SCENES ROUND HOME

SNOW COMPARISONS - FEB 09 AND JAN 10

The first photo is Feb 09, the others are from last Friday.

SNOW, JANUARY 2010

Last February was Alice's first experience of snow, when we went for a walk we didn't even make it into the field as she had to examine every snowflake that we passed.

This year it's very different, the moment Alice sees snow she's picking it up to make snowballs and then to eat it! But actually she's more interested in the hot chocolate when we get back to the house! We had major snowfall (for us) last Tuesday night and then a fresh lot (not as much but enough) last night, Alice isn't really that interested in going out in the snow - she mentioned it but then didn't ask again. I hope that the snow isn't going to last much longer (it's due to get warmer by Friday so hopefully it'll melt then) and I'm ready for it to be gone. This is the seventh week off nursery routine, I'm not missing the early starts but more than anything I'm ready for routine again!

I'M BRITISH, I HAVE TO BLOG ABOUT . . .

 . . . THE WEATHER!

I lost my car keys whilst taking Alice into Nursery, so felt daft returning to look for them.  I got back into the classroom just as she was telling them about the pantomime, just in time to warn them about the Wicked B*itch!!  I then went supermarket shopping and in search of some pompom wool to knit a quick scarf!  It snowed through Tuesday daytime, they closed Nursery at lunchtime, but I was babysitting D (A's little brother while they went to the dentist) and so I missed the message, as soon as I realised I went straight there (I was on my way anyway).  There were 5 or 6 children left so Alice wasn't the last to be collected - less egg on face than previously!  That evening Alice admired the wool while I tried several times to knit it up into the right proportions, I managed eventually and also established that Alice would really like a scarf like that too!

We woke to 7-8 inches of snow on Wednesday morning, all plans went on hold.  We had a leisurely morning (no point in rushing as there was nowhere to go!) and then dressed up and up and up with many layers before going on a walk through the snow.  It was noticeably different to last Feb's walk, this year Alice didn't need to examine every snowflake and we actually made it as far as the field!  She loved throwing snowballs, but loved eating snow even more (I had to give her a quick lesson in which snow to choose as otherwise she'd have been eating the snow that others had walked through!)  After lots of snow, snowballs and a few snowangels we headed home for hot chocolate - persuaded by the thought that it's P's favourite drink!  She discovered that she loved hot chocolate and asked for more!  We went out again on Friday morning, by which time the snow had been frozen and changed consistency, no good for snowmen building or even proper snowballs!  Alice was keen to go for another walk, but as soon as we got into the field she demanded to go home, when I asked she confirmed that it was the hot chocolate that she really wanted!!  As for the new scarf, it's lovely and soft and looks good, but useless at keeping the drafts out!

Both our schools have been closed since Wednesday, we've stayed home as much as possible and watched the weather forecasts closely - they don't improve much for over a week, but even slightly warmer could create a thaw and get life back to normal!

WEATHER

I'm British, I'm obsessed with the weather, it's a national obsession.

It turned cold nearly 2 weeks ago, before we broke up for the holidays, parts of the drive have been covered with ice ever since, it's NEVER been covered for that long before. The verges on my lane still had snow on them yesterday (can't comment about today as we had a quiet day in!)

We've lived here for 19 years. In that time I've woken to fresh snow on Christmas Day once, my first ever White Christmas was in the late 90s and was a complete surprise, it was just a dusting but it made it look how we think Christmas should be!

Last week, we had a White Christmas, we didn't actually have any snow falling on CD, but it snowed on the 23rd and that snow has been hanging around ever since - there's an Old Wives Tale, 'Snow that hangs around is waiting for more!' I'm quite convinced and understand the logic, I've just checked the weather forecast for next week and tomorrow is the only day in the next week where the weather is going to be a positive Celsius temperature! They're not forecasting snow just very cold, we're not used to it being that cold, I'm not looking forward to it and can see that we'll be moving into the drawing room to use the log fire! My toes are already cold at the thought of all that.

WHAT AN ADVENTURE!!

We had a busy morning. We got off to a late start after a poor night's sleep. I couldn't plan how the morning was going to be as I was waiting for a phone call, luckily it came relatively early and so didn't disrupt the day, it went well and an important decision was made (more to come on that in the New Year).


Then it was a morning of mopping up loose ends, a quick shopping trip for last minute chocolate presents, delivery of a late birthday card (why can't I get more organised?), delivery of some of the choccies and home for some lunch.

Then fun really began! J arrived with O (one of Alice's BFs) and baby R and we went off to see Father Christmas, we left in plenty of time because of the weather - there is still snow with thick ice underneath on minor roads.

