Girl Cat Snoozing

A Sagey Milestone

2009-01-23T11:28:00.004-07:00

Last night Sage Anthony Durham completed reading his first chapter book! He began reading it out loud to his mum and dad in Shetland, but finished up reading to himself back in Fresno. He walked through all smiles to give us the news, and to assure us it was just the first of many.

Yeah for Sage, and for Julia Donaldson! The book, by the way, was The Dinosaur's Diary. Highly recommended by Sage...

Halloween

2008-11-01T14:44:00.004-06:00

Halloween was celebrated today with a party at the local town hall.

Maya's nose lasted about half an hour!!

still got some vikings hanging around these parts apparently!

Stirling and Aberdeen-Shire

2008-10-25T08:50:00.003-06:00

Perth-Shire

2008-10-18T15:49:00.003-06:00

Snippets from our last few days in Perth-Shire...

Catching up with friends.....

Enjoying the views....

Climbing trees.....

Experiencing the Beatrix Potter way of life at a fantastic exhibition in Birnam.... .....some of us got quite into the activities!!

Walks in the woods......just lovely to be here!

School!

2008-10-09T02:52:00.004-06:00

So Maya and Sage go to school now! After three years of homeschooling the transition has been fairly painless as this is only a school of 5 (7 now that they have joined the ranks)! They will only be here until Xmas though......they are particularly excited that they will get to be in the school play which they put on every year despite low numbers of cast members!

Beth and Sorley (my siblings) went to this school about 30 years ago.....it's still the same dinner lady serving the lunches (she brings them over from a bigger school about15 mins away)!

The facililtes are incredible with all the kids having their own laptop....there is a separate knitting teacher, french teacher, P.E. teacher and music teacher!
We often see this pair of swans in the Bottoms Up position on the drive to school!

Scotland!

2008-09-28T03:36:00.005-06:00

Grandpa sharing some sea-faring knowledge with sage.

Aberdeen as we set sail.
By the wee pool in front of Little Bousta where the Johnston kids once played!
Bracing wind with Muckle Bousta (granny and grandpa's house) in the background.
Uncle Jamie!
Blair Drummind Safari Park- not in Shetland! (mixed up order here).

Auntie Helen with kids at Blair Drummond.

Some Shetland wind sounds!

Competitive Auntie Helen!

Yes They Can.....

2008-09-19T19:13:00.001-06:00

.......be wacky Obama supporters if they want!

Escapes

2008-09-06T18:38:00.006-06:00

A selection of our various camping trips that have helped clear everyone's heads....

Ocean Air!

2008-07-16T09:31:00.006-06:00

Managed to escape the heat of Fresno for some much needed refreshing air at Morro Bay

Angel Island

2008-06-27T21:52:00.007-06:00

We've just returned from a 3 day camping trip to Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay.

This place is full of old abandoned buildings which served as army barracks, immigration and quarantine stations at various points in history.

Took the ferry over from Pier 41, past Alcatraz.

This is where you live when you can't afford San Fran .....but you get the view!

The Hot Hot Days of Summer.....

2008-06-22T10:28:00.006-06:00

From main part of house looking towards D's office

From D'd office looking back to house!

Having fun with the camera!

Old and New

2008-05-22T12:29:00.004-06:00

Some photos from very recently and less recently:

First Violin recital-went so fast the pictures are blurry!

Kids did great in the parking lot at 100 degrees!

Advocates of Animal Rights

Paradise in Big Sur- (Behind Maya)

Friends made in Big Sur

Big Sur Marathon Litter Bugs!

Spring in our neck of the woods brings.......

2008-04-09T13:54:00.007-06:00

...Birthdays.....

.....new skills....
.....Lupin Bushes (!)....

....Snow melts....

....Salamanders....

...and other life forms maturing...

...and back to summer again!

2008-02-15T12:02:00.003-07:00

From Summer to Winter

2008-01-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

Well there aren't that many places in the world where one can drive a couple of hours to be at the coast one weekend- in lovely high 60's temps and clear sunny skies- and then the next weekend drive a couple of hours east instead and get to the mountains and snow-in a National park full of sequoia trees-for some cross country ski-ing! But you can in California and in order to mark ourselves as Californians we did it too!

This was the first time for the Durham family on cross country skis and was enjoyed by all members of the family!Maya and Sage took to it quickly and wanted to find all the hills to go down...we looked for ones that didn't head into a giant sequoia tree!

Connie and John from the MFA dept here at Cal State took us up there as they have a wee cabin in King's Canyon...they supplied all the gear (they have a wonderful collection of skis and boots that they have acquired over the years) and a cozy warm spot to get warmed up and eat lunch.

Seasonally Confused!

2008-01-13T21:40:00.001-07:00

I swear I thought it was summer the past couple of days....mid 60's .....sunny...the beach...camping...sunscreen (for me at least)........
But no it's only mid January!!!

It was so good to escape the city and feel the exhilaration of the Pacific Ocean...so good for clearing away cobwebs.....what is it about the ocean that makes one dream big and feel the need to make grand lifestyle decisions?.......needless to say we did our fair share of that as we watched the waves pound the shore....(we also kept an eye on the kids too)!

Our Hoose!

2008-01-02T14:11:00.000-07:00

A wee whizz-stop tour of our house for those who asked for it and for those who didn't!

Season's Greetings

2007-12-23T15:12:00.001-07:00

Hello Family and Friends! Man, are we spread out across the globe! Has anyone figured out what the mileage would be for a round trip voyage between all of our locales on this hunk of rock? There's homework for you.

But the internet helps close those distances a bit, doesn't it? We'd like to use this post to wish you all the best for the coming year, to send you our love, to remind you we miss you and think of you all every day. We didn't send out physical cards, but if we did they would look like this, the most recent MayaDesigns:

We also wanted to give you a visual tour of the last year or so of our lives. Looking back at this, it's been a wonderful year, full of a lot of adventure. We began it beside the Colorado Rockies, moved into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada's, and are ending it in foggy Fresno (which is better than baking Fresno, believe me). Along the way we've logged many miles on our bikes, backcountry camped at 10,000 feet (had to duck shooting stars), and we've done battle with many a black widow and even a scorpion. Sage learned to ride a bike. Maya refined her art skills and read many books. Gudrun became a knitwear designer with a global reach. And David headed off into a fantasy world of massed nudity, giant swine and warrior princesses. There's been some heartbreak, too. We'll never forget Girlie, just like we haven't forgotten Boy-Boy. (Here's an old photo of them and the kids.) But all things considered, it's been a good one. Take a look...

