A Right Royal Revelry

It was supposed to snow in the night and throughout the morning but we didn't have any.

SNOW INDICATOR

Shows the snow is melting. We were also supposed to have more this evening but again we haven't. Moo is disappointed.

The Royals rang this morning and invited us to Supper at their house this evening. I said I would make a Baileys Trifle (I have been craving one all Christmas so it was nice to have the chance to make one), so Moo and I went out on our own to buy the ingredients. The boys stayed at home with strict instructions to clean and tidy (because we had also invited the Royals back here later).

Moo and I visited two different supermarkets and the Beer Store. It didn't seem too cold out. The shops were busy. While we were out we bumped into Smallest's friends Mum who invited (so many invitations in one day) him to their house to play.

We came home, put the shopping away. Moo made dinner. Huffle cleaned, the boys played on the Wii but they had been helping Huffle. I made the trifle (Grandmas recipe) and then Small helped me make a Chocolate Cheesecake. We skyped the DotDots and the boys chatted for a while. We talked to Lizzie and Bernard but had to cut the conversation short when Smallest went off to his friends. It was nice to catch up.

Smallest went off to his friends house with ice skates and snow pants and a promise to be home by 3:30pm. Small and Moo went for a walk and I went for a quick visit to ClownRose to thank her for sitting New Years' Eve. Then I came home and helped clean. Huffle and I decided to move the sofa all the way from the basement to the loft. That's three lots of stairs and one thin doorway, lots of scrapes on the walls and squishes and squashed hands! We just got it up two flights of stairs and wedged in the bathroom (!!?!) when the phone rang. It was Smallest friends mum wanting to know if they could take him to a hockey game and then to dinner later. We decided it would be fine if that is what he wanted and she agreed to bring him to The Royals when they finished.

Moo and Small came home and helped us with the sofa and between us we got it into the loft (and that is where it will stay now FOREVER!).

Huffle skyped Grandma and Grandad and we got ready and went round to the Royals. We had a glass of red wine and some dips and lots of chatting. Drew was there too and she had brought the boys some puzzle books to keep them entertained.

Mrs R, Me, Moo, Drew, Small, Huffle - don't know where Mr R was

Smallest appeared too full to eat as they had been to the Fish and chip shop. We had a gorgeous supper (or dinner or tea). Moo, Small and I had Crepes stuffed with cream sauce and spinach. The others had Seafood Crepes and Turkey Pasta. We had three different desserts. Lemon Meringue Cake which was beautiful, Baileys Trifle which was very alcoholy, and Small's Chocolate Cheesecake which I was too full to try but everyone else said it was good.

Mrs R found some English Tea for Huffle to try. Fortnum and Mason or Harrods - now you know why we call them the Royals! Huffle was very pleased to be given the choice of two such upstanding English names, however Drew was mystified as to what all the fuss was about! (She also told me not to put this photo on so hopefully she doesn't read this post).

It was a lovely meal with excellent company as usual. The boys were very tired and starting to get restless so I took them home and left Moo and Huffle Revelry'ing!

The boys got themselves ready for bed and then we sat in the loft and read The Fir Tree - Hans Christian Anderson - which was sent to us by Aunty A. We didn't get too far as they were both yawning a lot. We shall read some more tomorrow.

Huffle and Moo came eventually and it was too late for any visitors. We played table tennis until late, Moo is improving lots. I am predicting she will beat Huffle and I easily by the end of her visit.

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Hobbiteses and Nonsenses!

This morning was an 'everyone gets clean' day. That took a whole morning in between playing Monopoly Millionaire, Mousetrap, Lego Creationery and Table Tennis. The boys 'entertained' each other whilst they were in the bath. That means they get their soft toys and tell each other the weather and little stories and a puppet show. It keeps them happy for a while.

We received some lovely photos of Moo when she was celebrating New Years Eve.

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Look how pleased they all look when she won a prize, the other photos are of dancing and eating dinner.

I was supposed to go to my knitting group this morning but I didn't go as we were in the middle of a game and my hair hadn't dried and it was snowy and......... Well I didn't go.

The boys watched a bit of Alvin and the Chipmunks Chipwrecked (we have just subscribed to Netflix - and taken off a channel on the TV - so many movies and series! While the boys watched their film on the TV, Moo and I watched a bit of Love Actually on the IPad, how clever is that?).

Glued to the screen!

