Are They Scary

Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival 2012

Tea Party in the Maypole.

 We have established the summer tradition of going to the Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival.  It's such a neat event -- charmingly rural & really clever.  The villagers put up scarecrows all over & the children can follow a map to find clues to a puzzle.

 With London 2012, there were more than a few nods to national pride.

The Yorke Arms

This group of blog posts should probably be subtitled:  See?  We did do things this summer.

August 8th is kind of a busy day for us.  This year marked Jason's & my eleventh wedding anniversary.  It also was Graham's seventh birthday.  And we celebrated how?  With Jason dropping me off at the ER and taking the kids to the park. 

Actually, that's not entirely true.  It was a fantastic Graham-centered day until about 3 p.m. when I cut my finger with the immersion blender while making Graham's birthday cake.  Jason drove me to the ER & he & the kids went to the grocery store to buy Graham a cake & then on to the park while they waited for me.

But before any of that happened, Jason and I had reservations with our friends the Meskins to go to The Yorke Arms. 

It came about because Aaron & I talk about food.  A lot.  He even is teaching a class this term about the Philosophy of Food.  When he, Sheryl, & their son Ethan came over for a barbeque, he told me about a Michelin-starred restaurant run by a female chef in Pateley Bridge -- a GORGEOUS village about 15 miles from our house.  He'd been wanting to go for a while, but he & Sheryl had't made it yet -- & I said, "Let's do it."  He reminded me that it would be expensive -- I grabbed the calendar, pointed to the little sticker that says "Anniversary" on August 8th & replied "Jason owes me." 

So, the next week, the Meskin & Turner adults went to have a grown-up lunch.  I took the camera inside, but then felt too conspicuous to actually take photos of the food. 

The restaurant has a lovely garden & chickens running around, both of which are used in the kitchens.  Of course, the veal, lobster, & fish had to come from somewhere else.  The only thing that disappointed me was the lobster.  It was tasty lobster, but it was a "lobster cannelloni" where the unflavored pasta just got in the way.  To make up for it, though, where the most incredible cherry tomatoes I'd ever had.  I don't know how they were prepared, but I wish I could do that. 


After lunch we changed into some jeans & went for a walk in the countryside. 

See the English Flag? It's not the Union Jack.  But super-impose some blue triangles & a few extra red diagonals & then you represent the United Kingdom.

A former railway station converted into a house.  Jason said he'd be glad to live there.

Summertime Walk

Autumn Evening

 Lately I haven't been very patient with Cami.  But last week, just before bedtime, I looked out the window & decided to grab the camera & go for a walk in the fields.  Cami came with me.  Despite the chill, it was a really good half-hour.

 

Reception for Rosie

Dressed for school, playing with her favorite guy (who is still in his pjs).

 So, this post is six weeks late.  But Rosie's going to school a year earlier than your average American child, so it equals out.

Reception, the British equivalent of kindergarten, begins at age 4.   When I type that, my American self says "That's so little!  I didn't start kindergarten until I was 5 & I was only at school in the afternoons!"

But....Rosie was so ready.  She's been going to Featherbank twice a day for most of her life.  So, she was happy to put on her uniform & head to school with Graham.

The body language in this & the next photo says so much about how Graham & Rosie are friends.

Sorry that Graham is a bouncing blur.  I absolutely love Rosie's face in this photo.

In the school grounds.

Waiting for the doors to open.

 Six hours later, she emerged, full of enthusiasm.

Holding her "I survived my first day of reception" certificate.

The enthusiasm continues.  She makes Mrs. Gunn, her wonderful teacher, laugh.  She's clearly popular because other parents come up to me & ask, "Aren't you Rosie's mum?"  I've seen her run toward classmates before the school gates open, just to have a few extra moments of playtime.  She loves to be alive and reception is a great place to do some of that living.

Robin Hood's Bay

 

We did fulfill Graham's summertime wish to go to the seaside.  It's just taken me three months to show the world.