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Thrilled! Landslide! President-elect Obama!!
With about 40 electoral votes outstanding, President-elect Obama could easily reach a total of 370 electoral votes––which would beat even the most optimistic projections!
And! And! Not only did he win the electoral votes, President-elect Obama also WON THE POPULAR VOTE!
And! AND?!? AND!!! Dems control Congress!
Go TEAM USA!
- Mood:
giddy
I've updated the LJ photo galleries with photos of our new kitchen and photos from our holiday in Portugal. Click here to see them. If you want to see even more, click here for our Flickr photos.
Yard Work
We worked in the yard on Sunday. We trimmed hedges and pulled weeds all afternoon. Boy did my arms and back ache Sunday night!
Chas put up stakes for the sunflowers. I still need to put up stakes for the tomato plants. Maybe I will do that tomorrow. Our strawberries have lots of blooms, and I saw several cucumbers growing. We’ve already eaten some lettuce and onions from the garden.
International Language of Play
After lunch on Monday, I took the kids to a park in Alton. The kids ran and played for almost two hours. They met two little girls (sisters) who didn’t speak English (and my kids only speak English) but it wasn’t a problem for any of the kids. Even though they couldn’t speak to each other, they still played nicely together. They played on the jungle gym and the swingset, and they played chased.
D-O-G Spells Doom for Chas
Some friends of ours got a puppy, a Springer Spaniel. They named her Daisy. Chas has met Daisy but we haven’t yet. I’m told she is very cute. I’m trying to talk Chas into getting a puppy, but he isn’t ready yet. Truth be told, our lifestyle isn’t conducive to owning a dog. So, Chas isn't doomed quite yet.
Fox Sighting
Guess what I saw the other night as I was driving home!?! I saw a fox in our driveway! He was beautiful. I bet he was out looking for food and hoping that the lid to our rubbish bin wasn’t held down tight. Foxes are common here, but it was neat to see one so close to our house. (Note to my mom and sister: Don’t worry about the fox getting near to the kids, because our house is behind a 6 ft tall wall, so we’re safe and hidden from everything!)
So, I made some space in our new fridge last week for more groceries, and in doing so I moved a cucumber and a package of unpeeled carrots to a bottom shelf on the door of the fridge. Due to the fridge being in close proximity to the island, it turns out the bottom shelf on the door of the fridge is an easy place to forget about, that is until you see green goo leaking onto the floor. Yum. Throw in a pack of greyish, moldy carrots and it's downright disgusting!
It Gets Better
Being rushed and very thirsty yesterday after coming home from grocery shopping, I stuck a six-pack of diet Coke in the freezer with the idea that I would let the six-pack chill quickly so Chas and I could enjoy cold ones with our dinner. Seven hours later, I tentatively opened the freezer door and beheld a frozen brown landscape. Diet Coke stalactites hung from the freezer's ceiling, and barren diet Coke mountains rose to cover the frozen fish sticks and other fare. Ah.
Last, But Not Least
This morning while driving the kids to nursery school, an oncoming white van rounded a very sharp curve and was in my lane; I had to choose between hitting the van or driving off the road a bit. I chose to drive off the road a bit, but I hit a debris covered concrete curb, bursting my front left tire. Gah! Instead of a leisurely morning in town without the kids, I spent the morning getting a new tire.
And how was your day?
I'm teaching myself to knit. I bought some yarn, knitting needles, and two books on how to knit. I'm glad I bought two books, because between the two books, I am actually learning the process. If I had bought either book on its own I don't think I would be able to work out how to knit. Anyway, it's going well and I really like it. Knitting for me is a repetitive activity that helps me relax at the end of the day; plus, I like the feel of the yarn.
Related tidbit:
Olivia: Mom, what's in the pink, yellow, blue stripy bag?
Me: I'm going to learn to knit so I bought some yarn and stuff.
Olivia: What's yarn?
Me: Ah, you know, stringy stuff, to ah, um. Here, look in the bag.
Olivia: Thanks! (opens bag and takes out yarn) Oh! You mean, wool.
My girl is so British!
Kitchen
While I was in the States for my extended visit that began at Christmas and ended in March, Chas was very busy doing lots of big and little projects around the house. The biggest project by far was the remodeling of our kitchen. Chas drew up the plans and had a builder do the work. Most of the work was completed while we were in the States. The granite countertops were put in place a few days ago. And so now, we have a bigger, better kitchen! Huzzah! Once I clean up the dusty mess, I'll post pictures.
Gardening
We'll be working this weekend to prepare the ground for our garden. We're going to have a small patch of veggies in the ground, and more veggies growing in containers around the yard. I'm very excited and so is Olivia. It will be fun to grow some of our own food.
Wiggly Wigglers
Perhaps you remember the post I wrote about having a worm farm, yes? Well, it was a hard winter for the worms, and so we're hiring a batch of replacement troops that should arrive next week.
Wiggly Wigglers is the name of the company from which we buy such supplies (including our gardening items), and rarely have I loved a company as much as I do them! Perhaps the wool (hehe) has been pulled over my eyes, but Wiggly Wigglers seems to be a class act. Environmentally responsible, but not preachy.
A cool new service Wiggly Wigglers are offering is called REcover. Wiggly Wigglers will be selling Ecover products (detergents and cleaning products made in ecologically, economically, and socially responsible ways) in refillable containers! So, you buy a 5L bottle of laundry detergent, use it up, return it to Wiggly Wigglers with the postage paid label, pay Wiggly Wigglers for a refill, and they fill it up and send it back to you via post (including sending a new postage paid label for the next refill cycle).
