Tales from Columbia Court

Sometimes, the only way to celebrate is to have a party.  To gather friends and family.  To bring them to one place with banners, balloons and bunting.  To play music, to eat, drink and to fill the room with the buzz of conversation.  Continue reading →

The man in the baseball cap collected me from school.  A new family to meet another weekend of adventure to experience.

When we arrived at the house I met a bear named Basil and he showed me a book to give me an idea of what I would be doing.  (Surfer Chick by Kristy Dempsey Illustrated by Henry Cole)

After a good nights sleep we set off early.  My new friends lent me some beach gear.  The car was loaded and we headed down the freeway to the coast.

I rode the final stretch in a wagon along with boogie boards, towels, the beach tent and a picnic.  The man in the baseball cap explained about the waves and how to catch a good ride.

We surfed, played in the waves, built a sit on top canoe in the sand, ate from a huge sandwich and enjoyed watching the pelicans and helicopters that flew overhead.

The waters were clear and you could see fish, muscle shells and clams.  My friends spoke to a man who had been spear fishing; he had caught a yellow tuna fish.

Eventually it was time to pack up and head home.  We stopped for refreshments before joining the lines of cars on the freeway.

I don’t really remember falling asleep – I just closed my eyes briefly – and then it was morning.

After breakfast we spoke to my new friends family on the tablet.  It was nice to meet them and to hear their news.  The man in the tablet said he had bought some new track and a new engine for his train which sounded very exciting.

We are having a quiet afternoon now – homework, reading, watching television and relaxing ready for the new week ahead.

Summer started for us on the 14 June.  School finished at noon and we headed out for lunch and ice cream to celebrate.  180 days of the school year complete and I think we were all ready for a change in routine, a break from the school run and time to just be. Continue reading →

A few of the photos from the weekend.

A party to celebrate a birthday.  A family friendship that spans the years and where memories have been made in many countries on many adventures.

There was food, fantastic beverages and a lot of fun!

Last week I received a bag covered and containing wonderful words.  Hopefully for the ladies in our Moms Connect group the gift was at least partly a surprise, Continue reading →

….just for a second – or at least it felt very brief…and now look, it’s May! Continue reading →

I am lucky to have a number of amazing friends.  One group of which have been planning and hosting a monthly meal together.  It is a simple plan – one hosts and provides a main course, one brings dessert, one brings flowers for the host, two bring the drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic).  The remainder pitch up ready to enjoy the evening in the knowledge that it will become their turn in due course.  Twelve months and twelve nights out with friends who are all linked in someway through their children but who have become closer as mothers and women as they get the chance to talk and discuss without the distractions that usually arise when women who have children gather. Continue reading →

There have been a couple of occasions over the last week or so where discussions have touched on the stuff in our homes.  As we creep closer to the end of our adventure here, conversations, at times, are around the move back to the UK and what we will return with or in many cases without.  We arrived with six suitcases, a car seat and a stroller and a little while later our shipping arrived – which in the main was toys, a few more clothes and a couple of pictures of home. Continue reading →

….a mini adventure, in an attempt to check off the list some places we wanted to see.  Some for the first time and some partly a repeat of a trip my husband and I did six years ago.   Continue reading →

…the blossom that springs from the avenues of trees and shrubs planted against the concrete of the suburbs and the wide expanse of roads running through this city.  Mostly pale whites and creams and occasionally splashes of pastel pinks.  I’ve been trying really hard over the last week or so to make a conscious effort to notice it, because it all, too soon, will be gone again. Continue reading →