I can't comment on posts

Feeling frustrated - just read both posts from today but when I click to leave a comment, nothing happens!

I've spent the last half hour trying to get it to work and I cannot! So I give up. You'll just have to accept that I would have left a lovely comment - but now I'm just grumpy about the failure of technology!

P.s we're in Dublin!

Moving

I've now finished my writing course at tafe and decided that it was really good but I don't think it's what I want to do and getting into the industry is super hard because everyone is downsizing and the work is being sent overseas. So I'm going back to tafe to do a diploma of info tech networking and then I'll have the option to do the advanced dip the following year and the option to do the cisco certification at the end of the year too.

We got some news on Jarrad's health but it still doesn't explain his major health issues. I'll check with him before I post more about it though.

Jarrad and I signed a lease a week ago for a house in Truscott st, and since then have spent our days slowly moving furniture from 3 houses in to our place, with the help of Nanny, Mum, Jared and some friends Darren, Daniel and Ryan. We're pretty much settled in and have lots of unpacking to do as you can see.

 This is the dining room that we've turned into the study because it has the phone connection.

 These 2 are the hallway/entrance way

 The second bedroom (currently storage while we sort stuff out)

 The living room

 Kitchen

And the laundry and toilet are through there.

We have a big back yard with 2 lemon trees, apricots, pears, almonds, and 2 mystery fruit trees. One we don't have much of an idea what it could be and the other I think are cherry plums. 

A busy month

Good to read about everybody's comings and goings!

We've been keeping busy over this side of the world too. I can't believe that it's been more than a month since Mum went home, and I've had over two months of being forty. The week after we waved goodbye to Mum, Bruce spent a week in a tent. No, we didn't have a barney; he was working at the Green Man Festival making solar cells, batteries and woollen molecules. In the end, the molecules were made out of pom-poms rather than crocheted (but thanks for the prototypes, Mum!).

Bruce making a water molecule

The weekend after that, we enjoyed a very Welsh weekend - beer, bogs and Brecon. We spent Saturday evening tasting local ales at the inaugural Cardiff Brewfest.

Cardiff Brewfest

Then on Sunday morning we headed into the Brecon Beacons to watch some of the International Bog Snorkelling Championships.

Bog snorkelling championships

After a picnic lunch (in the car because it was starting to rain..) we headed across the hills (through Ministry of Defence land, around a rally and along some very winding single-track roads) to the Llandrindod Wells Steampunk Weekend. Apparently they'd had a whole "Victorian Week" (the era, not the place) and this was the final weekend. It was disappointing - no activities, only a couple of people in costume, and the heavens about to open. So instead of staying around for a few hours (for the music and fireworks), we drove back towards home and watched the latest Mission Impossible movie instead. :-)

The next week was fairly non-eventful, I took some leave and did nothing (ahh... doing nothing.. although I feel a bit guilty for not sorting out the photos from mum's trip..). B had to work as normal.
The weekend of 11-14 September our friends, Vicki & Steven, visited us in Cardiff. I collected them from Bristol airport on Friday afternoon and we had a lovely evening in playing Killer Bunnies.

Killer Bunnies game in progress

We had a relaxed start on Saturday - brunch and a few games of Forbidden Island (the game that Glenn introduced us to when we last visited). Vicki and Steven's visit was well-timed - it was the Millennium Centre's 10th birthday celebration, so we headed to the Bay for Ar Waith At Daith - A journey of Welsh myth and magic. The outside performance told the story of The Birth of Taliesin using puppets, storytelling, music, projection and pyrotechnics.

Ar Waith Ar Daith at Cardiff Bay

We explored Waterfall Country on Sunday. We packed a picnic, drove into the Brecon Beacons to the Waterfall Centre. We decided to take the shortest waterfall walk, the Elidir Trail - a trail past four waterfalls with a round trip distance of 4 kms. It was beautiful weather.. right up until we'd finished our picnic back at the car! Score!

