I'll summarise!
January: Adam and I turned 30 (well, Adam turned 30 in November) and had a joint fancy dress 'come as your favourite food' party. It was something I (Kate) had wanted to do for a long time because food is just such fun! (BTW, I’m a chocolate soufflé, Adam’s a box of sweeties and Mum and Dad [Hadji] should be fairly self explanatory :-)
Our new little nephew Elijah James Hallam was born on 29th January :-) Hooray! Unfortunately, I don’t have a newborn photo as all photos went straight onto facebook - HUMPH! As most people know, Adam and I refuse to join, so instead I’m putting up a photo of 4-5 months later…
February: It snowed!! Snow is always gorgeous and London was no different. We woke up in the morning to a sea of white and it was wonderful. My sisters and I ran around the garden at 62 writing our names in the snow just because we could! Adam stayed in the warmth and took photos :-)
Adam took me to two surprise destinations for Valentine’s Day: we went to a circus in the morning and in the evening he’d arranged for us to have a special kind of Valentine’s Dinner…we went to Hownslow and met our chef for the evening! She (Monisha) cooked a 3 course meal in front of us (and the other 3 couples who’d come to watch and learn) and she talked us through some fundamentals of Indian cuisine. It was fantastic! So much fun!
March: It continued to be all action stations at 62 as we packed up the house to get it ready to sell, as well as helping Mum and Dad as they got ready to move to Greece. Below is a picture of our basement as we slowly but surely boxed things up!
We also attended the Greek Orthodox Charity Organisation dinner dance in March and had a really good time socialising, dancing and eating.
Don’t we look great? – Isn’t my dress gorgeous? It’s one of Mum’s. One of the few advantages to us moving out of 62 was that we got to raid their wardrobes and acquire some great new items. Adam got some suits and overcoats and I got some lovely dresses.
April: Mum and Dad moved – we waved them off at the airport with sadness but knowing that we were going to see them soon. Easter was fairly relaxed and we had a BBQ on Easter Monday with friends.
May: Our friends, Ron and Denise, from Oz came to stay over and that was lovely. It was so good to spend time with them and have their company after nearly a year!
Our other little nephew, Alexander John Hadjipateras was born on 15th May :-) Hooray! (again!)
June: Surprise day visit from Renni who was en route to South Africa on a mission trip. That was LOVELY.
Adam and I started making mango chutney AND strawberry jam. We went berry picking at a pick-your-own farm in Enfield and came back to make about 3 batches of jam. We were later told by some very reliable sources (AK & P) that the jam was wonderful.
We attended the Oinoussian Benevolent Fund pub quiz and were on the winning team!!!
We felt highly intelligent :-)
July: Adam passed his Life in the UK test – hooray! We also co-looked after the Steitz children for a weekend and exhausted them by taking them to a goodbye party for the Swainston-Harrisons on the Saturday and Maria’s birthday party on the Sunday.
August: We were busily looking for a house but haven’t found anything yet…
More excitingly, though, we went camping in the Lakes with Etienne and Liza. It was great (apart from the fact we had to wake up at 4.30am!!) They are GREAT to go camping with, I’d do it again any day – braai’s (South African BBQ’s), full English breakfast on the skottle (another type of South African BBQ – they like meat!), a gazebo (very handy when it rains for half your stay!) It was really fun.
Etienne at the skottle (bacon and eggs for breakfast - mmmmm!) Can you see Liza waving from inside the tent?
Us at Tarn Hows – one of the more gentle walks available :o)
We also went wild blackberry picking this month and made delicious blackberry jam – yum!
September: Adam started college studying to be an electrician – he loves it! A fairly quiet month, though Adam did meet with a couple of new clients – always exciting for a new business! We hosted a surprise party for Liza :o) :o) A highlight was watching Adam and Etienne ballroom dancing around our petite living room! We took a ‘family portrait for Mum as a birthday present on the steps of 62 – was fun and my goodness, we’re all so photogenic!
October: Mum H had her 60th birthday party!! All the kids flew to Greece to celebrate with her and had a really fun time dancing at her party. Some excellent photos were taken and Mum and Dad have ordered some for us so when we get them we’ll put a couple up.
Maria and Dim decided to invite us over weekly so we can all ensure that we hang out together :o) Adam and I thoroughly approve of this plan!! So, we now have a regular Monday night booking.
November: Liza returned to South Africa and Etienne moved in with us for a month before leaving for South Africa. Adam’s birthday: I managed to be away for that weekend :o( but Etienne and Adam made ice-cream so I think that more than made up for my absence… We also found out some very exciting news – more on this later!
December: Adam got his ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain) which means that he can stay for as long as he likes in the UK and can come and go as he chooses. This was fabulous news for us as it meant that we could have Christmas in Greece! Yay! We visited Mum and Dad Hadji and celebrated with them and with the Dracos’. New Years Eve, we flew back to London and spent the evening with some good friends at their house. (Girls lost rather badly against the boys in a game of ‘Cranium’.)
And that’s 2009 in a nutshell – we’re both sure we’ve left things out, but at least you are more in the picture now than you were before!
God bless,
Kate and Adam
