Shpichak

Špičák... for a little place barely on the map, it sure is fun.

This past weekend we decided to get the family out of the house and make the most of the snow we've been having. In Plzen, while the snow has fallen literally in huge clumps from the sky, it has been too warm for it to last more than a few seconds on the ground, but up the mountain it a different story. Temps on the warms side just below 0, but enough to keep the snow in good nick.

So, the early morning train got us there, the babies forgiving us the early hour by the excitement of getting to play in the snow (we took the bum-boards and the sleigh).

To add to the excitement, this was the first day open for the resort and they'd had over a metre of snow.

Unlike our last trip here where we were skiing on ice and dodging little patches of grass and earth popping up, this was a nice think white blanket.

Got to špičak and hired all the kit for the day - you know, they should rent wheelbarrows for families with small kids - carting the day bags and 4 sets of boots, ski's and poles is a major drag between 2 people. Anyway we set off for the groomed training slope, much better than the one we were on last time (which was still closed) and the kids got stuck into their day with all kinds of laughter and games.

These two are really good mates, they play so well together and have an absolute blast no matter what they do.

Colin and I didn't get that much skiing time in. We took the babies on a couple of runs down the training slope until they decided that it was WAY more fun to be able to run knee deep in the snow chasing a sleigh than to try and balance on the very wobbly and unpredictably slippery things called skiis... We then took a few runs on our own until the long overdue lunch urge became too strong. It is also very difficult to get very much time and distance between the constant calls for some sort of assistance or another (and then the ever present "I-Need-a-WEEE" call - one that only arrives when the pee is already so urgent that it requires hopping, clutching and very quick undressing right there and then :-0.)

Lunch time was a bit of a turning point for the babies though - from a "this is cool and fun" to a "ok, I am cold and wet and this is beginning to get a bit much now" feeling. Colin wanted to do a couple of runs down the main slope, so I took the girls into the only place that was inside and warm (apart from the toilets) which was the ski hire shop. So, much to the amusement of the shop attendants, us 3 girls huddled around the heater until tears dried up and fingers got warmer. It didn't take long before the suggestion of "shall we go ski again" was met with bright smiles and "oh YEAH!" (with real American sounding yeahs thanks to their Teacher Hanka).

At 4.30, we then waited for the snow train to arrive at the station to take us back home again. (Notice it is pitch dark at 4.30!!!)

So, Colin & I are barely back and during our customary Sunday shop at the Tesco, Colin suggested that I try on a pair of the ski boots. OMG is that what ski boots are supposed to feel like???? They were unbelievably comfy - they even had padding on the inside! So, we are now doing some major research into ski boots and kit and are looking to make some investment into "the real thing". Actually, after trying on "real" ski boots, I think I may actually be able to do this thing called ski, kinda, rather than just careering down the slope trying to work out why my feet don't feel like they belong to my legs as they are generally going in the opposite direction!

Anyway, it is hopefully going to become a reasonably frequent week-end ritual to head to a snowy patch and get in some ski practice!

It's Snowing!!

So, after having overcast and rainy weather with no sunshine at all for probably over a month, the temperatures finally dropped low enough to make the wet weather interesting!

This week, it started to SNOW!!! :-)

Unfortunately, it was not really cold enough for the snow to last more than a couple of seconds as it just melted the moment it hit the ground. But, it was snowing! At one point during Thursday, it was snowing what I am sure were golf ball sized snow flakes that were coming down thick and fast. It was difficult to resist just starring out the window. Unfortunately I was in the middle of a project audit though, so stopping everything to stare out the window was not really an option...

Back at home, the girls were eager as pie to get to school so they could play in the snow with the teacher - this the observation deck... watching the first snow falling at around breakfast time.

So, I think we know what we will be doing this week-end ;-)... Špičák, here we come!

Rambling updates...

There we were... nearly 10 months in CZ, we're really into the routine now, still have no clue what most people are saying to us most of the time, but still making friends, yes, even some natives! Turns out that the Czech folks aren't as conservative as we thought they were. Sure, they are all on formal name basis and there is some protocol, but apart from that, we found some who are really welcoming. We've canned our language lessons mainly because we have been very bad students of late, which is a bit of a pity since we had a really good (high intensity) teacher, poor girl was probably going batty seeing as how we couldn't even remember the stuff from last lesson... But instead we have begun speaking, or at least trying to speak to a local couple who we met through the school.
They've had us around to their house even, and the kids played while we racked our brains trying to remember the grammar for accusative singular... or was it nominative? what was the gender again? and eventually... "Oh my gosh nothing changes because the object was inanimate!" to the amusement of our hosts.
Milus and hubby have been very kind to us!

Our little girls continue to sprout in height and wisdom. Amber now, officially knows everything, which is great, now I have someone close at hand I can go to for the tough questions in life. Sarah is testing every limit she can in the clan, trying to figure out how to be the free soul she is while coping with being the youngest and dealing with 3 parents... the youngest of which is with her 24/7 and is a perpetual stream of guidance, wisdom and control.

