Wow .. where did June go?!  It has flown by and I can’t believe the kids will be finished school in less than two weeks.  Our nanny is gone now and I am fully engaged in my new job as full-time mummy, taxi driver, cook, entertainer, punching bag.  Luckily, we’ve had some fantastic weather here in the UK – seems like the first year in a long, long time when we are actually seeing some summer weather during the summer! We have enjoyed some great days out this past month both in London and in our backyard of Kent picnicking, picking strawberries and playing boules.  It’s been fun spending more quality time with the kids and I am  looking forward to more summer fun back in Canada … very soon.

Paris Photoset

Another half-term break has come around (did we have so much vacation at school?!).  We hopped on the Eurostar for a four day trip to Paris with my parents and stayed at an apartment in the 6th arrondisement near Jardins des Luxembourg. We had mostly sunny and very hot weather.  It was a good enough excuse for especially Pascale to eat loads of ice cream and swangle a new pair of “Paris sandales” from Por-Por!

Split, Croatia Photoset

Peter and I took advantage of Por-Por and Gung-Gung’s most excellent babysitting skills to do a long weekend getaway to sunnier climes without the children – Split, Croatia.  The old town is an UNESCO site found within the walls of the Diocletian Palace. It has changed quite a bit since my last visit which was a part of a high school Mediterranean “field trip”.  Back then, Croatia was part of Communist Yugoslavia and the Split I visited was adorned with gigantic Tito portraits everywhere and the streets filled with military men carrying massive machine guns. Now the palace is littered with hip cafes and restaurants.  There were quite a few surreal moments during the weekend – travelling light with no kiddie paraphernalia, having lie-ins until 10am, being chatted up by a man who simultaneously claimed to be an ex-SAS man, Shaolin monk, natural healer, reincarnate of the Pope and Dalai Lamai and future husband of the Thai princess.  But the one moment that felt to be the most surreal had to be listening to a retro set of 80s music including Depeche Mode in a taxi and remembering that it was actually really “cool” when “Everything Counts” was released during my last visit to Split … back in 1983!  So wonderful to have these delightful memories to remind me of my vintage …

(Nice one, Pottier!)

With several strokes of incredible luck, I had the opportunity to meet a very awe-inspiring individual this week – Matthieu Ricard. He appeared on stage for a Q&A session following a showing of his film, The Devotion, as part of this week’s International Buddhist Film Festival which we attended. Then both Peter and I actually had a chance to have a dinner with him and a small group due to his association with our family friends who have sponsored London’s Many Faces of Buddhism 2009 initiative. I was like a star-struck teenager!  He truly does emanate inner peace, loving kindness and compassion.  It’s not everyday that I have a chance to meet a Tibetan monk (and an accomplished photographer!)-- I really can’t say if he is the happiest man alive as deemed by Time Magazine, but he sure is a happy monk! 

My mother passed me a signed copy of his book Happiness last year when I was going through my treatments and feeling sorry for myself.  The book continues to inspire me to be a happier and better person – I can’t recommend it highly enough.  I found this clip posted on You Tube and it’s worth a view:

Last weekend we went up to Cambridge for a Caring Matters Now Family Day event.  It was a very fun day and we were delighted to see so many new families (about fifteen).  The support organization is a little known charity but one that is very close to our hearts. We are raising research money to learn more about the CMN skin disorder with the hope of developing better treatment options but more importantly, it is just an opportunity for Pascale to meet others with the same condition so that she will never feel alone.  Here are some photos from the day’s events. 

We have a fundraising push this year in memory of a little girl who passed away due to CMN complications – it reminds us just how much we still need to learn about the condition.  If you can help, please do so as we appreciate every little bit!  Please visit here:  http://www.justgiving.com/martinthirkettle

Flickr Photoset – Hampstead Heath Easter 2009

Happy Easter to everyone!  We have had a nice weekend including an Easter egg hunt on the grounds of Kenwood House in Hampstead Heath.  It was the first time we took the kids to visit our old stomping grounds of NW3 – I felt very nostalgic recalling the many miles Peter and I used to rack up while training for marathons in the beautiful park.  Oh lost youth.  It was a rather drizzly day but luckily, the weather held out just long enough for the kids to find all the golden eggs -- the key to obtaining chocolate treats for the train ride home.

On Sunday, we drove to coastal town of Whitstable.  We picked up some very fresh fish from the market for our Easter Sunday dinner.  I’m surprised the kids ate everything on their plate after their afternoon of prawns, ice cream and seemingly endless chocolate! The Easter Bunny was very generous this year.

The kids are on their three week spring break right now. This past week, we took a short holiday in Dorset and the weather was on our side for once! We stayed in a lovely self-catering cottage which was part of Greenwood Grange, a range of converted farm buildings (in the heart of Thomas Hardy country – his birth place was next door).  We spent our days exploring the beautiful Jurassic Coast – Bridport, Lyme Regis, Lulworth Cove, the cliffs of Burton Bradstock and the sandy beaches of Studland. The kids had a great time rambling, playing on the beaches and searching for fossils and seashells.  They also had a super time feeding some of the 600 swans at the Abbotsbury Swannery on Chesil Beach and checking out the animals at Kingston Maurward College Animal Park.  We even found some fantastic and memorable restaurants including the Crab House Cafe in Wyke Regis which served up no-nonsense, fresh oysters and fish from the local area.  The pretty little, destination restaurant on the seaside met the approval of Jasper who you can see really enjoyed his man-sized portion of scallops!

