Category: Family life
Wednesday..
Happiness..a very dear friend has stepped off the red-eye from the States this morn and is coming to stay! Oh joy!
Sadness..my house is not at it’s best.
Happiness..it’s not raining!
Sadness..I have no kitchen
Happiness..wine doesn’t need cooking!
Laters, Kate x
Saturday..
Oh! How this made me chuckle. I think The Husband was laughing with me…but I’m not entirely sure they were tears of mirth: The Employment by Opusbou, as seen at Dismaland.
We’ve come back to our very own grotland..the builders have moved in…
There’s nothing left but to embrace the chaos…Mwha-ha-ha…
Laters, Kate x
Today…
The Final Hurrah!
Seems a shame to let them languish in the photo library, so – ‘ello sailor! here they are…the last chapter of Greece 2015 starting with standing on the beach, ouzo in hand, looking back to Leonidio..
Walking back to my parent’s house.
We’d timed our return well..the figs were now ripe!
We travelled to different beaches..I was the one running behind. Not.
Spetses is renown for it’s clear waters..I have yet to find a place to compare.
Charlie got obsessed with fishing!
Success! (There is the world’s smallest fish inside his pot..)
Tiger shark!
For our last evening we were joined by my sister and her daughter, Bea – a much-loved cousin, who were just starting their holiday as we were ending ours.
Sitting on the wall, saying goodbye and waiting for the bus to take us to town – the first stage of the long journey home.
It was a fabulous holiday – and all those concerns we went out with based on the reports in the UK media were totally unfounded – Greece is staggeringly beautiful country with so much to offer in terms of beach, food, hospitality, history and more besides. Now they need all the tourists they can get – if you get the chance, go! – it really is the garden of the Gods.
Laters, Kate x
Charlie Retrospective x
This photo was taken almost exactly a year ago in Scotland, when Charlie warmed the cockles of my ageing heart by choosing a girls fluffy cardigan to buy and wear (post here). I wondered when society and conventions would catch up with him and overshadow his individuality with the urge to fit in. So has a year made a difference?
He’s certainly grown taller…and likes to flaunt rules..
And he still wants to wear his red chinese silk pajamas to do the shopping!
Go Charlie!
Laters, Kate x
New Start x
Uniforms washed and ironed, school bags packed, kids out the door!!!!!!! Finally time to step off the battle bus, to stop chasing screams and no longer think about jumping the pitfalls of regular crashes. It’s a huge sigh of relief that once the breakfast things are sorted, my house will remain in the same state ALL DAY…that I can sit at my desk to write without earplugs or feeling guilty that I’m ignoring the chaos or their needs, because that’s where the holiday conflict lies – doing something just for me, which is effectively inherently selfish versus being at everyone’s beck and call. Despite knowing that a happy mum is a happy family, it’s incredibly hard – like holding a bubble – to find the balance. Which I think is why my brain has been swirling round the notions of simplicity and how it works across all aspects of life. Take Sonia Rykiel Resort 2016 – in the happy, slightly dappy land where my second self permanently lives, I could cheerfully own the whole collection, but not just for Resort season – it would last the whole year and beyond..the outfit above would be for today, the first day back..
Parents evening..
Cooler, autumnal days..
A bit of bling for Christmas..
New Years eve, painting the town red in black and white.
Spring.
All the way to sports day..
(All pics from the new Vogue.com)
And summer hols.
(Please note that my second self can fit all these sample sizes and has legs up to my armpits) But then what would I do next year? Sell it to make way for new stuff? Store it because one day Bella might love it too? or just love it till it falls to bits in the acceptance that fashion is fickle and there’s no point in chasing rainbows?
It’s a conundrum. Deep within, even for my second self, there’s a questioning at the constant need for accrual, for stuff, for the next big thing. We’re constantly bombarded with pretty things, branding and temptation. Consumerism is important – businesses and artisans need supporting, and I’m as guilty as anyone, constantly looking for the next delight, the next perfect shoe or dream coat. But has it all gone too far?
Oh God. I think I think I need a uniform too.
Laters, Kate x
It’s All in the Name..
Just under a week to go before the school gates once more swing open and a sense of routine returns. Sigh. Just enough time to get feet measured (Charlie – two years younger – is now the same size as Bella..could be fun) and to work out whether I can still squeeze them into their old uniforms without too much amputation et blood shed. The curse of this part of the holidays, as it is every year, is then labelling everything – except I now have a solution: Last year I wrote a post about Stamptastic, the ingenious stamp with the magic ink that works on everything from Clothes to swimming hats to rulers…a year on, and I can confirm that a) it’s brilliant and b) my original stamp is still going strong.
It’s now an essential component in the battle against time versus brains cells and the lost property box.
Laters, Kate x
Greece Part 4
It’s pouring with rain here..time to return to summer memories of the sun.
This was the evening of our fifteenth wedding anniversary with an obligatory, if rare selfie.
My parent’s had decided to stay an extra day and had moved to this beautiful hotel in the middle of Leonidio town.
Full of antiques and curiosities, beautifully done…a real gem.
We sat around their pool for an aperitif and watched as 20 or more bats from the red mountains dipped into the pool for a cooling evening drink.
Bella was none to pleased at being ‘forced’ to wear a dress for the occasion.