(Oh, and be prepared to see yourself. You just may be in there somewhere - the grand Johnston reunion features heavily in what follows, and we've also made some new friends along the way. If you're not in our snaps from this year... well, we sure wish you were. Maybe next year...)

So that's a glimpse of us this past year. We are healthy and happy and thankful for many things, and we're excited about what's to come. (Scared, too, but that's as it should be.)

Love to everyone,

David, Gudrun, Maya, Sage, Dolphin and Melio.

Pumpkins and pirates and Cobwebs...oh my!

2007-10-31T14:36:00.001-06:00

My attempt to scare off the Black widows from coming in the house (found two recently inside)...

That's the dred pirate Roberts for those of you familiar with the Princess Bride!! (just minus the boots-not necessary here in Fresno)!

On your marks-get set-

go!
Got it! Sage can now ride a two wheeler-hurray!

No this is not david's halloween costume!

Photo Update!

2007-08-30T10:06:00.001-06:00

I know....naughty neglectful me!....have become a bit pre-occupied with the knitting blog side of things! However here is a picture heavy post mostly of our camping trip to the coast ....er .....a month ago!

We left Fresno at 109 degrees and arrived to 59 at the coast!! Lugged our stuff up to our wee private campground on a bluff overlooking miles of coastline...pretty misty on the first night and next morning and although this was welcome (we got to wear longsleeves and jeans..a novelty right now) we did need to go in search of a beach in the sun so that the kids could try out their new boogie boards!

Turns out Maya wasn't so keen on hers but David was, so the boys spent hours in the surf...Maya dug a giant hole and I of course knitted and managed a funny streak of sunburn across my face and neck!

The sun came out for us by the time we returned to our campsite so we were able to watch the sun set into the ocean!

I had to take a picture of our harvest from the local farmer's market...something that is positive about the heat and sun of the central valley! (Funnily enough we actually had a storm last night and rain.....almost didn't know what it was)!

Happy Birthday Granny

2007-07-25T20:24:00.000-06:00

Eagle Lake, Sequoia national Park

2007-07-23T09:53:00.000-06:00

We have just returned from our first proper wilderness backpacking trip with the kids and as David and I got organized we realized it had been many years since either of us had done this kind of hiking. Contrary to our usual style of last minute impulse trips we did a fair bit of planning for this one (and spending) making checklists and pre-cooking meals to take! We had a fairly extensive choice of places to go what with the chain of the Sierra Nevada mountains nearby. We wanted a challenge and also to get to some place away from the crowds. David was also keen to see some alpine vistas in the Sierras. So we decided upon Eagle Lake in Sequoia National Park.
Its not in the main part of the park and has a seriously twisty hour and half drive on a narrow road with drop offs so we hoped it would be quieter. However we we're surprised by the number of folks out there and were lucky to get the last campsite (we spent the first night at a regular campground). However out on the trail the next day we mostly encountered day hikers.
We set out around 10am and began on a fairly flat-ish stretch through a lovely valley. This didn't last long however (the flat aspect-there were still stunning views) and we began our climb, quickly realizing that we would be going pretty slowly. I should add that we started at 7800 feet and would reach 10,000 by the end of our 4 mile hike. So we were already feeling the altitude and having huge packs on made it all the more apparent! So we took our time and stopped often to control our bursting hearts. The kids were amazing and didn't do any whining.....Sage did insist on talking the whole way up even though the rest of us had no breath left to answer him! After being passed by the day hikers (only carrying water and snacks I may add) we staggered (or David and I did..Sage was charging ahead at this point so we gave him something to carry to slow him down)... over the last part of the climb to our destination. It was a welcome site....a pristine alpine lake in a bowl of boulders, flanked by the peaks. We set about finding a good spot to camp on and finally settled on a site at the far end of the lake. There are various rules to be followed about picking a spot (like being 100 feet from water and the trail, not camping on any vegetation) and this made it a little hard to find something suitable as there wasn't much flat ground. Our site was pretty rocky and we had to strategically place the tent so we could all lie with enough space to avoid rolling onto the bigger rocks!
After getting some things set up we had a refreshing swim in the lake and then a much needed dinner. Any physical efforts made at this elevation were a challenge at least for David and I. Again the kids seemed pretty unfazed and did some rock hopping in search of their latest favourite animals,marmots. There were plenty to be found!! Not all that comforting as they like to chew on hiking gear! (I should also mention that hikers are warned about these cute little fellows being able to do damage to parked vehicles...they like to get under the hood and chew on hoses...so some cars were wrapped up like giant birthday presents to deter them...we weren't that prepared so hoped for the best)!

We hit the sack early and had a fairly restless sleep (some of us getting a bit more sleep than others)....we all ended up out of the tent under the awesome night sky around 4am and after spotting some shooting stars we watched the sun come up. Apart from a few fishermen down the other end of the lake we were alone up there and it was very magical.

The altitude was still taking it's toll on us and we felt the need to get lower down in order to feel a little more normal again so we packed up early and slowly made our way out. After dropping a thousand feet or so we all felt a lot better and managed to eat a proper breakfast! Going down was a lot faster but being so steep it had it's challenges too....my legs will attest to that! Going down made us pretty impressed with how well we had done on the way up....it seemed a lot steeper and longer than we had realized!

Now we could feel a little smug (only a little) passing those on their way up...we were the intrepid hikers, tired and dirty, on the home stretch! We returned to a non-marmot afflicted car and after dropping off our rented bear canister (which we had used to store our food) to the ranger station and a quick soaking of sore feet in the river, we headed out on the winding road dropping more feet and gaining more degrees in temp with every mile.
Despite still feeling exhausted (shoulders in serious need of massage and legs not able to walk without a waddle) we had a great experience and have already talked about where to go next...perhaps not at such a high altitude!

