April showers

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow....

God-daughter number one is one

Mrs D and I had a lovely time yesterday afternoon with our wonderful god-daughter, Alice, celebrating the first anniversary of her birth.

Despite her feeling poorly, she did manage to open her pressies (courtesy of Calpol) before needing to go to sleep... And we all enjoyed the fantastic birthday carrot-cake.

I fear that her parents may soon be needing the Calpol to banish the headaches induced by Alice's new drum kit...

A grand weekend

We've just said goodbye to our three fabulous godsons, having had them to stay for the weekend, while their mum and dad went to climb something high in the Lake District and indulge in some well deserved them-time...

We had the boys over last summer, but it was good to have them at a weekend so I could spend more time with them as well as Mrs D.

We had a fab time visiting seven stories (Peter Rabbit and Horrid Henry, amongst others), and then to the play park... We had to be home for late afternoon, as Mr SW was coming to see us with children.... Turned out the boys were so tired after our afternoon out that they were really chilled... so Mr SW saw me reading with them (The smartest giant in town - fab book), and then sat with us while we had dinner. Things seemed to go OK, and Mr SW said that we seemed to be the kind of people who were really relaxed about doing stuff with children, and took things in our stride - so that was positive!

It was nice to take them to church this morning - though interesting to see a service through small peoples' eyes... the littlest one started singing 'postman pat postman pat postman pat cat cat cat cat' during the prayers, and the middle one started a burping competition during the all-age comunion!! Children and church services, eh! Wonderful!

The boys' mum and dad returned at lunchtime to much joy...
It was great to have the boys with us for the weekend - but nice to have some quiet after they left... though the place seems strangely empty without them!

46 days to go

46 days and counting...


Just:10 is coming...

Whirlpools, eagles and fantastic views

Mrs D and I returned on Wednesday from a wonderful few days in Argyll - staying beside Loch Melfort with my parental parents - we used to go there every October holiday, but I've never known such fantastic weather!

We walked and took in views north over Seil towards Mull, and south towards Scarba, the Garvellachs and Jura.

We ventured out on the sea from Craobh Haven on Farsain with Duncan, our skipper and wildlife expert, for a circumnavigation of Scarba.

Apart from the currents, waves and whirlpools of the Corryvreckan, a highlight must have been seeing a couple of golden eagles soaring high overhead. Then later we saw sea eagles - one flew past us, landing in a tree on Scarba - this was joined by another, and then we spotted a third in a different tree, higher up the hillside. An unforgettable sight!

A selection of photos...


Corryvreckan - standing wave


Corryvreckan looking south towards Jura


Looking north towards Seil and Mull


Looking south towards Seil, Scarba and the Garvellachs


Sunset over Loch Melfort

Druridge Bay

We love this place...
It was lovely to visit again, this time with two wonderful friends - Roz and Mark, who came up to the northeast for the weekend. Mind you, I don't think I've ever seen anyone as excited at seeing the sea as Roz was!


Cloud swirls at dusk


Where has all the sand gone? Highest tide I've seen here...


Heelan coo!

Winner!

Thank you Facebook

I had my first Facebook reunion on Thursday evening. A friend I had lost touch with about 10 years ago asked to be my Facebook friend a few months ago... And then I had a note to say he'd be in Newcastle to visit his parents this week...

It was great to meet up again - catch up on 10 years, talk about old friends, new families, hopes for the future... An unexpected joy in the middle of a really busy week.

Thank you Maik and thank you Facebook.

What a week

D'you ever have those weeks when the first time you sit down is Saturday morning?
We've just had one!

Nothing particular has made it like that - just lots of little things all contributing to one huge mountain...

Late Monday afternoon our social worker (I think we'll have to call him 'Mr W' on here) arrived for the first of our assessment meetings. It went well. We showed him round the house. He asked us some stuff about us, gave us some stuff to read. One in particular has really made me think... lots to think about... We also have some forms to complete - one for doglet (has she ever bitten anyone, what is her temperament, does she like children,...), one for health and safety (have we got saftey glass in the windows, blind cords within reach, fixed fireguard, rusty car at the bottom of the garden...), and one to fill in with our history from birth to now - everything which has had an impact on us, in chronological order... that'll take some time methinks!

We've been promised more to do, but that hasn't yet arrived (email problems perhaps?). Next meeting is booked in for 21st February.