Waterfalls on the Elidir Trail

Before Vicki and Stephen headed home on Monday, we popped over to Weston-Super-Mare to experience Dismaland - the depressing arty exhibit curated by Banksy. I'm hoping to get my photos sorted soonish so you can see more of the exhibition. It was such a busy (and fun) weekend!

Stephen & Vicki outside Dismaland

After another week of work, we drove up to visit B's folks - we were going to visit Grandad in the care-home but a number of the residents were ill, so no visitors were allowed. We still had a good visit with John and Gwen, so it wasn't all a waste.

As a belated birthday get-together, Vicki, Steven, Bruce and I travelled to the Black Forest in Germany last weekend to catch up with Angelika and James. Vicki, Angelika, James and I worked at Manchester University together seven years ago. James and Angelika moved to Waldkirch a few months ago, and with two small kids it seemed sensible that the rest of us would visit them.

We were only there for a long weekend, but still managed to pack a lot in. All of the things you'd expect from the Black Forest - beer, hiking, and Black Forest cake. In Waldkirch we ate home-made spatzel (a type of pasta), read books to the kiddies, went hiking on Kandel, drank champagne (for my belated birthday), and explored the lovely little town.

Waldkirch

We spent a day in Freiburg, wandering around the market and the Minster.

Freiburg

And on our final day in Germany, we went to the tourist-town of Triberg - cuckoo clocks, the highest waterfall in Germany, and tasty Black Forest cake. Yummo!

Triberg

What a great weekend!
So that catches me up.. Sorry for taking so long to get there!
Who next?

We (probably) have to move

Ah, beautiful, delicate irony. I becomes apparent that I spoke too soon when I confessed to feeling satisfied for the first time in years — within hours of my last post, our landlords called to tell us they’re selling our home.

We love living in this area, and our landlords have been brilliant: it is no exaggeration to say that they’re the first positive experience we’ve had, from either side of the rental market (and in two countries to boot). From the get-go they were accommodating (hyuk hyuk) — letting me view the property before it was officially available; waiting patiently for our security bond; organising all those typical rental-property things from afar whilst trying to get their own feet on the ground in a new country. Unfortunately (for us), they have indeed established themselves — and they're not coming back.

Hence the sale.

(Just to show how positive our experiences have been with them, they have even offered us “first dibs” on buying the property. We almost certainly can’t afford it, of course: property prices in Sydney are ridiculous. But we will be speaking to a financial planner once we’ve liquidated some pre-IPO stock-options of a certain Silicon Valley juggernaut, for some much needed advice.)

If we have to move, we’re hoping we can stay nearby — we want J to attend the school here, for one thing, and even if we can’t snap up this house we will be looking for a place to call our own sooner or later. Ideally we’ll even stay on the street — we’ve only recently started hanging out with our neighbours a few doors up (the Masons, would you believe?), and seeing our boy playing with the other kids “from the block” is a beautiful thing indeed.

This weekend has been both busy and eventful.

On Saturday Dee announced that we were having “a day off” — which translates to ONLY tidying up the house, a job which took some of Sunday too. Even as I undermine it, I have to admit that it was a pleasant change to have Dee skip yoga in the morning, and not have to rush off to swimming lessons for Jules.

Instead, we tidied (as mentioned) and took Jules to the toy-store (I forget what that was for, but he bought himself a mini Venus (Fireman Sam)) and we went for a late-ish lunch at the new Grill’d that has opened on Norton Street. Yum! I had a beer, which was possibly a mistake; continuing the clean-up job was definitely harder in the afternoon, and I didn’t get around to any more undercoating of the back porch.

… not that it matters, since our landlord rang while I was playing in Jules’ room. We rang her back, but already suspected the worst — they’re staying in France, and therefore selling 301 Nelson Street. (To be fair, I actually expected her to tell us that they were returning, and would therefore need us to move out. Either way, we’re moving.)

Today we got up at 6am to catch two trains to the start of the Blackmore’s Running Festival, aka the Sydney Marathon. Sure, we only ran the Bridge Run (9km in an official 1hr30something, but at an unofficial average Strava pace of 09:something min/km — and that’s pushing a pram!), but it was a good distance for the three of us and I was happy to see Dee cheering up after the news about “our” house.

