the difference between a hostel and a hotel is more than the S

We didn't do much exploring of the train – since the doors don't lock one of us had to stay with the bags and exploring alone wasn't what we had in mind our first night.

I did explore to the toilet and learn how much fun it is using a squatter when on a moving, shifting train.

Back in our room, we got ready for bed and lay down. i changed into my pajama bottoms and janne elected to sleep in her jeans. i had brought two books (i couldn't live with the fear that i might finish one and then be left with nothing to read!) and gave one to janne to read. so we read for awhile, and then when my wrists started weaving back and forth, i announced i was off to sleep.

and i fell asleep quite quickly.

i woke up a few times during the night.

the first time, someone walked into our room. i am hoping it was an official person, but hey, no harm done. they shone the torch in my eyes, (hard not to in a room that size) and i struggled upright. "eh?" then they apologised and left.

the other times were when the train took a big turn. or stop, or something. i would lurch awake, and then not want to fall back asleep just yet, because i wanted to savour this adventure.

we were awake before daybreak. most of the train emptied around then, and we were pretty much alone for the last 90 minutes of our journey. we decided that everyone left on the train was a good person, and we decided to head to the "restaurant". but first, we decided to eat our own breakfast.

janne had packed grilled vegetarian sandwiches on thick ciabatta bread. they were excellent. it normally takes me at least an hour to eat after waking up, but by 45 minutes, i was eating away.

i realised that my companion and i were quite compatible. it took each of us minutes to get ready, no need for makeup, hair dryers, curling irons, etc. toothbrush is the extent of our beauty routine.

the restaurant cart was empty of patrons, but full of smoking train employees, all who looked stumped when my blonde haired friend and i trotted into view. they looked at each other and finally, the oldest person in the room spoke.

"you like?"

janne said, "coffee?"

and i replied, "cha". oh man did i want tea!

cha is something they understand and we were waved to a table, and seconds after sitting down, some VERY DARK tea was placed infront of us in very flimsy disposable cups. it was hot, and not bad. but it was definitely pu er tea. which aids in digestion, shall we say.

it was hot though, and we each had two cups. happy to say this did not come back and haunt us later.

we stood up to pay and were told "no! no!"

well allright! this vacation was turning out to be cheaper than we expected. my dad was going to be thrilled.

by 10am, a little over 90 minutes late, we pulled into our destination. our train had stopped at destinations that didn't have English signs, and i was a bit worried that we might miss our stop. but as we pulled in, i saw it, and cheered YAH. we grabbed our bags, and we were off.

coming out of the train station we saw a lineup of taxis. we had the address of where we needed to go, and their phone number, and we knew we were okay. i also knew we were a fair distance away so it was going to be a relatively expensive ride.

from the minute we stepped out of the station there were people offering us taxi's, but we just walked to the queue. from there, we held out our piece of paper and about three drivers looked at it. one pulled out his phone, made a call, and said, "I take you".

"okay" we said.

"very expensive" he warned us

"use meter!" we suggested.

"okay" he said.

he was the third taxi in the queue and nothing was happening.

janne and i instructed our driver to not start the meter until we started driving.

"okay" he said and lit up a smoke.

we were so tired of cigarettes.

after three minutes, we still hadn't moved. we suggested to the driver we would find another taxi, one at the front of the queue. our driver pushed his head out the window, and screeched in a very loud voice for the others to move. and they did, we started driving and the meter went down.

we were driving along when the driver pulled over at a roadside stand. and screeched at the lady working there. janne and i were fascinated. was she a girlfriend? was he telling her he was taking a long route with some dumb tourists, and would be back wayyy after dinner?

apparently not. he drove a few more metres, and stopped at another shop and screamed again. i looked at janne and said, "i bet he is the youngest child, with a voice like that." she agreed.

the shopkeeper brought out a pack of smokes and, interestingly, two packs of bark chew. we inspected the package carefully and it appears to be like chewing tobacco except it is pieces of bark. driver was on his way again.

he offered us a smoke, and was sad when we declined. he turned on music and began to sing. he was quite obviously enjoying his drive in teh country.

we drove through a village where a wedding ceremony was going on.

and finally, we arrived at the mountain.

we said goodbye to our taxi driver and he assured us that there was a truck coming for us, "in 10 minutes" no more.

we paid out entrance fee, and we started walking into the park,  which was stunningly beautiful. and then the van arrived and drove us to the hotel.

