26 April 2009

Yesterday was Michael's first trip to London. We had an appointment to have Michael fitted for orthotics. On Friday he was sick with a sore throat and stayed home from school. We were very pleased that he recovered within 24 hours.



Michael's feet were traced, and a line drawn down the back of his ankle to his heel. He had a clear pronation, more pronounced on the right side. His feet were cast in foam that "felt like sand" and they will be molded and delivered through the post by mid week. We think that Michael will be a much happier walker with his new inserts.

Across the street from the Orthotics was a Tesco Express. We went in and bought sandwiches. Michael got the Egg salad and cress, Neil, the prawn, and I got a BLT. We got a big bunch of grapes and a water to share before hoofing it to the park and sitting by the pond to watch the ducks, swan, crane, and many pigeons. Once done eating, we walked to Madame Toussards. We have Merlin passes, which allow us visit many locations on an Annual pass, thus making the trip to Madame Toussards a reality, as I never wanted to visit it on a daily admission cost. As a benefit of the pass though, I am happy we went, and we had a good time posing with the creepy wax people. It also had a nice ride that took you through a display of british history, from the plague to present times. It was pretty sweet.

Afterwards, we took the tube to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground. The playground has a cafe, childrens restrooms, tepees, a water area, giant boat, and a handicapped accessable play structure. It is monitored by staff, completely enclosed with only one locked gate for entrance and exit, and no adults are allowed without children. This is strictly enforced, as when we were leaving a man who claimed to be joining his family was given quite a hard time by the attendant. This was one of the highlights of Michael's day, and he loved the giant ship, where you could even climp to the top of the mast and look out over the whole playground (see him in his orange shirt?). The fun was interrupted by a twisted ankle, so we sat and enjoyed some ice cream cones before heading toward the London Eye.

After leaving the park Mike had a bloody nose, a daily occurance as of late, and after getting him cleaned up we took a double decker bus to Westminster. We first walked over to Forbidden Planet to shop for comics. Then headed to McDonalds to get some dinner for the park at the London Eye. After eating, we got our London Eye passes and queued for our turn. The Eye is intimidating. It is very big. It is very slow. It can bring out the claustrophobic in me. I spent the first 2 minutes with a cotton mouth being mindful of my breathing to avoid hyperventilating, recovering fully to enjoy the majority of the ride. The views are fantastic. We even had the pleasure of watching an engagement in the car behind us. A man had booked the car privately and it was just him and her and an attendant that poured them champagne and they had cheese and crackers. When they got to the very top he got down on one knee and every one in our car cheered and clapped. It was fun.

We had wanted to go to the Aquarium, but they closed at 6 and we missed the last tour. Oh well! Leave that for another day. We were all very tired at the end of the day, deciding to quitely read on the trip home.

We had a great day!

Til next time.

23 April 2009

The highlight of my week was getting my new messenger tote. Handmade by Neil's cousin, see thewrendesign.com for more bags. They are really unique and fun! I have been using the bag for a few days now and I am definately becoming attached to it.

On Wednesday, we started off with a major cosmetic project. The front of the house was looking overgrown, so we pruned, cleaned out the bed, added a small border fence, edged the walkway, and cleaned the front door, mowing the lawn to finish it off. We are now chuckling as we watch the neighbor do the same.

Thursday, we took Michael to swimming lessons and then Neil went to work in London. Michael and I spent the day doing things around the house and it was quiet.

Friday was Michael's last day of swimming and he really made the most out of it. He finished his second week of lessons by completing ten meters! Great work Mike! Afterwards, we went to the library and chose our new books for the week, with Neil and I deciding that we would both check out the same book and read it simultaneously. Lucky for us, we tend to like the same genre and writing styles. It will be fun to compare our thoughts on this book. It is called Mister B. Gone, written by Clive Barker.

Saturday we went into Brighton at 7:30 to look at flats with Rod. We first went to breakfast at Carat's in Hove. I liked the restaurant. It was a really neat location and very clean. The guys really enjoyed thier breakfast and I thought mine was okay, the only issue for me was that I was expecting a canadian style hot ham and sliced tomatos and instead I got cold deli ham and stewed tomatos. It was good though for what it was. Next time I will order bacon and mushrooms!

We then went to the first flat on the list. This flat was my favorite. The views were absolutely astounding. Lots of light, but a lot of work needed to be done. Still, the bedrooms were large, the kitchen was unacceptable, but would be fabulous if it was moved and redone. In other words, the SPACE has tons of potential.

The second flat had loads of character, but the nature of the character seemed restrictive to improvement to me. Neil liked the second flat the most, as did Michael.

The third flat was a top level flat that had been refurbished enough that it needed little work done before moving in. It had an up to date kitchen and bath. Great views, but wasn't pleasant to view because 1. the people were home, and 2. They had a lot of stuff.

The fourth flat was really not even worth mentioning. It was overpriced and the kitchen had never been updated. It was also a one bedroom.