I better go to bed, or I’ll get in trouble. If I can’t sleep — I’ve mixed a coffee with wine (not literally, mind you!) which may fight the exercise fatigue — then perhaps I’ll sneak back upstairs for some more writing.

Lily's birthday celebrations

We had a great weekend celebrating Lily's 4th birthday :) Friday night was dinner with Lisa and her family (Lil's favourite "dumperlings"). It was a good evening and nice to catch up with everyone before they headed to Horsham.

Saturday morning Lil got to open her presents, and then after Iaido we went out for lunch (Lils choice again- sushi this time!), and a doughnut (another thing Lil asked for :)

Sunday was party day! It was a teddy bears picnic themed party. Guests brought along their teddy, and we had a few activities. The kids made picnic baskets (which we later filled with party favors) and decorated bears, there was pass the parcel (with bear themed prizes), and cupcake decorating (where they were supposed to create bear faces... ;) And of course, the bear cake!

Everyone seemed to have lots of fun :) The weather was lovely! Perfect for sitting outside :) 

I had taken Lil to Target earlier in the week to chose a party dress for herself. She chose this cute top and skort combo... Even colour coordinated it on her own! :) 

Gordon St Gossip

It's been a while since we've posted, so here's a quick summary of our weeks now.

Monday Lily goes to Chinese playgroup.. it's a 2 hour immersion session, so they learn Chinese words while playing games and the like. It took her one session to decide she doesn't need Chez there, and to tell her "You can go now Mummy". She's made a few new best friends, not that she knows their names ;)

Then after school Ossie does his soccer class - an hour of games with between 8 and 15 kids aged 4 - 6. He's improving, especially his dribbling. His favourite game is called "Big Bear Little Bear", where the kids compete with the teachers to see who ends up with the most number of balls in their goal (the kids remain undefeated)

Tuesdays I have Iaido. We've been having some cold nights, so I'm happy if I can get 3 or 4 students in. Having got through the Seminar, and being a few months away from grading prep, it's a good chance to cover the more advanced stuff with them.

Some Wednesdays (or Fridays) Cheryl will take Lil to Tumble Tots, which is kind of a gym for little kids. Lil certainly applies her jumping and climbing skills from there back at home on the couch, her bed, the cupboard etc.

Thursdays Chez has Pilates in the morning, and Edith and Landon look after Lil. I remember Chez saying when she started how strong and graceful someone else there looked - now she's the one with new students telling her she's so strong and graceful.  

Friday isn't too busy.

Saturday morning I have Iaido again, with a 30 minute kids class followed by an hour seniors class. The kids are doing really well - I've got Trin, Isabelle and Ossie doing it. I try to focus on useful skills like balance and muscle endurance while teaching them the basics of the Hokushin katas and cutting. Then Ossie gets an hour on the iPad while I teach the seniors.

Then Sunday nights we have dinner with Edith and Landon.

Add to this the rigmarole of the school runs, grocery shopping, and work, and you can see it makes for a pretty busy week. It's good for the kids to have structured activities though.

Tonight I'm off to school with Os for a special night with kids and the men in their life. Last year after 90 minutes of games Ossie cried when he realised the promised pizza didn't include one he liked. He tells me this year he'll be more prepared for disappointment.

Tomorrow Lisa and the kids are coming over for dinner since they're missing Lil's birthday. I've worked out how to get Minecraft to run over the LAN on two computers with one account. I suspect that'll be Daria and Os taken care of.

Then Sunday is Lil's birthday party. We've got our friends coming over, plus a bunch of little kids. It's a Teddy Bear's Picnic (Lily's choice) Should be fun.