Very cool and exciting! We'll be using less plastics, using more ecologically friendly detergents and cleaners, and the products will be delivered to our door via post. Ah! And lest you scoff about the carbon monoxide spewed into the air by the mail van, our post is delivered via bicycle. (Yes, I know, at some point most mail is carried by trains, planes, and automobiles, but at least most mail in these parts is delivered from the post office to businesses and residents either on foot or bike.)
As you might gather, I've been thinking a great deal about "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." Perhaps you noticed?
Well, the first step is to reduce, the second step is to reuse, and the third step is to recycle. Well, I do plenty of recycling, but not much reducing and reusing, and so I thought it was time to do more. It's becoming a bit of a passion. At first I thought it might be a fad for me, and perhaps it is, but at least it is a long lasting fad, and I hope one that becomes a passion.
The REcover project is like a dream come true for me; not in the sense of winning the lottery dream-come-true, but in the sense of me wanting such a service to exist and, boom, it comes into existence.
At the end of last summer when I began in earnest to think about ways to reduce our impact on the planet, it occurred to me that there ought to be a way to use less plastic. I am constantly putting like-new containers into the recycle bin. I remarked to Chas (and if I remember correctly, to our friend, Bruce) that I wished there was a way to refill the myriad of plastic bottles instead of recycling them after one use. At the time, I said I would happily carry the bottles back to the grocery store for refilling if such an option existed. Six months later, I find the option not only exists, but it is easier than I imagined. Thank you Wiggly Wigglers!
Not Crazy Yet
Don't worry, though, I haven't become so obsessed with reducing my carbon footprint on the earth that I'm not going to fly. As much as I would like to never ever again give a penny to an airline, nor squeeze my ample derriere into a tiny airplane seat, we'll probably still be taking two or three trips via airlines each year. If we eschewed airline travel, we'd never see our family and friends. And, since Chas takes about six or seven flights per year for his job, our carbon footprint is huge, so we have lots to make-up for. (In the dream-come-true wish category, I desperately wish for a mode of long-distance transportation that is quick, efficient, comfortable, affordable, and ecologically friendly.)
Fun Bit
In the frivolous but highly desirable category: R2D2.
Did you think I had forgotten how to log onto and post updates on LiveJournal? Yeah, me too.
Let's see, what has happened since October 2007?
Liv's Birthday
Well, there was Liv's fourth birthday party last October, which was a grand time. We invited her nursery school friends to join us at the Liss Village Hall where we played games, sang songs, and ate goodies. Birthday parties in England are a bit different than those I remember as a kid in the US. Chas and I refer to it as the "birthday party formula." First, the party is most often held in a rented hall or other venue. Second, there is always an entertainer (such as a clown, magician, DJ, or singer) or a themed-event (such as holding the party at a zoo, or playland). Third, a meal is always served, even if it's just sausages and chips (french fries). Fourth, the birthday girl or boy never opens gifts at the party (opening gifts in front of the other children is considered rude).
We spent way too much money on the party, and it was way too stressful for us to enjoy. Liv enjoyed herself at the time, but she doesn't remember the party. And so, as you might guess, we won't be doing that type of party again! I think we'll have a more American-style party for her fifth birthday celebration.
Thanksgiving 2007
We hosted Charles's family for Thanksgiving 2007. We had a blast! The best parts were meeting Lily, our niece (Chas's sister's daughter) for the first time, and being surrounded by family.We had a great time showing everyone our new stomping grounds.
Chas's sister and brother-in-law (parents of the beautiful Lily) are hosting Thanksgiving 2008 at their home in Georgia, and I hope we can go, though Liv starts school in the Autumn and it might be problematic to take her out of school for a holiday the UK doesn't celebrate.
Christmas 2007
We spent Christmas 2007 in Virginia with my family. It was terrific to visit with my mom, brother, sister and her family. The kids and I had planned to stay on in Virginia for an extended visit and return to England in mid-January (Chas had to return to England to work), but our extended visit became even more extended due to an illness in my family. The kids and I returned to England on 7 March; Chas flew to Virginia and spent a week with us and then flew home with us. (I find it hard to fly with two kids on my own.)
We were apart from Chas for about eight weeks. It was tough, both on the kids and me. During that time, Rowan changed a great deal. He went from stringing one and two words together to speaking in sentences. We're very happy to be all together again!
Rowan's Birthday
We celebrated Rowan's second birthday* in December while in Virginia. My sister had a Bob the Builder cake made for Rowan. The cake looked amazing and tasted even better than it looked! Ro enjoyed the cake, gifts, and attention.
*If I remember correctly, it is the only birthday between our kids that has been celebrated with family; all other birthdays have been celebrated with friends, but we've always lived too far away from family members for them to attend birthday celebrations.
Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety-Jig
It's nice to be home in England with the kids and Chas. I love living in England and I missed it while I was in the US. However, there are some things about the US that I miss terribly.
I miss our families and friends, of course, but I also miss the convenience of everything in the US: Hungry? Choose from a gaggle of kid-friendly, inexpensive restaurants that stay open late. Need groceries on Sunday evening? Simply go to a grocery store (in England, large grocery stores close at 4PM on Sundays). Need cash? Drive up to an ATM (as opposed to paying for parking in a car park and walking to the cash point on the main street). Want almost any item? Go to Target. You get the idea.
Olivia
Olivia is four going on fourteen. Her interests haven't changed. She loves all things girlie and pink and frilly. She loves to dance and sing. She has three boyfriends at her nursery school, all of whom were greatly stressed when she didn't return to nursery school straight-away after the Christmas holiday. She enjoys counting and simple addition.
