If you've written me a chatty email in the last year or so, or had a "let's catch up" kind of conversation, you've probably asked me: "So, how's your house renovations going?". Well, sorry I haven't been too vocal about it all. The reason I haven't had much to say on the matter is because it's a difficult issue. Almost every time I've thought about the house in the last year , I've had a minor panic attack - and as we all know, the best way to deal with panic is to squash it down and deny it. Right?

So I thought it was about time to fill you in on the neverending story that is our "renovators delight". We found the house and began the process of buying it about 2.5 years ago. Back then, we were very optimistic. Or should the word be "naive"? You can see my initial enthusiasm in the posts "Renovator's delight" and "Finally"; there's still a glimmer of hope in "Kl. Lagerstrasse 65A" , while I'm starting to lose my nerve by the time I write "Out with the Old". After that I stopped writing about the house altogether.

The more we stripped back, the more the house started to disintegrate - 120 years of rising damp,sleet and sub-zero temperatures, rumbling trams going past, inadequate heating and bodgy fix-it jobs meant that the whole house was an ailing wreck, rotting on the inside as well as the outside. The first crew of workers turned out to be totally dodgy, and after returning from our trip to Oz last year, we decided to stop the whole building process to get some extra expert opinions from engineers, builders and architects. The house was in such poor state that we would have to do much more to it than originally intended - this coupled with the fact that we have seen many dodgy "that'll do" building jobs go terribly wrong - made us decide to get all of the official paperwork done - architect's plans, plumbing plans, electricity connections, building permit etc. I think the reality is that we really couldn't do the job without most of the above stuff anyway.

So.... we started this official planning and paperwork process in April last year.... and we are still waiting on the building permit. The Riga council is notorious for its bureaucratic red tape and bribe-taking potential, and we have had to navigate our way through it all. However, we have an honest architect who knows nothing about bribes, which is good - although I must admit, if I had been given the option to "smooth" the bureaucratic path with some financial contributions in the last few months, my upstanding, ethical resolve would have been seriously tested.

In the meantime, we have started the structural building work in the back of the house already - in the places where the local police and building inspectors can't see. The house is basically an old skin with a new skeleton inside - all of the supporting structures have been built new - and when we finish the insulation and cladding, there will be a new layer on the outside as well. Everyone (and I mean f**king EVERYONE) has told us that we should have ripped it all down and built a brand new replica, it would have been cheaper, it would have been easier, yadda yadda yadda. Now I am beginning to suspect that EVERYONE was right - and its too late. Apart from the staircase, pretty much everything else in the house will be new, but the old outer walls will still be standing - no longer load-bearing, but standing. We are trying to salvage one major interior wall of the house, the corridor wall, which, if left in place, will hopefully preserve the sense of 120 year old home. Then we have the odd wall made of big old sleepers, or old bricks on the ends, which we intend to keep and restore/strip back. But that's about it. Breaks my heart. Floors will be new, windows will be new, most walls and all the ceilings - new. Gyproc and I have to establish some kind of loving relationship, and do it SOON.

And then there's the issue of finances. Oh, finances. Suffice it to say if we were millionaires this whole process would be a lot easier and decisions made much more easily. But despite all the misgivings, the show must go on. There's certainly no going back now, especially considering the financial crisis and the huge plummet the real estate market in Latvia has taken over the last 6 months.

On a lighter note, the next few weeks will be a little exciting, because the builders are taking off the old roof and building the new one. They have to get it done before the autumn rains/sleet sets in - once this has been done, we can get the rest of the interior work done during the winter. So hopefully my next post about the house will sound a little more optimistic. At the moment my uncertainty and stress about the house is a behemoth - maybe when the roof's on things will seem different...

Below some pics I took last week

Both boys started their new schools today. Matiss started first class whilst Mikus started at his new kindergarten. Both boys were equal parts nervous and excited. The first day of school is a very big thing here and Matiss looked the part - smart looking outfit with a bunch of flowers for the teacher (unfortunately no suit and bowtie as they are getting dry-cleaned, perhaps next year!). Matiss' first day was basically a get to know your school day - they had a full school assembly with speeches, songs, bell ringing, national and school anthems ( a rocking rock opera ballad!), tomorrow he is off by himself and learning will start in earnest. Mikus as well had a great morning and seemed to get on well with his new class. The rest of the day was a treat with Mook taking them to see a movie in the afternoon and then tonight was dinner at the pizza shop!

BTW if youre interested in seeing Matiss birthday pics follow the Flickr link on the right.

I suppose I should do the obligatory summer post. It doesn’t matter how long I live here, I will always continue to be amazed by the intensity of the short-lived Latvian summer. It’s three months of shining beauty that surface from the eon of cold and darkness, which is the norm. Everything grows, flowers and fruits at an incredible pace and you find yourself frantic with the activity of trying to “do it all” in such a short space of time. Not just the earthy activities of planting, mowing, weeding, harvesting, picking fruits, making preserves etc – but you also find yourself running from one summer activity to the other: parties, concerts, barbeques, visiting friends at the beach, visiting friends in the country. Suffice it to say that the summer passes in a blink of an eye, which is certainly what it’s done this year.