Mr W is really keen for the process to go as quickly as it can, obviously not jeapordising on quality of the assessment - so we're glad about that. His best esttimate is that we'll be going to Panel for approval in June, so the assessment will need to be completed by the beginning of May.

He wants to see us with children, how we interact with each other, whether we get onto their level. I think we'll have to borrow some of our god children for an afternoon... But only if they're going to behave (don't they always!?)

Mrs D wants to get Mr W to come to Kidz Klub as well - not sure he's ready to have green custard thrown over him, mind you!

London

Mrs D and I are just back from a fantastic 36 hours in London, courtesy of some free return 1st class tickets on National Express East Coast.


Lunch at Covent Garden with string quintet...

...then off to see Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace Theatre - the way the show manages to capture the grit of the miners' strike and 1980's Co Durham, with the magic of a boy's dreams and ambitions is fantastic... the language is unsanitised, but adds to the reality.

Dinner at a lovely little restaurant in Smithfield - special thanks to our waitress who saved me from a fate worse than sweetbreads! One of the other waiters had helped us with some of the menu items (all written in French), and wrongly told us that rognons de veaux were veal steaks... how wrong he was! I'm still reeling from the shock of what might have been on my plate!


A short after dinner stroll along the Thames near our hotel at London Bridge.


Sunday morning after breakfast - and onto the river heading east towards Greenwich on the river boat from London Bridge...


Tower Bridge, looking west towards the city


The Traitors' Gate hasn't been used for a while...


The Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich


The structure formerly known as the Millennium Dome (now the O2 arena), with Canary Wharf in the background


The roof of the Millennium Dome

Then inside the dome to see 3000 year old treasures from the tomb of King Tutankhamun and some of the other Egyptian kings and queens - an amazing exhibition... I couldn't quite believe that the stuff was so old - much of it looked like it was made yesterday, particularly the wooden items... Well worth the trip if you can - it runs till August.

First social worker visit

Our first meeting with Mr S-W will be on Monday afternoon...
The first of many, no doubt!

Now I'm 25!

Well, 25 not counting Saturdays and Sundays! It sounds much better than the alternative halfway to my three score years and ten, don't you think?

I had a lovely day yesterday, despite having to go to work! The day started with Mrs D getting up early and bringing me my presents in bed! A huge box covered in holographic blue paper turned out to be an espresso machine...! Fantastic!

Breakfast was cooked for me (pancakes and butterscotch sauce) but alas there was no time to try an espresso... work beckoned!

I got home early for an espresso. Running it with just water to flush the system, working out how to get the coffee holder attached to the machine.... then all was ready! A fabulous cup of espresso with just the right amount of froth on top...

The evening turned out somewhat differently to how I had imagined... Mrs D had, unbeknownst to me, arranged for almost the entire contingent of our housegroup to come round for dinner... I half thought something was up when I was banished to the sitting room and told in no uncertain terms to stay there...

The first I knew of the impending dinner party was when the doorbell rang - and the first of many people arrived carrying various bottles, salads, cakes, cards and presents!

A lovely surprise! Thank you Mrs D...

We have a social worker!

If you'd told me a year ago that today I would be rejoicing over the allocation of a social worker, I'd most probably have laughed you out of town.... but there you go... the adoption journey seems to have a habit of changing our perspective on things!

Today I am rejoicing! DFW phoned today and told us that we'd been allocated a social worker, and that he'd phone us next week to arrange our first meeting...

We'd only just been praying in housegroup yesterday evening about the length of time things were taking. Isn't God amazing!

Dr Who expired

I'm not at all happy.
You see, I love Dr Who. And I missed it on Christmas Day. And I didn't set the video to record it. My fault, I know. But all was not lost!

I thought I would step out into the bold new world of TV on the internet, and decided to download the programme (all 600Mb of it) from the BBC iplayer site just before New Year.

3 hours later, and all seemed well. The programme was now on my PC, and available to view until 24 January, at which point it would spontaneously combust or something.

So, this evening, I settled down on the sofa, Mrs D having gone out for a few hours. Dr Who beckoned. I was getting excited (OK - call me sad if you want!).

I opened up the iplayer download manager on the laptop, and clicked on 'watch now'.