We all had dinner and then Small, Huffle and I went off to the Cinema to watch The Hobbit 3D. There weren't many people there. It was very very good. Small loved it. We think it would have been too much for Smallest.

Waiting for the beginning of the film

Moo and Smallest stayed at home and played Mousetrap and Four in a Row and watched a film.

We sneaked this photo through the window

Moo checking on the weather outside. Thinking "I wish I was out there! I wish they would take me somewhere once in a while!"

 

We played Monopoly Millionaire and Smallest won. Moo's quote "how can a five year old beat us?" The boys played with their Lego.

Moo and I played a couple of games of table tennis, then she put the boys to bed. Huffle and I played a couple of games and then we had cheese, crackers, wine and played Scrabble. I predict that I lost (because that might mean I win).

Huffle rang the hospital today to follow up his monitor results. Prepare yourself for more beaurocratic nonsense! They have the results but they cannot release them to him, only to his doctor. As we do not have a doctor yet - because no-one in our area is taking new patients - they will not tell him the results. He had a frustrating 20 minute phone call with the hospital, resulting in someone ringing him back to say that, had the results been urgent, they would have 'fast-tracked' them and definitely rang him about them. Therefore the results are not bad. We need to get a doctor (we have an appointment in a couple of weeks to have an interview - each of us individually) and then the results will be sent to them. So, another system here that doesn't quite work as well as it should but at least we know there is nothing seriously wrong.

 

SNOW INDICATOR

This was our photo from yesterday but it is a similar depth, if not a bit more compacted.

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Board or not?

I promised I would make pancakes for breakfast today. Ummm they were yummy. A slight delay of a pan not heating as it should, first pancake in the bin, second on the floor from an overenthusiastic throw, then all on course for a lovely pancakey breakfast, including strawberries, blueberries, bananas and raspberries (oh and maple syrup of course).

Then we all got ready - which actually took ages and ages. Lost gloves, wrong hats, which boots?, do I need this fleece? Shall I wear thermals? Have you got your board? Where is your helmet?............ All this preparation took forever but eventually we were out of the door with a picnic packed (yes we do still have picnics in the snow!). We went to a local ski resort, just 15 minutes away (we are so lucky to have that on our doorstep), bought our ski passes, set Moo up with some ski rentals and away we went. Off up the magic carpet and onto the nursery slopes.

It was cold but not bitterly. They were making some snow and it was supposed to rain in the afternoon. W e started skiing and boarding just after 12 midday. We had four hours of ski-ing and eight hours of boarding.

Everyone did really well. Moo hasn't skied for over ten years and she wasn't sure if she could still do it, so she hired her ski's and said she was a beginner. She was really good and had a great time. She probably went up and down the most out of all us. Possibly easier because she didn't have to keep taking her board off like we did or maybe because she was a 'ski down and right into the queue for the magic carpet' type! She is probably ready for a more challenging slope but I don't think the rest of us are (well maybe Huffle).

Small came down without many problems, occasionally falling on his bottom but he quickly picked himself up and carried on, only having a couple of very small breaks. He was up and down on the magic carpet with just the occasional wave or shout Hello!

Smallest went down first time and fell backwards and bumped his head quite hard (typical as we couldn't find his ski helmet!). It knocked his confidence and Huffle and I spent the next 30 minutes telling him to get back up and try again, telling him how lucky he was to be able to do this and how he was only five and he was expecting too much of himself. If he only went back up and practised, he would get better and better. He did go back up and he got really angry with himself.

Huffle was his normal boarding self. No problems apart from constantly having to pick Smallest up, do up his bindings, undo his bindings, tell him he was good and occasionally go down all by himself!

I was very awkward at first and very lacking in confidence but soon remembered what to do. I board with the wrong foot leading, I lean on the wrong leg, I am rubbish at going down in a straight line but I had a great time.

We stopped for some lunch inside. It was really warm in there but the cheese cobs and bits of Christmas feast were very much needed. After we got some energy back we all went back on the nursery slope.

This time Smallest was brilliant, gained confidence and went down without too many fallings over. Brilliant. He was so happy with himself he insisted on going down and up by himself. We still had to sort his binding out for him but it was a much improved afternoon.

Small had a few more bumps and I think he will have a few bruises tomorrow.

I fell over on the magic carpet and the Travellator had to be stopped. Everyone looked at me. I just waved and shouted SORRY! The young, slight girl had to pick me up. WHOOPS, I think I was a bit heavy for her.

