunday, and I wanted to combine the issue of St George's day, and its misappropriation by the Far Right (the BNP, mostly), football hooligans, etc.) and vocations. I preached about how all vocations should - and must - be rooted in community, and how we're the Church of England. We have the opportunity to reclaim national identity, and Jerusalem is a very aspirational song: we won't be resting until we've brought Jerusalem - and the Kingdom - to England. I find it a very moving hymn, and we sang it at the end of the sermon to cement the message. It went down well.

A back home for another barbecue (though we ate inside as the weather couldn't make up its mind). Our mate Richard came round with Jo's friend Ellie, and the girls played absolutely brilliantly while the grown-ups chatted. A good day.

Labels: barbecue, friends, home, sermon

No way

(backposting) No, I'm not going to head into London today. Not if I'm heading off to Norwich tomorrow and then Bristol, and Cardiff on Wednesday and Thursday. Luckily my boss is pretty cool about these things.

Labels: home, work

Oh no we didn't!

(backposting) Oh yes, we did: go to the pantomime, that is. It was Beauty and the Beast, at Loughborough Town Hall, and was quite a hoot. All the standard lines, well-acted, and with people who could sing, which is an improvement on many that you go to. It really was fun, and the girls both loved it.

Afterwards, we packed, had supper and headed home. Tears from Jo, of course, but we got her to sleep pretty quickly, and I drove home through the fog. In the end, there wasn't too much of it, but there were a few sections where I wasn't going to make anything near 40mph, let alone the national speed limit.

And then home.

Labels: home

Not in Finland

(backposting) Was supposed to be flying to Finland today with Finnair, but their pilots are on strike, so they cancelled the flight, which, on balance, is probably a good thing. So, worked from home. Got lots more done, submitted my expenses, and booked flights for tomorrow. Glad to get a little more time with the girls.

Labels: home

Home improvement

(backposting) This home improvement is not, all will be pleased to hear, being attempted by me. But we decided a few months ago that the whole "struggling to keep much of the house above freezing in the winter, as our heaters are very inefficient/don't work at all" was too much, particularly with the girls. So, we ordered some radiators, booked the fitting for this week, and basically set aside 5 days.

Well, Kevin and his two guys turned up today, had all of the old ones in the skip by lunchtime, and had most of the new ones fitted by 1700. They didn't get it all done today, but it was pretty close, and we were able to turn them on immediately. Moo and I just kept wandering around the house muttering "but it's so warm" to ourselves. Bizarre. And although we'll be able to keep it warmer, we also know that it's going to be cheaper. We're getting insulation in the loft, repairing the windows at the front of the house (at least one of which we know hasn't shut properly since the 1950s), and getting some secondary glazing done over the next weeks and months, too, so it's going to feel like a different house altogether.

Labels: home

Preaching and driving

(backposting) So, the sermon. I'd done some more work on it last night, and written some notes. It went OK, but I find it more difficult to create a good narrative when I've got too many notes, and I'd let my nervousness get to me, which had encouraged me to write more notes than I'd intended. I'm also currently in a place where I'm trying to develop my sermon-writing, and need to move to a stage where I'm a little more confident in the things I'm learning. It's all good stuff, but it'll take a while.

We headed home after the girls' supper. I was hoping for 3.5-4 hours max, but it was more like 5. Moo took the latter stages, which was very helpful. More friends and family needing prayers. My capacity for prayer is being stretched, but God is providing.

Labels: home, sermon

More school

How tired is Jojo? Very, very tired. And she's only doing afternoons at the moment. But she's enjoying it very much, and getting good at "b" words. That's words with the letter b featuring in them, and the reading thereof.

Not feeling great today, and although I drove all the way to Witham station, I got out of the car, walked 20 metres, turned back and drove home (and got the parking fee back). Headache, gout, feeling not good. But got lots of work done, which is something.

Labels: home, jojo, school

And ... home

(backposting) And I slept for around 4 and half hours on the flight - maybe more. This made a huge difference, and I didn't do at all badly during the day, though I had a few minutes over lunchtime, I was pretty much OK all day.

It was so, so brilliant to see Moo and the girls, and as I called ahead a few minutes before I arrived, they were waiting, waving from the sitting room window. I got home in time for late breakfast, and then we played on the new Wii Fit (lots of fun, and the girls can manage some of it), and then we headed off to a café for coffee, cake, some shopping and some time out.

During the afternoon, I had to attend a wedding in order to prepare for my very first (as celebrant/president), next Saturday, and the preparation for it, which I did after it.

