Much of the time I don't know exactly what to post about. I know I want to post, but I am not sure what, if anything, I have to say will be interesting to anyone. Or perhaps it might be too interesting and better kept off the web, if you know what I mean. It brings to mind the question that I am sure that many bloggers have which is "Who am I blogging for?"
Me? I blog for a few different reasons and for several different people. In this blog my primary focus is to keep my family and friends updated on our lives so far away.(I also blog at Divinely Crafty for entirely different purposes.) We started this blog as a group effort of the whole family back in 2005 when we were preparing for our big move. It quickly ended up being just me who ever posted so at some point I assumed sole authorship of the blog. That was fine with me. I love having total editorial control, and as official blabber mouth of my family I am well suited to the role. My primary problem being what I opened this post with: I often find myself not knowing which, if any, of the moments of our days are worthy of documenting and asking others to take time out of their own days to read.
There isn't much variation to the routine of our days. Wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, go off to our various schools and jobs. Or in my case - wake up,take my medicines, go back to bed,wake up again when brought a cup of tea, and when everyone else has gone off to do their thing, I prop myself up in my bed with my laptop, my knitting,a good book, a jug of water,and dream of what I might do if I only I could. Its not very exciting really, and there is only so many times I can write about the birds I watch from my bedroom window or fuss about the weather. When the time of day arrives that the rest of the family begins to return home, it's time for playing with friends, working on school work, and the daily ritual of asking me what's for dinner. A question that hits me hard on days that I am at my worst as it highlights just how limited I am in what I can do. Once everyone is fed either by something I have mustered up the energy to make or what Axel throws together when he comes home from work, it's time for winding down, taking baths, reading stories, and going to bed. The sun comes up the next day and it all begins again.
Not much to write about. Or is there? Maybe the little things - the details- that give life to our routines would be of interest. Things that if we were living close to our loved ones we might chat about on the phone or over a cup of tea. Things like how much Anja loves to run around in the back garden with her friends, how Kiah has been studying intently for her GCSE exams and has found herself a sweet boy called Dougie who she managed to talk out of wearing a purple shirt to prom. How Axel works from sun up to sun down and takes on so many of the things I am not able to do. How Dylan is working her way through her own challenges and finding her way into young adulthood. How I read something or saw something in my travels through the internets that got me thinking or inspired me.
Perhaps I will try that approach to this blog. Instead of feeling compelled to always have at least one interesting picture to share or grand story to tell, simply sitting down with a cup of tea and "chatting" about the little things and when there is a picture or big news to share I'll do that too. Recognizing that the details of our days may seem small and unimportant, but that in truth they shape us, and are shaped by who we are. They're not so small and unimportant after all.
31 May 2008
27 May 2008
***Poof***
If you are coming here to look for a post about a situation with us in regards to our housing - it's gone. My wise brother pointed out that the detail in the post might serve against us, so I took it down. Immediate family members and close friends may email me for the scoop, but the rest of you are just going to have to wonder what the heck is up. Sorry. When it is all settled I can give more information.
19 May 2008
Catching Up. An epic update.
Time to make up for my severe lack of updates. Are you ready for an onslaught of pictures and stories about what we have been up to in the past several months? Go make yourself a cup of tea and get cozy because this might take awhile!
Shortly after I lost posted was Anja's 7th birthday. I agreed to have a party for her while I was in the States, and despite not feeling so red hot I couldn't disappoint so party we did. It was a very simple party but all the kids had fun. As a matter of fact, one sweet little party guest turned to me during the festivities and said that it was the most fun he had ever had at a birthday party. High praise indeed!
We started off the day with making party hats. Give kids pretty colored paper, funky scissors and glitter glue and they are off and creating crowns fit for royalty.
Next up was a rousing round of Pass The Parcel. This game seems to be obligatory at birthday parties here. I confess that I had not heard of it before we moved here and found out that I missed a crucial step in preparation (a little surprise between each layer of wrapping) but it was a hit nonetheless. It took up a nice chunk of time too since Dylan and Kiah wrapped it in what must have been no less than a couple dozen layers!
Our friend and neighbor, Simon, came around to tell the kids a couple of stories. I wish you could hear the incredible expression that he tells these stories with. He is such a talented storyteller and had the kids completed enthralled (and alternately splitting their sides with laughter) with his tales. This was my favorite part of the whole day.
In order to save myself some effort of decorating a cake (and the expense of buying one a the bakery) we had the kids decorate cupcakes. Some ended up with more frosting than cake. They were interesting to say the least.
And last but by no means least - we finished the day with a pinata. We had to explain to the poor deprived British children what a pinata was (Preparing for the party we asked someone here where we could buy one their reply was "What's a pinata!" Thank goodness for internet shopping!) but they all got the basic gist of it and all rushed in for the loot grab when it broke open.
