KETCHUP

Man, it's halfway through 2016 already, and I haven't blogged? I blame f*ace*book in part, because I tend to slap pictures up on there. But FB isn't truly a blogging platform, so in a few years I think I'll regret having only pictures with brief captions, whereas a blog provides a place to put thoughts/pictures/experiences in longform.

So without further ado... 2016, a catchup:

School continued to go well. E enrolled in dance class and drama for extracurricular clubs. C, in Reception (Kindergarten), did not, although she might in Y1, depending. She's expressed interest in dance and karate. We'll see closer to the time.

Sadly, Grandpa sickened considerably after Christmas and was no longer able to leave his room or walk anywhere. In and around care, we managed to travel.

We went to Blu*estone in Wales during Easter break (pardon the asterisks, I use them to prevent G*oogle from picking them up as keywords, dunno if it still works but worth a try). The cousins (aged 4 and 6) came too, staying with my brother and sister in law in a nearby cottage. Lots of fun as usual: jeep safari driving, indoor playground, swimming pool, tree climbing, and a lovely huge swimming complex with an inside-outside water slide that we went down while it was hailing!

Here's E climbing a really tall tree. His older cousin S climbed too. The girls were too young (min age is 6).

There were also zip wires (the kids were all too young for that) and a high wire obstacle course system that the older three were able to do. And we roasted marshmallows over an outdoor fire pit too. Hoping to go again next year! It really is a fantastic site and the electric golf carts to get around in are a wonderful bonus.

In late May/early June, we went to Hawaii (the big island) because B was being sent there for work purposes, so we combined it into a holiday. We stayed in Hapuna, on the beach, in a fantastic hotel with a great swimming pool that we still dream of wistfully! The most marvelous buffet breakfasts with an omelette bar, and sea views because we were right on the beach... I could go on! Suffice it to say it was a little slice of paradise. The jet lag was the hardest part of the trip.

Outside, the beach had waves that rivaled the ones I remember from my childhood trips to Makaha in Oahu. The kids even got the partial hang of boogie boarding.

We did a road trip to the other side of the island (Hilo) to go up the volcano. That night, we stayed in the rainforest in a treehouse, and made further memories by watching Swiss Family Robinson before bedtime. The kids still talk of that night fondly. Mostly because we poked fun at the (very old fashioned) style in the movie. But we all enjoyed it. The next day we checked out of the treehouse and toured some botanical gardens, saw lizards, amazing plants, and a "Beware of Falling Mangoes" sign. Then we hiked to Akaka Falls which are over 400 feet high. After Hawaii, we managed to spend a two day layover in San Francisco and go visit Grandad at his house. It was a tantalizingly short visit but we managed to see a few people and cram in some good times!

Sadly, Grandpa passed away in June, not too long after we got back, at the age of 79. It's strange to be without him in the house.

That brings us to July. I've left out details, but I feel vaguely caught up. Next week, we leave for Greece. First Crete, then Naxos, then home via Athens. We're all really looking forward to it. And E will turn 8 in August.

2015 Year Review

So here we are... December 31 already!

We're still in N. London at the same place, but the biggest change has been switching to a new (and wonderful) school in September.

Travel this year: Wales (with a brief stopover in Weston-super-Mare first), Greece (Naxos, Santorini, Crete), Edinburgh, and Cornwall (outskirts of Newquay).

On to the kids...

In January of this year, I pulled E out of Year 2 at his old school. I then home-educated him until September. I do not regret a minute of it. I feel that formal education shouldn't begin until age 7, anyway. And E and I did a lot. A chocolate workshop in Covent Garden (including tasting a raw cacao bean), a photography/African animals session at the British Museum, and other Home Ed specific gatherings/workshops. We also did lots of working in cafes, where he'd complete some workbook pages, then read a book while I pounded out some words. Home Ed also allowed us to travel off-peak (since the UK can fine you if you take your child out of school in term time. I know, I know. Hideous, draconian rule/tax), so we went to Greece on the down season (June) and really enjoyed ourselves.

