My talented sister

The other day a package arrived from Kate and Andy with lots of fun little baby gifts in it. There was a tinkling stuffed frog, which Jim particularly likes the sound of, some really fun baby booties shaped like lizards or turtles, a hat with matching booties and a beautiful baby quilt. We were touched by the gift, but when were told by Kate that she MADE the quilt we went from touched to seriously impressed. This quilt is much cooler than anything you could find in a store and Kate MADE it! I'm not sure where she got this crafty gene (maybe from our grandmother?) but she can do all kinds if cool things like make funky costumes, award winning beaded bird houses, and now quilting. I think she could actually start her own baby quilting business and make a small fortune (based on my newfound knowledge of how expensive everything related to maternity wear and babies is). Behold...the quilt! (and stay tuned in a few months for pictures of our baby on the quilt. I'm going to do my best to make sure there aren't any pictures of cats on the quilt before then. The quilt is off limits to cats!!!)

Hooray for Meg and Dan!

After a fun visit with Jackie and Piotrek, we were then lucky enough to have a visit from Meg and Dan on their way through London to various destinations (starting with America for some weddings). It was kind of weird hosting them in the flat that used to be theirs, but really fun to have them in town! They are already seeming very worldly after traveling for a couple of months and their next big stop is Africa, where they'll go on a safari and then volunteer in an orphanage. Very cool.

Jack was VERY happy to see his parents and he and Dan had some cat conversations. Both cats spent both nights with Dan and Meg, who are much more interesting than we are apparently.

They claimed that our sofa bed is more comfortable than most beds they have been sleeping in lately, but they may have been just being polite.


On their second day, we went out to see Kate and Simon and their week old baby Nelly. She was very small and sweet and mostly sleeping while we were there. Her parents were incredibly calm and happy...and I had my usual anxiety attack when around tiny babies response. We only have three more months until we'll have our own tiny baby and I hope it's true that some maternal instinct kicks in because at this point I have no idea what to expect.

Simon and Nelly:

Meg and Nelly:

Dan and Nelly:

Kate and Nelly:


After meeting Nelly, we headed back to the house for some BBQ. Dan started things off and Jim jumped in to help when he got home from work. There isn't a light in our garden, so headlamps are essential.


Unfortunately, all good times must come to an end and Meg and Dan's departure coincided with my once a week day at work, which made it extra crappy. Luckily, we'll see them again in a couple of months at Christmas.