Wednesday 10 June 2009

Maya is 2!













So, it has been a long time, once again. The spring and beginning of summer have been pretty good here in the UK. The big news is that Maya turned 2! We had big plans of going camping with all of our friends, but the weather put a damper on it all. However, the three of us were able to get away for one night before the weather turned damp and cold. You can see the pics from above that we managed to get a nice walk in, some swinging, sitting in the river and some beautiful views. Maya loved being outdoors and having a fire. Although she did have her own tent, she ended up sleeping with us. Not surprising considering the novelty of it all. She was well impressed with her Daddy's homemade swing in the trees. And I was impressed with his ability to sit, swing and sip beer all at the same time. she loved it all and has proven to be a good walker and camper. Now, if we can get her to carry all her own gear we can do some serious primitive camping deep in the woods!

As for her actual birthday, all of our friends who were going to come along for the weekend, ended up at our house for a big bbq. (The bbq was a homage to my late friend Dwayne May, the best man on the grill ever, you will be missed my brother, RIP) As you can see from the video above, Maya helped out with the cupcakes!

May was big month for visitors. We went to lots of new places in the UK, one of which was Lacock Abbey, where they filmed some of the Harry Potter movies...and Maya was well impressed. Mostly with the sound of her own voices echoing in the cloisters! Thank you to Grace and Chirs for coming, Maya loved your visits and wants you come back soon!

One of our biggest projects so far, has been our allotment. An allotment - to all of you who are in the dark- is basically a plot of land that you rent from your local government. You can grow whatever you like, but they are manily used for vegetables. They are quite hard to come by these days and we were lucky enough to be allowed to help out with a friend's. It is quite a bit of work in the beginning, but the results, we hope, will prove worth the work. So far we have planted, potatoes, onions, garlic, broad beans, french beans, runner beans, sweet peas, beetroots, chard, spinach, and some berries in a fruit cage. We also have cilantro, chives, basil and parsley! Maya loves going down to water and to weed. She walks around and chats with all the other gardeners around, breaking the ice for me to ask for helpful hints. I guess our biggest problem is slugs. Since we use NO pesticides, it is quite a conundrum. Everyone who has gardens worthy of green envy all say the same - 'slug pellets'- for which I and Jayne (our friend we are working with) reply- 'no worms'! (Slug pellets do work, but the end result is you have no worms in your dirt, bad for healthy plants) I have tried the 'organic' version of slug pellets which, apparently do allow the worms life, and they are not doing the trick. So for now, after also trying holly, ash, hoeing and beer, I am at a loss. Knowing that when global warming catches up with us and we are no longer here to do battle with the elements, it will not only be the lowly cockroach living, but the even lowlier SLUG alive and well.

Maya is turning into a very funny, very talkative, very confident toddler. As all parents do, we think she is the cutest thing to behold. Although, she does have her moments; I think they are called the terrible 2's. But, luckily, she puts herself in time out and cries it out. Saying that, there are no places for time out in the grocery store. Hard one to figure out what to do when she loses it on aisle 2.

Paul is keeping his head above the water line in the times we have. Would not be telling the truth if I said we were not struggling with it all. But, we have our health, our happiness, and most of all, the best 2 year old in the world.

We miss you all- and send you loads of love and light, Kat, Paul and Maya.

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