Observations galore!

Sunday I announced I couldn’t do any observations after period 3 as I had to go to my continuous assessment meeting. Because my principal has so much on her plate, she failed to remember that we had been asked to work each week for the entire term, on Sundays for 2 hours. This meant I would go to another campus to work on these assessments. At any rate, I left anyway at 10:30 am. 

In the end, the head of faculty who usually hosts the meeting was ill. So instead of going to work on assessments, I took Stuart to get Sean’s car,  then headed to the doctor to see if I could get my eyes done. She seemed rather sure that insurance would cover it. I would just need to wait a few days to find out. 

Stuart got home with kids just after I got home from the eye doctor. Stuart took Oreo to get his stitches taken out. He actually made it two weeks without ripping them out on his own. 

We left for the rugby club around 4:30 pm. When rugby training was over, we went home for dinner.  I made chicken fajitas in the crock pot. Millie went straight to bed when we got home because she was disrespectful. I’m not sure when she will ever learn. I’m hopeful, though. Jack had fajitas with us. We watched Elementary and then went to bed. 

Monday I got a message from Lara that she was not going to walk. I decided to walk anyway. Duke is my protector on days Lara doesn’t walk. 

I got to school and my principal was as friendly as a pup to me. I’ll take it. I started getting the Daily 5 ready for one of my teachers. We decided we would start this with one teacher and roll it out to everyone in a few weeks. I was very productive at school on Monday. It was a good day. 

I went to pick Millie and Claire up from school. Then I took Millie to Osha’s house, the palace. Millie was so excited. We dropped her off at 3 pm. Stuart picked Jack up from swim club and we were all home for a while. I went back to the palace to pick Millie up at 6 pm. She was still eating so Osha’s nanny invited me in for tea. I saw Osha’s mother and her extended family. While we were in the dining room, Kerri (the nanny for Osha) took Osha back into another room and brought out a gift for Millie. Millie opened her gift and then we headed out to the car. I thanked Kerri and she said this: ‘We love Millie and her confidence. It’s very good for Osha to have Millie around, as Osha is very shy and needs a personality like Millie’s to help bring her out of her shell’. It was such a lovely compliment to Millie. When we got home, Millie and Jack showered. Cathy and Claire came for dinner. It was a nice evening. 

I did four observations at school on Tuesday. My principal was at a meeting in Abu Dhabi which meant I had to do the observations she had scheduled for herself. I got a call from the municipality just before noon. It seems my dog troubles were not over. As I agreed to go meet with the woman at the municipality, the whole story became very clear to me. I knew why we were still being harassed. We live in a complex called The Village. Down the road a bit is a complex called Central Village. My friend, Dana, has been calling the municipality for several weeks now, complaining about these 8 wild dogs that bark all night, just behind her complex. When the rep from the municipality came to The Village he was meant to have gone to Central Village, but instead, our security guard gave him our villa as the one with a dog. Super random! When I finally explained these things to Fatima, she understood. I volunteered to send her a pin of the location of where the wild dogs were. I even sent her pictures of the dogs. Ugh! I hope this ordeal is finally over. 

When I finally got home, I called about our games for the Giant Games Night. It was to happen Thursday, but we decided to postpone the games night until the following Thursday. The games were not likely to show up in time. It then went to pick Millie up. I brought her home and got her ready for dance. We showed up to dance just to find out there was no dance. So I got McDonalds for her for supper and came home. Jack and Stuart left for rugby training, while Millie and I bathed Duke, bathed ourselves and then I painted Millie’s toe nails while she finished her chicken nuggets. While we were watching television, I was looking on Facebook and discovered that Clyde, of Bonnie and Clyde, our two beagles, had died the previous day. Millie cried and cried. She started talking about all of us dying. It was so sad. Bless her sweet little heart. 

Jack and Stuart came home and Jack was sad as well. Millie finally settled down and went up to bed. She continued to talk about how unfair it was that everyone would die one day. 

Wednesday Lara wasn’t going to walk, so I decided I would sleep in a bit as well. Once I was at school, I discovered my principal was not there again which meant I would have to do her observations for Wednesday as well. Ugh!

About mid morning I got the call that my surgery for my eyes had been approved by the insurance. Yahoo! I went for pre-op stuff at 2 pm and unfortunately missed Jack’s swim gala because of it. Thank goodness for video cameras. I am booked in Tuesday for surgery. I’m so excited! No more fat eyelids for me. 

