Kitty Update #2

Another update from our friends, Jer and Kara, who are keeping our two cats, Skippy and Jenga, for six months. Here's Jer:

Not a big update really, but just had to get this picture to you of Jenga and the water bowl. I actually had to shoo her off it as it looked like she was about to lay down in the few inches of water entirely. Her front paws were completely submerged when she was drinking out of it and then she climbed upon the top as shown in the picture. Is she that desperate for a bath? :-)

This weekend we had my brother and family in town partly for he and his wife to join us for the Brian Regan show that you guys had originally planned to go with us to--we really missed you guys not being there. We did manage to have a great time in light of it all. BTW, check out Dennis Regan (Brian's older brother who opened for him). He's got some great material as well.


While most of our felines were hiding out while the three cousins were here (an 8- and two 6-year-olds), Skippy and Jenga welcomed the young humans to give them attention. Jordan really liked them a lot and with asking their names he said, "Uncle Jer, if they were my cats I would name this one [Jenga] Purry because she purrs loud and this on [Skippy] Meowy since she meows a lot." I knew before he even said it that it was going to be one of those great things that comes out of Jordan's mouth. I cropped the picture of Jordan with Skippy with my phone so it's low quality taken to really low quality, but a little easier to see.

We hope all is going well and so glad Merrit enjoyed his first day at school so much. Talk soon.


Jer

Well, that Explains Why I've Been Burning My Jacket Potatoes!

I was dismally telling my mother-in-law on Skype yesterday that I couldn't understand why I kept scorching oven-dinners.

Chicken legs. Burned. Jacket potatoes (what we'd Americans call baked potatoes). Crispy. Needless to say, there's no way I'd even TRY making biscuits with this renegade oven!

Then I got this sweet email from the MIL this morning:

Checked fahrenheit to celsius temperatures.

230 C equals 446 F
160 C equals 320 F

Eureka!

More than Just a Bit Blustery

I cannot believe how windy it is today! Poor Ollie and I were blown around on our way to drop off Merrit, and then to a playgroup at a local church. I had to hold on to him tightly for fear that he'd blow right off the sidewalk. And I'm not even kidding!

I think my cheeks are windburned.

Video Tour of Our Cute Rental by the Sea

We are renting a fully furnished house in Whitley Bay. What you see here, aside from our clothes and computers and a few toys that the kids brought, doesn't belong to us. :-) We are still waiting for our boxes of things to arrive. I really do need to check on where the boat is via the online tracking system. Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Here's quick video tour of our surrounds. Enjoy!

And if you missed the pics of our place posted at my friend Kristi's blog, they're here. She took some cute shots when she was here to help us move over and settle in the first week.

The Little Man

Yesterday when Merrit came in from school, he said:

"When I come home after school I feel like a grown up man coming home from a long day at work."

The Left Lane...Literally...and My Day with Ollie

The company is renting us a car for a bit while we get used to driving
and save our pennies (pence?) for a car of our own. Mike drove it
home from the office last night and looked a little white-faced when he
came in. It was stressful to find his way across town...in the left lane...
at rush hour!

Undaunted, he is ready to do it again the next day. Do you think it has anything
to do with the fact that the rental car is a BMW? Uh, yeah.

Ollie and I made peanut butter cookies after dropping Merrit off at school.

The easiest recipe ever.

Whip together 1 cup sugar and one egg. Fold in 1 cup peanut butter.
Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 5 to 7 minutes.
Makes 18 cookies.

They were so yummy hot from the oven.
With milk, of course.

Ollie and I went to the library, read for a while, then checked out eight books for him.
He has his own library card!

Then we went to the park and played for about an hour. Ollie loved the slide best.

Okay, sure, I don't have a food processor--for now. But I can make some hummus.
Heck, if Lebanese grandmothers have made it for generations without food
processors, so can I! This is what Ollie and I had for lunch.

We picked up Merrit at 3:30 and came straight home.
The alley behind our house is the perfect spot for practicing
Merrit's new scooter. Ollie was happy to run alongside.

Exhilaration.

Packed Lunch Guidelines

I'm in love. With the packed lunch guidelines handed out to me by Merrit's school. Typing from the pamphlet, now:

Marine Park First School actively supports healthy eating and drinking throughout the school day and aims to promote health awareness in all members of the school community. Here is guidance from the North Tyneside Council.


Some ideas for packed lunches.


Use a balance of good health as a basis for making your choices. Try to have something from three groups every day and all the groups during the week.


Don't over face your child with items or amounts of food. It is better that they eat up than get fed up half way through.


Group 1 - Breads and Cereals

• Slices of bread
• Bread rolls/buns
• Pita bread
• Chunks of French bread
• Bread sticks
• Crackers or cheese biscuits
• Fruit or cheese scone
• Cooked pasta
• Cold, chopped potato

Group 2 - Fruit and vegetables

• All types of fresh fruit (Think about how easy it is to peel/prepare at school. Why not try to chop or slice it at home and put into plastic containers. A spoon or fork might be needed to eat it with, so don't forget to pack it.)
• Some fruit goes well in sandwiches or salads, e.g., grated apple or cheese, pineapple chunks and ham
• Cherry tomatoes
• Salad leaves in sandwiches or separetely in a box or bag
• Carrot, celery, and cucumber sliced, grated or in sticks
• Tubs of coleslaw or similar "dressed" salad
• Small pots of tinned or stewed fruit - don't forget a spoon!
• Canned or frozen vegetables mixed into fillings, e.g., tuna and sweet corn, grated cheese and chopped green beans
• Pure juice

Group 3 - Meat, Fish, and Alternatives

• Cold sliced meat -  ham, chicken, turkey, etc.
• Salmon, tuna, sardines, pilchards
• Meat and fish spreads
• Liver pate
• Hard-boiled eggs - sliced, whole, or with mayonnaise/salad cream

Group 4 - Milk and Dairy Foods

• Cheese for sandwiches - grated, sliced, soft cheeses
• Yogurt or Fromage Frais
• Tubs of custard or milk-pudding style desserts
• Cartons of milk

You know what I love about this? It's real food. Un-processed, real food. I think it's also interesting to see what kids here eat, culturally speaking, that just wouldn't fly back in the U.S. Cold, chopped potato and pilchards. And not a Lunchable in sight.