you understand this park was originally people's homes, but when the government took it over, they had to let people continue living there, and also provide the occasional hostel for tourists. most tourists stay outside the park, but janne and i wanted the real deal. so here we were, in the park, surrounded by 10 local homes, and at the hotel, which was really a hostel, SURPRISE! and had all the doors to the rooms open.

i thought that was a clever marketing trick to show people there were available rooms, since there was no electricity to have a nice flashing VACANCY sign. sadly not.

please know it was cold. even the sun was pale comfort.

we were given our room, by the lady who did not speak English but who was quite excited to show us there was a television. the room was impeccably clean, as was the toilet. interestingly, when you turned on the tap, the water went directly to the (squatter) toilet. not a bad idea actually.

um, the one thing about the pristine room was, that, well, IT WAS FREEZING.

when we booked the room they said the had an english speaking guide and the guide would be waiting for us.there was no guide!

this was a challenge.

janne took the bull by the horns, made a call, and arranged for an english speaking guide to be at our remote place by 4.30.

but it was just 1.30. were we just going to sit around for 3 hours?

no.

we locked up our room and headed back the way we came, looking for a little hike.

we were debating which way to go when we happened upon a lady who spoke a little english. she asked her guide what we should do. her guide suggested we flag down a bus and head to the top of a mountain. it was a clear day…take pictures.

it seemed like a good idea to us, but instead of WAITING for a bus, we decided to walk until a bus found us. 10 minutes later, a bus came chugging up a hill (our park entrance fee includes free bus passes) and we were happy campers.

the top of the mountain was glorious. let's all beg charles to post pictures. absolutely incredible. there werent' too many people, but many of them were quite willing to talk to us or about us. we were overwhelmed. we took pictures, and kept walking.

we were given wrong advice, to take the wrong bus once, but we made it back to our HOSTEL (man, the difference between one letter!) by 4.30 and there was our guide, Sherry.

in quick order, she worked out a few details for us, and planned our itinerary for us. by this time, now that we knew about the buses, we really didn't think we needed a guide, but that was okay. she would give us local information. we liked that. she would also give us directions to the bus station. we agreed on payment, and that was that.

it was now 5pm. darkness was descending. we knew we would have to be quick in finding dinner. we had actually decided what dinner was going to be – pot noodles and the bread we had bought in guangzhou. two pot noodles came to the princely sum of 8RMB.

we went back to our room. now what it was dark, it was freezing inside.

however, i had asked sherry to ask the receptionist what reasonable thing we could do about the cold. sherry had said for 15RMB we could rent electric blankets. DONE! i asked if we could rent four, and was told no.

we stripped the beds, put on the electric blanket, and turned it on. the lady told sherry to tell us that when we went to sleep we were to turn it off. YES OF COURSE we promised. meanwhile i am crossing everything, fingers, toes, and intestines, not because i want to lie, but also because i am so cold. thank goodness we had brought sleeping bags. janne and i considered sleeping in the same bed, but we reckoned we would be okay. we dressed in every single item of clothing we owned (excepting knickers and bras) and got under the covers.

our room had a kettle, so we made our pot noodles, sat down to our delicious meal, and afterwards we chatted. however, at around 7.30pm, something very odd happened…i started dozing off in the middle of our conversation.i was warming up nicely. inside was full of warm pot noodles and lovely bread, outside that electric blanket was doing it's work.

"i need to sleep" i informed janne, who was trying to plug in her phone so we would have an alarm in the morning. (we were meeting our guide at 6.30)

she turned around to talk to me about my phone charger, and i was asleep.

we both woke up around 2am, when a drug was ….giving birth or something ridiculously loud outside. it squealed and wrenched for about 10 minutes and then drove away. then i went back to sleep. at one point, i woke up and heard janne (good girl that she is) click off her electric blanket. she, the girl who smuggles fruit into china, was clicking off her blanket? seriously. me, i had no such qualms. the back of my neck was a bit sweaty, but i just took off my gloves and soon wasn't so warm. and we slept on.

 

 

 

Trip of a lifetime

here's a favourite poem of mine:

Ithaca

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon — do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would have never set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.

Constantine P. Cavafy (1911)

 

 

Last week I turned 41. In a typically generous move, my typically generous husband did not so much as raise an eyebrow when I told him I hoped to spend my birthday weekend hiking in middle China with my girlfriend Janne.

This much anticipated trip was a short one. We left Thursday afternoon. We travelled light, and ironically, almost identically. If we had conferenced beforehand, we would have been able to agree that ONE of us bring the medical kit and the OTHER pack torches. But better safe than sorry. We each carried one backpack and a bag. And headed for the train station.

We did last minute wees, and got in line for the train to Guangzhou. We had great seats, and even though everybody and their cousin smoked, we were off. for an adventure.

One of the reasons I have been wanting to take this trip so badly is because I have been feeling like I haven't done an adventure lately. I travelled to India by myself. Charles and I went to Nepal. I went to Costa Rica and found my cousin, even though I only knew the city she lived in.I love my life now

but I loved that life too.

And now we were going on adventure. Hiking in Hunan. We had a few arrangements, but this was inner China, and we knew we would be "roughing it". We couldn't wait.

Guangzhou was easy to get into, except my friend's criminal tendencies (OH THOSE DANISH) were revealed as she was stopped at the border for trying to smuggle in contraband items – three apples. The guard confiscated them and we reckon took them home. He certainly didn't dump them into the bin.

Our next move was to transfer train stations.  The subway is Guangzhou is easy to understand, clean and we had a map. We bought tokens no problem and were on our way. We had to transfer trains, and while we exited charmingly, we couldn't quite figure out which train to get on. We decided to ask a guard, who didn't speak English, but pointed to the other train. That doesn't count as getting lost does it?

We jumped on the train, made friends with a toothless old lady who wanted us to sit beside her, and a few stops later, we were at our new station.

Our train didn't leave until 8.20 and it was barely 6.50. What were we going to do? Sit in another smoky waiting room? HARDLY. We decided to take a little walk. We darted past the barrier and stepped into the massive square that many cross to head to the trains ticketing barriers.

Shenzhen is the chinese city i visit the most, and it is a bit of a truman show there. It is a massive city, but the parts I visit aren't really local. You get to Guangzhou and you do feel like you are in China. There were people carrying babies on carriers made of bamboo and cane. The babies were thrilled. And everyone was carrying a bucket. This was our mystery. Why is everyone carrying a bucket? But I suppose it makes sense. It can carry stuff, and you can turn it over and sit on it.

In the square, there were people selling food, plush toys, electronic yappy dogs, and many people just hanging around. Others were moving swiftly, headed to the train station, others were exiting from it.

Janne and I saw four fast food restaurants: two McDonalds, a KFC and a "kung Fu". She said, "this might be kenneth's favourite McDonalds!" Which one? One was very close. The other was past the impromptu food stalls and was across the freeway. We'd have to figure out how to get there. We could get lost, and we did have a train to catch.

"Well, we already know where this other one is, incase we can't find that one," I said, gesturing to the far away McDonalds. And she smiled, and replied, "I love it when you think like me."

We set off, and decided we were looking for a subway or overpass. As we were wending our way through the square, a delicious smell hit our nose. It was a type of flat bread, seasoned with coriander or sesame seeds. There were many such stalls. The sellers appeared to be originally from SErbia or Khazakstan.

We went under the Subway, across a street, and into the McDonalds, where my persuasive friend talked me into having my first Big Mac in years. If I eat at McDonalds I normally hoover up the kids nuggets. The McDonalds was massive and filled with the rising middle classes. Women in flowing robes, many african women, and obvious "office workers" with double layers of false lashes surrounded us, as did two teenage boys playing video games.

We visited the bathrooms (squatter again) and headed over to the train station. But first we bought the fantastic flat bread (with sesame street). Six massive pieces (about the size of a medium pizza base) were 4RMB, and included a bottle of water and a smaller sample bread. It was dark now, and it was getting interesting. Smells, sounds, everything. Even languages.

At the station, there were huge lineups, but since we already held tickets, we thought we were exempt from the queues, and so we just went to where a train was advertising our destination.

We approached a fellow, and handed him our ticket.

He shook his head.

And pointed. And then walked with us outside the terminal to the queues.

Fair enough. We retraced our steps and I began wondering what in my bag was so heavy.

We joined a random queue and when we got to the front, we smiled and were let through. The guard said, "Where from?" and I replied, "Canada!" and Janne said "Denmark". Very good! We were informed.

We sat in the massive hallway that had signs declaring that there was no smoking allowed and watched as everyone around us smoked.

Finally it was time for the train to board.