The fifth flat was in the same building that the fourth one was in. It had been refurbished extensively, but in my opinion in mostly wrong ways. The carpets were hotel like, dark and ornate. The kitchen had a multi color backsplash. The walls had been made to look like flowers were carved in stucco, the bath was nice. They knocked a wall out and combined the tub and toilet area, which was a great look, but all in all, you would just have to pull out all of these very niche improvments and make them more generically appealling.

Number 6 was probably last decorated in the 60's. It was overpriced, but had a fabulous layout, with two large bedrooms that were separate from the living area. It seemed to me that the kitchen was a bit small, but it may have been the layout and lack of proper space utilization. It had decent potential.

Finally, the seventh flat was done to the nines. I can't say that there was a single thing for you to finish. It was quite like being in a hotel! Everything was polished, clean, new, and stylish. Funny that having a look at something so complete makes you think it is a negative because there is nothing left to do!

It was loads of fun looking at the flats, particularly as an exercise for a foreigner to become aware of the subtle differences between the States and the UK. A massive difference in design is that the UK flats tend to open into a hallway, whereas the US flats will open into the living area. I found it quite odd to walk into a hallway as I think it presents distastefully. Another big difference was the realtors. The realtors here did not seem to be on the ball like the agents I have used in the U.S. Unlike the U.S., where you would have your own agent show you flats, here there is an agent for each flat and that agent is the one who does the showing. For having sole control over viewings of their real estate portfolio, you would think that they would be very familiar with the specs of the properties they show. Nope! It was odd.

Of course, no visit to Brighton would be complete without a stop at the comic store and the Lego store.

After viewings we kidnapped Uncle Rod and came back to the house. We ate dinner and after Mike went to bed we watched Taken, which was pretty good.

On Sunday we cleaned out the closet under the stairs, took recycling to the center, and worked some more in the garden, ending with a game of marbles. All in all a productive day before Neil took Rod back to Brighton.

Gardening is moving along. All of the seeds have decided to make their appearance, except for the standard tomato. We now have cherry tomatos, baby corn, cucumbers, beets, brussel sprouts, sunflowers and poppies. The bed was dug out and we have planted the cucumbers, corn and sprouts, as well as planting the cherry tomatos in pots. Our crown imperial is dying, so we dug it up and transplanted it for the time being to see if we can save it. Apparantly not a fan of clay soil, but the bleeding hearts are strong, the clemantis adequate, and the rose is the healthiest I have ever planted and is clearly taking advantage of the clay soil nutrients. It was not the easiest bed to dig up. Most of the issues were along the wall and the front of the bed. The roots of the grass and weeds at the end third of the bed were very strong, and it took a lot of work to pull up. On Sunday Rod suggested taking a string and pulling up the border fence to edge it straight. He edged and Mike picked up the clumps he cut out, while Neil worked on the last quarter of the bed to be finished and I knocked dirt of the grass clods into clay pots that we the tomatos and the sprouts in.

Still working on the sweater! It had taken the back burner with Michael out of school, but it is progressing slowly. I will be focusing extra time on it next week.

Til next time!

Happy Easter Week

We are in the home stretch for the Easter Holiday. Michael is still having loads of fun on his vacation. I am happy he has had this time to relax and get to know his new neighborhood and family. He has really been looking forward to the Mad Hatters Tea Party at the Venture Playground. He was very disappointed to find that "it had nothing to do with tea, and only making a hat, and he didn't even win a prize.", still, once he got over the disappointment I think he was happy for the experience and the group was even photographed for the newspaper, which we are now looking out for. I unfortunately was feeling quite ill, so Neil braved this event on his own. As always, he can be relied on for a photographic memoir.

We are excited to announce that Michael has learned to swim in the DEEP end of the pool! What a great leap of confidence! He has also begun to learn the crawl, and he is doing a fantastic job increasing his distance. We are very proud of Michael's swimming progess.

As an official boardgame geek, I have to say that this past week has been a real treat on the game front. Sure, it started out with a most deadly game of Monopoly. Rod clearly would have slaughtered us, but thankfully, it was time to make dinner and we had to pack it in. What was really fun about this game, was that it was on a South African board and we used Lego Batman figures as our pawns.

While we were on the subject of boardgames, I, ever opportunistically, introduced Ticket to Ride to Rod. The three of us played on Saturday evening, and then Michael joined us AND WON!!! on Sunday. We were all very impressed with his playstyle. He was very focused and would often reject our suggestions and plugg along with his own agenda. He won by no small margin. (the picture is not of our game. It was pulled from Boardgamegeek to illustrate the board)

The guys went on a marathon Lego build. Using all of the Lego that Mike has aquired since developing his Lego Batman passion, they diligently built vehicle after vehicle, until an amazing display of Lego genius was amassed. Michael sure is a lucky kid! (though I think that Neil and Rod liked making them as much as Michael did.)

Easter morning! Michael found a bag of goodies from the Easter bunny at the foot of his bed. After coming in to tell us about his find, he ran downstairs to show Uncle Rod the goodies. We hunted chocolate bunnies and eggs and then did the usual picture posing. The coolest thing was that we left a carrot out for the Easter bunny and when Mike was looking for his candy he found it partially gnawed!

Easter breakfast meant pancakes. Neil took on the cooking and made them from scratch, see for yourself what a great job he did with the pancakes!

