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Showing posts from October, 2015

The best party ever?

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Eight years ago I went to the best - and the worst - party I think I'll ever go to. Hard to imagine something so beautiful could, in fact, be one of the most painful evenings of my life.  It was a small gathering, just my parents and me, together in a small space, holding hands, laughing, crying, reminiscing, deliberating. So much discussion with, in fact, so few words. We remembered family holidays - those camping trips in the 70's which were our own version of Emma Kennedy's The Tent, The Bucket and Me . My Dad would pack EVERYTHING into Mum's Mini, the tent taking up the whole boot, the car filled to the rafters with everything else. He would build me a seat on top of a few boxes and then pack the car around me! And we'd be off, 'up north' with several other families to a campsite (I use that term VERY loosely - my memory is that it was simply a field with one downpipe on the edge of a forest and near a VERY cold stream that we washed in - if w

Filling the time before lunch...

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Last Saturday was a most glorious autumn day - slightly chilly but beautifully sunny. More of a lightweight cardigan day than the full on scarf and boots day the week turned into.  Looking to kill an hour before lunch, I encouraged my littlest daughter and her friend to make an autumn mobile each rather than start watching TV.  First up, we grabbed a basket and headed out in search of 'treasure'. As it turned out we didn't have to venture far before we found loads of gorgeous leaves; the colours a mix of reds and greens with a bit of yellow and orange thrown in too. We had such a lovely time sorting through the piles of leaves that our plan for a major nature trail soon turned into more of a 'find your favourite leaves from this massive pile'! It was hard not to pick them all up! (You'll notice Fudge Bear, the class mascot, helping out too!) Home we went and laid out our stick (that the leaves would be hanging from) on the patio table and

San Francisco, I love you!

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Now, if you were to ask me what I loved most about San Francisco, my answer will always be "my best friend lives there"! S ince you're about to visit, you would also ask me what you should see whilst you're there, and that would be trickier to answer. There are so many great things to see and do whatever time of year you visit. To be honest, though, I could happily do nothing more than hang out with my BFF drinking lattes and martinis (not at the same time, I hasten to add), but that's not so helpful, is it?! Places I love to visit in SF Golden Gate Park : take a stroll (or run!) through the park, breathe in the smell of eucalyptus, catch a glimpse of Tai Chi in action, soak up the sun through the trees and enjoy!  For a bit of culture (and a great view over the city & Golden Gate Bridge) head to the De Young museum and up to the viewing level. Amazing, every time!   There's also a fantastic slide in the Koret Children's Quarter,