Anna is chillin'

We have spent many lovely afternoons with our friends in Lanchester. Anna, Thomas and Iain play happily with the two girls, ages 3 and 5, and the five children have the sorts of disputes kids only have once they're familiar with one another. Treating each other like siblings isn't always a good thing!

But here Anna is just enjoying the warmth of the room and the pleasantness of the setting--and displays perfectly the way we all feel when we spend time with them!

The miracle of the loaves

I have no idea what possessed me to make biga (non-sourdough starter--check out the Il Fornaio baking book) yesterday, but when it started taking over the refrigerator, I had to do something. After all, the fridge is not that big. Time to bake some bread.

This is a project Thomas enjoys. I knew that already. For a change, I thought I'd try doing it at the dining room table, so I could get everybody involved. And--wonder of wonders!--it worked. Apart from Iain eating the flour (go figure), that is. All three kids really liked playing with the dough and occasionally observing that I was doing something rather different with it. (It's called 'kneading', kids.) Anna copied me for a while, then seemed to think that shaping the dough would be more interesting. Hey, whatever. As long as you're happy.

And they were happy. Lewis and Tommy talked about Cassian across the table while I kneaded and the kids played. More than twenty minutes of sheer domestic bliss.

All it took was a bag of flour and the willingness to see it spread liberally around the dining room.

Snow day 3

It sounds like a sequel with a tired plot, but we managed to do something new. Iain is standing in the foundation of a snow fort, which we're building today. Amazing--we've never seen this much snow before!

Last year, when we were planning for the move to Durham, Thomas remarked that he wanted to move to England. Why? I asked. 'Because it snows there,' was the reply. And here we were worried that we might not get much snow this winter. Durham usually gets a bit, probably more than Atlanta, but not usually enough to build a good snowman (or snow-woman, if you prefer). Needless to say, Thomas has enjoyed himself thoroughly in the 6-8 inches of snow we've had over the past 3 weeks.

Everyone's best guess is that schools will be closed again tomorrow. Maybe we'll finish the snow fort and pretend we're on the ice planet, Hoth. If only we could get some Ton-tons...

still more snow

Anna, Thomas and Iain were all home again today. Most likely they will be tomorrow as well. That's bad news for parents, of course, who should be back to work (and hard at work); it is good news for the kids, who will probably be treated to sledding (or sledging, as the locals call it) if this keeps up. Eventually, one just has to give up being frustrated at the situation and accept the snow days.

I don't think we're there yet, but we'll keep you posted.

Snow days

Durham, England is slightly better prepared for snow than Atlanta. But that's not saying much. The news of the day is that Anna's school bus (a minibus hired from a taxi company) wasn't running today: the bus driver called just after Lewis left with Thomas and Iain to say that the smaller roads hadn't been gritted, the bus was having trouble getting around, and so it seemed unsafe to proceed.

Not again! Anna finally got to school (don't ask--Lewis doesn't want to see the inside of a car again for a while) and we got to work around 10; left just after 2 because my office was freezing and Lewis was picking up Anna at 3 and then Thomas at 3.15.

Some more snow fell this afternoon and he got stuck in it, arriving home just before 5. That's right, 5.

Tomorrow we may just stay home!

Shortest school day ever!

The day started out well, for the first day back. Everyone was ready to go on time, and Lewis was even able to get the car out. The school bus arrived early to pick up Anna, and I was headed out the door cheerfully, ready for the long walk to my office.

It is colder this morning than it has been, but the roads are clear, and traffic zoomed past me as I stomped through the snow in my hiking boots. (Lewis later remarked that in my long coat, colorful hat and scarf, and heavy boots, I looked like a Russian peasant. I couldn't possibly comment on that.) I stopped to take a couple of photos on my iPhone, not having been out that way at this time of the morning since the snow fell. The fields are still blanketed with snow, and the sky behind the trees along the horizon glowed pink. What a great day to be out, I thought, as I continued on my way, listening to my favorite music and being generally grateful to live in such a beautiful place.

Then Lewis rang to say that Thomas wouldn't be in school after all. Bring him to my office, I said, undaunted. There's plenty for him to do, and I can get started on some work and take him home around lunchtime. I crossed the roundabout and was just about to head up the big hill that takes me toward the University when the phone rang again. This time it was Anna's school, calling to say that the buses couldn't get into the car park, and Anna was going to be returning home. I suppose I must have sounded puzzled, because the school secretary explained that health and safety regulations prohibit children from crossing the school car park in the snow.

Whatever.

I guess the school holidays just got a little bit longer. Come to think of it, I wasn't actually sad to see them go.

more snow!

We have even more snow (so my hopes for driving to school on clear roads tomorrow are dashed), and more photos, of course.

The children all seem happy to be going back to school tomorrow, though I am not looking forward to getting everyone out of the door at the appointed time. Two weeks' vacation has left our morning routine a bit rusty!

Snowy new year!

Click here for the rest of the photos.

Having grown up in Southern California makes living through a snowy Christmas and New Year something magical. After many, many Decembers of listening to songs about a white Christmas or a winter wonderland, I find myself stepping out into it. Strangest of all, I have discovered that I really like winter, even if it does sometimes involve sleet.

The past two weeks have been full of snowball fights, walks (and even a couple of runs) in the snow, curling up by the warm fire and feeling totally deserving of cups of hot chocolate. After all, it is the perfect weather for it! The school holidays have improved dramatically since the frenzy of Christmas preparations and after-Christmas cleanup have ended. Although I am looking forward to getting back to the work I enjoy, for the first time in a long, long time, I will be sad to see the kids go back to school. Not to say that these two weeks have been characterized entirely by cheerfulness and cooperation. Arguments, whining and complaining haven't taken a vacation--but at least they're balanced by some shows of good sportsmanship (sorry--is there a gender-neutral term for that?) and plenty of family fun.

...not to mention about 10 showings of Monsters vs. Aliens.

Happy New Year!