...and the build up to Christmas begins

On Friday, 30/11, two envelopes arrived. One for Faye and another for Ewan with North Pole post mark!

Who could have sent them the letters?

Kids were very excited when they opened their letter to see they were from Father Christmas.

Here is what they said (click on for larger size)...

Ewan was so happy that he got a letter from Santa.

Faye, read the letter, sat quietly for a minute and then started crying. She was so overwhelmed by her own letter from Santa. I wish I had my video camera ready.

Here is Fayes Theatre School performance too.

More Christmas updates to follow as they occur.

Some of the things for the craft fair

I've been making some more things for (hopefully) selling at the Long Stratton church fair on the 6th December.  The most successful thing in our house at the moment is the alice bands - I make one, Faye takes it.  I make another, Faye takes that.  So I'm now having to hide them! 

Some of the finished Alice bands ... I have just done the Christmas holly leaves & berry one ... think that's quite nice.

 Paper bead jewellery

Glittery snowflakes

You can't really make any money from crafting but it was fun to try my hand at all these various things and learn a few new techniques in the process. 

Thank you

I came across as a bit of a whining nelly in the last post, it wasn't the intention  ... thank you to everyone who made comments and for the input and ideas, it's much appreciated. 

Something that has come to light is the fact that some regular readers don't feel that they have the 'right' to comment.  Please don't think that!   All people who have been given reader permission can comment on the posts, it's really nice for us to get feedback, no matter how small your comment is.  It keeps us interested in posting too!  There is nothing more soul destroying than writing for months on end and not getting one comment - you begin to think that people just aren't interested in what you're writing about, or they don't like what you are saying, or they think you are an idiot (most likely scenario) :)

We cannot make this blog public because we are featuring a lot of images of the kids, plus information about where we live and school activities etc. etc. ...  this is another reason why the videos on YouTube are 'Unlisted' and not 'Public' uploads.   The main reason I chose the Blogging platform to keep everyone updated about the kids and us here in the UK was because access is controllable, which is not the case with Facebook.   There are just too many sickos out there and I agree with Kevin and Hayzel that access to the blog should only be for family and close friends.

I will ask Hayzel to contribute her opinion more often - she's a bit shy about writing things on the blog but I'll force her ... :)  Kevin is doing a sterling job putting up excellent videos of the kids and photos, plus commenting in his posts from time to time - I'll also prod him to be more forthcoming in posts about how he's experiencing life in the UK.

Thank you all again.  

Country Life's future?

Hi all
Since interest seems to be waning quite a lot with regards viewership of this blog and especially lack of comments (which we, as posters, thrive on), I've decided that we will only post major news stories in the future.  Obviously, we will post a lot of photos at Christmas time and into the New Year but from then on, it will only be when we have been somewhere or done something notable.

Many of you are on Facebook, Whatsapp and Skype (most of us, all three and Twitter)  and are not really watching this blog at all. I have spent a lot of time in the past converting little videos and images that were taken and posted onto Whatsapp for the benefit of the folks back in Pretoria and elsewhere but I don't really need to do that anymore, do I? as most of you are getting the Whatsapp videos and photos now direct to your phones.  It is a real fiddle posting Whatsapp videos and images to this blog, so I'm not doing that anymore.  Uploading multiple images from my camera also takes a hell of a lot of time and I was very disappointed with the lack of comment from my Highland trip, as the posts and uploading of photos took a very long time.  It just seemed like an awful waste of time and effort. 


I had hoped that Andrew (or Leigh) would post occasionally here and put photos that are clear and taken with a camera (or at least in focus and the right way up with the cell phone) of Daniel - for posterity's sake, so that we have a visual record (in one place) of his growth to look back on from time to time.  But that's not happening.  Again, I've been trying to update the blog with photos from Whatsapp but it's really taking so much time and I'm fed up doing it and most of the time the images are okay on a mobile but they don't look very good on the blog (out of focus or pixilated).  

