There is only one Sale

This is the tag line for the Harrods After-Christmas sale. And, I think all of England took it literally. A group of 6 of us ladies left bright and early Monday morning after Boxing Day and got downtown shortly after the store opened at 9. It was sheer madness. There was a queue of 45 minutes just to enter the "perfumery"--the room where they had all the marked-down gift sets of perfume and cologne. We fought our way through the crowds in the other rooms, scoring some marked down makeup sets. And then, we went down to the purses. When we were in Paris this summer, I fell in love with this Longchamp purse. I decided I didn't "need" it, and didn't buy it. As soon as we sat down on the train to go home, I was sad and reaized, "I should have bought that purse." I've been thinking about it for the 5 months since. I was browsing, and across the room, saw THE PURSE. It was the only one, and I pounced. It was there, it was on sale, and it is now mine. I was very happy.

The fact that we broke for lunch and went to the Kensington Creperie just added to the perfection of the day!

Christmas 2010

We continued our tradition of getting our Christmas tree at Elveden on Saturday after the Ward Christmas party. Elveden is this great little village with a couple fun shops and a yummy restaurant. Each year, they sell trees with dressed-up Newfoundland dogs that will pull your tree to your car on a wagon. Even though Kent refuses to spring for their services, the kids love looking at the dogs.

This year, we continued a Meldrum tradition of making Gingerbread Houses. It was really fun to decorate them with our friends, the Rays. We had 3 families over for Christmas Day, which made for much craziness (22 people for dinner) and much fun. We got lots of family gifts this year--games and PS3 Move system. We are so grateful for our friends and family near and far that love and support us.

Pantomime and Nutcracker

Kent had the first week of the kids' two-week vacation off work. We wasted no time getting busy! On Monday, we met a couple other families in Norwich for this years' Pantomime--Jack and the Beanstalk. This year was not as riotously funny as last, but still a great time. And, of course, we continued the tradition by eating at Wagamama's. Yum!

On Tuesday, we went to see Chronicles of Narnia Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 3D in Bury St. Edmunds. We love those movies!

On Wednesday, we headed back to London to go the National Opera Ballet's Production of The Nutcracker. It was a traditional interpretation, which was good. I was glad the kids got to see it and can now have pictures in their heads when they hear the music each Christmas season. I don't think we'll make it a yearly tradition. Upon leaving, I asked Kent what he thought. His response: "That was great. Let's never do it again!"

Birthdays!

Ethan turned 14 on December 7 and Madeleine turned 12 on the 8th! I cannot believe they continue to get older and time passes so quickly. Ethan is turning into a fine young man; we are so proud of the choices he is making. He has grown so much physically, mentally, and spiritually. We are really grateful he is part of our family.

Madeleine is glad to be in the Young Women's program at church, although she still rejects most things "teenager." I am really thankful for the protections that gives her, but I am also looking forward to her showing some interested in makeup and clothes, so I can take her shopping.

They both had friend parties (back-to-back nights!) and had lots of fun.

Spain

Over Thanksgiving, we wanted to go somewhere fun and warm. We were half right! Southern Spain was not nearly as balmy as I had hoped, but we did have loads of fun. We flew down on Wednesday, just taking the kids out of the last couple hours of school--which unfortunately corresponded to their parties, making the children slightly crabby.

On Thursday, we headed to Granada to the Alhambra, one of the most fabulous sights in Spain. It was a Moorish Palace and was remarkably well-preserved and amazingly decorated.

On Friday we went up to Ronda, which is a "white-hill" town in the Analucian hills. It was a painful drive up; after Colin got carsick, we ended up stopping about every 10 minutes to let everyone get out of the car, walk around, and let the queasiness subside before we went on. We drove up that mountain on switchback curves for over an hour! Crazy. Even worse was the way down, when we drove through a cloud with zero visibility for about 20 minutes. But, the bull ring and the gorge was worth it. The kids had a blast pretending to be both bull and bull fighter, and despite some rain, we had some beautiful views of the gorge and bridge.

Saturday, it poured buckets. I mean, I have never seen so much rain. In Bronwyn's words: "We came to Spain to get away from the rain, and it never even rains this much in England." And, I mean, we were nowhere near the plain, where that rain is supposed to mainly stay, so I don't know what Henry Higgins is talking about! So, we spent that day hiding out in the "Fun Zone" at the local mall and renting a movie to watch back at our condo, where we had dinner and played games.

Sunday, was beautiful. Clear and fine, so we got to go to Gibraltar before we caught out plane back home. It was like coming home to England: fish and chip shops, tea houses, and paying in pounds. We took a private taxi ride who drove us all over the "rock." We went to St. Michael's cave and got lots of time with the monkeys. It was a great day!

I was really glad to turn in our stick-shift 5+2 car (where we either had room for kids or luggage, not both) and get back to our Odyssey!

London Day Out

Since we had seen the Parthenon on our cruise through Greece, we figured we'd better go see all the marbles that should have in the museums there but aren't because they are in the British Museum. Lord Elgin, who was the British Ambassador to Greece when it was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire in the late 1800s got permission from the Turks to pry off the statues and the friezes and bring them back to England. They have been prominently displayed in the British Museum ever since. Even though the Greeks are politely and firmly requesting the back and built a special museum to house them, the British are not giving in. It was really a unique experience to hear the Greek side of the argument and then come home and hear the British side of the "Lord Elgin Marbles" controversy.

After a yummy Italian lunch at Zizzi in Covent Garden, we stopped by Leicester Square where they were preparing for the Harry Potter #7 part 1 premiere. The stars were not expected for several hours, but the crowds (and dementers) were there in force! It was cool to see the red carpet all laid out and the giant screens getting ready to show the arrivals.

We then made our way to the theater where we saw "Stomp." It was really fun. It is amazing how much "music" you can make with household objects and your bodies! The kids had fun participating: clapping and snapping on cue.

After swinging back through Leicester Square--still no stars but pouring rain--we headed back to the tube.

Halloween 2010

It was a motley crew, but we had a blast going trick or treating on base with several families. It seemed like a snowball--we started with 3 families and just kept gathering friends as we walked. Ethan was out with his buddies (as box-man, I think), Madeleine was Dumbledore, Bronwyn was Hermione, and Colin was Harry Potter himself. Madeleine used that costume for Character Day at school. She won a prize for her costume and letter. Here is the letter she wrote introducing herself as Dumbledore for her "visit" to school:

My dear esteemed colleague Madeleine,

Greetings! It has been all too long since we last got together. Of course, we have both been very busy, you with your schoolwork, and I with my duties at Hogwarts. When you last wrote to me of your new school, I was curious, having never heard of Lakenheath Middle School. In fact, I’m writing to you now asking about visiting the very school you are now enrolled in. After all, being headmaster of Hogwarts, I naturally want to know all about the academic standards of other schools. Of course, at your school, you will be learning things like mathematics, history, grammar, and other Muggle life skills. Oh, and please, for the sake of not alarming your fellow students, and, of course, your teachers, be sure to tell them of my coming. Tell them that Professor Albus Dumbledore, of whom they can read about in my good friend J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, is coming to access your school on November 18, 2010. I do sincerely hope that my visit will cause you no inconvenience. If so, please contact me immediately so I can change plans. In your last letter you told about Black and Gold days. It is because of this information that I have decided to come during Seminar, as I will then be able to visit without interrupting a class. Meet me at the library at 2:15 P.M. or whenever convenient. However, if you can’t be there, again, please contact me, as it will save a lot of waiting.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts