bright kid!

Posted on Tue 31 July 2007 at 01:09

We went to Melissa’s parent’s afternoon last week.  According to her teacher, Melissa is a pleasant, well mannered child – a little reticent but able to put her point across.  New Zealand kids seem more self-confident and that is an area she needs a bit of work on in her teacher’s opinion.  She is doing well – so well in fact that a recent test put her in the top 4% of children of her age across the whole of New Zealand.  Bloody Hell – we always reckoned she was a bright kid but that is really impressive.  Well done that girl!!  We are very proud of her and have told her so.  She seems to enjoy life here – I have tried asking her but all you get is the non-committal answers that kids do:  ‘s’okay’; ‘s’notbad’ and   ‘suppose so’.  That’s quite an accolade in kidspeak eh? Now, if we could just buck her up a bit and get her in the top 4% of the tidiest kids in NZ, we would have the perfect child!

This has made me smile since we moved here.  Please don’t be offended if you have relatives with dementia.  I know only too well how awful it is having worked in elderly settings for many years.  It just makes me smile……..

They have an Alzheimer’s Centre here in Hamilton.  How do they remember where it is?  How do they remember which day to go?  I have this mental image of a completely empty building full of cobwebs as it has been so long since anybody went there!  And last week or so, there were banners across the main roads proclaiming Alzheimer’s Week.  Who remembered that?  If all these people are elderly and have dementia, who put the banners up?? 

Ever since I first met Steve, I could picture us growing old together – if you are at the start of a relationship and can’t see that for your own pairing, maybe it is not going to be forever!!  I can just imagine the pair of us with the little wire basket and zimmer frames doing the weekly shop.  We will be old and doddery and still laughing with each other.  But now I see us here, aimlessly wandering Hamilton, knowing we are looking for something but not quite remembering what it is.  I will be giving directions that Steve will ignore as usual and he will be asking what’s for tea. 

I know my youngest son Darren very rarely reads this so I will take a chance and broadcast to his family members who may have forgotten and to the wider world – Darren will be 21 on the 14^th of August : don’t forget now!! 

I read the new Harry Potter recently and would like to share my literary critique with you.  I think poor old JK has lost the plot a bit.  She can’t decide if this is adult or kid’s fiction (what do you mean it’s a true story – bollocks!!)  It seems to be in a no-man’s land to me.  Too much death for kids to my mind but not enough of a plot for adults.  Lots of teenage angst and sulking and hanging about but not enough real depth on things that matter to kids for kids can connect to.  Too long and dithery.  So there you have it folks, I’m so self-important these days I can pass judgement on the highest earning children’s author of our times.  Well done me!

Did I ever mention our last fuel bill?

Arrrrrrggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

It was horrendous.  I can only imagine the one before it was an estimated bill and it came to $70 odd.  Bear in mind, they probably estimated what the average Kiwi would spend at this time of year.  They simply don’t seem to feel the need for heating here.  Both gas and electricity are horrendously expensive here but we hadn’t stinted ourselves apart from moving the computer in to the living room as mentioned previously.  When the most recent bill came in, it was for about $300!! What a flaming hike that took.  I guess this one was a proper reading and they have added on what wasn’t paid last time.  The payment system here isn’t a standing order direct debit, more like ‘we will take what you owe us out of your account’ type jobbie.  But if you look at it as $370 for two months, then that isn’t quite so bad.  However, we have tried hard to cut back on our fuel use – we have bought a clothes airer that can be put outside then dragged back in if need be rather than keep on using the tumble dryer and less use of heaters in the bedroom end of the house.  Now we use the DVS more efficiently, that should make a difference also.  Hopefully, the next bill ought to be considerably less – I will let you know, whether you are interested or not!

Congrats to Melissa!

Posted by Littletoe on Tue 31 July 2007 at 11:00 - Link

Our powerbill just came in $750! That should make you feel a little better!

Untitled Comment

Posted by poppets on Tue 31 July 2007 at 11:22 - Link

well done melissa,