Approaching Autumn

Went out to Kew this weekend. I'm getting slower as this pregnancy progresses but it was nice to have a walk in the fresh crisp air. Lots of kids out in woolly jumpers, cardigans, jackets etc, unspoken concession to summer's end. E had a blast at Kew's playground as usual. We also found a little indoor play place in the shop which had a toy kitchen, a crawl-through tunnel, and crayons/paper with kid-sized tables and chairs. The cynic in me sees the probable extra profit they make, the parent in me just breathes a sigh of relief at something extra for a curious toddler to do.




After a long play session, we had sandwiches and water and B indulgently bought E a pinwheel and a little stuffed monkey in the shop. E fell asleep in the car on the way home clutching his new toy. We're all beat (especially me - aching muscles!) and looking forward to a nice warm evening inside perhaps with a movie.

Some recent quotes (lest I forget them):

"Mmm, flower. Smells DELICIOUS."
When asked to count how many eyes he has... "One... two... three FOUR FIVE! Six seven EIGHT!" (Big smug grin.)

And the worst, the very worst....
E: "Spider, Mama. Spider!"
Me: "WHERE?" (as I nervously peer around and attempt to stand on one toe)
E: "Spider... GONE.... Hahahaha!"

HANDS OFF

4 months into a Conservative-Liberal Democrat led Parliament.

They scrapped the ID cards and ContactPoint (where E's details would have been held for any Tom Dick and Harry "government-approved" person to peruse). I thought things were off to a good start.

Then the ConDems decided to axe playground schemes across the UK while pledging 20 billion pounds to renew the Trident nuclear weapons program.

Now the ConDems are taking the first baby steps down the slippery slope of privatization. Worse, that path leads down the UK losing its public libraries as we know them.

I've heard that some people are happy about that. Their reasoning? They can afford bookstores (or a library entrance/membership fee...). Besides, why should they have to fund something they don't use? They reckon the same goes for schools - if they don't have a school-aged child, why should their taxes pay for someone else's education?

To that I say - why should my son have to pay to support you in your old age? You want a libertarian attitude, then bring it on. Just be prepared to work for the rest of your life and deal with the crazies roaming the street because there's no facilities left for them and they're being denied the ability to sit quietly (or not so quietly) in the corner of a public library.

And believe me, the libraries are pretty much the front line for dealing with the mentally ill. If you read anything today, read this article. You might see underpaid social workers librarians through different eyes. After this post, maybe you'll see the ConDems through different eyes too. And knowing is half the battle.

September Remembrances and Mundanity

Before I get into the mundanity, I just want to say that I'm touched that Europe (the mainstream media, at least... and the friends I've spoken with) has such sensitivity toward what happened on September 11, 2001. I know it's overshadowed by more politicized events this 9th year on - but all I'm going to say about that is: Freedom of Religion. Separation of Church and State. Freedom of Speech.

I marked the anniversary by reading Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow. I highly recommend the book especially if you love freedom.

B and I visited Parliament Hill recently to say goodbye to some friends who are moving to the Inner Hebrides. What a move - London to those remote islands! I'm actually finding myself a little bit jealous. How wonderful to be surrounded by nature, to have enough room to move around, to be able to avoid constant exposure to other people, your upstairs neighbors dropping what sounds like a bowling ball every so often.... yep, I'm a little bit jealous to tell the truth. Well, onto the photos.

E was more interested in the kites than socializing...


And jam donuts. And running down the hill with Dadden and the other kids.



As we walked back to the car I got this photo. The plaque says: George Orwell - 1903-1950 - Writer - Lived Here

And no, ironic as it would be, that's actually not a CCTV camera, it's only a light :)

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

(after having refused his nap, he then crawled under the desk in the spare room... for about half of this impromptu you-aren't-the-boss-of-me nap he used my foot as a pillow)

New Bed...

Last night was E's first night in his new bed. As you can see, the covers are rather pink (which we didn't expect) but I suppose that's preferable to random cartoon characters. Anyhow, he likes it. I snuck in last night and got this photo of him...


So far we've had one falling-out (at around 3am) which ended up being very nonstressful, as he went back to sleep immediately after B lifted him back into bed. Plus, he only has about 6 inches to fall, onto soft carpet.

Lately we have been...


...nomming late summer blackberries from our back garden and...

...generally being Cool. Because nothing says Cool like a stained onesie and oversized sunglasses.

Family Tree

B and I have been working (now and again) on filling out our respective family trees. I guess that's what happens naturally when you get to be over 30/have children, although I hasten to add that I'm not 30 just yet.

Yesterday B decided to do a big printout and bluetac (that's British for sticky goop) the whole shebang to the wall. It looked like this:


I descend from Revolutionary soldiers on both sides of the family (she says smugly). B, on the other hand, is descended from lords and stuff. It's kind of fun, this family tree stuff, but it's very time consuming... which is in short supply these days.

I did get in a nice 2 mile walk today at least. The young master managed about a mile of said walk, along with a play session at a new park we visited. I don't think we'll be going back there anytime soon though... the gang of pre-pubescent chavvy teenagers from the local housing estate was one thing, but the unleashed pit bull mixes were quite another.

Last week while walking through the other nearby park I saw a pit rip up a guy's arm and half-kill another dog. They literally couldn't prise its jaws off the dog it was mutilating. (E and I were behind a fence at this point.) Halfway through the fight, a cop shows up, but this being Britain, the dude wasn't carrying anything but a notebook ("Excuse me, Mr. Illegal Pitbull, I'm giving you a citation."). You'd think they'd have pepper spray at least.

Well, off to watch Youtube trains with the boy in preparation for bedtime.

Birthday

E turned two this week. We had a barbecue on Saturday, which got rained out 2/3 of the way through but was enjoyable anyhow. A certain young gentleman needed a nap halfway through, so we saved half the cake with candles for him to blow out...

Sunday we went for a late morning ramble on Wimbledon Common.



After all that, he was tired, demanded "cuggles" and was carried back to the windmill/tearoom


...where he drank half a strawberry smoothie and snacked on fruit/pitta bread. Nothing like a walk in nature to make a day better.