When I got home, some of the big games had arrived, but not all of them so postponing the event was the best idea, but now I wouldn’t be there for it as I would be recovering from my surgery. 

The kids took showers and I got to see Jack’s swim gala videos, of which he won every one of his races. He’s a true athlete. 

Thursday my principal was out again, so more observations were on the schedule. Once school was over, I headed to the mall to buy a birthday gift for Millie’s friend Ava, and then buy some buckets for my teachers’ guided reading materials. Stuart had to go to school to pick up Jack, Adam, Daniel and Millie from school. Jack was having a dreaded sleepover, Stuart’s least favorite thing in the world. When I got home the boys were in Jack’s room playing the PlayStation. They were loud and having a blast. They played for hours. They took a break to walk Duke and then to eat. They finally wound down and went to sleep just after 11 pm. 

Friday morning the boys were up by 6 am. Jack and Adam had a few rugby matches and had to be at the club at 8 am. Daniel went to watch the matches and then they were all going to swim after. Millie had a birthday party at the rugby club pool at 11 am, so it was all perfect. 

I escaped it all and went to see Gina in Abu Dhabi. I got to the Westin at 9:30 am and we headed to pick up our friend, Rania, at 11:30 am and went for an Italian lunch on one of the islands in Abu Dhabi. We spent 4 hours just chatting and eating. It was such a relaxing time to catch up and spend some quality time with friends. Once we left the restaurant, we headed back to Rania’s house and stayed there until almost 11 pm. We got a cab back to the Westin and hit the bed. The Westin might have the best bed I’ve ever slept in. 

Saturday we slept in until 7:30 am. Those blackout curtains are amazing. I had a couple of cups of tea and then headed back to Al Ain. There were no big plans for the day. We took the kids to get passport photos, took my car for its 10,000 kilometer service, and organized dinner plans with the Richardsons. We had them over for a roast dinner, our favorite. The kids played outside, the adults chatted, and then we all ate a delicious meal. Good times with good friends is the best way to end a weekend. 

Another week closer to spring break!

I got reprimanded at school on Sunday because I was accused of telling a teacher when I would be coming for a walk through. Really? I love that the language barrier sometimes get us in trouble. Because if it’s said, then it must be true. At any rate, this was told to me just as I was leaving to go work on the continuous assessment. I just said I did not such thing and was offended that I was being accused of such a thing.  At our meeting we didn’t get much accomplished mainly because I griped about petty things at school. 

Stuart and I both went to collect the kids after school. Millie wasn’t feeling well, and had a meltdown when she was changing out of her school uniform.  So I convinced her that she and I should stay home while Stuart and Jack went to rugby. She had a bubble bath around 4 pm, got cozy in her fuzzy jumper, and we watched the film, Sing, for the hundredth time. 

School Monday was equally as fun as the day before. I was fine with Shaikha, our Vice Principal, but my principal ignored me all day. Oh well. 

I left school around 2 pm and went to pick up table decorations for the club for Valentine’s Day. I also picked up the last of our crafts for mine and DeDe’s craft day on Wednesday. I definitely had a lot going on this week. 

I got home, fed Jack, went to collect Millie from a play date at the mall. She had gone ice skating with her friend Zeina. 

Once we were home, the kids decided to take a bubble bath. They both ate some cereal and Millie went to bed. Jack stayed up and watched some television then was off to bed. 

Stuart got home just after 8 pm from rugby training. I fell asleep on the sofa around 9 pm, then woke up and went to bed. What a boring Monday we had. 

Tuesday at school I just worked in my office most of the day. I was to collect some scores of continuous assessment from my teachers to give to our Vice Principal. Sadly, I have some teachers who can’t follow directions. Ugh!  I got the information in the end, but it was like pulling teeth. 

The rumors are stirring over all this change in our school system. I just can’t listen because there’s no need to worry about anything until we know the true information. We’ve been told all kinds of things about our new contracts. I choose to not listen any longer. 

I left school early and sat in front of the kids’ school, waiting on dismissal. Every time I watch the way children are picked up from school I think of Diane Wells. She would have a heart attack at the car pool pick up. It’s frightful, at best. 

When Millie and I were on our way to her dance class, we saw a Lotus. 

