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Monzie Estate
Dressed up because it’s not every Sunday you get invited to a castle! Our dates finally aligned to be able to stay at the Monzie Estate, the family home of David and Alexandra Crichton. When his father’s passing left him clan chief, they moved back from their jobs in London and New York to take on the monumental task of restoring the castle, the joinery and historical hydroelectric plant that his grandfather dreamt up in 1950s, after returning home from WW2.
Another Place, Lake District
Summer nights. One of the boys’ happiest places is any lake, they spent hours just chasing each other in a kayak while I introduced Rowan to the culturally dubious tradition of making a feather headband. My memory of the Lake District was that it is poor value, the rooms are small and squeezed,
Chatsworth House, Youlgreave and Duke of Derbyshire
Youlgreave is round the corner from Bakewell and the magnificent Chatsworth House, the seat of the Duke of Derbyshire (as Oliver told me, definitely not one of those left off Charles III’s coronation guest list!). I did not realize it was Pemberley, but it really does rise spectacularly to meet you from the dales and definitely one worth selling your daughter and dignity for.
British Summer
British summer blackberries and cream, collecting sticks on hikes, walking on walls and walking alpacas- Wetly Moor Alpacas, Staffordshire.
Peak District
So glad I listened to a close friend’s sage advice- the initial road-trip reservations melted away in the crisp morning temperature and we all fell in love with this stables house Airbnb in the truly beautiful and expansive Lomberdale Hall.
Tarte Au Citron
Saluting all the women in my life, the aunties, the grandmothers and especially the mothers-to-be, for the personal sacrifices they have already made to breathe life into their children.
I was craving a tarte au citron in the style of key lime pie, and still had a tub of cinnamon graham crackers that I couldn’t resist the last time I was in Trader Joe’s.
Hari Raya Hamper Gift Drive
Proud of the boys for being enthusiastic and helpful in distributing Raya hamper gifts as part of GIC’s volunteer program with Beyond Social Services.
Bruce Bogtrotter’s cake
Some maths, 10 eggs, 3 cups of cocoa, lots of sifting and washing up later, it is finished! Not quite Bruce Bogtrotter’s cake in Matilda but close.
Learning to write P
When you’re a vandalizing but also academic 3 year old. As I go through the day, I realize why the look was quite so guilty- she has been practicing her name all around the house!
7 Year olds’ birthdays!
Birthday weekend - their birthdays have coincided with Chinese New Year for some years now, glad they got to celebrate with family and their new school classmate friends. Between all these and full back-to-office, Jan has felt a little intense
Happy CNY 2023
The Jungalow yearbook. My new sustainability aim is to only acquire children’s clothes through inheriting, salvage and consignment. I really love these shirts I found second-hand, a black H&M parrot print and an Elizabeth Little Liberty print.
First day of School! Primary 1!
First day of school! Too early, too soon. Pezzy was asked thrice on the walk in if we were “sure” he was here for P1 😂.
Niseko, Hokkaido in winter
There is a stillness about the winter air, a refreshing clean cold cut through by the howling wind, the clatter off hail, the smell of hot spring onions in ramen. The eerie, monotonic colour and quiet on the evening slopes is my favorite kind of silent night.
Merry Christmas 2022!
Merry Christmas 2022! This has been the year of sobering losses and happy reunions and travel after 3 newborn and Covid years. The girls’ personalities are emerging each day, and the constant negotiation with each other and their brothers makes for a noisy but hilarious show.
Entrepreneur Journey
Thank you for having them Castlery! A fun idea to have a children’s fair and sales within their beautiful, main street furniture store, with all the booths literally showing on showpieces.
A great experience for the boys to have to explain, negotiate and sell, cheered on by a stream of amused and interested customers.
Halloween 2022
Happy Halloween! From the initial sketch to assembling a mini-Leia costume from a pasar malam abaya and aluminum foil belt.
Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween! From the initial sketch to assembling a mini-Leia costume from a pasar malam abaya and aluminum foil belt.
Start Them Young
The boys have been working for the past few weeks, on learning about “problem-solving”, “platforms”, “profit” and making prototypes for an entrepreneurship class, which culminates in pitching their product or service in a booth at the upcoming Children’s Fair.
Happy Mid Autumn Festival
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival
I Can Do It!
The smile that says I Can Do It! Today’s video- I bet her a raisin box if she could cycle 20m across to the next fire hydrant and then she cycled back to the first fire hydrant to win a second box for Roro, not bad for someone whose feet can barely touch the ground and whose hands can’t yet reach the brakes.
Kyushu is the best roadtrip, a dramatic wide open low-density country with colours and cragginess reminiscent of the US. We took the train past the Mazda factory to Fukuoka and drove through Beppu, with its steaming hillside sulphuric aquifers, pausing in the charming Diagon Alley-like gourmand town of Yafuin and the narrow and expensive ryokan-strewn cobblestones of Kurakawa Onsen;