The Marmot Hunters! (spot them in the boulder pile)

Happenings In Our Neck Of The Woods

2007-06-28T13:56:00.001-06:00

As we head out of town I thought I'd post some snaps to document our few weeks in Three Rivers ....yes we are on the move again...not as far..just to Fresno...decided the commute wasn't going to be fun for David!

Happenings:

David had a full page whopping great review in Entertainment weekly

Sage lost his first tooth

Dolphin attempted deer hunting

Mum hunts the black widow unintentionally

Storm troopers do some class VI rapids and lose one team member

Heading down to the river for cooling off at the end of the day

Brazilian Capoeira Batizado

2007-06-05T13:53:00.001-06:00

I posted way back in February about Maya and Sage getting their new cords at a special Capoeria ceremony well we took video and it has taken me until now to figure out getting it onto the blog...not much to figure out as it turns out....but here it is....the kids 'playing' capoeira in the roda with an experienced mestre (master) and some of the adults showing off there stuff!

More Cali pics

2007-05-29T23:25:00.001-06:00

Just a little selection of pictures from our neck of the woods. Went to see some friends kayak on the Upper section of the Kaweah in Sequoia National Park. Kevin in yellow and Amicaya in Blue....some scary looking drops.....not my idea of fun...but fun to watch nonetheless! Supposedly the bigger drop (with Kevin in Yellow boat) becomes a flume like water slide that people scoot down on their bottom! As you can see Sage is already getting some practice in for the BIG ONE! In case you're wondering the shot of Kevin out of his boat is when he became the human target for the kid's archery practice....that guy lives an adrenaline filled life!

Unloading In Three Rivers!

2007-05-23T21:03:00.000-06:00

We found us a home! It is situated right on the main fork of the Kaweah river. The House is fairly retro in style (which means it's a little dated inside) but the views are awesome and it has great decking outside with lots of great seating in order to absorb the atmosphere!

We've already done our IKEA trip (3.5 hours to L.A.) and stocked up on furniture to fit in with our 50's/60's house! David got the fridge and washing machine today and we even have DSL again and I can use the desktop online again (with National Public Radio playing in the background) after 9 months. It's all good!!
This snake was not seen by our house but we are told to watch out for the Copperheads! The kids already found a scorpion on Maya's bed this morning!! Things to think about while listening to the rush of the river!

Three Rivers

2007-05-20T10:30:00.000-06:00

Well we packed up once again and amazingly it all fit in our 5x8 trailer perfectly. (David is a master of packing at this point). We drove for three days....the kids got through Return of the King, Revenge of the Sith and Princess Monoke more than once on D's Laptop....I did plenty of knitting...Dolphin snoozed most of the way and realized early he'd just have to deal with it.....and D did lots of driving and we all arrived without any hitches in Three Rivers. It truly feels like we are in California....the dry heat and the rushing sound of the river (which was the first thing we headed for). There is a rapid out the back of the motel which we took a look at (photos show it in the background)....actually I should say David salivated over it. We splashed around at the water's edge (ok...again I should say that D took the plunge and swam across the river-couldn't resist the cheesy picture of D in front of the rapid)....and it felt really good! That was the first evening! Then we saw 4 different rental properties on Saturday morning-one with absolutley amazing views from the hillside overlooking the valley, however the inside wasn't so charming...two not so nicely located ones....and then one right on the main river! We think this last one will do us for now and have put in an application (should hear tomorrow). The inside is kind of dated and not our style but it has huge windows looking out onto the river and great outdoor spaces and decking and even a sunken hot tub in the deck (which needs serious cleaning), so we'll just spend most of our time out there. Needless to say David headed straight for the river and felt satisfied he could play in his boat there (it's a bit too swift for swimming right now but could be good when the water is lower). We met up with a contact David had made from Cal State Fresno ( a student who lives out here and knows some of the same rafting folks we know here). She kindly took us around and filled us in on various locals and swimming spots. Then we dropped by the house some rafting friends of ours have bought here (which is very close to the rental we're interested in) and surprised one of them (Amicaya) and caught up a little (the others are arriving next week) before he headed off for a rafting trip. Ate pizza and drank a beer on the rocks by the river for dinner (bit sick of pizza now but the beer was good). It's Sunday morning and we have interent connection in our room for the first time in two days (wireless hasn't been working)....the forcast for the forseeable future is sunny sunny sunny .....and so far we're having a lazy Sunday! We'll let you all know when we have an actual home again...hopefully soon!

Elves, Barbarians and other strange things!

2007-04-26T10:47:00.000-06:00

Some pictures from David's recent trip to the Elf Fanatasy Fair in the Netherlands!

Yes that is David getting to battle as a Carthaginian......they beat the Romans in this one!

David got to keep the armor and now Sage is complete as a wee barbarian!

D also brought back some very safe bow and arrows for the kids (note big rubber ball on end of arrow)! Now the first thing Sage does in the morning is go out for archery practice.....and tries not to hit any of our apartment dwellers as they leave for work!

Cat training and Mum's wee bit of news

2007-04-18T08:25:00.000-06:00

Well it's not exactly training but we did get a leash for our cat Dolphin so he could safely go outside. He has actually taken to it without much of an issue. We just have to be ready when he leaps after a fly! Of course now he meows at the door waiting to be taken outside!

And now to my wee bit of news.....David is soon to be joined in the publishing world by his wife!! Yes ..me....I have had a knitting pattern accepted by an online knitting website called knitty.com

Obviously it's small potatoes compared to the hubby but it's major for me ( I do get paid a wee amount for this). It will be out in the summer issue and will have photos of Maya wearing the design (which is a skirt but I can't publish any pictures until the design comes out online).

So now I'm officially a knitwear designer! I'm already planning submissions to other places!

I have also just set up my very own knitting blog which will be called Shetland Trader (well there is nothing on the blog yet but I'll link to it once I put some stuff on there). I'm using Maggie's picture above as my wee trademark signature and hope it will become some kind of business for me in the future. The website that is publishing the pattern will allow me to provide a link to blog/website hence my being prompted to finally get around to doing what I had been meaning to for a while.