Luckily we arrived with time to spare and it was magical as it started to snow. We caught a little steam train and travelled through the snow to see Jack Frost, the children gave him an icicle and in return he gave them a magic badge, then we travelled back to the station where the children rubbed the magic badges and Father Christmas came down the chimney! He told them a little bit about his workshop and the reindeer and then the elves helped him to give out presents. In previous years we've been on a full sized steam train (different location) and queued through a carriage to see FC in family groups. This year the train ride and Jack Frost were magical, so was FC coming down the chimney, but the actual meeting FC was better at the other train, but the presents this year were extremely generous and the snow added a specialness to the whole event. The snow also made the journey home treacherous - it took 40 minutes to get to the station and nearly 2 hours to get home, the first mile took nearly an hour! The delays in the journey were just due to the amount of traffic on untreated roads and the lack of ability to cope with a small amount of snow - we don't get enough snow to justify the investment in equipment that would help us cope, today my 4x4 COMPLETELY earned it's money - it kept us safe and stopped the mummies worrying! Luckily I have a treat bag stashed in hiding in the boot, the children (with only a little help from their mummies) were kept occupied and finished it in the dark while watching the snow. It was a very Christmassy, magical, slightly worrying but happy adventure, one that we'll never forget!

WEATHER, SCHOOL AND SHOPPING - A BUSY DAY!

For Alice, today was all about the minuscule dusting of snow that happened early this morning, unfortunately it fell on solid ice which made for a slow journey to work for me.

Unsurprisingly many children didn't make it into school (most schools finished on Friday, but our doesn't finish until tomorrow - let's not start THAT discussion). Teaching the top class necessitated finishing some important topics for the term, so while other classes got to do some 'fun' things we were still completing written work and ICT presentations, but we did get to have some fun too - finding out about Christmas traditions and singing a great song for Christmas (that I'd never heard before - I'd share more details but I can only remember the building chorus!!)

After work I took advantage of Alice being taken care of and decided to battle the supermarket. It took me an hour, a full trolley, I ran out of ecobags but I got everything on the list - after I'd checked out I remembered other things, that we'll have to do without until Sunday!! It took a while to unload the car but Alice was delighted to help me carry things through the house to the kitchen, not usually such a chore but the weather meant it was safer to park in the garage and lug the shopping rather than parking closer to the kitchen.

Alice was very affectionate when I got home and was quick to tell me about her snowballs - she obviously had fun, especially as C finished school last week and so was able to play all day! Unpacking the shopping - mostly cold or frozen, took most of the time til bedtime, so we had an extra snuggle upstairs, but that didn't stop her screaming when I left. It seems to be the pattern of the last few nights, she screams hysterically for 1-2 minutes as I leave, but she calms quickly and then settles for the night, it's very hard to leave her like this (especially as this is so different to her previous bedtime habits) but she settles quickly.

YESTERDAY'S STORM

From 4pm til 6pm we had a torrential storm, it was raining stair-rods, we were in the middle of several electric storms and the power kept going off, as Alice said it was, 'Thunder and frightening!' The drive was dry mid-afternoon, but by 5pm the puddles were several inches deep in places and the road became a river.

ENJOYING THE WEATHER

Covered up from the sun, slathered in sun spray and draped in a hat - Alice had a splashing good time in her new (larger) paddling pool. We're being careful but loving the good weather - unfortunately only one more day (for now) of it left.

LOVELY WEATHER!

The weather was much warmer today, the sun shone and it felt warm enough to be outside in long sleeves but without coats.

We took full advantage, the kitchen door was open for several hours as the dogs and Alice wombled in the garden. I restricted Alice to the paths and paving and she's beginning to understand the boundaries (with a lot of reminding and positive reinforcement). 'Baby' had a good walk, Pudding stretched her legs before coming inside to pee on the carpet and Alice had fun - she didn't want to come in for lunch!

(And Cynthia - I agree!! If the rest of you want to know 'with what' you'll have to read recent comments!)

FED UP

. . . I'm fed up with the weather! I don't mind snow when it's here, but it's all the weather forecasts predicting snow, it's the threat of snow and disruption that I find so wearing.

It snowed on Monday - blizzards for 15 minutes or so, enough to start to stick on the ground but not on the roads. On Tuesday we woke to a proper covering (but only just) and then it snowed for several hours during the later part of the morning, by the evening it was beginning to melt. On Wednesday it started to snow in the evening and again we woke to a covering on Thursday but it tended to melt through the day. Friday - more snow first thing and through the morning, melting later on. By today the garden was virtually clear of snow but the hill behind the house was still covered, we went out at lunchtime and there was more snow on most of our route than there was at home. It tried to snow this afternoon and the forecast again is for more snow and a winter storm tomorrow evening. The snow's hanging around - and they say that it hangs around waiting for more.

I know that we don't have snowfall to compare to levels in some parts of the Continent or US, but when snowfall is small or infrequent then lifestyles aren't very well suited to coping with the 'white stuff' when we see it!

This post - just goes to show how obsessed the Brits are with the weather!

DOGS IN THE SNOW

Playtime in the blizzard, it looks vicious but Fuss could have stopped it at anytime. All the dogs enjoyed being outside in the snow, taking longer to womble round the garden. It was fun to watch Pud shake the snow off her nose whilst trotting towards the kitchen door!

ALICE'S FIRST SNOW!

Yesterday we didn't really have enough snow to make an impact (other than changing the colour of everything!)

