FUN AND NOT SO FUNNY GAMES IN THE SNOW.

"An hour with your grandchildren can make you feel young again. Anything longer than that, and you start to age quickly." Author: Gene Perret

Standing at the top of Stelpe slopes

How true this is, we have just had the most enjoyable time with a family visit. Our son daughter-in-law and two granddaughters were over for part of the half term holidays,  first to visit Nanny and Grandad and secondly to play in the snow, {I am not really sure if that was the correct order of things}

Katie about to make her first run

Olivia deciding whether to give it a go{she did}

Those of you who have been following this blog will no doubt recall my lament about not having a great deal of the white stuff, however nature performed and just before there arrival we had a fresh covering of snow, not much but enough to allow some sledging and general messing about.

 

The highlight of there stay was Wednesday evening, both Katie and Olivia have just had birthdays so we thought it would be nice if we had a party,we invited the children who come once a month for a film evening, we could watch a film have pizza, popcorn and cake and introduce them to our family. At 6 o'clock eight teenagers arrived, some with gifts for the birthday girls and the evening got under way. To start with it was pretty typical of youngsters there was one group one end of the room and another  at the other end with not a lot of communication between the two.I decided that to move things along I would show the film I had chosen for the evening, 'Yogi Bear' well I thought it would be fine, funny, no bad language, sex or violence, a family film. Wrong!!! not a good choice apparently. Next time they can chose their own . 90 minutes later Valerie and Shelly produced the food and it quickly disappeared, my how teenagers can eat, but at least round the table everyone began to chat. Normally after having something to eat and drink I would take everyone home, but then someone asked ' can we stay a bit longer'? do you have any games we can play? Now thanks to some very good friends we just happen to have dominoes,triominoes, Phase 10 and UNO so out came the cards and everyone settled down for a game of UNO,

Coke popcorn, crisps and UNO a winning combination

At 9.30pm some of the younger ones asked if I could take them home as they had homework to complete for the next day,  the plan was to drop four off and then return and repeat the journey with the older group. Shelly joined me and we set off dropping Karina home in the village, then Zane who is the farthest away,  next came Cynthia and Rita, down a track about 2 kilometres off the  road, all went well until we started up the small track to their home, which was about 500 metres off the main track, three quarters of the way up, the girls said this will be far enough just stop and let us out, there is a space to turn , simple enough. Second time this evening I was wrong, as I backed round to do a' perfik' three point turn, there was a bit of a bump as the car settled into a  frozen tractor track that had been made when the ground was softer, my back wheels settled into it perfectly and I was good and stuck again!!!!!! it was shades of getting stuck in the forest, only this time it was 10 o'clock at night pitch dark and freezing cold and well over ankle deep in snow. The girls ran off, returning with a snow shovel and an extra pair of hands to help push when ready. The snow shovel was great at moving the snow, but when it came to using it on  soil that is frozen rock solid, it's a bit like a 'tom tit on a pump handle'. I tried jacking the car up and puting some old carpet under the wheels, pushing shoving and generally muttering under my breath but would it  move?  not an inch.!!! One of the girls went off home and came back  with an  axe!!!!! and with this most essential of all winter tools, I hacked, chopped and generally battered a track forwards from the trapped wheels, and with everyone pushing we returned to the track and safety. The only thing left to do now was return home. While Shelly and I had been out, the others had  had a great time comparing music on phones and ipods and looking at family photos with Mark and the rest of the family.

Comparing play lists

 The remaining teenagers ,who thought it great fun that I had been caught out yet again , needed to be taken home as by this time it was gone 11pm so this  time with Mark, Katie and Olivia all suitably dressed plus a shovel, torch and mobile phone{just in case ha ha} we delivered them all home safe and sound. On the way back we stopped to do a little stargazing. 

With no light polution the night sky is a wonder to see the constelations, planets and stars are so clear it is as if you could reach out and touch them, { David the psalmist had it right when he said 'when I consider the heavens------ what is man that thou art mindful of him? Psm 8 v3-4}

{Note to self------ add an axe to the car tool kit}

But to start at the beginning of the week,first we had to take the little class of children at school and this week we decided that we would do a smiley maze and then play a couple of games,so armed with our school bag off we went, The temperature was around the -26c mark, upon arriving we were told that there was no class to take, as it was so cold.Quite understandable, well I ask you would you send your 6 year old child or grandchild to school in say minus 27c .So checking on if  we would be needed for Wednesdays lesson we were told yes, some of the children  would be there, our 7--8 year old's,we arrived with extra help in the form of Katie and Olivia  with our lesson all prepared and ready to go, we found most of our class children in the hall practising their dancing,Hi Valerie Hi Roger they chorus. Leaving them to finish we head for the classroom and wait and wait and wait only to find that the children are off to Valle for a competition or something similar,so there will be no class today!!!!!!!! so we all went back home, better luck next week.

 

 

Going down is great but it's the getting back up!!!

