Boxing Day Walk
F & F were under the weather and H headed over to the cousins with Uncle Paul so Ewok & I had a little stroll along the river into town.
I d believe it’s starting to warm up a little.
Christmas Dinner
Before it went in the oven.
Beautiful. And sooo tasty I forgot to take a post-roast pic…
Very local too – thanks to Tony and Marie-Ann. Christmas turkey with crackling. Yum.
Christmas Eve Ewok Walk
A week later and the snow is still with us
and Ewok’s fur is still perfect for the weather.
The ghost ship
Stuff on a ship rounding Colehouse Point from the Lower Hope heading towards Gravesend Reach on the River Thames.
Thanks Ross
Ross, huge star, let granddad take the boys for a spin in the Lotus.
Finn could
almost
see out of the window :-)
Huge smiles.
Thanks Ross – next time the boys have asked if you’ll drive them!
Winter Dawn
Not a bad view on a cold (-10-ish) morning. Worth getting out of bed for.
Can you see the fox?
A snowy expedition
What to do on our first full snow day back in the UK? Maybe a mini-expedition along the footpaths to the fabled Castle Meadows?
While the back garden had been great for sledging (even benefiting from some flood-lit final runs) we decided to sample the delights of the multiple runs at ‘the castle’, complete with ramps and jumps.
With the picturesque St. Peter’s Spire as a backdrop, S & H & Pablo joined us for the fun.
As dusk fell we warmed up with some hot chocolate and dry gloves before setting of around the fields to home.
Never a bad day to ride
With terrain like this (our lane) I just had to get out on the bike – turned out to be the fastest thing in town – just so long as your comfortable in not going the way that the front wheel is pointing!
Here’s the “proof shot” although on reflection it does look rather as if I’d just fallen off. Not quite the impression I’d been hoping to make…
Snow Bear
A light dusting
got a little heavier
and became a four inch pack of snow with clogged paws and everything.
Good times though. We like snow (and have the fur for it).
Seven!
F is seven! Birthday treat was pancakes with Canadian maple Syrup for breakfast
(using Unke Graeme’s pancake recipe).
Then a spot of FIFA (ManU v Arsenal) while waiting for the snow to get deep enough to sledge (sled) on.
Followed by cake for tea!
Happy Birthday!
Tree Preparation
H unwrapping the tree.
Appropriately, this year the tree came from Christmas Common.
Frosty Sunrise
Fay spotted this out of the window this morning, the sun coming up under a band of cloud.
Rame Head
We walked to Rame Head (from the car park of course, well, it was a big lunch and we nearly walked all the way there the day before, the day of the squall , so does it count? please?)
(Yes, Fay is a real artist too, I meant compared to my pix not her’s, I’ll stop now, I feel the hole I’m digging is getting a tad too deep…)
Note: This post was updated on 2020-10-01 19:36:29 to remove broken links
Run for it
Not what you want to see while out walking the cliff – an incoming squall approximately 5 minutes out. Fortunately we made the white hut just as the first rain drops started to hit and were able to watch events from the comfort of the couch with a nice hot cuppa.
The White Hut
The White Hut: an awe inspiring and peaceful place to spend a couple of days away to celebrate our anniversary.
Big thanks to Sharon & Alan for the recommendation; Les, Jessica, Hazel & Paul for looking after the three boys; and
Clive & Jane
for such a fantastic place.
Snow everywhere but here
SOMG across the UK except where we are. Just hard frost and, the day after I took this, a sprinkling of the white dust.
The Needles
Martin recommended the Needles and an amazing recommendation it was too. Old battery, new battery and the rocket engine test site. With views of the ‘ needles, cliffs, caves and everything ’!
The boys were fantastic with the hike down to the headland in the freezing weather. Special mention to little-F who managed to dig deep despite being several shades under the weather.
Lovely spot for some piccy snapping…
…and waving across the Solent to Nana and Granddad
(who didn’t wave back despite us being clearly visible).
Old Battery was sign-posted as closed at the start of the walk down, but don’t be put off, there’s great views and the National Trust redeemed itself with an open tea room!
A lovely end to a FAB thanksgiving weekend. Big thanks to KMDFM.
Horseshoe Bay
Down the road from the “holiday house” was lovely Horseshoe Bay. A little chilly with the breeze blowing and the snow falling.
Some nice wave action too. But not enough swell to surf the kayak.
Locked up
The boys in the porch of Boniface church.
There’s two church’s in Boniface. This was the old St Boniface church, built around the 11th century.