Rowan
Rowan is a proper little boy now. While we were in Virginia, he made the leap from words to sentences to ever-increasing vocabulary. Though he has been known to don one of Liv's pink, frilly princess dresses from time-to-time, he mostly enjoys pretending to be Firefighter Sam or Bob the Builder.
Time to Make Dinner
Well, gotta run and make dinner now. I read lots of blogs/journals, so I feel as though I am keeping up with lots of friends. I hope this update on Ryan-Family makes you feel you are keeping up with us a bit.
Today I was goofing off with Liv (we were playing tickle), and I said, "Gosh, how did you get to be so beautiful?!?" She stopped laughing and with a thoughtful look replied, "You and dad made me beautiful." Awww! She really meant it when she said it. Of course, now, it will become the pat answer to that question and lose its significance a bit, but by writing it down I can always remember the first time she said it.
TV Star
Today Chas went off to London to be on TV. He's being interviewed on a program that is aired on BBC1. I don't know the airing date for his episode, but I'll post a link as soon as I do. He is being interviewed for his expertise in the game industry, and in particular for his expertise in bringing a product to market (you can make a great game, but it will never see the light of day unless you have a good business plan and marketing plan, and so on).
Yesterday, Olivia said, "Mommy, I love you all the way to the sun." So I replied, "And I love you all the way to the sun." She said, "I love you all the way to South America." To which I replied, "I love you to the bottom of the ocean." And she said, "I love you to my heart." Awww. Definitely want to remember that.
Also, while Liv was at nursery school yesterday, after playing with Rowan for an hour or so on the floor in the annex (which is our guest room/play room), I flopped down on the (guest) bed to stretch my back. Rowan brought me a toy car to play with, then a toy school bus. Finally, he climbed onto the bed with me and we sang Mary Had a Little Lamb. I rolled onto my belly and he climbed onto my back, and we sang more songs, then we both fell asleep. It was so cuddly and wonderful. Definitely want to remember that, too.
Nursery School
Liv is going to nursery school four mornings a week. She really likes it and is doing very well. Her teachers tell me that she is a great student and likes to help with the younger kids.
Her nursery school is called First Steps Montessori and is located in the village hall of one of the most picturesque villages I've seen since coming to England. The village is called Hawkley, and it is a tiny, idyllic village with an old church, one pub/inn, a few homes, and not much else. There's no retail stores, no grocery stores, no offices. The village is built around a triangular green. It seems like a very quiet, peaceful place to live. (Of course, who knows what secrets the villagers keep?!?)
It's been one year (actually, one year and six days) since we moved to England! I feel lucky to live among such history, and I'm looking forward to many more years.
The past year went very well. We made new friends, our kids got older and more self-sufficient, I didn't go crazy being a stay-at-home parent, we bought a house, and Chas likes his job and is doing very well at the company.
Seven Years!
As of August 18, 2007, Chas and I have been together for seven wonderful years. How did we celebrate? Sadly, we didn't. Chas was in the US attending GenCon during our anniversary. Oh well.
Thirty-Seven Years!
My birthday was a couple of weeks ago and I turned 37. Yikes. I was talking to a friend the other day about getting older (which is better than the alternative), and my friend told me that her grandmother says she still feels and thinks like a young woman, but without the benefit of having the body of a young woman.
Driving
I like driving here. I really like round-a-bouts (traffic circles). Once you know how they work and gain some confidence navigating them, they really seem to save time. No more coming to a complete stop when the way is clear...just slow down and proceed with caution.
The country and village roads here are small and curvy, and the government plans on keeping them that way as a measure of traffic control. Frankly, it's a good idea and it seems to work. Instead of making the roads wide and flat, and destroying the hearts of villages, the government keeps the roads maintained but small.
There are often partial chicanes where the road is reduced to one lane and traffic coming into the village must stop and give way to outgoing traffic. There are also many one lane roads with passing places.
I like that the national speed limit is 60 MPH on single carriageways (two-lane roads) and 70 MPH on dual carriageways (divided highways). This technically means that you can drive 60 MPH on those tiny country roads, but the police can always ticket you for reckless driving.
I greatly dislike all the walkers and bikers on the country roads. I'm very much in favor of reducing travel by car and using public and alternate transportation, but there should be infrastructure to support the walkers and bikers--they shouldn't be causing road hazards by walking or biking on tiny, curvy, hillly country lanes. It's dangerous for them and it creates a driving hazard.
Parking
I'm not fond of parking here and I'm not fond of the way others park.
UK parking spaces are much more narrow than US parking spaces. Getting the kids into and out of car seats in tight parking spaces isn't fun.
But my biggest complaint about parking is that you can park your car anywhere on the road as long as the road isn't specifically marked for no parking. Driving down a country lane at night, it isn't uncommon to come upon a parked car blocking one entire lane of traffic. Ugh.
Ironing
Brits iron everything! Bed sheets, kids undershirts, napkins. Ugh! I don't like ironing and neither does Chas, but it must be done. Ironing services are very popular here, and, if you have a nanny, one of her jobs is to iron all the childrens clothing.
We've taken to calling the dryer the wad-o-matic, because clothes come out of it in a wrinkled heap. Actually, our new dryer is way better than the dryer we had at the rental house, but even the new dryer--which we chose specifically because it is one of the most wrinkle-free dryers in the UK--isn't as good as an average dryer in the US.
- Mood:
sleepy
We're moved in and fairly settled at The Old Dairy. It's good to see pieces of furniture and other items that have been packed away for more than a year. (This includes our sofa, which wouldn't fit into our rental house.)