In September, he settled in to the new school, made some friends, and didn't have a problem going back into more formal academics. The school stages a play every December. This year, it was Peter Pan, and E's class was the crocodile. C acted in the same play and was a pirate.

E is doing basic coding (self-driven) based on different Minecraft modules. He recently earned several swimming certificates and a Bronze Award from school for innovation and thoughtful behavior. He still enjoys trains (to some extent), volcanoes, dancing, music, swimming, Minecraft, exploring, and reading. He's always up for new experiences. Earlier this year, I was able to send him to the nearby shop to buy eggs... all by himself. It was very useful! He is now in Year 3 and although I miss our 1on1 schooling, life is good. He is 7 now and looks older.

C was in nursery (preschool) earlier this year, "graduating" in July. This nursery was attached to the school I pulled E from, but I liked the people in the nursery and C only attended during the morning. They were more focused on phonics and rote learning than I liked (I prefer play-based curriculum), but I could see why, because they had a lot of kids coming from homes where the adults didn't do very much with them. C now goes to her brother's school, and is in Reception (Kindergarten) with a lovely, warm teacher, and classmates she very much gets on with (she's already had one playdate and several birthday party invites). We also threw a birthday party for her whole class at a local play center and it was a very nice vibe with people chatting with each other and really enjoying themselves, both kids and adult. C had a Minecraft cake for her 5th birthday, an almost exact replica of E's cake when he turned 7 in August.

C enjoys animals, fashion, baking/cooking, crafts (fimo and playdough especially), imaginative play, dressing up, and Minecraft. She can read simple words and is learning more as life progresses. She would like to have her own dog someday. She likes to be in nature. She is gentle and has made several good friends at school. She has come a long way since last year, is more assertive around other people and less shy/retiring. I look forward to what 2016 brings for this girl.

As for the adults...

B is still in the same job, moved offices partway through the year. He is a great hands-on dad and we're lucky to have him in our lives.

As for me, I have had some real success with my writing and now have my first novel in print. Prior to this year I only had novellas/short stories published, and only in e-book format. I feel pretty good about where my writing career is going, although it's daunting sometimes.

One other big change in 2015 = our new kitten, Pippin. We rescued him from a local shelter at 8 weeks old. He's a very well-adjusted boy, is a LAP CAT, is child-friendly, and has always done his business in the right spot. Couldn't ask for a better cat.

Well... I probably missed something in this year end review, but probably nothing major. I think we're in a pretty good groove now, one we'll hopefully stay in for some time to come. Looking forward to 2016!

Cornwall, etc

Once again, time slips by and it's November already! Since it's National Novel Writing Month, I don't plan to blog very much (if at all, after this post!) so I'm hoping to quickly document our trip to Cornwall this week.

Before I start... school is going well! Both kids are now at the same one and thriving. C's Reception teacher is a very warm lady and she has two aides/assistants to help out in her classroom. She's made friends and has had several birthday party invitations (as has E).

Anyhow, we started off our half-term break with a tour of the Chislehurst caves. Great fun, obviously didn't take any good pics because it was mostly dark/lantern-lit. Good tour guide, and there was a point where everyone stood in darkness for several minutes to recreate the feeling that survivors of the Blitz would have gotten in pitch black. Although when the guy asked if anyone believed in ghosts, my adamant NOPE probably made him slightly annoyed.

On to Cornwall. We stayed on the outskirts of Newquay. There was a nearby beach and the hotel was set up for children's needs, with an indoor pool, several playgrounds, a games room indoors, bunk beds, and good food. We had a view of the ocean from our room. There were adventure clubs for the kids which let us adults slum around a bit, and the kids also attended the complimentary evening shows (magician, puppetry, ventriloquist, etc).

Here's C on the zip wire in the playground. Next to this was a hedge maze!

Down to the beach at high tide... (some water MIGHT have gotten over the tops of a certain girl's boots!)

Hot chocolate afterward.

The next day, we visited the Eden Project. We'd been there before, about eighteen months ago, with cousins.

