What’s top of my mind: how nice some people are.

I’m taking classes for a friend of mine who has gone on Long Service Leave. Yesterday she emailed me: “You may have noticed that there’s a clear pencil case with some items in it. I forgot to tell you that this is for Joe Lunchbucket (not his real name) because he never has any equipment for class. Please give it to him at the start of class and collect it at the end.”

It had a pen, coloured pencils and his Geography workbook.

Obviously this is something that she quietly does for this kid to make sure that he’s able to succeed in her subject. What a lovely thing to do.

Where I’ve been: walking the dogs.

Ryan27 is away from home for a couple of weeks and Tom30 and I are both working, so the poor little woofs have been Home Alone. It’s good for their mental health to have a gallop around the block when I get home.

It probably isn’t too bad for my mental health, either.

Where I’m going: Antarctica.

I know you all know this, but I told a year 8 Geography class that I was going in December and they lost their shit. Seriously.

It was great.

What I’m watching: Hunted.

I NEVER watch things on free-to-air tv – except for Survivor and The Block, obviously. But this show has sucked me in. Thank goodness for catch-up tv though. I’d hate to be stuck watching something on someone else’s schedule.

It seems like a very silly show, but it’s interesting to see how easily the hunters are able to track people down using digital means. CCTV and other digital pinging are everywhere.

I saw that The Block starts again on Sunday night. I’m so happy. I love a good reno filled with drama.

What I’m reading: More Sally Hepworth.

I’ve just started ‘The Mother’s Promise‘ and it’s set in the US.

This took me unawares. I had to change the accents in my head from Aussie (proper speaking) to American (celebrity accents.) I read somewhere that she was always made to set her novels in America until she became successful, then she was able to set them in Melbourne instead.

I guess I’m reading an early novel.

What I’m listening to: the quietest year 8 class I’ve ever seen.

It’s period 6. There’s only 9 minutes to go.

Usually even the best behaved class is getting a little restive. But this group of kids?

Some of them have finished the work and they’re talking. But quietly talking. It’s all whispers and quiet giggles. I tell you, it’s SO worth driving here from The Best House in Melbourne every day, even though there’s a secondary school at the end of my street. These kids are incredible.

What I’m eating: out of the freezer.

I’ve slowly been emptying the meat section of the freezer. I bought a huge heap of chicken drumsticks and parcelled them out into meal-sized lots of 3. Then Tom30 moved back in, which mucked up that little system. Suddenly we’re going through TWO meal’s worth of drummies instead of one.

Annoying.

Tonight is spaghetti bolognese with mince from the freezer. With Ryan27 gone, there’ll be enough for dinner tomorrow night as well, which makes me happy.

Give it another week or two, the freezer will be clear and I can go and buy another big lot of meat. Buying this way means that, over the long run, I save a heap.

What I’m planning: how I’m going to get through 6 weeks of full-time work.

Oof.

I mean, I know I can do it. I did it for nearly two decades, after all.

But my sweet, sweet freedom…

Those penguins, seals, whales and icebergs had better be worth it!

Who needs a good slap: The boys who kept pressing the ‘open door’ button on the lift as I was in it wanting to go up.

Ended up having to take the damn stairs. Two floors aren’t great when you’re wearing a mask and you have to get to class on time.

What has made me smile: three year 9 boys.

I was doing yard duty down the cold, boring side of the new campus. As I rounded a corner, I saw 3 boys acting a little suspiciously. They were obviously leaping around. There was a big brick thingamijig and I thought, ‘If they’re trying to jump over that, I’m going to have to stop them. Accident waiting to happen.’

Then I saw that they were competing in a long jump competition in the woodchips on the garden behind the generator. That’s using great initiative on a campus with hardly any outdoor space. I walked away smiling and left them to it.

Dad joke of the day: