Saturday, January 09, 2021

Home schooling with Granny

Home schooling began again on Wednesday and as Daughter has three children she had the brilliant idea of asking me to help. So on Thursday I read a story to GrandDaughter2, and then we wrote a story together that she illustrated.

I read the story of Mog and the Vet and Granddaughter's story was perhaps influenced by that - it was about a cat who loved boiled eggs - but there was a very unexpected twist, that made me exclaim, 'I wasn't expecting that!' when GrandDaughter2 told me what happened next.

Yesterday I did cooking with GrandDaughter1. We tried a new cookie recipe and I have to say hers turned out better than mine. These are hers:

I only had dark brown sugar so mine tasted okay but didn't look very appetising. Next week GrandDaughter1 is going to teach me how to make macaroons.

All this is done via Facetime by the way. Thank goodness for the internet. Now GrandSon2 wants in on it so I think we might do some Lego building. Or cooking. Whichever he prefers.

* * * * * * *
We haven't had a long walk for ages, years probably, since George was diagnosed with arthritis. This week he has a nasty cut on his paw so we've not been walking him at all, and since it was a lovely morning Husband and I decided to go for a long walk.

Up one side of the tip on the bottom of the valley, across the top and up the hill on the other side. I thought I might struggle with the hill as I've not done it for so long but was pleasantly surprised.

What wasn't such a pleasant surprise was the number of people out and about. When we started walking there the tip was quite empty; over recent years signposts have put up and more people have discovered it. But still we thought, the side of the hill will be quieter. It wasn't. People everywhere.

We recently signed a petition and I wrote to local councillors about the council's plans to convert the rough footpath over the tip into a cycle track. There are already a number of cycle tracks in the valley and the main path is bike/foot so there are plenty of places for cyclists. Because George is a bit of a meanderer when he walks we avoid the main path so he doesn't get in the way of cyclists - we've had unpleasant altercations with them before - and prefer the walk over the tip where he can wander as he chooses. So the news that the plan is to make this cycle friendly is not welcome.

And not just by us. Older people, children, dogs generally, tend to be blissfully unaware of their surroundings so I foresee problems. Only this morning a cyclist whizzed past from behind me. I hadn't heard him approach and one badly-timed step to my right and I'd have been sent flying. Or he would have. 

But although our local councillors were up in arms - about lack of proper consultation and environmental checks - the powers that be turned down the appeals for a better review and the work looks set to go ahead. 

I do not want to be a grumpy old woman but I fear I am heading that way.


6 comments:

PipeTobacco said...

Oh, even if they did not “look” as good... I bet your brown sugar version tasted better!!!! I have taken to using brown sugar in most recioes of all ilks (sometimes to the chagrin of my wife 🙂) because I love the added, more robust flavors in brown sugar.

PipeTobacco

Debra She Who Seeks said...

I absolutely HATE sharing walking space with any cyclists for the exact reason you state. Also those bloody scooters people can rent now for urban sidewalks. I had a dear old friend in Winnipeg years ago who was knocked down by a careless cyclist on a city sidewalk and broke her hip. As you know, such falls are often "the beginning of the end" for elderly people and so it was for her. She went from living independently to having to live in a nursing home and then death.

SmitoniusAndSonata said...

No, cycle paths and walkers don't mix well, someone's going to get hurt.
Lovely to be involved in your grandchildren's home schooling... mine have got way beyond me now; they'd have to teach me!

Marie Smith said...

I would not want to be cycling on an area with pedestrian traffic. So dangerous for everyone, especially seniors.

Cop Car said...

Years and years ago I was totally flummoxed when a bicyclist yelled, "On your left" at me before passing. I had no clue what it meant. Fortunately, since most of my walking is now on designated biking paths, it didn't take me long to figure it out. Most of the locals are pretty considerate of pedestrians, in general, and us old people, in particular.

Liz Hinds said...

This particular recipe, PipeTobacco, involves leaving the dough to stand. Apparently if you leave it longer the flavour is more pronounced.

Glad you all agree about cyclists and walkers. Sadly many cyclist here, Copcar, don't seem so tolerant.