And that's us. Nowhere near as exciting as holidays or trips overseas but it keeps us out of trouble ;)

Mum's Five Week Pub Crawl

Sitting outside at the Rogers' place, enjoying the evening sun. Mum's inside getting changed into her travel clothes (including layers for the arrival in Melbourne). It's crazy to think that she's been here for five weeks! Send like yesterday that we were at Birmingham Airport to collect her. Although, as you will know from Mum's posts and watching fb, we've been able to fit in quite a bit since then. :-)

This week Mum's been hanging out with Gwen, B's mum. I had a two day meeting London and Cambridge and B has had long days getting ready for a festival, so we weren't going to be good company. I'll let Mum tell you what she and Gwen got up to - they certainly weren't idle! I arrived late Wednesday night and we had a girlie day on Thursday; Op-shopping (called charity shops over here) and then we all got our nails done. Would you believe that neither Mum nor Gwen had ever had their nails done in a salon before?! We got gel polish (also called shellac), so they should look lovely for at least two weeks. Hopefully. (What a good excuse to not do the dishes!)

Last week we explored north east England: Nottingham, York, Scarborough, Whitby and Derbyshire.

In Nottingham we went to the UK's oldest pub, The Old Trip to Jerusalem, as well as a pub in a church, the Pitcher and Piano. We had a wander around the city and found a beach - a temporary one with sand, deck chairs and a shark! We beat the crowds to Sherwood Forest the next morning, saw the Major Oak (it's about 1000 years old), bought ginger biscuits from Robin Hood's mate (well, he looked the part) and high-tailed it out before all of the kiddies descended (ah, school holidays). :-)

York is one of the few remaining walled cities. Lots of history! The Minster is amazing - it's like a cathedral but was a meeting place for the ministers.. (I forget the detail.. Mum or Bruce, do you remember?). We spent an hour being guided around the transept and then another exploring the undercroft - there was so much to see! Whilst in York we also walked on the city walks, wandered around the Shambles and took a ghost tour.

Our seaside day took us to Scarborough, where we walked along the prom, saw a fair (are you going?), had a go on the penny arcade machines and paddled in the (very cold) sea. From there we headed up to Whitby and spent the afternoon there. Whitby was the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula and also where James Cook did his sailing apprenticeship. We explored the Abbey ruins (with an audio tour), walked down 199 steps into town, wandered across the bridge and up a steep hill to the Whale Bones and Cook memorial, and finally took a short cruise on a mini version of the ship Endeavour. At the end of the day we had to walk back up all of those steps to get back to the car! Phew!

We stopped a few times on the way back to the West Midlands. First stop, Chesterfield - market town with a cool church spire. Second stop, The Heights of Abraham - a cable-car ride up a mountain, tours of old lead mines, a spot of history and some beautiful views. Final stop, Goathland - tiny little town in Derbyshire, also known as Aidensfield (from tv's Heartbeat) and the pub makes really tasty alcoholic floats (ie spiders). We made it back to Brum just in time for dinner. ;-)

Saturday took us back into Wales - but just for the day. We headed towards Llangollen for a boat ride across the Pontcysyllte Aquaduct -amazing engineering by Thomas Telford!  A picnic feast by Horseshoe Falls, and a quick stop in town filled the rest of the day (we even got to say hi to Thomas the Tank).

That's enough for now.. I'll post photos once I get them sorted (but it might be some time - they're are quite a few!). Mum's on the plane now - she'll be home on Monday.

What have the rest of you been up to lately?

Situation report: Dome 301

It's been so long since we posted that I can't even remember what we've been up to. All the usual stuff - work, wanting a holiday, swimming, housework, and exploring Sydney when we can.

For a while we were all sick with (at least one each of) pneumonia, 'flu, "slap face", sinusitis... It was not a happy couple of weeks. Things have improved since then, thankfully, and we've been training for the swiftly approaching City2Surf. So far we've each done at least 5km in a single run - Dee even ran from her work to Bondi!

Oh, except I seem to be allergic to something - I've come out in a rash on my arms and chest. Responding to antihistamines and some cream I found in the medicine cabinet...

Dee's brother Chris visited this weekend, which was a great excuse to visit a couple of the microbreweries in the Inner West (I hope it's not craft beer that I'm allergic to!) and check out the beaches. A beautiful spot, although the fish and chips were pretty ordinary. Jules and I had a ride on a little train ("I was a bit scared," he told me afterwards.)

Back at work and looking forward to a break, if we can afford it, in September.

