2010/8/1 York Day 2

We woke up at around 8 o’clock. When I looked out of the window, I saw Dave was hanging the laundry. How nice Stella and Dave were! Anna and Jody were just like their parents. They were looking after our children. I forgot what they were doing exactly. It should be any of the activities like watching TV, playing computer games, reading, arts and crafts, playing toys, etc. When I appeared, it was their breakfast time. The milk in Europe was very tasty, especially whole milk. I did not eat cereals in milk in Hong Kong but I must eat that in Europe.

Afterwards, we walked to a nearby park to play. It was very new to us. We did not try those game before. Tyler particularly like the ‘Tarzan’ swing while Faye liked acting like dead flies on the big swing. With Stella, the best P.E. teacher I had ever met, we played modified cricket on the big lawn. Although I used the word ‘big’, I think it was just at a normal size. Tyler did not listen to adults most of the time. He was quite unruly and impolite to the people around him. However, he loved excitements and funs. Modified cricket looked good, so he listened patiently to Stella.

Without going to York, I really don’t know that Big Sis likes gardening. According to Stella’s comment, she did the job very well. She was a very helpful friend. I admired her so much especially when she could kill caterpillars with bare hands!

Computer games again .\ /. Faye had dressing up time with Anna. Ron made beautiful picture patiently for nearly an hour.

It’s dinner time. The big children helped themselves at the conservatory while adults stayed in the dining room with younger kids. Guess what Trevor regarded himself? He wanted to sit at the conservatory at first. But he changed his mind since he felt that he would spill everywhere.

Dave taught us how to wash dishes. His algorithm was to wash the utensils that went to the mouth first, i.e. spoons and fork, followed by cups and plates and so on and ended up with pans and oven trays. I laughed at him (just like reflex action). My algorithm was from clean to dirty. Wash the least oily/mushy thing first and ended up with pans and oven trays too. Our algorithms were more or less the same. But I could not admit that I admired the way he placed the washed to drain. So systematic and tidy!!!

Night night! Time to sleep. No one had jet lag.

We enjoyed the leisure at Stella’s home. She was a meek, caring and able lady. Her hospitality was of course greatly appreciated by us. Besides, every night except the first night, we must chat at the kitchen while doing some unfinished housework. We covered different topics. She taught me a lot in parenting and life education. She was not only a good friend, but also an invaluable teacher to me.