This time, the highlight was the seasonal ice skating rink. I hadn't been on skates in over a decade, and it was the first time for the kids, so we were slow and shaky! Fortunately, C had a penguin to balance on.

The next day, I set out on a solo hike for about 40 minutes. Walked a nice coastal path, then turned around at the next beach and walked back to the hotel.

October is often a mixture of sun and shadow, but it wasn't terribly cold. Not cold enough to prevent paddling up to one's knees, according to the children.

We visited a farm on our penultimate day. It had a good mix of things, including a superb indoor play area and pony riding outside. The kids even got to help groom one of the riding ponies.

Then they went for a ten minute lead-rein ride on the dirt track around the farm!

On the day we drove home, we stopped by Tintagel, which is where King Arthur was rumored to have been conceived. I may do a whole other post on this, because I found the place utterly inspiring, but for now, just a few pics.

The bottom pic is of "Merlin's Cave" which was really fun to explore!

And... I'm out of time. Got to run!

School Days...

It's begun! Or well, it'll begin in earnest tomorrow when C has her first full day. E went in today. I can hardly tell you how DIFFERENT this new school is compared to his last one. For one, it's more welcoming. You can take your child right into their classroom (his old school made us drop them off in the playground and they had to find their own way). The other parents were immediately welcoming, and one wrote my email on her hand in order to offer me/E an invitation to her child's birthday. (The parents at the last school hardly talked to strangers, let alone sent birthday invites.)

I walked away with a good feeling. I hope it lasts. I think six months of home education did E the world of good, especially since it got him out of that school, but I'll be so happy if this new place works out for him.

Here's some photos.

E's first day of Year 3, aged seven years, one month. That's a water bottle he's holding. No, the school has no uniform policy, which I think is cool.

C's first day of Reception (Kindergarten), aged four years, nine months. She actually starts her first full day tomorrow, but I took this on Thursday when she went in for a two hour "getting to know you" session. She's wearing a uniform because (for right now at least) she goes to a different school than E. We're hoping to get her a place at his school, since hers currently doesn't take grades higher than Year 1. It's a little bittersweet, because I quite like her school and have gotten to know some of the parents. Still, we are better off than we were at this point last year.

So, you ask, what are you going to do tomorrow with nearly six hours of free time?

Yes, that's a good question. Probably I am going to spend a few minutes capering in circles and gibbering. Then I am going to buck up, go to a cafe, get some coffee, and WRITE LOTS OF WORDS. Now and again I will resist the urge to go eeeeee! under my breath. Mind you, I will eventually miss having a little sidekick along with me. It was truly fun while it lasted. And I won't completely rule it out in the future should it need to happen again... at the same time, I hope it doesn't NEED to happen.

Edinburgh

Scurrying back to update this blog before I forget the day-to-day, smaller fun things of our trips/days out. I've written here for nearly eight years and sometimes find myself looking back over the posts and going "oh yes, that happened, I'd forgotten about that."

So. Edinburgh.

We caught the train from Kings Cross. E was excited because it was a Virgin Pendolino, a high speed train that "leans" around corners. C was excited to have a new magazine. Unfortunately, you can't book a seat for an under-five, since they're expected to sit in your lap. And when we boarded the train, we found that one of our reserved four-person-booth/table had a man sitting there with a laptop. So for the ride up, B and I spent a lot of time wandering/standing in the aisles or in the area between cars. Which wasn't terrible, just a bit inconvenient. Also, I like looking out the window, so I didn't really mind just standing there, and it also allowed me to catch a glimpse of the Angel of the North.

Anyhoo, we got to Edinburgh late-ish, checked into the hotel, met with family for a meal, then bedded down for the night. We did squeeze in a little sightseeing on the walk to dinner, though!

The next morning, we enjoyed breakfast in the hotel with cousins, and then they all went swimming together in the underground pool. After that, we went sightseeing down Princes Street.

And up to the castle (but not in. It was seethingly busy and entry was expensive).

We all had lunch together, explored a few cobbled streets, then went our separate ways to prepare for the reason we'd all gone up there--Uncle F's handfasting. I hadn't realized how much greenery Edinburgh incorporates. We had a short cab ride through the city, and we were here, prepping for the ceremony...

