Chai And A Chat #114 #ChaiAndAChat #CoronaDiaries Week 38

14 Dec 2020 27 Comments

by Ritu in Chai and a Chat Tags: , , , , ,

Happy Monday, Peeps! Last week of Christmas term, here. I’m crawling, but still moving!

Right, have you got your drink?

  • If we were having chai I’d start with the usual… School. It’s been weird. Usually, at this time we would be practicing the Nativity, and gearing up for the performance to the parents. This year, due to Covid-19, it isn’t able to happen, which is so sad for the children. We are still trying hard to keep the Christmas spirit alive, though, with our class advent calendar, that has Santa growing more hair on his chin, until his full beard is grown! The kids love singing Christmas songs and have been writing letters to Santa in our Christmas Post office! We’ve made cards for their families, and calendars as gifts. And of course, we have been talking about the story of the Nativity. My all time favourite moment was when I asked if they knew the reason why Christmas is celebrated, and I was told it’s because Baby Cheesus was born!
  • If we were having chai I’d tell you that I have been trying to get booked in for my regular flu jab, for a couple of months, now. And it took ages, but I finally got an appointment, so hopefully, by next week, I’ll be immunised for that, at least!
  • If we were having chai I’d have to tell you about the houses stuff. We had another prospective buyer come to view the property on Saturday. They will be feeding back on Monday. And another is due to see the house on Wednesday. Fingers crossed, and house selling vibes, please!
  • If we were having chai I’d then have to let you know that we went to see three properties, too. Obviously, if we sell this one, we need that forever home to move into. It is a tough time, trying to find what we really want, espcially in this climate, as houses are being snapped up, so fast, at the moment. One we were hoping to see, ended up not actually on the market. The three we viewed on Saturday were interesting. Two out of the three were quirky properties, but the rooms themselves were too small, even though one had a swimming pool, and a beaautiful garden view. One, in my eyes was a definite contender, but the gaarden, though huge, was at a slope, and a no way from the male members of the family… grrr! Still, they were obviously not for us. Another to see on Monday. Fingers crossed!
  • If we were having chai I’d finally tell you that the week ended a little on a low. My aunt, Pops sister, passed away. She was old, led a good life, but it is still hard to say goodbye, especially in this climate…

This week, it’s the last week of the Autumn term. I am hoping for relatively smooth sailing but you never know, in the world of school! There is talks of mass testing in Secondary schools here, in certain areas of Kent, which could, in effect, shut down whole schools, and mean that families are in self isolation over Christmas, if as many positives as they think are found… Scary. No one wants to be affected, but I guess, it has to be done. I’ve bought all the main trimmings for our own Christmas dinner, just in case… you never know. Aaside from a couple of house jobs, and my flu jab, I am hoping that it will be a smooth week. Christmas presents are ordered, and just need wrapping…

And while you’re here, did you sign up for my mailing list? I am in the middle of writing an exclusive Chickpea Curry Lit story for my subscribers, and there will be news, tips and even recipes! You know you want to join… go on! Click the pic below to sign up!

Chai Postponed

16 Dec 2019 20 Comments

by Ritu in Chai and a Chat Tags: , , , , ,

Hi Peeps!

Apologies for the short message. The weekend kind of disappeared from me, so, instead of a Chai, how about a nightcap tonight, instead?

See you this evening!

Chai And A Chat #54 #ChaiAndAChat

14 Oct 2019 36 Comments

by Ritu in Chai and a Chat, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: , , , , ,

Happy Monday to you all! I hope your week treated you well. Here’s my update!

  • If we were sipping chai together I’d start by telling you I’m still tired. As Spidey helped me to tell you all, the exhaustion is pretty bad still, but I have made a doctor’s appointment. Here’s hoping he can help me work out why… Saturday saw me go up fir a little nap and surface three hours later!
  • If we were sipping chai together I’d let you know that school is going fine, for me, but there are changes afoot in school with staff ins and outs… always a bit of an upheaval for everyone. My extra special Beaut has been given one to one support so will be coming in for longer as of next week. Here’s hoping it helps!
  • If we were sipping chai together I’d say that on Thursday, the local paper had a supplement in it, entitled First Classes. Every year the local paper takes a photo of the Reception classes in all the surrounding schools, and it goes in the paper. Our pic was there. My with my first proper class! It was lovely to see! I’d post it, but I’m not sure of protocol, so better safe than sorry!
  • If we were sipping chai together I’d share this beautiful sunrise that I saw one morning. The colours were just magnificent!
View this post on Instagram

Sunrise #nofilter

A post shared by Ritu B (@ritubhathalwrites) on

  • If we were sipping chai together I’d let you know that I have been trying to build my collection of fiction craft books, thanks to recomendations from several great writerly friends of mine. As you know, if you read the post on my Author Blog, the publisher said no. Not a rude no, but more of a great idea, but it’s not for us kind of no. So I’m back to deciding what to do. First off, another round of finishing the editing tweaks as recommended by my beta readers, then the big decision… to Trad or Indie?
  • If we were sipping chai together I’d mention that I have been rediscovering older poems of mine, and posting them on Facebook and Instagram. It’s great to read old words you have strung together!
View this post on Instagram

