Bags and hula hoops

Here is Maya mastering her hula hoop skills...she can even walk sideways and turn a circle whilst doing the hula...all with hair getting in her face too! Ready to join the circus now! Actually Maya has come up with her own detailed agenda for her future. She plans to own and run a cat and dog shelter complete with a birthing room, vet's space, library ( stocking books she has written and illustrated on cats), cafe ( with her artwork on display), cat and dog playrooms, adoption room and outdoor area with cat inspired plants! She has already done a floor plan and made up applications for her 7 potential employees...a slot was offered to Sage but he thinks he prefers snakes! These plans occupied a good bit of our time today!
Yesterday we did our first letterboxing event. For those who don't know about this it involves getting a set of clues and a hike of varying difficulty to locate a hidden box containing a stamp and journal. When you find the box you use your personal stamp to make an entry into the journal and also document your findings in your own journal with the stamp found in the box..did that make sense?! The kids loved it and practically ran the whole way.....no dragging of feet on this hike! If we get into it there are plenty more letterboxes out there to be found...mostly in America but there are some worldwide! Can't imagine there's too many in Shetland though.....new hobby Dad and Mum? Of course anyone can hide a letterbox and leave the clues online for others.







I also wanted to share my little project which is the very beginning stages of a wee knitting business I've got going. These are some felted bags I've been making and selling! They are made from 100% wool from the Shetland Islands. My label is Shetland Trader ( formerly the name of a knitting business belonging to my parents back in the 70's). The image I'm using as you can see is a mermaid sporting a fairisle jumper....done by my aunt Maggie Reigler....the image is supposed to infact be me! As I said the operation is very tiny just now but I have notions of expansion but may need to invest in a knitting machine for faster production......wait and see!

Before and After

So I had been thinking that I should put up some photos of the kids and was prompted to get on with it as Sage was shorn today! So here are the before and after images of Sage! With warmer weather here and even warmer on the way it was time for the summer haircut. Sage did of course agree to this and likes his new look.



Maya of course is not feeling the need to go the same route (thankfully as we all adore her hair..except the brushing and washing part).



The kids are continuing to watch their foster kitties grow so we added a new picture of the one called Daisy Fat! They all have their eyes open and are starting to be playful and even cuter...... yikes hope we can detatch ourselves from them! These kids really are cat mad! If anyone ever needs recommendations of cat books to read we're your guys...we have even started a list of all the cat books we have read and we are almost at 50! Our recent favourite is "Jenny Linksy and the Cat club" written back in the fifties but still enjoyed by today's generation apparently!
The kids are also becoming budding naturalists (be impressed grandpa!) and we're doing quite a few nature walks these days with field guides, magnifying glass, camera and notebook in tow. We even witnessed a dragonfly open it's wings for the first time recently!

Before and After

So I had been thinking that I should put up some photos of the kids and was prompted to get on with it as Sage was shorn today! So here are the before and after images of Sage! With warmer weather here and even warmer on the way it was time for the summer haircut. Sage did of course agree to this and likes his new look.


Maya of course is not feeling the need to go the same route (thankfully as we all adore her hair..except the brushing and washing part).


The kids are continuing to watch their foster kitties grow so we added a new picture of the one called Daisy Fat! They all have their eyes open and are starting to be playful and even cuter...... yikes hope we can detatch ourselves from them! These kids really are cat mad! If anyone ever needs recommendations of cat books to read we're your guys...we have even started a list of all the cat books we have read and we are almost at 50! Our recent favourite is "Jenny Linksy and the Cat club" written back in the fifties but still enjoyed by today's generation apparently!

The kids are also becoming budding naturalists (be impressed grandpa!) and we're doing quite a few nature walks these days with field guides, magnifying glass, camera and notebook in tow. We even witnessed a dragonfly open it's wings for the first time recently!

Heading For The Rocky Mountains

Hello everyone.
It is now offical, David has accepted a visiting writer's position at Colorado College so we'll be heading for the Rocky mountains at the end of August! It's a nine month stint so we'll return in May to Massachusetts (there are possibilities that the Job would be extended). We're pretty excited as the rockies will be right on our doorstep. So all you outdoor enthusiasts ...especially climbers...should seriously consider a visit.



The above photos are of The Garden of the Gods an area right beside Colorado Springs (the city we'll be based in)... giant sandstone rock formations famous with climbers and pretty stunning to look at. I may even try my hand ( and feet) at climbing, I know the kids want to...we'll find a littler boulder for them!
Mum and Dad are booked first and will be coming to see the yellow aspen trees quivering in the Fall. We're hoping to join some of the family in New Zealand as David will have a chunk of time off over winter (summer in NZ).......so we have quite a bit of traveling planned for the coming year!

Foster Kitties

These are the kittens we are fostering from the Dakin animal shelter. They are about 1 week old. They are called Panther, Daisy and Silky. We will look after them for 8 weeks then they will go back to the shelter to be adopted. Panther is the black one and he is a boy. The two girls are calico cats. They are big squealers and Silky is the only one with her eyes open. The mummy cat is called Lilia Mouse Ears and we think she is a very good mother

Hi......wow.....we have a blog!
Maya is responsible for the name and can you believe that we had to slightly alter it as another site out there has a similar title!!
So we hope that this way our family and friends can keep in touch with our lives a little ...the ins and outs of Durham daily living.....what these homeschooled kids are up to! Maya is going to attempt to keep you up to date with the pictures as she just saved her pocket money to purchase a ( cheap) digital camera. Be warned there may be many cat/animal pictures as these kids are a bit cat crazy right now. So we have to stop right now as David's famous chilli is being served!