Yipee...I'm so excited!

Alligators in the desert!?!

2007-04-18T07:52:00.000-06:00

Yes it's true they really have alligators in the deserts of Colorado! We stopped by on our recent trip with D's students to the college's retreat-like campus in the mountains.
So I have to tell you that Maya and Sage did actually hold a wee 3 foot alligator...where are the photos?...well it was one of those 'you have to buy our photos for $20 deals'...so you'll just have to take my word for it...(stingy parents)

So the real deal with these guys is that they were originally brought in to clean the tanks of the Tilapia fish that are farmed here (and which is still the main business at the reptile park) and now they breed them there also.

No this isn't our new luggage!

The kids had fun watching all the tumbleweeds blowing around and were wondering how the owner of this house was going to get out!

Yes we own our very own tumbleweed now!

Desert light. I don't have photos but we also visited some natural hot springs with the students and got to bob around in the hot water while the sun cast it's golden light on the mountains.....sooo relaxing...even the kids chilled out!

Birthday Boy

2007-03-27T18:04:00.000-06:00

A Few Snapshots of Sage on his 6th birthday!

Sage and his pet Rancor!

Sushi was of course requested for the birthday meal...

...and happily consumed!

Maya's birthday picture.....this is a Jedi called Shakti by the way!

Sage the Sarcastic!

Sad news about Girly

2007-03-17T08:20:00.000-06:00

I'm afraid there's some bad news to announce. Our well-loved cat, Girly, died yesterday. It was all quite sudden and bizarre and made for a miserable day.

For a little over a week she'd been getting nosebleeds. They'd come and go, but throughout she seemed to be just fine. She didn't act ill. She ate normally and was her nervous, lovely self. But yesterday morning, while I (David) was at work, her nose began to really bleed. Gudrun and the kids bundled her up and took her to the vet. It was clear straightaway that the vets thought it was grave. They tested her blood and found her clotting slow. They also gave her an epinephrine injection to close up the bleeding. They wanted to keep her in, so Gudrun and the kids had just arrived back home - I was there too now - when the vet called to say that Girly had gone into cardiac arrest.

The vets think - they're not really providing any other answers - that Girly was poisoned, probably by some sort of rat poison that she found someplace, or by contact with a mouse that had recently been poisoned. This is a bit hard to understand, considering the apartment we live in and Girly's unadventurous behavior. But there it is. That's what happened.

The kids are very upset about it, of course. Maya in particular was devastated. It was hard to watch, especially as they came back from the vet quite happy to have put her in caregiving hands. So when the phone rang with that news none of us expected it at all.

So, anyway, we're going to collect her ashes and eventually release them - perhaps back in Massachusetts.

Maya's latest artwork (and one of Sage's too)

2007-03-13T15:11:00.000-06:00

Rock Star, Rude Dolphin, Razzamatazz Skirts and Rocky hike!

2007-02-24T10:29:00.000-07:00

This really needs no explanation!

Hi! This is Maya. Here is a picture of me and my rude cat Dolphin. Even though he is sometimes rude i still love him.

Spring-like days recently tempted us out for a hike in a nearby canyon.

Actually no razzamatazz skirts anymore as the one I had posted pictures of is too similar to the design being pubished by Knitty.com so I had to take it off for now!

Capoeira

2007-02-09T13:50:00.000-07:00

So for those of you who don't know about Capoeira (pronounced Cah-Pah-Way-Dah) here is a brief description. Capoeira is a blend of martial art, gymnastics, dance, music, singing, portuguese language and culture. It came out of the slave culture in Brazil and breakdancing is said to have been inspired by Capoeria movements. One 'plays' capoeira.

Maya and Sage started taking classes about 5 months ago and absolutley love it love it love it!! ( a direct qoute from Sage). Compared to the other martial arts they've tried this one seems a lot more fun and less like a martial art in terms of the HI-Yah kick action factor!

So the photos here are from a special Capoeira event held twice a year where students recieve their new cord (belt) after being tested in class. Its an opportunity for mestres (masters) and other teachers or graduated students to come toegther and 'play' capoeira. In order to receive your cord you have to go into a roda (pronounced hoda) with a mestre or teacher and demonstate what you know by playing capoeira with them. The littlest kids were the first to go and of course looked very cute with the grown ups ( who slowed down their movements).

Maya and Sage warming up!
The roda with students, mestres and teachers.......playing traditional instruments and singing in a call and answer fashion.
Sage getting his new cord.......unfortunately I have no pictures of him in action due to bodies standing in the way!

Maya in the roda showing off Pointe Pe Cruzado ( not too sure about spelling of that one).

Maya getting her cord!

Have to say David and I were extremely proud of the kids for getting up in front of so many people (200+)...don't know if I could have done it! This last shot (not a very good one )gives a snippet of the more advanced stuff that goes on (note guy on head on the left). Infact there was a whole demonstation from the mestres and teachers of all the very cool contortions they could do. I did get it all on video but don't know how to put video clips on the blog......Jamie? Gerry? Anyone know?

Happy New Year

2007-01-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year to all our friends and family out there!
We saw the new year in fairly quietly while watching the original superman movie (Sage has recently developed an interest in the super hero thing)....pausing to acknowledge 2007 a couple of minutes late apparently but oh well!
Here are some shots of some sledding we did recently just along the bike path from us not quite as cool as the place some friends took us too recently on a closed road in the hills where if you want to you can have an uninterrupted tobaggan style run of a good quarter mile or so.... then it's really up to you how fast you want to go....of course the boys did a lot of whizzing past as the girls prefered to enact dramatic wipe outs....sorry I forgot the camera that day!

Here is David with the ARC of his latest book and the FINAL copy edit of the manuscript. He sent it back to the publishers today with lots of good luck wishes!

New Baby for Christmas

2006-12-25T11:44:00.000-07:00

Ok finally getting around to tending to the blog. I know it’s been a long time! It hasn’t helped that our digital camera is acting up… anyway….first the biggest and most exciting news as far as I’m concerned is that Madeleine Vaila Armstrong entered the world on December 23rd just on time for xmas. Now Beth and Nick have two wee girlies…yeah!