Eufrat, the babies school is now well established and running well, regular kids in class, and the girls are making some friends, although, with Sarah the only observable exception, there is still some reluctance to say a word outside of the comfy (and regressing) grasp of English. Turns out though, that there's a big o'l gap between what Amber should be learning and what the school is formally treaching. So we set about research of some note to look at gap bridging things, home schooling, which is the most bewildering subject you can imagine, there are thousands of choices, and which one...? To make the long story short and fractionally more interesting, we downloaded a copy of the entire UK year 1 curriculum and compared it to the schools one, ticked off all the covered items and then had a heart to heart on the rest. This school is truly amazing - I asked them to fit the additional course material into her day even if they need to hire a teacher just for Ambee. Guess what? They're going to do it! We're in process now, with the candidate hunt on, but I tell you, what an open attitude! So cool. If anyone is coming to Plzen to live for a while with a need for an English Pre-primary School, don't even think about anything other than Eufrat, they are really brilliant.

Outside the temps are still not low enough! We've had two rumours of snow on the weather forecast but none materialised, the closest we got was to be teased by some sleet. You know, I don't actually know why we even look at the weather forecasts to be honest - there is no correlation between forecast and actuality, not even for tomorrow... Look out the window - see snow? if yes, it's snowing, if not, then it aint! There's been lots of precipitus, but its just too warm right now. *Sigh* you can tell my skiing ants are biting!

The autumn colours are unspeakably beautiful at the moment - so very very bright, like nothing I've seen before. Our river is lined with some lesser visions, but still very pretty. Every time I walk over the bridge I can look at nothing else.

Only about 10 more weeks till the clan Marais descends for the much anticipated visit. We're all itching to see them again, the kids are not going to know what hit them when everyone leaves again tho... I can hear some more homesick moments in my mind... Still we have 2 sets of grannies and grampas' coming to town over the next year, so we are all in for a solid spoiling.

Eeeee... what else can I tell the waiting world...? We've both been working hard, putting in lots of hours which has been the death knell of the travel manis that possessed the spring and summer, but this seems Ok for us esp after the Scotland trip. I think we both were all traveled out after that, either that or the visit was such a peak that nothing else seems to capture the imagination. Still, I can feel more in the wind... perhaps a nice relaxed winter on the ski's will set us up for the summer again!

Oh yes! We bought gym contracts! The only thing that made me do it was the impending sport season and I know I am horribly unfit so there was just no alternative. For 3 months before we went to Tiffendel I ran and got fit enough to cope with the exercise and not be hospitalised the next day. Predictably, getting back into it has been wonderful, but the ol' bod, descended from it's former glories, is not used to answering to such exertion. Every day I wake up stiff in some part of my body... figuratively speaking.

Yeeha! I am going to throw my aching arms and legs into the shower and go to bed.
Ahoj kamarady! Byt Zdravi!

Pianissimo!

My itching fingers eventually won me over and we began the search for a small electric piano. I was dismayed and totally mortified when I sat down in front of the keys in the shop and could not remember a single tune. Moonlight Sonata? Had no clue where to start… Cavatina? Started and got stuck on note 3… I could just plonk and plink!

Well, some online searching or 2 and I ordered the Yamaha P-70. It is nothing grand, but it is reasonably portable. No special features or functions, but it has the piano feel keys and sounds like a piano.

So, on Tuesday I arrived home from work to find a large box in the hallway just waiting for me to unwrap! One small, minor mistake tho - I had forgotten to order the stand! Oh well, it took prime position on our kitchen table for the evening and I will have to make a plan to get the stand pronto.

The girls did not wait a moment to get the paws onto the piano. And fortunately it has 2 headphone jacks so they can both play silently :)...
So I will be dusting off my music and trying to remember it all again. I am also going to look online for some childrens first piano books and start teaching Amber and Sarah to play.

Well, wish me happy pianoing!

Halloween Pumpkins and Christmas Trees

November has hit us and so has the Christmas Fever! We bought our Christmas tree this week-end and the girls had great fun decorating it. Sarah has been making christmas decorations for the past few weeks and has a cardboard box with "don't touch! Sarah's Chrismas decorations in here!" written across it.

Dad joined in with the usual gusto when it comes to christmas tree lights and bought these very nifty blue fibre-optic "fairy-dress-puff-ball-looking-thingees" lights.
The girls were very eager then to finish with the decorations just to switch off the lights and see the christmas tree light up!
The next highlight of the week was the halloween pumpkin. Halloween was made a real fuss of at the school where the whole week they did some halloween activity or another. They even went with fairy costumes to school the whole week! We even did our share at home and made a halloween pumpkin with the girls.


(Amber was devastated though when we cut up the pumpkin for supper :-(...)