Our little nest, one time, was bare A mere shell, there was no one there Then you came, to illuminate This home you helped us to create We furnished it with memories Times we can recall with ease Each day you add another layer And I silently offer up a prayer Thank you Lord for giving me These branches of my family tree I know one day that you will fly And believe me, you will soar high You’ll leave this nest to build your own But I’ll not lament that you have flown For it’s no longer an empty shell It’s now a home in which we dwell And embedded in each and every space Is the image of your smiling face The sounds of laughter will always ring out Whether or not you are about This nest will always be your home No matter where you decide to roam. #poetry #poetsofinstagram #poetstagram #family #poeticwords #lifelessons #lifepoetry @rhythmicalmike another?

A post shared by Ritu B (@ritubhathalwrites) on

  • If we were sipping chai together I’d say that despite the tiredness, it was important to celebrate the birthday of one of my special Tootie Frootie ladies. We had a quiet night out, four of us, chilling, chatting and chomping!
  • If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that I don’t want to wish time away, but I can’t wait for the weekend! It means we have finished for this first term, and I get a week off. Much needed. First things first will be to try and get an earlier doctor’s appointment. and REST!
  • If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d mention that it is Harvest Festival today at school. We have been practicing a short song with the children, and this will be the first time they have gone to a whole school assembly. Actually the first time they have been to ANY assembly! So fingers crossed, they actually sing!

Right, that’s me done Peeps! Let me how your week has been.

Chai And A Chat #42 #ChaiAndAChat

22 Jul 2019 41 Comments

by Ritu in Chai and a Chat Tags: , , , , , , ,

Hey there Peeps! Welcome back to the madness that is the life of Ritu! Got that cuppa? Right, let’s get on!

  • If we were sipping chai together I’d say ‘Phew! One week to go…’ Yup the holidays are almost upon us, but not quite!
  • If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that I haven’t had the same amount of runnin around that the last few weeks have contained, but there has still been a lot of school based ‘stuff’ that has been going on, which means the days are ending much later than usual. My colleague in nursery is getting to grips with taking over the whole shebang with out me next year, and she is fantastic at what she does, but is not as confident on the technichal stuff. The last few yers, I have kept the IT side of things running, so it has been a few late evenings of quick tutorials!
  • If we were sipping chai together I’d mention excitedly, that I received my first lot of class stationery, you know, the official stuff. My own stapler, labels, velcro, pencils etc, and though that doesn’t sound too interesting, it is, very much so, for a stationery addict like me! Can’t wait to get labelling on all the little baskets I have ready!!
  • If we were sipping chai together I’d let you know we had the Reception class parent assembly where the children ‘performed’ for their parents and carers, talking about what they have done this year. It was extremely cute! As teachers we have also been giving performances of our own. but more about that next week!
  • If we were sipping chai together I’d whisper that the pile of things of rmy new classroom is getting rather large now, taking over my bedroom, not to mention what I stored in the attic! I think Hubby Dearest will be relieved once the holidays start, and I can finally take these boxes into school! We can have at least a quarter of the bedroom back! I just don’t have anywhere in school to store these things and if I took them in, and left them in one of the rooms, you never know who might help themselves!
  • If we were sipping chai together I’d say that kid wise the Lils of the family had their last tutoring session for this academic year, and they were very glad! Lil Man has now finished school for summer and loves to rub it in, but Lil Princess and I still have until next Thursday, officially, and I know I will be in for at least a week after that, setting up!
  • If we were sipping chai together I’d breathe a sigh of relief and say there was NO CRICKET this week! It was lovely to have a Sunday where I could have a real lie in!
  • If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that on Friday, we had a staff meal out to celebrate the impending wedding of our headteacher. It was a lovely night out, much needed, and the food was good too! We were presented with these funny little tablet things which foxed us, as to what they were, until we popped them into water and realised they were little hand towels for use after our sticky ribs!
This was jsut so cool!
  • If we were sipping chai together I’d happily tell you that on Saturday Pops came down with my mum’s brother and wife, my aunty and uncle. I haven’t seen my uncle in 18 years, and my aunt in 8 years, so it was an emotional few hours, full of love and laughter. As mum was in Finland, she was feeling left out, so kept on calling us! But what a lovely afternoon. Family is everything, really.
My other mother ❤
  • If we were sipping chai together I’d ask you if you knew that Sunday was #NationalDoSomethingStupidday? Well, I was not stupid on Sunday, I was a bit premature and did my stupid stunt on Saturday. Yup, you guessed it #ClumsyRituStrikesAgain! We popped into Halfords, the car and bike place, after Pops had left. Lil Man wants a new bike, and has been saving up. So the rest of the family traipsed upstairs and I went to ask for one of the advisors to look at my car, as the AC wasn’t working, and the radio wasn’t picking up any stations. There was a few minutes to wait, so I checked on the others, and satisfied that they were still busy, I went back down, except I managed to miss the last step, and found myself sprawled across the floor, with an audience of around 6 people. How embarrassing! The cashier asked if I was okay, to which my bruised ego answered that I was perfectly fine… however, both feet hurt, my toes hurt, my knees hurt, my shoulder hurt…OUCH! I sat back on the offending step and waited for the advisor to call for me. Oh, I ached all evening, and woke up on Sunday to a graze that appeared on one foot as well, and hobbled around all day…. Feeling rather sorry for myself!
  • If we were sipping chai together I’d admit that I was rather proud of Lil Princess. We had an italian day at school on the Friday and her year group all got to make pizza which was transported home in a pizza box they had all designed and decorated themselves. Hers was lovely, and when she explained all about her design, my heart melted! If my daughter had a pizza restaurant it would be called Amore with the slogan, L’amore è nell’aria – which means Love is in the air 💜 It would be a couples restaurant and her tagline would be  Girl Girl, Boy Boy, Girl Boy as it would be a place where ALL couples are accepted and celebrated . Bless her little cotton socks!
Amore!
  • If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that this week will be hectic for various reasons, and most of them school related. We have the School Talent Show on Monday, our next Transition Day on Tuesday for all the school children to meet their new teachers for the next year, Lil Princess’s Year 6 Leavers Prom, my last full day in Nursery on Wednesday, and on Thursday, I’ll have two lots of nursery end of year celebrations with the children and parents, tmy Reception class Graduation, and Lil Princess’s End of School Assembly!
  • hing for cake or cookies I’d say that on Friday and the following week, I have roped in the kids to come and help me with classroon rearrangement in my new classroom! I will have my own room, finally, and can’t wait!
  • If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d mention that, touch wood, nothing has been planned for the weekend, so I might just catch a break! (Shhhh! Don’t tell the universe what I’m planning!)