Moo gained in confidence, she really didn't think she would be able to do it. Huffle enjoyed it. He said it was good to see everyone coming down and the bonus was that no-one had any injuries. Moo put in her skiing stuff and we called it a day, four hours after we arrived. It was just starting to get dark and the lights were coming on.

We came home, after a small altercation with the driver next to us who parked far too close (and I told him). Our wet things went in the dryer, we tried Toffee Cadbury's Fingers (which Moo brought - yum) and then the boys played on the new computer, and we watched the photos and videos through the TV. We got dinner started and I played Table Tennis with Moo while Huffle played with the Computer.

Everyone ate dinner, we watched the photos and videos again and the boys watched TV while Moo and I played Table Tennis again. Moo put the boys to bed and Huffle and I played Table Tennis.

We played cards, ate nice things and drank Baileys.

 

 

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An Apple a day.....

We had a lovely lie-in this morning. It was snowing and was about -5 and sunny but cold.

Huffle and Small went out to buy a new much needed computer. The one we were given at a very reasonable rate didn't work, twice and we sent back, so we needed to buy one properly. Apparently Small had a wonderful time in the Apple shop playing on all the gadgets. He is, after all, Gadget Boy!

 

After Moo cleaned the snow off my car......

She did such a good job that I sat in the warm car and let her get on with it

.......Moo, Smallest and I went to shopping to get Smallest a new coat (his arms have grown again!) and a new pair of snow boots (his let in water) and some socks (because we didn't know when we left this morning that his boots were wet and therefore he was walking around in wet footwear - bad parent and grandparent!).

We purchased his coat and boots in the sale and some lovely warm socks and then we shopped for food. By the time we left, it was lunchtime.

We came home, put the shopping away, had lunch and played Ghostly Galleon.

Huffle and Small came home with the new computer - very nice. Huffle and Smallest set the computer up, Moo and I played table tennis (Moo won but I did have something in my eye, ha ha ha), Small played with his Lego. Then we all went and set Smallest up on Club Penguin as he had the membership for a Christmas Present.

I started making Vegetable Lasagne and Beef Rigatoni, Huffle helped and played with the Computer, the boys played with the computer and Lego and Moo went for a walk with Drew.

It was cold outside and warm inside, when she came back her glasses got all fogged!

We all had dinner and then we invited Drew round. The boys wanted to show her their presents. We all had a good chat. The boys went to bed and Drew went home. We had a cup of tea and a little something and played Scrabble. (Moo thinks she's on a roll!)

 

More highlights from New York....

MACY'S SHOP WINDOWS

Everything moved. It was all very clever and there many more too.

US

The last one is of Huffle being a Rap-hoodie-trousers-fell-down-type we saw plenty of on the Subway

LOVELY ARCHITECTURAL BITS ON BUILDINGS

CARLO'S BAKERY

STATEN ISLAND FERRY

ALICE IN WONDERLAND STATUE IN CENTRAL PARK

VIEW FROM PLANE COMING IN TO NEW YORK

MORE CHRYSLER BUILDING

 

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Beaurocratic Nonsense

The story from yesterday was that once we got into Pearson Airport, Toronto, we had to join a very long line. Moo was going out and we were due back at 9ish. We rang her to say we were held up but there was no reply. We had told her earlier that she could ask ClownRose to sit with the boys if she wanted to go out early. ClownRose did indeed sit with the boys (though they were fast asleep before she got there). While we were talking to Moo (who we found at the Royals house) and the Royals about how long we would be, we got pulled over and made to wait in a very long queue full of non-Canadian people in Immigration. Now when we first moved here over a year ago, we had to go through Immigration. I didn't like it then and I certainly didn't appreciate it last night. Moo went off to her New Years Eve party but couldn't relax because she was worried about us getting through the airport. I was worried about ClownRose having to sit in our house not knowing how long we would be. NoCustard, who was with Moo, kept texting me to see if we were okay and through yet, to keep Moo's mind at rest. The queue for Immigration did not go down very quickly because people kept being added to the front of the queue. We were getting madder and madder at this point. Eventually we got to the front and were interviewed by yet another a police officer. Same questions, where have we been, what did we do, blah blah, blah. Once we got through that, which incidentally was RANDOM, we had to then go through the baggage pickup. As we didn't have any bags we went straight for the exit only to be pulled over again and had to wait yet again to be interviewed by another officer who asked the same questions, this time targeting me and my bag. My bag was emptied and he questioned me about did I buy anything YES A COUPLE OF CHEAP T-SHIRTS. why didn't we declare it on our customs form? BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T WORTH ANYTHING. How much were they worth? NOT A LOT! What did you pay for them. OMG ABOUT $2! He looked through the purchases and shrugged. He let us go and said it was just RANDOM. I said I doubted that as we had been pulled over at every opportunity that day. They said I was unlucky. UNLUCKY? The beaurocratic !!!!!!!!!'s. I felt truly humiliated and it ruined the end of a lovely break. We think it was because we were English or at least NOT CANADIAN. Huffle asked the last one if we would have to go through this if we were permanent residents. He didn't really answer. I was really upset and angry and it made it a rubbish New Years Eve for us all. I felt like we were being punished because they had to work for New Year's Eve and they wanted to keep us there for as long as possible.

