Why I love Autumn

Autumn has to be my favourite season. There is something magical about the colours, about the crisp coldness of the mornings and the promise of warming fruity puddings.

Autumn will forever have me in its grip simply because of the beautiful afternoon light.

Autumn also signifies the harvest, the collecting of summers riches. Large cooking apples, dark blackberries and sweet berries. Foods that make me feel especially british and homeley!

Autumn means warm layers, knitting in the evenings and thick socks.

Autumn brings more time to craft and create. I will have the time to make a new quilt whilst sitting in the lounge watching the return of Downton Abbey.

Autumn is sitting snuggled up on a sunday afternoon with a good book.

Autumn in a strange sense is often seen as things coming to a close after the summer but in other ways it signifies new beginnings. A new school term, a new job, new craft ideas and a change to what we eat.

Autumn is definitley my favourite.

What about you?


Loves xxxx

Blogging from the heart.

Hi

The other day Stephanie Howell posted this and it got me thinking. I loved the fact that she felt able to post things from her heart, real life everyday things. It is all too easy really to think that a bloggers life is perfect just because they leave out the nitty gritty. So, here, I will say it now, is my nitty gritty, quirky and downright mad thoughts from the heart! You have been warned!

1. If I am being honest I find it hard that my friends are moving away to university and I am on my gap year. In a strange sense it feels like I am on page one and they have all moved on.

2. I know the above is irrational because God has placed me in this school for a reason and therefore my moving on to here is just as significant as my friends moving to university.

3. I never realised how many cups of tea a teacher can drink.

4. I also have noticed that within a day there are so little breaks that on average I visit a loo twice. In one day. Mad I know!

5. My faith has got stronger since I have started working. I think moving out of a christian environment had a lot to play on this.

6. Several children have now asked me if i have my own house. I can't decide if this a need for concern on my part of just the general ignorance of children on the amount of money a teenager has!

7. I cannot wait for payday.

8. The boy and I are moving into our fourth year together and I couldn't be more excited.

9. I have had two awkward conversations with children in the space of a day.

No. one went something like this. A little girl who is a twin turned to me and said "Miss Beach how are two babies made?"

No two. A different child was talking at supper and said "but its impossible to be pregnant if you are not married!" I didn't even try to explain why it wasn't.

10. It is my birthday in six days and yes, I am still overly excited despite the fact that I will be 19!

11. Despite being a working women and getting paid and having responsibility but sadly not a house (see 6.) I still don't feel grown up!

What is on your heart today?

Thanks for stopping by

Loves xxx

Confessions of a gap.

I am now a working women. Gosh! I am also a terrible blogger but I hope you will forgive my laps from the internet as the result of two weeks of pure chaos, new faces, new names and working life!

I am working in a prep school for a year under the role of a "Gap". In other words I help in lessons, on the games pitch, in the office and support a lot in the boarding house. I am a link for the children between them and the teachers. I am still on the staff but am more like a big sister.

So far it has been great if a little daunting. There is so much to take in and understand. It has been a complete shift of normality. Suddenly I am looking at school from the other side and being called "Miss Beach" rather than Abi. It has been scary moving out of my comfort zone, becoming entirely independent and have children look to me for help and guidance.

On the other hand it has been a wonderful and rewarding two weeks. Seeing the children smile at me and then grow to trust me has been so rewarding. I really enjoy working in the classroom and know that this is what I really want to do. The staff are lovely as are the children and all in all I have been made to feel very welcome. The botttom line is of course that at the end of this I am getting paid which to a poor 18yr old, is amazing!

From frequent facebook status updates, I have been keeping the world informed of the amazing things children say to me everyday. I honestly think that I will have to publish this at the end of the year becuase some of the things they do are just priceless.

A Few examples:

After lights out a little girl walks out of her room "Miss Beach, my bottom itches." I had no idea what to say to that one. I mean, what did she expect me to do?

Another time I walk into the dorm to find  a girl spraying her toy sheep with hair de-tangler. It took quite a bit of pursading on my part that de tangler really wouldn't be the best thing to put on a toy animal.

The girls are also brilliant at coming out of their rooms to tell me they can't sleep! I mean, honestly, who could, standing up and talking!

My best moment has to have been though when I took reception for swimming. They were naturally very nervous and one boy decided he was going to wail rather than get in the pool. It got to the end of the session and I was in the water with them. I looked up at the boy who was watching from the side, put out my arms and asked if he wanted to come in thinking he would tentatively get in the water. Seeing my open arms he decided if he had to get in the water he best do it quickly and launched himself from the side to me. I therefore was engulfed by this four year old, clinging arms and legs to my body, his face inches from mine. He looked at me and just said "Your my best friend".

I am sure plenty more stories will come over the next few weeks. Blog posts will be here and there as I barely have a moment to make a cup of tea, let alone get on a computer, but I do have holidays so I will be blog more then. Thank you so much for your support on facebook etc.

What have you been up to these last few weeks?

Loves xxxxx