Monday, March 29, 2010

Happy Pesach

Today was spent cooking and cleaning and picking and putting and sorting and preparing. Tonight, we shared the seder and the meal with family. The kids were wonderful and three of the four actually read from the haggadah. We did the passover story completely and the children did a talent show for us before we ate the festive meal. We had a delicious dinner and then we finished the passover story and had delightful family singing. It was wonderful! Tomorrow, we will cook again and after dark we will share the second night seder with our family and their friends. The only thing that would make it better would be to have our daughter and her husband from Portland here with us also!

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Travel across the pond

My last post was ages ago, and work continues on and on so I won't belabor that point. The great thing is that months ago we planned a vacay with our daughter and son-in-law and the 4 grand children at their home in England. So Olivia had her thyroid surgery, had a bit of recovery (2 weeks) and now we are both here with them for some real fun.

My last week of work was treacherous, long hours and hard births. Then I picked up an upper respiratory infection which has left me sounding like a seal at feeding time. However, at the appointed hour we boarded the large metal tube, with several hundred of our closest friends, for the long days night across the pond. I was thrilled to note, when seated in the aircraft, that there were others who sounded just like I did. This was perfect because then I did not draw undue attention to myself while coughing and choking. We traveled thru Amsterdam which is totally weird because we flew right across our destination and then back-tracked. None the less, we made it. The family picked us up at the airport in Manchester England and we spent the day visiting some of the sights of Manchester. We went to the Manchester Museum and the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry. It is delightful to get the grand children's take on things in the museums as we flew by. They quickly peruse the exhibits and then ask to go to the next room. They push every button, lift every lid, tug every rope or chain, and generally attempt to "DO" everything. They stop to read only when forced, and 3 of the 4 now read. It is a blast sharing their explorations with them. After the museums we went to a street called the curry mile filled with an amazing selection of, you guessed it, restaurants serving middle eastern food - yummy! After this we walk back to the car park and the 90 minute drive to the kid's house and blessedly bed. We had a long sleep and today after a yummy brunch of eggs, home fries, and banana pancakes we headed off to a brewery about an hour from where the kids live. We arrive and the Dads take the tour, as children under 10 (which all are) are not allowed in the brewery. Olivia and I take the take the kids on a walking tour of Masham (the village where the brewery is located), visit a delightful chocolate shop and then back to meet the Dads so Olivia and I can take the tour. The Dads take the kids to the pub and give them chips for tea while we are on the tour. We return and have a sample of the beer and provide juice for the very thirsty kids to drink. Then it is off to dinner, Italian this time, then a walk back to the car park and off home. Tomorrow, another day and more adventures. We are cooking for first night seder and will be sharing with all tomorrow night. For now - off to bed, so I can stay awake tomorrow.