The best gift a mother could get on Mothering Day – a song from my boy:

 
2009 Mother's Day from JMa on Vimeo.

I know it’s been quiet on the blog front.  Winter is not the most uplifting of seasons for me (especially when I’m not skiing!) and I’ve been finding the last month or so a little tricky.  I guess I am coming to realize that this darn cancer thing is indeed a journey and doesn’t exactly end just because the treatments and surgeries are over.  Let’s just say I am having to adjust to my new life as a cancer survivor. It’s a great place to be but it’s filled with lots of bittersweet emotions which I cannot even begin to explain.   There is no doubt that having the ‘c’ is a life changing experience.  Now I just need to figure out which bits of my life need changing …

In the meantime, I am trying my best to enjoy the present and this means lots of time with the kids.  I can’t wait for spring – a season for awakening. Another term has passed at school and I am continually amazed at the progress both kids are making.  It is really fantastic to see how much they enjoy learning and having fun at school.  I don’t think I was ever that keen!  Click here to download a sample of Pascale’s nursery journal and below for some sound bites from our wonderful little reader …   

 
The Reader from JMa on Vimeo.

The kids are on holiday this week so we drove over to the continent via the Eurotunnel for an easy getaway to visit our friends in Arnhem in the Netherlands and in Oud-Turnhout, Belgium.  It was great to see all our children play happily together even though no one was speaking the same language!

All very exciting as it snowed in the UK the last couple of days!  School was cancelled for two days, London buses stopped running, trains cancelled and lots of airport chaos.  Quite hilarious given the MASSIVE snowfall of maybe two inches?? Here were the headlines:  Snowbound Britain

The kids enjoyed their snow days and it was great that we got to use the winter wear we bought in Canada all over again!

Gung Hay Fat Choy to all our family and friends.  The Year of the Ox brings a fresh new start for all of us. 

I love hearing the kids talking with each other.  Here’s one in the car on the weekend:

P:  “I spy wiv my little eye …. sometin’ dat starts wiv ‘ch’….”

J:   “Chair?”

P: “No”

J: “Train?”

P: “No”

J: “I dunno – give me a clue. ”

P: “It’s an Alligator!”

J: “Pascale … that starts with ‘a’ not ‘ch’… (pause). Anyway, there’s no alligator around here.”

Thanks for all the wonderful messages of support I have received the last couple of weeks.  I am recuperating back at home now with no more air leaks and a fully expanded lung after my latest thoracotomy.  I am feeling incredibly lucky that all went well and the “nasties” out – hopefully once and for all.  While in the hospital, I re-read the inspirational book “Anti-Cancer: A New Way of Life” by Dr. David Servan-Schreiber.   When I was going through my cancer treatments, I found it very difficult to read anything about statistics. Apparently, the 5 year survival rate for Stage 4 colon cancer (Dukes’ D) is 3%. 

Yeah … I agree … not a very inspiring number.  Thankfully, Servan-Schreiber refers me to an essay written by Stephen Jay Gould.  I wanted to provide the link here -- The Median isn’t the Message.  I recommend it to anyone facing the “cancer odds” and requiring a base understanding of what statistics mean.  Though I’m not at the five year mark yet, I have every intention of being a right-skewed variant.

Attitude will count.

Flickr Photoset - Vancouver 2008 

We are back from our Christmas holiday in Vancouver where the kids enjoyed their first real "Canadian" winter!  Our wish for a White Christmas definitely came true with snow up to our yin yang.  Vancouver doesn't "do" snow very well and we were house-bound for a number of days due to poor road conditions. Nevertheless, it was really great to catch up with all the family and old friends we did manage to see over the holidays. Peter and I also did a couple days of skiing and sushi at Whistler and the kids did tons of firsts -- skating, skiing, sledding, pirate packs at White Spot.  Back in the UK, it will be hard to return to work on Monday morning.  We are all very jet-lagged  -- we had breakfast at 3am, went back to sleep and did not get out of our pjs until 2pm today!

Wishing all our friends and family a happy, healthy, prosperous new year!

Click on below for a review of our photo favourites in 2008:

 
2008 in Photos from JMa on Vimeo.

  
Nursery Christmas Concert from JMa on Vimeo

Not to be outdone by her brother's performance earlier in the week, here she is ... live on centre stage!  Miss Pottier!

 
Our Little Joseph from JMa on Vimeo.

Ringing in the Christmas season this year was the reception year's performance of the Nativity Play.  Jasper played a leading role -- he was Joseph!  My little thespian ... so proud of him.

 
How much fun is actually possible at a Holiday Inn Express?? from JMa on Vimeo.

warning: some scenes of nudity

We went up to Liverpool this past weekend to attend this year's CMN Family Day Event.  Caring Matters Now is the support group for Pascale's skin disorder.  We learned more about the exciting research taking place at Great Ormond Street Hospital to determine the cause of Congenital Melanocytic Naevi and hopefully, better treatment options.  The sad thing is that this research will stop if our charity does not raise enough funds.  We need about £30,000 required per year -- a hefty sum to raise from the small number of families associated with the support group.  So if you can help, show us the money!!

Here is a link to make an easy donation by credit card: Justgiving.com/cmnsupportgroup

The kids had a great time at the event.  But the highlight for them, believe it or not, was their stay at the Holiday Inn.  Honestly .. how much fun can one have while being fiscally responsible during this global credit crunch?

I guess the kids' answer is:  A LOT.