The Quiet Life

Well there really isn't much to report. The weather stayed mostly below freezing for a beautifully clear week. One of the highlights of which was a morning train trip across the frost covered Thames River flood plain, with pockets of fog, mist rising off the water, and everything white and perfectly still. And after over a week of frost, I am still excited by crunchy grass and feel the need to smash the ice in every puddle (Alex and Steve and I did this at Waterloo a couple of years back, heaps of fun, highly recommneded, make sure you can get to dry shoes quickly in case the ice is only on the surface). Blizzards were forecast for today, and then Friday, but I think only Scotland is forecast to get any snow now. Boohoo (unless you are Meg).

We ventured outside with the kittens for the first time on Saturday. They didn't appreciate it, since it was minus two degrees and all. At first we tried to encourage them out the window, but they weren't having a bar of it. So we would carry them to the bakc of the yard. Seymour would hit the ground running, along the frost-free gutter between the grass and the garden beds, and straight back through the window. Nibbler learnt to climb Adam, leaving some pretty impressive scratches despite the 8 layers of clothing. They have been a bit more adventurous in the last few days since it has warmed up.

On other kitten news (well, they are our life now), Nibbler is becoming more affectionate. But she does seem to think of herself as a royal - her head must always be higher than ours. Seymour has learnt to get attention by meowing, making him a good alarm clock since he often decides he wants to be allowed back in the bedroom at 7am. He has also learnt to climb people, which is something I have learnt from previous kittens, really loses the cuteness once they are full grown. Or you aren't wearing winter clothes.

We have also started going out in Oxford a bit more. We've been out to a secret student pub in the heart of the old Oxford University, hidden down narrow laneways, for trivia that we couldn't answer, listening to conversations about whether Hegel is better read in English or Deutsch. We've been to more townie pubs in the shopping area, at one we were even able to play Jenga. And we found a great noodle bar too. mmmm noodles and satay sauce and salt and pepper squid. And all of this at less than zero.