Apparently, a good preparation involves ice cream. Who knew? Also, the children were certain there was a Loch monster in this loch, perhaps the cousin of the Loch Ness monster.

What they were also certain of was that this ruined chapel needed to be climbed to, STAT. And so there they are, striking out up the hill.

I was persuaded to join in the fun as well. Note impractical dress, sensible shoes. And wonderful view.

In case you're curious as to what the ruins are, I took a photo of the sign.

Love the juxtaposition of ruined ancient chapel and modern skyline.

Drumming. Running.

The next day involved more sightseeing, but C had come down with a temperature and wasn't feeling up to much. We managed a museum and some gentle exploring, though.

And then it was back to London. This time in First Class seats, which were amazing and worth it (at the time we bought them they were only marginally more expensive than regular seats).

Verdict? We'll be back! I'd LOVE to return and stay longer, hopefully strike out to the Highlands or even the islands. The train is a great way to travel and Edinburgh is a lovely city.

Greece, Part The Third

We boarded the Odysseus and sailed to Oia, the romantic little town perched on Santorini's caldera, where some tourists departed to see the sunset. I enjoyed sailing the length of the caldera, seeing the white buildings clinging like barnacles to the lip of the cliff, a real testament to human tenacity.

We went on to disembark in Fira, where I decided, spur-of-the-moment-wise, to ride a mule up the hill instead of taking the cable cars. Callie had been loud and clear about wanting to ride a donkey on Thirasia (the small isle we'd visited for lunch), so I thought we'd have a go.

I didn't expect them to put us on the same mule. What an animal! I'd have been all right alone, since I have riding experience, but with a four year old to keep upright, it was a mildly harrowing ride. My mule enjoyed nothing more than stopping in the middle of the path, then rushing-rushing-rushing to catch up. To compound my worry, E was somewhere behind me. Fortunately, given my mule's propensity to stop every few minutes, E eventually caught up, sanguinely riding a large white donkey with a big grin on his face.

Reader, I should mention here that my husband took the practical route up, namely the cable cars. I should also mention that I wasn't able to get a good photo while muleback. I was too busy holding on to C, who loved every step of it and wanted to drag our "cwazy mule" onto the ferry with us to Crete.

The white fella was E's mount. Our big brown guy is not pictured. Anyhow, from there, we went back for our last night at the hotel. In the morning, we swam in the pool and then did a bit of sightseeing. We visited a museum--sadly not open--and had a long hike around, eventually winding up back in Fira for a late lunch. It was neat to take in the sights, including several cruise ships that sent its passengers to shore via smaller boats. E pointed out that one of them had a swimming pool on its roof!

 In the late afternoon, we headed to the port to catch the ferry to Heraklion. We took a fast ship this time, a catamaran, and arrived at our next destination in time to catch a Cretan sunset from our balcony.

In the morning, we familiarized ourselves with the local area and walked down to the beach, which was a lovely little area with a supermarket and several tavernas. By this point, it was a week later in the season and we were several hundred miles south, and boy did that make a difference to the temperature. It was hot! E enjoyed snorkeling, looking at the little fish that liked to dart around our legs.

Once we'd spent a day settling in, we planned a trip to Knossos, where the minotaur's labyrinth was fabled to be. Myths aside, we were standing on what was once a four thousand year old palace, and I was awed.

The kids were able to glimpse archaelogists at work. I don't know if they quite grasped the awe of such an ancient palace, but I think they'll remember their visit. In any case, the next day was our last day in Greece. We spent the time on the beach (found a fantastic taverna there that we really enjoyed! Did I mention they always brought out a tiny flask of raki after each meal? Gosh that stuff is strong.) and in the swimming pool.

And... that concluded our holiday. A little bit less than two weeks in the sun, lots of adventure, plenty of memories, and hopefully some good formative experience for the children. We look forward to going again in the future, and both B and I very much hope that the financial situation doesn't get any more dire than it currently is. We had such a wonderful time there.