Madness as usual

Sorry I didn't check this sooner or call you mum, since I spent all day yesterday home in the girls' room. Oh well.
Yes, school holidays. I'm assuming I passed my last placement and will be right to continue with Diploma next semester. I ended up working the last Friday of school then did an 8 hour day on Monday as well. The first Saturday of the holidays we ended up over at the Parker's for the night and I showed Belinda how to make snowflakes for Ella's Frozen party. Sunday I was feeling exhausted, we went to bed around 1am and I've been feeling full up with a head cold since finishing placement. As a result I missed going to Craft Alive but I wanted to rest up for work. It was freezing Monday morning, the car was iced over when I went to leave at 7.45am. I finished at 5pm after a day with 3-4 year olds which ended with an accident - yeah, cleaned up a poopy pre-kinder, ekk. Anyway, told them I couldn't do Tuesday (7.30am-4pm) and instead took the girls to see Inside Out at the cinema with Julie-Anne and Mitchell. Came home to cook, I made Ella's birthday cake, blue toffee to decorate it and blue fudge. Called Belinda, she was at Spotlight getting 40 balloons filled with helium so I packed up our stuff and met her there to help get the balloons back to her house. We stayed the night again and I decorated the cake, her sister had already helped decorate the house. Wednesday morning we were mostly ready for the party to start at 10.30 and I think it went really well. We would have stayed that night too but Trinity wanted to come home after tea. At least the house was put back together and tidied up.
I had 2 calls for work but really don't want to at this point, I stayed home Thursday and completely emptied the girls' room. I said anything without a home at the end of the day would be gone, but also emptied their wardrobe so now they have their clothes in there - previously it was full of toys and their clothes were in my room.
Today, Friday, Trinity had a dentist appointment at 9am, her last filling, now she's right for 12 months but next week we start with Daria's check up. We went from there to visit Julie-Anne and ended up having lunch with her. She was minding 2 extra boys so it was a full house. The girls have wanted to visit Adam and Connor all week so we planned to drop in and see how they were, but Belinda J asked me to watch her boys while she took her dog to the vet, so we left there around 3.30pm. The girls still wanted to visit the boys, we left there at 5pm. So a busy day today. Tomorrow we need groceries, will check out Damien's Iaido seminar before lunch, then the girls want to visit Adam and Connor again and sleep over. Sunday is the Lego Expo. No plans Monday but Tuesday Trinity has been invited to a birthday at Jumpz, we're having lunch with Nanna and co, and then Daria has a dentist appointment at 2pm.
School holidays... Busiest time of the year as far as I'm concerned lol

School holidays

School holidays! We enjoyed a good weekend together: shopping on Saturday, and a trip out to Atisha Centre and the Stupa on Sunday. Damien also took the kids over to Nanny's house for a play, and brought home the metal detector and totem tennis (they have been enjoying both! :)

Unfortunately the kids are both unwell now :( Lil had a high temp for about 24 hours, and both have a chesty cough. We'll have to skip a birthday party today, and if the kids are better I'll take them out for activities tomorrow. At least Os gets to do what he has been asking to: stay at home and play with his toys! :) Lil is happy enough watching her favourite shows, and I have been using this time at home to catch up on housework and... reading! An actual book! Haven't had time to do that in a while! I've also started work on a scrapbook for Oscar's school years. 

Damien has a big weekend ahead with the Iaido seminar he has organised. He'll be picking up Sensei Tao and his wife from Melbourne on Friday, train all day Saturday (followed by an Iaido dinner) and then drive them to the airport on Sunday. Busy times! Fingers crossed the kids will be well enough and we can join everyone for lunch and dinner on Sat.

So that's our holidays so far. Apart from that, Os received his mid-year school report (and had his parent teacher interview) and no surprises he is excelling in Maths! He is doing Maths with a group of grade 2 students :D He is also excelling at reading and is doing really well with spelling too. He still needs to work on his fine and gross motor skills, but after a chat with his class and PE teachers it seems that he is improving :)

10am. Better shower and then get onto that housework I said I was doing! ;) :D

Yay, mid year break!!

