It's just a foreign town with a foreign mind

You win some, you lose some.

2009-03-20T18:52:00.000-07:00

OK, I confess. I've pooped out on finishing this. I think there have just been so many changes for me this year that I've gone into information overload. So I'm going to not very gracefully end this Project 365 a little early. BUT, I am starting a new one next week on the day Glenn arrives in the USA and we start our big adventure on this side of the Atlantic. Link to be posted shortly.

Thanks for joining me on my very haphazard journey.

250/365

2009-02-24T19:02:00.000-08:00

We got some new toys today from Miss Amy. Jake likes the rocking horse a lot!

249/365

2009-02-24T19:00:00.000-08:00

Daffodils in the sun.

248/365

2009-02-24T18:56:00.001-08:00

Jake will eat almost anything. Here is is enjoying Pad Thai. Unfortunately, as usual, Sammy was not nearly as appreciative. It was fun to play with, though!

247/365

2009-02-24T18:55:00.001-08:00

Sammy helping Mommy and Amma.

246/365

2009-02-24T18:50:00.000-08:00

The secret to a fabulous hairdo is the right product. Jake recommends chocolate pudding.

245/365

2009-02-24T18:48:00.000-08:00

Sammy at Miss Isabelle and Lydia's makin' Valentines Day cookies!

244/365

2009-02-24T18:44:00.000-08:00

Jake would really rather not nap. There's too much interesting stuff going on. So he usually crashes somewhere odd. Here, he's about to fall asleep half in and out of the doggie bed.

243/365

2009-02-24T18:42:00.000-08:00

Sammy loves to help. Here he is making pancakes with Amma!

242/365

2009-02-24T18:39:00.000-08:00

Jake watching the Westminster Kennel Club dog show. A Sussex Spaniel won best of show! (maybe related to Laddie?)

241/365

2009-02-24T18:37:00.000-08:00

Sammy made a train, of which he is one of the cars, out of his new soft blocks from Auntie Marsha.

240/365

2009-02-24T18:34:00.000-08:00

The bloody squirrels are having a party in our trash can/rubbish bin every day. The crazy animals actually ATE away the plastic bit of the lid that let's you lock it shut!

239/365

2009-02-24T18:33:00.000-08:00

Waffles for dinner!

238/365

2009-02-24T18:32:00.000-08:00

More silly sleeping.

237/365

2009-02-24T18:29:00.001-08:00

Silly sleepy boy.

(Oh, sorry it's been so long since an update. It's just been a bit slow lately and I've not felt that inspired).

236/365

2009-02-01T19:20:00.000-08:00

Today I spent several hours in Baltimore with Kevin. We got early spring fever as it was in the 50s! Kevin obviously took this pic, but cheating is justified here... poor Glenn hasn't seen me except on Skpe for over 2 months now! Hi honey!

235/365

2009-02-01T19:18:00.000-08:00

Jake still won't crawl on his hands and knees. He's all about the commando action. But it doesn't stop him from getting into drawers and cupboards. Here he is thinking about doing some baking.

234/365

2009-02-01T19:17:00.000-08:00

I bought and 'customized' these clocks for Mom when I moved to the UK. Now we use them to keep track of Glenn.

233/365

2009-02-01T19:15:00.000-08:00

Jake has developed this super fuzzy hair on the back of his head. It's from lying on his back when sleeping but it's very silly looking!

232/365

2009-02-01T19:14:00.001-08:00

Our Christmas poinsettia is still kicking around. We've yet to decorate the house with suitable knick-knacks and pictures so it's our one bright spot of color these days.

231/365

2009-02-01T19:11:00.000-08:00

Sammy's first proper snow (excluding the bout of flurries we had in Exeter last year!). He gets his sock and trouser look from Daddy.

230/365

2009-01-26T19:02:00.001-08:00

'Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore'... no more cute village surgeries. This is the building where the boys' pediatrician is. Ugly building, but great doctor.

229/365

2009-01-26T19:00:00.000-08:00

Jacob asleep on Amma's lap again. Gotta keep those little hands warm!

228/365

2009-01-26T18:59:00.000-08:00

Sammy found my bag of Swedish Fish from Ikea!!

227/365

2009-01-26T18:57:00.001-08:00

Sammy enjoying a rare, warmish day in the garden.

226/365

2009-01-26T18:55:00.000-08:00

Rooney watching In the Night Garden.

225/365

2009-01-26T18:54:00.000-08:00

Still life with oranges.

224/365

2009-01-26T18:52:00.000-08:00

Today was a VERY good day.

