adventures
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The Great Noodle Rescue
It’s a terrible thing to lose a dear friend. It’s even harder to bear when you are completely responsible. Of course, I’m speaking of the untimely “loss” of Pea’s favorite stuffy, Noodles. The original post can be found here. I’ll wait while you go read it…. You’re back? Excellent. Fast forward two years where we find ourselves at Brookfield Zoo, Noodles’ first home. Boo reminded Pea of this, and sadly she responded “I loved Noodles – is he still down the hole?” “Yes, my lovely, he is.” This exchange slipped from my overburdened mind until the other evening, when Pea sighed quietly and whispered “I miss Noodles”. Now to backtrack…
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In which I tell you why I’m awesome. By Default.
There were really great prompts for the Writers’ Workshop this week. Unfortunately, I struggled with all of them. For example: I have been living in corporate housing for the past 5 months while we wait to move back into our own house (we rented it while we were living overseas). I hate pretty much every room in this godforsaken townhouse, so I’ve got nothing with regards to giving you a tour of a room I love. Unless I take you to a friend’s house. She may or may not think that was so cool. (I will, however, revisit this when we get back into our own house….) Thinking about the…
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I’m Leaving On A Jet Plane…and I’m Looking Back
Today is the day. Today, we leave. Possibly, as you read this, we are far overhead already. Today is a tough day. This post is for all my lovely, wonderful friends here in the UK. Thank you. Thank you for taking us into your homes, into your hearts. You are well part of ours. There are no words to express how I feel right now, not really. And I can’t say goodbye, because this is not goodbye. We have been blessed. Blessed to have this experience. Blessed to have had so many adventures, blessed to have made such lovely friends. So today, I wilJl not be sad. Today, I will…
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Playing Tourist
A few weeks ago we attended a friend’s wedding. In the course of a conversation with some acquaintances, they asked what we had planned for that weekend. I don’t recall what in particular we were hoping to do if the weather held out, but the fellow we were talking to said “I don’t know why we’ve never been there ourselves!” He went on to comment how too often people take places/things for granted and never get around to seeing what is right in their own backyard. How true. Yesterday I was having a post-football bite of lunch with my son at HIS favorite sandwich shop. A friend, walking past, asked…
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So I’m Not Actually Silent on Sunday….
I’m not so good at being silent on Sunday. (Or any other day, really, but I digress….) Some days I post a photo, but really, I want to tell the WHOLE story. This is the post-script to today’s “Silent Sunday” post. Weekends are for exploring. Quite possibly my favorite place in all of this lovely town is the Warren. I walk our mad spaniel there several days a week, exhausting us both throwing sticks into the river for her to fetch. And mostly return. (Some get eaten. Bad dog.) It has an ethereal quality, particularly on days that are a bit overcast. Sunny days are stunning, but there seems to…
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The Summer To Do List
Wednesday was officially the first day of summer (peers out the window), at least according to my calendar. While I’ve sorted out most of our summer holiday plans, which officially starts July 18, I hadn’t actually compiled the to-do list I’ve been working on with the kidlings. This summer may be the start of our last year here in the UK – the beauty of the open-ended assignment – so I don’t want to take a single minute for granted…. Play at Cusop playing field Play at the “wooden” playing field Have a picnic Go for a hike Fly a kite Go for a boat ride on Brecon canal Have…
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Saying “Hi” to Granddad (or, Waking the Dead)
My kidlings have never met their paternal grandfather. Sadly, he passed away long before they were ever the proverbial twinkle in their father’s eye. The Hubs tells stories about Granddad Fred, of course – anecdotes particularly – but whenever we visit Colonial Williamsburg, where my husband lived as a child, the stories tend to flow as he reminisces. We spent the Easter holiday back in the US, and the latter half of the trip with the Hubs’ side of the family. On our way home from a day exploring Colonial Williamsburg, I knew we’d be passing by the cemetery where Fred was buried and suggested we stop in. It had…
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Lists and Goals and Randomness
Isn’t she the cutest stinkin’ thing you ever saw? Where was I??? * * * I like lists. Lists are good. To-do lists? LOVE them. I love the feeling when I can check things off. Completion. Satisfaction. Success. Do you know what I don’t like? Resolutions – I rarely keep them, and then I spend more time berating myself because, yet again, I failed. In all honestly, I do much better at Lent. Giving something up or making a change – with a 40 day timeframe – is much more manageable concept, and as they say, you can make or break a habit in 30 days…. But still, that…
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You Leave The House for Five Minutes, and You Get Invaded By Pirates
One morning over the holiday, I ran to the market. I was accosted coming in the door. I think they had a good time!!!!
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Big Fun at the “Big Skill 2011”
Yesterday we spent the day outside Brecon at The Big Skill Rural Craft Festival. It was definitely a different kind of festival for us – and we had an amazing time. The idea behind the festival is “to promote the rural crafts and skills that surround our beautiful countryside”. There truly was a really wide range of activities to try your hand at: stitching a saddle, weaving a willow basket, fly fishing (which Boo surprised the Hubs with – both that he wanted to try it, and that he was actually better than his daddy at it). I’ll be honest – I missed out on a lot of activities simply…