It is actually xmas morning here in Colorado Springs as I write and it’s a very quiet one for us as this is the first year with no other family(or Friends)… We miss you all…

So the real reason I’ve neglected the blog (and my children) is that I’ve been knitting like a maniac for the festive season. I think I must have made about 20 + items this year….actually I’m not done and owe a few more!
So I had to show off some of my hard work….I’m especially proud of the Flamingo which was for Molly and Beth’s commissioned Diaper bag…..thanks for holding on there Madeleine until the diaper bag got to New Zealand!

Other fiber presents were a laptop bag for David and a new pair of felted clogs/slipper things. However he discovered that the slippers don’t go that well with the skateboard (also a xmas present for David)…..should have made some felted knee and elbow pads! Even the cats are enjoying a felted mouse full of catnip!

So things feel kind of quiet right now especially as the college is like a ghost town with all the students gone for the holidays. David has a break from teaching for a couple of months so hopes to get started on the next book! He was very excited to get the Advanced reading copy of “Acacia” as a wee xmas present from his editor… Apparently someone has already done an advanced purchase on Amazon… 6 month early. They obviously know that the copies will be flying off the shelf!

Well it’s about time for a xmas day walk if I can extract the kids from playing with their new star wars figures!

Love to all family and friends out there!

Rafting the Colorado

2006-10-31T14:40:00.000-07:00

We have just returned from a 3 day trip on the Colorado River. It was the kid's first overnight rafting and proper wilderness camping trip. Not that they did all that much actual rafting! Maya did have a few splashes with a paddle but was a little bit of a danger as she would let her T grip (the top part of paddle for non rafters) wave around. This is a big NO NO in the rafting world as it will usually end up hitting someone's nose! Thankfully that didn't happen.

I should mention that we did this trip through the college hence all the students in the pictures. It was a lot of fun to be part of a young group and they provided much attention for the kids. Several students came away knowing much more about Star Wars character than they had previously!
The kids and I did two days with one nght of camping on the river then the rest of the group headed into a harder whitewater section and all came through unscathed but pretty wet!

The setting was gorgeous...red rock canyons with wondeful markings and outcroppings and we had it all to ourselves...apart from a few Bald eagles! We were super lucky wth the weather having left behind a blizzard in Colorado Springs and headed into constant sunshine (very cold at night though).
Not the best photos but I had to keep my camera in a dry bag and didn't have the best access to it.

A muddy stop...the guides had the right idea of just removing shoes altogether instead of losing them in the mud!

Grand Canyon

2006-10-07T09:23:00.000-06:00

The next point of interest was the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Well it was most definitely jaw dropping! First of all we were driving for a while through a very forested area (some big areas destroyed by fire) where we didn’t have any view of the canyon then as we got closer to the edge we would catch glimpses and a collective ‘wow’ would ring out from the car! We had a picnic right near the edge….actually the first spot was so near the edge that our food was in danger of being blown away so we moved inland a little.

We then took a walk out to a view point called Angel’s Window, an exposed piece of rock that sticks out into the canyon with miles of views all around. We tentatively ventured out and held on tightly to the kids!

Mesa Verde

2006-10-06T18:30:00.000-06:00

Well we’ve now returned from our whirlwind tour and I’ve just put on 3 loads of washing!! Not that we did a lot of activities that involved getting dirty! We were mostly taking in the stunning vistas and diverse landscape from the car…with the odd wee walk here and there.

First of all we drove through southwestern Colorado into the San Juan mountains and stayed in the trendy mountain town of Durango…all outdoor activities imaginable…including a whitewater park right in town!

David also saw a mountain lion cross the road in front of our car …I only saw it’s rear end and tail disappear into the bushes….still pretty exciting though! Sorry no pictures!

The following day we went to Mesa Verde National Park to view the ancient (1400 years ago) cliff dwellings of the ancestral Puebloan culture. They built these elaborate homes into the cliffs which they had to climb in and out of using hand and toe hold trails cut into the rock.
We had a few options for tours and it was decided that Grandpa, David and the kids would go on the adventurous Balcony house tour which involved climbing a 32ft ladder, crawling through a tight tunnel and climbing up a 60ft open rock face with two ladders!! Mum and I opted for a more leisurely drive with short walks and views.

Peaks and Caps

2006-09-29T19:12:00.000-06:00

Hello all,
Gudrun here this time! I guess Dad and I will be taking turns adding things to blog whilst they are visiting.
So today we hit a dinosaur museum where Maya and Sage purchased the dino's featured in photo! We are all trying to brush up on our dinosaur names as we play a lot of guess the animal in the car and include the extinct kind.....all desperately trying to outsmart the others!

The other big trip today was to summit the top of Pikes Peak ...a mere 14,100 feet! Well ok we didn't hike it but the drive was challenging enough...especially with me at the wheel!

A wee touch of vertigo as I drove up the outside parts of the road...it didn't help that Maya kept saying how scared she was and closing her eyes and that Sage pointed out how we could easily drop off the edge! Anyway we made it to the top and had a very quick photo taken as we were all finding it hard to breathe (half the amount of oxygen as at sea level).

We made our descent in low gear and I got the approval for good mountain driving from the ranger as he tested to see how hot the brakes were!

Here are the matching knitted caps!

Totally stunning scenery and the aspens were in all their glory!
We head off tomorrow for a five day trip around Colorado and also to Grand Canyon...will keep you posted.

Granny and Grandpa

2006-09-27T19:23:00.000-06:00

We arrived late on Friday night a little delayed but Gudrun, David, Maya and Sage were there to meet us.

Colorado Springs is a relaxed college town, all leafy, broad streets, coffee shops and small shops in the centre. The campus, which we are on, stretches several blocks with parks and trees. The town is right at the edge of the Great Plains, up against the first of the uplands; Pike’s Peak at 14000 feet dominates the western horizon. We went west of the Peak on our first day to visit a fossil park with petrified tree trunks and had a slow stroll around some of the trails. In the distance were mountains so high I thought at first they were clouds. Naively I assumed that not far over those mountains was the Sierra Nevada, California and the Pacific, David said ‘no’! Looking at the map when we returned I could see that I had misjudged by about 1000 miles! This is a big country.