223/365

2009-01-26T18:50:00.000-08:00

Oh dear. Rooney did not have a good day. First he fell off the sofa and got carpet burn on his nose. And then he hit his eye. He looks like a right bruiser!!

222/365

2009-01-26T18:47:00.000-08:00

Sammy still does 'downward dog'. Here he is enjoying a cookie at the same time. And, yes, that's me... trying it out myself!

221/365

2009-01-26T18:46:00.001-08:00

Jake LOVES LOVES LOVES to be upside down!

220/365

2009-01-26T18:43:00.001-08:00

This is the freebie toy that came with a kids Chick-Fil-A meal. I can't imagine may of these are getting finished... the only reason this one came together is due to judicious application of x-acto knife and scotch tape.

219/365

2009-01-26T18:41:00.000-08:00

Sometimes Roon just falls asleep in the oddest places.

218/365

2009-01-14T08:41:00.001-08:00

Jake working on his foot skills. Looks like I may end up a soccer mom after all!

217/365

2009-01-14T08:29:00.000-08:00

I'm a big fan of Dooce, both her writing about motherhood as well as her Daily Style. I was jealous when she posted a link to a vintage children's seller on Etsy that she had bought this cool book from. Imagine my delight when I went through a box of books that we had in storage and found the exact same book! It wasn't mine as a child. Mom thinks it came from the school in Germantown where my Grandmother taught for years. Lots of other cool vintage books in the box, too.

216/365

2009-01-14T08:28:00.001-08:00

Sammy prefers to climb the slide.

215/365

2009-01-14T08:26:00.001-08:00

Jake can't even crawl properly yet but already he's cruising furniture and trying to climb stairs.

214/365

2009-01-14T08:21:00.000-08:00

Today I made The Pioneer Woman's lasagne. It was REALLY good.

213/365

2009-01-14T08:18:00.000-08:00

Rooney loves balls and balloons. He chases them all over the floor.

212/365

2009-01-14T08:16:00.000-08:00

Trader Joe's is EVIL.

211/365

2009-01-07T18:15:00.000-08:00

What every well-dressed toddler is wearing: his mother and grandmothers underwear and bras... from the dirty clothes basket!!! We didn't know whether to laugh or cry!

210/365

2009-01-07T18:10:00.001-08:00

We have 9 large windows in our sun room alone. And another 16 in the rest of the house. Plus 3 glass doors. So we thought it might be wise to put that plasticky stuff you use a hair dryer on to help keep the heat in because the house ain't cheap to heat. It's pretty time consuming installing it, but I've done 5 so far. We won't do all the windows, but about half I think. Boring pic, though. Nothing like a picture of transluscent plastic!

209/365

2009-01-07T18:08:00.001-08:00

I know, I know. Jake eating again. It's just so nice to have one of my kids eat well! Today he had a provolone omelet. Yum!

208/365

2009-01-07T18:07:00.000-08:00

Amma love.

207/365

2009-01-07T18:05:00.000-08:00

Today we went to see this amazing train garden in Dundalk. Both boys loved it and Sammy wanted to get in there and play!

206/365

2009-01-07T18:04:00.000-08:00

New wheels.

205/365

2009-01-07T18:03:00.000-08:00

Jake LOVES spaghetti.

204/365

2009-01-07T18:01:00.001-08:00

Sammy loves this dog bed my aunt gave us just for the boys (after she saw the pics of him in Laddie's bed!).

203/365

2009-01-01T17:49:00.000-08:00

Mr Potato Head and his Spud Buds wish you all a very Happy New Year!

The Abyss

2009-01-01T17:43:00.000-08:00

OK, as promised, I'm going to have a bunch of pics taken between #202 and #203. To hold the space, here are the latest portraits of the boys. Later on, I'll update this post with a link to some others. From today, though (appropriately 1 January), I'll be back on track with one pic a day (I hope!!).

Update!

2008-12-25T19:05:00.001-08:00

OK, so the move really took it out of me. And we didn't even have internet for quite a while. I'm gonna post a bunch of pics in the next few days just covering some of the days since the last post. I didn't get one every day. Things just got too nuts. But from today - Christmas Day - I'll have a pic a day again!

Holding pattern - again...

2008-11-20T11:33:00.000-08:00

I know, I know. I'm behind. I've taken the pics, just not posted them. And at 2 in the morning tomorrow, we head for the airport so the boys and I can fly to the US.

Normal services to resume once I'm settled there.

202/365

2008-11-04T02:57:00.000-08:00

The contrast in seasons can be pretty dramatic in these parts.