I'm on my mid year break currently and doing really well at TAFE, I've found doing less classes is less stressful and gives me more time to focus on my assessments. I picked up a bit of holiday work for 10 days at the eisteddfod which has been pretty good and relaxed as well as some experience for my resume and a little extra money. Other than that I haven't been up to much.

Jarrad's waiting for his appointment for scopes and a biopsy which will hopefully show something because we still don't know why he's sick, but it can be up to 90 days before we hear anything. His doctor still won't look at what might be wrong with his knees though because she thinks it's related to his stomach issues and doesn't think that any of it could be chronic fatigue, so depending on these results and what she says it might be doctor hunting time again.

Sunday Mum, Jarrad, the girls and I are going to the Lego expo again. We went last year and loved it, so I'll make sure to take lots of photos of all the cool Lego things :)

And relax..

After a month of what felt like non-stop work, I've had a very quiet week. I managed to take some time off (most of the week, in fact) and have achieved very little. This is a good thing!

This weekend we're at John & Gwen's - we're all going to see Elton John at Walsall Football Stadium tonight. :-) I've heard that he has a very good live show, so it should be fun even though it's raining!

We've been shopping this morning, picking up some random bits and pieces ready for Glastonbury (at the end of the month) and summer (hopefully arriving soon). Tomorrow we're going to Ikea for breakfast and bed shopping before heading back to Cardiff, and then it's back to the grindstone on Monday.

Been a good break for me though!

Yay for Bruce

Today B had an interview for his (next) job at Swansea University (how it came to this is a long story..) and I'm very happy to say that he got it! His post will continue until September, at which time there should be an extension for a year or two!

Needless to say, we're out celebrating with a tasty meal! We're also going to see the Woman in Black at the theatre (edit: Not as scary as i was expecting.. Apparently you have to be down in the stalls for the full effect, we were above that in the circle).

Hope everyone is happy!

Gordon St Gossip

It's been a big couple of weeks.

I took on an illustration job for d'Arenberg (along side my usual GDD stuff..) - they sent me a wine to drink, and then I had to draw something that I thought the wine represented. Payment was $500 worth of d'Arenberg wine. Nice reward, but it did mean all my spare time was taken up working.

We also had school holidays, and Chez has done an amazing job of keeping the kids entertained while I was at work. They did a bunch of activities (there was some good stuff on at the Marketplace - craft activities, a treasure hunt, digging for dinosaur bones) and nearly got eaten by a T-Rex ;)

Last weekend as well as the Easter fun times we also went on a trip to Hepburn Springs and went on a 1.5km bushwalk. The kids had great fun, even when clambering over trees that had fallen over the path. We got out to the spring but sadly it wasn't working, plus it was overrun with wasps. Then another 1.5km walk back, but the kids had plenty of energy and played on the playground.

We also checked out Scienceworks, which was good. The kids entry was free during the holidays.

Chez won a 1kg Easter Egg for giving feedback to the Marketplace about the aforementioned activities. Turns out that's a lot of chocolate (apparently we're all about chocolate and wine these holidays) so she's put some in biscuits and some in muffins. Another activity for the kids.

Then yesterday was an Iaido seminar in Melbourne, which turned into a very long day - I left home at 7am and returned at 8pm I think. A bunch of my students graded, and the Hokushin Victoria associate had it's AGM, the result of which is I'm now President.

And that's about it. Ossie's had school followed by soccer training today, and Chez took Lily to the gym. We're getting back into routine.

Who's up next?

Easter wanderings

Happy Easter everyone!