This year has also been different for us because I've been committed to working 2 days a week in Riga, and Jem's had to work full time – so we haven’t been able to secret ourselves in the country for long stretches of time. Every week we have made the trip back to the big, smelly smoke, to shove the kids in overpriced daycare for 2 days while we work. Then we pack up the car and race back to the country as quick as we can. Jem then continues his working week in Saldus, while the boys and I hang out at Kūgures. These fractured weeks combined with the Mexico trip in July, the best month of Latvian summer, means that I am feeling a bit ripped off - like we haven’t really had a full summer at all. School and kindy start in a little over a week, and I am definitely not ready to descend into the rainy, cold, Riga-bound lifestyle once again.

We haven’t undertaken any big summer projects this year – Jem built a second storey on the boy’s cubby house in June, and now it has magically morphed into a robot pirate ship. The mowing was done by a paid helper, much to my chagrin, so I haven’t managed to tower above the beautiful overgrown fields in the red, flower-munching monster like last year. Although after the rolling incident last summer, maybe that’s a good thing… In spring I planted a modest garden in a new, much better location, and have enjoyed a few green peas and sunflowers and dill although I did very little weeding or watering.

Big news for me this week is that we bought a steam juice extractor, and our neighbour, Grisha, brought over 7 fruit boxes of ripe plums, and I have been steaming those plums for the last three days and bottling litres and litres of juice. I am determined to bottle as much fresh apple and plum juice as I can – with the vain hope that this year we don’t have to buy any more of the crap juices they are selling in Rimi – which are horridly expensive and mostly just water and sugar anyway. The poor boys have been subjected to drinking my healthy brews over the last few days, and although they have both made valiant attempts at supporting my efforts, I know that they are secretly hankering for the nicely tetra-packed “Cido” juice they are used to.

There are big changes coming up for all of us come September 1 – Tiss is starting grade one (they start school aged 7 here), while Mikus is starting a new kindergarten. After years on the waiting list, Mikus finally got a place in a state kindy right near our house. Although everyone tells me it’s one of the best state kindergartens in Riga, with great teachers, resources etc, I am nervous about changing over systems for Mikus and will see how he goes in the first few weeks or so. Suffice it to say I’m not going to leave him there for eight hours a day like most kids, but will take him home after lunch – after all, he’s only four, and I still want to spend time with him at home! Luckily my job is part-time, and I can arrange the work hours to suit childcare arrangements and school commitments. I am similarly nervous about Tiss starting the Latvian schooling system: about expectations of behavior, the level of language he’ll need, the amount of work he’ll be doing… but I figure that all this nervousness is more about me than about my kids. I just need to get used to the Latvian system, and “roll with it” a bit more. I'm sure the kids will adjust with flying colours.

So next post will definitely be about the first of September – a hugely celebrated day every year, when ALL of the teaching institutions begin work again – kindergartens, primary schools, high schools, technical colleges and universities. Doesn’t matter if the 1st of September is on a Friday, or a Wednesday – the school year starts smack bang on the 1st. Not a day earlier, not a day later. Of course, you don’t do any work on the 1st. Schools basically put on a celebratory something, and the kids come dressed in all their finery (yes, the suit dilemma again), along with armfuls of flowers for their teachers, stay for a couple of hours and then go out with family and/or friends to celebrate the start of the school year. So stay tuned! Underneath a few photos of us hanging out in the country today...




Tiss has a new obsession... after seeing most of the Harry Potter movies (thanks, Larisa!). So the last few days at Kūgures have been all about wands and broomsticks and potions made from mixtures of grass, dirt, berries, and a dash of dad's beer...


This basketful was my juice-making challenge for the day


This is what Jem is doing right now - jamming with a friend who is visiting from Germany. I think in this pic they are both singing like Jim Morrison...


Here's an amazing thing that happened this summer! My grandmother turned 99! She is an absolute legend - tactful, gorgeous, sharp as a tack. This is one of her b'day portraits :)

