Autumn is here

We walked in the Cairn Wood this afternoon. A centuries old broadleaf and pine forest not far from where we live. The ground was carpeted with the rich reds and browns of autumn. The kids ran wild, free of everything except their imaginations as sticks became bows, guns and magic wands and every bush and tree was a fort, a ship or a shelter.

Don, Eva and I in the picture



This morning I killed a polar bear in the bathroom. It's so cold you could freeze fish in the shower! The neatly tiled floor looks great but adds nothing to the temperature. The locals are still wandering about like it was summer and just laugh when I'm bundled up trying to keep warm.

Winter will be hell!

We watched the world cup final between England and South Africa at Ben's house on Saturday night. It was really fun to shout and cheer and sing the national anthem and feel all patriotic as we won.

Don and I traveled south of the border this week looking for new business. The Republic of Ireland seems newer and more prosperous with better highways and more energetic people.

The church put on a fantastic fun day for the kids. The abundance of everything is still surprising - food, drink, sweets, icecream etc. They had a great time for two hours while Gill and I went shopping for plates (it wasn't as boring as it sounds).

Black Berries on the beach

Yesterday we went for a walk along the coast line. We started at Ballyhome beach and walked to the next little town. Just over a 5km walk. As we crested one of the rises, we met a man who said we just missed the seals, wish we had seen them. There is a secret beach (so called by the kids) along the way, and we went there and watched them play for a while.

On the way back we stopped at almost every black berry bush and ate and ate. Rachel and Corbin had stains all down their hands and cheeks. I prefer the ones that are not totally ripe yet, but the kids say that they are too sour. It was a gorgeous day under the stark blue sky, feeling the sun on our faces and just being together as a family.

Gillian.

Gillian and several of her friends spent a few days at the Temple in England this week.

I found it quite hard being mother and father at the same time (again).

At least this time there was not a huge pile of washing anywhere, because apart from doing my normal job I also ended up working a couple of shifts at the ice cream shop. Washing didn't even feature on the agenda.

Well to top it off I've been as sick as a dog with the dreaded Irish flu. And to add insult to injury Rachel insisted on having me help her solve these complex mathematical equations in a feverish haze. I offered to write a letter to the school explaining that I was too sick to help her with homework but she wasn't taking no for an answer.

Happy Birthday Zeek

Dear Gran

Zeek celebrated his 10th birthday this week. Here is a picture of him blowing out his candles on a rather sticky chocolate cake. Gillian has become nervous of baking because she can't quite get the oven temperature right.

On Friday night Donovan, Ben, Zeek and I went fishing on the ocean in canoes. The water was deceptively calm. After we had struggled the canoes down into the ocean we noticed that the waves looked much larger and rougher when sitting down on a wobbly canoe than they did from the safety of the shore.

We paddled about 70 m out and then retreated, scared of having the canoes filled with water. After wrestling these heavy beasts out the water and onto the rocks we got brave again in paddled out a second time. Although the waves looked calm the second time they were just as bad once we had got out of the shelter of the bay.

Needless to say the fish was safe that evening as we beat a hasty retreat back to the shore.

Old age is catching up

Dear Gran

I turned 37 yesterday, I used to feel like 18 with some experience but by last night I felt like old age had got me firmly grasped by the ankle. The Sands of Time are running low.

The cause of this rapid ageing was our stake athletics day. I have never been a great sprinter but the passing of time makes my youthful prowess seem better than it actually was. I represented my ward in the 400 m race.

400 m is once around the track but it might as well have been to the moon.

After the first hundred metres my lungs were burning, my chest heaving and my legs had turned to jelly.

This second hundred metre stretch was furthest from the seating, fortunately as the look on my face was enough to scare small children. My teeth were bared in a fixed grin of pain. My eyes stared somewhere in the distance, my nostrils were flared as they tried to extract oxygen from what seemed to be a vacuum. And my left knee was starting to make a loud knocking noise, but I could hardly hear it above the noise of the crowd cheering the winners as they came down the home straight.

As I came around the last corner with only 100 m to go I knew that I would eventually make it. I was not sure if I would make it before everybody else went home!

I think I crossed the finish line some time that afternoon, I remember waking up with the drizzle on my face wondering why the grass seemed so comfortable.

The ward was able to take second place in spite of of my lack of abilities on the track.

Gillian and the kids all had a great time too. Zeek is a natural sportsman, Cheryn runs like her mom.

"The curry on the floor wasn't really my fault"

Dear Gran,

The phrase "a little goes a long way" was coined to describe the mess a 6 year old can make when he tries to sneak food out of the cupboard quietly!

Zeek, Rachel and Corbin started the next school year this week - I think they were excited to get back as the holidays might have been a bit long for them.

Cheryn starts high school tomorrow - I feel a bit old to have a daughter in high school! She is nervous and excited - claims she won't be able to sleep tonight.

I attended a trade show with my brother Donovan yesterday. They had a competition for plant operators - guys who use big digging machines. Some of them were so skilled that they could pick a tennis ball off a road cone and put it down on another with an excavator.

Gillian will be working at the ice-cream shop once a week - I think she is quite pleased to have something to do when the kids are not around.

Cheers

Pete