Imagine my utter horror, over-powering disappointment and sheer disbelief when I was greeted with the words:

'This programme has expired and will be deleted'

I can still hardly believe it.
No Dr Who for me.
From a quick check of the internet it appears this has been happening a lot with the iplayer. 'Teething problems' according to the BBC.

I'll just have to wait for a repeat.
And console myself with Primeval from last week which has definitely recorded and is waiting to be watched....

Grand Balloon Race

While clearing leaves from the lawn this afternoon, I happened upon a small white piece of paper. I was about to throw it in the rubbish, when I noticed it was a tag from a balloon which had taken part in a Grand Balloon Race, in aid of Hebden Green Community School in Winsford, Cheshire.

It would appear that the tag was affixed to a balloon which was released in the school grounds, along with many others (mine is number 17906). And it ended up in our back garden! There is a prize for the person who finds the balloon furthest from Cheshire.

I have completed my details on the tag, and will send it to the address stated, in the hope of winning. Who'd have thought a balloon would have made it so far!

Possibly the best advert ever?

Or click here.
Can you name all the Scottish landmarks?

Happy New Year!

Some late afternoon photos from Druridge Bay on the last day of 2007...

Happy Easter?

The following greeted me at the till of our local convenience store.
I nearly dropped my clubcard in astonishment!



Over-efficient foward planning? Or maximising profit potential?
Either way - less than 12 weeks to go!

An evening with thathideousman

Mrs D and I had a lovely evening yesterday with thathideousman, his wife and children, Boris, Noris and Doris. The evening started well, with coffee and good chat - we hadn't seen thathideousman for about 7 years, so lots to catch up on. Boris, Noris and Doris were a tad shy, but understandably so, having never met us before!

As the evening went on, young Boris and Noris decided to threaten us both with decapitation, prompting Mrs D to hide in the cupboard under the stairs. This led me to tell a slight untruth to young Noris, and explained that Mrs D had escaped and gone home. Noris was having none of this explanation, and proceeded to hunt for Mrs D, so the beheading could be done.

Mrs D was eventually found by Noris, but before the execution could proceed, I was accused of telling lies. My sentence? 5 minutes on the naughty seat!

This seat is in the porch, and there was no escape from my punishment! After 3 minutes, the door was opened, and I was reminded that 2 minutes remained. It was then suggested that I ask whether the time was up yet... I later learned that had I posed this question, I would have been subjected to an additional minute on the naughty seat!

After a good 5 minutes, I decided to get up and join everyone else in the kitchen - to much horror from young Noris, who promptly sentenced me to an additonal 10 minutes for getting up without permission! I was luckily pardoned by thathideousman! It would have been interesting to have seen the expression on thathideousman's wife's face as she returned from work to see me on the naughty seat!

Later I was forced to the underworld by Boris and Noris, with all manner of cushions, blankets and coats piled on my head - there was no use in protesting - there was no escape! Thankfully bedtime called and I managed to find my way back to this world!

It was lovely to spend the evening with thathideousman's family - catching up and sharing stories of old times... here's hoping we don't leave it another 7 years before we meet again!

Yea, Lord - we greet thee!

Christ is born in Bethlehem!
Hurry now to see him lying in the manger...

Merry Christmas!

Invitation to proceed

The letter from DFW finally arrived today...
We've been invited on to the next stage in the assessment to be adoptive parents. There's a dotted line on which each of us have to sign, and then home assessment will start in January. Sounds so easy... we know it won't be!

We have no way of knowing what 2008 will hold - I suppose none of us do... but we get the feeling there will be more joy, tears, frustrations and excitement than would normally be expected in a typical year...

It's good to know that God has it all in his hands - as one of our dear friends keeps telling us, 'the matter is settled in heaven'. And that's good enough for me!

Mrs D has a very sore ear

Mrs D has returned home today from the consultant with rather less ear than she had when she left this morning.

The consultant decided that the only way to stop the pain in the cartilidge in her ear was to cut some of it out... so he did.... and now Mrs D has a rather fetching white dressing on her ear... and 10 or so stitches! The stitches are to come out on Monday... Till then she's not supposed to wash her hair. As Mrs D said - some chance! Hair is apparently being washed tomorrow - perhaps a plastic bag over the offending ear?!

We've now started calling her 'Vincent'!

Mary, did you know?

Words to make you think...

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?
This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?

Mary did you know?

