Brighton UK

18 May 2010 Grand-mÃ¨re has arrived

May 18, 2010

17 May 2010 First Ballet Shoes

May 17, 2010

Sam and her classmates are going to be in a show at the end of the ballet school term in July. Today we finally ponied up for ballet shoes, much to the dancer’s delight. It took me nearly an hour to sew the elastic bands on by hand. An accomplished seamstress I am not. The sparkly pink cape I made for Sam back in …

16 May 2010 Coffee Table Book

May 16, 2010

Not a book, but a table, made out of old books. Each of those little rolls under the glass is a page. We saw this nifty creation at an Artist Open House around the corner from our flat. The artist, Julia Dummett, sells some of her other creations at AbjectCraftility.

15 May 2010 Brighton Hatches a Band

May 15, 2010

More Fringe Festival Zaniness: Last Saturday three members of a local (Sussex) band called “The Myst” went to live inside a giant egg on the Brighton seafront, across the street from our building. This afternoon, they hatched, all smiles and waves, and then hopped onto an adjacent stage to play a 3-hour gig. While they …

14 May 2010 EugÃ©nie et Pascal Ã Brighton

May 14, 2010

EugÃ©nie the cat and Pascal the bear made their Brighton debut today in my new home-based French class for preschoolers. They met 5 new children today, ages 3-5, all of whom were saying (and shouting) “Bonjour!” and “Au revoir!” by the end. Afterward I offered to take EugÃ©nie and Pascal down to the beach to sniff the …

13 May 2010 Our Neighborhood

May 13, 2010

This is Regency Square, literally around the corner from the back entrance into our building. We walk, run, and scooter along here nearly every day.

12 May 2010 Stoneham Park Playground

May 12, 2010

Or what was left of it when we arrived here today with one of Sam’s Home Ed friends. Apparently someone set fire to the children’s play structure just last Saturday. Sad.

11 May 2010 London 2012 Games, Here We Come

May 11, 2010

Today Sam received a badge and certificate for passing the British Gymnastics Level 8 Proficiency exam. (8 is the lowest level. It goes up to 1 apparently.) We’re very proud, though we’re not packing our bags for Olympic Village [yet ;-)]

Alice Meets Mickey Mouse

May 11, 2010

In Scotland, AC read aloud Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and lately we’ve been reading Through the Looking Glass, as well as listening to Alice on StoryNory.com. This afternoon I played Sam “Mickey and the Beanstalk” which I found on this excellent website devoted to making old children’s records available as free …

10 May 2010 Molly Bear Goes to Ballet

May 10, 2010