Aurelia's Birthday

It is Sunday night, the kids are in bed with Marlene and I have a chance to reflect on a very nice weekend. We celebrated Aurelia's birthday yesterday, so we were all up early preparing for our guests to arrive. I handled the food - pasta salad, greek salad, coleslaw, hamburgers and hot dogs, while Marlene made the house look festive and clean - no small task! At 2 int he afternoon, the guests started to trickle in. There was Mathilda and her Dad, Clementine from school, Gaby, William and Finley, Tiho, Jake, Aimee, and many others. I served drinks and blasted rock music from the 1970s (perfect for a five year old party...), while Marlene brought the kids and moms up tot he pool. The drinks and food went down well, and after we ate we served a beautiful cake and cupcakes and played various games that Marlene had organized. It went off really well, and it was nice to see that we had made quite a good friends here. I took a nice dip in the pool sometime around 11pm - love it!



Today we awoke late, had some breakfast and headed to the mall - back to the KL routine! We need to pick up some stuff for Aurelia's school and booked ourselves a movie while we were at it. What a pleasure to be the four of use just having fun, without anything much to do. Rowan just came in after a wee pee to blow me a kiss.


Family bliss.

Back in town

It is a beautiful Wednesday morning with a clear blue sky and warming sun. At this time of year the temperatures are generally cooler, so it is most pleasant to walk and be outside. Sleeping in this temperature is a real treat. Right now i am at one of my favourite cafes, called Chawan, where they have a great selection of coffees and the best nasi lemak i've ever had. i am working my way down their list of coffees... i'm currently trying the second one on the list - its a new project ;-) Black coffee might take some time to get used to...

The new morning routine is just amazing. All four of us wake up and have breakfast together, which is so satisfying. Marlene leaves first and then Rowan and I bring Aurelia up to grab a lift with Richard, Sharon and Finley to school. In two weeks she will take the school bus, but for now the Thompsons are a life saver. Today I tried a new twist, which was walking to school with Rowan. It took us half an hour and the little guy only complained once or twice. When I think of all the older generation who used to walk "10 miles to school" I figure he can make it pretty easily. We bid everyone we saw good morning, and KL has never felt as pleasant and welcoming as it did during those moments. I wonder if we will see certain pele over and over again as this becomes a habit. At school Rowan was offered French toast and cereal for breakfast and a little hot chocolate to wash it down. What a life! I was tempted to ask for a plate as well, it all looked so good. 

After the coffee, it is back home to prepare my presentation for the WWF, and then to a mall this afternoon to buy some supplies for Aurelia's school. It's good to be back in town.

Welcome to Nepal

We are in Nepal; that is an amazing thing. Buddha air, yeti airlines, Sita air. Toilets like stables, urine in the air, walkways (and everything else) in a state of (de)composition - who can tell? Talkative people, laugh a lot. Every angle to make a bit more money - why not? 

This domestic departures terminal looks like a bus station in a third world country. Lots of different noises echoing thought the cement shell, including a lone tv showing a nepalese item number and now two men debating - what to do with this airport?

We're taking a small airplane up into the sky into  the massive, forbidding, hard mountainscape. 

And what a view we had. Mar and the two kids slept, but of course I couldn't. Nepal has been a dream for me ever since I climbed my first mountain at serre chevalier in the alps. My heart started swelling as soon as we arrived in the domestic departures terminal with all the postcards of the peaks, the woolen hats and milk tea. It soared with the view from the airplane. How would I climb that one? Ridge line? No. Direct assault? The mountains are too massive to take in and comprehend. They are sublime and you recognize your insignificance compared to the might of nature and the world. 

We touched down in Pokhara only 45 minutes later, welcomed by 31 degree heat and high humidity. Thankfully someone from Marlene's work picked us up and dropped us off at the hotel. From the domestic terminal we came into a garden of Eden. The mount kailash resort was a sight for weary eyes, but even before we had fully checked in I was having a discussion with a travel guide in the lobby. 4 days in the himalaya from pokhara to ulleri to ghorepani to taraparti just underneath the trudus Khale glacier, and then back again to pokhara for Friday night. Leaving tomorrow with one guide and one porter - with two kids I need someone else to port a kid! 

Mar and I chatted with the guide for an hour and later we went out to buy some gear. I bought quite a bit... Prices were too good not to. Mar and the kids left for be hotel earlier and are still there - probably sleeping. I have no desire to sleep - despite a deep fatigue from waking at 4am. so, I came down for an Ayurvedic massage (beautiful) and am enjoying a bottle of gorkha beer - all out of Everest! - waiting on me fish and chips. Soon to bed for an early start on our four day expedition! 

Next update on Friday or Saturday when we return.

On our way to Nepal 2

It's been a big week. The kids finished and left their school, to begin anew in September. We hosted a dinner party on Saturday night, prepared for a 4 day hike in the himalayas, and got the flat ready for 5 weeks away. All while having a lot of fun. 

We were all so excited to be coming back to Canada we could hardly sleep last night. 4am came all too quickly

On our way to Nepal

Prologue

Sitting here on our patio, legs up, hand wrapped around a cold white wine, hearing the kids play inside with Marlene, I can say with a fair degree of confidence, life is good!