The garden (yard) is really fantastic and is one of the main reasons we were attracted to this property. The garden, which is flat, is enclosed on all sides by a 6 ft. high brick wall, thus making it the perfect playground. The kids love playing on the swingset and running in the grass.
I'm having a hard time thinking of the best way to describe the layout of the house. It was a long barn, and now, as a house, each room takes up the full width of the barn (minus room for the hallway which connects the bedrooms).
The kitchen, dining room, and lounge are one great room with a vaulted ceiling with exposed beams. There are four large windows, one single glass door, and one double glass door that all give great views of the garden (which allows me to supervise the kids and still get some work done inside). There are two smallish skylights, too. All of the windows, skylights, and doors are on the west wall looking into our garden; if we had any windows on the east wall we'd be looking into our neighbor's garden.
The bedrooms are small, but each one has loft space. When the kids are older, they can sleep in the loft spaces and have the main floor for playing, reading, homework. Olivia's room is purple and pink, and Rowan's room is two shades of blue.
The annex, which forms one side of the brick wall that encloses the garden, houses the laundry room, library, guest room, and play room (not all separate rooms). It's a great place for the kids to play and do arts and crafts.
And I'm very pleased to report that The Old Dairy is a working farm once more, though we don't have cows. We have worms. Yes, mom, worms...the little wiggling creatures that live in the ground.
Last week we purchased 1200 head of worm. Why in the world do we have 1200 worms, you ask, and it's a good question. It's a long story. Here's why...
When we lived in Kent, Washington, we could put out as much recycling and rubbish (garbage) as we had, but we had to pay for any excess rubbish bags. That didn't seem like a big deal at the time and we routinely filled our huge garbage can (which was collected weekly) and had one or two extra bags of garbage.
Since we've lived in England, we've reduced our rubbish output by at least half--maybe 2/3--simply because we started recycling more (and more, and more!). Our rubbish pickup is once every two weeks and alternates with the recycling pickup (one week is recycling and the next is rubbish). We can put out as much material for recycling as we have, but we can only put out one rubbish bin and no excess rubbish. And so, we recycle everything we can.
All this extra recycling got me to thinking about the vegetable scraps and leftover food I toss out. It seemed like such a waste, but what could I do? And then I found the answer in several books on gardening that I'd recently been reading. All the books recommended wormeries (also called worm farms) to recycle waste food (everything except meat). Huh. Worm farming, eh? So I checked it out and it didn't seem hard or even gross.
And so, last week, the wormery arrived. Basically, it's three medium-sized plastic crates (made from recycled plastics, of course) that stack, plus the worms, and the initial bedding for the worms. Two of the crates have mesh bottoms (so the worms can move between crates) and the third crate, which serves as the base, has a solid bottom (with a tap). The base crate is left empty and its purpose is to collect any runoff from the top two crates. The runoff, which is great plant food once diluted, can be collected by simply turning the tap.
To start the process, you put one of the crates with a mesh bottom into the base crate, add the worm bedding (mulchy-like material), dump in the worms, cover them with a moisture barrier, and snap on the lid. Nothing to it, really. And then, each day you add table scraps and vegetable peelings. When the "middle" crate is full, you add on the top crate and fill it up with table scraps and vegetable peelings. After several months, the worms will have turned all the waste in the middle crate into really good mulch. The worms go where the food is, so they will have migrated from the middle crate to the top crate. And so you just remove the middle crate, spread the mulch in your garden, and then the middle crate becomes the top crate and the process starts again. Voila--free, high-quality mulch and less rubbish!
Any other worm farmers out there?
First Guest
Our friend, Chris Pramas, was in England for a convention and he stayed with us for one night, earning him the title of First Guest of the Ryans at The Old Dairy. I hope he had a good time. We certainly did, and we hope he comes back with the whole family next time!
(We showed him the worm farm, but I think it creeped him out a bit.)
Neighbor Update
I'm pleased to report that the neighbor who was so rude to us has apologized. We're on neutral ground now, and I hope it stays that way.
We met the people who live directly behind us (and we also saw the back of our own house for the first time ever). The neighbors are very nice. They are a retired couple who have lived in their house for 20 years. They have several grandchildren (one of whom--a two-year old girl-- we met) Their house is gorgeous. It is a converted tithe barn and it is amazing inside and outside.
GenCon
Chas is off to GenCon tomorrow and I'm not happy about it. I'm jealous that I can't go. I hope he has a good time, but we'll just be waiting each day for him to return home...know what I mean? He comes back next Monday, and the good news is there isn't another long trip on the horizon for quite some time. Next year, I'm definitely going to plan to do something while he is away at GenCon, or maybe we'll all go to GenCon.
- Mood: sleepy
We moved into our new house two weeks ago.
We got the Internet connection working yesterday.
All is well. Everyone is healthy and happy.
We have lots of work to do on our house; everything from installing doorstops to a new kitchen! (Will post more specifics later.)
Our new garden (yard) is terrific. We love being outside. Already the kids have shaken a bit of their pallor.
Thankfully, we have not been affected by the horrible flooding in the region.
Bottom line: We moved; the move went as smoothly as possible; we're happy to be out of the rental house; all is well. YAY!
We got the keys to our new house on 22 June 2007. We're mostly happy. I write mostly happy instead of insanely, wonderfully, or greatly happy because we might have the neighbors from hell living next door.
Rant about Neighbors
Our neighbors aren't obnoxious juvenile delinquents. No. They are a middle-aged married couple who don't have children and who really, really don't like children, AND they have opinions on the appearance of our house and garden. The woman is a director at Toyota, and the man works from home as a computer programmer.