Millie was terribly impressed. Once Millie’s dance class was over, I went to pick up Cathy and dropped off Millie. Cathy and I went for our last lesson of golf. Next week we will play 9 holes of golf, the culminating activity. Ya been so much fun. Cathy came home with me and Stuart was making pancakes as it was national pancake day. She stayed for a bit, but had to get home because she was having eye surgery the following morning. 

On Tuesday morning, Stuart had gone to the doctor because he was having sweats at school and his Vice Principal insisted. He got signed off for Wednesday. They determined that he just had a bug of some sort. 

Wednesday morning we were up and while I took the kids to school, Stuart took Cathy to the hospital to have eye surgery. She has eyelids that hang over her eyes, therefore making her vision impaired. I have the exact same thing. So if her eyes look good I am having the same surgery. 

I can only assume Stuart rested and watched Dr Who the whole day. Our friend James picked the kids up because we had given his daughter a ride to school in the morning. 

I ordered pizza and picked it up at the club to take to DeDe’s for the Valentine event. When I got home, Stuart had red roses for me. 

Par for the course, I got him a lot of nothing. We had agreed on that, but clearly he lied. The kids and I went to DeDe’s for our Valentine’s Day party around 4 pm. We did a couple of crafts and had pizza and snacks. The kids made their own Valentines. It was an enjoyable event, as it always is. 

When we got home, Stuart and the kids went to pick Cathy up from the hospital and I headed to the rugby club for the Valentine celebration for the Wednesday quiz night. Hannah and I had decorated and gotten prizes for the quiz, hoping to draw more people in to the club. It wasn’t a terribly attended event, but everyone who was there was complimentary of our efforts to make it a special night. I got home around 9 pm and went straight to bed. 

Thursday we had issues with a new teacher we received earlier in the week. Thank goodness I don’t have to sort through those things. I made some more reading books for our guided reading program and also did some walk throughs. 

Stuart stayed home again on Thursday as he just wasn’t feeling rightly. I was supposed to go to the doctor about my eyes, but didn’t realize that the Meseroll hospital in Abu Dhabi also had a doctor named Dr. Faten. So instead of booking my appointment in Al Ain hospital, I booked it in the Abu Dhabi hospital. Who would have thought there were two Dr. Fatens in two different cities. I called the hospital in Abu Dhabi and canceled the appointment, rescheduling it for Sunday in Al Ain. Ha! What a cotton headed ninny muggins I am. 

While I was at my appointment that didn’t exist, Stuart  took the kids to a birthday party at Bounce. 

I went to collect them at 5:30 pm. We stopped and picked up Cathy so she could come for dinner. Stuart made these hamburger pizza rolls. They were really good. I love when he tries something new. 

Friday we lazed around the house. I slept on the sofa for a while. I had woken up at 3 am and couldn’t go back to sleep so decided to go downstairs and watch tv. Jack was up just before 6, Stuart was up at 7 and Millie came down around 8. I did some Friday morning chores, then we left for Dubai to a rugby match at 1:30 pm. We dropped Stuart off at the pitch and then Millie and I went to Park and Shop, my favorite store in the UAE. Once Millie and I were done shopping we headed back to the rugby grounds to watch the match. It might be the first full game I’ve watched Stuart play, I’m ashamed to say. When they play in Al Ain I know everyone there so I’m too busy socializing to watch a lot of the match. Stuart played really well and even scored a try. 

We got home around 8:30 pm. The kids were up for showers and then went to bed. I stayed up to watch television for a bit. 

Saturday morning I was still trying to shake my cold. I laid around and watched television. Stuart went to the store to get some food for our roast dinner at the Richardson’s. 

Jack, Millie and I made blue velvet cupcakes, which I’m told were delicious. We left for the Richardson’s just before 5 pm, taking Duke for a play date with Biscuit, their dog, and a new puppy they had found that they named Snowy. She was so cute. 

As usual, we took the kids’ bikes as well as their shower things.  After dinner, the kids showered and we left for home shortly after 7 pm. The weekend was relatively uneventful. Ive come to love these types of weekends, the older I get.  

Duke is home to stay and Oreo is on the mend.

When I got up and saw that Oreo, in spite of the fact that we had kept his collar on for the week, had somehow ripped his stitches again I thought I was going to scream. I had developed a cold and was not terribly thrilled about taking the cat back to the vet.

