Gran's 90th

A landmark occasion - my Gran's 90th birthday.  The whole family went out for lunch to celebrate.  It was sobering (in a good way) to realise there were 4 generations of us gathered around the table.

Cool Days

Having been through two consecutive days of hard frost and temps of -4 degrees, it has made me realise how mild our winter has been and, while that might make our children sad as they have not had a proper snow (yet!), I am quite happy as it has been cold enough for my blood!  However, Steve and I bought a new mattress last week and it is definitely warmer and more comfortable so that has helped.
Friday I took the bike into the forest and it was a gorgeous day which was spring-like except for the very cold temperature.  There was a bright blue sky and some sun(!!) and the beautiful forest to enjoy.  Then I look at the temp in Manila and sigh (27).

Books, glorious books

There's been a bit of hype about the ascent of the kindle and how "the book will never die".  But I don't see that the two are contradictory.  I got a kindle from Steve for Christmas and I love it.  One of the benefits - I think - is that when I read a book on the kindle I don't look at how many pages are left (because you can't, you only get a percentage read) and estimate how much longer it will take me to get it finished and so stay up too late finishing it.  Which I did on Saturday night, finishing "The Help" (outstanding, by the way) and then felt dreadful on Sunday!!  The other thing I love about my kindle is that I get to carry all my favourite books with me wherever I go, and after spending a lot of time this week unpacking boxes full of books which have been sat in the loft (which HAD to be emptied because it was being re-insulated) this has had extra resonance with me.  It seems wrong to leave books to rot in a box on the off chance we may own a bookcase in this country some time in the future!  We had decided we would try and sell or give away a lot of them this time and that decision is made a little easier by knowing I can get copies on my kindle that can travel to and from our homes in different countries.
So, this book-lover is perfectly happy with her kindle and has no problem with books on technology.  In fact, I was watching 'Horrible Histories' with the girls the other day and they did a brilliant skit on how books succeeded scrolls!  Pause for thought.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkQkeKbTP_w

Couple Time

The kids went back to school today so we decided to make the most of it and go to the cinema to watch Sherlock.  Shockingly, we realised the last time we were at the cinema was to watch HP last summer.  We will have to make this more of a habit!!

What's for Dinner?

Today my siblings and I and my mum took our children to this huge soft play area in Bromsgrove.  Our kids are old enough to sort themselves out and even took the role of looking after Esther too so Sam and Emma could sit for a bit.
On the way home the kids asked what we were having for dinner.
"Rabbit."
"WHAT?"
"Rabbit."
"You're joking!  Is it Flossie or Simba? [the pet rabits!]"
"No. Grandpa was given one by someone at work and I'm cooking it tonight."
"Well, we are not eating it."
"Suit yourselves."
The rabbit was pretty good.   We had it in a cider cream sauce which was lovely.