Last Father’s Day, girls and I got Stuart a small wooden model car as a present. He really enjoyed putting it together. It’ fiddly, but you see the progress immediately…
Now he is building a train. Much more fiddly, apparently.
Day 36: Miniatures
Category: Activities
Day 30: The Law of Inertia
Over the years I have realized that the only way I exercise regularly is to have everything I need ready at home. I actually enjoy going to the gym. But after a long day, or facing a cold early morning, getting there just takes too much mental effort.
Instead I just step into my shoes at home for a “quick 10 min stretch” and 90% of the time, once the initial friction is beaten, I keep going. Law of inertia.
And when I really can’t be bothered, that’s fine too. Ten minutes of stretching is still better than nothing.
Day 28: Music or not
I’m not big on music. I occassionally listen to something in the background, but more often I listen to books or (much more rarely) podcasts. The only exception is during exercise. You really need rythm to motivate yourself to run or lift weights.
Stuart plays guitar and I’m glad girls have inherited some of his enthusiasm. At this stage (with no training at all) it is too early to judge talent. But they play every music instrument they have with gusto!
Kiara especially likes to listen to music while she draws or does crafts. I’ve been surprised to realize she enjoys classical music too – and for one whole summer her favourite song was a Swedish choir rendition of Santa Lucia (a reference that probably makes more sense to anyone from Scandinavia).
Day 26: Muizenberg Beach
Cape Town faces the Atlantic, so the water is pretty chilly even in summer. Muizenberg Beach is a popular surfing destination because of the good waves it gets, but any sane surfer wears a wetsuit.
Despite the cold, Kiara and Alanna squeezed every bit of fun out of the waves, sand, and sun in the last hours before heading to the airport. Since they were soaked to the skin and covered in wet sand, we had luckily scheduled time for a shower before starting our trip.
Day 2: Burning off energy
There is a wonderful Finnish word, mökkihöperö, loosely translated as “going a bit loopy from too much time indoors.” After a weekend mostly stuck inside because of the –20°C temperatures, the girls were definitely going mökkihöperö. And, with all that excess energy, so were Stuart and I.
The easiest solution is a half-day at an indoor playground. Alanna and Kiara are big enough to run around on their own, so I can (albeit with a lot of interruptions) sit and edit photos. Unfortunately, we were not the only ones who had the same thought. Do you have any idea how hard it is to recognize your child among 50+ others, all yelling “Mum!” at regular intervals? Luckily, it’s a big place.
Blue Moment 