Roundball Hill
A strange collection of characters made the trek up to the summit of Roundball Hill on Sunday afternoon…
Dad
Boj & Brov
H & A
Fay (photo by A)
and F.
Hide and seek was played enthusiastically on the way up,
and the view from the blustery top was pretty darn good.
Sunday roast was calling so we high-tailed it back down the lane.
Best play ground / area. Ever.
The wigwam-styled climbing thing
Ariel stunts in the swinging circle of net.
The balancing beams.
Which the kids, including A, conquered easily (some running!) while some of us adults were, shall we say, a tad hesitent? Thanks H&F for the encouragement.
Not sure who to thank exactly. So Honiton , East Devon , and notsurewhoyouare, thankyou.
A hat and a boat
This is the hat.
And, this is the boat.
There were pebbles and a cliff too.
We counted the cliff, but not all the pebbles.
First Wallingford Geo-cache
Armed only with a programmable internet-linked GPS receiver we set off across the wasteland in search of Thames Path – Benson Lock .
After a slight hiccup caused by a near miss with trench foot…
The cache was successfully discovered and the logbook duly signed.
Thames Walk
A lovely walk along the Thames past Benson Marina to…
…Shillingford Bridge…
…for a surprise cup of tea and some jam supplies from Phil.
H Packing
H has been away with school all week, doing outdoorsy stuff in Wales. His kit bag was bigger than him!
Autumn Flame
The path along the side of the Copse burst into red and yellow flame and the leaves turned. Or at least that’s what the family tell me, looks a murky damp orange to me.
Face in the sky
One of our local red-tailed kites soaring above the bottom meadow.
Can you find the face?
Note: This post was updated on 2020-11-15 to remove broken links
Bat Pumpkin & Friends
Our bat pumpkin had some friends to visit
Ninjas!
and then Snape and Potter!
Spellbinding stuff.
I can’t remember…
…what was so interesting that:
a) everyone stopped to look at it
b) I took a picture
But it looks riveting.
Work Life
Work life doesn’t get much of a look in on c r o s s o a k.
So much so that I just noticed that this quick search returns only posts that have the name of the company-thalt-shalt-not-be-named in links.
Bizarre.
Last week Windows Phone 7 was launched in Europe (north American cousins, it’s coming soon) which was a year after Windows 7 was released. I made an insignificantly tiny tiny contribution to both products, and consider myself extremely fortunate to have worked with such an amazing group of diverse people in the process. It’s quite a sobering experience to realise how many people use and rely on those products (not to mention the number of opinions they have) and the huge responsibility that goes with that.
Normal programming will resume shortly.
Note: This post was updated on 2020-10-01 19:36:29 to remove broken links
Pumpkins
…and the carving (carefully, sharp knives and other sharp things) begins
Dad pauses for some admiration (respectfully, from a distance)
And the first carved pumpkin is completed…
…followed shortly by some friends.
Pre-breakfast walk
Sunday breakie at the café?
A stunning plan, just need to run the gauntlet of a freezing landscape to get down to the river.
The across the lock where the depth gauge was showing well below 16 feet.
Before crossing the weir and turning left down the lane to a large fry-up.
Bike Ride Views
Nearly Cholsey and back, via cake and hot chocolate at The Bloc.
(That’s the bloc in Wallingford, not the one in berko, although they are somewhat related even if the one in Berko is no longer the bloc.)
Clean Windows
Now I’ve cleaned the frustrating back windows I can take pictures of this: that’s the Thames valley with Ewelme Downs beyond.
Frustrating because which ever way you open them they obscure the view. Another thing on the todo list.
Seven weeks & one day…
…to install a phone line.
Thank you BT Group PLC . If only I could make time run backwards like your SMS alerts.
Homework
F’s homework was to bake banana cake.
Reading, writing, math's & some science all in one.
Tasty.
Garden footie
The view is little compensation for the radically sloping pitch, but you do see some funny moves as a result including some amazing curved passes around defenders.
Rain gardening
When Fay goes gardening in the rain Ewok gets wet.
Don’t let the face fool you; he loves it.
Neighbours
Three deer have moved into the field next-door-but-one.
Most quiet days they can be seen chilling out in the middle with fantastic 360
o
views.
”All the better for seeing you creep up on me” they said.
Thunder Rain
A little thunder-squall heading across the field to the house (about 15mins later it got *very* wet). The tree line to the center of the picture is about 1 km away.
That’s one big field.
Sisters
From left: Rach (ewok, who’s not a sister) Haze & Fay.
In the distance the café at Beson – aka the Waterfront bar & Bistro – our destination as is frequently the case.
