Hallowe'en

For the nieces and nephews:

(apparently skills related to pumpkin carving are also passed down through the generations. Thanks Oma!)

For me: Pumpkin soup

Pumpkin pie

IAM

I passed my advanced driver test this morning - think of those programmes you've seen with folk driving around giving commentary and a police officer sat beside them marking them. This one seemed to go better than my original driving test 16 years ago, and I certainly enjoyed it more (helps to know that you can still drive afterwards even if you fail!). 

I was originally looking for a winter driving course (how to correct skids etc) but in the end, this was the only one offered locally. Gets me cheaper car insurance and hopefully makes me a better driver. So that's another box ticked before the baby comes.

Blooming et Belle

These are some of the cuteish ways the bump has been referred to:

"Here you go, as clearly there are two of you"

"Hold tight here, I can see you are not travelling alone"

"Looks like you've got a passenger on board"

"I assume that's not just a big breakfast"

"Looks like you have some happy news"

"Here's one for you and one for the bump"

More recently it's veered towards:

"Twins? No? Really?"

"Wow"

"It's hard to believe you still have a month to go"

"Are you SURE it's not twins?"

The irony is that I am measuring bang on Ms. Average Bump Size, according to the nice little NHS chart, so I am no bigger than the majority of people at my stage. So why the daily comments? I am well, baby is well, and it's not like I have any control over the size of my belly. In any case it feels pretty crammed in there judging by the freaky bumps and dips of my tummy when baby moves so either it's a fat little thing, or I just stick out. I've been lucky enough to stay slim elsewhere so maybe it's just the contrast. But why is small so beautiful? Obviously these folks haven't seen my pregnancy yoga class participants or maybe women hide away in their final month??

Bus Stop Grammar

Shouldn't it be 'were'?

Pre-halloween festivities

Do they know it's Christmas?

So here it is Merry Christmas

I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus

I wish it could be Christmas every day

All Christmas tunes should really be banned until after 31 October at least I reckon. And how does Robbie Williams' Angels make the list??

Frozen in Time

And from a balmy 25 degrees on Monday in Paris to -1 outside now...at least it's stopped snowing.

Engendered Assumptions

Q: Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?
A: No
Q: Well how will you know what colour of clothes to buy?

Weekend in the Dordogne

We managed to visit the Château de Monbazillac and snap some shots in the few minutes when it wasn't raining during our visit to the Dordogne this weekend. It's such a beautiful region, despite the driving rain. We were based just west of Bergerac for a couple of nights and enjoyed following the river upstream or cutting between the vineyards on tiny roads, although any wine sampling had to be curtailed on this occasion. It wasn't quite a 'babymoon', but it was nice to get out of Paris and see the countryside.

I even managed to find a photo from our last family visit here (2004):

Favouritist View

Screme Egg

Smart marketing move:

This is Paris

It's amazing the sights Oma can take in without being slowed down by a heavily pregnant mama-to-be (who is spending her days working instead).

Renovations

With Oma and El Puma doing the heavy lifting and me directing, we transformed our little appartment into a more spacious-feeling home for 3.

 The music corner:

 New kitchen with highchair:

 Still got my work space:

 Cot and commode:

 The new living room:

Autumn days when the grass is jewelled

I love autumn. Today was the first day that I could crunch my way over the leaves, the nip in the air stinging my eyes and nose, my fingers already starting to feel chapped, and knowing that in a few minutes I would be able to take off my hat and scarf and enter into a warm house.

Despite my love of autumn, this weekend I will be heading to warmer climes where the El Puma lives. It was meant to be a reward for a thesis submitted, but instead it will be more of a 'relocation of work' for 2 weeks. 

I tried my very best and have worked hard recently, but those funny little bits at the end of a big project always take more time than you think, despite extensive help from The Supervisor, The Review, The Editor and The Formatter in recent days. By giving myself an extra couple of weeks, I hope to be able to push my 60 000 words on to gold-platedness, and not just 'good enough' where, to be frank, I would have been happy staying. It will be submitted before our new life project begins (aka baby) but the viva will probably be early next year instead. Not quite enough time to substantially reduce the pressure, but at least this evening I got a break through autumnal leaves and the promise of some warming soup at the end of it.

Jack Frost

The first frost of the year has arrived. We are heading into winter. Goodbye dear sunflower.

Final PhD Push

Supported by El Puma: