Thursday, 24 March 2011

A Tale of Two Cities


Next stop, NYC



Annie dancing and drinking on the bar before....



...being escorted from the premises.



Auntie and Mummy being entertained by DJ Annie on one of the 'scorching' days



Helmet - check. Seat - check. But I'm not so sure about this.



Meanwhile back in NYC, cousin May is running everywhere.



Rach reading up on the history of this cathedral which was begun in 1892 but is still being built (check out the unfinished steeple!)


The eagle has landed...outside Ulysses S Grant's tomb - how do both him and his wife fit in there?



Andy showing how it should be done....



...but nothing compares to this!



From Namiyango to New York: one of our thank you gifts from AYISE outside the UN Building with Malawian flag in the background (note the risen sun to illustrate the completion of Malawi's development).


As the photos tell - we left Vienna at the weekend and are back enjoying the final days of our adventure in NYC with the generous hospitality once more of May and her family. In our last couple of days with Annie and family we accompanied her on her first cycle ride - very appropriate that Andy, known by many, well some, as 'Bike Boy', should be the one to attach and test* her bike seat in preparation for her first outing on two wheels. She seemed to enjoy it but sadly her mum's bike seat got stolen whilst we popped into the shops, so it will be her first and last cycle for a while! We also shared another interest of Andy's with her the next day, when we went wine tasting. Shiona kindly drove us to a teeny weeny vineyard where we sampled a variety of reds, whites and fizz. YUM!

The next day we were pleased to have chosen the bus over train to get us back to NYC as the trains were not working due to power failure in Washington DC - suddenly Bangwe didn't seem so far away!

Since our return May has impressed (and exhausted) us by demonstrating her new running and stair climbing skills, which we have been practising at various sites around the city. These can now include outdoor children's parks as although we have had a few flurries of snow, the weather is a good bit warmer (scorching all the way up around 25 degrees for our final day in Vienna!) In non-child related activities, we had a lovely cycle ride around the north-west of Manhattan on Tuesday and enjoyed a great night last night at a live band karaoke session! I really brought the party atmosphere to the place by belting out 'Zombie' by the Cranberries and 'Nothing Compares to You', by Sinead O'Connor! Yup, I really know how to make people feel good! Andy on the otherhand hogged the mike, performing 4 times...but with much more upbeat songs like 'She hates me' by Puddle of Mudd! Hmmm, feel free to hire us for any weddings, Bar Mitzvahs etc. We guarantee to make the day truly memorable!!

I suspect this will be our final post from abroad** but hope to have some time in London to sum up our adventure...hmmmm, might be a long post! Until then, may we wish you all a good weekend and speak/see/hear many of you next week when we are back in the same country!

* With cans of beans not by sitting in it!
** And the first one in which I have both written and uploaded the photos - time to quit me thinks before Andy realises I can actually work technology and makes me do more stuff!


Thursday, 17 March 2011

More Annie photos


Annie learning that the answer is at the bottom of a bottle



ok, so I was having more fun playing 'horses' than she was, I admit it.



'Hmm...i'm not sure about this surrogate carer just yet, but full marks for enthusiasm!'



'mon Scotland!



the happy family



If you go down to the woods today



Annie, the superhero! Check out the cape and leggings!



Just hangin' with Crazy Aunt Rachie...


You can never be too careful! Wearing my new, and rather large bike helmet and trainers (or sneakers as they call them on this side of the pond)

Wednesday, 16 March 2011

Springtime in Vienna (VA)



2 out of 3 was as good as we were going to get for this photo at Great Falls, Maryland.


Rach, Hamish and Annie outside Mount Vernon - George Washington's home



Annie and her dad inspect the livestock on Mount Vernon's farm



Who let out the Wild Rachie? She should be safely back behind her fence!



"What do you mean the cowboy look isn't in style anymore?! I've went and bought the boots and EVERYTHING!"



Yup, even saintly ol' G.W. kept slaves...although he did free 123 of them in his will



Scotland's next scrum half warms up for the match



Oh no! England have scored! (actually this was her reaction to us shouting loudly upon Scotland scoring, she was unpatriotically happy when England scored!)



Great Falls of the Potomac River after heavy rains...not sure you get an idea of scale, but this river is BIG!



Maybe I should get an outrigger for my kayak...



Spot the difference

Hello all!