Early morning ride
The boys woke up early – so an excellent excuse to get up and out for a (very) early morning ride to the clumps and back. Starting at a misty two-trees in the field next to the lane.
Lonely tree on, I think, Brightwell Barrow, was mist free.
Amazing views from the clumps – of mist filled river valleys.
And morning arrivals into London-Heathrow.
By the time I got back to Shillingford Bridge the rest of the world was beginning to wake up.
Super day to be out and about.
Around the garden
Stuff is slowly taking shape. The Lego tree has arrived.
The pear is perfectly placed (with hopefully some spring bulbs to surround it in the new year).
And we even found a spot for the hoop of basketball.
Wittenham
The school took H to Wittenham Clumps for “an amazing day outdoors building dens in the woods and everything” – so H took us to the Clumps. Lovely spot. On a pleasant day you can see for miles in all directions.
The field at the bottom of the garden
Actually it’s a meadow. And it’s not at the bottom of the garden. Apart from that the title was fairly accurate.
Riding the lane
An evening blast down the lane to the gate.
Getting some air off the speed humps too. Perfect.
Berries and Seeds
F proudly clutching a collection of berries and seeds from the lane ready for the school project.
Anyone else think F was the inspiration for Seedos ?
Need a washing line
A breath of fresh air: somewhere where the neighbours don’t think that you’re mad for hanging shaped fabric on a rope.
At least I think they don’t.
…
I may have to ask.
Benson Views
From the garden you can look out over the Thames to Benson, the village and the airfield .
On Sundays the bells from St. Helens sing out across the valley.
Arrived in one piece
“I want all the pot plants”
After an herculean effort by Messers Les and Adron all the pot plants, plus other miscellaneous stuff, arrived at new house.
Now to unpack…
Good Bye Cross Oak
The second last morning at cross oak road.
Farewell house. You’ve been a fantastic home.
A reminder of the first last morning .
P.E. Kit
It’s not just a school uniform at the new school’s, they have P.E. kit too.
I say Grayson, don’t we look smart, yes we do Mr. Cholmondley-Warner.
For those not familiar with the UK education system and P.E. see this ministry of information film .
Clearing the Cross Oak Garden
Big job to leave cross oak ship-shape and to make sure all the pots were clean and ready to travel.
Found Dog
Maisey the spanish water dog, was lost, then found by the boys on canal fields, now reunited with home
Mudeford
A summers evening spent watching the warmth go down while crabbing on the river side at Mudeford with Unke Hilton.
(That’s pronounced Muddy Ford rather than Mude Ford which is why it’s spelt Mudeford.)
The little ones weren’t biting but the family next to us made a generous donation which passers by were somewhat impressed by.
F even gave demonstrations!
Wrapped up the day with chips from the cafe.
Surreal
Surreal is going back to the country you used to live in and staying in a hotel instead of a home.
Try it some time, head down to your local travel lodge for a couple of nights. Weird.
Welsh Hike
A super duper camp-and-hike in the Welsh Hills with Martin, Martin, David & Elsie.
And some ponies.
We totalled 28k horizontal and 1.06k vertical. Pausing at the trig point on Sugar Loaf…
…to watch an incoming squall soak the tourists.
Tea half way round was only surpassed…
…by amazing storm kettle powered tea back at camp.
Followed by some beer.
Great w’end. Thanks Guys.
Wedding of the year
A fantastic day celebrating with Sarah and Noel, first at St Mary’s Parish Church, Hampton
and at St Mary’s University College afterwards.
…where the garden art was extremely realistic.
Parked right outside the front door
Someone trying to tell me something….
…or a welcome home from the neighbourhood.
[Notice how that >>u<< crept back in there?]
Thames Barge
On the River Thames along which I’ve been known to wonder in the general direction of the office.
My walk to work
I don’t (yet!) walk all the way to work, but sometimes I skip the shuttle and take the Thames Path instead.
This is the bridge that provides a crossing for the Kennet & Avon Canal.
Oh, and Bing UK does OS mapping. Sweet !
Away in Devon with the Cousins
Beautiful A & F (with help from Granny) hosted our away weekend in Devon
with excursions to River Dart Country Park
(where it was Max H, but not
the
Max H, that we spied)
and Budleigh Salterton .
The boys mastered their stone throwing techniques…
…and Ewok got into all sorts of places that he probably shouldn’t have been.
Dear Waitrose
To whom it may concern, why is it that your seventeen year old checkout staff can join the Royal Marines Commandos , but is unable to sell me a bottle opener and corkscrew because it’s on the ‘restricted list’.
New hat
The air freight arrived (woot!) and with it H’s awaited USCG cap; courtesy of star Keenan. Perfect for keeping in the shade.
Canal Walk
A Sunny Saturday walk along the Grand Union Canal
Rooney and Rooney came with us.
Some of the terminology gets some getting used to. I guess this would have been called Butt Side Lock. Whatever, it was half empty…
…possibly because the bottom gate of bottom side lock was leaking a fair bit.
H inspected the overflow – maybe a future aqua-engineer in the making?
While F inspected some of the nicer boats to live in on the canal.
Our destination? The Three Horse Shoes pub, a delightful spot for a pint and some nosh.
Berko Walk
Here be Berkhamsted , snug in the valley.
And here be the view the other way, across the fields.
You know that you’re on the right path here because of the fence.
Although H was checking via the GPS-sync’d map on the new fangled Windows Phone 7 prototype all the same. At work we call this kind of exercise ‘dog fooding’.
Whatever was wrong with a compass and a good OS map?
Northchurch Common
An early-ish morning walk at Northchurch Common
Starting in the woods along this wonderful woodland road
before opening out onto open common land.
H found sticks. Big sticks.
F found trees. Big trees.
And Fay found things hanging from branches, buzzy things, bee buzzy things.
Lovely Cross Oak
Awesome to be back in berko. It’s a bit smaller than the last place but you wouldn’t know it.
We’re also making progress on the garden thanks to loads of help from Chris, Kim, Jessica & Les.
The skyscapes from the back bedroom are pretty amazing too.
Publishing Crossoak
Everything is hard here (or at least harder than we’ve been used to).
Cancelling services in the US was far easier than signing up here. Anyone would think I was asking
them
to give
me
money.
One exception has been this nifty do-da. Since we’re not going to be settled for a while signing up for a broadband lock-in didn’t seem like a good idea, instead 3 has this little mifi thing that pumps
secure
wifi around the house (or car, or coffee shop, or wherever) and runs it over the cellphone data network 3G or 3.5G (aka
HSPA
).
Monthly and PAYG options available.
Super.
Essentials?
Having moved 4,500-ish miles with only what we could carry, what was top of the essentials list? A bread machine. Obvious really.
First challenge was weighing 450g of flour (g = gram = unit of weight in these parts, equal to around about 15.873282864 ounces). To the rescue was this amazing measuring cone, courtesy of amazing Jessica.
Lovely stuff.
Barton-on-Sea
Health and safety Les took the boys for a short walk at Barton-on-Sea. They were gone for a long time…
…Fay & Jessica looked everywhere for them.
But everyone was safe-and-sound.
Please look after this Ewok
Ewok flew over as *the* advanced party, to check out the UK was still an okay place to be. Just in case of problems with customs and immigration, Ewok is an American Australian Labradoodle after all, his travel crate was suitably decorated with informative info.
[Note: this entry is appearing out of sequence,
something that never happens here on c r o s s o a k]
Ready to fly
Our last meal on US soil – Anthony’s at Seatac.
Hanging out at Gate S10 before “10 hours in a metal tin can”, as H said, or “movie all night flight”, for Mr. F.
[Note: this entry is appearing out of sequence,
something that never happens here on c r o s s o a k]
Last Day
Our last day in the USA. A relaxing time thanks entirely to the generous-as-always Clarke’s who let us squat in their gaff. The neighbours said it was the best party in years!
[Note: this entry is appearing out of sequence,
something that never happens here on c r o s s o a k]
Last Picture
The last picture from 18926. A great house. Hope that Tim finds someone that can enjoy it as much as we did.
[Note: this entry is appearing out of sequence,
something that never happens here on c r o s s o a k]
Post-flight stretching
Finn discovering the perfect way to shake off the effects of BA world traveler.
Barton-on-Sea
The boys had a successful crabbing expedition with Granddad
But, of course, they had to be put back again.
This one made a bee-line for the surf.
I didn’t know that crabs knew anything about bees.
Pizza
Pizza Express, our fav.
Except F who thinks Domino's is better (based on his experience
in Longview
).
That said, service wasn’t.
Favourite Places to Eat
Our favourite places to eat?
* Rays Boat House * Purple Cafe * Matt’s in the Market * Inn at Ship Bay * The Indian Palace in Woodinville where we had our last dinner with Satwant, Bir and the kids. Butter chicken, rogan josh, rice and nan.
Fantastic food, great people.
