happy easter

Happy holidays to everyone! Kassie finishes school officially today and is planning to celebrate with a sleepover, complete with a film, crisps, Mint Imperials, and shortbread cookies in the shape of bunny rabbits. She'll be off school for two and a half weeks, so I don't expect to get much writing or web design done in the meantime. However, the weather is brightening up—we even managed a barbecue this past weekend—so we should have plenty to keep us busy.

Friday, March 11th is Red Nose Day in the UK. "Change the way you look for the day and help transform someone else's life forever" is the slogan for the day devoted to painting your nails, streaking or spraying your hair red, and transforming your face (usually with the help of a large plastic red nose), and in so doing support Comic Relief's mission to help end poverty and social injustice in the UK and Africa.

world book day

Today on our snowy walk to school—marvel enough in Cheshire—we met along the way a plethora of book characters, from princesses of the South Seas, to superheroes, Harries and Hermiones, fairies, tin men and lions, even a few of Alice's teatime friends. A fancy-dress day to celebrate World Book Day? What a wonderful idea. Not only does it thrill the children to no end to dress up, with their favourite books in hand, but it also gives this writer all the inspiration she needs to set to work for the day.

gotta get a Tamagotchi

The latest craze to hit the schoolyard in the UK is the Tamagotchi Connexion, a small battery-powered device with a LCD screen housing a pet you feed, clean up after, praise, punish and play games with to keep happy. Ignore your pet at your peril, for it will perish if neglected. With no experience of the original Tamagotchi, released in 1996, this family considers the toy revolutionary. It is also a must-have for every kid over six years of age, for this newest generation Tamagotchi contains an infrared port that allows Tamagotchis to interact with each other: exchange gifts (and viruses!), play games, and even have children. Typically, Kassie's female can't wait to meet a suitable male and make Tamababies.

happy valentine's day

The Brits don't do Valentine's Day cards like we do in Canada: kids don't skip to school with a "carrier" bag full of pink and red heart-shaped messages, one for each member of the class and the teacher as well (at least in the early years). That missive-centred occasion is reserved for Christmas. Kassie, however, determined to speak British but otherwise fiercely Canadian, insisted on making cards for her closest friends this year. We managed it, just in time.

Sadly, friends and family back home won't receive any cards in the post, as we didn't get our act together in time! Apologies! (There's irony there somewhere. Too bad it will elude the seven-year-old.)