This will be my last post on this blog.
I have decided to bring my adventure into the blogosphere to an end, because I am no longer sure that it is such a good idea as it seemed back in August.
I've learned a lot along the way. Here are some of my thoughts:
1) To really get the most out of blogging, one has to read a lot of other people's blogs. I simply lack the time or inclination to do that: my page of blog feeds tends to go unvisited from one week to the next. If you don't read other people's blogs, it is difficult to feel part of the community.
2) My ability to offend people by expressing myself carelessly remains undiminished, despite my avowed intentions.
3) I have been naively surprised by the range of people who have been reading my blog. I had assumed that the readership would divide neatly into two groups: very close friends and family, and people who only know me on the internet. In reality, a large number of my readership have been people with whom I have boundaried relationships: colleagues at work, friends from church, ex-wives. Blogging blurs those boundaries, and this is not necessarily a good thing. I know that Mel has been very sensitive to this, and we have discussed it a lot.
4) I have enjoyed keeping a diary because it lets me think and reflect. I will hopefully keep up a paper diary and scrapbook going forward. But its contents will now be a private matter, for Mel, me and the family!
Bye!
Thursday, 15 May 2008
So long, farewell
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
Hall, stairs & landing
We finished our hall, stairs & landing project today with the fitting of our new carpet, pictured. We think its a big improvement on what we started with, and we've been struck by how much lighter and bigger the whole place feels.
Apparently the first thing the fitter did was to come in and plug his phone charger into one of our sockets! Funny to say, I had heard a similar story last week. Is this a comment on our modern world? And what does it say?
Apparently the first thing the fitter did was to come in and plug his phone charger into one of our sockets! Funny to say, I had heard a similar story last week. Is this a comment on our modern world? And what does it say?
Sunday, 4 May 2008
Boswells May 2008
As Anna was over, mother managed to get the whole Boswell family to Oxford on Saturday, which was great fun. We went to Blenheim Palace in the afternoon, where they had displays of falconry and jousting - all introduced by a man who sounded particularly like Robert Llewellyn of 'Red Dwarf' and 'Scrapheap Challenge' fame. It was also interesting to see the palace because despite having walked round the gardens loads of times I can't remember ever having seen the house itself. It is certainly a very impressive building.
We had a good time playing in the garden too - especially later when Sam and Zoe really got their chance to play with their elder cousin. Sam in particular was very happy, and insisted that Anna should sit next to him later at supper. You'll see that they wanted to sit her between them in this photo. Although my eye is drawn to the young girl on the left who is the only one to have see the tardis landing - or at least it looks like that!
From an adult perpective, we had some very nice wines, including a Dr Loosen Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling that really was very enjoyable! Its always nice sharing a good glass with people who also appreciate it!
We had a good time playing in the garden too - especially later when Sam and Zoe really got their chance to play with their elder cousin. Sam in particular was very happy, and insisted that Anna should sit next to him later at supper. You'll see that they wanted to sit her between them in this photo. Although my eye is drawn to the young girl on the left who is the only one to have see the tardis landing - or at least it looks like that!
From an adult perpective, we had some very nice wines, including a Dr Loosen Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling that really was very enjoyable! Its always nice sharing a good glass with people who also appreciate it!
Anna paa besoeg
Anna's come over again for her second visit of the year. Its great that she is happy flying on her own - its much easier for us to host her, and we can do some fun things together.
She arrived on Friday and since the weather was quite nice we went for a walk: Bourton to the Slaughters. Here is a photo of us in Lower Slaughter - Anna in her black & gold Hummel tracksuit and legwarmers! We also enjoyed paddling in the ford at Upper Slaughter and then had fish and chips: a first for Anna!
She arrived on Friday and since the weather was quite nice we went for a walk: Bourton to the Slaughters. Here is a photo of us in Lower Slaughter - Anna in her black & gold Hummel tracksuit and legwarmers! We also enjoyed paddling in the ford at Upper Slaughter and then had fish and chips: a first for Anna!