[Editors note: posts will be in hybrid spelling mode for the next few weeks^D^D^D^D months]
Note: This post was updated on 2020-10-01 19:36:29 to fix broken links
Last Day Bye Byes
We’ve said bye to loads of great friends over the past few weeks; we’re sad to be going but it’s been great to see people and be reminded of the great times we’ve had.
I’ve also said ‘great’ quite a bit recently.
(Un)fortunately, I’ve not been too on the ball taking pics, and many that I did snap are now packed up for a multi-week cruise across the Atlantic…
Moving
The home office. It managed to go most of four years without becoming a studio . Although the boys did loose most of the playroom to paint and canvas on occasion…
Everything got packed into boxes or wrapped in stuff before loading into the BigTruck.
Even the bottle opener, necessitating the revival of student style wine opening skills.
With everything packed the place looked very bare.
The office office got the same treatment too!
After the lists…
…comes the packing.
Sonic moved first, he’s got a new home with Gretchen and Hamed.
Ewok goes next – as you can see he’s totally stressed out by the whole process.
Water Fight!
Thank you Sue & Jeff! A mega fantastic BBQ, bare-foot footie and water fight extravaganza.
Awesome River Rafting
Jessica organized an awesome white water trip on the Wenatchee for H’s cub scout den. Seen here is the crew of raft #3, ready for action.
List of lists
Old paper meets new paper with our fool-proof list of list of lists system.
There’s lots to keep track of.
Gaming before bedtime
Long summer days and it is, finally, light long into the evening – last Sunday was the darkest June day for the last 15 years .
Happy Birthday Ewok
One today, June 17th.
Happy Birthday to you
I went to the zoo
I saw a little Ewok
And I knew it was you
For sale
One pre-loved Honda Element.
B.C. to Washington to Oregon (many times) and back.
Mountains, volcanoes, beach, snow, rock and sand.
Kayaks to crampons to footballs and snacks.
If only the wheel ‘twas on the right side.
Last Day
F’s last day in Kindergarten with the amazing and wonderful Mrs. Ito
(and the wonderful and amazing Mrs. George).
We’re going to miss Bear Creek.
Big Smile
A beaming smile from H after he nailed the last jump on the Cedar Run trail.
Yes,
that jump
on
that trail
. Definitely, please, don’t tell Fay.
[No, I’ve no idea what my expression was meant to convey]
Back in the Saddle
Too fast on the trail and slip-slide mud around mile 8 = bloody knee and a slower ride the rest of the way home.
Celebrating
A little celebration yesterday after Ewok and Fay passed their PPST and PPAT tests for the Delta pet partner program.
Whoopee!
Note: This post was updated on 2020-10-01 19:36:29 to fix broken links
Netbusting
Netbusters in action outside again after a long winter playing indoor.
A mini-tournament down at starfire sports (Steve, take a look at the facilities there!)
Big big thanks to Sue and Jeff for coaching and organizing!
Note: This post was updated on 2020-10-01 19:36:29 to remove broken links
Wash
After a very muddy walk, Ewok relaxes in the bath (note the muddy water).
Later, he returns the favour by giving the dishes a pre-wash.
Mud
The trails were a tad muddy from all the rain we’ve been having.
Luckily, a sock kept some of me nearly clean.
Too busy talking
So didn’t really cook nearly us much as expected, so lunch the next day was egg-burgers!
A delight not sampled since leaving behind the land of B&Q burger vans.
Morning after
Morning after the party.
A warm (albeit Photoshop enhanced) glow, unfortunately not from early morning sunlight, but instead from the rain clouds diffusing through the orange telco-branded pop-up that Dawn & Mark leant us to stay dry.
Please play
If you can resist this face then the next step…
… is to constantly drop the squeaky ball at your feet until you relent.
Cuddly Tiger Hiding
Ewok has developed a habit of kidnapping cuddly toys. Tiger was found (rescued) this afternoon deep in the woods at the back of the house surrounded by a patch of mushroom guards.
Happily the only injuries sustained was a little dampness.
The
other tigers
were pleased to hear the good news.
May in the garden
May this year has been wet and the conifers have been putting on new growth like nobodies business.
Past May in the Gardens:
2009
,
2008
,
2007
,
2006
,
2005
.
9 bikes
After too long away from home it was great to hit the trail with H to blow away some cobwebs.
We even brought some mud from the southern traverse back with us.
Bear Cub Scout
H ready for his last pack meeting before moving up to Webelos
He’s now a bear cub scout!
[thanks to granddad for helping to fill in scouttracks…]
Going a bit crazy in Exeter
Being a bit silly, and perplexing tourists, in front of Exeter Cathedral.
