It's here!!!! Yey!

It's been two long years of yearning and waiting but no more .... last Monday it opened its doors! Yes! StarBucks is in Lancaster. Yey!

Mind you, it's not about the coffee. Heck no! Caffe Nero does a better double shot espresso than StarBucks. What I miss the most is the atmosphere that StarBucks exudes. The nice comfy sofas, the jazzy music and lots of light to do loads of knitting. Yes, it reminds me of those lovely Stitch'n'Bitching times I had in Zurich.

I've decided now to spend a couple of mornings there during the week, on my own or with friends, just to 'knit-and-natter' as they say here. Time to get those long forgetten projects out and start making headway with them.

Freedom

This week Niklas started this first full day at school. I think he woke up on the wrong side of bed on Monday because I literally had to drag him out of the house, him crying and me feeling sorry for the poor boy. Pulling him towards school and him sniffing, made me feel like a rotten mum. But as we got closer to school, he had stopped sniffing and was happier once he saw other kids in their uniforms, even a couple of his friends waving at him. Guess this emotional ups and downs will be felt for a little while longer than expected.

No more kids from 0855 to 1510, I was free to do whatever I wanted. So far, whenever I wanted to stay home, there was always something more interesting to do out. At the moment, I find myself looking at my watch every so often afraid that I'd miss picking up the kids. Walked down Penny Street, glanced at my watch, turn down towards Market Place, looked up at the clock on the museum ..... I felt so out of place with so much time on my hands. I guess I'll have to let this slowly sink in. It's been so long since I've had so much time to kill and it feels .... unreal.

But loads of things are being lined up. They include a cross stitch project which has to be finished by December, meeting up with several groups for knitting per week and also making headway on my own knitting projects which I have too many of. When I bunch them all up, adding the household chores, laundry and cooking - it seems I have more to do than ever.

I just hope I find the energy for it all!!!

Labyrinthitis ... it's no fun!

It's been a week since I've been feeling woozy. It started when I felt the world turned while I turned from one side to the next in bed. Didn't know what it was and didn't think much about it till I picked up a friend's kid, swung her around and nearly keeled over myself.

Then I remembered my mum saying she had vertigo every once in a while, which made her feel really sick. I gave her a call and she told me more about it. Apparently, she even blacked out once when she was around my age. And that started alarm bells ringing. Ain't no way I can afford to black out on my kids, so I got to the the doctor's on Monday afternoon.

The doctor was nice and checked out my ears and she said I had Labyrinthitis which was caused by a virus. She explained that it effects the middle ear, which explains why my balance is off. Not only do I feel I'm having constant seasickness, I also get tired out really easily. Now since it's caused by a virus, she can't give me anything else but a motion sickness pill. I'll have to grin and bear it for the next couple of weeks.

Then I found this website, which tells me that it could take 3 to 8 weeks before it goes. Oh well, we'll just have to wait and see .... !

School .... !

School started last Thursday with a gush! Yup! It rained and poured and no one was spared. Niklas was fairly excited and Jonas was in his element. The usual morning rush was not felt because we all woke up extra early, and Sebastian even made it a point to walk with us to school. Niklas looked really cute in his uniform and messy hair. Jonas, on the other hand, was excited about being in the 6th Grade and having new responsibilities at school.

While Jonas rush off to his classmates and new classroom, Sebastian and me lead Niklas to his classroom where Mrs Brown and Mrs Quarmby were waiting. A very colourful classroom filled with tables, chairs, computers, a play area, books etc. There are 30 kids in that room, all between ages 4 and 5. Some excited, some unsure, and a couple quite tearful. Niklas was in the unsure category. We left him with a little kiss each. Sebastian went to work and I walked around in town slightly aimlessly. I must admit I was rather nervous for him being in school at such a young age but I'm sure he would have been bored at Pre-school if left there.

After two and a half hours, I picked him up and the first thing he said to me was, 'I played computer today!' which was his way of saying that things went well. He was happy to be able to go home though, so it was good that school was only a couple of hours long the first couple of weeks. The next day, the same routine started and when I said it was time for us to go, Niklas asked, 'Where are we going?' I said, 'To school.' And he looked at me with big eyes and said, 'Again??!' Oh boy! I guess it will hit him pretty hard to know that he'll have to go to school 5 days a week.

Only time will tell now how he's going to take it!