Christmas Eve

The Oxen

Christmas Eve, and twelve of the clock.
"Now they are all on their knees,"
An elder said as we sat in a flock
By the embers in hearthside ease.

We pictured the meek mild creatures where
They dwelt in their strawy pen,
Nor did it occur to one of us there
To doubt they were kneeling then.

So fair a fancy few would weave
In these years! Yet, I feel,
If someone said on Christmas Eve,
"Come; see the oxen kneel

"In the lonely barton by yonder coomb
Our childhood used to know,"
I should go with him in the gloom,
Hoping it might be so.


-Thomas Hardy

It's Beginning to Look...

...a lot like Christmas. Although the weather is fairly balmy (for here) especially compared to last year's bitingly cold winter. We decorated our tree at E's insistence...


B and I have got everything sorted except a pie dish (which is due tomorrow) and possibly some more wrapping paper. Presents are starting to pile up underneath the tree. I feel pretty acclimatized to a UK Christmas now although I feel mince pies are a poor trade for reg'lar old non-alcoholic eggnog. You know what I don't like, though? The commercial aftermath of Christmas. The Boxing Day sales and all that stuff - ok, fair enough to get a few deals, but after the actual HOLIDAY is over, I just want to let go and start living normally. We've already had Black Friday (well, that's more of a States thing but it's making its way over here), Cyber Monday, etc, and frankly I'd rather sit back and enjoy what I've already got rather than think about Acquiring More.

'Scuse my mini-rant. Here are some photos from our (my and E's) recent visit to the Museum of London. It really is a wonderful place and child-friendly. I have been known to spend most of a day there (pre-children).

They have fairly recently revamped it, adding more to the downstairs exhibits. They also added on a replica Saxon house (wattle and daub).

E in front of the (recently added) Victorian Pleasure Garden exhibit. Since I recently wrote a novel set in 1877 and am currently writing one set in 1843, I love going through these indoor "gardens!" They have little movie-type scenes projected onto the walls with people talking/acting, benches and a little winding ramp down which to promenade.

Nearby is the Victorian Walk, which is a series of shops from the 1800's all kitted out with different Victorian gadgets/products. There's even a little pub you can sit in and listen to the piped-in recorded sounds of glasses clinking and people talking. Here, E looks at the toy shop. The museum had the walk set up as a Santa's Grotto this Christmas.

One of the exhibits - Victorian pottery set into the floor and covered so that one can walk over it. E was very interested.

The gaol (jail) exhibit. I read about debtor's prison while he looked at the child-friendly interactive display. Inside those boxes are handleable objects such as padlocks, keys, chains etc.

This was E's favorite exhibit. Moving trains, buttons, lights, roads, and a traffic light in the background. Fortunately it had a nice table and chair nearby for me.

After sharing lunch, E and I headed outside to catch the bus near St. Paul's Cathedral.

We rode past the anti-capitalism Occupy protest.


Down Fleet Street and the Strand....

Over the Thames with Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament in the distance.

Back to Waterloo Station and then home. Merry Early Christmas to all! I will try and do another update tomorrow with the picture of our tree and all underneath it.

Dec Misc

We are counting down to Christmas, with several packages from the USA under the tree and one slightly impatient little boy. He wakes up and asks "Is it Christmas yet?" although he is somewhat mollified by being able to open the advent calendars. (Yes, plural. We have two! Why not?)

Both kids are a little under the weather - today and yesterday E has been coughing, and C's been hoarse and snotty. I caught it too, but was able to shake it off after a few days... hoping it won't last long for the kids.

This little girl turned 1 on the 9th:

She very much enjoyed her chocolate cake.

She would like to let everyone know that this is what a proper kiss looks like:


This little boy went to his school's fete (winter fundraiser) and requested "stars" on his face. He wound up with a gorgeous night sky and stood out most wonderfully from all the generic Spidermans running around.


He is off preschool until January. We hit the Museum of London yesterday which he enjoyed, but was feeling too under the weather to really get into. We also recently tried out the fondue set that B and I received as a wedding present. It was an interesting experiment. I think E enjoyed it more than B or I did. He kept dipping and dipping and forgetting to eat!

He and his sister do get along splendidly overall, despite photos like the following....


C continues to keep us on our toes by carrying out frequent fridge raids:

"Hmm? Blueberries? On the floor? Who coulda done that?"

"Okay, I admit it. I'm triumphant...

"...and I ate THIS many before you made it into the room!"

And I'm off to bed before one of the hooligans wakes.

