Shjoe, its cold!

We have been visited by a cold front ….. brrrrrr! Its unusually cold for Autumn in this region, and its chilly! We ventured outside this morning when the little ones were riding on their bikes in the front yard and the older boys were pottering around in the workshop. Ethan had a handful of cars outside and had built a ramp with a ladder and thick plank - he was in his element. Aimee was helping Oupa fix a friend’s bicycle and Ryan and Jed were hammering nails into off-cuts of wood and just playing around with odd ideas. Dieter was servicing my new bike, something he obviously found relaxing too! Working in the workshop and riding outside are definitely our family’s ‘happy-place’.

I helped Ryan organise clothes and pack them neatly into his cupboard before sweeping and vacuuming the downstairs area. Ethan asked me so nicely to go with him for a ride in the neighbourhood that I couldn’t resist, and seeing that Aimee had gone with Ouma to a neighbour’s house for a short visit, it was the perfect opportunity. We cycled for about 15 minutes, but at least 5 of those minutes were used to untangle Ethan’s tracksuit pants from the pedal a few times! (His tracksuit pants were too long and wide at the bottom, not the greatest pants for cycling).

Ouma’s been brewing a delicious bean-soup all day that we’re having for dinner tonight. Each of the children has at some stage asked her what she is cooking (as they usually do!) and responded with a ‘hmmmmm, yummy’, each time she told them what they could look forward to.

It is too cold to go outdoors and we’re all wearing longer clothing – and more layers – today! So, we spent the best part of the afternoon watching ‘Goodbye Mr Chips’ with Oupa and Ouma (a DVD that we took out from the library). I’ve never seen it myself, and we all found it very enjoyable. Mr Chipping is what I believe every teacher should be – generous, honourable and self-sacrificing, what a man! What a way to end the day!