24 January 2001

Dear All

Hello! I hope that this letter finds you all well and in good spirits.Well I guess it is about time I sat down and wrote another letter to you all! It is not so easy to write such long letters anymore for 2 reasons. One is that life has settled into a pattern so we do not have as much exciting news to tell anymore, and secondly, I am very busy at the moment. The most exciting news for this month is that we finally got snow! I was beginning to doubt that we would get snow this year, because we tend to have flurries, which amount to nothing. But the snow did come, about 7cm accumulated, which is enough to pull a sled on. So of course I drove up the road to the Family Discount Centre and bought one for $10.00. I used the sled to fetch Jessica from school and pulled Kirstin along. Kirstin had an absolute blast in the sled, and on the way home Alice, Jessica and Kirstin all squashed in for the ride home! It was good exercise for me, pulling all 3 of them! When we got home Jessica did her homework and then we went and played outside in the snow. It was so cold my legs went numb. We could not build a snowman or have a snowball fight because the snow was too fine and powdery. I do not think the kids have ever enjoyed a warm bath as much as they did that night! Malcolm came home from work and was like a little kid, he wanted to play in the snow and have snowball fights and run around like a lunatic. The girls and I graciously declined as we were warm and toasty in the house and nothing could have moved us! On Saturday night the girls went to Dorota’s for a “sleepover” and Malcolm and I met Brett and Sharon in the city. We were supposed to go and watch a Ukrainian dance, but the tickets were sold out so we went to Times Square instead. It was –13C and we were walking the streets, lunacy is what it was! We walked along Broadway for a while and then went and had dinner. After dinner we did some more walking and went to a little pub called the Pig and Whistle, that Malcolm used to frequent when he was in New York on his lonesome. We had dessert there and a couple of drinks and it was really great. The atmosphere in the pub was so warm and cozy. Unfortunately it could not last and we had to brave the cold once again for the walk back to Grand Central for the train ride home. I got so cold that I actually went numb and the walk to the station was a pleasant one because I could not even feel the cold. My life has settled into a routine at last, and a very different routine to the one I had in S.A. I go to aerobics 3 times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings while Kirstin is at school and I have been very good and have not missed one class. This is very impressive for me as I have never enjoyed going to the gym, but I really enjoy the step class that I do. I have also tried the Spinning class and I might start doing that 2 a week but I am not too sure about that yet. I also managed to book the kids into the swimming programme at the Rye YMCA (the gym) so they start swimming lessons next week. Kirstin will be going on Mondays at 13h00 and Jessica on Thursdays at 16h00. The classes are 45 minutes long and they are both so excited to start their lessons. I am pleased because it can be very difficult getting them into the swimming programme because it is very popular, and the children that are already in the swimming programme get priority over newcomers. But now that they are in the programme they are almost guaranteed to get spaces in the new classes for the next session because the have a “roll-over” week for members who are already in the programmes. Once rollover week is complete the classes are opened to new “students”, with limited positions available. We have also been to the Rye Presbyterian Church a couple of times and Jessica really enjoys the Sunday school. Kirstin is not as keen and she sat with us today because she did not want to go to her “school”. I am sure that once she is more familiar with the church and her surroundings that she will start going to her classes. We are expecting a snowstorm on Thursday and the weathermen are predicting more snow than we have seen in the last 3 years so we are waiting to see how much snow that might bring. Perhaps we will be able to build our snowman then! Well I guess that covers all my new for the moment so I hope to here from you soon…. And I will write again when I have more news. Thank you to those of you that have been sending me letters, they are greatly appreciated and enjoyed by us all!LoveNatalie, Malcolm, Jessica and Kirstin