201/365

2008-11-04T02:56:00.000-08:00

Sammy wasn't really feeling the love for his Hallowe'en costume. It was a long and busy day.

200/365 THEME

2008-11-04T02:42:00.001-08:00

Today's theme is RED. I love the red in Sammy's cute hat!

199/365

2008-11-04T02:41:00.000-08:00

My Mom rocks!

198/365

2008-11-04T02:39:00.000-08:00

Valet parking service.

197/365

2008-11-03T15:03:00.001-08:00

Today I saw something really horrible. A poor cat in Carlisle town centre. I think she was hit by a car. But it didn't kill her. I'm not sure if she survived or not. I stopped to help her because NO ONE ELSE IN A BUSY CITY CENTRE could be bothered. Once I stopped, another lady came up to help and carried her away. So today there is no picture because I'm too sad and I can't think of anything appropriate to post in her honor.

196/365

2008-11-03T15:02:00.000-08:00

Rooney is almost sitting up on his own!

195/365 - THEME

2008-11-03T14:58:00.000-08:00

Some of the other people I know doing 365s are participating in weekly themes to keep interest and creativity going. This week's theme is WATER.

Today is my fourth wedding anniversary. Here are the roses Glenn got me.

194/365

2008-11-03T14:56:00.000-08:00

We bought some stripey fleece for the boys. Granny is going to make fun trousers out of it.

193/365

2008-11-03T14:54:00.000-08:00

Time to make banana bread.

192/365

2008-11-03T14:53:00.000-08:00

It's already getting very cold here. Bring on the coal fires.

191/365

2008-11-03T14:50:00.001-08:00

OK! Time to try and get caught up... some today and some more tomorrow!

As for the pic... take a close look. What sort of bird do you think THAT is?!

190/365

2008-10-18T15:36:00.001-07:00

2 sick boys equals lots of medicine. Any tips on how to make it easier to get them to take it?!

189/365

2008-10-18T15:28:00.000-07:00

Poor Doodlebug has a tummy bug and an ear infection. He decided Laddie's bed was the perfect cozy place to curl up and wish it all away.

188/365

2008-10-18T15:25:00.000-07:00

Daddy, Sammy, and Laddie.

187/365

2008-10-18T15:19:00.000-07:00

I love this site.

186/365

2008-10-18T15:09:00.000-07:00

Autumn leaves and some of our plethora of cooking apples.

185/365

2008-10-18T15:03:00.000-07:00

Another obligatory cute feet pic.

184/365

2008-10-18T14:59:00.000-07:00

Bertie the bee.

183/365

2008-10-18T14:55:00.000-07:00

Jake in the sink for a bath. He's not too sure about this.

182/365

2008-10-18T14:51:00.000-07:00

This is a detail of the first piece of art Glenn and I bought together. It's a large (2x3 foot) batik. Not sure how we're going to get it to the US, though!

181/365

2008-10-18T14:44:00.000-07:00

Sammy loves oranges. I think he's going to turn into one.

Are you a leader...

2008-10-18T14:25:00.000-07:00

or a follower?! In this case, following is good! Let me know if you're stopping by to see yet another picture of Jake or Sammy looking cute! You can let me know with the link to the right there, under my picture. Thanks!

180/365

2008-10-08T14:15:00.000-07:00

This is the first sunflower Sammy planted. It's only just bloomed. I'm glad it did as a lot of other stuff didn't. Our tomatoes were a total loss. But this was well worth the wait!

179/365

2008-10-08T14:14:00.000-07:00

Obama? You bet!

178/365

2008-10-08T14:10:00.000-07:00

This is the first time we tried Jake in the Babyhawk sling in the back carry position. He went right to sleep! Now if I could just get my back to stop hurting, I could do this every day!

177/365

2008-10-08T14:03:00.000-07:00

We live in the Eden Valley which is between the Pennines and the Lake District. This shot is looking towards the Pennines. It was taken on the way to the car boot sale. The band of white fluffy 'clouds' just above the trees is actually a bank of fog sitting amongst the mountains. You can see them over the fog. The water in the foreground is some low level flooding from all the rain we've had.

176/365

2008-10-08T14:01:00.000-07:00

A very mucky car. The price you pay for living in a rural village.

175/365

2008-10-08T13:58:00.001-07:00

Our Japanese Maple. We bought it in Somerset, took it to Devon, and I MADE Glenn find room to bring it here to Cumbria. It's in a heavy planter made from an old keg so not an easy feat. I hope if his folks move, they take it with them, too.