On Monday morning David invited me to his class where I sat at the back and was reminded of the great distance between 20 years olds and 60 year olds! They discussed the set passage … Andrea Barratt’s Ship Fever (most had never previously heard of her). Several thought it was old hat…. Written as long ago as 1995! Then they discussed a couple of their own efforts. They were great students though, the class was relaxed and David clearly had their respect … no doubt he was in charge … he’s a born teacher of creative writing.

So far it has been warm (70), dry and sunny … just the thing after a Shetland summer! On Tuesday morning I walked the mile or so to the centre of town to one of the two secondhand bookshops where I spent 2 and ½ idyllic hours and $70 on books for the winter when we get home.

This morning Mum and I walked back to the bookshop (via a coffee shop, hot chocolate and chocolate cheesecake) and found a book for Gudrun on the New Mexico artist Georgia O’Keefe that she admires … we can see why.

It’s a great place for the family, great apartment college town America, so close to the mountains and a wonderful climate. Maya continues to draw nonstop and I covet a couple of her pictures. At the moment she is writing (on a spare laptop) and illustrating a book on her favourite subject … cats. We bought a chess set so I am teaching then, although Sage seems to know the rules quite well. The only problem is that in his eagerness to take one of my pieces when I make a mistake he usually end up scattering all the pieces across the floor. You can see that he is enthusiastic, which is no bad thing. It’s great to be here with them all.

This coming weekend we are planning a trip of 5 days or so to the Grand Canyon and Utah! We’ll post some more news then.

Laughton and Patricia

Sand Dunes, Great Ones

2006-09-17T17:39:00.000-06:00

Hello. Did a couple of interesting things this weekend, although strangely enough we managed never to have our digital camera with us when we needed it. On Friday we decided on a spur of the moment trip to Great Sand Dunes National Monument. It took about three hour to drive to, but it was well worth it.

We got there as the sun was setting, casting all sort of shadows across shifting sands. The wind was blowing something fierce, but it was fairly amazing to look out at this enormous, rippling mountain of sand, behind which rose even higher mountains of stone. It's very odd. The sand dunes were formed from sand brought down on rivers from the mountains that is somehow kept in a dune formation by winds that howl up from the other direction and then circle around in the bowl created by the mountains.

The wind carried on through the night. It sometimes felt like the tent was about to go airborne, but we had it well-pegged down. Thoughts of bears (an actual hazard in these parts) kept us all sleeping lightly (accept Sage, who we could barely wake even in the light of day). We only had the next morning at the Dunes because we had to get back to the city for a dinner party that evening, but we did what we wanted to. Got a taste of driving off road down windy, sand and rock trails. Then parked and took a hike to the Dunes. We climbed as far as we could, getting pelted by blasts of sand that got into every crack and crevice. It was like a short sampler of life in a chilly Sahara. A good workout to at the altitude, something like 8,000 feet. Anyway, great stuff. We took some photos the old fashioned way, so hopefully we'll eventually be able to get them on to here.

Got home in time for dinner and then on Saturday... Well, I was suppose to go kayaking, but that didn't work out this time around. So instead we went out to Red Rocks Canyon, which is park that's essentially in town. Took our bikes and rode the paths. Lots of different mountain bike trails, most winding through red sandstone formations. Quite a few climbers in evidence. All together quite pleasant. Sorry not to have photographic evidence. We left the camera in the car!

Canyons, rivers and rock formations

2006-09-12T19:37:00.000-06:00

So we have also taken some drives into the mountains and been wowed over and over…these Rockies just go on and on and offer incredibly diverse scenery. We did get out for a wee hike our second day here but at 10,000 feet our bodies weren’t quite ready for it……the city is at 6000 feet so even that took some getting used to!
We did do some off road with the car though which was kind of fun…not exactly off road but dirt road…we did meet plenty of other vehicles doing proper off road stuff through rivers and up steep rocky things!! Not my cup of tea!

Some of our pics are of a climbing area right here in town called Garden of the Gods (the pics of all the weird shaped sandstone rocks).

We also went to this gorge with apparently the world’s highest suspension bridge…we just looked from the side of the canyon cause of course they want money from you to go across!

We also found the river…...the Arkansas…..miles and miles and miles of all sorts of levels of whitewater ……David was of course salivating…so we hit the Kayak store and he talked boats with a young dude who laughed at how outdated our boats are now! We even found this cool little mountain town with a whitewater park in town……

That should bring you up to date for just now I think! Visitors welcome!

Kayaking and climbing

2006-09-12T19:30:00.000-06:00

David is planning his first kayak trip on Sunday…hooking up with the outdoor group here at the college….he’s also taking the kids to the climbing wall this evening so they can try out their new harness….
Maya has already been practicing by climbing the walls in the apartment…not kidding! I shall be singing while this is all going on as I’m joining the college choir…..also hoping to set up some private voice lessons with the music department.
So “it’s all good” as my friend Jenn likes to say! Something for everyone! David is even enjoying the teaching side of things and fairly impressed with the competency of his students. The kids and I got to meet them as they all came for dinner last night…a nice bunch……Sage got a few light saber duels out of them and some games of Rat a Tat Cat our favorite card game these days. (For you brits out there..yes I know ‘favourite’ should have a u in it but seeing as I’m using an American laptop it underlines it in red when I spell it that way!)

Sage displaying his new Colorado College hockey t-shirt

Storms and Sunsets

2006-09-12T19:19:00.000-06:00

On our approach to our final destination, actually about an hour before we got here, we headed into a huge storm and after sitting in the car at the side of the road being whipped by the wind and surrounded by gigantic lightening strikes we retreated to a motel 10 mins back down the road!

Not the best pictures to truly represent the enormity of this storm...doesn't help that the dashboard got reflected with the flash!

The next day we made it to the Springs but still didn’t see the mountains till the following day........which is kind of amazing as they are right here and pretty dominating as we saw when we woke up the next morning. They do provide an ever changing backdrop with the sun sparkling on them in the morning, sometimes a storm later in the day and then the sun setting behind them in the evening.