We've had a fairly quiet Easter this year.  Had a few drinks with a friend on Thursday night, so it was a relaxed start on Good Friday. Pancakes for brekki (not home made nor raising money for a good cause... But they were only 2p for four!) and then headed up to Wednesbury for Easter with B's fam. After a traditional Good Friday tea of fish & chips, we played Scattergories. Good fun and exercises the brain. ;-)

Yesterday we went to Ironbridge to see the oldest cast iron bridge in the world! It was built in 1779 and was the first metal bridge ever! It was essentially an ad for the versatility of iron and the skill of the locals. It's now a World Heritage sites in recognition of the contribution of the area to the birth of the Industrial Revolution. Lots of history! And good cupcakes too! ;-)

Today's been fairly quiet - B and I went for a walk along the local canal (I was foolishly trying to catch you lot in the weekend walking challenge).  It was a beautiful day and I took a few piccys along the way. We got back in time for Sunday Dinner - a proper roast with all the trimmings (including vege chicken fillets). Dinner was superbly cooked by Gwen and John and we were joined for the meal by Grandad (who will 104 next month). Thanks to food, wine, age and a general feeling of contentment, everyone dozed in front of the tele for a chunk of the afternoon! That's what Sundays are for, right?

We're on the way home now - attempting to miss the "end of Easter" traffic. If the sun stays out tomorrow, we might head to the Brecon Beacons to make the most of the long weekend.. But then it's back to work on Tuesday!

How was your Easter weekend?

Gordon St Gossip

Hi all, time for a post from us.

You've probably all seen by now that I rolled my ankle pretty badly last Monday. It's not broken, just pretty swollen and sore. That bit of excitement aside, I've been doing the usual - working, training etc. There's an Iaido grading coming up at the end of this month so I've been preparing my students for that. I'm also starting to organise the mid-year seminar, and teaching a couple of the Melbourne students on the side.

Cheryl's also been doing the usual - looking after the kids (and me now!) and getting to Pilates once a week. She's been teaching Lil to use the potty, and that's coming along really well. Oh, and walking. So much walking, thanks Dee for the Fitbit ;)

Ossie is enjoying school more this year. His favourite subject is Maths. I take him to a kids soccer class once a week to help him with his coordination (and confidence), and after some uncertainty and tears during the first lesson he's really gotten into it. I'm not a fan of forcing him to do something he doesn't want to, but in this case I think he needed the push - for the first few weeks he would complain and say he didn't want to go, but within 5 minutes was running around kicking the ball and loving it. Now he's keen to just get straight into it and start kicking goals.

Like I said Lil is learning to use the potty, and loves wearing jocks. She's got them on for most of the day now. Cheryl also takes her to a kids gym where she loves climbing, jumping and rolling around, and to the library for toddler sessions, with reading and singing. Actually, Lil loves to sing - she made up this song the other day (she was in her high chair and had finished dinner):

I want to hop down
That's what I really want
I want to hop down
All over the place
I want to hop doooooowwwwn.

Max sleeps all day.

Cardiff capers

Time flies! I can't believe that my last post was last year! ....actually, I can believe it but I'm not pleased about it. January was extremely busy - I talked to trainee teachers in Swansea, Aberystwyth, and Newport; a new Education Coordinator started in Bangor and I went up for induction; there was a team meeting in London and Cambridge with lots of new faces - the RSC education team has doubled since last year! Phew!

February was a very different beast - not away at all (I think)! Lots of office days have helped to get some of the paperwork under control and things are looking positive for the future - especially now there's two of us working in Wales. :-)

Speaking of Wales, last Sunday was Saint David's Day (1st March). B's folks were visiting and it was a lovely sunny day here in Cardiff, so we went in to town to see the parade. The parade started at the Town Hall (next to the museum - where we grabbed a cuppa beforehand). It wound through the town and finished in Cardiff Castle grounds. Entrance to the Castle was free for the day, so we got to watch the start and the end of the parade.


According to the St David's Day Parade website, the non-military parade is an opportunity for those who live in Wales, regardless of age, ethnic or social background, to join a dignified and imaginative celebration of Welsh heritage and culture. So there were lots of community groups in the parade this year: Welsh pipers, giant seagulls, choristers, and lots of people in traditional dress. :-) The rest of my photos are here.

From 2012

I really liked the home-made costumes - The dragons were some of my favourites - they were all so different (other than being red and black) and fabulous. I don't think the parade was impressive as the last time I saw it... mainly because they didn't have ANY of the giant puppets of famous Welsh people.

Wonder what next year's parade will be like.
:-)