May

 May started terribly, got a bit better but ended on a low note!

The first 10 days or so of May were awful for me.  I had shingles and thought I was dying.  The pain was so intense.  The worst part was that I couldn't lie down.  Standing eased the pain, sitting was tolerable but lying down was the worst. I honestly wondered if I could sleep standing up.  Time and heavy painkillers got me through that. By the time I had recovered the holiday that I had at the beginning of May was finished. That upset me as I had plans.  We try to go to the other house two or three times a week but because we have classes in the afternoon and evening we can only do a few hours. I had planned to spend at least two full days there. Also, I wanted to sort some stuff here, start throwing out things we no longer need, and pack up other things.  For most of the holiday, I had planned on doing nothing, just relaxing, reading, watching TV, and, at most preparing some lessons.  When I first got sick I thought I could at least read, but the pain was so bad that I couldn't concentrate. I watched a lot of stuff on YouTube but again found it hard to concentrate.

I think I was lucky that the shingles I had was rather mild. I don't think I could have dealt with a stronger case.  I've recovered okay but still feel very tired.  I guess that will take time to feel 100%.  I stopped exercising and haven't really gotten into it again. I do a bit of stretching at night but haven't started doing the videos I was using before.  That's my next goal.

The middle of the month saw me playing catch up. One thing I had planned to do was to wash all the heavy blankets and get them put away.  The weather didn't help with that!  It has rained a lot! I've managed to get most done but still a few more to go!  

At least at the other house I could get one room completely cleaned out and the large furniture in the other room moved out.  I hope in June to get things cleaned and then start thinking about what we can afford in the way of reforming.  The one thing we must do is get the toilet situation sorted out.  Other things we can do as we have money.   

The past few days have been hard for Hannah.  Last November she did her one-month teacher training. The feedback she got from the teachers there was very positive.  They pointed out where she could improve, her voice isn't very strong, so she needs to work on that.  But over all the teachers were impressed with the level of professionalism she showed.  When she got her grades she got a 'C'.  She was rather puzzled by this. Her friend who was at the same school was late one time, didn't hand in her report on time and had other problems but she got a 'B'.  Hannah also got a 'C' on her lessons that she did at university, again no explanation as to why they are marking her so low.  The feedback from the students and teachers was again positive.  She spoke briefly to the teacher yesterday, who said the low mark was to encourage her.  I told her to go again.  She is confused, she doesn't understand where she went wrong and what she needs to do to improve.  The teacher said that during her training she didn't communicate with the students but the homeroom teacher praised her and said that Hannah helped a lot to keep the class together.  The homeroom teacher wanted Hannah to stay.  Also, Hannah received a card from the students saying that they really enjoyed having her in the class. If she hadn't communicated with the students they would not have written such positive messages for her.

At the same time, Hannah is having pain in her right hand. She's left-handed so we couldn't figure out why she was having pain in her right hand.  She thinks it might be because of using her phone too much. She has to go to the doctor if it doesn't resolve itself.

Then this morning David came home early from work. He's been sick, throwing up.  

What a way to end the month.  And we all know how hard June is for me!!

Mikey and Sam

Mikey fell asleep on the sofa.  I like that they have the same pose!!