I did some walk throughs in the morning at school and then headed to work on continuous assessments. It’s my favorite part of my work week. Once school was out, we met with Jack’s teacher about his progress to this point. It seems that his silliness has subsided, thank goodness. 

We went early to the rugby club so I could meet with Hannah and the club house manager, Andrew. We tried to solidify the calendar for the remainder of the year. The kids played and then Jack trained. After he was finished, the kids ate the roast dinner at the club. Stuart stayed at the club and watched the rugby match between England and Italy, while I took the kids home for showers and bed. 

I had emailed Nadia, the lady who owns out vet clinic, about Duke. She said there was no law about having dogs in a closed complex. She said she would write a letter for us to give to the municipality if they came back to inspect our house. We thought that would probably do it. 

Monday Lara and I walked a different route. It seems the wild dogs, of which there are 8 living in an abandoned house, were not removed after all. School was full of organization and walk throughs. I ended up leaving early to go to Jack’s field day. We didn’t even know he was involved in track and field. He won the two events he entered. 

We took Louie to the house next to us from the field day. He wanted to stay to participate, but Rochelle had to take her girls to their cultural group practice.  We then decided to go to collect Duke from Scott and Clare’s. Once we had the letter from Nadia, we felt there would be no issues. 

Once Duke was safely back home we went to the club, fed the kids and went to the committee meeting. We got home later than I liked, and boy was Duke thrilled to see us. 

Tuesday morning I walked with Lara and Duke. I’m not sure he liked the new route. We can hear more traffic, but the light is better and there are no crazy wild dogs. 

I went to school and had a senior leadership meeting straight away. My cleaner rang at 9:30, saying someone came to the house about the dog. Clearly the municipality decided to come during the day, and wouldn’t you know it would be the only day someone was there, our cleaner. She told the man that we had a dog, but he didn’t inspect the house. She said his English was not great, so I wasn’t terribly concerned. She gave him my phone number so I expected a call. In the meantime, I called our complex to ask them if we were allowed to have dogs in our complex. 

Around 2:30 pm I got a call from the municipality. After about 20 minutes on the phone, I convinced the lady on the other end that the offending dog had been given away in December. I failed to mention anything about Duke. In the end, she said to me ‘This case is closed’. Whew! Shortly after the call from the municipality, I got a call back from the complex telling me animals were allowed in our house. 

Once I left school, I went to get the kids McDonalds and ended up dumping my free cappuccino in the drink well of my car. At least it was contained, but it caused me to be late to get the kids from their extra curricular activities. This caused Millie and I to be late to her dance class. Oh bother. 

After dance, I dropped her at the rugby club and I went golfing. After golfing, I apparently snuck in the house, went upstairs and put Millie to bed, and showered. Stuart was surprised when he came up the stairs to put Millie in bed and I was in my pajamas. Ha!

I was up walking again Wednesday morning. It’s my free therapy for sure. I took the kids to school and then headed to Abu Dhabi for a book signing at a private school. I was almost late because I initially went to the wrong school. The fog was crazy, as it always is this time of year. The buses are not allowed to drive when fog is present. So many of the students were arriving at the same time I was. It was a phenomenal experience and it made me want to be a visiting author full time. I sold a number of books, so it was definitely worth while.

Once I was back in Al Ain I went to the vet to pick up Oreo. Hopefully he won’t need to be stitched again. He seems he had healed a bit in his 4 days at the vet. They had made him stay over as I’m sure they figured out we have difficulty keeping that darn cat in a confined area to heal. 

Once I was home from the vet, we went to Jack’s track meet. He won the 50 meter and his relay. He’s a fast little booger. I then went to the doctor as I was coughing and feeling flu-ish. Lovely! The kids went with Stuart to the club and when I finished at the doctor, who gave me Thursday off work, I went to the club to pick up the kids and head home. 

Lara came over for a chat and we decided to have a bbq at our house Thursday after school. We also decided to reward ourselves for walking 4 days in a row by giving ourselves Thursday off. 

Thursday morning I took the kids to school in the fog. I came back home and cleaned the back patio. Then I spent the day watching trashy shows and I might have slept some. I was wiped out and kind of regretting having planned a bbq for that evening. 

I picked the kids up from school, while Stuart went to the supermarket to buy some food for the bbq. Once the bbq started, we had a blast. There was meat for days, as it seems there always is at our events. I was wiped and ended up going to bed before the last guests left. 

