Do not click on comments below!!

Hi Everyone,

Since posting my latest (January Showers...) blog I've received two comments (one frome 'Jon' and one from 'Fox') that have a note attached saying "Please click here" DO NOT CLICK ON THEM!! They are some sort of spam, possibly viral related. Because of this I have changed my settings so that I can moderate comments before they are posted on the blog. I'm still trying to figure out how to delete them. Also, you will now need to become a member of the blog before you can leave a comment.

Sorry for the inconvenience,
Brenda

January Showers bring February Flowers.

It is absolutely beautiful here. I wish I could package it all up into a box and send it your way. After almost a full month of rain, the sun has forced its way through the clouds. Most Brits I've talked to say it is unseasonally warm, but I'll take it quite happily. If we can't have snow, I'd much rather it be warm outside than cold and wet! The crocus bulbs Shane planted in November are almost finished blooming and there are daffodils blooming in our front yard as I write. Every time we go out the door there is another wonder to behold. Sometimes I just want to plop myself down on the (slightly muddy) ground and soak it in through my pores.

My latest joy is to borrow classical CDs from the local library and play them loud in the car as I drive through the countryside. The stress just melts away. With the sun shining over the hills of the Cotswolds and the music flowing around me I feel like I'm in a BBC period movie. It's lovely. There are, of course, the crazy British drivers screaming around corners at mach 5 to contend with...but even that is nothing when you see the sheep grazing and the lovely thatched cottages. I'm sad that we're on our downward slide to the end. Maybe we could stay just one more year??

Burns Night

For those of you who are Scottish, or know someone who is, you will know that Robbie Burns Night was celebrated at the end of January. Tom and I signed up for the event held at the mess here on January 30th. It was a fabulous night. Firstly, I should tell you that some our closest friends here are Scottish, and the opportunity to spend a Scottish night with them was something we just couldn't miss. We invited our civilian sponsors, Therese and Peter, along as well, as she hails from that northern country. The evening started with a piper piping us in. A true 'Toast to the Haggis' was made at the head table, which we were seated at (just the luck of the draw, I guess). The toast was VERY theatrical, at one point the toaster (toastee?) was standing on the table brandishing his rather large sword. Luckily my friend Valerie (who was sitting beside him) managed to keep her head. The haggis was served with neeps (turnip) and taties (potatoes) as an appetizer. The main was a rather large lamb shank, and as the dessert was served another Scottish fellow recited Tam O'Shanter from memory. I'm afraid I didn't catch much of it, with the accent and everything...but it was still entertaining!

After some more piping we retired to another room for coffee, shortbread and Scottish Country dancing. (see pic to the right--Tom and I are in the middle of the pic)This was a real hoot. Our first attempt at country dancing, Tom and I managed to follow the crowd enough to not make complete fools of ourselves...although there were a few moments when we were following our own directions... It was a great night.

Australia Day

We were fortunate enough to be invited by our Australian friends to a formal gathering to celebrate their national holiday. It was a cocktail party again held at the college mess. What was lovely about this gathering was that the children were invited as well, and the Australians had set up babysitting, coloring and movies in an other room. While they were having a blast with their friends, we were eating prawn toasts and goat cheese bruschetta, drinking Aussie wine and singing the Australian National Anthem next door. We all had fun, and no babysitting charges!

The Royalist Hotel

The Canadians had their own gathering two weeks ago, at an inn called the Royalist Hotel in Stow-On-The-Wold. This was an adults only event, but luckily my wonderful next door neighbor watched the kids for us...with a promise that I'll return the favor in the future. With so many of us going (20 or so) we all hired a bus (ie. Tom and I could both have wine...). The restaurant at the hotel is called 947 AD, as that is when it was built. We had to pre-order our meals for the event, and I'll admit I was less than thrilled with the choices. The food was divine, though. This place ranks very highly on my list of favorite meals in Britain. 5 courses of lovely food were followed with a tour of the inn. Although the rooms were all occupied, we got a full description of the witch marks on the fireplace and the beams, the entryways into the underground tunnels, and all of the ghost stories associated with the different parts of the inn. A truly enjoyable night. You can see more of the inn at http://www.theroyalisthotel.com/ .

Barbury Castle

It's half term break right now, and the kids have a week off of school. Unfortunately Tom does not have the week off, in fact he's gearing up for a major exam next week after just finishing a 6000 word essay! As life has once again gotten very busy, we decided to lay low, and try to have a week without rushing. One gets very tired of saying 'HURRY UP!!!' all of the time. So we're just hanging out this week. Although it is only Tuesday, it's been a great week so far! We all managed to get to church as a family on Sunday. Yesterday Tom had to go to classes, so the kids and I went to a few shops, and then spontaneously decided to go and have a picnic at Barbury Castle. Very much like Uffington Castle (see previous blog from the fall), Barbury is a 2600 year old site with two large concentric circular mounds, with a deep ditch between them. Located on a ridge to the south of Swindon, the view to all sides is spectacular. Rolling pastures, grazing animals, the city of Swindon and the ridge beyond...it was one of those places that I mentioned above. With the sun shining and the gentle breeze, I could have sat down and absorbed the beauty for hours. I opted not too, though, as the copious amounts of sheep poo everywhere would not have looked good on my jeans. The kids and I did have a wonderful picnic and walk. We were sad Tom couldn't be with us.

Kid news

Shane said his Beaver promise a few weeks ago and is now a full fledged Beaver. He has already completed all of the requirements (I think) for one of his badges! Delaney, an aspiring overachiever, has now received 7 Brownie badges, and is working on 5 more over half term break. Her goal is to fill her badge sash in one year. She's almost achieved this goal, and my fingers have the scars (from sewing them on) to prove it! Delaney is taking two different 'Pony days' this week. She gets to spend all day at the stables riding and stable management. You can be sure she's loving that.

Shane continues to do well at soccer, and has 1 more game left in early March. He has really improved this year- and has been a real trooper playing with his British peers. He loves playing, and still plays in his shorts, even when it's below zero out. As for Kate, she's still doing really well in everything. Her sugars have evened out, and she's gained back all of her weight. She is currently doing multiplication and division questions in her head--and has started to read chapter books. At 5, it's quite impressive. She loves her gymnastic lessons, and is excelling there too.

And that's another installment of 'Life with the Dunnes'! We love it here, are having fun, and hope to see lots more before we have to leave. We've already been contacted by our replacements...a fact that only emphasized the brevity of our stay here. If only we could slow down the march of time.

Until next time,

Brenda