My favorite quote from the man is, "Children have never been inflicted upon us before."
For starters, our new neighbors did not get along with the people who sold us the house. They didn't like the way in which the people who sold us the house converted the barn. To be fair to the neighbors, the people who sold us the house didn't do a great job on the conversion. It's structurally sound, but it needs a new kitchen and redecorating throughout--in other words, all fixable stuff, but our neighbors don't have confidence that we will make changes that are in accordance with their standards.
The neighbors are wealthy and have a mansion. Their house is probably 3,000 square feet and beautiful inside. I know it's beautiful inside because the man insisted on showing it to us so he could gloat and brag. And then, a few days later, he got nasty.
We put up a swingset/play area in our yard. To be fair, it is large. But, it is also very nice. It isn't metal or plastic or unpainted plywood. It's treated, painted wood and very attractive looking. And, it's on our property! Yet, the man thinks it is a big, ugly eyesore. So what did he do? Did he come to our door and say, "Gosh, that's a big swingset, can you move it a bit so we don't see as much of it?" Nope. He yelled insults over the garden wall, called the swingset a "f'ing monstrosity," and made an ass of himself. Joy.
Not to be outdone, I hurled some zingers of my own, like "Don't be so mean," and "It's our property!" Oh yes, I'm sure I had him quaking in his leather loafers. And then I started crying. Brilliant.
After Chas told him off (really told him off), Chas ushered me inside, where I frantically paced the floor, crying and yelling. Chas was also very upset, but he kept his cool.
After about 10 minutes, Chas went to the neighbor's house to discuss the situation. This was a very smart move. Chas essentially called out the passive-aggressive meany. By meeting face-to-face, instead of over a 6 ft. tall garden wall, the man had to do a bit of back-pedaling and he eventually apologized. (If Chas hadn't gone over there, I imagine the man and I would have had several verbal exchanges over the garden wall, one passive-aggressive meany to the other.)
Chas said two things to the man that were real gems:
First, he asked the man to show him from which rooms in his house or garden that he could see the swingset. The man led him to his upper hallway, from which point you can see the very top of the swing. This is the only place on the man's property that you can view our swingset. Chas said, "I assume you don't do most of your living in the hallway, do you?"
Second, to address the general child-unfriendliness of this man, Chas said, "You know, no one, not the Council (UK Council = US city, county, or town administration), not the neighbors, not the estate agent, no one gave us a memo stating that this was a child-free neighborhood. And furthermore, one of the big reasons we bought this house was for the great yard for our kids. Our kids are well-behaved, but they're going to play in the yard and make noise on their swingset."
The neighbor apologized (in his own precious, condescending way).
Sadly, at the recommendation of several of our friends, I've started a log with times, dates, and facts in case this man bothering us becomes an issue. Because the man works from home and because I stay home with the kids, I'm afraid I'll be the one dealing with him most. Unless of course my scathing remarks and terrifying crying have scared him away for good.
You know one of the best things of all? When this man stands in his hallway and looks down into our garden, do you know what he saw before we put up the swingset? Our garden shed! What a jerk!
On a positive note, another neighbor (opposite side) sent us a very nice welcome card with a little, hand-drawn map of her side of the neighborhood, complete with first names of other neighbors. AND, she and her husband have an eight-month-old little girl named Francesca. Guess which neighbor gets the first batch of homemade brownies!?!
Here are the rules: Each person tagged blogs seven random facts about themselves, as well as the rules of the game. You then tag seven others...
Seven Random Facts about Tammie:
1. I read twice as many books as Chas, and he reads lots of books. (When I finish a book, I put it on his nightstand; he has quite the backlog of reading to do. Although to his credit, he just finished Baudolino by Umberto Eco.)
2. One of my favorite children's books is Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton.
3. Currently, my favorite sound is the "mmMMMmmmm" sound Rowan makes when he eats a food that he likes. (Pitch increases with emphasis.)
4. My favorite wine is Pinot Grigio.
5. Don't tell my mom and my sister, but I like to cook. (Who knew?!?)
6. I am distantly related to Loretta Lynn. (And, I'm also a coal miner's daughter.)
7. I know by context what a meme is, but before writing this blog, I looked up meme on Wikipedia.com.
I'm going to forgo passing on the meme. I was pleasantly surprised to be tagged by Stan!, having never been tagged for a meme before, but once is enough for me!
- Mood:
amused
I learned today that one of my friends, Brian Massey, and his climbing partner died from a fall while climbing Mt. McKinley in Alaska. (Seattle Times article link.) According to the Park Ranger who witnessed their fall, they were making their descent when they fell about 1,900 feet.
I met Brian when he started working as a firefighter for the Kent Fire Department in the Spring of 2005. I did much of his HR and payroll orientation to the Department. After the first few weeks of orientation and fire fighting school, he disappeared from my day-to-day radar.
I got to know Brian when an injury sidelined him on temporary light duty assignment for a time. For those unfamiliar with the concept of light duty, let me explain a bit. Firefighters have to be able to perform at 100% while on duty. Sometimes an injury prevents a firefighter from performing his/her daily duties (like fighting fire), but the injury is not so severe that the firefighter couldn't perform a desk job. Enter temporary light duty assignment.
While on light duty, Brian completed a large document scanning project for me. Essentially, I gave Brian 3 or 4 large banker boxes packed full of documents (some not in great shape), and his task was to sit at a computer all day and scan each document into a computer program called Accorde, the City of Kent's document imaging and storage system, and then enter information into Accorde about each scanned document, thus indexing each document (making each document retrievable and searchable). The project was mind-numbingly boring and tedious, but Brian took to it with steadfast determination.
