dreaming of a white christmas?

No need to dream, we've got a spare bed and plenty of snow. It started on Tuesday and snowed through Wednesday. The temperature yesterday and today has been well below freezing, so the white stuff is like new. Today, the wind has picked up, making the weather perfect for viewing from inside with something hot to drink and new presents to play with, which is just what we are doing. Paul and I are checking out all the new features on the XBOX 360 that Mom and Dad bought for us, and Tim is discovering all there is to discover of his many new toys.

the snowplows don't come through neighborhoods, so we'll have snow on our street until the weather changes

our front porch adorned with decorations borrowed from my mother and father

the view of our street from our front porch

the heads on the reindeer at our neighbor's house move

the tree, house, and candle get put up high every evening when tim finds them too interesting to leave alone

16:00 and tim is still delighted with his train table

twas the night before christmas

and all through the house...



After at least four hours of work, little trouble, and no aggravation, we have the train table put together, a gift for Timothy from Gee Gee and Gramps. Because Timothy doesn't go to sleep until 9:00 or sometimes 10:00, we let him help us. I don't imagine that it would have gone so smoothly at 01:00. Tim helped put some of the screws in their holes and used the screwdriver. He did most of the unpacking, except for the parts like the trains themselves, which we hid from him. He'll get those in the morning when he comes down to find it all set up and ready for play. When he went to bed, it was still only partially finished. Mostly, he played with whatever was at hand: packaging, table parts, track, tools. He enjoys being part of the action most of all.

Paul and I are looking forward to Christmas morning in a way that we haven't since we were children ourselves. Tim's delight with presents and toys has brought the magic of Christmas back to us.

car trouble

Paul got a new job and starts tomorrow, 7 December. His last day at the old job was Thursday, 3 December. We decided to take advantage of a much needed and very rare long weekend to go to Breckenridge and enjoy a couple of days in the condo of our friends. The slopes have only been open for a few weeks and most of them are still closed, but Paul's got a season pass and has been itching to break it in. I have no desire to ski at eight months pregnant but am quite happy hanging out in the condo.

Friday morning started clear and sunny, although cold. Tim 'helped' us pack our stuff into the car but mostly ran around the TV room in excitement. He loves to go places. We set off feeling smug as we enjoyed empty roads; everyone else was at work. Our car, a Subaru Outback which we bought very used a little over a year ago, has been a real work horse for us, but all of that came to an abrupt halt just as we entered the Eisenhower tunnel when the temperature gauge went as far into the red as it can go. We pulled over just outside the tunnel and let it cool then babied it down the mountain and to a Grease Monkey in Silverthorne. They sent us to a garage next door who sent us to the Subaru dealership. It would be hours before they could look at it, but they supplied us with a driver and a ride to our condo thirty minutes away. Paul got in a couple of hours of skiing, and Tim and I enjoyed eggnog and the fire.

not a lot of snow on the slopes, but enough to make it worth the trip

We got the call just before dinner that the diagnostic reading suggested a coolant leak into one of the cylinders but that they wouldn't know for sure until they took it all apart, something that would take at least six days. You can imagine the light-sucking, joy-killing moments that we had just after that call.

Mom and Dad to the rescue. Saturday morning, they rented a tow dolly in Fort Collins. Their Subaru isn't big enough to tow our Subaru, but Dad's SSR truck is. Unfortunately, it only holds two people, so he drove it and Mom drove their Subaru. Paul hit the slopes at 09:00 and got in a few hours of skiing. Two bull moose ate their lunch just outside our condo. Can't beat that!

the moose as seen from our living room window

the moose were so uninterested in people that paul was able to walk across the ski run to the edge of the vegetation for this shot

By 13:30, we were all at the Subaru dealership loading our car onto the dolly and feeling like things were in control. As Dad and Paul strapped the front tires down, an employee of the dealership happened by and told us that because our car was an all-wheel drive, we couldn't tow it with the rear wheels down. Our car manual confirmed this when we looked it up and again the light-sucking, joy-killing moments returned. The employee was helpful and gave us the phone number to a rental place, which we called and which luckily had a car trailer for rent. Even better, they were located across the street from the dealership.

Three hours later, at about the time that the lifts closed for the day, we pulled onto I70 and entered the Eisenhower tunnel just as the sun set. Paul and Dad towed our car in Dad's truck, and Mom, Tim and I towed the empty tow dolly in their Subaru. The rental agent in Silverthorne was willing to let us leave the tow dolly there, but the man Dad rented it from in Fort Collins, Eddie, was not cooperative on the phone. Dad described him as a man having only one visible tooth. It was a slow but uneventful drive home. As we went to bed Saturday night, the snow was coming down heavily. The skiing on Sunday will be the best yet this year, but driving home in it would be stressful, no impossible, so it's better we're here.