The blind will see.
The deaf will hear.
The dead will live again.
The lame will leap.
The dumb will speak
The praises of The Lamb.

Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know
that your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
The sleeping Child you're holding is the Great, I Am.

Christmas according to Linus

I found this on Living Stones, and thought I'd share it with you all...

Difficult to get your head around

I've been reading a book this morning on adoption, written by an adoptive dad, for adoptive and propsective adoptive dads.

Some quotes...

"You're being assessed for a role you have no experience in, to take over from someone who demonstrably can't perform that role - and that's difficult to get your head around."

"Reconciling yourself to the fact that no-one is entitled to have a child is a tough process. But the even harder proposition to get your head around is that you are entitled to make a commitment to someone else's child."

Give me words to speak

Aaron Shust - Give me words to speak

Preparation Day 4

The fourth and final preparation day...

What really stood out today was listening to three adoptive parents talking about their experiences adopting. It was a privilige to hear their stories - the good and the not so good - the waiting, the frustrations, the tears and the laughter. They had very different stories, but some common threads... the intrusion of the home assessment; the frustrations in waiting for a match; the heartache of being truned down by a child's social worker in favour of another couple; the range of emotions when you visit your new child, and eventually take them home...

So, what now?

We now wait for a letter from the adoption agency inviting us to make a formal application - hopefully in the next few weeks. We then formally apply.

We're then assigned a social worker, who will come and visit us over a 4 or 5 month period - to get under our skin, find out what makes us tick, and measure us against the national competencies - and hopefully come to the conclusion that we are suitable to be adoptive parents...

So come late spring / early summer, we should be going to the adoption panel for approval as adoptive parents. Then the matching process starts - which could take weeks, months, or longer...

So, I think it feels like we've taken another small step on the journey towards parenthood. But there is a long way to go yet... one small step at a time!

Preparation Day 3

Another preparation day, and lots more to think about.

We had an encouraging morning discussing issues of attachment - what kind of problems children may have attaching to adults and forming trusting relationships, and what kinds of things we as adopters can do to help children form good attachments...

One of the adoption social workers then talked to us about child development, with the help of a giant Bob the Builder...! We discussed the different stages of children's development, and likened this to building a wall, with foundations formed at an early stage. We discussed what would happen if some of the foundation bricks were missing, as can be the case in children who are looking for adoptive parents. And we thought about our role in rebuilding these missing bits of foundations, to give the child the best possible chance in life. A bit of a scary prospect!

In the afternoon we discussed issues surrounding an adopted child's identity - and the struggles many of the children have - 'where do I come from', 'why was I not wanted', 'do my birth parents think about me'... and the struggles many adopted children have with birthdays - and the memories these bring...

Then we had the privilige of listening to an adopted person talk about their experience of being adopted - though adopted in the 60's when the process was very different, his thoughts and feelings were really useful to hear... and gave us loads to think about in terms of parenting style and the need to be really open with our future children about their adoption.

On reflection, a positive day, but lots to think about!
Day 4 tomorrow.

Dreamy Spires

Some photos from our visit to our friends Rose & Andy in Oxford last weekend...
It was so cold... but we found a lovely coffee shop on the corner of Queen's Lane!


Andy, Mrs D and Rose outside Christ Church


Christ Church


Bicycles...


Spires...


Bridge of Sighs... not the original though!


Martyr's Cross


Burnt for their faith...

Preparation Day 2

A tough one today. Mrs D and I are totally drained emotionally...
We had four sessions.

The first was lead by a lady from CAMHS, talking about separation, grief and loss - we thought about the losses a child has - at a time when we are thinking about a gain (having a new child in our family), the child is experiencing grief and loss - of their foster carers, their bedroom, their friends, etc... We thought about how the child would be feeling, and what their behaviour might be as a result - and the various stages of grief. We also thought about other losses the child might have experienced in their short life - many moves, places where they've stayed and people looking after them - and the effects on them.

The second session was all about health issues - it was lead by a community paediatrician. We thought about health issues for the children who are currently being looked after - effects of neglect, alchohol and drugs during pregnancy, possible inherited conditions from birth family. We also thought about our health and things which could affect our ability to adopt - and the effects on our health post-adoption!