Teaching Amelie how to levitate on the cathedral steps.
In training
Ewok’s therapy dog training continues at Woodinville Fire Station.
Lesson 3: Stand by the engine and act nonplussed as the siren screams and hoses squirt.
Jumping West Beach
F making up for
visitors being stuck
overseas by jumping around
West Beach Resort
.
Camping tip: site number 30
Mount Baker
Mount Baker with Lummi Island & Bellingham Bay.
Not much snow this year but impressive view none-the-less.
A nice man from Edmonds helpfully informed me that this view of ‘Rainier’ was one of the top ten in the world (presumably as voted by people from Edmonds). Not sure if he meant top ten views, or top ten views of Rainier…
Orcas Family Pics
Fay and the boys on Mt Constitution with Mount Baker and the Cascades behind.
F grabbed this pic of mum & dad – amazing given his technique of waving the camera around whilst shooting on motor drive…
Milk & Honey
Having driven all the way back from Cannon Beach, guess what kind of bread I grabbed from our local supermarket…
Signs of a good holiday
Sign #1: kids asleep.
Sign #2: road signs become hard to compute. Is this Fort Lewis or No?
Manzantia
South a tad along the coast from Cannon Beach is Manzanita.
Perfect place to meet up with friends for roasted marshmallows and a sunset view on the beach.
Oregon Beach Highway
Not content with covering vast potions of the planet with different kinds of impermeable surfaces for cars to zoom around on, some parts of the planet think it a good idea to drive up and down (and up and down) the beach.
I guess when there’s this much of it you need to do something with it all.
Really.
The haystack
Up early-ish for a brisk walk-come-run with Ewok to the Haystack and back.
Back through the town to pick up coffee. Yum.
Holiday House
The A-framed thing about middle of the picture. Ecola Haven. On the river and very much a haven. And Ewok friendly too. Recommended.
Beach House
Suddenly, three little tikes had disappeared. Where could they be?
Not hiding in a sand house?
Dune Grass
Looks great, but apparently it’s an invasive non-native European beach grass ( Ammophila Arenaria ).
Haystack & Chapman Point
Chapman Point with Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock from Ecola State Park.
Another Oregon Seascape
.
A day on Indian Beach
H & F blazed a new (to us) way to Indian Beach , down a steep trail that ended at the southern end. The trail was not without its hazards, as Fay’s clean socks soon discovered.
If you have the time, the southern end is the place to be. Rocks, trees, sandy coves, streams and waterfalls. Idyllic.
Dead tree running
Find dead tree washed up on beach
Run along dead tree as fast as possible without falling off
On reaching the end, jump jump jump as far and as high as possible…
Tea time
The most civilized thing in the world: tea, on the beach, from a china cup. A gran tradition.
Wet days on holiday
Finn has wet day entertainment down to a fine art. On this occasion it was lego building on a grand scale, with dad optimally positioned to help and admire the wonderful view. Oar-inspiring.
Fay’s option was the tranquil art of watercolor; and the view was just as good from where she was sitting.
Breezy Weather
Our little house was perfect for keeping out of the spring weather while still watching the world walk by.
The first evening & the surf was up, so much so that the sea looked white all the way to the horizon.
Beach Football
First day on Cannon Beach (spring break vacation down in Oregon) & the boys were soon practicing their moves down on the sand.
Another sounders game
and another 0-1 defeat. This time from the Red Bulls. That brings our tally to 1 to 3.
Humpf.
Portland 0-1
Chelsea 0-2
Earthquakes 2-1
Big thanks to Pete and Amy for the tickets!
Appeal
H is developing the art of appeal. Gesture seen above typically accompanied by
“ref-er-reeeeeee” or “come ooonnne” and then a big smile.
(Don’t forget the smile H!)
Bird House II
This years auction project for Bear Creek: Bird House II
Although that should be ‘One of this years…’ since there’s another one coming.
Confused unpacking
Signed Book
The last Fablehaven is out, H got a copy and then managed to get it signed by Brandon who, thankfully, was still happily signing away by the time we got to the front of the line.
Cobweb Blast
Cabin fever + cobwebs = not so good.
Solution was a blast in paradise. Southern traverse trail to mainline; cedar run fast (jumping, but don’t tell fay); then back up southern traverse but this time left on mainline and back home up death hill.
Wizzer.
Spring
Up the hill from our house and the blossom is appearing. Actually, everywhere except our house seems to be blossoming. Maybe everything in our garden is waiting on visitors…
Heading Practice
H putting another one into the back of the net.
[Before anyone asks, he does have a half decent ball, this is the one we use when Ewok is also out on the practice field.]
