August 18, 2006

Hello!

The word in Cheltenham is that the gypsies have
finally moved on. The good people of Cheltenham have
had their undies in a bunch since the gypsies' arrival
in June. Apparently, gypsies are filthy and ill
mannered. They hadn't taken over any parks near us
but I guess the law states that they may not be forced
out of public parks no matter how uncivilized they
are. Michael saw them once earlier in the summer when
he was on his way out of town for a cricket match. He
came home and told me all about how he saw "the
tinkers". That word sucked the air out of me. I
immediately thought it must not be politically
correct. I didn't reprimand him, however. How do I
know what is offensive to the tinkers? I don't even
know much about gypsies. Everything I know, I learned
from the movie, Chocolat and I'll tell you one thing,
if Johnny Depp parked his caravan out in my garden,
you wouldn't hear me complaining.

Our life has slowed down considerably. Michael and
Siobhan have just finished gathering data for their
huge and hideously cruel geography project. They'll
start crafting the drafts tomorrow. I predict this
process will be summarized in two words: living Hell.
Michael types so slowly I have to leave the room.
Both Ryan and Michael have been practicing keyboarding
over the summer. Ryan is really burning up the
keyboard at a whopping 10 words per minute. I don't
think Michael is nearly that fast. My guess is that
Siobhan will be so irritated with Michael's typing
that she'll take over. Thank God.

We did visit the Gloucester Cathedral last weekend.
What a beautiful place. The corridor scenes of Harry
Potter were filmed there so the kids really enjoyed
it, as well. We came home and rented the movie. It
was thrilling to have been to the cathedral and to
know the background of each shot. On a cathedral
level, Jim and I enjoyed this cathedral more than
Westminster or the other big one in London that I can
never remember the name. This was much less creepy
than either of those!

The kids and I also ventured to the store, John Lewis,
in Bristol. John Lewis is like the marriage of Target
and Nordstrom. It has everything you need for
everyday living, but the choices are all high end.
The place was swarming with back to school shoppers.
Even the little boys clothes were darling. The baby
section got me weak in the knees. Handbag department?
Won't even go there. The laundry section was oddly
large and had everything you'd ever need (or think
you'd need) perfectly packaged, to fool yourself into
thinking that laundry wasn't drudgery. Thankfully,
the painful expressions on the boys' faces kept
Siobhan and I on track. She immediately said to me
upon entering, "We need to come back on Saturday,
when Daddy can keep the boys."

Aidan is enjoying his first age-appropriate friend,
Joe. Such a grown up name: Joe. Cracks me up.
Anyway, yesterday, I picked up Aidan who was at Joe's
house for a bit. I came in and there they were,
laying on a bean bag chair together watching a pirated
copy of the new movie, Cars! Gotta love that. Of
course, Aidan wouldn't be building with blocks or
playing with puzzles. No, he'd be watching a pirated
movie. So Aidan. Before we know it, he'll be
loitering with friends outside the 7/11 grumbling
about his curfew.

I am fast and furiously trying to figure out what I
want to be when I grow up. I think I have two weeks
before the kids return to school. With Aidan in
school two (possibly full) days a week, I'm focusing
on coming out of retirement (again). So many options,
so little time! I'm always open for suggestions.

I'm pretty sure autumn has arrived here. We had to
turn the radiators on the other night. Please enjoy
the heat and sunshine for us. I cannot tell you how
much I miss the heat of summer.

Love,

T-Ann

August 9, 2006

Dear all,

We've had another fun filled couple of weeks. The
children's friend Asa was here for awhile which was a
lot of fun. The kids played base tag each night up on
Crickley Hill. Like most things with children, the
parents are the last to know, and apparently we almost
lost Asa down the side of Crickley Hill (more than a
hill, less than a mountain) more than once. It was
really more like kid Fear Factor than tag. The kids
left the hill each night exhausted and covered with
stinging nettle rashes. Good times. The days were
spent plotting to get Asa to move here permanently.