We've just returned from our 3 week jaunt in Mexico. Up until now, Mexico had never really been in my top-10 list of destinations, but as Joel and Māra decided to get married in Mexico, it became our destination of choice this year. Seeing as we were flying all that way, we decided to do a bit of sight-seeing before and after the wedding so that we would get a taste of the country. On hitting the drab efficiency that is Germany's Frankfurt airport, post-Mexico impressions that flashed through my mind were mainly ones of colour and diversity - Mexico is a truly colourful place, with so many different kinds and levels of experience available in eating, shopping, travelling and people. The locals were friendly and open - and although we did have moments of cringing at the colonial air of some of the establishments we visited, we mostly felt comfortable with the locals and they also seemed comfortable with us - although I definitely need to brush up on my basic Spanish!
The first couple of days we spent in Mexico city, in a wonderful and affordable guest house in the Zona Rosa, a fairly central location. Despite being frightened by reports that Mexico city is one of the largest cities in the world with a matching traffic problem, the centre was lovely - lots of trees and shade, a tolerable amount of people, all sorts of street vendors, public art etc. We braved the metro (which, again, travel guides tried to warn us of) and found it an incredibly efficient - and easy - way to travel.
After combatting jet lag and acclimatising with the kids, we visited a couple of museums on the second day - an enormous, modern children's museum and the national museum of anthropology. Of course, the kids were enthused about the former, while we (Jem and I) were staggered by the latter. The anthropology museum displayed an overwhelmng collection of spectacular pre-columbian artifacts. Many times I was wishing I had listened more carefully in my anthropology lectures as we marvelled at the horde of objects from the indigenous cultures of Ancient mexico. The boys also enjoyed the visit - they listened wide-eyed to the tales of human sacrifices and Mayan mythology, looked at necklaces of human jaw bones, golden skulls, huge sculpted stones of crocodile skulls and serpents, etc. Set in an elegant, purpose-built builing designed by Mexican architect Pedro Ramirez Vazquez, the museum is definitely up there as one of the best museums I've ever visited.
Soon after we were off by overnight bus to spend a week in a small town on the west coast of Mexico, not far from Puerto Vallarta. The township, Yelapa, is only accessible by boat, and is nestled at the base of some big hills covered by Jurassic-Park worthy jungle. As it turned out, quite a few people in Yelapa seemed to know about our arrival before we got there, and we were met on the jetty by a teenage boy who helped us cart our bags through the town in the searing heat, depositing us in our apartment which was perched right on the shore overlooking the bay. Things in Yelapa must be hot all year round, because most of the houses there didn't have any glass in the windows, only openings in the walls to let in the breeze. The township had mazelike streets, with houses painted in various colours and plastic bunting decorating the outdoor areas. Kinda stereotypical stuff you imagine when you think "Mexico". Locals spent the heat of midday sitting in the shade, or in their hammocks, and after a couple of days and lots of painful sunburn, we decided to do the same. We had to wade over the river to get to the beach with the deck chairs, which was a novelty that never really wore off, and geckos serenaded our sandy selves to sleep every night.
When the boys first saw the ocean they ran straight into it in their excitement - clothes and all - like a pair of crazy east-european sun-starved kids - and pretty much continued the performance for the rest of the week at Yelapa. We did a lot of sitting on the beach and drinking beer - and although Corona is meant to be the equivalent of Fosters (ie. made for tourists, no locals actually drink the stuff), we certainly enjoyed many a bottle with the little green lemons on top. A big highlight for us in Yelapa was that Jem's brother Jon and his wife Courtney turned up to join us and hang out for a few days. We awaited them by sitting on our verandah, watching the water taxis coming in to the beach, and waved from the verandah as we saw them roll up. It was great to just sit around and do nothing with them - chat and go exploring and swimming together.
After the primitive, charming and earthy experience of Yelapa, we descended into the ultra-luxurious, highly manufactured microcosm of the "Dreams" resort at Puerto Vallarta. This was the setting for Joel and Māra's wedding, and we took to it with gusto, taking full advantage of the all-inclusive policy, drinking cocktails at the bar in pool around the clock, and eating sumptuous meals at every opportunity, whether we were hungry or not. Resorts of this type seem to encourage this kind of behaviour, and there were certainly loads of Americans (and a handful of Aussies!) spending their holidays "living the dream". The highlight of this part of our holiday was the meeting up of the whole Smedes clan (except Julie!). Its been a few years since all the brothers have met up - the last time at Courtney and Jon's wedding - and there is something really special about seeing all four Smedes brothers together.
The wedding day was beautiful, Jeremy and I acting as the "vedejparis" for the young couple - the Latvian equivalent to Matron of Honor and Best Man, I guess. The ceremony was led by Māra's brother, and incorporated the Latvian tradition of saying vows with feet placed on a rock, symbolising grounding and stability in the forthcoming union. After the ceremony the heavens opened and a real tropical thunderstorm ensued - a spectacular event that continued the length of the reception, with the flashes of lightning mixing with the flashes from cameras. The celebrations were over far too quickly, but a good time was had by all, and we finished off our time at "Dreams" with another few days by the pool drinking cocktails.
At the end of the trip we visited an archaeological site just outside Mexico City, the legendary Teutihuacan, another place we studied in Anthropology at UQ. The sheer scale of the valley, with its pyramids and 2-km long "Avenue of the Dead" was awesome - and you can imagine the boys' excitement as we scaled the pyramid of the sun and gazed at the valley below. My thigh muscles are still aching today as a result! Luckily we visited the valley early in the morning, before the crowds, and managed to get out before the heat and sun did too much damage. A majestic end to a wonderful trip!
By the end though, we had all had enough of exploring and discovering new places, and were happy to get home - as the plane touched down in Riga at midnight last night, Tiss squeezed my hand and jumped up and down in his seat with the biggest grin: "We're home, we're home, we're home!!!"