Not even a cuddle from Daddy helped. It was a lovely evening though..we went into the town..
And found this incredible shop run by a mother and daughter who, in amongst the washing up liquid and Ajax sold all their own homemade produce including jams, honey, capers..and a spirit made from Aubergine! They’d just bake a whole tray of almond biscuits which they proceeded to hypnotise us with..honestly some of the best biscuits I’ve ever eaten. We stocked up on all sorts. Our meal was equally memorable..in a little square, with one long table full of local friends who were musicians, happily playing, singing and dancing. Pure magic.
The next day we waved good bye to my parents who were off to meet their Greek son-in-law for a trip to the theatre at Epidauvros, and returned to our favourite beach/taverna. On the way there Bella said she didn’t want to go as she wanted a sandy beach..the Gods heard her for when we got there, it was! Large waves had rolled in and taken all the round pebbles away..
Then the waves rose up again..which the children loved.
During this time, we’d spend the mornings at the pool whilst the husband was on the phone/internet, going through a nightmare with work. And then we’d head out for somewhere for lunch, dragging him with us. The problem was there were no facilities at the villa complex – nowhere to get an ice cream or drink and no taverna within walking distance. We were reliant on the apartment, the internet, the car and on him.
Having lunch at Plaka..Charlie decided he was going to jump off the pier..
Which he did!
But then he got really upset that Bella didn’t jump in with him and started throwing a paddy, screaming and hitting the water – all the locals thought he was drowning..and were wondering why his parents weren’t jumping in after him..we stayed a safe distance away.
The screams got even louder when we saw there were ducks in the water with him!
And then we lost the internet. The husband really thought he’d have to return home..he needed the car to back to Athens..but we couldn’t manage without a car.
So we re-packed the cases, in case he had to fly back..
Rang my parents who were now back at Spetses and explained we needed refuge..we could return to Athens under our own steam from there..and it had internet.
And made our way back to Spetses!
It wasn’t exactly a hardship.
Laters, Kate x
Bling and Bottle tops x
There’s just over two weeks left of the summer hols and surprisingly this is our first full weekday at home just to be and make. I’ve been itching for it – doing crafts in the garden with the kids is the summer dress I look forward to all winter. This year the bar has been raised (with the Husband’s help) by transforming the shed into a mini-studio with a lean-to on the side for all the real sheddy bits (priorities, priorities..) It’s been lovingly painted, bunting hung, baskets gathered and projects planned..
Not that crafting with kids is straightforward…the main ingredient of creativity is not spontaneity but planning..having the right ingredients to hand to let things flow, which then includes ignoring the adult need for perfection – it’s when everything’s been mixed together – the splashes, the bits over the line, the gusto and exuberance that the magic really happens.
Today the sun is shining and we’re finally turning our felt pictures into cushions avec pom-poms, (then we might tackle some of the projects above) (all from Pinterest)..but before anything happens, I need to write this post..so I’ve set Bella and Charlie up with some painting in the shed. How cool?
It lasted all of five minutes before they came running out shouting ‘Spider, spider!’
I can see it’s going to be a longgggggggg summer.
Laters, Kate x
Greece Part 3
Our first stop after Spetses was less discovery, more nostalgia – a little taverna for lunch situated on the edge of the ancient city of Asini that we used to visit with my Grandmother. I remember as a child being told a story about ancient jewellery discovered in the bay by snorkelers…as a consequence, we were obsessed with finding more treasure, despite it having the largest sea-slug population we’d ever seen. Of course we never found any..but it meant the adults always managed a very quiet, happy lunch..hmmmmmmmmm.
And then, with a twist and a wink of the fickle finger of fate the sleepy atmosphere suddenly changed. People moving, fingers pointing to the sky, telephone calls and noticeable agitation. We looked behind us and saw an ever growing column of smoke, the cloying smell of burning layering the air.
We jumped in the car and thought our route would take us quickly away in the other direction..but instead we seemed to be heading straight into the thick of it.
And then we were clear..having experienced forest fires before, it was good to see the professionals were onto it. I hope no-one suffered.
Our destination, the very beautiful Apelon Triton villas on the outskirts of Leonidion on the Peloponnese.
We went down for our very first swim in the pool..and met a family…from Clapham South! Oh what a small, small world..
Down at Plaka at sunset, the main harbour/beach of Leonidion.
We were all blown away by the quality of the food. Little did was know Leonidion is the European centre for aubergines! There’s a Festival every year and chefs come from all around to prove their aubergine recipe is the best!
The kids were just happy to play on the beach. This was a lovely spot where an ice cold mountain stream met the sea.
This was a new area for all of us – I hadn’t come here in my backpacking days as it’s pretty inaccessible without a car, the mountains are high and the beaches are on little winding roads all the way down. But it’s so very beautiful and unspoilt.
All the beaches had different coloured stones, here at Poulithra they were shades of grey and perfectly round.
The view from our favourite taverna..a foodies delight: grilled sardines, goat with aubergine and saganiki mussels. All utterly delicious.
The husband trying to have his photo taken without a double chin!
SOOO good. If you’re ever here, these are the details!
Sadly, this was quite a common occurrence..
Oh no he’s on the phone AGAIN!
Another little bay – Sampatico – this time the stones were green..
As the sun went down we could look back to Spetses..it was very strange being on the other side.
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 