After lunch, we looked at issues relating to the children who are waiting to be adopted - what kinds of experiences they might have been through to mean they are in the position they are... we had to think about different types of abuse - neglect, emotional, physical and sexual - and what kind of things these children may have experienced under each heading... this was particularly difficult to do - some things really don't bear thinking about... And then we had to start to think about what kinds of problems / issues we would be able to manage - would we consider a child with mild learning difficulties? What about a child whose mother has schizophrenia? Or a child with hearing problems? Or a child with ADHD? Or autism?

Then we looked at what kinds of behaviour a child may exhibit, having been through these experiences - and how things we may do and think are totally normal may set off reactions we don't expect in children... We finished off looking at 'safe care' and what that means - making sure that we care for the child in a sensitive way - sensitive to their previous experiences. And also that we are safe as we look after the child - particularly thinking about the possibility of a child making allegations against you - and ways to make this less likely.

All in all a really difficult day - lots of difficult issues to think about. It would be easy to let it all become overwhelming... but we need to keep it in focus - these are all the worst possible things / experiences / issues / behaviours - and no child is going to have all of these!

We now have the rest of the week to reflect and think about what we've learned and discussed - so a bit of breathing space before next Monday / Tuesday when we have the rest of the preparation.

Preparation Day 1

Well - Mrs D and I have survived the first adoption preparation day.
We joined 4 other couples for the day in Durham - all of us a bit apprehensive and wondering what it would be all about.

We looked at the adoption process in England - the journey children go on from first coming into contact with social services, through care orders, placement orders and finally adoption. We were told about the different types of care for children, including special guardianship, long term fostering, and adoption really as a last resort.

We looked at what the journey would be for us - after the prep days comes home study, which will be a series of about 12 or so fortnightly visits - in parallel our social worker will visit our referees, and also will want to see us interacting with children (do they really want to come to Kidz Klub??!) - this all gets written up into a large tome which is presented to the adoption panel - hopefully to approve us as adoptive parents - around late spring / early summer next year. We then wait for the match - which takes as long as it takes!

We thought about what a child would say, having been with their new family for about a year, when asked how they knew that they were loved.... words along the lines of 'they spend time with me', 'they do what they say', 'they help with my homework', 'they're still there even when I'm naughty', 'they kiss me better when I'm hurt'...

And we thought about some of the things which were specially important when parenting an adoptive child - the importance of praise and encouragement, of being reliable and consistent, and the need for a constant shower of warmth, love and affection - all things which would apply to any child, but even more so when they have experienced loss, grief and huge upset in the past.

We thought about what our lives were like now by apportioning a typical 24 hours... and then thought about that same 24 hours with a child in our family - very different!

There's lots more to come tomorrow and then next week too. But it feels like things have finally started to move forward, albeit slowly... but there's a long way to go!

Mrs D's knee - another update

Well, nearly a week since Mrs D had her arthroscopy, and things would seem to be looking up. After a couple of days of her knee being really sore, following the operation, Mrs D awoke on Thursday morning being able to walk better than she has for nearly 3 months. The knee has continued to improve - she can fully weight bear now, and can walk upstairs normally (though coming down is still painful). We went for a walk with doglet yesterday - something we haven't done together for a very long time now...

Mrs D has been poking and prodding her knee, and it would appear that the very tender and painful bit on the outside of her knee is no longer very tender and painful.

Yes, she has pain from the two holes in her knee, but it seems the previous pain is gone. Quite amazing, given that the doctor simply washed it out...

We don't want to get our hopes up, but definitely a large step (boom boom) in the right direction!

Mrs D's knee - update

Well, after much faffing around, Mr P cut a couple of holes in Mrs D's knee.
He looked around a bit, looked some more, poked, prodded and looked one last time.

Nothing.

Well - apart from a healthy knee, that is.
No torn bits, missing bits, stretched bits.
Nothing.

He flushed it out (this conjures up garden hose to me...).

So Mrs D is back home, on the sofa.
Perhaps her knee will get better now. Perhaps not.
She's to go back in a couple of weeks to see Mr P.
And some physio between now and then.

So we have to wait and see.

Any suggestions as to what might be causing so much pain on the outside of Mrs D's right knee, would be gratefully received.
Just add a comment.
There will even be a reward for information leading to a successful diagnosis!

Mrs D's knee

Mrs D has a very sore knee.
It's been sore since the middle of August.
She says it started during white water rafting
on the Fraser River in British Columbia.

