15 January 2007
December in the dark
As we worked our way through the darkest days of the year Elke found herself back in Year five at Ladysmith Junior School. This time of the year can be so depressing, it's cold and sometimes wet and getting dark at half past three in the afternoon. Ho hum. Still at least at this time of the year there's Christmas to look forward to.
This is the season of the Christmas party. Chris' work held a fancy pants party at the new rugby ground. It was meant to be a black tie event so we both went out and bought some fancy pants new clothes - Chris bought a suit and I got a pretty dress. Awww. You know, we look ok when we brush our hair and stand up straight! It was a fun night.
The following morning I left Chris sleeping in while I went up to Bath with Dayna to have a look around the Christmas markets there. Wow. I'd been disappointed by the 'German' markets here in Exeter but the markets in Bath did not let us down. There were dozens of stalls selling all kinds of craft and wears. It was a glorious day and we really enjoyed getting out of Exeter for a little while.
What would Christmas be without a Christmas fair at school? My class made cards and book marks and set up all kinds of stalls and games to help raise money. It was a chaotic and noisy afternoon but they raised some fifty odd pounds and had a fun time selling their wares to the younger kids. I took advantage of some of the stalls by having myself drawn as a super-hero and getting a flower painted on my cheek!
Christmas dinner with the staff from Ladysmith was a much less formal affair than the one we had with Chris' workmates and ended with guitar playing, maraca shaking and some attempts at blues singing. We laughed so hard and there were many giggles when I showed the photos and clips to others at school the following Monday.
I few months ago (while Eloise was here actually) I organised with the Exeter Central Lending Library to hold an exhibition of my photographs in the week leading up to Christmas. I agonised over which ones to have printed, then agonised over the grouping of them and finally I agonised over the title of each one. It was exciting putting them up in the foyer of the library and I left a little comments book to see what people thought. Basically the feedback was positive. It makes me a little more serious about trying to sell some of my work when we get back from our trip home.
We spent Christmas this year with Ben and Dayna. They had some of Ben's family visiting for a few days so we had drinks on Christmas Eve, Lunch and Yahtzee on Christmas Day and then met up with them all again on Boxing Day for another drink. It was lovely to spend time with them all and see how others celebrate Christmas. Dayna made an amazing pudding and lots of yummy chocolate truffles!
New Year's Eve was spent in a stinky little pub with some friends and their friends. It was a good night although in a slightly less exotic location than last year (Norway last year remember).
It was around this time that we began to think seriously about booking tickets home. After a Christmas conversation with Oma in Canada for Christmas we began to think about trying to go and see her on our way home. Oh! And we could go skiing there while we were at it. We'd thought about going skiing in Europe somewhere before we head home but the snow reports had mostly been bad whereas Canada had lots of snow!
So we finally got organised, bit the bullet and booked some flights.
So - for anyone that we haven't told yet here is the brief itinerary...
Leave Heathrow 27th to Vancouver, one week with Oma and the Dous Family in BC then one week skiing at Silverstar. We fly back to London on the 12th March and out again to Perth on the 14th! We skip the 15th altogether and arrive in Perth on the 16th.
Then things get a bit hectic and crazy for me but we'll both be in Darwin on the 7th of April for a couple of weeks before flying back to Perth to head back over here. Oh and just for fun - we'll stop in Dubai for a few days on the way back.
Of course - the whole coming back bit is rather reliant on Chris getting his Highly Skilled Migrant Visa. The chances of us getting it will be much higher once the application is sent in. At this point we were close to getting it sent in but were waiting on a few loose documents. The whole process is mighty scary! Very specific and thorough and expensive. Chris found a forum online full of people who were having problems with their applications - not a positive environment.
So - 2007 looks like it's going to be a good year; a trip home to see lots of places and meet lots of people. Skiing again and Oma and summer is coming and weddings and and and and and....
This is the season of the Christmas party. Chris' work held a fancy pants party at the new rugby ground. It was meant to be a black tie event so we both went out and bought some fancy pants new clothes - Chris bought a suit and I got a pretty dress. Awww. You know, we look ok when we brush our hair and stand up straight! It was a fun night.The following morning I left Chris sleeping in while I went up to Bath with Dayna to have a look around the Christmas markets there. Wow. I'd been disappointed by the 'German' markets here in Exeter but the markets in Bath did not let us down. There were dozens of stalls selling all kinds of craft and wears. It was a glorious day and we really enjoyed getting out of Exeter for a little while.
What would Christmas be without a Christmas fair at school? My class made cards and book marks and set up all kinds of stalls and games to help raise money. It was a chaotic and noisy afternoon but they raised some fifty odd pounds and had a fun time selling their wares to the younger kids. I took advantage of some of the stalls by having myself drawn as a super-hero and getting a flower painted on my cheek!Christmas dinner with the staff from Ladysmith was a much less formal affair than the one we had with Chris' workmates and ended with guitar playing, maraca shaking and some attempts at blues singing. We laughed so hard and there were many giggles when I showed the photos and clips to others at school the following Monday.
I few months ago (while Eloise was here actually) I organised with the Exeter Central Lending Library to hold an exhibition of my photographs in the week leading up to Christmas. I agonised over which ones to have printed, then agonised over the grouping of them and finally I agonised over the title of each one. It was exciting putting them up in the foyer of the library and I left a little comments book to see what people thought. Basically the feedback was positive. It makes me a little more serious about trying to sell some of my work when we get back from our trip home. We spent Christmas this year with Ben and Dayna. They had some of Ben's family visiting for a few days so we had drinks on Christmas Eve, Lunch and Yahtzee on Christmas Day and then met up with them all again on Boxing Day for another drink. It was lovely to spend time with them all and see how others celebrate Christmas. Dayna made an amazing pudding and lots of yummy chocolate truffles!New Year's Eve was spent in a stinky little pub with some friends and their friends. It was a good night although in a slightly less exotic location than last year (Norway last year remember).
It was around this time that we began to think seriously about booking tickets home. After a Christmas conversation with Oma in Canada for Christmas we began to think about trying to go and see her on our way home. Oh! And we could go skiing there while we were at it. We'd thought about going skiing in Europe somewhere before we head home but the snow reports had mostly been bad whereas Canada had lots of snow!
So we finally got organised, bit the bullet and booked some flights.
So - for anyone that we haven't told yet here is the brief itinerary...
Leave Heathrow 27th to Vancouver, one week with Oma and the Dous Family in BC then one week skiing at Silverstar. We fly back to London on the 12th March and out again to Perth on the 14th! We skip the 15th altogether and arrive in Perth on the 16th.
Then things get a bit hectic and crazy for me but we'll both be in Darwin on the 7th of April for a couple of weeks before flying back to Perth to head back over here. Oh and just for fun - we'll stop in Dubai for a few days on the way back.
Of course - the whole coming back bit is rather reliant on Chris getting his Highly Skilled Migrant Visa. The chances of us getting it will be much higher once the application is sent in. At this point we were close to getting it sent in but were waiting on a few loose documents. The whole process is mighty scary! Very specific and thorough and expensive. Chris found a forum online full of people who were having problems with their applications - not a positive environment. So - 2007 looks like it's going to be a good year; a trip home to see lots of places and meet lots of people. Skiing again and Oma and summer is coming and weddings and and and and and....
