When the sun is setting, between dusk and darkness, there is a moment when the light turns blue. And the world stops for a heartbeat.
Stuart flew to Kenya for business today and, to no-one’s surprise, Alanna is now sick.
Luckily, she is already pretty independent. But even when I shorten my workday and work from home, she still ends up entertaining herself for most of the day.
A boring day for my little one!
We have a huge glass terrace at the back our our house. During summer, it is the most-used “room” we have. It is our dining room, living room and outside patio – all wrapped into one. In fact, it was one of the main reasons we bought the house to start with.
The glass roof is fairly flat and keeping it clean(ish) of leaves, pine needles, pollen and dust is no small task. Not that I am too pedantic about it… And a good thing too. About five minutes after completing my task, a gust of wind brought down a fresh rain of rubbish.
Oh well.
You probably noticed I am cheating a bit in my 365 challenge here. This picture was taken by Kiara, not me. I guess the ones below should be my official entries, but who cares.
I have never been a big fan of vinegar. I remember when I was 16 and spending my exchange year in the UK, it didn’t matter how many times I emphasised in fish & chip shop that I want ‘absolutely no vinegar’, I still got too much. Every time.
In cooking, though, vinegar can make a dish sing. And (combined with a few other random ingredients) it is also surpringly effective at polishing copper. Emphasis on surprisingly.
So now, naturally, I need to polish this copper plate everywhere else
We have a balcony upstairs that we didn’t use much at first. Our large covered terasse downstairs acts as our living room every summer, so this space was largely ignored.
Two years ago we added a comfortable chair and a small table, and that was all it needed to become a reading nook. Being a little higher up, the balcony catches the last rays of sunlight in the evening and on a rainy day it is quite pleasant to listen to the tapping on the window.
And if you close the door properly, you are not visible from the inside.
Last year Santa brought the girls a trampoline. I was a bit worried it wouldn’t be used much, but I didn’t need to worry. Last summer, there was barely a day that girls didn’t go jumping, at least for a bit. Most days, there would be several friends bouncing with them.
We set the trampoline up again today (you have to take it into storage for winter). Thirty minutes later, you could already hear the laughter of four little girls.
Raking is pretty far down the list of my favourite things to do. But there is some satisfaction in having a tidy yard. At least it has been dry, which makes raking easy. Keeping girls at task was harder.
Warm milk has been a part of our bedtime routine since… well… since the girls were just born. We transitioned from mother’s milk to cow’s milk and from bottles to sippy cups to normal cups – but the routine stayed. It is a taste of calming down (most nights).
Girls’ birthday always ends up being multi-day affair: the celebration during the actual day with immediate family, followed by family birthday with exetended family, and last (but not least) the party with friends.
The good thing about twins is that you do this once a year.
Kiara and Alanna go to a circus school every week – and love it! Before this, we tried dancing and gymnastics, but they were not quite right. My girls don’t want to move as they are told, they want to move as they feel.
So circus school fits their personality better. They still practice flexibility, performing, and working in a group – but they can also do tricks, climb, juggle, and build pyramids. And they are encouraged to find their own way of doing things.
Now, Kiara has gotten it into her head she wants to start cheerleading. She is small, so she wants to be a ‘flyer’. We’ll see.
There is something wonderfully whimsical about building a fort. I have rarely found anyone, child or adult, who does not get swept up in the excitement of putting one tohether. The more elaborate the better. And you always need a string of fairy lights.
Some people prefer forts with open space, but I adore ones with nooks, crawl-thru-doors and piles of pillows. I have always dreamed of having a secret room in my house – one you can only reach through a closet, low tunnel or a trapdoor under your bed. Maybe building a cramped fort is the closest I’ll get.
My chances of secret room would likely improve significantly, if I preferred a less modern-style house.
Blue Moment 