It's coldddddd!!!!

I have been meaning to take a picture of our outside thermometer for ages, but usually forgot about it or didn't want to go out into the freezing cold. However, this morning is so gorgeous that somehow it doesn't seem too cold to get out in it. I wish I had someone to go for a little walk with, I'd love to see how long I could take it. The sun is making all the snow and ice on the trees sparkle, it is truly magical today.

I got up around 8am and it was -16 on the thermometer then, which means that in the early hours of 3am or 4am it must have been at least -20 or less. By the time I took the photo above it went up by a couple of degrees, but even now - at about half past 11 it is still around -9 Celsius.

Reminiscing - end of year reflections

As we are getting close to the end of the year one can't avoid feelings of deja vue when trying to draw up the balance sheet of the last 12 months. If we are honest, we must admit that 2010 was yet another challenging, at times pretty horrific, but ultimately good year. On the minus side were instances of illness and all that flows from that, the major event of the plus side was the trip to be with the family and especially Callum. That little fella gives us so much pleasure, even from 5000 miles away, he is a gem and he is developing into a strong, fascinating little character whom we love dearly.

Lifestyle changes are on the way and some of them have already happened. Orienteering has taken a knock this past year and while there are already plans for some 'O' next year, I don't think it will ever be as central to my life ever again as it has been for the last two and a half decades. Notwithstanding creeping dicrepitude, I still enjoy it tremendously and have just realised that had I been able to make the Night Champs, for which I was entered, I could have been on the podium even in the combined championship in W60 at the end of the year. As there was only one other entrant in the Night Champs in W60, provided I finished the course I could have scored 2 there and with my other two bronze medals in the Sprint and Classic - link to the podium photo here:
http://img8.indafoto.hu/3/9/16419_25819c8fe224033cc89bafa6a16cdd04/9766767_b519b8860be1c9841bffcef216f0bc28_m.jpg
my 8 points would have been enough for third place. Still, I am sure Roy would have been furious having to hang around for even longer after the Classic Champs for an extra presentation, as he was very grumpy that day.

Christmas this year was quiet, relaxed and very enjoyable. I like the peace and quiet that being just the two of us gives us. We finally spoke to everybody on Skype, having managed to catch up with Sheila finally. Stephen rang me on his mobile while out for a walk and we had a long chat with the Canadian mob yesterday. We had lovely food and even had some champagne. Long may we be this happy on our 'estate' which we created and which is really our home now. The snow is still falling outside, so there is some more coach travel on the horizon as Roy is threatening to put the car in the garage yet again. Let us hope that it all melts by Wednesday!

The return of the snow

Just after I whinged to both the Canadian and the UK branch of the family that all the snow has melted and it was a dark, dingy, muddy and miserable day, suddenly the temperature dropped, the skies opened and it got all white and sparkling again. The photos were taken this morning, because by the time I discovered the pretty snow cover it was dark. The tits had also returned and made pigs of themselves (now there's a mixed metaphor if I ever saw one!) with all the sunflower seeds and fat we put out.

Our own Christmas lunch was really gorgeous: Roy had his fillet steak with a slightly pink middle, which could have been rarer - he said. Still, it was delicious and now that I know that the quality of beef from this butcher is OK, he can have it going moo next time. I made a complete pig of myself with the piece of salmon I got and even risked a little bit of stinky. For those not in the know "stinky" is a special mayonnaise we have been using since the 1970's when we learnt how to make it from a Swiss friend. It consists of: mayonnaise, ketchup, mild mustard, garlic, chives, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Yum, yum!!! Its name comes from the high garlic content!!

Today's lunch is roasted peppers for me and roast chicken for Roy. I think I will have the remains of the salmon for a cold salmon salad in the evening. I am still chasing Sheila & Co. for a phone chat. They seem to be always out when I ring them. Well, she is off to Toby's tomorrow, so I have today to catch them in sometime today, as I have no numbers for Toby.

Must go now as the fire needs topping up. Once that big stove gets going it takes very little work to keep it piping hot. It is amazing therapy for my arthritic back leaning against it. Aahhhhhhh!!

Callum's Christmas morning

We managed to get through to Ottawa on Skype and take these snapshots. Callum was quite lively and wouldn't stay in one place for long, but what is new? Stephen called in the middle, so we had a non-video conference call and chatted a bit. Sheila is never in at Chris's, so we haven't got hold of her yet.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

As you may see in these photos Roy has so far got his usual Xmas treat of a cooked English breakfast, aka a cholesterol cocktail. Unfortunately I had the silly idea of cooking it in an ordinary frying pan instead of a non-stick one, so the egg broke. He still loved it as you can see.

