Moans, groans, puppy and roses

On antibiotics for a jaw infection, which could result in the loss of 3 or 4 teeth!! Deep joy. So feeling a bit down right now.
And there's been a big bust up between Sue and Zoe, and Zoe has taken some of her stuff to her dads and I think she's planning on living back there, and Sue doesn't want her back here. More deep joy.
Wish I lived alone on a little island, with a huge pile of books and chocolate, and selected friends allowed to visit at times. Life would be much less stressful I'm sure.
Sorry, must stop moaning. It just seems like I've got the only stroppy, stubborn, self-centered 19 year old in the world. And I don't think she's that bad. Sorry, moaning again.
On a more cheerful note, Brighton Pride was great and very sunny too. My service the next day went OK too. And it hasn't rained all week. And the woman 2 doors along from us who does cat rescue got called out to a house to get an abandoned kitten and came back with an 8 week old puppy, a bit of a mongrel but really sweet. She's sort of becoming the 'Close puppy' and is really friendly with everyone, and very snuggly too.
I pruned the roses yesterday in the front garden. Really don't like rose bushes, so pruned them with a large saw at ground level and will be digging the roots out very soon. That really was fun.

My Weekend, and the pointlessness of prayer!!

Finished Harry Potter, really enjoyed it. Passed it on to Bry on Friday just after 5pm and she'd finished it on Saturday evening! Still, it's better than sitting glued to the TV for hours on end.

Sue got her new car - a 3 door corsa 1.4 16v. It's a lot smaller than the CRV but it is fun.

We went to a local farmers market and got some lovely goats cheese, lamb chops and fruit pies, all of which are delicious. It was in Ampthill which has historic roots and was celebrating Aragon day, so we even got to see Henry and Catherine walking through the town with their entourage.

In the afternoon we made the most of the sunshine and finished mowing the grass, cutting the hedge and picking up fallen apples and walnuts from the garden. We also got rid of some seriously large brambles that were growing in the hedge.

Went to hear one of our ministers preach on Sunday morning as I need to write a report on 'an act of worship in which I have taken no active part' (or something like that) for my final Faith & Worship portfolio. It was interesting to say the least. I thought I might share one of his comments, which was something along these line..'When we keep praying to God about the same things it's a bit like 'pester power' which parents will understand from their children. It probably makes a difference on a human level but not really on a spiritual one. We can't really influence God.' Does this mean that prayer is a pointless activity, something we do to make ourselves feel better but that makes no difference to the outcome of any situation? If so, I'm not sure I want to be a part of it. I don't think I want to worship a God who ignores my prayers and isn't interested in what I think or feel. Thankfully I don't agree with the minister on this, and I do believe that God not only listens to my prayers but will act on them in the best way for me. I do believe we can change things by praying, it's worked for the saints that have gone before us, and it still happens now. I will be passing my thoughts on the sermon, and the rest of the service, on to my tutor who is a colleague of this particular minister and hopefully they will be prepared to explain what was meant in more detail. I'll let you know the outcome....

We also rescued my friend Ali from stress by 'kidnapping' Amelia (3) and Scoobie (13 weeks) and having them running round our garden for an hour, which was great fun. I'd love a puppy but have to wait till one of us is home more in the day to be with it.

Sunday evening was Cafe Church and Bry came for the first time. She enjoyed the food! But then she hadn't been fed for about 1/2 hour so was wasting away poor thing. A guy known as Japha / Jaffa was there. I have seen him around the town and he has been to church before, but I've never really spoken to him. Anyway, he remembered a service in 2004/2005 at our church when I was preaching (It was one of my first sermons). He had shouted out a comment about false theologies and could remember what I was preaching on and what he had said. I remembered the service too. Anyway, he wanted to apologize for what he'd said. He's been dry for a while now and is attending AA meetings encouraged by his parole officer, so it looks like he's sorting his life out. It also turns out that he was quite a good pianist when he was younger and is starting to play again. Our church pianist, Judy, is giving him refresher lessons every week, so hopefully that will help him stay on track too. Anyway, it was nice of him to say sorry and I was more that happy to accept it.

Working on next Sundays sermon now - unity, as in one, holy, catholic, apostolic church. Could be fun in a church that's had a rift for about 20 years!

