Just a picture to show how beautiful it is here when the azaleas are in bloom!
Friday, May 30, 2003
Well, it's been quite a week. I feel I've been recuperating from the weekend trip all week long!
Our trip to Ottawa was very stressful and exhausting, we had to drive through the pouring rain both ways. At times there was so much fog and roadspray it felt like the end of the world! But it was very nice to my brother, sister in law and niece and nephew again. That's the only reason we'll keep making these crazy trips, so we can see each other at least once or twice a year.
The rain let up a little on Sunday in Ottawa and we went to the Canada Museum of Science and Technology. The kids loved it! My brother, who's not a museum lover, had enough after about an hour, but the kids could have easily gone on. There was so much hands on stuff! And to Katja's delight, PC's hooked up to the internet.
After the museum, we had lunch at their house and then the older kids, Rick, my brother and I went shopping. After a visit to Chapter's, where Rick found some new Asterixes and I got my sister in law "Diary of an American Au Pair", because she had liked the "Nanny Diaries" so much, my brother got a good taste of what it's like to have a teen girl :D. Katja went through several clothing stores and finally settled at the Gap, of all places, because they had a big sale. It did seem like the clothes were different than in the U.S., but I may have imagined that.
We arrived back home on Monday evening and everyone started back to school and work on Tuesday. It rained almost non-stop Tuesday through yesterday, so I haven't been feeling well at all. Though part of that is because of a persistent itchy cough I've had, blegh!
This morning, we were up at 5am, actually too late, as Katja needed to be at school at 5:15 to go to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. The bands of the middle schools in this area are competing there and after the competition they get about 4 hours to enjoy the park. They'll be back home (hopefully!) around 11pm tonight! She'll be so exhausted!
I took advantage of the beautiful weather this morning by going on a 15 mile bike ride. I love having the bike path so close by! I can go all the way to DC if I want to. Or out west, all the way to the Blue Ridge mountains. I don't really dare to go that far by myself, but still I went a good distance and it felt great. There were beautiful birds all around, this year there seem to be many more cardinals than usual. And I saw robins and blue jays as well.
Then I had lunch with Christine and Carol and now I'm just resting behind the pc, as I'm exhausted! I'm sure Saskia is going to want to swim this afternoon. She tried during a brief dry spell on Wednesday, but the water was just way too cold!
Five things that make me happy today:
1. The singing of the birds I hear right now, because I have the patio doors open
2. The peacefully sleeping cats around me, all four are within a few feet of me. I told Rick the other day I will never be without pets, they provide such companionship!
3. The SUN!
4. The impending weekend, I always love Friday afternoons for that reason. It seems like a sea of free time is ahead of us, even if it is only 3 nights.
5. Finally being able to wear a short sleeved t-shirt
Our trip to Ottawa was very stressful and exhausting, we had to drive through the pouring rain both ways. At times there was so much fog and roadspray it felt like the end of the world! But it was very nice to my brother, sister in law and niece and nephew again. That's the only reason we'll keep making these crazy trips, so we can see each other at least once or twice a year.
The rain let up a little on Sunday in Ottawa and we went to the Canada Museum of Science and Technology. The kids loved it! My brother, who's not a museum lover, had enough after about an hour, but the kids could have easily gone on. There was so much hands on stuff! And to Katja's delight, PC's hooked up to the internet.
After the museum, we had lunch at their house and then the older kids, Rick, my brother and I went shopping. After a visit to Chapter's, where Rick found some new Asterixes and I got my sister in law "Diary of an American Au Pair", because she had liked the "Nanny Diaries" so much, my brother got a good taste of what it's like to have a teen girl :D. Katja went through several clothing stores and finally settled at the Gap, of all places, because they had a big sale. It did seem like the clothes were different than in the U.S., but I may have imagined that.
We arrived back home on Monday evening and everyone started back to school and work on Tuesday. It rained almost non-stop Tuesday through yesterday, so I haven't been feeling well at all. Though part of that is because of a persistent itchy cough I've had, blegh!
This morning, we were up at 5am, actually too late, as Katja needed to be at school at 5:15 to go to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. The bands of the middle schools in this area are competing there and after the competition they get about 4 hours to enjoy the park. They'll be back home (hopefully!) around 11pm tonight! She'll be so exhausted!
I took advantage of the beautiful weather this morning by going on a 15 mile bike ride. I love having the bike path so close by! I can go all the way to DC if I want to. Or out west, all the way to the Blue Ridge mountains. I don't really dare to go that far by myself, but still I went a good distance and it felt great. There were beautiful birds all around, this year there seem to be many more cardinals than usual. And I saw robins and blue jays as well.
Then I had lunch with Christine and Carol and now I'm just resting behind the pc, as I'm exhausted! I'm sure Saskia is going to want to swim this afternoon. She tried during a brief dry spell on Wednesday, but the water was just way too cold!
Five things that make me happy today:
1. The singing of the birds I hear right now, because I have the patio doors open
2. The peacefully sleeping cats around me, all four are within a few feet of me. I told Rick the other day I will never be without pets, they provide such companionship!
3. The SUN!
4. The impending weekend, I always love Friday afternoons for that reason. It seems like a sea of free time is ahead of us, even if it is only 3 nights.
5. Finally being able to wear a short sleeved t-shirt