So many people pushing into a tiny gate. Thankfully, we are pretty pushy when necessary.

We made it through, went down an escalator, down a long hallway, then turned left and there was our train.

We found our car, and stepped on board. Then we found our compartment, set our bags down, and looked at our home for the next 12 hours.

All we had to do was wait for our roommates to arrive.

We had booked the two bottom berths of a four sleeper. Our pajama party pals could be….anyone!

Suddenly it was five minutes before the train left….and we had no roommates. Janne and I looked at each other. Was there the possibility that we would be the only people in our compartment?

Suddenly our door handle jiggled. But the door didn't open.

I looked out the window. Our train should have left. This was agony.

To pass the time I looked around me. The room was about 1 meter and a half wide, and eight feet tall, six feet deep. We had a large window. The beds were 3/4 of a meter, and although firm, comfortable. There was a quilt! Perhaps Janne and I wouldn't need the sleeping bags we had brought!

And the train started moving! Not only were we free of roommates, but we were on our way.

I am smiling as i write this.

so back from the philippines, birthday parties over, and errm, yes, my parents and kipper and nearly naked grant are here.

this is a big deal. my home is busy but happy!

yesterday was a full day, we three dames went to church, then joined the boys and kids at a rugby tournament. from there we headed to wan chai gap where we were meant to join lesley, jo, andrea and families for a hike.

my dad, never one to let a nice day go to waste, got antsy, and at 2.15 declared he was starting. i decided that it was best he not go alone and accompanied him. dad is a great walker and we went along, and had a great walk. as did the others.

dad even had the time to purchase a new shirt. much to his delight the shirt was ON SALE. much to mum's delight, the shirt was quite attractive!

we went to mannings to get some deoderant. dad is so cute. "i'm looking for mennon speedstick or old spice deodorant." he informed me.

"well, you wont find it here…this is asia!" i responded to my perplexed pa.

he soon learned for himself that his favourite staples were not available. and so we took it upon ourselves to smell out the options.

we decided the best one we could find was called PLAYBOY. graciously, dad let me choose which one he should buy, playboy VEGAS, MALIBU or MIAMI. we chose vegas.

then it was to the boat club, where sela was asleep in mo's arms. her high fever, which had been plaguing her all weekend was back. fortunately i had packed ibuprofin in my bag and i gave her 10 mls. she slept for 45 minutes and then was up and much cooler, and racing around.

the hikers gathered around, drinking and enjoying the great weather. the kids were all well behaved and it was a really nice day. we ordered dinner and quite frankly, were loathe to leave!

but eventually we did. because we had hiked to the boat club we needed to get taxi's home. jasper was on taxi alert and dashed forward when he saw one, little wrist flapping. high praise for the driver, he took jasper seriously and pulled right over for him! high praise for jasper, he got his taxi! yay!

the rest of us piled in a second taxi and all was well.

that night sela had a bad dream, apparently she dreamt that everyone was going out, and jasper told her that they were leaving. a few minutes later, she woke up from this dream and decided the whole thing had happened. she burst into tears and started wandering the hallways which (surprise) were empty and dark. it was true! we had left her! OR were the hallways empty because it was 4.45! oh right, that part!

she was burning up and charles gave her some more ibuprofin. i took that opportunity to email her teachers and my work to say " sela/I won't be in today."

it's great having kipper, nearly, daddy and mo here. it's a good visit. i am a happy hong kong girl right now…but i won't be here for long…..

 

 

every day i write my book

coming home was wonderful, but i wasn't there for long.

the following monday i packed up and headed to the philippines for a training session. i was meant to stay for two nights, but given that it was the triplets birthday on the wednesday, there was no way that was happening!

the short trip to manila was really good. our communication officers are doing a terrific job and it was good to talk with them and give them more skills. we had brought in a really fantastic English professor who really helped them at all.

me? i like to keep things simple. (and if possible, 80's oriented). during my presentation i just said, "use your spidy senses" and told them that there is no excuse for every story being the same because every person is different. i asked them who watched csi, and people nodded. so i asked when a person dies, do they just check out the apartment and leave? no! they interview husbands, friends and neighbours….and that is what an interviewer can do too.

manila's mtr/lrt/mrt is fantastic by the way.

i got home, we had the birthday parties and then life settled into it's typical routine. work, school, etc.

but then something very small added such a change!

the other day liza found what i thought was a yogurt covered raisin on top of the piano table. this was a surprise to us both, because yogurt covered raisins are always hoovered up in our home. i started to pick it up, and liza told me not to.