This blog is private, it is not open to public view or comment and this was at the specific request of Kevin and Hayzel, which I have respected all along.  However, I do feel that a lot of posts could have generated huge interest and following, which again is a bit deflating for me because I've been blogging since 2001 and know that it's very easy to get to 10,000 hits a week on a blog if it's getting enough interest.  Money can be made from it, in fact. 

Anyway, that's my two-cents worth.
Comment welcome. 


As a rider to this post - my comments exclude people who have been posting comments regularly hereon

31 today ... Happy Birthday to my favourite twins!

David

 Well you were born first.    I'm really proud of you - not just for the achievements you've made in cricket but for everything that you do.  I wish I could spend this day with you but I'll just have to be happy with a Skype chat and virtual hug later on.  I live for the day when you decide to come over here and visit your old mom ...
Love you, Dave with all my heart  ... hope you have a really brilliant day.




                                                                                                                                           Allyson

What can I say?  I'll always be happy that you came over here to be with us - I know it hasn't been the easiest of transitions for you but you are getting there and things can only get better!  Your life is full of potential, there are so many things that you can do and achieve. Believe in yourself every day.  Enjoy your life and be kind to yourself! I love you always and I know you will have a lovely day today!

Updates

Faye and Ewan are both doing really well in school. I saw Ewan's teacher, Mrs. Fulton yesterday and it was really nice to have such good feedback. He's going to do well at school  - such a little star he is, reading and writing well, getting clever with his numbers and having a lot of fun in school. He has lots of little friends and I'm very proud of him.  (He's playing soccer today, have to go and fetch him just now).
I went to see Faye's teacher,  Mr. Thompson earlier on this afternoon - only in with him for about two minutes (the way we like it!). She is an A student, such a joy to teach and doing really well. Her Maths has improved since last report - all round good report and I'm also very proud of her achievements.

It's blustery today, overcast and a bit on the chilly side.  Luckily our  heaters come on in the afternoon downstairs  - the warmest room in the house is the downstairs loo!  It's so toasty in there and the room is painted red, which makes it seem even warmer.  Har har.

Thank you to Ingrid, Sharon and Dawie for posting the package from London for Hayzel Kevin and the kiddies. They were very pleased with the gifts.  

I am making another blanket to sell, hopefully, at the craft fair stall. Whatever I don't sell on the 6th December, I'm going to try and flog on the Long Stratton Facebook "for sale" page.

Ally is still waiting for her UK police clearance to be finalised and then she can start working at Hethersett. 

Anyway, all for now ... love to everyone. 

Eastern Gauteng Cricket Union - league standings

David has made a fantastic debut for Boksburg, his figures for his first game are already on the league stats ...

Dave's Captain's words: 

It’s the start you want.

Now, we can just build on that.

And remember, this is regional for the whole of Eastern Gauteng, all the teams under Eastern Gauteng Cricket union.

Now, the David Scott name will stand out in the sport of his choice.

 

Stuff and nonsense

Well the kids go back to school today - the next break will be from 22nd December until the 6th January 2015.     We are all very pleased that Ingrid has got a new phone (courtesy of Sharon!) and can now receive and send Whatsapp messages/videos/photos ... Faye was absolutely thrilled, I think it's the best news of her year to be honest. :) 

The weather is changing, it's getting a bit grey and we've had rainy bits on and off for the last week or so.  Even though it's overcast, it's still not that cold.

The other great news is Dave's official debut for Easterns club cricket.  He had a magnificent game,  5 for 16 off 5 overs in the bowling and he absolutely smashed it with the bat when he did his innings, I think it was 4 4 6 6 4 4 ... really well done, Dave, I am so proud of you!

I'm getting a bit sick and tired of crafting ... I started making myself a blanket last week, it's almost finished, then I have one baby blanket to finish, then that's it - no more.

The bloody ship that my Auntie Jean and I are supposed to be going to Norway on next April ran aground the other day (apparently it's not the first time) ... so I hope they manage to get a Captain that knows the waters when we sail ... har har.  The ship is called the Marco Polo.