We had loads of stuff to put on the pancakes. This is one of Rod's.

After Pancakes we decided to do a quick game of Heroscape. It was quickest for me, as I died almost immediately. Mike was out second, and the brothers began an epic battle ending with the death of Neil's skeleton dragon to Rod's green dragon.

It wasn't the most pleasant weather, but we decided to get out for a while and go for a walk. We drove to town center, according to the website, the Boots was open...(it wasn't). Then we went to the park and played for a few minutes.

We had the BEST banana bread and custard over the weekend too. I had never had custard like this before, and it was the perfect combination.

On Monday we went to the Market that is open on bank holiday Mondays in Worthing. We got 8 sirloin steaks, and walked around for a while, then we drove into Hove and walked around for a while more, stopping for a playground break. We went to the BEST fish and chips shop, and then Rod went back home and we drove back to Crawley, ending the very pleasent easter weekend.

On Tuesday Michael had his 10am swimming lesson before we drove down to Hove for our dental appointments. Michael did very well and he must wiggle his front teeth every night to try to get them to come out as soon as possible. Ianne also had some suggestions about his feet and eczema, so we are trying a new diet and soaps and creams for Mike. After only one day of the Aqueous cream there is already a significant improvement of his skin.

I am still working on the second sleeve of my sweater after having been slowed down quite a bit by a persisitant knotting problem (which I have thankfully resolved), and we have some cucumbers sprouting up to join the other members of our small but growing vegetable family.

Today I am ending with a glorious discovery I made yesterday after we went to the dentists. We had a late lunch at McDonalds. As we were walking up to the door I smelled a trace of something that I had not smelled since my late teens. It smelled like apple pie. FRIED apple pie. This is amazing because the Fried apple pie was replaced by the baked apple pie in 1992 in the United States. I had TRIED to like the baked apple pie, but it just never could replace the sinfully disgusting Fried pie. Well, sure enough, they had them...and I ATE one! First fried apple pie in 17 years! I didn't think I would ever have a chance to taste one again. I was in a very happy place :)

The Week (in pseudo order)

Laura H and I went to Croydon to do the Costco/Ikea trip. We ended up going to a chinese market, Wing Yip, where I found yummy dumplings that were almost as good as the ones we had in Highlands.

On Saturday morning Neil taught Mike how to make eggs and soldiers. It comprises a 5 minute egg and peices of liberally buttered toast strips that you dip in the gooey egg. He loved it.

Saturday we went to Brighton and had lunch with Rod and Ianne at Frank and Bennies at the Marina. I had my first taste of Cod and it was delicious. I liked it enough that it has made up for the very nasty Haddock experience I had with the first fish and chips I ate here. So, just in case you ever come here..go for the COD at the fish and chips shops! Michael is showing off his favorite game with Uncle Rod...the forehead game. We don't quite understand what it is all about but it sure is funny! It was very nice to meet Ianne, and she will be seeing us all next thursday as we have signed on with her for our dental work.

I know...I know...don't laugh at me. The things you do for kids! Once upon a time I used to be quite the soccer player, but times they have changed! Still, a fun Saturday afternoon kicking the ball around with Michael and later being joined by his friend and classmate. Neil and I played pretty regulary with Michael, and Rod managed to play TWO games. One with us, and another game with to young boys that looked quite competitive. This field and playground is across the street from us.

After the soocer (football) and playground time, we invited Michael's friend over for some play time and Neil and Rod went to pick up some food for a cook out. While we waited for the food to finish we did a little (tiny little) bit of gardening and then Mike and Rod went scooter riding. Our dinner was tasty and followed by trifle for desert and some Shrek watching.

Sunday we went to Goodwood Car show. This was primarily for Neil's and Iain's work, but we tagged along to have a family day out as well. We saw some fantastic cars! Including a 66 Buick, a Mercury, some camper vans and beetles. We also got the chance to take a tractor ride around the racetrack and watch the bi-planes take off and land.

On the trip back from Goodwood we went to Brighton, stopped at the Lego store to make Mike's legoman. This time he mad "Dr. Prosthetic" who has an amazing 3 heads! Mike and I had some fish and chips at the "best" fish and chips shop (according to Rod, and he was right). Neil and Rod had sandwiches, and then Mike scootered around some more.

Michael started swimming lessons on Monday. He is doing quite well! We go to the K2 Fitness center at 10am for his lessons, then we spend another hour or so swimming in the pool. The pool had two fabulous slides and Michael has become brave and slides down them all by himself!

Monday afternoon we spent at Tilgate park, which has a beautiful pond and a petting zoo (minus the petting). We had a nice walk, ice creams, and some time on the playground.

The maze at Tilgate

Mint cone

Finally, this morning, during Mike's swimming lesson, and while Neil swam laps, I finished one sleeve of the sweater I am crocheting. I only have one more sleeve and the collar now!

As of this morning, we have loads of beets (yuk), brussel sprouts, and sunflowers, and even a tiny sweet corn! Yay! We also have an arborist coming to take down the tree in the back yard sometime next week.

Til next time! :)