Sounders 0 Portland 1
Not the best game on the field, but the experience of watching in the stadium was as good as ever, complete with new “song” to learn:
“You’re only in the MLS because of us”. Repeat.
What a Find!
Found, in the back of a cupboard where it had fallen behind some junk, one marvelous box of Miles Original Blend Fine tea bags (40!). Absolutely stonking.
Thx brov!
Boys on the weekend
H as Arshavin in the spring sunshine
F as me, only with more hair and less stubble.
E in the yard, as a mad hairy-bear thing.
Laying down the challenge
Squirrels of Cottage Lake, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to eat the bungee-powered corn.
First T-Shirt
This one has a story behind it too.
Printed via Cafe press on Anvilorganic 100% organic cotton; made in Nicaragua.
Another morning worth getting up for
February, in the Pacific North West, and another day starts like this.
Oar-somme.
A morning worth getting up for
February, in the Pacific North West, and the day starts like this.
Oar-somme.
H in the woods
Foreground: H with a smile and a hood.
Background: second growth forest and sunlight.
An Ewok gone Mad
Observe one normal Ewok, at rest amongst the ferns.
Contrast with one crazy Ewok as he leaps through the undergrowth.
Forest Run Forest
Running in the woods today
and hiding too
(can you guess who was best?).
Obstacles to train with – I’m told agility is important for dogs and soccer players.
Plus hands to get dirty.
I want to ride my bicycle
Riding in the garden. F’s riding solo (with a small hand to get going) and was coping great with the grass.
Is it just me, or is he looking a bit big for that bike?
Meanwhile H practiced some off-road skills.
I fear he might soon be pushing for some of the jumps and balancing logs over at Paradise.
(Although only because if that’s the case he’ll be expecting Dad to go first!)
Rattlesnake Mountain
Family walk in the (February!) sunshine to Rattlesnake Ledge/Edge
(although it appears to have been upgraded to a mountain!)
Great views: Mount Si, the Snoqualmie Valley and the Cedar River Watershed which supplies much of Seattles drinking water.
Finn was in charge of navigation, and kept up a commentary on exactly where we were for most of the 90 minute hike up.
Seattle Museum of Flight
No school today. Yippee. This afternoon we swung by the Seattle Museum of Flight .
What-ho chaps!
We even got to crawl through a Concorde although the boys voted it inferior to Air Force One (although it wasn’t the Air Force One because I don’t think Barak was hiding in the back at the time).
Morning Ride
Riding in the woods with H…
…the champion Oreo eater.
Hard work: wet and muddy and H doesn’t have a lot of weight to hang over the back wheel!
Rode home avoiding the rain to find that the skid lid had left a bit of an impression.
Thinking of home
Today is Presidents’ Day in the USA , the place where we live, and that’s a St. George’s Cross , the flag of England, the place where we were born.
In hono(u)r of both: a cuppa and cup cakes before bed time.
Happy Valentines Day
Whoever and wherever your loved ones are today, a happy valentines to you all.
xxx
A wide aiddy
A wide me in the morning, for today’s daily shoot .
Note: This post was updated on 2020-12-22 to fix broken links.
Good Morning Rainier
"What do you mean? Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good on
this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?"
Gandalf
Ewok’s long day at the office
Today’s Daily Shoot: Pet photos are such a cliche, but they're also cute. Make an interesting photo of a pet today. (via @rmanalan).
Note: This post was updated on 2020-10-01 19:36:29 to remove broken links (the Daily Shoot is no more, and has been for a long time.)
Chef Finn Tasting
Chef Finn made the cheese sauce for Martin’s visit.
We were lucky there was any left to go with the cauliflower.
Snow slowly goes
Ski Hill car park in Leavenworth. More mud than snow.
With the forecast unusually wet and warm, the season is almost over. Not so good.
Skiing at Ski Hill
Making the most of the snow and a family lesson at
Leavenworth Ski Hill
(big thank you Jeff!)
H excelled at downhill speed and mono-ski skiing.
Fay was literally dancing down the slopes.
And Finn managed some solo stuff, including the day’s best backwards skiing.
Fantastic job organizing it all – thanks mum!
Disappearing Nightmare
Dessert: “Visconti’s Nightmare”. So delish, it disappeared in seconds in a whirl of twirling forks.
Note: This post was updated on 2020-11-15 to remove broken links
Ski Doo Do Do
Some things you just have to do. So we did. A little snow-mobiling thanks to the folk at Mountain Springs Lodge
Finn & Harvey were geared up and ready for anything, except maybe for the speeds that mum managed. Or not.