Today was different - there was noticeably more snow. I debated whether to take Alice to her swimming class but decided that experiencing her first snow was a higher priority (then the swimming company rang to say that the class was cancelled!)

So after breakfast I bundled Alice up (and I do mean bundled) and we went for a walk. We walked down the field, we just made it into the bottom field, made a snow angel and came home, less than 800 yards from home but the return trip took about 45 minutes at toddler speed! Alice want to pick up every snow flake, eventually she learnt how to 'dust' off her gloves to try and keep them dry. The difficult part was trying to stop her eating it (never sure what was under it, ugh!)

HOME IN THE SNOW

SNOW AND PUD

'The worst snow in 18 years!'

Not round here, we had much more 2 years ago (when they'd just taken out the windows to replace the frames and put in)!

We woke to a dusting of snow this morning, enough to see but not enough to completely cover the lawn. Dusty flakes were swirling and seemed to go up as much as down. I showed Alice the view of the garden from my bedroom window, she was interested and she kept returning to the window saying 'Snow!'

We were due to go to Cardiff this morning with D and A. D and I decided that it wasn't sensible to drive that far given the forecast and the warnings on TV. For me it was a doubly good decision - as Pud still had diarrhoea and I wanted to take her to the vets. She's had diarrhoea since Friday night and this morning she didn't want her breakfast - that's when I really began to worry. I was brave and decided to take Alice with us. Pud was fine but Alice was challenging and eventually one of the receptionists offered to distract her (by that time she'd tried to go into the other surgery and gone back into reception too). Pud now has some clay based gunk and an orange pill, both to be taken 3 times per day. The vet wasn't too worried as she hadn't vomited. We came home and Pud took the first doses easily. She was sleepy as usual. Then at around 4pm she vomited - that made me worry even more, I put her to bed (uninterrupted sleep).

Meanwhile the snow got more serious, by 3pm we couldn't see the trees at the bottom of the far field, I cancelled my afternoon appointment and then the blizzard cleared! The snow's continued to fall, the flakes are fat sometimes and now the lawn is truly covered. According to GFN we're due to have significant snow between 7pm and the early hours, but the Welsh news say that it'll all be gone by tomorrow evening! Perhaps GFN was trying to make be feel better about all the provisions that I bought in a panic after he first mentioned snow just after Christmas!

Pud slept until suppertime when she began to cry from her puppy pen, getting the second doses into her was trickier than before. She inhaled her food with head down serious attitude and a wagging tail and now she's sleeping at my feet.

A POST ABOUT THE WEATHER!

Whilst we're not living in the freezer like some of my bloggy friends in the US, it has been cold in the UK this winter. I think they said last week that it's been the coldest winter since one of the 1990s (yeah, wasn't listening too well!)

At times it's been really cold this winter, cold enough to go to bed shivering.

Tonight it's snowing and cold (again I must acknowledge those bloggy friends who've been living with the white stuff for weeks), it's been 2 years since we've seen proper snow (remember, the week that they started taking the windows out?!)

IT'S HOT 'ROUND HERE!

A lazy morning - Alice woke earlier than I was ready for (not surprising given the very warm weather), so we lazed in bed while Alice watched Maisy and Mummy tried to doze!

Then we went to the supermarket.


After Alice's lunchtime nap we got dressed for our neighbour's party - it was a lovely gathering but the weather was so hot that I didn't feel very social. We made it in time for pudding and Alice munched strawberries very happily, but she didn't want her supper when we got home, we were both hot and dusty by then so I decided that Alice could have a splash in the paddling pool instead of a bath. She had a lovely time, so did I - it was a great relief to soak my feet!!

THE FORECAST WAS RAIN!?

It looked OK this morning, good enough for Alice to wear shorts, we went to the North to visit the Durrell Animal Place (can't remember what it's called but it's no longer the Zoo!!) It was overcazst and chilly, so Alice was pushed around whilst being wrapped in a travel rug!

The photo is the view from our window at lunchtime today. Lunchtime - fab weather and a 75 minute wait for food. My blood boiled when I was told at 12.30 that it would be 90 minutes or more before I could order from the terrace - the indoor restaurant was closed as the terrace was open, but couldn't accept orders, atrocious - I wouldn't want to be the Manager when I get to speak to him and I WILL get to speak to him!

GOING ON HOLIDAY

Have you seen the weather forecast? TYPICAL!

FIRST THEATRE TRIP

Yesterday we went to the theatre - it was Alice's first trip. We went to see a morning performance of 'Elmer the Elephant' and then we went out to lunch.

The performance was nearly 60 minutes long - Alice was captivated - she watched the actors very closely and occasionally she watched the audience too!! She waved her trunk like a real elephant and clapped with the music and at the end - she clearly enjoyed herself and we'll go again as soon as I find another suitable performance.

The fantastic behaviour continued at lunch - where she sat for another hour - she had plenty to eat, spaghetti bolognaise, chips, chocolate cake and blue crayon, yum!!

Then in the afternoon D and A came round - the girls really played well in the water and were quick to imitate each other. They had lots of fun and we all got wet - lucky it was a warm day!