She's seen her GP umpteen times,
and eventually saw Mr P.
A consultant - he diagnosed
a torn lateral miniscus -
but the MRI didn't agree!

The consultant
described her
as
a
mystery...

Four weeks of physio followed -
different exercises every week.
But these just made her knee sorer
So back to see Mr P.

Now all of this was on BUPA
Because my company decided to pay...
Mr P decided to operate
But no spaces till mid December!

Now this is quite unsatisfactory
'Enough is enough' said Mr P.
So he found some space at Hexham
On the NHS - much quicker you see!?!

So tomorrow, Mrs D
will have an arthroscopy
to see
what Mr P can see.

Hopefully he'll find the problem
And fix it good and proper.
Then Mrs D will be back at work -
you just try and stop her!

Jesus isn't Christmassy any more

Apparently so, according to one of Waterstone's staff.
I only went in for a book token.

They had some difficulty finding a suitable non-Christmassy card for the aforementioned token... flicking through the pile, the employee of Waterstones stopped and said, 'How about this one - it's Jesus... he's not Christmassy any more, is he!?'

Well, there you go.

So what is Christmassy these days?

• Queuing for hours at every shop from mid-October to get the essential presents?
• Massive debt?
• Turkey? Tinsel?
• The Sound of Music?
• Snowmen? Santa Claus?

These words by Chris Rice say it really well...

Tears are falling, hearts are breaking
How we need to hear from God
You’ve been promised, we’ve been waiting
Welcome Holy Child. Welcome Holy Child.

Hope that you don’t mind our manger
How I wish we would have known
But long awaited Holy Stranger
Make yourself at home. Please make yourself at home.

Bring your peace into our violence
Bid our hungry souls be filled.
World now breaking Heaven’s silence
Welcome to our world. Welcome to our world.

Fragile finger sent to heal us
Tender brow prepared for thorn
Tiny heart whose blood will save us
Unto us is born. Unto us is born.

So wrap our injured flesh around You
Breathe our air and walk our sod
Rob our sin and make us holy
Perfect Son of God. Perfect Son of God.

Welcome to our world.

RIP Virgin Cross Country

After many weeks of travelling to and fro between Newcastle and Leeds, it was with a tear in my eye that I made my last ever journey courtesy of Mr Branson and Virgin Trains on that route.





For as of tomorrow, the route is taken over by no less than the mighty Arriva Cross Country...

Same trains; same liklihood of getting cut in two by the automatically closing doors at the carriage ends; same problems working out whether the toilet door is locked or not; same scrolling digital display above every seat; same staff; same track; same signals; same timetable; same opportunity for delays...

New train colours; new uniform; no doubt new (higher) prices; new script for the endless announcements before and after every station....

Will I be able to tell the difference next week?
We'll see!

4 and 20 blackbirds - OK - just one

What a fun afternoon...
Mrs D and I were sitting in the sitting room this afternoon (as you do after Sunday lunch, letting the roast chicken digest), admiring the newly decorated walls which were finished on Thursday, when we heard a strange scratching sound coming from the direction of the chimney. Doglet started to take an interest in the sound, and we thought we had better investigate too.

We have a flappy lid thing which comes down to close off the chimney and helps prevent draughts. This was flapped down, and so whatever was making the scratching sound was standing on top of the flap.

On analysis of the sounds, we concluded that a bird must have fallen down the chimney and was now flapping about trying to get out of what must have seemed like a very deep dark pit.

So - 2 options....

1. leave the bird to flap around, perhaps find its own way out, or die (possibly roasting it when we next light the fire)
2. open up the flap and try to catch the bird as it comes out

We went for Option 2.

So, armed with an old duvet cover, we 'sealed' the fireplace. Mrs D then opened the flap and tried to coach the bird out. It wasn't for coming, but Mrs D managed to find its legs, and with a bit of persuasion, the bird dropped out, into the duvet cover.

Unfortunately we hadn't sealed the duvet cover properly, and the bird got free.

We now had a blackbird flying round the sitting room, feathers and soot flying everywhere, dirty black marks all over the newly painted walls, doglet jumping around trying to catch it.

Not exactly what we had intended!
We opened the patio door, and eventually doglet chased the blackbird outside.

First task for tomorrow morning?
Phone the chimney man and get a mesh installed over the chimney pots!

