I feel… out of practice writing these posts. It’s only been a few weeks since I prepped a Happy Things Friday missive, but I seem to be living in a bizarre time vortex where I get confused about what day/week/month of the year I’m currently living through.
That said, I’m cognizant enough to realize we are currently calling Wales our temporary home. Today the kids and I took a bus into the heart of the city. Indy and I were marvelling at how delightfully friendly everyone seems. The bus driver greeted each and every person with an enthusiastic hello, and it was always reciprocated with a sincere greeting.
Indy, who hasn’t had a haircut since we left Canada and has morphed into a fluffy sheepdog, was overdue for a trim. We navigated to a barber shop in Cardiff only to discover they didn’t accept credit card payments. I didn’t have a debit card on me to get out cash. So much for a haircut.
I was ready to leave, when the barber said he thought we could pay at the little market next door with card (and then he could get cash back from them). But, if that didn’t work, then the haircut would be on the house. The payment plan worked and I was very happy to pay but, also, can you imagine a barber saying not to worry about paying for a haircut in most big cities??
I have fifteen minutes to write this post so let’s talk Happy Things.
RACHEL
It was truly wonderful to have a familiar face greet us in Wales and we’ve spent time together every day since we arrived. I don’t have any pictures of the two of us yet, but promise to be a good blogger and make sure to take some. We have a few fun adventures planned together over the coming weeks; stay tuned.
Her family is lovely and Belle is smitten with the kids. She was braiding (or, should I say plaiting) Lily’s hair yesterday and reading books to the Clara and Aubrey.
ENGLISH
It is SO nice to be in a place where almost everyone speaks English and signs are in English. While we adapted well to living in foreign countries with equally (to us) foreign-sounding languages, I can feel my brain relaxing in a fresh way here. No Google Translate needed… although my Welsh is non-existent.
FREE ART
After leaving Munich, we didn’t expect to see more van Gogh paintings. So imagine my surprise (and delight), when the kids and I wandered into the National Museum Cardiff this morning and stumbled upon a Van Gogh. And several Renoirs. And works by Picasso, Kandinsky, and Monet.
SLEEP
My sleep statistics haven’t been great lately. Early mornings, LONG days, and late nights. I am finally making up for lost shut-eye now that we’re in Wales. I took a glorious nap yesterday, my first in over a month, followed by an early bedtime and deep sleep.
MEMORIES
At various points on this trip my experiencing self has been exhausted or grumpy. But I really appreciate how you get to enjoy adventures in three ways: anticipation, experiencing, and remembering.
Sometimes all three are equally delightful, sometimes anticipation is more fun than the actual event, sometimes you’d do anything to transport back to a particular moment in time… and sometimes reminiscing is an even richer experience.
We have some epic memories!
Looking at my clock, it is time to go! Belle headed out an hour again to join Rachel for the post-school pickup run, and the rest of our family is joining them for supper.
I’ve run out of time to post pictures, but I’ll be back with photo overloads soon.
Your turn.
- I’d love to hear a few of your Happy Things from the past week.
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Have the best time with Rachel and her family! I bet she is loving having Belle around to entertain the kids! I bet they are all enamored by her! There’s nothing like a “big kid” for little kids!
I can see why you struggle to know what day of the week it is! There isn’t a huge difference between weeks and weekends for you guys! That said, I’ve struggled to remember what day it is this week as well for some reason.
I ADORE Rachel and will be so sad to say goodbye when we leave Cardiff. Belle has pretty much fallen in love with her kids. It is precious to watch (she helped with bedtime tonight which was a fun experience).
Now that John’s back to work again after his almost 2-week vaca, the weekend feels more pronounced and clearly defined, but I can’t wrap my head around the fact it’s June.
Sounds like a great time! We have to ask ourselves what day it is every day now the kids are out of school.
Happy? My daughter enjoys her little summer school, and I don’t have to drive her. And I’m getting a hot shower every day.
Enjoy your interlude in Wales!
I am so happy to hear your daughter has adjusted so well to the new routine and hooray for transportation logistics making life easier for you.
We certainly see eye-to-eye on the hot shower situation!
I can only imagine how weird time and space is for you right now! Traveling for a long time – like you did – is a weird place to be… oh, and I can only imagine how relaxing it is for your brain that you’re in an English-speaking country now. I remember the early days of living here in the US and how exhausting it sometimes felt to live my life „in a foreign language“ 24/7. Sometimes your brain just wants to shut down.
