Big thanks to my sparse readership for your forbearance: there was a perfect storm last week in terms of lack of activity on our part, a dearth of photo fodder and a landslide of work and grading that had pummeled us into submission come the weekend. Despite the fact that we had two full days of parent conferences this week, it still managed to be a little better!
One event I could have reported on last week was the successful running of another of Cassy's Book Club hostings. Once a year, each member of the club hosts all the others at their home, providing food and beverages and a delightful warm venue! I described in some detail the lengthy and sometimes annoying process of preparation but it does have some benefits: those pesky "once in a blue moon" jobs do get done and the house shines for some time lingering after the event!
Cass usually does all the cooking, but did a bit of a swifty this year and got the "doings" of Chicken Shawarma Pitas from the local Pita Bar that is run by an Israeli family whose daughter Cass taught last year. The food is particularly delicious and along with the appetizers of cheese, nuts and grapes and the perennial dessert of Aussie pav, the night was a great success. Cass even threw in a bottle of Veuve Cliquot, a present I received from one of my students.
We had parent conferences on Thursday and Friday and the upper gym, usually pulsing with bouncing balls, the slaps and yells of volleyball players in full flight or the squeal of rubber soled shoes on wood, was humming to a very different beat. Parents and students descended like a plague of locusts and fed voraciously on the offerings we, the teachers, served to them. The trouble is that the numbers are of almost biblical proportions as well: as you can see above, I'd seen 32 sets between 8 a.m. and 12 noon on the first morning! This set the pattern for the two days: Cass was similarly inundated over the four sessions and we almost literally collapsed at 4 p.m. Friday when the hordes finally departed; they satiated and we spent.
We celebrated by having a cup of tea, a handful of nuts and a collapse on the lounge at home! I went out and had beers a plenty with Wal later in the evening as he had an early mark of sorts from his athletic coaching duties and the boys were squared away at his parents-in-law's place for a couple of days: we made the most of the freedom! Not feeling terribly adventurous on Saturday after our assault in the latter stages of the week, we changed our set plans for the day (a trip to Yuanshan and the park and eating hub, Maji Square) to include takeaway Oggi pizza and a one-dayer from India, where the Aussies nearly carved out a patient win.
The TV viewing was possible as Dick and his son visited through the week with the long awaited new computer: they got it set up with various programs and running well before I spent some time downloading various programs and apps that we needed to make our lives run smoothly. I'm delighted to report that, after a few minor hiccups, all systems are "go": torrents are downloading, VPNS are masking, apps are presenting and live sports are streaming along with any or all of this beaming across to the TV when we fire up the equipment. Happy days are here again!
It doesn't take much to get me excited these days! I got a message on an app I have for the local French owned supermarket, Carrefour, through the week introducing an English company called Churchill's Sausages at a counter in the local store. They advertised sausages, pies and sausage rolls of various flavours. Cass and I had a chat with the guy, then bought a couple of different sausage rolls and pies which I sampled for dinner: pretty, pretty good is the verdict. How exciting to find a pie option so close to home in our suburb!
Spirit Week is on this week at school....not our favourite time of year (being a close second in repugnance behind camp), but at least it should be good for a few funny photos next week! Photos this week: Cassy's Book Club, lion dancers training at the local PE college, Spirit Week bulletin board prep, parent conferences, a last pack of Japanese senbei and Churchill's Sausages and Pies!