Friday we went to the club to watch Gaelic football for a bit. We had lunch and came home mid afternoon. Cathy came over after her date. She had spent the day with a guy from Ireland. She said it wasn’t an instant love connection, but she was going to give him another shot. 

I got up Saturday, way too early. I met with Hannah at 9 am so we could talk about our upcoming events. We were hosting a Valentine event as well as a Giant Games night at the club. I took Millie with me so she could play with Sam and Ava, Hannah’s two kids. We didn’t meet for long, but got things accomplished. 

Once we were home, the kids enjoyed the nice weather by playing outside most of the day, while Stuart and I watched our new favorite show, Elementary. Cathy and Claire came over just after 4 pm and we had dinner just after 6 pm. The rest of the evening was chilled out. These lazy weekends are by far my favorite. 

We got our family photos back this week. 

That darn cat, and a run in with the authorities

Sunday I walked alone again. Lara can’t seem to shake this cold she has. When I got home from walking I looked at Oreo’s wound on his leg and he had gnawed off some of the stitches and there was a hole in his leg. Dang cat! I would have to take him back to the vet later in the morning. Fortunately, I was only at school until about 10:30 am. I left, picked up Oreo, headed to the vet and then on to my continuous assessment meeting. 

I went to the grocery store after my meeting. I then picked the kids up from school. When we got home, the kids did some homework. I then went to pick Oreo up at 4:30 pm. There was no kids’ rugby training, as they had their tournament the previous weekend and needed a rest. So Sunday evening, the kids went to a birthday party and the Princesses met up for a bite to eat. It had been ages since Clare, Rochelle, Leanne and I had been together. We had quite the natter (a Kiwi’s term for ‘chat’). It was a good laugh with wonderful friends. 

When I got home I watched some television, sorted Oreo out so he wouldn’t kill himself having his collar of shame on, and then locked him in the bathroom for the night. 

I got up to walk, but before I left, I sorted out the cat, took his collar off so he could eat and drink, and then hit the road with Duke. Oreo had wrecked the bathroom, but I couldn’t afford for him to wreck his stitches again, so I would get over the mess. 

I went to work and was to do walk throughs. Time got away from us so none of them got finished. After school, I had my observation with a presentation of engagement strategies. I did a dang good job, if I do say so myself. 

Once I left school, I headed to meet Millie’s teacher. I got a relatively good report. The only negative was that Millie talks to much in class. So shocking! Once I dropped Millie and Jack, who’d been at swim squad, at home, I went to meet with Hannah. We planned out the social event for the rest of 2018. 

Once I was home, Stuart left for training. Just after he left, I got a knock at the door. The complex security guard was standing at my door, holding a citation that was written in Arabic. He told me it said that the municipality had been contacted regarding my dog disturbing the peace. I called Stuart at the club and he decided to come home and go to the police station to sort out the compliant. We were sure it was from the guy who lived across from us. He had complained about Molly, which caused us to give her away. We had hopes that the complaint had taken that long to get to us. 

Stuart found out nothing. He did go to the neighbor, but the neighbor denied calling the  authorities. I messaged the lady who owns our vet clinic, who is Emirati, and asked if she would translate the citation for us. She started helping us sort it out. The kids will be heartbroken if we have to give Duke away. We decided we would move him to Scott and Clare’s for a few days until we could speak to someone at the municipality. The citation apparently said someone would come to our home in three days to inspect it. 

I didn’t sleep well at all on Monday. I suppose I was worried about this citation. I know it will be sorted out, but what a pain. 

Tuesday morning it was just Duke and I who walked. On our second mile, the wild dogs who live in an abandoned house down the road from our complex, came out and started barking at us. They even started chasing us. Duke is a big wuss, so he was no help at all. He didn’t bark or anything, which is why I know the citation has nothing to do with him. 

Once we turned around and they stopped following us, I heard them still barking and a lady screaming as if she were being attacked. I ran back to the guard gate at my complex and asked the security guard to call the police. He said he wouldn’t, as it was not happening in our complex. There is something wrong with people who do not want to help others who might be in potential danger. I told him that was pathetic. Then I got home and got in my car to drive down to where I had heard the screaming. By the time I got there, there were no dogs or screaming lady to be seen. I hoped this was a positive thing. 