The view from our back windows

Let's see it's been about 10 days since we arrived and I think we're doing a pretty good job of feeling settled into college life. We are living in an apartment in an old building right in the heart of the campus. We have a huge space to ourselves...we can't even hear the kids when they are in their room and we're in the kitchen! I also didn't notice when someone appeared in our hallway thinking this was their apartment....not used to the notion of locking doors yet after years of rural living!.....
Apart from having to think of security we're finding it a lot of fun to be living in the city again. We can walk into downtown or bike and we can access lots of things right here on campus too. We all got college id's...even the kids....so we can use the pool, ice rink, climbing wall, tennis courts, catch a quick bike ride on the trail that runs for miles right outside the apartment…...hey just call us sporty Durhams! Speaking of which the sports fields are located out the back of our apartment so when we feel like it we can catch a soccer game! However it seems it’s the ice hockey team we have to support as they are number two in the country…..Sage already has his supporters t-shirt and can’t wait to go to a game…sorry Jamie…not quite a football supporter yet…you’ll have to persuade him on that one.

On The Way!

2006-09-12T19:02:00.000-06:00

I know it's been ages....I'm finally getting around to updating the old blog after a few friendly reminders from siblings!

So we got all packed up…..to the brim…..well actually over the brim so we had to stop and unload another box worth of stuff to be shipped on our way out!

After four days in the car and crap fast food we were glad to get to Colorado. Kids and cats were fantastic the whole time….thanks to the ipod the kids got through a few books (obviously the ipod didn’t help the cats much) …….and I got to knit and read …..first time in ages I’ve read a 443 page book in a couple of days (T.C. Boyle’s Drop City)….

The cats slept through the day and wondered where the hell they were in the motels each night!

A New Addition

2006-08-05T06:38:00.000-06:00

Well as you can see we have another wee kitten in the household. This one is staying...he's called Dolphin. Sadly we lost our boy cat a couple of weeks ago........he went out one evening and never returned. Needless to say we are all missing him terribly...however we thought as we are about to go to Colorado for 9 months, where girl cat will be an indoor cat on her own, that we should probably get a kitten now as opposed to next summer when it could be harder for girl cat to accept a new pet.....that was the logic. Things are going fairly well with Dolphin, although being a VERY energetic little thing, girl cat is not quite ready for his enthusiasm and tends to find places to go where he can't get....he hasn't figured out the cat flap into the basement yet so that's her usual escape route! Anyway the kids are happy even though Sage complains about the kitten always stealing his toys!
So we are starting to get packed up for the move...only a little over 3 weeks to go.....a bit daunting, getting things packed up and ready in the house that is......but we are all getting pretty excited to be going west for a while. Jamie you'll be pleased to hear we finally went down the ipod route and got one with a huge memory so we can jam pack it with not only music but audiobooks for our four day drive.....fun to have such a sleek new toy!

The garden makeover

2006-07-21T17:50:00.000-06:00

This is mostly for Sorley's benefit as he actually did most of the work preparing my garden bed in the spring when he and Ben were visiting. Now as you can see (hopefully through the chickenwire) things are growing...some more than others...for instance the squash and cucumbers which were planted last of all are taking over! Unfortunately the spot I chose looked a lot sunnier back in April when there were no leaves on the trees...now...it's a little shady! So, keeping my fingers crossed that the tomatoes that are setting fruit will actually ripen......
The kids have been munching on the peas...Sage is now a convert...I'm hoping the tomatoes will have an effect on him too!

Camera Practice

2006-07-21T17:32:00.000-06:00

Here are some shots Maya took whilst taking a mini digital photography class...some pretty funny expressions that I thought were worth sharing with you all! I also realised that there are no photos of me on the blog...so incase you've all forgotten this is what I look like!

So we did just take a trip to Maine but I didn't take a single picture!!!! It was lovely.......beachcombing at lowtide (which resulted in partially eaten crabs being left in our car during 90 degree temps...you can imagine the smell)...bodysurfing by the kids, some lobster eating and lots of divebombing into the motel pool...Maya has finally conquered putting her head underwater as a result of all the jumping in.
David was busy, busy, busy with the residency he was there to teach but we got to hang out with him and the students for some of the time.
Back home now and starting to gear up for our move....getting the shower fixed, the chimney swept, the piano tuned etc.....still feels a little unreal that we are actually leaving in a month. Mostly the kids and I are hanging out doing summer things....swimming often twice a day, bike riding, horse riding ( I may even be riding myself tomorrow) spending time with friends...It's hard to get up the motivation to pack up the house!

Birthday Girl

2006-07-04T06:38:00.000-06:00

So here are some pictures from our wee lassie's day of turning 7. As I set the table with her cards and presents the night before I was following in the footsteps of my Mum who would always create a special and carefully wrapped display that I'd look forward to waking up to (Thanks Mum).....I wanted to recreate that for Maya so stayed up making some Happy Birthday letters out of this clay that can be baked...however my letters came out rather brown looking!..Maya didn't notice!

Maya's main present was a doll called Kaya which is the character from some books we have been reading. It was the first time Maya had gotten a Doll as a present....I think she was very chuffed!

She also got this beautiful cat print (drawn by Maggie) from Granny and Grandpa and has now added it to her art wall in her bedroom.

David made Maya the costume she is modelling...a sort of Godess/priestess/mists of avalon type of thing!

We spent the rest of the day with our wonderful, cool, fabbby friends Jenn, Gerry, Winter and Sedona over on their side of the Valley. We took a little hike and then cooled off in the river where there were these rock slides and pools. The sliding part looked a little painful so we watched as Winter experienced it for us. We headed back to their house after for handmade Sushi from David (with a little sushi making lesson thrown in for Jenn), pizza and some fine Wine and Beer! Jenn Got out her guitar and we indulged in some Joni Mitchell and Carole King...made me think of you again Mum!
A wonderful time was had by all!

Dina and Noir

2006-07-03T07:21:00.001-06:00

Maya and Sage finally got their wish for horse riding lessons! Aided by some lethargic teenagers, who were doing their best to muster up enthusiasm as Sage called out for "more trotting" (which unhappily for them involved the strenuous activity of jogging), the kids spent an hour learning all sorts of horsey things.