This morning the snow is falling just as heavily as it was last night. It's difficult to distinguish where front yards stop and streets begin, as there's been no traffic on foot or car to give the eye some sense of dimension. Paul got up early, and while Timothy and I slept, he shoveled the walk and left to return the rental equipment and leave our car at the shop to be discovered and torn apart on Monday. Hopefully, the news will be better than the worst case scenario we were given in Silverthorne.

our car on the trailer behind dad's truck in front of their house sunday morning

What is it about the end of my pregnancies and car troubles?

The up side is that Paul is no longer employed at that train wreck of a company that was slowly sucking the life out him, he's looking forward to a new start at a new place tomorrow, Paul got to break in his season ski pass, we saw two moose up close and from the comfort of the living room, it's only Sunday morning and we feel like we've been away from home for a week so the weekend seems elongated, it's snowing too hard to do anything other than sip cocoa and watch it fall, so after running our errands in the morning, we have a great excuse to cuddle up in our cozy house and enjoy the day.

thanksgiving 2009

Instead of getting together with the extended family, we had a quiet meal at home. Paul only had the day off and we wanted to spend it with Timothy. It was a gorgeous sunny day. Tim and Paul played outside and each of us took a walk with Tim while the other had some 'me' time.


i think it's easy to see what i'm thankful for on this holiday

i cooked traditional dishes

the place mats from jenny and neville may not be traditional but don't they look nice?

our house 2

We moved in on August 21st, and we still aren't settled. Besides the big things like new carpet, there are all the little annoying things to be done like organizing the shelves in the closets, sorting through Tim's old clothes to get them ready for the baby, and fixing the holes in the walls from where we've removed drapes, shelves, or pictures. This weekend, though, we got enough done to feel like we can share some photos. Keep in mind that the carpet will go one of these days. It's circa 1988, high-low, in a strange shade of either blue or gray depending on your perspective. It's too bad the color is so intolerable to us because it's thick and bouncy, a very nice grade of carpet, and perfect for cushioning little boys who fall down.

The house is a split level, which means that the three different floors are not stacked on top of one another but placed beside each other, sort of. If you haven't been in one, it's hard to imagine, but they are very common in Colorado. The main floor is accessed by the front and back door. On it are the kitchen and combined dining/family room. If you look at the photo below, the front door, front windows, side bay window, and porch are on this level. The ceilings in these rooms are vaulted as there is no floor above them. The basement is below them.

front and west side of house

We made two changes to this level within the first week of moving in, which had a significant impact on the feel of the place. The obvious change is painting the blue wall a warmer and softer tan. It had the effect of making the room feel bigger, yet more inviting. The second change, which we feel was even more dramatic, but which doesn't appear so in the photos, is that we moved the wooden cupboards above the kitchen bar from below the crossbeam to above the crossbeam. This opened up the kitchen making it feel like one large room.

this is the living room, dining room, and kitchen prior to purchase

this was taken just after we moved in. tim claimed it straight away

this is how it looks now. my friend, jen, has given us a new light fixture to replace that hideous brass and glass thing. eventually we'll get some bar stools with some style, and the dream is to replace the work surfaces and cooker.

The TV room is our favorite room. The layout allows both the TV and the fireplace to be focal points, and the room is large enough that the decadently huge 50 inch TV doesn't dominate. The gate will come down someday, when little boys no longer insist on turning the knobs on the stereo system. I call it the Africa room, as we've decided to put all the items that we, mostly Paul, have collected in Africa. The paintings, knick-knacks and masks come from South Africa, Tanzania, and Angola. Paul calls it an attempt at a sub-Saharan Africa theme. The exceptions are the rug, which I bought in Bulgaria, and one mask, which Paul got in Peru.

the tv room prior to purchase

the tv room after we moved in

the tv room now. we'll get some end tables and maybe a coffee table in the near future. new flooring will come someday...

This lower floor is accessed either through the garage or by going down a short flight of four stairs from the kitchen. There is a 1/2 bathroom just out of the photo in the upper right corner of the photos above. There is a coat closet across the short hall from this bathroom and the door to the garage. Behind the love seat on the right side of the photo is the staircase going to the basement.

this is the tv room as seen from the main floor. it might help you imagine what a split level is. the room is open to the main floor so that someone in the kitchen still feels like they are part of what is happening in the tv room. above the tv room is the master bedroom. along the banister on the tile floor, we keep a folding table. tim eats here and we pile all sorts of junk on it.