We came home. Relieved ClownRose of her duties (I wouldn't have left the boys happily with anyone else and I am so grateful she was free to sit with them). We packed her off with a couple of beers and a chunk of Christmas Cake and sat down and ate gingerbread and had a good old English cup of tea. We had no alcohol and only just happened to notice it was past midnight. We said Happy New Year to each other, watched a bit of TV and went to bed. We heard Moo come in sometime after 1am - she had had a good time but it was ruined by the airport business too. Apparently there are some photos of her dancing, I shall have to see if I can get them!

We slept very well although it was very quiet, not at all what we have been used to over the last few nights. There was a lone firework and the heating made some noises.

We had a lie-in this morning. Huffle emptied our cases while I showered. We gave the boys some clown noses and hats from our trip away.

We all had breakfast and I made Moo look through all 700+ photos - she was very pleased!! After breakfast the boys played on the Wii, Moo and I played Table Tennis and Huffle watched his beloved Stoke get beat by Mr Royal's team Man City.

Port Perry Tree, Ducky and Cyril in our garden

Temperature was -9. We got our snow stuff stuff on and drove to Port Perry. The snow was really deep and powdery. Lovely to walk in. The restaurant we were going to was closed. In fact everywhere was closed today. The boys went on the park and we walked along the lake. The lake was very frozen and a man was kite surfing or boarding on it. A few people were running in it. Huffle and I didn't like it and didn't want to go on. Moo took the boys on it a bit and Small came off soon after when he saw a crack.

Smallest on the park, the Lake absolutely covered in thick ice, Moo and the boys ON the ice, all of us

Huffle took the boys back to the park and Moo and I went to see what day the restaurant opened again. On the way we found another place open and we all went in there instead. It was nice. We had loads to eat. The boys got to try soups they wouldn't have normally ordered and Moo and I had a crustless quiche. Huffle had Chicken Pot Pie. Moo and I toasted the New Year with a cheeky glass of red each and we all had a lovely pudding. We walked back towards the lake and played in the snow. Snow angels, snowballing, jumping, writing, rolling. It was good fun.

Silly Moo and her falling downs!

An impromptu band in the bandstand, Small throwing snowballs, Moo and Smallest, Huffle and Smallest

We drove back home and Moo and I went and had a cup of tea with the Royals (and tried to sort out their Skype) until their son and Grandkids arrived. Huffle and the boys played outside and then we all came in. Small had a Spirograph type thing for Chrstmas so we played with that for a while and Smallest coloured in.

The boys had tea in front of the TV, Moo did her crossword, I blogged and Huffle looked through all the coupons in the paper. Huffle and Moo played table tennis (she is out of practice since we went away).

Yesterday I hated being here in this country and I so much wanted to be home in England. Now after a day in the lovely snow with my lovely family, I am feeling happier. The situation at the airport has made me wary of travelling out of Canada though. If we have to go through that everytime I will be very unhappy.

Me and Small - we look cold because it was cold

Small sitting in the snow - I think I might have pushed him!

Smallest playing with his ice wand.

 

Some highlights from New York.

FLAT IRON

 

CHRYSLER BUILDING

 

THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM

The film I remember being inside this building was Mr Poppers Penguins

 

THE SKYLINE

THE LIGHTS AT NIGHT

THE CHARACTERS

Maybe more to follow tomorrow....

 

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

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