General Stuff

1. Had my hair cut so now I can see where I am, which always helps.
2. Got to get a new e-mail address so don't know what will happen with this blog - got to find out how to change my log in and I'm not very tech minded really.
3. Did communion with Jenny, my tutor, on Sunday morning
4. Spent the rest of the day with Phil, a Deacon doing 'creative church' (messy church) and an evening prayer at a local LEP that only 1 old lady turned up to. Phil and his family were lovely and really made me feel welcome. Not sure about messy church - a bit too much like school but without the control, me thinks.
5. Managed to get two of the lawns cut between rain. But at least we haven't got the flooding that so many people are suffering just now. At least we can see our garden.
6. Just about finished my assignments for Unit 14 of Faith & Worship, meeting with my tutor this evening
7. Haven't read enough of my stuff for Summer school
8. Have read a lot of Harry Potter - on chapter 17 now.
9. We're picking up Sue's new car tomorrow. Sad to see the CRV go - I feel big and safe in it - but the corsa 1.4 sri is nippy and fun (or is it the xri, or xsi or sxi?)
10. Going to a garden party on Saturday eve so I hope it stops raining soon.
11. Sue says it's going to be summer from August onwards, so here's hoping. We're going to Brighton for a few days, as well as Brighton Pride next weekend.

So that's about it for the first week of the hols. Back to HP now for another chapter!

Every time I look at Sally's blog she's put up photo's of the beautiful coastline where she goes for relaxing walks. There's not much coast round here, Luton being fairly well inland. But what we do have just 5 mins walk from our house is stunning countryside to roam around in. So here are my photos to prove that Luton isn't all scuzzy, some of it is beautiful.

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Rain, rain, go away..

When will it ever stop? We've had sports day cancelled 3 times and we've got the summer fare tomorrow with the official opening of the reception classes new sensory garden. The Mayor and press are coming. I hope they bring their wellies!
Still, I did grab 90 mins yesterday to get some of the grass cut at home. Mind you, when the mower mwde strange noises, smelt of burning then had smoke coming out of it, I thought it was time to unplug it!! So I finished with the older, heavier mower, which is a bit of a bugger on the slopes round the fruit trees. The pears aren't looking too good - too much rain. Still, it could be worse. At least we're not flooded like some.
Anyone know a bloke called Noah?

Geek

Tried to put my geek rating here but didn't manage the copy/paste thing. That's probably why I only scored 16% ! Oh well.

Catching up

Well, Portugal was fantastic. Great weather (whilst UK had torrential rain and Luton was flooded in parts), great food and wine, fabulous villa with pool, wonderful beaches and we all got on without any squabbling between the girls.

This was our favourite beach, Marinah. The car park was at the top then there were endless steps down to the beach and you could climb over rocks to get to other bays that were more secluded. Absolutely beautiful. Can't wait to go back.

Then it was back to school for a week to show off the tan. Mind you, everyone thought it was fake, until I started peeling!

The weekend was a residential at London Colney. Much better that the last time I was there (January - cold and dark) . I went for a lovely long walk around the grounds and fields on the Sunday morning. It was good to have the time to stop and look at the little things we so often miss in our day to day rushing around, like the dew on a cobweb, the sun on the petals of tiny flowers, the roots of an ivy plant winding themselves around an old tree trunk, the patterns on a butterfly. It's something I intend to do more of.

I've also been to see Archbishop Desmond Tutu! He was preaching at St Albans Cathederal last Saturday as part of their annual festival for St Alban. He was really great, so down to earth and genuine. It was a privilege to hear him.

Its also time to write my end of year reflection for ERMC. My tutor has also had to do one. It was all OK except for my own minister and church. Having negative comments from them was hard, especially as they weren't about my ability as a preacher, but about me as a person. I found it really upsetting. I know how much I have changed in the last year, but people who have known me on a more casual basis, like just on Sundays, have a preconcieved idea of who I am based on previous knowledge, so can't see how I've changed as they only see what the expect to see, if that makes sense. I don't fit their preconcieved idea of a Methodist minister, so they don't think I'm ready to candidate. But I don't want to fit the mold, because I don't want to lose sight of who I am. So I'm having second thoughts about whether or not I candidate this year, if at all.

On a lighter note, my unofficial God-daughter (she's not been christened as her parents have no beliefs and felt it would be hypocritical) has got a puppy. Scooby is a 9 week old Jack Russell and she is adorable. I taught her to fetch when we babysat for Amelia on Saturday night. I can't wait for the time when we are home enough to have one of our own, or two. We hope to get a retired greyhound, and I want something small, maybe a chihuahua or a dachshound. Or maybe just a little rescue mutt.

Also been watching lots of Glastonbury. Must get Get Cape, Wear Cape. Fly's album. Great horns and I loved some of the lyrics too. I'd love to go as I've never been, but wouldn't fancy quite that much mud. Call me a wimp, but I'd rather watch from the comfort of my own sofa!

So I think that just about catches up from the hols to now. I've got a tally chart on the board in the classroom counting down the days till the end of term - 19!! Can't wait. Might even blog again before then!!