Upstairs are the three bedrooms. The master bedroom is in a state of constant mess, so we don't have any photos of it other than the one posted by the real estate agent prior to purchase.

pre-purchase master

We've got our bed in the same spot. The wall opposite the bed and out of the photos houses the doors to the large walk-in closet and the master bathroom. It's a big room with plenty of room for a bassinet and later a bed for the baby for his first six months of life. We don't like the green paint. Once we get it painted and organized, we'll post some pictures. The windows look out on the back garden.

In the hall between the master bedroom and the two other bedrooms is a bathroom and a linen closet. These rooms are directly above the garage. Tim's room is the largest of the two. I didn't choose his decorations, but rather used the things that he likes to decorate.

pre-purchase: they used it as a guest room

tim has a nice shade tree in the summer. in winter, he gets a good view of what's happening on the street.

the orange ribbon looking thing is a Hotwheels race track. it can be put together in a multitude of different ways. he is still sleeping in his crib, but we've removed the front side of it so that he can get in and out of bed on his own. the quilt that kelly made for him is covering the throw pillows from the sofa that we've placed there for when he falls out of bed. there is a safety gate at his door that we close at night. when he wakes, he doesn't make any noise until he gets to the gate, so if he is falling out of bed, it hasn't hurt him yet. he still doesn't sleep through the night.

My paternal grandmother made the quilt on the wall. He loves to point out the different machines. The helicopter is his favorite. His Great Aunt Cath made the quilt on the floor. It has a safari scene on the side showing. Tim makes animal sounds now when he points out the lion, monkey, snake and etc. He does this at least once a day. The other side is a patch work of vibrant colors that he particularly liked as an infant.

the previous owners used this room as an office

this photo was taken the day that we moved in. until recently, it's been piled with kids clothes, boxes, linens and such.

we've moved the changing table out of tim's room even though we still use it with him. we want to start making changes now so that they don't all come at once when the baby arrives, which might give him negative associations with the baby. we've got an air mattress set up in here now for nights when i can't sleep because of my pregnancy rhinitis or when tim comes to bed with us. we still need to hang some posters up in here, and we'll probably put up some low shelves like we've done in tim's room.



This photo was taken not long after we moved in. There is a gate on the east side (your left in this photo)of the house that opens to the back yard and a door from the garage on that side as well. The upstairs window that you see is the master bedroom and the two windows below that are in the TV room. The door is in the kitchen. The thing under the black cover is a gas grill that is attached to the gas for the house. Paul still uses a Weber when he wants to braai, but we do a lot of dinner meals on the gas grill because it's fast and easy.

Just after we bought the place, Dad flew us over to have a look at it from the air. It's hard to spot because of all the trees.

If the road is an 'L', our house is in the inner corner where the two lines of 'L' join together.

If you can't find the 'L' of our street, look for the nursery school with a brown roof and parking lot in the lower left hand side. follow the parking lot up until it intersects with a street. that's the bottom of the 'L' of our road. Our street is called Hampshire Square because it is a square, actually a rectangle. This is nice because we only get local traffic. The larger road on the left side of the photo is Drake, a major east/west road in Fort Collins.

the viners visit: stuart, laura, and james

Paul and Stuart have known each other since high school. Being Paul's flat mates in 2005-2006, they were the first of Paul's friends that I met. While I was living in London, they moved and bought a house in Leeds, and we made several trips to see them there, even helping with some of their DIY projects. They came to see us whenever they were in London. Laura fell pregnant the first time just one month before me, and James is exactly one month older than Tim. She's pregnant again as well, due in April. It was great to have them here, to watch the boys play together, and to spend time with people who are so easy to get along with.

stuart and james on the suspension bridge at the environmental center

laura and james having a cuddle at the environmental center

in front of jenny lake


jenny lake again

stuart and james on the dock

laura and james on the dock

While we were at the cabin, we had a bonfire near Jenny Lake. We roasted marshmallows, and I introduced them to s'mores, which are a sandwich made with a graham cracker (sweet), three pieces of chocolate bar (Hersheys), and a freshly roasted marshmallow. A mess, but so good that you want some more. Stuart and I took the boys inside after they'd had enough, and just as Paul and Laura were about to come inside, they heard animals on the hill across the lake. There was just enough light to make out two moose walking to the salt lick that Dad keeps there for them and the deer and elk. They talked of coming to get us but decided the animals would leave as soon as they moved so they just watched them. However, more moose arrived, so they joined us in the cabin. It was nearly dark, but there was enough light that all of us, including Timothy and James, saw all seven moose: three males with huge antlers and four either females or young. It was too dark and too far away for the cameras, so you have to take my word for it.

