Most of November

I've been a little lax about this blogging gig. Haven't the energy as of late to be quippy about daily happenings. My life is much like your life. You don't really want to hear about me doing mountains of laundry or the mundane life as a stay at home mom of a preschooler, or MOP, really, who likes calling themselves that? And it's like anything you procrastinate on, the longer you put it off, the more daunting the task it becomes.

So, I'll roll out the highlight reel for those who want to be in the know:

Olive is obsessed with the computer. Somewhere in the last month she has mastered windows. Fine motor skills not only open and close applications, she is able to run and create on paint, run Skype, start up Sesame Street on-line, and type her name from memory. I'm just waiting for her to lock us out of the computer... it's only a matter of time.

As for Events/Happenings and the like. We participated in Bonfire Night on Nov 5th. In loving memory of Guy Fawkes, we took in the sights in Cambridge. Fireworks in the fall don't have the same feel as a warm late July night on a blanket in the grass. We stood in the pouring rain, cold, and huddle in mass in the mud to watch the blast 100 meters away. LOUD. Olive wasn't pleased. Beautiful low display. She's more enamored with the idea of fireworks now then she was then. Afterward, the bonfire was lit (nothing says class like burning 100s of wooden pallets on the park lawn) and we were able to warm up a bit before taking our sodden selves home.

We're still trying to keep to our weekend walks, but the weather change has made it a little more challenging for O. Fall is all but done here and it's dark by 4:30pm making for interesting biorhythms in us all. (sorry Oma, I did end up getting the "ugly coat" but it's been a fantastic one :) Have seen some huge rabbit holes about. I now know why Lewis Carroll had Alice fall down one. Olive was quite put out pretending that Her rabbit, Lakewood, lived there.

(photo is of Josh and Olive jumping trying to reach the tail)

We did finally manage a trip to London. The draw? Harry Potter of course. Thursday the 11th we took the train down to London to stop by the World premier of HP DH1 (as Josh calls it). We just saw the crowds and set-up. There were people who had been camped outside the theater since Tuesday. We made it home in time to watch the red carpet hoo-ha on-line. Olive now is very interested in HP. Even commemorated the event by making a ceramic tile with Josh. On the same trip, we were able to squeeze in a few sections of the Natural History Museum. Dino fossils were a hit. Live action T-Rex Robot, not so much. O wasn't having it. Still a bit bothered by it when we read her dino books... "is that the robot? turn page NOW"


And, Done. Sorry, I feel like long post are like essays and should have a concluding paragraph to wrap it all up nicely. Too much pressure and thought for late night updates. With this thought I end.

Halloween Weekend

Highlights from this weekend include:

*Trick-or-Treating on Lakenheath AFB- kids queued to get candy with a assembly line like efficiency with no door knocking involved or explanation of costume. A bit of a disappointment since I wanted to show off Olive and my creativity with a little neighborly howdy-do. Olive wanted to be an Angelfish-Cat, so below is what we came up with for a costume. She picket out the fabric - purple satin with rainbow sequins. Oma stitched together the dress and I put together the flair via O's careful instructions. My cousin helped by suggesting the parental costumes, hence the cat and angel fish. You get the picture. Josh's make up job is all Olive if you couldn't tell.

*O has eaten candy that has NEVER been permitted before- so far Sour Patch Kids and Skittles have been consumed. Tonight's menu already has M&Ms planned.

*Had a whopping TWO trick-or-treaters here on Broomstick Corner. O was pleased as punch to answer the door and give them candy.

*Went on our Sunday walk on Saturday to find the ruins of a Castle.

Here you'll see the earthworks that are left and the current residence are a bit woolly. Lovely fall weather made the day so much nicer and now can check another local footpath off the list.



*Made our 2nd trip to Ikea since being in country and left with spending under 20 pounds. The store is as overwhelming as ever. Did spend about 8 minutes in an ASDA. It's in the wal*mart family. As Josh said- a wal*mart is a wal*mart the world over. Don't know if they have a People of ASDA website though.

*And the rest of the time has been simple things like enjoying the fall colours and eating gingerbread. Here's to enjoying fall for as long as it lasts!