Sunday, 27 April 2008
Emma at six months
Emma was six months old yesterday - how time has flown by! I am continuously amazed by her, particularly her general good humour. She is gradually changing from baby to toddler, as perhaps this photo shows. She's always been interested in the world around her - at the moment she takes a particularly keen interest in her mummy & daddy's food and drink. She's got one little tooth with more just coming through - this is causing her some distress but its a good excuse to put anything in her mouth.
We've also noticed that she has a keen enthusiasm for music - hardly surprising, given that she's been surrounded by it since the womb! Today at church I am sure that she was drumming along with one of the songs - and singing in another. I was particularly taken with her intonation and sense of rhythm. We could use some of it in the Music Group itself. [Joke]
We've also noticed that she has a keen enthusiasm for music - hardly surprising, given that she's been surrounded by it since the womb! Today at church I am sure that she was drumming along with one of the songs - and singing in another. I was particularly taken with her intonation and sense of rhythm. We could use some of it in the Music Group itself. [Joke]
Monday, 21 April 2008
Nan's 60th birthday party
We have been away for the weekend with all the Stemp family, celebrating Mel's mum's 60th birthday. Her dad Jon had booked a large house near Tenbury Wells which had space for all eleven of us, so we headed up there on Friday and came back this morning after breakfast.
We had an enjoyable weekend despite the weather, which remained stubbornly overcast and grizzly throughout. It is clearly a very beautiful part of the world when the sun is shining, and at this time of year we would normally have hoped for sunshine and showers, but it was not to be. Luckily, the house had a great big Aga in the kitchen, which kept the house nice and cozy, and which was also great for cooking on.
We had hoped to do some walking but the weather sort of put paid to that. Instead we spent Saturday afternoon in Ludlow, where we bought some very nice local beef from a small butchers where the customers were queueing out the door. That made for a lovely meal in the evening; I enjoyed slaving over the hot stove!
The three kids were all a bit too young to play with each other. Emma's cousin Charlie would have loved to have had a friend to play with but Emma is not quite mobile enough, and young Finn is still a babe in arms. This meant that we never quite managed to find time where the different families could do things together - maybe next year? The general consensus was that this was a good weekend and worth repeating.
We had an enjoyable weekend despite the weather, which remained stubbornly overcast and grizzly throughout. It is clearly a very beautiful part of the world when the sun is shining, and at this time of year we would normally have hoped for sunshine and showers, but it was not to be. Luckily, the house had a great big Aga in the kitchen, which kept the house nice and cozy, and which was also great for cooking on.
We had hoped to do some walking but the weather sort of put paid to that. Instead we spent Saturday afternoon in Ludlow, where we bought some very nice local beef from a small butchers where the customers were queueing out the door. That made for a lovely meal in the evening; I enjoyed slaving over the hot stove!
The three kids were all a bit too young to play with each other. Emma's cousin Charlie would have loved to have had a friend to play with but Emma is not quite mobile enough, and young Finn is still a babe in arms. This meant that we never quite managed to find time where the different families could do things together - maybe next year? The general consensus was that this was a good weekend and worth repeating.
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
Chicken update
Day 5 in the chicken house. Our two chickens have settled in to their new home very well, despite the cold weather, and are eating, drinking, crapping and tearing up the garden in patches. More importantly, they are happily laying eggs at a rate of one each per day. One of them lays nice white eggs, whilst the others' are light brown. On Monday we had an omelette; we're already wondering how we are going to use the four more we've collected since. I suspect that our diet is going to have to change!
Its been great fun so far - my favourite bit at the moment is letting them out in the morning. When I come down at 6.30 and open their door they come rushing out into their run, obviously keen to get on with the day. It doesn't seem to matter that their world consists of a 2 square metre run - they are obviously happy with it. Its also been fun to watch them return to the roost at night. At 8.08 precisely tonight they marched into their coop and went to bed. Such sticklers for routine!
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