174/365

2008-10-08T13:54:00.000-07:00

My Mom calls these cow Tootsie Rolls. I've been trying to take a picture of these with a blue sky for absolute years. So glad I finally got it!

173/365

2008-10-08T13:38:00.000-07:00

Another round of new jammies for Jake. These are size 18 months. They fit fine except the legs are too long. So Granny cuts off the feet and will then hem them.

172/365

2008-10-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

I'm going to miss our jade plant when we leave. We've had this for almost 7 years and somehow I haven't killed it!

171/365

2008-09-29T09:06:00.000-07:00

This morning Sammy decided to experiment with banana hair gel and face lotion. Did you know that banana is really hard to get out of hair?

170/365

2008-09-29T09:02:00.000-07:00

The Victoria Sponge had a bit of an accident on the way home from the village show.

169/365

2008-09-29T08:53:00.000-07:00

This is the banner I've been working on for Sammy's bedroom wall since he was born! Yes, I'm a slacker and I have no excuse! Now I need to do one for Jake. Any bets on when that one will get done?!

168/365

2008-09-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

Sleeping angel. If only he'd stay asleep when he's supposed to!

167/365

2008-09-29T08:43:00.000-07:00

Jacob and George. So far Jake's not objecting to Sammy's hand-me-downs.

166/365

2008-09-29T08:38:00.000-07:00

Sammy and Mommy feeding an apple to the horses in Dalston. Crikey! I need an image and body overhaul!

165/365

2008-09-29T08:32:00.000-07:00

Still going... but not quite as many now (this is 3 to get Jake from 7 pm to 7 am and one for Sammy in the morning).

164/365

2008-09-29T08:31:00.000-07:00

Yep, here's where I've decided the other missing pic should live. :P

163/365

2008-09-29T08:23:00.000-07:00

Why is it that almost all the food I've photographed for this project ends up looking like poop or sick? This very suspect lump of brown-ness is actually a very delicious piece of Cowboy Cake.

I'm totally diggin' that Pioneer Woman these days. (note, she doesn't call it Cowboy Cake but I understand this recipe is called that and also Texas Sheet Cake)

162/365

2008-09-29T08:18:00.000-07:00

A HaaHoo in our potted plant!

161/365

2008-09-29T08:05:00.001-07:00

Today was a fun day for Sammy. In the morning while Mommy sorted and packed things, he hung out with Granny and Grandad. They showed him the collection of buttons Granny has. Much time was spent talking about what color they were, what you could make with them if you put them in lines, etc. Apparently Sammy also enjoyed stuffing them down his shirt. What Granny and Grandad didn't realize was that he was wearing a onesie. So when Mommy went to change him after a GIANT stinky poo, she found out where the buttons had gone. 3 survived. One didn't. Here he is enjoying a breeze after vigorous cleaning and here are the buttons we safely returned to Granny.

160/365

2008-09-29T07:48:00.000-07:00

A confession: I've been really bad at keeping track of what I've photographed and when. The time stamp on my camera is wrong and I can't find the manual to fix it. So I have to either write down or remember when a took a certain picture. I just can't get organized enough to upload every day. Despite being positive I'd taken a pic a day for the last 2 weeks, it would seem I haven't. And as our days have been good, but uneventful, I can't be sure what pic goes with what day now! So, I'm missing 2 days since the 16th of September and I can't promise you that I actually took said picture on said say. Which is why I've stopped posting dates.

Anyway, I'll try to be a bit more organized from now on.

159/365

2008-09-29T07:44:00.000-07:00

Daddy's boys.

158/365

2008-09-29T07:39:00.000-07:00

Up close and personal with my blue-eyed boy.

157/365

2008-09-16T13:39:00.000-07:00

*sigh*

This is Tessa's cupboard after a grocery delivery. She says she didn't realize how many sweets she'd ordered but I think this is a fair representation. Yes, there are SIX packages of cake, TEN packets of biscuits (cookies), a box of scones, and a bar of chocolate. What you can't see is on the counter another tupperware box of biscuits with 2 new packs in it, and another pack of scones. She gets a food delivery every two weeks and I can guarantee you all that will be left will be crumbs of digestives and rich tea biscuits. I don't understand why my in-laws aren't as big as houses. And I'm amazed I've only put on a few pounds since living here. So far....

156/365

2008-09-16T13:37:00.000-07:00

OK, if you haven't received a critter yet, don't look!!

This is the fish I made for the aforementioned critter swap. Tessa helped me a lot, but the design is all mine. I hope my critter-getter likes it!