Maya seemed to have natural riding tendencies...this according to the owner....nice straight back etc. Sage and his horse shared a similar attitude....slightly lazy, moving only if really necessary....Dina is 26 years old...not sure what Sage's excuse is! However saying that I think Sage just wanted the action as he was keen to trot and even asked to do some jumping.....which they got to do as David and I looked nervously at each other wondering if this would be the first and last riding lesson!

But no, the kids spent the entire hour with enormous grins on their faces and excited to think of their next lesson...which given the cost can only occur once a week! Noir by the way was born all black..she's the whiteish horse that Maya was riding.

Camping at the Cape

2006-06-24T05:32:00.000-06:00

After spending quite a bit of time loading up the car with tents, sleeping bags, extra blankets, bikes, Kayaks, food, pillows, knitting, games........we were going car camping after all and I intended to be as comfy as possible......we drove the 3 and half hours to the Cape (Cape Cod for those who don't know) and promptly unloaded it all and set up our temporary home away from home. David did the manly thing and got the raging camp fire going .This was after not being able to start our wee camp stove on which we were supposed to cook...we could of course have been really lazy and gone to the camp store 2 mins walk away...but no we were toughing it out in the wilderness!

Sage doing some quiet contamplation by the fire...a rare moment!

Once some other fellow homeschoolers arrived we headed down to one of the lakes for a quick dip.....the weather was amazing the whole weekend which was fortunate as the weekend before and after it was bucketing rain! The park we were staying at (Nickerson State Park) was very attractive with 7 ponds and bike trails all over. Most of the kids (there were about 14 or so) spent a good deal of time on their bikes visiting one another and yelling for help once in while ( the yellers were the ones who hadn't quite mastered the bike riding thing and were getting frustrated being constantly left behind by the speedy older kids)! The picture of Maya eating in camp with her bike helmet on gives you an idea of how seriously the biking was being taken!

Most of the group arrived late in the night and stumbled into tents with cranky kids, trying to avoid the rampant poison ivy around the camp..poison ivy is a fairly innocent looking green plant that blends in with all the other green foliage but which causes much discomfort if touched! Thankfully we were all up on our indentification skills and kept yelling at the kids to stay away!

Saturday was the day of activities and after a yummy breakfast of eggs in tortillas David and I dragged our Kayaks down to the lake...not a short walk....and did I mention the poison Ivy! We made it down there and the children got straight in. David was excited to see that Maya has a natural paddling ability...she was very good with her strokes and did an amazing job of keeping the boat straight! Sage ...not so much! So they had a gay old time with the boats which ended up becoming surf boards instead and we eventually managed to drag them (the boats and kids) back to camp for lunch and then head for the ocean.

Unforunately I didn't take enough pictures at the beach but that was mostly because I was keeping a watchful motherly eye on the kids to make sure they didn't get sucked away by the ocean during their body surfing games. It was great to see them so happy and comfy in the waves as the last time we were at the beach they were too little to go into the waves with such enthusiasm. David also caught some waves in his kayak and I was totally lame and sat on the beach warming up children in between their dips....I didn't have swimming attire having ordered something on the internet to have it arrive and hey surprise surprise not fit me! After a few rotations under the waves and water and sand up the nose etc we all trekked back to the campsite for a nice refreshing shower and some 'steamers' ..not a turkish bath but clams....the kids sampled and sampled some more...... David is glad to have some keen shellfsh eating kids!

A great time was had by all!

Strawbale plastering

2006-06-04T10:56:00.000-06:00

Maya and I attended a strawbale plastering workshop yesterday learning a little about strawbale construction and getting some hands on experience with the clay/straw mixture that gets put on over the bales. Maya very delicately helped out with little splodges of clay here and there but mostly watched and ate all the food I had brought along! I however did get stuck in there and after a brief 'how to' was plastering the bales with many other hands. To keep up everyones's enthusiasm there was a DJ complete with turntables blaring some cool reggae music. This paticularly helpled out the folk making the clay mixture which involved a lot of dancing with bare feet on the clay and straw until the right consistency was achieved.

This is a studio space that has been built with a post and beam construction in an ecovillage called the Sirius community in Shutesbury... along the lines of Findhorn in Scotland. All the materials were found locally including the wood which was from their property ( apparently most of the wood used in house construction gets trucked from 3000 miles away). It was really interesting to learn a little of the process and encouraging that people are doing it here in the North East. I'm keen on the idea of David and I doing a small strawbale studio on our property perhaps next year. This of course would involve some bale raising and plastering parties! I'm now on a strawbale buliding focus and plan to learn what I can in order that we can do as much of the work ourselves ( with local help) and save some money.

The Kittens Much Bigger!

2006-06-04T10:39:00.000-06:00

Maya wrote:
Today Panther licked Sage and after, Daisy hurt Sage on the shoulder. Silky owns a bookstore. Daisy ate the first piece of food. The kittens are so cute!

Mum wrote:
The kids continue to nurture and train their little kitties. Sage thought it necessary to teach Daisy how to somersault as all good kittens should be able to do! Food and litter have been introduced now but I'm not sure that the kittens can tell the difference yet! We've moved them into David's office and now they have a lot more room to explore including behind all the books....David however has taken refuge in our bedroom!

Maya Says: I Lost My First Tooth!

2006-06-03T07:16:00.000-06:00

Mum wrote: Yes finally Maya has joined the rest of her gappy mouthed peers! However that tooth fairy has gotten a lot more generous it appears... I was informed that she even leaves presents in exchange for that enamel! Luckily we got the old fashioned kind at our house and Maya got her coins.

Dad wrote: Looks cute, right? Watch out, though, there's a behemoth of a tooth breaking the gums behind that jagged front row! Could make for some interesting dentistry soon...

Bags and hula hoops

2006-05-26T14:47:00.000-06:00

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

2006-05-17T16:11:00.001-06:00

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

2006-05-17T16:11:00.000-06:00

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

2006-05-12T07:07:00.000-06:00

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

2006-05-08T09:47:00.000-06:00

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

2006-05-06T17:41:00.000-06:00

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!