Sunday, December 29, 2013

Winter Walks

28th December, another glorious day.  What better way to spend it than in the Kent hills surrounded by stunning views and in the company of good friends?



Thursday, December 26, 2013

Boxing Day

After some pretty miserable weather, Boxing day has been utterly glorious.  Wall to wall sunshine all day long.  There is another storm due tomorrow with possibly more flooding on the way, so we took the opportunity
to enjoy some time outdoors this morning on the Big Wood Walk, and to test out Mab's new camera.  The kids splashed in every puddle and came home covered in mud from head to foot, which is a clear sign of a good time in my book.

A Sunnyside Christmas

This moment has been long awaited by many.  Not only have the children been counting down the days for the past month, but for some years we have longed for a time when we could relieve our parents of hosting the Christmas day celebrations.  In fact, it has been mentioned that our grandmothers had long since passed on the baton at the age our dear mothers are now, but time has now been called, as we finally have a house large enough to seat more than one man and his dog.  A happy day, with enough turkey to feed an army, oodles of presents, a wade through the woods (courtesy of the unrelenting rain on Christmas Eve leaving much of Tonbridge several feet under water), and then up to Aunty Daph and Uncle John's farm for a game of "Tippit".  What could be better?  Merry Christmas everyone!

Happy Birthday James

Dav Pilkey is a genius.  Of course everyone knows that eight year old boys are obsessed with toilet humour.  Wees, poos, farts, pants, bums - the very words send them into uncontrollable fits of giggles.  But this man has made his fortune from this simple fact by authoring the Captain Underpants series of books.  James is a big fan, and this year's birthday cake commission was inspired by Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets.  James was thrilled with the result and the rest of us were quite relieved to discover that it tasted of cake.  Happy birthday James!

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Dover Castle

In celebration of James's 8th birthday we took a trip to Dover Castle with his friends William, Charlie and Matthew.  What a great castle, built in the 12th century by Henry II, it is now richly furnished in vibrant colours as authentically as the surviving historical records can attest.  The castle is huge and there is ample space to run around both inside and out, and in a refreshing departure from customary museum etiquet, children are invited to touch everything.  Testing out the comfort of the Kings throne, stoking up the fire in the kitchen, feeling the weight of a chain mail suit, all made for a far richer experience than is normally granted in these places.  After visiting the Great Tower, we explored the medieval tunnels and the Roman lighthouse and Saxon church before heading home.  A lovely day, with five lovely children who will surely sleep well tonight.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Tea towels and Tinsel

It's nativity time!  Jenny was promoted from being a sheep last year to a shepherdess this year.  She sang and played the maracas beautifully to an audience of proud parents and grandparents.  Well done Jenny.  Having reached the dizzy heights of the Juniors, James's nativity days are sadly over.  We have just one more of these to go before the end of an era.

Tuesday, December 03, 2013

The new kitchen

For the benefit of the Canadian and Cumbrian contingent, who have yet to sample the delights of our lovely new kitchen, here it is in all its glory with lovely new worktops, which arrived at 6.15am one Friday morning.
We are thrilled with the result, and I have been overcome by an uncontrollable urge to bake bread ever since.  I can't take credit for the loaf pictured here which was lovingly baked by our multi talented and ever generous postman, Dave. 
Painted in a beautiful duck egg blue (otherwise known as Albany Traditions "freshfields"), our kitchen is also now featured on the Hadlow Kitchens website.  Now just awaiting the call from Country Living.