As part of Lara's march towards standing up, then eventually walking, she's progressed on to pushing boxes around like a miniature delivery driver...
Monday, 8 December 2008
A Sunday walk in the countryside
Yesterday we met up with Cath, Nick & Lizzie half way between Wycombe and Portishead (roughly!) at a village called Bishopstone, just east of Swindon. I'd found a walk on a website about the Ridgeway, and I'd booked us in for Sunday lunch at a pub in the village. We were half an hour late because our road map bore no relation with the reality of the A419 (if you've ever been there, you'll know what I mean) - visible roundabouts are a thing of the past in this part of Wiltshire, and it seems that only those villages that pay enough to the local council get their village added to road signs. I'm not kidding that Bishopstone doesn't appear on any modern road signs in the area, only on those older versions that were probably removed in the Second World War in case of invasion, then replaced afterwards.
It was a perfect day for a stroll though, and Lara and Lizzie enjoyed comparing their sedan chairs. We cut the walk short to make sure we got to the pub in time for lunch, although this involved passing through an organic pig farm. The piglets were very cute, but we weren't convinced the flimsy wire fence would prevent their mum from defending her little oinkers from Mishka if we'd let him get any closer! The enclosure containing the dads wasn't much stronger, but they didn't seem too bothered by us. It certainly seemed very natural and healthy for the pigs, although as Olga pointed out, "they probably don't actually like living in a muddy field".
The pub itself, the True Heart, was very nice. £9 for a two course Sunday Roast, they provided an extra bowl of veggies for nothing when we asked for some - Lara and Lizzie could have had their own kiddy-sized Sunday dinner but they just shared the grown-ups meals. We even went as far as having dessert too - how Nick has made it into his 40s without having Dead Man's Leg, I'll never know :-) (Jam Roly Poly for the non-Lancastrians)
Lara and Lizzie seemed to enjoy themselves, and we just loved Lizzie's words - "gotgot" for choccy or a biscuit, "meat" when asked what else she'd like to eat, and "Rara" for Lara. As Cath pointed out, it does help that Lizzie's other cousin is called Tara, so "Rara" works for both!
It was only an hour's drive for all of us, so it's something we'll have to do more often, especially if Cath supplies the coffee and cookies again!
It was a perfect day for a stroll though, and Lara and Lizzie enjoyed comparing their sedan chairs. We cut the walk short to make sure we got to the pub in time for lunch, although this involved passing through an organic pig farm. The piglets were very cute, but we weren't convinced the flimsy wire fence would prevent their mum from defending her little oinkers from Mishka if we'd let him get any closer! The enclosure containing the dads wasn't much stronger, but they didn't seem too bothered by us. It certainly seemed very natural and healthy for the pigs, although as Olga pointed out, "they probably don't actually like living in a muddy field".
The pub itself, the True Heart, was very nice. £9 for a two course Sunday Roast, they provided an extra bowl of veggies for nothing when we asked for some - Lara and Lizzie could have had their own kiddy-sized Sunday dinner but they just shared the grown-ups meals. We even went as far as having dessert too - how Nick has made it into his 40s without having Dead Man's Leg, I'll never know :-) (Jam Roly Poly for the non-Lancastrians)
Lara and Lizzie seemed to enjoy themselves, and we just loved Lizzie's words - "gotgot" for choccy or a biscuit, "meat" when asked what else she'd like to eat, and "Rara" for Lara. As Cath pointed out, it does help that Lizzie's other cousin is called Tara, so "Rara" works for both!
It was only an hour's drive for all of us, so it's something we'll have to do more often, especially if Cath supplies the coffee and cookies again!
Thursday, 4 December 2008
Snow! But not our own :-(
There was plenty of snow about on Tuesday and yesterday, but oooopp Norf, not down here. It was all over the BBC news website how schools had closed in Bury, so I called Mum but she was out (making a snowman, perhaps!?), but she sent these photos later on...
Mum's very modern - taking these photos on her mobile phone then bluetoothing them to her laptop to email to me! I'm very impressed. All we need next would be some photos of snow in Lesnoy!
Mum's very modern - taking these photos on her mobile phone then bluetoothing them to her laptop to email to me! I'm very impressed. All we need next would be some photos of snow in Lesnoy!
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
Lara Update
Olga took Lara to be weighed this morning - it was a "clothes on" weigh-in, and she was 8.82kg (19lbs 7oz) up from 8.48kg (18lbs 11oz) on 6th November; this keeps her above the 25th percentile. She is eating very well at the moment, finishing off everything we offer her, which is encouraging.
After being cold-free for a couple of weeks, she picked up a new one yesterday, so all my talk of how well she was eating will mean nothing for the next few days as her appetite normally suffers when she's ill, as does her (and ours) sleep!
After being cold-free for a couple of weeks, she picked up a new one yesterday, so all my talk of how well she was eating will mean nothing for the next few days as her appetite normally suffers when she's ill, as does her (and ours) sleep!
Sunday, 30 November 2008
Dave's 40th
Just a very quick post for any of the ex-Liverpool graduates passing by.. Dr Dave Hinds still exists, and in fact has multiplied. Here he is about to tuck into an individual portion of birthday cake, flanked by wife Martine, son Olivier (5) and daughter Avril (2).
And Tall Paul Richards (described to Martine by Dave's mum as the "tall one with the huge feet), showing us exactly how many pupils at the school where he teaches in Liverpool haven't nicked a car this week.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)