Even the big kids have a go

 

I can now announce that the Yucky!!!! season is upon us, something happens at this time of the year that just make you want to go Yuck. Let me explain. The snow has now lost it's once so sparkly brilliant white colour and has taken on a much more off white look { I just googled white as a colour and what a can of worms  my thinking is, if you can get it in a can it's a colour} Throughout the winter the ground has frozen to quite a depth, now as the days become warmer, the snow melts but the water has nowhere to go,  so it lays on top becoming very slippery, the dirt roads are wonderful,  puts a whole new slant on the Paul Simon  song 'slip sliding away' anyway back to topic Yuk so with the excess amount of water on the surface the ground begins to thaw slowly and the once hard as iron soil becomes very sticky and gets everywhere to coin an old phrase it sticks like!!!!!!! It won't last very long though as Spring is just around the corner .

'BUT BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE'

Judging from comments, pictures and news from England it would seen as though there is a little snow on the ground at the moment and temperatures are somewhere in the -degrees C.

The view from our boilerroom window and yes it is double glazed

  
This morning our thermometer read -32c so the UK is positively tropical.
These low temperatures do tend to bring a different attitude to life. For a start getting up now falls into a pattern, first prepare the mind, then out from under the warm duvet and into the dressing gown, next check outside,{only looking out of the window ha ha} we can tell how cold it is now by counting how many chimneys have smoke coming out of them some in the far distance { the most we have seen is 18, that's a sign it's really cold}

Just some of the chimneys we see from our window

then downstairs, fill the kettle and  put it on, then through the dining room and down into the basement to check the boiler,fill it with wood, open the flue and set the water pump to go,back to the kitchen where the kettle has boiled, make coffee and return to bed, This routine I now have off to a fine art and it takes 6 minutes from start to finish.{ Oh and!! somewhere in there is visit to the bathroom and cleaning my teeth} Oh it's so much more fun than setting a timer to come on half an hour before you wake up.
This last Tuesday  we had notice that there was a parcel to be collected from the Post Office, The weather was beautiful a positively balmy -20c just right for a stroll in the sunshine, so suitably dressed {2 pairs of socks, pants,long johns,trousers, thermal vest, thick warm shirt,and pullover and long scarf all under a windproof,waterproof jacket a beanie hat and to top it off a fur lined hat with ear muffs, My Hands? in a pair of hand made Latvian mittens} looking some what like a Michelin man I set of to collect said parcel.A great walk, a round trip of about 45 minuits  I had a stretch of main road to walk only about 100yds, it seemed that three cars had chosen the same time as I had to travel this particular piece of road and as they passed me they were followed by a great cloud of powdery snow. By the time I reached the Post Office the cold was just beginning to penetrate my nether regions, so it was just as well I could warm myself in the post office before my return home. Of course I couldn't just slip in collect the parcel not a chance, and as I entered I was viewed with some amusement by those already there, one elderly lady made a comment about my trousers being perhaps a  little lightweight, so pulling a trouser leg up just a little I flashed  my long johns she laughed and I got her ok as to wearing the right clothes for the weather. With my parcel safely in a bag my return home was much easier as the wind was at my back
Starting the car also takes some time when the diesel starts to get thicker, as the temperature drops the oil in the sump becomes more like treacle,  the battery just doesn't like the cold. So now the battery lives in the boiler room {the warmest room in the house} while 45minuites before we plan to go out a small fan heater is placed under the bonnet set at maximum to warm the fuel pump and fuel lines, then the battery reinstalled some quickstart sprayed into the engine, a quick prayer and hopefully success.

The lady's have a go.

The best part of the week must be the pensioners club, which met this week at the Stelpe Kitchen { Friends on face book will  have seen the results of this now famous kitchen} the reason of the visit was to have a workshop on English style pastry, please note the modern terminology for what was just a great get together to chat, laugh, drink tea and coffee and enjoy each others company. One lady introduced us to a new cake which she had made for the last meeting. Valerie demonstrated making pastry and introduced everyone to Quiche.It seems pie's and pastry dishes are not done here, so they were very interested in how everything went together, pastry here is quite different, and when our marble rolling pin appeared everyone was facinated by it and it had to be passed round.There was then an oppertunity for anyone who wished to have a go, the results were then put together with food that had been brought and we then shared a meal together.

.We're always more comfortable round a table

Suggesting that we all move into the sittingroom where we would be more comfortable Valerie was firmly told no we are fine here round the diningroom table, and that is where we stayed, drinking more tea and coffee, as for the quiche's, they were eaten before Valerie and I got a chance to try them.
As they were leaving one lady asked,how is your Latvian going? so then there was a discussion in the hallway, and I think they were suitably impressed with the amount of phrases we now know, our pronunciation made them chuckle, but little by little we move forward, and hey! Rome wasn't built in a day was it?
Each time we meet with these lovely folk we feel more and more a part of the community,  it was such a joy this week to see them come and feel at home, altho with thirteen in the kitchen it did at times seem just a tad crowded. Our next meeting is on the 7th of March can't wait!!!! Next time we are back in the village room.


We have had a light dusting of snow over the last two nights, but the temperature this morning is just -11c so it would seem that we are enjoying some of the UKs tropical weather, standing in the sunshine whilst getting logs for the boiler it was really warm and as I said to someone yesterday Spring is just around the corner and the days get longer.
Next week we are looking forwward to a visit from Mark, Shelly, Katie and Olivia  we are keeping our fingers crossed that this weather continues so they can enjoy the winter climate.