Did you notice how sunny it was in those pictures? It was even warm(ish) that day. Well the very next day we got 6 inches of SNOW and all the kids in the village headed for the golf course for sledding. Unfortunately the batteries on the camera died so Axel didn't get any pictures of the fun, but it must have been good cold fun because Anja came back duly frozen and exhausted.
That was early April. The rest of the month went past fairly quietly. The weather was typical English gray and wet. I love the green here that is so beautiful over the countryside, but the wet that is required to get it that way is not so great. After spending time in New Mexico where even an overcast day is brighter than a sunny day here, it was quite the bitter pill to swallow being thrust back into the dark and dreary skies.
May, however, brought sunny skies and warm days with it for the first couple weeks. Not wanting to risk missing what could potentially be the only sun we see for a long while, we took maximum advantage of every ray. On May Day bank holiday we went to the May Fayre at Emerson. A friend of ours asked Axel to fill in for her dance partner for the May Pole performance. He had just a week and a couple quick rehearsals to catch up, but he did a marvelous job and had a blast doing it. I love dancing that may pole, but of course I am not able to right now so the next best thing was to be able to watch as Axel danced with our friend.
I spent most of the day sitting on a blanket in the sun (getting a good dose of the Vitamin D I so desperately need) and working on a blanket I am knitting for our friends here who are getting married in June. Axel and Anja ran around playing games eating yummy treats. I admit to being a tad jealous as they enjoyed some delicious looking chocolate cake. But Axel won a coconut for me at the coconut shy so I did get a bit of my own special treat. Yummmmy fresh coconut!
Here are some pictures of the day. (As always - there are more in our flickr so be sure to check them out!)
The perfect day for a festival!
Dancing the maypole
The kids were invited to dance a round after the performance
The dancers and musicians
Axel all decked out in his dancing clothes! Isn't he cute?
Me and Anja at home after a full day of May Day sun and celebration.
That's it for May Day. But wait - there is more May sun fun to share! The week following May Fayre was filled with warmth and sunshine and by the weekend the temperature was almost hot. (As hot as it gets here. Its all relative.) So we packed a picnic and headed off to our favorite quiet seaside town for the day.
Anja had a great time playing in the water (Freezing her bum off. The sun may have been out and the air may have been warm, but the water was ccccold!)
We weren't the only ones with the idea to have a day at the beach. Some of them were even more insane than Anja was and went for a full swim. Crazy I tell you. There was also a little sailing regatta taking place.
And with that the weather turned back to a more typical pattern. The cold and gray returned, and with it what little respite I had been given from the intense aches and pains that it brings was gone as fast as it came. Who knows when the sun and warm will return. Word on the street is that this past week was a fluke and that we are in for more seasonable weather and that summer is still a long way off. I can't say I would be disappointed if this was one of the times the weatherman was wrong.
The month is quickly coming to a close with Kiah doing her GCSE exams. Today she got the most stressful of her exams out of the way so hopefully it is smooth sailing from here on out for her. Dylan, much to our sadness, has decided to move out of the house at the end of the month. I know she is excited about this big step, but I am having a hard time with it. She is my baby and I don't think she is ready to grow up like that. There is going to be a huge void in our home without her here. Anja is as full of life as ever. She is in a drama club after school and will be putting on a play in the near future. She is also going to be doing some country dancing at the village twinning day celebration in mid June. Kiah is going to prom with her sweet boyfriend, Dougie a few days after her 16th birthday (how can that be possible!!) and then it will be time for us to get packed and head out to Seattle for Matt and Niamh's wedding! Time, as they say, is flying!
If you have made it to the end of this post, my congratulations and thanks to you. I promise to give a more steady stream of shorter updates in the future. Like I said, there are a few more pictures in the flickr (just click on any of the pictures and it will take you there) so if you still have some time to kill go on over and take a look!
Shortly after I lost posted was Anja's 7th birthday. I agreed to have a party for her while I was in the States, and despite not feeling so red hot I couldn't disappoint so party we did. It was a very simple party but all the kids had fun. As a matter of fact, one sweet little party guest turned to me during the festivities and said that it was the most fun he had ever had at a birthday party. High praise indeed!
We started off the day with making party hats. Give kids pretty colored paper, funky scissors and glitter glue and they are off and creating crowns fit for royalty.
Next up was a rousing round of Pass The Parcel. This game seems to be obligatory at birthday parties here. I confess that I had not heard of it before we moved here and found out that I missed a crucial step in preparation (a little surprise between each layer of wrapping) but it was a hit nonetheless. It took up a nice chunk of time too since Dylan and Kiah wrapped it in what must have been no less than a couple dozen layers!