Sorry for the delay in blogging. I’ve been neglecting my blog duties as I’ve had a couple of job applications to do which have consumed my time - and also a lot of Shiona's time as I have passed various drafts of my applications to her for her professional opinion. Thanks Shiona! However, I have still managed to get out and about a bit, mainly wee walks and runs around Vienna during the week, along with a trip to the Museum of American History which was interesting but Native Americans were notable by their absence…So today Rach and I went to the Museum of the American Indian which was much better and had a far better cafĂ© than either the American History or Natural History museums we have visited in DC. I had a buffalo roll, and Rach had a baby octopus salad – yum!

During the week I’ve not really taken the camera anywhere, but last weekend Hamish took us all to Mount Vernon (home of George Washington) and Great Falls of the Potomac River (pretty gnarly at 9,200 cubic feet per second!).

Rach and I have frequented Norms Beer and Wine store, where there are some really enthusiastic staff who give free samples on a Friday and Saturday afternoon…this has encouraged Rach to run to the beer store, with me cycling, then we buy beer and I carry it back on the bike so it’s not too shook up. Many of you will notice that this involves very little exercise on my part, but don’t worry, I have made use of Hamish and Shiona’s rowing machine downstairs in our ‘granny flat’. This place is like a hotel (photos of house to follow!)...but a hotel that comes with child entertainment system!

Auntie Rach here to update on the entertainment that Annie has been giving us. We have not been in charge of daytime childcare, as in New York, but have been 'assistants' to her mum and dad. As she is the youngest kid Andy or I have spent any amount of time with, it has been really interesting (and fun!) to see what she can do. We have been doing lots of stair and walking practice (usually for Annie's benefit, not ours), had any number of chewed-saliva-covered toys thrust in our faces and done lots of singing (as you can imagine this has been far from a hardship for me and I think I have got even worse/better at putting everything I do into song)! She is a delight....although her parents tell us that since we have arrived she has become more willful...not our fault we hope, but rather a reflection of growing up! We will be very sad to leave her and her parents on Saturday, but already looking forward to seeing her and her mummy in the summer and them all at christmas!


As I said, we leave Vienna on Saturday and head back to NYC, where I am sure May will be delighted to see her favourite carer...and 'the other one'.


We are SO grateful for the WONDERFUL hospitality we have received here in Vienna. As always it's been a delight staying with another branch of the Adamson family!

Have a nice day, y'all!

A&R

Tuesday, 1 March 2011

Rach and Annie's birthdays!


May gets dressed up for Rach's birthday lunch



The restaurant was lavish!



Charcuterie board - yum!



Rach, Will and a pot of fondue!



Me and Rene - yes, I am wearing an African shirt



The Adamson clan (plus additions) at D.C. public zoo



A baby gorilla (all the adults decided it was too cold to go out)



A lioness



back home for fizz and cake!



Annie and family



Annie receives her Malawian Noah's Ark, complete with african animals



The birthday girl



Annie and Family get birthday greetings via skype



Birthday cards aren't just for the babies...



Annie's chew-test which all presents went through



Brunch the next morning



Cousins playing



Cousins playing some more

This past weekend Rachel reached twenty-something, and Annie turned one! We had a fantastic lunch on friday with Will and Rene at a ridiculously lavish restaurant in midtown Manhattan, then travelled down to Washington D.C. to see May's cousin Annie and help her celebrate her first birthday - where else, but at the zoo!


Brooklyn race, Chelsea, Harlem, Zoo


The Adamson(Williams) girls while Jason ran the first leg of the Prospect Park 10 mile Relay



Roza coming in strong



A blurry Andy starts off...



Don't mess with my ride...



entrance to Brooklyn Public Library



African art.



African art. (weirdly the blurb said nothing about the human jaw bone...)



African art.



A mummified cat from Egypt



juxtaposition of old and new in the Brooklyn museum



bridges across the mid-town canyons



Rach in a snowy Central Park



The reservoir in Central Park, looking down to Midtown



romantic photo...


take the A train to Harlem!




Funny advert in Washington Heights (just north of Harlem)



please click on this photo so you can read it all - amazing!..."i'd like to speak to your founder please...i'm sorry, he's unavailable at this time."



Rach and Will sunning themselves at the campus of NY Community College in Washington Heights



Harlem streets



quite...



Man playing very good percussion on pots and pans near central park



sea lion (note the ears) in Central Park Zoo


Penguin zone




May feeding a sheep at the 'petting zoo'