Well my intention was to post weekly with updates and possibly more if we did anything worth writing about. However, in reality, now I don’t write everyday, I am completely out of the habit and just forget. So, what have we been doing for a month?
The vegetable garden has been good so far. We have had very hot weather (hotter than the Caribbean with temperatures into the 40’s). We have harvested lots of smallish courgettes, three massive handfuls of green and yellow beans, several garlics, a beetroot and many many lettuces. I have had to reseed the carrots and parsnips and lettuce so we have some yumminess when we get home from our holiday. Smallest goes out most mornings and picks raspberries and red currants for his breakfast. We also have lots of gooseberries but no one likes them. I suppose it feeds the birds.
Our garden is looking fabulous (though don’t look too closely as there are weeds in abundance). The hot dry weather has meant the flowers have flourished but need care and water regularly which is a bit of a pain as our garden doesn’t normally need watering. Huffle added a new little bit of garden and we put the dahlias and salvias in there amongst the new grasses from last year. It’s looking lovely. In fact, DonNoQuotey shouted across the other day and said how lovely it was looking and what was the secret. I have to say it does look much better from his house despite us making the garden for our view from the porch!
Pottery has finished for me and last night I picked up all my pieces. I am fairly happy with the way they turned out, just have to find a place for them all now. Smallest was also happy with his (though we did lose a bowl). My teacher decided to set up classes in her own home and I signed up for a four week course in August (the course is for 8 weeks but I can only fit in the last half), they started this
week and it’s already had great reviews. I can’t wait to make more!
Small and I went to Jan’s garden a few weekends ago, to be Garden Ambassador’s for her village's Open Gardens. It rained heavily all day but it was fun. I like nothing more than wandering a garden and talking to people about plants. Is there a job in there somewhere?
The boys had their Piano Recital and it went very well. MrsPiano has so many students now that they can only play one song each which is much better. Smiling politely while someone else’s child plays is hard when there are lots of them.
Both boys have been playing lots of football. Tournaments, practices and games. Smallest has been in and out of the first and second team, second team he plays the whole game and sometimes rarely in midfield which is his favourite, when he plays in the top team he doesn’t get so much play. The club has arranged yet another away tournament in USA (this weekend they are in Ottawa, another 7 hour’s drive away).
Small has been refereeing which has been funny. He refs mainly under10’s and they say the funniest things. It’s very entertaining. The teams are all split into different teams from the World Cup and one of the parents of Spain came to talk to me and asked me if my son was playing for Germany. “No, my little boy is the ref” I said. She thought that was funny seeing as my little boy is six foot tall and towers over the little ones easily. He picked up his first cheque for $75 (not bad for blowing a whistle).
Small has also been cutting grass for a friend of mine for money and while he cuts, Smallest and I go and play Pool. That’s lots of fun and we are quite silly, not serious at all. He keeps beating me (because the black goes down the hole before it should mainly). We had another game today and Small joined us when he was finished.
Both boys finished school about two weeks ago so we have the whole of July and August before they go back. Small picked up his report which was very good. 97% Music. 96% Gym. 90% Geography and 88% Business. Very good. Smallest also got his year end report and had excellents for everything and all A-, A’s and A+’s. EXCELLENT BOYS.
Both boys did a week of swimming camp in the Hamlet where they swim everyday for a week for just half an hour. They love it. They have no badges left to do but were working on endurance and stroke improvement. Small carried on this week too but Smallest went to his clubs Football Camp. Five days (though we took him out early Wednesday for a game and didn’t take him today) of 9am -4pm drills and games and fun (ish).
Speaking of football, we have all been gripped by WorldCup fever in this house. We had the England bunting up (which Canadians don’t understand because they think the English flag is the Union Jack. We have been asked is it Sweden? Is it Switzerland, Ireland, Scotland? Oh dear!). Anyway, for each England game we sat with our shirts on and had a visitor from the Hamlet to soak up our atmosphere. He is originally from Bangladesh, moved to somewhere middle eastern and then Canada. He was as disappointed as us when we didn’t win against Crotia (doesn’t help that OldCoach is Croatian). Suffice to say our flags came down from the house and cars. BOOOOO. Good while it lasted though.
Huffle has been maintaining our pool and we have spent quite a bit of time in it. It got to 28* one day without us heating it.
Well, we are off to the Caribbean for holiday next week. It is our first big holiday since we moved here and we are really looking forward to it. We know its going to be hot but it's just as hot here. The huge difference is we will not be cooking, working, footballing, reffing or anything much really. Ahhhhhhhhhh.
