visit to Kate's

Arrived safely last week and have been fairly busy ever since.  There is always a lot going on here, probably because the kids have so many activities outside of school.  There is Scouts (Alex), Guides (Sarah and Olivia), swimming (Olivia and Alex), flute lessons (Olivia) and probably a couple I've forgotten.  Also it's almost the last day of school, so there is an assembly today at Green Lane (Alex ) with singing and suchlike.  I'll go over there to hear it.  Tomorrow is a half day for all the kids, so they will come home having eaten their fill of Christmas goodies.

And, speaking of goodies, we baked yesterday.  Kate's family blog has a photo of the goodies - 10 different kinds of cookies!  Most of the baking was done by Sarah and Olivia, with Kate supervising.  Alex helped a bit, decorating and suchlike.  I washed dishes - LOTS OF DISHES!  I did make one batch of peanut butter/chocolate squares - a no bake cookie.  After the baking, we went to an Christmas party down the street.  The hosts were a couple of guy whom Kate and Geoff didn't know very well, but they were really nice and Kate knew many of the other folks who were there.  I hadn't realized how many old folks live on this street.  At our end, there are mostly younger families (like Kate's), but almost everyone at the party was my age or older.  I guess the younger folks were busy with other activities.  I chatted with an older guy originally from Australia (he's lived in England for 50 years) and then with a woman who teaches at one of the local schools.  (Not the school where Kate is  working).  It was a nice drop-in sort of party, but that many people talking in a small space is hard on my ears. 

Saturday night we had dinner with a family whose daughter went to nursery school with Sarah.  Because Kate and Carolyn became friends, the families get together every year at Christmas and sometimes in between, despite the fact that Sarah and Amelia went to different primary schools.  Now that they are both in secondary school, they are together again.  Anyway, I've also gotten to know Carolyn and Brian, and very much enjoy seeing them when I'm here.  Their neighborhood is one of the few that REALLY DECORATE for the Holidays.  Even by American standards, that neighborhood is over the top in lights and animated displays.  We went out for a walk to see all the decorations which were spectacular as usual.  After dinner, we had a bit of music.  Kate, Olivia and I brought our flutes and clarinet (Sarah also plays clarinet) and Amelia play piano.  Geoff once played piano, so he had a turn plunking away on a couple of carols.  Carolyn just sings, so we did some Christmas carols with just instruments and some with various combinations, including voice.  Kate has a book of Christmas songs with three parts - for flute  and the same parts for clarinet.  We've been playing them with two flutes and one clarinet and having a great time at home. 

We haven't done much serious shopping, as Kate tries to avoid the malls in the weeks before Christmas.  However, I've been checking out all the charity shops (thrift stores) in two nearby communities.  Haven't bought much, but I like poking around to see what English people donate.  The clothing seems nicer that what one finds in the US thrifts, but I think it's just that the stores here are all small and are more selective about what they put out.  We did go to Wimbledon on Saturday because Kate and Alex were packing groceries at one of the stores - an activity to benefit the Boy Scouts.  The girls and I wandered around the street and 'Centre Court' (shopping center). The girls had Christmas money to spend, so they enjoyed the shopping.  The stores weren't nearly as crowded as I expected, except for one store that had about 20 people in line.  Sarah was buying something so she cued up and Olivia and I surveyed and purchased pastries at a kiosk in the mall.  Mmmm, good.

The weather here has been cold and a bit drizzly.  One morning it snowed (sort of ) on and off.  The snow was more like falling slush, coming down in big gobs, not flakes and melting as soon as it hit the ground.  It rained several evenings, so there are lots of puddles, making walking not very enjoyable.  I suppose there is a chance of snow for Christms, but it's not very likely.  Last year they had a lot of snow in December, but that is unusual for this part of England.  Alex is keeping track of Christmas - he tells us each day how many days are left.  I think he would say it's now FIVE!  (Or maybe six, depending on how you count it.  Not long, any way you look at it.