But I was back in time for the girls' bedtime, and a proper introduction to the Wii Fit from Moo. She wept with laughter at my attempts to do the "Hula" game. I can't blame her.

Labels: girls, home, wedding, wii

Pleased to see...

(backposting) The girls to see us, and we to see the girls. They'd had a lovely time with Kate and Mac, and they (Kate and Mac) survived. Moo took them out to an indoor play centre in the afternoon, and I had a sleep (after a bad night last night). We left them after supper, and drove the girls home: they both woke up on our arrival, but it didn't take long for them to drift off again.

Labels: home, sleep

Roof-leaks be gone

So, I spent part of my lunch-hour on the roof, re-flashing it with flashing tape and primer. It's always leaked from time to time, particularly after snow or very heavy rain, but it's been getting worse, which isn't good. The house is old, but it's not good, and, what's more, my mum's coming to stay tomorrow, and the spare room is one of the leaky ones, so..,

Labels: home

And back home again

Watched Body of Lies on the plane: it's OK, but a little obvious. Got in OK, having got some sleep during the flight, and ended up not sleeping in the car on the way back (and no, I wasn't driving). Both girls were very, very pleased to see me, as I was them - and Moo, of course. We took them to an indoor play centre in the afternoon, and it was lovely to have some family time for a change.

All though I'm pleased to be home, and pleased to be with Moo and the girls, I'm most pleased that I can take some of the burden off Moo's shoulders: she's had a terrible week, and just needs someone else around.

Labels: home, love

Taking leave of friends

I finished off most of the work I'd planned to do, and had a - at times heated - wrap-up meeting. It was then time to bid goodbye to colleagues and friends that I've got to know over the past two - nearly three - years, with nary a clue as to whether I'll ever see them again. Quite a few of us will certainly keep in touch, but it's quite possible that I'll never come over to Toronto again on business, even if we do get taken over by Verisign, and they decide to keep me. It's very odd, and rather unsettling. There are quite a few people I'll really miss if that's the case.

I'm currently sitting in the Air Canada lounge, bringing my blog entries up-to-date, and wishing that I'd been around to help Moo, who's had a terrible week of it: the girls have been ill, she's had little sleep, and her work has been, well, difficult. I'll be back tomorrow, and hope to pick up some of the slack.

Labels: family, home, travel, work

And back home again

The residential was supposed to last through till Sunday, but it's my nephew Frankie's baptism tomorrow, and I decided to come home first, and then drive over tomorrow morning. Made a new friend on the course, I think: Will, who wasn't at our pre-ordination retreat. From a very different tradition, but an interesting guy, and we had some interesting chats.

I also finished Catholicism by Jean de Lubac, about which I've posted previously. I very much enjoyed parts of it, and I'm happy to accept his general views on Catholicism, but not the low-level premise that the Roman Catholic Church is the sole guardian of the Catholic Faith and the true Body of Christ. Learnt a new word, as well: "circumincession", which seems basically to be the same as "perichoresis", but in Greek.

Labels: catholicism, diaconate, home

And home (alone)

Well, the girls won't be back until tomorrow, but I got home around 0845, having got into Gatwick at 0630, pretty much dead on time. I got some more sleep in the morning, and struggled to keep my eyes open in the afternoon. Luckily, I had lots of work to do, so that kept me awake.

Looking forward to seeing the girls tomorrow. Wonder how long I'll manage to stay up tonight.

Need to talk about the death penalty soon. It's come up in two contexts, and I'm vehemently opposed to it: I'm worried that the question of whether it should be available seems to be creeping back into the public sphere.

Labels: death, home

Back into routine

(backposting) Jo to ballet, shopping in Freeport (some boots for Moo), lunch, playing in the garden because it was lovely. And we let the kittens out for the first time, as they're now up on their vaccinations. Back home. Great.

Labels: family, home

Packing and God

Yup, because it's time to go home!

On another note completely, I had some very kind responses to my post Where's God? the other day. The more I think about it, the less I'm concerned. I think that part of my faith is a waiting, and as long as I'm quietly faithful - and, believe me, saying the daily offices regularly _really_ helps me on this one - I don't worry. God's there, and I can feel His presence in the undercurrent, if you will, and it'll only be a matter of time before I can wade in again and let myself flow with Him.

Labels: god, home

Back home

(backposting) We were heading home and decided to pop via Snape Maltings to have some coffee and cake. Clearly the café was closed. But we noticed that they have apartments for sale. We'd like one. They're rather out of our price range.

Labels: holiday, home