Monday 31 October 2011

Dusk

Last year, Nathaniel and I marked the changing of the clocks by embarking on torch walks before supper. We'd go out, armed with a torch each, and chase the "dancing lights", light up trees and generally play in the dark.

This year, the scooty bike is the preferred method of transport, and Nathaniel has become very interested in sunsets. Fortunately, at this point, the sunset is late enough to make it interesting to chase. He is also very excited as he has lights on his bike, and has been really looking forward to it being dark enough to use them.

So off we went on to the Moor. It was mild with a warm breeze and felt properly autumnal. We met several friends on their way home from work, and many exciting dogs.





We enjoyed the sunset, and I discovered that I couldn't work out how to take a picture in which you could see both the sunset and the boy.

Then we went off-piste and explored a muddy path and collected golden leaves for making art with later in the week.



By the time we got home, it was properly dark, so N felt that he had got the most out of his bike lights, and we were ready for warm spiced apple juice. Marvellous!

Tuesday 25 October 2011

Something different

Poor Nathaniel has suffered lately from our to-do list. Weekends are filled with me having random naps and us not doing anything exciting because we have to purchase some random bit of baby gear that we forgot that we didn't have, or varnish some boat, or paint some walls. He was quite distraught when we left the sailing club at lunch time on Sunday. He couldn't possibly see how returning to the house to sort out some more boxes of accumalated junk could be more important than sailing.

So when we had a random Monday with everyone at home, we decided that we wouldn't be useful and do stuff just for fun instead. A couple of weeks ago we noticed how interested Nathaniel was in town. We never go there except to dash into a particular shop to buy a specific thing and hardly ever wander. So we decided to go into town, have some lunch, go to the slipper shop (N needs slippers), but have no other proper agenda.

We even decided to get the bus rather than cycling, which was greeted with great enthusiasm. Waiting at the bus stop meant we had to watch all the different vehicles (always fun), and then there was the excitement of sitting at the front of the top of a double decker bus!





Lunch was taken at Pizza Express, and Nathaniel excelled in remembering all the guidlines about eating out that we had discussed. His behaviour was marvellous. We were seated in the bar area, which normally I dislike, but it meant that we could watch the waiters preparing all the drinks, which was a great hit.



Nathaniel took this picture:



It was so over stimulating, that N was exhausted by the end and suggested that we went and had a nap somewhere! So we had a brief rest at the library with some books and then wandered leisurely through town towards the slipper shop, with lots of time to stop and chase pigeons.

Nathaniel was very thorough about seeing them all off, and his plan of campaign was so efficient, that by the time I had got the camera out, he had rid the square of almost all of them. Hence my photo is not the entertaining action shot I was after!



Then there was some good climbing along walls and running along pavements. All good Nathaniel fun.





After all that, we were all good for nothing apart from home and some quiet reading! Auntie Nimmy came over for supper (always well received) and then Ian and I went out for dinner at a real restaurant. A very superb day!

Sunday 23 October 2011

new posts

Sorry - we've been a bit tired, busy and generally distracted. But a post about N's birthday has eventually appeared. Of course, it had to be put in the right order, so please scroll down to read..........

Sunday 2 October 2011

Commodore's Trophy

Trophies at our sailing club are a serious business. Not so much the competition! For some reason we have a collosal number of trophies to give out at the end of each year, and it sometimes feels like we are just dividing them equally between us all rather than competing for them. There are some that no-one wants - the Alex Smith trophy is giant and unwieldy and requires polishing. There are some that are just a pain - a few of the second crew ones are so light that the wind blows them off the mantlepiece. Most people just put them in a box in the loft and forget about them until they are demanded back the following year!

However, when we are actually racing, we somehow manage to maintain that it is important who wins them, and so sometimes the races end up a little strange. This year, Steve, as Commodore, decided that the Commodore's trophy should be a personal pursuit race in order to allow everyone a good chance of winning. He and Hugh and I were OD, and Nathaniel decided to race with Ian.

There really wasn't any wind, so they decided to take the RS200 (!). Nathaniel, as usual, helped to rig and launch the boat with enthusiasm.







There really wasn't ANY wind!





But Nathaniel enjoyed himself (and the chocolate rations that were taken on board).







And it didn't stop them from winning the race and therefore the trophy! There was general excitement across the club about this, and most people failed to note that Ian may have something to do with the result. Even now, several weeks later, everyone refers to the fact that Nathaniel has won the Commodore's Cup.

There is general disappointment about the fact that he will not be at the Annual Dinner to collect his trophy (it's on the same night that we are expecting Adama to arrive, so we've sent our apologies), and no-one can seem to remember, that even if Ian and I were planning to go, it would be unusual for a 3 year old to be attending a dinner that starts at 8pm!

You can't say that YRISC doesn't support it's younger members!

Saturday 1 October 2011

Maisie's Wings

When I saw these wings on the internet, I knew that Maisie would need a pair to dress up with. So I made them for her birthday, and I'm rather pleased with them.


Fortunately, after modeling them for me, Nathaniel wasn't that interested by them, and was happy to package them up for Maisie.