Our friend and neighbor, Simon, came around to tell the kids a couple of stories. I wish you could hear the incredible expression that he tells these stories with. He is such a talented storyteller and had the kids completed enthralled (and alternately splitting their sides with laughter) with his tales. This was my favorite part of the whole day.
In order to save myself some effort of decorating a cake (and the expense of buying one a the bakery) we had the kids decorate cupcakes. Some ended up with more frosting than cake. They were interesting to say the least.
And last but by no means least - we finished the day with a pinata. We had to explain to the poor deprived British children what a pinata was (Preparing for the party we asked someone here where we could buy one their reply was "What's a pinata!" Thank goodness for internet shopping!) but they all got the basic gist of it and all rushed in for the loot grab when it broke open.
Did you notice how sunny it was in those pictures? It was even warm(ish) that day. Well the very next day we got 6 inches of SNOW and all the kids in the village headed for the golf course for sledding. Unfortunately the batteries on the camera died so Axel didn't get any pictures of the fun, but it must have been good cold fun because Anja came back duly frozen and exhausted.
That was early April. The rest of the month went past fairly quietly. The weather was typical English gray and wet. I love the green here that is so beautiful over the countryside, but the wet that is required to get it that way is not so great. After spending time in New Mexico where even an overcast day is brighter than a sunny day here, it was quite the bitter pill to swallow being thrust back into the dark and dreary skies.
May, however, brought sunny skies and warm days with it for the first couple weeks. Not wanting to risk missing what could potentially be the only sun we see for a long while, we took maximum advantage of every ray. On May Day bank holiday we went to the May Fayre at Emerson. A friend of ours asked Axel to fill in for her dance partner for the May Pole performance. He had just a week and a couple quick rehearsals to catch up, but he did a marvelous job and had a blast doing it. I love dancing that may pole, but of course I am not able to right now so the next best thing was to be able to watch as Axel danced with our friend.
I spent most of the day sitting on a blanket in the sun (getting a good dose of the Vitamin D I so desperately need) and working on a blanket I am knitting for our friends here who are getting married in June. Axel and Anja ran around playing games eating yummy treats. I admit to being a tad jealous as they enjoyed some delicious looking chocolate cake. But Axel won a coconut for me at the coconut shy so I did get a bit of my own special treat. Yummmmy fresh coconut!
Here are some pictures of the day. (As always - there are more in our flickr so be sure to check them out!)
The perfect day for a festival!
Dancing the maypole
The kids were invited to dance a round after the performance
The dancers and musicians
Axel all decked out in his dancing clothes! Isn't he cute?
Me and Anja at home after a full day of May Day sun and celebration.
That's it for May Day. But wait - there is more May sun fun to share! The week following May Fayre was filled with warmth and sunshine and by the weekend the temperature was almost hot. (As hot as it gets here. Its all relative.) So we packed a picnic and headed off to our favorite quiet seaside town for the day.
Anja had a great time playing in the water (Freezing her bum off. The sun may have been out and the air may have been warm, but the water was ccccold!)
We weren't the only ones with the idea to have a day at the beach. Some of them were even more insane than Anja was and went for a full swim. Crazy I tell you. There was also a little sailing regatta taking place.
And with that the weather turned back to a more typical pattern. The cold and gray returned, and with it what little respite I had been given from the intense aches and pains that it brings was gone as fast as it came. Who knows when the sun and warm will return. Word on the street is that this past week was a fluke and that we are in for more seasonable weather and that summer is still a long way off. I can't say I would be disappointed if this was one of the times the weatherman was wrong.
The month is quickly coming to a close with Kiah doing her GCSE exams. Today she got the most stressful of her exams out of the way so hopefully it is smooth sailing from here on out for her. Dylan, much to our sadness, has decided to move out of the house at the end of the month. I know she is excited about this big step, but I am having a hard time with it. She is my baby and I don't think she is ready to grow up like that. There is going to be a huge void in our home without her here. Anja is as full of life as ever. She is in a drama club after school and will be putting on a play in the near future. She is also going to be doing some country dancing at the village twinning day celebration in mid June. Kiah is going to prom with her sweet boyfriend, Dougie a few days after her 16th birthday (how can that be possible!!) and then it will be time for us to get packed and head out to Seattle for Matt and Niamh's wedding! Time, as they say, is flying!
If you have made it to the end of this post, my congratulations and thanks to you. I promise to give a more steady stream of shorter updates in the future. Like I said, there are a few more pictures in the flickr (just click on any of the pictures and it will take you there) so if you still have some time to kill go on over and take a look!
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