It has been one of those weekends where you venture out, but not too far or for too long and with minimal effort. Where you have a nap - twice Saturday and once Sunday. And where sun is shining and it just feels good to be here.

Marlene arrived back from Cameroon on Thursday afternoon and the kids and I picked her up at the train station. They have not really left her side ever since. She worked from home Friday and the kids reluctantly went to school, but the spent the afternoon together. I took the opportunity to go have a massage and I managed to track down Wan, someone who had given me a massage several months ago, and who really knows her stuff. She gives Thai massage and man is she good! Upon emerging from the massage, the afternoon was just right with people hustling and bustling underneath the sun, and a wonderful smell in the air. I was on my way home to hang out and have dinner with my family. That was the first moment since I have arrived that I felt truly happy to be here. I felt, yes. this is good.

I'm on a run cause I've been feeling that way ever since! Saturday we went to a furniture store and didn't find anything except a deliciously stewed Chinese pork at a near-by restaurant. Later we swam and played until Marlene and I went out on a date, leaving the kids with a sitter. It was a week of firsts because this was the first time we had done this. It felt wonderful to be able to reconnect and have a fun time just the two of us. We went to a vernissage at Publika, then sushi (and saki), and then brown sugar appam and teh hallier at lucky garden. The kids were still up when we arrived at 10:30, but no matter - it was wonderful. 

Today - Sunday - started off a little earlier than most of us would have liked with a visit to my yoga studio for teacher appreciation day at 9:30 - complete with a guru swami from Rishikesh. My teacher called upon me to say something (which I don't love) and I was very happy to express my thanks, as it is such a large part of my life here. Mar enjoyed the guru's oratory and the kids played with a  couple of others in another room. We ate and chatted with the others and it was really quite enjoyable. I was happy the kids could witness the ceremonial aspects of the day - so colourful and sensorial. 

We've been chilling since we got back. I have picked up a BBQ that the neighbours don't want and I'll be prepping to make some burgers tonight. Mar is taking her turn at a nap, Aurelia is playing with Aimee and Rowan's out here with me cleaning up and getting psyched to do some cooking. Life is good! 

ps. the burgers were good

A fine weekend indeed

It is Monday night and I am reflecting on a really nice weekend. Without Marlene here I wonder what to do on the weekends. I am not inspired to do too much exploring and I wonder just how much I can handle the two wiper snippers all on my own. That is why it is so nice to have friends. I got a call from Richard on Saturday morning saying he and Sharon wanted to take me and the kids to a breakfast joint and my heart lifted. We set off and ate a delicious Malay/Chinese breakfast with nasi lemak and another dish and the kids inhaled their Milo ice.

Not quite Apocalypse Now, but maybe some day...

Fun at the furniture store

Then we went to a used furniture store and did some serious damage to my pocketbook. I bought a patio set, which is something we really need to take advantage of our outside space. I thought of it this morning as I was writing inside at our kitchen table… it is only being delivered on Wednesday. I also purchased a second hand projector for a fraction of its new cost. This is a fun gadget! I am projecting movies onto our white walls and the image has to be about 5 feet by 9 feet… Wow – so much fun – though I am not sure Marlene will see it in the same light as the kids and I do! Well… when the cat is away…! I also bought two used clay pots for cooking, which will be fun to experiment with. I love the Chinese clay pot cooking we have at restaurants, and the science makes a lot of sense. Dunk the clay pots in water for an hour and as they cook in the oven they let off moisture, preventing whatever meat is cooking in there to dry out. On the way home we hit a tiny Thai place in a convenience store in Section 17 – hawker style with killer food! Oh yeah. We finished off the day with Richard and Finley over for a screening of Kung Fu Panda. 

Meow

Boys n girls

Sunday was more fun. We had the junior hash out by Batang Kali. Sulin and Aimee joined us and it was such a pleasure to have them along! I was just happy enough to have an adult conversation, but it is so nice to see how well Aurelia and Aimee get along. The walk, which took place in an overgrown plantation was spectacular, as a good bit of it went in a river. The kids loved it – and who wouldn’t? It was Liv’s and Alex’s birthday hash so we had cake afterwards followed by a good swim in the river. I was watching Aurelia, Rowan, Finley and Aimee play and it was interesting to note how quickly they came around to building a house for them to stay in out of sticks and rocks – social animals indeed! On the way home we stopped at Lucky Light, where Sharon had preordered dinner for us. Wow – was it ever good. I especially liked the aubergine, the lala clams, and the salted fish and pork belly clay pot, but the chicken, fish curry, and garlic green beans were quite nice as well. And so my belly grows ever larger.

Loving the trail

Kids are already asleep (8pm), which is good because they have a big school field trip tomorrow – heading to a theatre, which should be very interesting for Aurelia who loves to hear and tell stories and who, ahem, loves directing as well! I think it will be right up her alley. Tonight Marlene is out of touch as she is sleeping at a field site. Tomorrow she makes her way back to Yaoundé and flies in the evening. It will take her about 24-30 hours to get back here – arriving only on Thursday. Can’t wait!  

Life is good