Preparing for preparation days

We've just had confirmation from DFW Adoption that our preparation days will be on 26/27 November and 3/4 December...

I'm really glad we finally have some dates to focus on as the next step in the process, but a little disappointed that it is so far off. We had hoped to have had these days already, but things haven't worked out that way.

As far as we can work out, these days will prepare us for what adoption is all about - what the children we might get may have been through, and the kinds of behaviours they might exhibit, and why... I guess it's a bit of a reality check, and is designed to sift applicants to make sure we are absolutely sure this is for us, and for the adoption agency to get a better impression of the kind of people we are...

Then after these 4 days we will be linked to a social worker, who'll visit us for a couple of hours each week for a couple of months - gaining a full understanding of who we are and the kinds of children we could take on...

So lots more ahead of us, but things are starting to move forwards... We're just so glad that God goes before us preparing the way - knowing we're held firm in his hands is so reassuring!

I'm back...

Apologies to everybody who has been checking here for news and insights during September - it has been a hectic month, and I just haven't got round to blogging - sorry!

But I'm back now, and hopefully things will be a bit more regular...

Lofty mountain granduer

The words from this hymn kept coming back to us as we travelled through the Rockies...


Angel Glacier, Jasper National Park
The glacier tumbles down from Mount Edith Cavell, and looks very like an angel with arms outstretched...


Lake Agnes, Banff National Park
This is about an hour and half's walk above Lake Louise
There's a lovely tea shop next to the lake - a just reward after the walk uphill!


A glacier tumbles down from the Columbia Icefield
The Columbia Icefield is one of the largest masses of ice outside the polar regions, and is the source of water for three oceans - the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific!


Castle Mountain, Banff National Park


The top of Whistler Mountain in Jasper National Park
Elevation: 8,100 ft (we took the gondola rather than climbing!)
The Athabasca River is in the background, with the Queen Elizabeth range of mountains behind.


View from the top of Sulpher Mountain, Banff National Park
Elevation: 7,400 ft (again - there's a gondola!)
The views from here are incredible - mountains for 360 degrees!


Peyto Lake, Banff National Park
The water in many of these lakes is vivid green / blue because they are fed by glaciers. The glaciers crush the rock underneath them, making a very fine rock flour which is deposited in the lakes, and stays in suspension - absorbing all the light except green / blue.


Spirit Island and Maligne Lake, Jasper National Park
This is one of the best views in the Canadian Rockies...


Lake beneath Mount Edith Cavell, Jasper National Park
Just look at the colour of the water!

Wildlife in the aquarium

These are some of the animals in the Vancouver aquarium - well worth the visit if you ever find yourself there...


Jellyfish
These are spectacular... Luckily we didn't stand on any at the beach!


Sea Otters
These are the cutest things - they lie on their backs all day floating around, washing themselves... and holding hands so they don't lose each other. There is a fantastic video of them on youtube (not mine, I'm afraid) - have a look...


Beluga whale
This is an amazing creature - with advanced sonar to find its way, and loads of blubber to keep warm. It also has a smile on its face too!

Canadian wildlife

Bald eagle
These are everywhere - there were a pair nesting in the garden of one of our B&Bs - they have a white head and bright yellow beak.


Big horn sheep
This was one of about 12 which decided to cross the road in front of us in Banff.


Black bear
We went bear watching in Tofino and saw 10 - they come down to the shore at low tide, turning over the rocks to look for crabs. We saw a couple more beside the road on our travels too.


Ground squirrel
They look a lot like chipmunks, but apparently aren't related at all. They were everywhere we went and are particularly tame - it must be the Japanese tourists feeding them muffins!


Hump back whale
We went whale watching from Victoria, and watched this humpy for an hour or so.

Race Rocks and lighthouse

Perhaps my favourite photo of them all...

This is Race Rocks, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. We went through here on our boat while looking for whales... There is an urban myth that the stone for the lighthouse was quarried in Scotland and shipped over... the internet is full of claims and counterclaims over where the stone came from - but there isn't a shortage of rock in Canada, so it seems a little strange to have brought it from Scotland!

More fantastic views from Canada

Long Beach, Pacific Rim National Park
Vancouver Island, BC


Early morning looking for bears on Clayoquat Sound, Tofino
Vancouver Island, BC

Athabasca Falls