I went to school and was concerned most of the day. Our Emirati friend contacted a client she has in the municipality and stated he would speak to a supervisor over the man who wrote the citation. He said he would address the fact that he gave the citation to the security guard instead of bringing it to us himself. And she said he should have come to inspect our home at the same time. 

We hoped this meant they would come soon, while Duke wasn’t there, and check things out. Millie came up with the plan to take Duke to Scott and Clare’s until ‘that man’ came to our house, and then we could go and bring Duke home. We thought it was a great plan, but our moral guide, Jack, said we were being ‘sneaky’. We asked him if he wanted to give Duke away and then he decided it wasn’t  THAT sneaky. 

After school, I rushed to pick the kids up, feed them McDonalds in the car on the way home, dropped off Jack, got Millie changed for dance and me changed for golf, and then drove to dance. Our Tuesday afternoons are rushed indeed. 

Millie had dance, and seemed to love every minute of it. I picked up Cathy after Millie’s dance class, and then dropped Millie at the rugby club. Cathy and I went to golf.  When I got back from golf, Sean was home. He had spent the last two nights camping with the local soldiers. Stuart and the kids were taking Duke to the Richardson’s for his mini vacation. 

Stuart and the kids got home, and the kids showered. They had some fruit and then were off to bed. At golf that evening, we learned how to use the driver. It was so fun. I messaged the video my golf instructor took of me hitting the ball. I was so proud of my progress in just three lessons, until Stuart took the wind out of my sail with his only comment, ‘what happened to your balance?’  Way to build me up, honey.

I took Oreo’s collar off so he could eat and drink, but put it back on after about an hour. I am not paying for another stitching job. 

We watched television for a bit once the kids were in bed. At 8:25, I realized I had been snoozing. Stuart handed me the remote and said he was going to bed. I put it on the table and said I was also going to bed as well. I got a very long sleep on Tuesday evening. 

I got up to walk and Lara asked where Duke was. I told her the entire sorted story. Poor dog. He’s getting a bad reputation for something he didn’t even do. 

We had a spelling bee at another school on Wednesday. So I spent most of the day with two boys from my school. They didn’t do so well, but it was nice to be out of school for the day. When we got back, we had professional development. When we all got ready to leave for the day, there were 5 students sitting in the reception area. At that moment, it dawned on me that I had late bus duty. When the bus went to drop these students off at home, there was no one there to receive them. The bus drivers are not allowed to drop students off without there being an adult to receive them at the home. It doesn’t happen often, which is why I usually love having this duty on a Monday or Wednesday, because those are the days we stay late after school anyway. So I was bummed when I had to stay until they were all picked up. 

When I got home Stuart left for training. The kids had dinner and showered. They watched some television and then were off to bed. I just chilled in front of the trash tv I love. 

Thursday the English teachers collected items for our school cleaners. They make very low wages and are terribly appreciative of anything they get from us. School was virtually uneventful. Thursday evening Cathy came over and we ordered curry. She brought a dart board she had bought her girls several years ago for Christmas. We played darts and out a few holes in the wall. Oops! We then decided to play cards. We stayed up way too late for this almost 50 year old. 

Friday I spent the day with DeDe in Dubai. We went to a place called The Beach. 

It was a lovely beach with great art stalls and other fantastic shopping. We had a wonderful time. We ended up at Park and Shop, where I usually find some of the comfort foods from home. I ALWAYS spend too much money there, but it’s soothes my soul. Stuart had a match in Dubai so the kids stayed with Kayla, Lara’s daughter. I got home just before 7 and Stuart and Sean followed shortly after. Stuart was sore from the match. Sean said he played his best game ever. 

Saturday morning we woke up to Millie screaming. Seems she had tried to wake Jack to go downstairs and he slapped her. Pleasant! So of course, since Millie was awake, we all had to be awake. 

Stuart made breakfast and we sat around the house most of the day. Jack was grounded from electronics and both kids were at each other’s throat most of the day. They cleaned out some of their toys and then we got ready for our family photos. We dropped food at Scott and Clare’s and went to Green Mubazzarah for photos. I’m hopeful they will come out great. 

We ended up at the Richardson’s for a roast dinner. Clare was out of sorts as she had just found out she had to have a biopsy of a lump they found on her breast. I felt for her. That’s a scary thing for sure. She will have the procedure on Monday. It’s was a solemn end to a weekend.