Harvey claimed that they’d been overtaken by a dead squirrel on a tricycle riding backwards whilst balancing a small sled on his nose.
You can see the squirrel disappearing into the woods just to the left in the picture above.
Crossoak: Behind the scenes
For the many who have expressed interest in how c r o s s o a k ticks along here’s a peek behind the scenes. As seen in these snaps, Fay & I spend almost every waking hour with a small compact camera stuck to our noses. Easy.
Snow in Leavenworth
Leavenworth is at its best in the snow. The little fake Bavarian Village has grown on me, so much so that I felt rather sad leaving to drive back over the mountains after this visit.
Das Rad Haus was closed, or open if you call, but it looked like not many had.
Although the town was almost snow free, there was still enough of the white stuff around to have fun. Fay’s snow-art reached new heights with this snow-spikey bod creation…
…Finn decided it was best to just sit back, relax, and watch the world float by…
…while Harvey decide Snow Wars was the answer, and a hail of snowballs ensued.
Which lasted until he ran out of puff.
This was Ewok’s first snow experience. The (expensive) boots to protect paws from ice lasted all of 5 minutes, but the Wokster was happy enough on the snowy trails, and even wet for a dip in the
Wenatche
.
Ahhhhhh, nice hat Fay. Where did you get it?
Best thing about holidays
A holiday means a long trip sometimes by car; a long car trip means McDonalds; therefore, holidays are fun.
At least, that’s F’s world view this weekend.
I’m just glad it’s a rare enough event to be _that_ exciting (McDonalds, not holidays).
Saturday Afternoon Lego
Nothing quite beats Lego when it comes to a wet and rainy Saturday afternoon.
Pinewood Finals
Here’s the finished car, it’s called Arsenal (someone made a mistake and called it “Arsenal Destroyer” on the official entry)
H got 2 first’s, I think 4 second’s, 1 third and 1 fourth. Each car raced four times, once in each lane, and the best sixteen went into the final. H got through to the top sixteen and came twelfth!
Here’s the stats thanks to
www.rentmytrack.com
| Car No. | Av. Time (s) | Max. Time (s) | Min. Time (s) | Scaled Speed (mph) |
| 81 | 3.2055 | 3.224 | 3.182 | 202.07 |
[guest post by Harvey]
Pinewood Part 1
H building a car for the Pinewood Derby, following the “measure twice cut thrice” method.
With the outline cut to shape and sanded, next step is painting.
(Any guesses on the colours?)
Eagles on the Skagit
North up highway 9, hang left to Darrington and then into the deep dark forest until Tom Porters Cabin (1887) in Rockport for a Skagit rafting trip.
The crew were ready, as too was John, our
superb
river guide.
Sorry Jessica – John got first prize in the hat competition. Fay’s only managed a close second.
For added fun the flumps also joined our merry gang on the raft. Seen here with Dad: Pootle (striped hat) and Perkin (black hat).
As ever when it’s not chucking it down, the scenery in this part of the work is awe-inspiring.
And the Eagles are pretty impressive too.
Netbuster
H ready for another game (almost). Colour coordinated too, although I thought ManU were the red devils...
Goal Tending
This was a first, H in goal. He did well (a clean sheet) but it’s still not his favourite position to play in.
Ewok’s first hair cut
Yup, today we got to see that Ewok has eyes!
Before and after pictures below. Can you tell which is which?
[Ask the audience hint: look at his paws]
[Phone a friend hint: smell the conditioner!]
[50:50 hint: it’s one of the two]
Fay tells me it’s money well spent, but how would you know?
And I don’t think she was talking about the stylish cravat that he returned from the stylist(
yes STYLIST!
) wearing around his newly conditioned neck.
Ewok. He’s an Ewok after all.
Who needs more than two wheels?
Not Finn.
Not stopping is also fun – at least he didn’t end up *in* the lake!
[Thanks Felix!!!!]
[We miss you!!!!!!!!!]
[That’s a plural “you”!!!!!!!!]
[
and
a plural “we”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
Top of the hill
H & I had a swift ride along the Southern Traverse Trail before it got completely dark.
H, star that he is, managed to ride all the way up the big hill on 184th on the way home.
More Rain Wallace
Wet, rainy and windy new years eve walk along the Wallace River to the picnic shelter at the lower Wallace Falls.
[You can see the snow line at about 1,500ft if you look closely]
We were nearly the only ones on the trail.
Ewok got very, very, wet. It took hours for him to dry out.
No wonder the moss here grows thick and fast.