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