Wales Misc

A few more pictures, since I have some time. I have been working with C on bedtimes lately and have now gotten her to the point where I can go through the bedtime routine and then leave her in the crib sleepy-but-awake to fall asleep herself. This is a major breakthrough for us and it means more free time for me of an evening. Now... if I can just teach her to stop waking up 3-4-5+ times per night, things will be much better. Crying it out doesn't work so am continuing to muddle through with her.

Back to Wales....

Exploring the onsite lake near the village.

C all dressed up and ready to--

...escape, and crawl off at lightning speed. Toward the bottom of the slide, which she tried to climb about 823452 times.

Hot chocolate, the decadent too-sugary kind, after a little hike around the lake/site. And, back at home...

...the smile that says "You have caught me, but I am wholly unrepentant, and actually rather proud, of my destruction/mess/horrible stain/fill-in-the-blank." Note the toothpaste in her other hand. She hasn't figured out screw-top caps, but it won't be long, folks.

Weather has gotten markedly colder, with frosts appearing. I am once again thankful for a well-insulated double-glazed flat. It really makes heating so much more efficient.

I am currently 35k+ into my current novel (projected 80k), set in early Victorian England. I've had a submission (on another historical) out to a publisher for the last 6 months and they've asked for more time to consider, so I'm hoping that's a good sign.

Counting down to Christmas, and B is taking a few weeks off work, which will be nice. Hope everyone reading this (yeah, all 4 of you!) are staying warm and happy in this new season.

Wales

Let's see how much I can type while the baby sleeps.

We chose a family-friendly place called Bluestone. It's kind of a cross between a resort and a self-catering holiday. I've never seen the like in America, although I've not lived there since becoming a parent. Still, it seems very British to me.

The cottage we stayed in was wonderful! B and I in the upstairs master, with the baby, Granny downstairs, E in the middle bedroom with a skylight that he loved. Big kitchen too, with a really nice table that I'm envious of. I so wish we had space for a dedicated dining area! One day we will, I hope.

Stairs up led to the top bedrooms (all en suite) and a little snug area with a beanbag and a small TV (there was a large TV downstairs - and no, we didn't watch either very much!). The stairs/upper level was the perfect place for launching paper airplanes:

Spent the night, woke up, got in our golf buggy, and went to get breakfast. E LOVED the buggy - actually, we all did. The site was huge, and although we could have walked from place to place, it was really nice not to have to. Breakfast was in the little woodland-style cafe, a very kid-friendly place with little hiding areas and a TV showing a Welsh folktale.


After eating breakfast....
...we went downstairs to the adventure playground, which was quite good! Even the baby found something to do:
...while E was a tad more adventurous (although B was bailing him out, here).

After a quick round of miniature golf, we headed back to the cottage.


Have I mentioned yet the golf buggies were amazing?


They're electric (lots of charging stations all over the place) with a top speed of about 10mph. The site is supposedly "car-free" although cars are allowed in to load and unload and there are maintenance vehicles, so to be quite honest, we did run into a fair few vehicles and it wasn't as car-free as I might have liked. Still, everyone drove slowly so it wasn't too bad.

After a rest, we all went swimming at the water park on site, which was amazing! The lazy river wound its way from the indoors to the outside, with little hot pools to rest in and look up at the sky, then back indoors again. There were four waterslides (I managed 2, so did B, E was too small) and a wave machine, fountains, and a pretty good shallow/kid pool with a miniature slide that E enjoyed.

I think we could have managed another few extra days on site. It had its own little "town" with restaurants, a pub (Tafarn, in Welsh), shops, a bakery, and a little playground which E liked:

With the kids tuckered out from swimming, B and I dined at the more high-falutin' restaurant while Granny babysat - it was refreshing to have an uninterrupted, non-whispered chat with B. With a glass of wine as well! Or maybe two. And the food was good.

This being my first visit to Wales, I really wanted to see some of the countryside, and thankfully everyone else was up for it. We went to see a castle that Granny had visited as a young girl.

Entering Llawhaden castle....

Exploring....

Going up high....
Misty views....

Dadden below....

Then into the car and off for a Sunday roast. After visiting the tiny tiny settlement of Landshipping two or three times more than we wanted, we took a very circuitous route and found a waterside pub. Both kids napped in the car on the way, and woke up to eat.

There was a little boat with Sausalito on it floating out there... a mystery?

Back to the cottage we went. C ran herself a bath....

...and absconded cheekily:

I have a few more pics, but will post them later - I hear baby waking, and I need to get started on prepping dinner. Let me just say that I really enjoyed myself and it was great to get away for a few days!