It was a pleasure to see Brian each morning at work. He was always smiling and had a great sense of humor. He was happy a person with a good attitude. Very few firefighters want to be on light duty, and believe me when I say that Brian couldn't wait to get back to full duty, but while he was on light duty, Brian made the best of his time. He completed the onerous scanning project and a few more before returning to full duty.
In my experience, firefighters tend to be action oriented and controlled risk-takers, and Brian was no different. Brian loved being a firefighter. Like most firefighters, he enjoyed helping people, and he also liked the thrill of doing something with an element of risk.
In addition to his regular duties, he took on more responsibility as a Community Emergency Response Team instructor, teaching community members ways in which to be prepared for a disaster and what action to take in the event of a disaster.
When I left the KFD last year to move to England, Brian came by the office to say goodbye. I made him promise that he and his fiancee (now wife) would come to visit us.
I can't believe Brian is gone.
Brian was kind, smart, cheerful, hard-working, helpful, and funny. Brian was always smiling, with just a touch of mischievousness in his eyes. Brian was sincere, genuine. Brian was the type of person who would do a good deed even when no one was looking--because it was the right thing to do. The world could use more people like Brian Massey. I'm so sad that he is gone.
- Mood:
sad
...drove by the property we're buying and saw that the estate agent had put up the SOLD sign. Woot! Hopefully this means the agent won't be actively marketing the property and makes it less likely that we'll be gazumped.
Also, we signed all the mortgage paperwork today...GAH! I always get a bit nauseous when signing financial paperwork.
Olivia has reached a major milestone: She can buckle her own seatbelt. This may seem paltry, but it isn't. Trust me.
About three weeks ago we purchased a new carseat for Liv. The new carseat is a highback booster seat (with side-impact and head protection, and a shoulder belt guide) that allows her to properly wear the car seatbelt. Now, we open the car door for her, she climbs into her seat and buckles her seatbelt, and off we go!
What's new with Rowan? Well, Rowan is talking lots. He repeats new words each day. Most of his vocabulary involves food, but he's learning other words, too. He loves to have books read to him, especially Thomas the Tank Engine books.
Ro loves trucks, cars, trains, balls, and anything Liv is playing with at the time. He loves to sing and dance. He loves to climb. Right now, he likes to bang whatever object he happens to be holding into as many other objects (including the heads of his family members) as he can as fast as he can. We're putting the kibosh on that type of play--as fast as we can.
Gozer
Gozer is a fantastic kitty. She is so patient and tolerant with the children! You should see what this cat puts up with each day!
Goz allows Liv to pick her up and carry her around. Gozer will occassionally let Liv stroll her around in her doll stroller. Goz often chooses to cuddle in Liv's lap, and frequently sleeps on Liv's bed at night.
Gozer allows Rowan to "pat" (or is it bash?) her on the head. Goz is very tolerant of Rowan, and she is teaching him how to play with and be nice to a kitty. Rowan loves to give hugs to the kitty.
This isn't to say that Gozer doesn't scratch or bite occassionally, but it's almost always in self defense. Truly, she is an amazing kitty and we are fortunate she is a member of our family.
- Mood: content
Good news: we made an offer that was accepted on a house. The property is a named property (it doesn't have a street number, just a name). It is called The Old Dairy and, as the name suggests, it is a converted 18th-century dairy barn.
Like a dairy barn, the house is long and slim. The property has a main section, which contains the kitchen, dining room, living room (called a lounge in England), 3 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms. (The bedrooms all have loft space, which I know the kids will love when they are older.)
The annex is located across the flat courtyard and contains the utility room, storage room, very large bedroom 4 or study, full bathroom, and loft space. There is also a very large storage shed on the property.
Almost all the rooms open onto the walled courtyard. It is the ideal space for us, because we love being outside. The indoor space and outdoor space are intergrated, which makes outdoor living easy and something we'll do most days (even when it's cold and/or rainy, the kids need to play and run!). I'm already envisioning swing sets and a sandbox for the kids.
Check-out the floorplan that Chas created of the property.
We're very excited, though we've been warned that there's a higher percentage of property deals that fall through in England than in the US. Right now, we're just at the house under offer stage, working our way to house under contract, to eventually sale agreed, and finally house sold. At the current stage, theoretically, we could be gazumped, which is a UK term meaning that the seller or seller's agent continues to market the property even though they have accepted our offer to buy it, then they take a higher offer. We're told gazumping has become more rare, but still it's not unheard of.
We're trying to walk the line between total excitement and anticipating problems. Wish us luck!
- Mood: cheerful
I've avoided blogging all week because of the slaughter at Virginia Tech. I wanted to blog to give you updates on the kids, and to tell you about our house hunting, but each time I sat down to write, all I thought about was writing my thoughts and feelings about VT, so I might as well get it out of my system so I can start to move on.
I beg your indulgence and forgiveness for being so self-centered that I have to write about this horrific event. It's been hard for me to think of anything else but this tragedy. I've been in a walking fog all week. I've had to force myself away from the computer, which is my major source of news, to play with the kids and take care of the day-to-day living that we all must do.
Anyone who knows us knows we're Hokies. I went to VT and so did Chas, though we didn't know each other during our college years. We have friends and family who are Hokies, we watch the Hokies play football on TV when we can get the broadcast, we attend the football games when we're in Blacksburg, we have Hokie shirts and sweatshirts (and so do our kids). We're Hokies.