Greece, Part Deux

On our second to last day on Naxos, we hired a convertible and set off to tour the interior of the island. Naxos is famous for its marble and also for an alcoholic drink called citron, which is very sweet and potent.

The kids were excited to ride in a convertible for the first time. We aimed in the general direction of the partially restored Temple of Demeter, and wound up stopping by a taverna for lunch. Outside were two former windmills and a donkey. You can just about see the donk's back in the picture below. Click for large.

It was very hot in the interior, away from the meltemi (famous Greek sea breeze). Our next stop was the Temple of Demeter, which was accessed by a walk up a lizard-infested path. We all loved watching the little guys dart here and there, and even saw several HUGE lizards.

This little fella was small/medium size.

After a short hike, we reached the partially-restored temple. It was neat to walk around the site, even though the museum was closed that day. From there, we carried on to Halki, the former capital, and enjoyed ice cream and cool drinks in a taverna across from the local school. Then we drove further up and further in.

We passed this amazing marble quarry. Remember how I said Naxos is famous for its marble? There was SO much of it around! We kept going, in search of the famous Kouros statues...

Aha, a clue.

A short hike past orange groves led us to this, the first Kouros. B has strong memories of visiting one of these statues with his parents, back when he was around E's age. There are three of these amazing, abandoned statues. They date from the 6th-8th centuries BC. The second one we visited required a bit of a hike, but it was picturesque and enjoyable.

After finding the Kouros, we drove back and then went out for a wonderful taverna supper in Agia Anna, where the kids could wander on and off the beach, which was two steps away. The sunset was beyond gorgeous. We could see the island of Paros from where we were.

The next day, we packed up, drove into Chora, and caught the ferry to Santorini. We arrived late afternoon, took a hotel shuttle from the port, up the steep hill into Fira, and immediately stepped out to explore the city.

Not a bad view, eh?

We only had a few nights in Santorini, since 1) It's expensive and 2) It's not as beach-y as other islands, and slightly less child-friendly since, y'know, huge cliffs and all. So the next day, we were up and at'em, having scheduled a tour of the volcano. The volcano was the big reason we came to Santorini, since E is fascinated with them. So the next morning, we boarded the cable cars...

...and boarded our boat, the Odysseus, which took us to Nea Kameni, the volcano.

From the port, it was a 1km hike up a fairly steep and sometimes slippery path. The kids managed it, all the way to the top. E was FASCINATED by the fact that, if you dug a little bit, you'd encounter very, very hot rock. He put his hand near a hole to test this.

At the top, we listened to our guide (the guy in the blue shirt, who was a superbly nice guy!) give a short talk on the history of the volcano and of Santorini/Thira.

On the way down, we saw a hat-eating crater. This crater, which spewed pumice stones in one of its eruptions, had at least five hats inside it! Not ours, mind you. We kept our hands on ours!

 We hiked back down to the Odysseus, which took us around the island to where the magma bubbles up under the sea, feeding a hot springs. B and E jumped off the boat to swim to the hot springs!

(Out of a slight abundance of caution, we packed waterwings for him.) C and I stayed on the boat, mainly because I was feeling slightly under the weather, and also because it was good to have someone stay with the valuables (camera, wallet, etc). In any case, I did this very same swim eight years ago, and you can find those pictures in the very first posts of this blog. Later, C did have a quick dip into the sea but to everyone's amusement, clawed her way to the top of B's head and back up the ladder. That child does not like the cold, and the hot springs don't begin until you have a little swim through the sea first.

Our next stop was the small island of Thirasia, where we had a taverna lunch.

E had souvlaki. Then the children went scavenging on the beach and found pumice stones to float. This made them very excited. (Our boat is one of the three in the background there.)

We could have ridden donkeys to the top of the island, but opted to stay below, where the kids continued to putter around, making a statue from rock, and ultimately partaking in huge ice creams.

I'm afraid this post may be getting a little long, so I'll stop for now. Next up: the conclusion to our time in Santorini, including a mule/donkey ride, and our time in Crete.