"eh?"

"it's an egg" she told me.

"an egg!" i said.

"a gecko egg."

now the geckos that live in our home are pretty streamlined, even with all the treats i give them. i cannot imagine them pushing an egg this size out their fanny. how could they scamper along the walls carrying an egg like this? their legs couldn't meet the walls.

a quick google search confirmed that it was a gecko egg!

I AM GOING TO BE A MUMMY!

the aforementioned egg was quickly moved the warmest part of the house (the kitchen) and put into a plastic box. we ripped up some paper to protect the egg. the kids wanted to touch the egg but i didn;'t let them, explaining if the egg is turned over, the baby inside could drown in the fluid.

this egg might not be viable. this is a very real fear. gestation is 30 days. i think we are down to 23. what will i say if the egg doesn't open? what if it does and i am not present at the birth?

 

thing three – saturday night was a delicious night. i got to achieve one of my dreams – seeing elvis costello in concert. we went with laurel and chris ("daniel's" parents) and we first had a quick meal at dan ryan's. we looked at our tickets and laurel said, "i think we are in the front row". the ticket did say "a" which was good!we walked over to the theatre and were led to our seats. not only were they front row, but they were front row centre! we had the four best seats in the house!

we saw lots of people we knew, and all of us had the same refrain, "all of our friends are as sick as parrots…no one else knew he was coming to hong kong."

it was a wonderful concert. i am a long time elvis fan.  he is very quirky, wore a shirt with a jacket that i would NEVER allow charles to combine, and was alone on stage with seven guitars and his trademark black rimmed spectacles.

his fifth song was one of my fave's .. everyday i write the book…by saying how much he hated, hated, hated this song..or used to until a CANADIAN taught him to sing it properly.

WELL, what else were we supposed to DO but cheer, loudly?

he paused and said, "i like canadians"

(see previous, except then i yelled, "you married one!!" at the same time as someone called out "NANAIMO!")

and then he was off.the above recording is live from that night.

he strolled around the stage, unplugged, he whistled, and the acoustics were so fantastic you could hear his footfalls as his black wingtips strolled around. when the audience got too noisy he would put his finger to his lips.

and cute as a button. at one point when he approached his chair and sat for a minute, he said, "i'd like to introduce you to our special guest star tonight…me"

charles was v. chuffed when elvis performed "SHE". someone in the audience was brave enough to record it!!

it was just wonderful being there with MC, holding his hand and leaning on his shoulder, like i have done for so many years. it was a fantastic night.

 

homecomings, new arrivals, old favourites. it has been a good month.

 

 

 

 

 

 

where was i?

eventually i came back to hong kong, but not before i spent some time with wonderful gran in vancouver. we went to see The King's Speech one night and YAY COLIN is all I can say! great film.

then it was time to fly home, which i did and truly, one of the best bits of about coming home is the reunion. on par with the shower you have after you have unpacked. it was a perfect day, my flight landed around 8am and i got home by 9am and unpacked, then spent the rest of the day just catching up on all that had happened while i had been shivering and celebrating.

then it was time to see my little children.

the first to appear was jasper and he jumped into my arms and wrapped his legs around my waist, school bag and all. a great reunion! then it was carys, who squealed and assured me that she had cwied because she missed me so much. and then sela, who was pulled toward me by jasper and carys. this made her cross. "i know she is here!" announced my little knickers and she ran to me. "i could never forget, this is a perfect day!"

and lastly, my year four man came across the playground, eyes zipping across the playground. i wasn't in my usual spot. normally, i wait near the water fountain and i could see his big brown eyes  and anxious face zero in on that area.

this expression on his face reminded me of his year one show. charles and i piled into the auditorium and waited for seb to traipse in with his classmates. eventually he did, and they clambered on to the stage. at once seb's little eyes began to search the audience, seeking us out. his mouth was open, and he was biting his lower lip. his shoulders were very tense. i was waving like every other parent going, "darling! darling!" so he didn't see me. and i realised i just had to wait until he did see me. and eventually his eyes did rest on us, and it was magic. his tense little frame relaxed and he smiled. not a grin, just a smile.

i got more than a smile the other day on the playground though. i got a full blown "mummy!" and if ever there were rules about sebbie kissing me on the playground, well they were temporarily lifted as he happily hugged me and smooched my face, neck and arms. "Oh mummy, you are really home, and i love you so much" he announced, getting the important things out of the way first. "It is such a happy day for me."