Currently we are a whole floor apart, as it has been the custom lately, due to the WiFi and the new desktop upstairs, which instantly became his domain, while I am on my laptop downstairs. What would we do without computers and the Internet? Well, probably talk to each other and such old fashioned pursuits! Seriously though, we have just been saying today that who would have thought what sort of a revolution the Internet would represent in our lives, even just 10 years ago? The globe had shrunk, I can have regular video chats with my grandson 6000 miles away totally free at the push of a button; I can shop for anything from anywhere on the planet and it will arrive in 3 days. Well, if you are lucky, like I am - poor old Stephen is obviously plagued by Amazon never to have his presents on time!! :-(

Our Christmas presents to each other this year were: a new desktop computer with headphones and printer/scanner for Roy, a truffle making course and equipment for making them at home for me. I also had in the post a lovely little parcel from Callum with some more excellent examples of his art and for further amusement a few of his report sheets from daycare. He has a fascinating, varied and nutricious diet there, which sometimes does and at other times does not seem to have any relation to the number of his nappy changes during the day. :-) Roy got a CD with the Sussex Marriage index on from Stephen and Lucy which will help him with his family history research. The highlight of the day, of course, will be the phonecalls, which are not due until this afternoon. Hopefully we can connect up with all of them spread around the globe to wish them merry Christmas.

The snow unfortunately has melted, so our much awaited White Christmas has not materialised, but we are still happy, just the two of us, quietly having a good time together. Roy's fillet steak (his usual Christmas treat no.2) has been marinading in the fridge since yesterday and my enormous piece of salmon awaits its lemon sauce eagerly.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR EVERYONE READING THIS!!

The little moo cow

I have no idea what the occasion was, but Callum looks really cute dressed up as a cow. Another picture shows how much he loves his Mum and the picture in the park shows off his walking skills. The little hat naming him a little monster is spot on, what a cheeky little villain he is, very lovable, even though he is strong willed and very bright with it.

We went to the electronics shop today to get these and a few more pictures printed. My album of Callum is getting quite full. Still, it is a big book and it should take another 18 months or so to fill. We also bought a headphone set for those of our machines that don't have built in speakers and microphones and a scanner/printer for the new desktop. We also bought some lovely fruit and veg in the market, so christmas shopping is nearly finished. We will need a final food shop before we get on the bus on Wednesday, weather permitting.

I have unpacked and tried out both the headphones and the scanner/printer this afternoon and they are both great. In fact, I am seriously considering going back tomorrow and buying another scanner/printer for the spare laptop as it is so cheap (£30) and extremely easy to use, which does matter for Roy.

Snowed in

It is definitely arctic over here, although I know we are not alone. I have just done a little research on the net as well as listened to the news and it seems that Father Christmas is the only one moving anywhere in Europe, the rest of us are stuck indoors.

My plans for making truffles has fallen through as we couldn't go out to buy the equipment required. Hopefully the chocolate we were given at the course keeps a bit longer until I can get the slab of marble or granite, the spatulas and a few other ingredients I haven't yet got. The other day when we managed to get to the market I saw lovely bunches of tiny fresh chillies, but I resisted buying them until I know for sure when I can make the truffles.

I have also been struggling with my kidney infection. Doctors are a species that one should really stay as clear of as possible. I try to keep to this principle, but yesterday I finally couldn't take the pain any longer and went to the emergency doctor just round the corner. She was a trainee, with a brisk manner, but at least she listened and thought about it for a while. I got an injection into my bum to take the edge of the pain off and she prescribed an antibiotic for the infection. Which is what the original stupid woman should have done nearly two weeks ago. Things are looking up a bit, but I am not celebrating yet. Tuesday I have an appointment for an ultrasound to see if I have kidney stones after all. Aahhhhhh!!!

In the meantime we have resumed our weekend chats with Callum. The snapshots above were taken from Alex's big AppleMac, that is why it is of a superior quality to the previous ones from lowly netbooks. I usually see Callum playing in his snug, but yesterday he was more that usually active. Running around all over the place. While he was having breakfast he was at least stationery, but even then he concentrated on the grapes and ignored the cheese and crackers. Alex will have to get crafty and only put up the grapes last or he will never eat anything else. I totally agree, I am rather fond of grapes myself.

Must go now to see what Roy is getting up to downstairs. This WiFi is great, expect we sometimes only see each other at mealtimes, the rest of the time is spent with me upstairs and him downstairs on our two laptops.