I've been going to VT football games since I was a child and I've gone to several bowl games. The first bowl game I attended was The Peach Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia on December 31, 1986. VT defeated NC State 25 to 24. With four seconds on the clock and the ball on the VT 23 yard line, our kicker, Chris Kinzer, kicked the winning field goal through the uprights. It was the most tense and exciting football game I've ever attended.
My brother-in-law, Roger, passed on his passion for VT to me and my family, and so I've been a Hokie since I was a little kid. Roger attended and was graduated from VT in the early 70s. He often hitchhiked from our hometown of Pound, a small mountain community in the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains, to Blacksburg, a journey that takes about 3 hours by car. Sometimes he walked most of the way, I'm told. Oh, and he paid his own way through school, too. He was determined to work hard, finish school, and put his knowledge to good use, and, though it wasn't easy, he did it.
So the only university for me was VT. I applied and was accepted to other schools, but when the acceptance letter came from VT, the decision was made and I was B'burg bound.
My freshman and sophomore years, I lived in West Ambler Johnston (West AJ). I had classes that were held in Norris Hall.
After college, I stayed on Blacksburg. I rented a house on Ramble Road and got a job in Christansburg. Eventually, I joined the local volunteer rescue squad. I know Blacksburg really well. And though I've lost touch with them, I know many people there.
By and large, though bad things have happened in Blacksburg, it's mostly just a sleepy little town--especially in the summers when the majority of the students are gone--with really good, honest, hard-working folks. And now it is marred by this heinous act against humanity. Thirty-two lives lost and countless people affected.
The killer (I refuse to type his name) deserves to be forgotten and erased from history. The victims will be remembered and honored. We will move on, but what will change? What good can we wring from this horrific event? Will mentally ill students get help faster? Will teachers' concerns be taken more seriously. Will gun control be taken seriously? Will tragedies like this be prevented?
- Mood: sad
After I posted that we were considering buying a period home with a thatched roof, I thought some of you might worry about the risk of fire with the thatch, and also just be curious about thatched roofing. We've done a bit of research and I thought you might like to know the basics.
A great deal of information about living in a period home is consolidated at a website called Period Property UK.
There are three types of thatch used in Britain: Water Reed (lasts 55-65 years and is the most durable), Wheat Reed (which isn't reed, but winter wheat straw; lasts 20-40 years), and Long Straw (favored by conservationists in Hampshire; lasts 15-25 years).
Most thatchers charge by the "square," which is roughly 10 ft. by 10 ft. The charge per square is between £600 and £800.
Apparently, thatched cottages rarely catch fire. Period Property UK states, "U.K. Fire Brigades statistics show 1 in 360 "conventional" houses are devastated by fire every year, but only 1 in 750 thatched buildings." And further from that website: "In fact, only one death has been recorded during the 20C in a thatched house fire."
I suppose that owners of thatched houses are very aware of the risk and very cautious. Also, it isn't a stray spark landing on the roof that starts a fire. It's the build up of gases from the chimney due to poor sealant (and other complicated reasons) that put the conditions in place for a fire to start.
The bottom line is that we will thoroughly investigate all safety issues before buying any house, including one with a thatched roof.
Properties Viewed Today
For the viewing of both of these properties (and the one we'll be seeing tomorrow), the owners of the homes showed us the properties. Unlike in the US, in the UK it's normal to meet the owners and be shown around by them. It was a bit weird for us. When we view a property, we like to talk outloud about the pros and cons and things we'd change.
The first property we viewed, 60A Ashdell Road, is a 5 bedroom, 2 bathroom home built in the early 1980s. By English standards, the house is big, which we like, but the garden (yard) is small, which we don't like. It has one storage building that is long and skinny, one storage room that is a complete room (finished walls and floor, electricity), and a small detached office (separate building, completely finished), all of which we liked.
It is in need of some redecorating/remodeling, but the kitchen was remodeled four years ago and is fabulous. All of the rooms (including the kitchen) need new flooring and new paint and trim. Plus, there's bits and bobs to do here and there to make it liveable and stylish, which are all doable, but take time and money, and more importantly, may not return the bang for the buck.
Location, location, location: The house is conveniently located just across the street from Kings Pond (where we go for walks and feed duckies and swans), it's within easy walking distance of Alton High Street (high street = main street), and only a 1/4 mile from Chas's office. But, it is inconveniently near a busy road with lots of noise, near an office park (lots of industrial buildings, one of which is Chas's office), and adjacent to a not-so-great neighborhood.
I liked it more than Chas. I gave it a B+ and he gave it a B. I don't think we'll buy it, but it lingers in my mind.
The second property is a named property. (Britons love to name their homes. Currently, the most popular house name is The Cottage. In some cases, the name of the property is the official address of the property, in other cases, the property also has a street name and number.) The house we viewed is called Treetops, and I'm uncertain if it also has a street name and number. It is in a village called Upper Froyle and is very close to (almost on top of) a pub called The Hen & Chicken.
The house has 1.5 bathrooms and three bedrooms. Two of the bedrooms are on the ground floor. The master bedroom is upstairs, along with the 1/2 bathroom, and an attic space that could be made into a complete room.
The lounge (living room) is in a large turret. Lots of windows and a wood burning fireplace. Very cool.
The house has an extensive garden. The homeowners are avid gardeners and their home is on the garden tour circuit. The selling brochure states, "The garden is a feature of Treetops and has over 50 Clematis and roses, and many trees and shrubs, including three Magnolias, an Acer Griseum, Prunus, Amalanchier, Wedding Cake Tree, Phutina, Daphnes, and Vibernums."