What else do you need?

It was great to be home.

 

 

Well hello again

So here I am in Hong Kong.

The last time I wrote you, i was not in Hong Kong. HOW CRAFTY AM I?

Not very, actually. Which is why I stopped writing for a while, and then I got all busy. And then it was a birthday party, and then I was travelling again, and then it was a birthday, and then it was a birthday party.

But now it is Sunday evening and I am in bed with a nice cup of tea (that is not a code word for Charles) and I have four priorities before I head off to bed and one of them is you.

You're wondering — where WAS she? An excellent question. I was in Canada. Or most accurately, I was INSIDE my sister's warm home, I was inside her warm vehicle and I was inside a cabin. I was NOT outside. No.

WHY? Why would I go to cold snowy Canada, sans children who were the ones who are desperate for cold and snow?

Because my daddy was turning 70 and there was no way I was going to miss that! Frugal Blake turning 70! Imagine! Mo had spirited him off to New Orleans for a weekend of pre-birthday celebrations, and then they came back to Edmonton knowing that they would be staying there for three days before heading back to Yellowknife.

Dad was not expecting little sister Mandy or me to be there. So we hid in the basement. Then Mandy called Pam's land line on her mobile phone. She chatted, and chatted while walking up the stairs. Then I think she tapped him on the shoulder and dad burst out laughing.

Then it was my turn.

I listened to my family laughing, then walked up the stairs. Slowly. I walked towards my dad and just leaned against a wall. And waited. This was too much for mum, who said, "Oh Blake!" and then dad turned, did a classic double, triple take, and said, "well I'll be! Tessie woo!!!" and gave me a big hug. then he did a lot of throat clearing, probably because he is allergic to cats and pam and edd have two.

The next day we drove out to Jasper. Mum got a speeding ticket. We rented two cabins at Pocahontas Cabins, and our stay there was brilliant. We had such a good time. Let's get this straight, for me to have a good time, the following were necessary:

a) warmth (central heating and a fireplace)

b) comfy bed (yes, even when sharing with mandy)

c) no pressure to go outside and do something insane like sit in a hot tub when it is so cold outside your wet hair is forming into icicles while the rest of your body is getting very warm from the hot tub water. no thanks, i can stay inside and watch HOT TUB TIME MACHINE, a movie which includes 80's music.

it was a great recommendation. we had so much fun. of all my family, i hadn't seen graeme for the longest. and i didn't get to spend much time with him at all. but, i think he knows.

one day mandy and i went for a run. please do not think i am contradicting myself. exercising in the cold is different than being in the cold. when you are exercising, you are quite warm except for lungs which were not impressed. and as trucks passed us (the drivers were impressed) the wheels would blow up salt from the highway on to our faces, yuck. anyway, we ran 6k in about 42 minutes, which was impressive considering the slip factor and the COLD! thanks for the run, kitten.

one night we played a great game that had us laughing hysterically. i believe i won, as well, which made the trip worth it. then dad opened all 76 of his birthday cards. that was so divine. some of the highlights were:

a card from my father in law doug which started, "hi this is doug…" and dad was laughing so hard he had to stop twice before he managed to read the card in full.

the card from lita, which included a lottery ticket…does she know my dad!

cards from old high school friends which included pictures of a very greaser-looking blake and some rather risky looking ladies!

there's something fantastic about retreating away with loved ones. no phones, no one to bother you but YOU. and it was great. except i did miss my tiny papoosies and mother chucker. except at 7.20 am when pam (who brought alex) was texting mandy, "i'm bored, what are you doing?" and mandy and i texted back, "going back to sleep". LOVE IT!

we were meant to stay for three days but only stayed two. afraid of a snow storm we headed back to pam and edd's on the sunday to watch the superbowl and eat great chinese food and pizza. and i believe mum and i shopped. (surprise!) and we did that the next day as well. (good times).

twice, my dad, who is as frugal with words as he is with greenbacks, stated that this was his best birthday ever. well done mum for organising such a wonderful family event. we all had such a divine time. thank you pammy and edd for opening your home to us. grae grae…thank you for taking this lyons to TIGER WORLD and for being so open with me about your bra preferences. mandy, thank you for watching TODDLERS AND TIARAS with me…i have a new trainwreck obsession! and frugal blake…thank you for being the sort of dad we put our lives on hold for just so we can celebrate with you, that you are you. we love you.

