Marianna was off to Venice with Mara for the weekend so it was just me, the boys, McDonalds, the circus and the trilogy.
The weather has finally given us a break in the cold and rain - on the weekend, although it was chilly (and let me have a whinge here - they still haven't turned on the central heating and we are frozen both indoors and out), both days were fabulous sunny, blue-sky days. I abandoned all thought of translating responsibilities and we went out with our friend Mara (who is back for a month to pack up her stuff and ship it back to Oz) to her family's gorgeous yet dilapidated country manor - to gaze at the splendour of Latvian autumn. It didn't disappoint. Even the boys, who lately have to be coaxed outdoors, were excited by the excursion and exploring.
Māra and the Mēmele river - lazily sliding past the property's fields
Plenty of grand yet grotty woodwork begging for restoration at the manor...
In the forest over the road - looking for the woodpecker we could hear up in the tree.
On the way home we stopped at Bauska castle (13th century ruins) and climbed the (not very) high tower. This is where the differences in personality in the boys was demonstrated:
In regards to heights, Tiss is more like me: heart beating fast, clinging to the edge and peeking over, wondering how he's going to climb back down the ladder...
While Mikus, on the other hand, is more like Jem: racing up the next ladder so that he can jump around at the top of the highest point. Exhilerated and fascinated.
This is the latest exciting thing to happen at our place. The dudes can't agree on who sleeps on top and who sleeps on the bottom, so they alternate every night. (Oh by the way, it may not look like a pirate ship, but if you lived here you would understand).
and now for something completely different....