I am so happy to hear you’re spending such a lovely time in Wales… with RACHEL! I am jealous (I want to meet both of you!) .. and how crazy that the barber was going to do Indy‘s haircut for free (but also, what a lovely gesture!).
It is sooooo nice to not feel like the odd person out speaking English on public transit or at the grocery store.
Rachel is… THE SWEETEST. I know you read her blog and she is exactly how she seems. Andy and the kids are delightful and I really hope you are able to meet her some day. I am thrilled we get to be so close for a few weeks and hang out. Bloggy friends for the win <3
I’ve been enjoying reading your posts from Helsinki; it’s not a place I have much knowledge about, so it’s been fascinating. I can imagine it is hard to keep the days straight when you are traveling like you have been.
Happy things—finally getting a property settlement for dad off my plate. There was so much paperwork, I thought it was never going to end, and at one stage had to express post some documents up and back to them in Noosa. I guess this is kind of a whinge and a happy thing … but it is definitely a happy thing now. I am also getting some good gains after a few consistent weeks of running. We have had a couple of new people join our music team at church, a couple of girls form our young adults group which considering our female singers are in their 80s and 50s respectively have been a great addition.
Hooray. Paperwork can be so onerous and it’s never very fun. I’m sure it’s a huge relief to have that part of the process over.
It’s nice to have some fresh voices join a music group.
We made it to Saturday! It was a rather intense week from a secondary school perspective (7 exams!). But it was also lovely to see my oldest grow in his presenting skills (they had to present in small groups to interested parents about the trips they had this year). And my youngest had a presentation from her textile arts class.
On the personal front, I feel like I’ve made good progress career wise and I’m grateful for the people I work with and who support me.
Rain! Not something that usually features, but it did mean I didn’t have to water our green roof.
Eeks. So many exams!
There is a season for everything and sometimes rain is very welcome (not when we’re on vacation, but it’s such an important part of the natural cycle of things).
Congrats to your kiddos for their presentations. It can be nervewracking to speak in front of others, so this is a big accomplishment.
And very happy thing, my sister delivered her second child safely! We’re going to visit next week!
THIS IS SUCH FUN NEWS. I will admit I am jealous. As the baby in the family, I don’t have any little nieces or nephews coming along and I wish I had someone tiny to snuggle.
It sounds like you are fully In The Zone of travel, so that’s another happy thing to add to this post. There is a time to make memories, and a time to write about them.
Enjoy your time with Rachel! It’s good enough to just meet another blogger/kindred spirit, but even more amazing when you can spend a few days with them. Ask me how I know;-)
I’m in… something.
Rachel is so, so sweet. And it does feel like a little piece of “home” in a way. Having someone who knows me well, despite never meeting in person before, is a unique sort of friendship and uniquely wonderful.
Oh, this is so great! I love that you are getting to spend time with Rachel — and that you have gotten to meet her darling kiddos! Wales sounds lovely and I’m glad that you are getting an opportunity to catch up on some sleep.
Her kids ARE DARLING and she is lovely (so is her husband, Andy). They’re just such a lovely family and it is a true pleasure to get to spend quasi-extended time so close to them.
My sleep is so. much. better since we arrived in Wales. Maybe I won’t head back to Canada exhausted??!!
I definitely know that feeling of relief when you’re finally in a place where everyone speaks English! Just as you said, your brain can relax. You can just speak and understand without having to go through several steps first.
A month without a nap??? ACK! Well, glad you finally got one, and a good night’s sleep.
I can’t wait to hear about your time with Rachel!!!
I don’t think I realized how taxing it was to always be hearing so many different languages and have to work at communicating in certain situations.
I know, Jenny. What was I thinking trying to go so long without a nap. I love naps! The days have just been so busy or we’re away from a home base during “napping” hours.
Rachel is just the sweetest.
What a fun update! I’m glad you’re enjoying your time in Wales, and I just love that the barber was going to give out a free haircut if the “payment plan” didn’t work. That kind of customer service is non-existant in U.S.
I’m also baffled by the fact that you went a month without a nap! I’m glad you rectified that!
So nice, right? To be honest, I’m not sure most barbers in Canada would be that willing to do a haircut for free.
About 10 minutes after waking up this morning I told John: I’m pretty sure I’ll take a nap today!