however, i do wish to formally request that we go somewhere WARM next time.

the tooth is out.

jasper/peter retells the monumentous event as such:

i was in the bath having a play bath and i was biting the bubbles as they floated away down the drain and all of a sudden my tooth was gone and i was very scared that i couldn't find it but all the blood was floating down the drain and then sebbie found the tooth and i was very happy.

the other day i started reading a great book, THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS. i DON'T like how the author writes using what she deems to be the black voice/accent, but so far, the book is fascinating reading.

but just before i started the book i read an old childhood favourite, adrian mole. adrian was a big part of our growing up years, mum used to read the MOLE books aloud to us as we drove endless miles in the wood panelled station wagon, and we used to laugh at adrian's dense-ness (ie: when his dad's ex girlfriend comes to the door, open's her jacket and says to mr mole, "i just thought you should know." and adrian's only observation is, "she's put on some weight."). other things that made us laugh were things that we didn't know why they were funny, like the fact that only Mr Singh knew all the verses to patriotic songs.

Last week I wanted to be reminded of family vacations, so I pulled Adrian from the bookshelf and started reading. And I found that as an adult, this made for very sad reading. The neglect that Adrian endured was heart rending. It just seemed like no one had a lot of time or love for this kid. There was a lot of pathos that I never picked up in the first books.

I never cared for Adrian Mole, the Cappucino Years books or the like. They never seemed too interesting or entertaining. The entertainment wasn't worth the depression I felt. I was always waiting for something good to happen to Adrian and that something never did. Or when it did, he didn't recognise it. Got a bit frustrating.

So what's the point in all of this? Nothing probably. It's just sad to see how a book you once really liked, is no longer a favourite.

Then there are books that you are supposed to like and don't. A great example of this is THE GREAT GATSBY. My husband loves this book. I read it 30 years ago and went, meh. I don't get it. I actually don't enjoy a lot of F Scott Fitzgerald's writing. WHen Charles and I were first dating in order to impress him I tried reading it again. With the same result. I DON"T GET IT.

And about five years ago our book club read THE GREAT GATSBY. And this time everyone said "What's the big deal." The Aussies asked if you had to be American to get it. I said I didn't know. But it gave me plenty to think about. Maybe you do. So what's Charles' excuse?

Adrian Mole and Jay Gatsby. One man I cared about so I stopped reading about him and the other I never cared about so I never really enjoyed reading about him.

 

 

jasper has one of those dangly front teeth. to date we have avoided those teeth. i am desperately grateful that neither seb nor alice had loose teeth that were flicked around with abandon.

to be fair, jasper doesn't play with his loose tooth much, mainly because he is scared of the pain. (have to LOVE that brave boy of mine!)

this morning he was exploring the tooth and he declared, "the vines aren't ready to let go."

i asked if he meant the root and in typical jasper fashion, he shrugged.

(BTW – jasper has changed his name to peter).

alice is sleeping over at a friend's house tonight. for several reasons, i am missing her.

the other three were all out at inspiration lake while i was at the doctors and at another appointment, and i was ever so happy to see them when they walked in. serafina immediately had a play bath, then did a bit of reading while sitting on my lap. peter and seb played on the computer, then we had sweet and sour meatballs, rice and broccoli for dinner. MC should be coming home soon.

peter is complaining that it is taking him a long time to eat and that he shouldn't have to eat vegetables. i note and comment that he manages to eat dessert quickly and all i get is a grin.

would it be bad if i waited until jasper was asleep and then pulled out his tooth? i mean, it would be bad if he KNEW it was me, but what if he didn't? his teeth have shifted in his mouth. the front two are protruding, and over to the side. there is a massive gap between the front tooth and the side tooth. he looks like the village idiot and not in an endearing way.

tonight is a light out night, and if i could only get MC to agree, one of us could hold the torch while the other pulls out the tooth. is this really bad?

depending on responses, i will let you know tomorrow what we do.

 

 

 

Two new additions

The other day Sela cornered me.

"Why didn't you call me Alice?" she inquired.

"Well," I blustered, "We liked the name Sela. Don't you?

"I looooove Alice!" she informed me.

"When you have a little girl maybe you can call her Alice," I suggested.