Over and out!

Tell me how your week has been!

Chai And A Chat #41 #ChaiAndAChat

15 Jul 2019 39 Comments

by Ritu in Chai and a Chat, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: , , , , , ,

Hey there Peeps! Time for our weekly catch up! Did I end up with a more calm week? Read on to find out!

  • If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that this week was marginally better than last week, but still no smooth sailing!
  • If we were sipping chai together I’d say that school has been busy, as ever, with transition days for our new kids, preparation for end of year assemblies, thinking about cards for staff who are leaving/having babies/turning 70, Sports Day, more training and handovers for my new subject lead next year, and Book Fairs!
  • If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that I have a new challenge next year, with a student with Autusim joining my class. He has very specific needs and routines, and there is no one to be his one to one support, so this will be interesting…. He joins another child I have who has certain issues, one who is showing signs of sone sort or SEN, and two others with extreme behaviour problems. Oh, I’ll have my work cut out, but hey, it’ll be my class, and there will be continuity, so I hope I can do justice! I thing there will be a bit of blogger fodder in it for me too….
  • If we were sipping chai together I’d groan and say we had Sports Day! It’s been a while since I was involved in Sports Day as it is usually on a Thursday, which is my Nursery day. This year though it was on a Wednesday which meant I got a chance to get more involved in it all. My class were a great bunch, encouraging each other, and showing some real competitiveness too! One lost her shoe in her running race, so I ended up running the race with her so she didn’t feel like she was the only one running at the end. Then I accompanied a toddler to the finishing line in our siblings race, and finally I was dragged to the starting line again in the Teachers race! No. I dodnt win, but was 4th out of around 9. I’m not complaining, but I was the next day when the aches and pains were showing themselves!
  • If we were sipping chai together I’d mention that it was my nephew’s first birthday, and the first anniversary of Pops and his emergency surgery on Monday. The thought of that day is always bittersweet, with the worry of his op, and the news that the baby had been born!
  • If we were sipping chai together I’d yawn as I tell you that Saturday, I was up at some ungodly hour, unable to sleep with the muggy weather. I ended up reading for a coule of hours before I could sleep, then when I finally dozed off, it was time to wake up ready for taking Lil Princess to swimming! The morning passed in a haze, and I didn’t feel right until I’d had a 2 hour nap in the afternoon!
  • If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that Sunday was another Cricket dedicated morning, but I was determined to have a little me time too, so I went to get my nails done! And Cricket-wise, Sunday was a good day for many… Lil Man’s team won their match, and England were crowned Cricket World Cup Winners for the first time, after a nailbiting, historic Super Over end to the match! Now, if you know me, you know I am not sports orientated at all, but even I got excited about this! And to top it off, the Wimbledon final was on too, so tensions were high right up until the end of these matches!
  • If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that this week we have the end of year assembly for Reception class, reports need to go out to the parents too, and there is a toy sale being organised by my councillors, and the Eco councillors, to raise money for playground equipment!
  • If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d say that I have a dinner out on Friday that I am looking forward to, to celebrate the impending wedding of our Head!
  • If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d mention that Pops is coming over on Saturday, to bring my dear aunt and uncle who have come over from Kenya to visit. I haven’t seen them for a long time, and I am really looking forward to it! This is my Mum’s elder brother and his wife. They are such wonderful people and my aunt is one of the women in my life, I class as one of my ‘other’ mothers!

Right, I think that is enough, don’t you, Peeps?!

Tell me how your week has been!

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