The trees, shrubs, and hedges block out the view of the pub. As a matter of fact, we've eaten in the garden of the pub and we didn't notice Treetops! The view from the other side of the house is all farmland, which is terrific. (Maybe a little smelly during fertilizing time.)
There is a summer house in the garden. It is a small room with heat and electricity. It is mostly windows. It's really cute. The owner of the house promised us that it stays dry year round. It seems like the perfect gaming room.
Treetops is fairly large and has a nice flow of traffic from room to room, but it is badly in need of updating. The kitchen needs to be gutted and rebuilt. All the flooring has to be replaced. The walls need painting. The attic room needs to finished to become a real room. The upstairs 1/2 bath needs to be a full bath. And it would benefit greatly from the addition of a heated conservatory (a glass extension to the house, like a sun-room).
You might think we don't like it because it needs a lot of work, but it's a project we're familiar with and know we can handle. It's a house that needs lots of initial love and attention, but it can be made into a beauty of a home (one that we can sell for bigger bucks, too!).
- Mood:
pensive
Rowan is the most polite 15-month old I've ever met! When you hand him something or he hands you something, he says, "Dan-do!," which is Rowan-speak for thank you!
In other news...
...the financing for purchasing a house has come through and we view our first property today! We're viewing two properties today (Friday) and one property tomorrow (Saturday).
Both of the properties we are seeing today are older, but not cool old, just need-fixin-up old. They both need major redecorating, but hopefully not full-blown refurbishment. The property we're viewing tomorrow is old, has a thatched roof, and is a Grade II listed building, meaning it has special architectural or historic interest--it's cool.
Sick, Again
We were all sick this week. Again. Rowan ended up needing antibiotics. We're all much better now.
Because we're new to the area, we're catching every little cold and flu that passes our way. Ugh. I look forward to the day when our systems have adjusted and we aren't sick all the time.
Black Eye
I gave Rowan a black eye. It broke my heart. We were playing with the wooden Thomas the Tank Engine tracks. I reached into the tall bin for more tracks and as I lifted the tracks over the edge, Rowan poked his head over into the bin. Collision. Tears from everyone. His eye is much better now.
This reminds me of the occasional injuries Olivia received at Wizards of the Coast/Bright Horizons daycare center. She would occasionally come home with a report of an injury sustained at the daycare center, and I would wonder how it happened, why, and so forth. Now, being the primary caretaker all the time and playing with them in the floor all the time, I not only get a front-row seat to watch how they get hurt, I sometimes (unfortunately, unwilling, unwittingly) play a part in the drama.
Full-time Mom
When we lived in Seattle, I worked full time at the Kent Fire Department. I loved my job. When Chas wrongfully (yes I am bitter!!--ask me about it sometime over a glass of wine or beer) lost his job at Wizards of the Coast, everyone felt sad for him because he had loved the job. The thing is, I had to voluntarily give up my job--my dream job--so we could relocate for Charles's new job.
I'm not sad at all about living in England, but I really miss the KFD and my co-workers. It was my dream job and (when I return to the workforce after the kids are in school) I don't expect that I will ever find a job I love as much.
In a way, I went from full-time employee and part-time mom of one, to stay-at-home full-time mom of two. Chas lost his job in December 2005, the same month that Rowan was born. I stayed home with Rowan until he was three-months old, at which point I went back to work and Rowan went to daycare, but only for two months. Our house sold quickly, we moved from Seattle, and I became a stay-at-home mom of two.
There was a long adjustment period for all of us, but it has been worth it. I'm the constant in their lives. They don't get excited to see me, because I'm always with them, but they do look to me for comfort and security. They take me for granted in a good way, in a security way. That makes me feel good.
I love being a mom; it's the best non-job job I've ever had. I love being with the kids, seeing them learn new things, making art projects with them, watching them grow. It's the hardest, most demanding job I've ever had--and I don't mean that tritely. Preparing meals and keeping the house clean while watching the kids takes up all my time and energy. It's a very physical job.
If our lives hadn't changed and I had remained employed full-time and the kids had gone to daycare, I think our kids would have been fine, great even. They were attending a world-class daycare, which was really a school more than a daycare. So I'm not going to start preaching that daycare is bad for kids, but I do think home care is the best. I think it's better for the children if one parent (doesn't have to be the mom!) stays home with the kids until the kids go to school.
I've been wanting to write about this for a long time. Many of my friends and family have asked how I've adjusted to the transition of full-time mom. It wasn't always fun or easy. There were times I thought I'd loose my mind, but we're settled into a good routine now.
Still, I'm jealous of Charles getting to go to work. I'm not at all happy when he goes to a business convention (I have been to many of the conventions he attends, and I know that while lots of hard work gets done and big deals are made, it's a break from the kids AND a break from chores (no making the bed or taking out the trash), AND it's a treat to eat at restaurants (no cooking meals or washing the dishes) AND he gets to see many of our friends).
I miss my coworkers and the firefighters. I miss going to work and having adult conversation everyday. I miss dealing with the public. I miss doing payroll, working with the bargaining agreements (union contracts), making spreadsheets, managing vacation banks, and so on--I miss it all. I miss solving problems (though my boss might say I created more problems than I solved!). I miss watching the engine/aid car/ladder truck roll out of the bay on the way to a call. I miss watching Airlift Northwest (medevac helicopter) land on the training ground behind headquarters. When I cut to the heart of my feelings, it comes down to missing the feeling of being useful and important, and missing the occasional vicarious adrenaline rush.
But I traded that to be with my kids, so it was worth it. Costly, but worth it.
- Mood:
busy
- Mood: cheerful