"Mummy, I am not going to have a baby for five years and I want to use the name Alice now."

With this road block, I tried the tested and true for so many years method of smoothing the unanswerable waters….DIVERSION.

"Odila's daughter is called Alice."

"She must be so very happy."

"Er, yes, I believe she is." I responded weakly.

Finally there was nothing to do but to apologise.

"I'm sorry, I didn't call you Alice," I managed.

"That's all right mummy, I forgive you."

It was brother Graeme who commented that Sela's name phonetically backwards is Alice. Hm.

On Friday Sela asked if I would call her Alice. Carys got in the game and asked if I could call her Serafina.

"What's this?"

"Serafina. Sela said the name to me and I weally like it."

So off and on I have been referring to the girls by their new names. Thankfully/not thankfully, depending on the mood, Alice and Serafina don't have new personalities.

Today, we decided to whittle the day away at the Boat Club. Damien, Harrison and Ellie joined us there as did Meg and her girls, Olivia, Amy and Zoe. We took a long time eating, and at one point when I was showing off the new pedicure I got at Happy Foot the other day, Meg commented that her girls were desperate to go to Happy Feet.

"So let's go!" Someone suggested.

And we made a reservation at Happy Foot for 6pm. 13 people.

Considering they were surrounded by their peers, the kids were quite good. Seb was wayyy more giggly than he was last time, but all in all, he was fine. He and Amy are sleeping at Ursula's tonight….Ha ha Ha! Sela was really good and besides the fact that every time a chair shifted Carys would sit upright and demand, "Did someone fart?" she was good too. Charles was downstairs in another room with Jasper, Zoe, Harrison, Olivia and Damien.

It was a great afternoon and on the way home, Carys reminded me that her name is now Serafina.

"And I can call you Teresa," she announced. "It is a beautiful and happy name."

"Because mummy is beautiful and happy?" Inquired Jasper who was desperate to curry favour so I would let him watch TV.

"No, because her feet are now happy and her girl's names are beautiful!" announced Serafina, and skipped away on her freshly massaged feet.

 

 

last year when we went to Dumaguete we met a very interesting gentleman at the Resort we were staying at.

He was an elderly gentleman, tall, and didn't mind that the kids screetched around the grassy area in front of the beach, which was so close to his cottage. he sat on his terrace and smoked a great deal, and said "good morning" to us or "good evening" as we returned from camp, all dirty and sweaty.

just like thailand, the philippines attracts all types, so i was fairly careful with the kids roaming too near his cottage. but soon i got to chatting with him, and my parents did too, and then charles gave him the okay. he was a very present figure, sitting there in his netted terrace, smoking and reading and drinking drinks from the kitchen that the staff delivered because they all liked him so much.

there were of course, women who would have loved to have been his companion, beautiful women of all ages. he didn't entertain in that way, the hotel employees informed us. he was kind, but didn't invite people into his room. and didn't go out much.

quite early on, i stopped to thank him for being so patient with the kids. we started talking. like many seniors, he was visiting the philippines looking at possible retirement sites. you can live extremely comfortably in the Philippines for less than $1000 US per month. This gentleman was checking areas of the Philippines for a permanent home. he was a pleasant man, but he didn't seem to have a lot of life in him. i wondered if he was ill.

Other members of our team began chatting with him as well. Slowly, his story began to come out.

He was a widower from the Southern States. (He did tell me but this is the internet and I don't want to be too specific) He had been married for many years. After a long bout with cancer, his wife had died. There were no living children. It had been a hard life, but a good one. He missed his wife and was travelling, looking for a place to spend his remaining decades.

One day, towards the end of our visit, I was standing talking to him while I held Sela, who had come up to show me a shell of some sorts. Some of the younger team members came by and joined our chat. Everyone liked him and knew him. He was so gracious and kind.

The sun was setting, the camp was almost over, we were all in a pretty good mood. We were asking the gentleman how his search for a place he liked was coming along. One of the young adults commented, "it shouldn't be hard….you're in paradise!"

The gentleman looked up at the speaker, and unconsciously (I think) touched his wedding ring. Then he looked at me, and smiled and said, "No. What I had was paradise."

There was nothing really left to say except to thank him for the reminder. That no matter where we are, if we are not loved, and able to love in return, we have nothing.

I would like to think he would be one of the five people I would meet in heaven, if such a concept existed.