See ya!
The vegetable garden has been good so far. We have had very hot weather (hotter than the Caribbean with temperatures into the 40’s). We have harvested lots of smallish courgettes, three massive handfuls of green and yellow beans, several garlics, a beetroot and many many lettuces. I have had to reseed the carrots and parsnips and lettuce so we have some yumminess when we get home from our holiday. Smallest goes out most mornings and picks raspberries and red currants for his breakfast. We also have lots of gooseberries but no one likes them. I suppose it feeds the birds.
Our garden is looking fabulous (though don’t look too closely as there are weeds in abundance). The hot dry weather has meant the flowers have flourished but need care and water regularly which is a bit of a pain as our garden doesn’t normally need watering. Huffle added a new little bit of garden and we put the dahlias and salvias in there amongst the new grasses from last year. It’s looking lovely. In fact, DonNoQuotey shouted across the other day and said how lovely it was looking and what was the secret. I have to say it does look much better from his house despite us making the garden for our view from the porch!
Pottery has finished for me and last night I picked up all my pieces. I am fairly happy with the way they turned out, just have to find a place for them all now. Smallest was also happy with his (though we did lose a bowl). My teacher decided to set up classes in her own home and I signed up for a four week course in August (the course is for 8 weeks but I can only fit in the last half), they started this
week and it’s already had great reviews. I can’t wait to make more!
Small and I went to Jan’s garden a few weekends ago, to be Garden Ambassador’s for her village's Open Gardens. It rained heavily all day but it was fun. I like nothing more than wandering a garden and talking to people about plants. Is there a job in there somewhere?
The boys had their Piano Recital and it went very well. MrsPiano has so many students now that they can only play one song each which is much better. Smiling politely while someone else’s child plays is hard when there are lots of them.
Both boys have been playing lots of football. Tournaments, practices and games. Smallest has been in and out of the first and second team, second team he plays the whole game and sometimes rarely in midfield which is his favourite, when he plays in the top team he doesn’t get so much play. The club has arranged yet another away tournament in USA (this weekend they are in Ottawa, another 7 hour’s drive away).
Small has been refereeing which has been funny. He refs mainly under10’s and they say the funniest things. It’s very entertaining. The teams are all split into different teams from the World Cup and one of the parents of Spain came to talk to me and asked me if my son was playing for Germany. “No, my little boy is the ref” I said. She thought that was funny seeing as my little boy is six foot tall and towers over the little ones easily. He picked up his first cheque for $75 (not bad for blowing a whistle).
Small has also been cutting grass for a friend of mine for money and while he cuts, Smallest and I go and play Pool. That’s lots of fun and we are quite silly, not serious at all. He keeps beating me (because the black goes down the hole before it should mainly). We had another game today and Small joined us when he was finished.
Both boys finished school about two weeks ago so we have the whole of July and August before they go back. Small picked up his report which was very good. 97% Music. 96% Gym. 90% Geography and 88% Business. Very good. Smallest also got his year end report and had excellents for everything and all A-, A’s and A+’s. EXCELLENT BOYS.
Both boys did a week of swimming camp in the Hamlet where they swim everyday for a week for just half an hour. They love it. They have no badges left to do but were working on endurance and stroke improvement. Small carried on this week too but Smallest went to his clubs Football Camp. Five days (though we took him out early Wednesday for a game and didn’t take him today) of 9am -4pm drills and games and fun (ish).
Speaking of football, we have all been gripped by WorldCup fever in this house. We had the England bunting up (which Canadians don’t understand because they think the English flag is the Union Jack. We have been asked is it Sweden? Is it Switzerland, Ireland, Scotland? Oh dear!). Anyway, for each England game we sat with our shirts on and had a visitor from the Hamlet to soak up our atmosphere. He is originally from Bangladesh, moved to somewhere middle eastern and then Canada. He was as disappointed as us when we didn’t win against Crotia (doesn’t help that OldCoach is Croatian). Suffice to say our flags came down from the house and cars. BOOOOO. Good while it lasted though.
Huffle has been maintaining our pool and we have spent quite a bit of time in it. It got to 28* one day without us heating it.
Well, we are off to the Caribbean for holiday next week. It is our first big holiday since we moved here and we are really looking forward to it. We know its going to be hot but it's just as hot here. The huge difference is we will not be cooking, working, footballing, reffing or anything much really. Ahhhhhhhhhh.
See ya!