Our friends Devon and Morgan Mann arrived a few days
after Asa's departure. They arrived in the late
morning and just as we were ready to eat lunch, Aidan
pulled on Devon's pants for her attention, looked up
proudly at her and announced, "I just put all the
toilet paper into the toilet!" Same family.
Different country.

I think I can characterize their stay in one word:
cheese. The eating of the cheese was punctuated by a
five mile hike (with the big kids) through fields and
ancient burial mounds nearby, Cheltenham Cricket
Festival at Cheltenham College, drives through
quintessential Cotswold towns, and a trip to
Portsmouth to see the old military ships. All other
parts of the trip involved eating cheese, planning our
next cheese eating opportunity or recovering from too
much cheese. Oddly enough, behind our house, I found
an application for credit from a cheese shop. I find
buying cheese on credit a very curious thing. Is this
a sad commentary on society? Are Brits simply eating
cheese beyond their means? Do these people feel
pressured by their friends and neighbors who have
moved beyond the Cheddars and Swiss into the pricier
Bries and Stiltons? It could be a matter of
convenience, I suppose. An early morning run finds
you near the cheese shop, ravenous and without cash.
I'm not sure I understand. Do they do this in
Wisconsin?

In any event, we had good fun with the Manns. Our
children worship them. Life is kind of like a circus
with Mrs. Mann around. But, sadly, they had to leave.
I'm beginning to see a pattern here that I'm not sure
I fully understood two months ago: our visitors
return home. I think I was hoping that everyone who
visited would be trapped here, like on a computer
screen. A simple double click and they'd be back.
Those goodbyes get to me...

But happily, we have a lot to occupy our time over the
next few weeks. Namely, we get to dive into the 12-15
page, over-the-summer geography projects that Michael
and Siobhan have to complete by the beginning of
school. Can you stand it? I honestly am amazed that
they haven't run away by now. I think the promise of
a new and brutal sport keeps them here: field hockey.
They'll attend a field hockey camp the end of the
month and finally Siobhan will be able to play an
aggressive, fast paced sport. The boys play field
hockey in the winter. Rugby will be Michael and
Ryan's sport of choice this fall.

Aidan is getting more and more excited for school to
start. We purchased his little uniform (same one as
Ryan wears, minus the sock garters). SO cute. He was
a little scared trying on the seemingly endless
pieces. In fact, he burst into tears when it came
time to try on his boiler suit (janitor-like, one
piece coverall the kids wear so as not to get their
uniforms dirty-I would think smocks would suffice).
"Please don't boil me, Mommy!" he was yelling in the
shop. He LOVES his "underpants swim suit" (Speedo)!
A much needed break from his brothers' constant Speedo
whining. He has his school shoes, wellies and
plimsolls (cheap, ugly black Ked-like gym shoes). All
in all, I'd say that Aidan will do well in school. He
needs it more than the the older kids did. By age
three, I realized that Michael would be a wonderful
archaeologist-he was a dinosaur loving boy with
patience beyond his age. Siobhan at three was
creative, organized and bossy: a perfect CEO. Slick
talking Ryan with B.S. up to his eye balls, had all
the makings of a great politician. They still posses
these qualities and I wouldn't be surprised if they
each ended up in these careers as adults. Aidan's
strengths, however, are more in line with that of evil
dictator. Even while learning to pray, he seems to be
characteristically possessing his
one-day-I-will-rule-the-world attitude. He is
learning the Our Father and starts off well enough:
"Our Father. Are you up in heaven?" Its the ending
that has us a bit concerned, "For I am the kingdom and
the power and the Glory forever and ever." I think
the British Prep school will be helpful in smoothing
out those rough edges that I just can't seem to reach.


Ahhh. I best start my day. I've enjoyed writing to
you and watching the eight guys sitting in their van
parked outside our front window drinking tea and
eating biscuits (and now napping). They are with the
department of highways. Yesterday, they closed the
access road to our house and tore it all up. Today
they rest. Good to know, the world over, some things
remain consistent.

Love,

T-Ann