No trip to America's wild west is complete without a little gun shooting.

annie get your gun

she took some teasing about the position of her legs but i think she looks stunnig

yes, that's a handgun in stu's hand

serious business

While the Viners were here, we had all four seasons. They arrived and departed in snow, visited the cabin in fall, braaied in summer, and hung out in old town in spring.

having a braai in the back yard

Thanks for making the the journey out here Stuart, Laura, and James. We'll try to get your way in 2010.

cape town: the west coast and around cape town

We took a drive up the west coast to Langebaan, which boasts a stunning lagoon. We had a picnic lunch and then ate extra large pieces of cake at a charming inn. The day was hot and clear but the constant breeze kept us comfortable. The landscape took a dramatic turn almost immediately after we left Cape Town, a vast expanse of sand and scrub. We were treated with regular views of ostrich with their chicks but none of them were close enough for photos.

tim is running around an abandoned house that sits on a hill above the lagoon.

when he wasn't running around, he was eating sand and dirt, earning a case of worms for his effort

our picnic

this position allows him to get the optimum amount of dirt in his mouth and up his nose

Tim's Great Aunt Cath warned me about worms in the Western Cape, so I bought de-worming medication the morning that we departed. It can be given even if worms aren't detected. I didn't want to give it to him while we were traveling. Two days after returning home, he started to constantly scratch at his bum and was very restless at night, kicking and squirming. We never saw the worms, tiny white threads, but I'm sure that he had them. After the three-day dosage, his discomfort disappeared. Thanks Cath!

around cape town

Aunt Melissa organized a play date for Tim with the children, Sarah and Ollie, of two of her friends. We met them at the Blue Train, a small train that children can ride around a park beside the sea. The train was being repaired, but with a few rand from Grand-da, the men that were on duty pushed Tim up and down the platform. Lissa and Gran rode with him.

all aboard!

lissa and tim on the train



Sarah has a large vocabulary of animal sounds and through her example and the expert tutelage of Aunt Lissa, Tim began to produce 'roar' for lion and 'sssss' for snake on demand.

play date with Lissa's friends

tokai forest and the barnyard for lunch

Wanting to limit the amount of travel that Tim had to endure so close to the long flight, Jenny and Neville suggested an outing at Tokai forest. We planned to eat lunch there, but the restaurant was closed. We took a short walk through the lush forest of mostly alien and towering trees. We all decided that Tim looked like Christopher Robin as he walked along the path and, you guessed it, ate dirt.

christopher robin?

Because the Tokai restaurant was closed, we went to a farm with all kinds of animals for children to view. Tim was able to play in the large sand pit as well as see pigs, goats and all kinds of birds. It's the perfect place to take kids.

enjoying the animals with grand-da

the spur

The Spur is a restaurant in South Africa similar to Red Robin in the United States. They serve great burgers, and Tim recommends their milkshakes. The theme is an American West theme, dominated by pictures and statues of Native American Indians.


yummy milkshake

probably wouldn't get away with this in the america, but tim and i enjoyed it

The flight home was almost a replay of the flight over. The long flight from Jburg to DC had more people on board, so we didn't have as much space to spread out, but Tim did get his own seat, and we were in the section where there are just two seats: one on the isle and one window seat. He slept, but I didn't. Our stop in Dakar was interesting in that the plane was treated to a high security search. Every unoccupied seat was thoroughly searched, including removing the cushions. We also had to take our baggage out of the overhead bin and stand next to our seat with it. Obviously, the US has strict security procedures that South Africa doesn't have. The jet lag was a little easier. I do better going west than I do east. It helped that Tim was in his own bed and in his own room. Paul was a dear, getting up in the night and early in the morning even though he had to work. Being pregnant certainly made the travel and the jet lag harder, and I wouldn't do it again, but watching Tim with his family was worth every bit of lost sleep and every ache and pain. As the only grandchild, he is the chosen one. It was a joy beyond words to watch Tim with his Great-Gran. Every member of Paul's family lavished him with attention and love. Jenny and Neville, thank you for bringing us to Cape Town and giving us this priceless gift.