our new home

I hate to leave you all in the dark, so heres the definition of a mews.

Mews is a chiefly British term formerly describing a row of stables, usually with carriage houses below and living quarters above, built around a paved yard or court, or along a street, behind large city houses, such as those of London, during the 17th and 18th centuries. The word may also refer to the lane, alley or back street onto which such stables open. It is sometimes applied to rows or groups of garages or, more broadly, to a narrow passage or a confined place. Today most mews stables have been converted into dwellings, some greatly modernised and considered highly desirable residences.

So we now live in/on one of these.  Its beautiful, just outside our window is a wall of roses.  Andrew has a few flower baskets hanging on the wall by our red door.  We are hidden back behind the road, so its like a courtyard, at the top of a hill called Mt. Ephraim.  Elegant.  The dogs have miles and miles of paths through the woods, just down the road.  I have a sweet but busy, not so little town to explore.  Today I went for my first run…partly through the woods and then through the town.  I’m learning to pass people on the left, even while walking.

This evening we went to the beach with the dogs.  Its such a treat to have a dog friendly beach in the middle of the summer.  Finn and Andrew played in the dunes with a 6 year old boy while I chatted with his lovely British mum…who now lives in the Middle East.

family reunion

The homecoming
Didn’t sleep much at all.  Too anxious about missing my alarm, had to
be up on deck 12 to do the dogs paperwork at 7:30am.  Finn woke me at
5:30, and I tried to explain that there was more sleep to be had.
Fell on deaf ears.  A quick goodbye to our lovely Martina (cabin
stewardess extraordinar) At breakfast by 7…sausage and muffin for the
boy, oatmeal and fruit for me.  Dreading the meeting with DEFRA, as
the whole dog paperwork thing has been a nightmare from the start.
But it was quick and painless, unlike the trek down off the ship with
two dogs and a two year old.  Just as bad as boarding.  Sigh.
We walked into a massive room filled with luggage organized by tag
color.  This could not possibly be more a more tightly run operation.
Loaded up my sweet porter with 9 (I think?) massive bags of life
stuff, and barged out the doors.  Immigration was done on the ship,
day 2 or 3 or something…so we just walked straight out into our new
life, and into the arms of our British family.
I can finally breathe deeply.  4 months of preparation is now
complete.  The dogs had a good run on grass, Rama rolled and rolled
and rolled, while Finn played in a park.  We drove about an hour and a
half to our new digs in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.  Our sweet apartment
(flat) is at the very top of a steep hill, tucked back in a mews (look
it up).  Roses line the wall in front of our door.  It’s a converted
stable (for real); the space is small but interesting and freshly
renovated.  I love it here.

QM2 Day 7, the final day on board

Day 7

Today we can see the horizon.  Until now its felt like floating in a cocoon.  We should be able to see ‘lands end’ soon.  And supposedly there are dolphins swimming along side us.  I haven’t seen any yet.

Horrible nights sleep.  Finn ended up in my bed, which he never does.  We were up by 7:30, watched the disembarkation station on tv, and had a quick breakfast.  Jordan’s skin seems better. Hooray, just in time!

I took a weight training class.   In the front row of class was a  little elderly woman with fake done up blonde hair, sparkly tank top, leggings, and gold lame sandles.  Interesting.

Later we went to an invitation only meeting of captain bates!!  Guess he got my psychic message.  Being on the bridge was totally awe inspiring.

Picnic dinner on deck 7, as it was a stunning evening, and then up to say a last night goodnight to the doggies.  A peek at the show…boring, no dancing…and back to the room to pack.

Bedtime was difficult.  Had to get all the bags out of the room so they could be collected.  And had to get finn to sleep at the same time.  Didn’t get him to sleep until 10:30…and in my bed.  We were both a bit emotional and anxious…not much sleep in store for us tonight.  When we wake we will see land… and shortly after that our 7 family members come to meet us.  Heaven.

QM2 Day 6

Day 6

Another hour time change this morning, but I didn’t bother forcing us up.  We slept until about 8, which means we are adjusting bit by bit.  Visited the dogs before going to breakfast, they’re in good spirits.  Prunes for finn…you can guess why J.  He’s getting crankier by the day, probably because he’s on day 4 of no poops.  Anyhow…

Dropped the monster at day care, and made my way up to spend some time at the canyon ranch spa.  Never mind what I was there for… I learned some interesting information – apparently the English on board tend toward the health oriented treatments (meaning massage!) and the Americans are more inclined to get esthetic treatments.  That is very good news for me.  I had no concept of the English massage scene, so I’m thrilled to hear that the practicality of the health industry has been welcomed and accepted.

The ‘Artemis investments’ is a 4 man row boat attempting to beat the record of crossing the Atlantic ocean.  The QM2 has been in contact with them, and came upon them this morning.  It gave me chills to see them down there through the fog (its been foggy for the last three days, can barely see anything).  Unreal.  What drives a person to do that sort of thing??

At noon we headed back to the room for a nap, skipping lunch to avoid the midday melt down.  It worked.

Our dog people decided to do a happy hour at the afternoon visit.  We all brought champagne (the welcome aboard gift) and drank from paper cups.  Finn enjoyed trying to flatten the dachsons, and I brushed Jordan’s flaky coat.  When the small space grew too small for finn’s energy, we went down to the outdoor kid’s pool for a swim.  He’s grown very confident, and jumps in without holding my hands…sometimes when I’m not even looking.  Its hard to believe the transatlantic trip is almost over.  I’m ready for our family reunion, but its been an amazing journey.  We’ve more to experience for sure – a new culture to adapt to, a home to make, a language to learn.  Hopefully we wont lose too much of our American-ness.  We walked in to dinner tonight behind an English family.  The kids were joking with each other, and finn just ran up and hugged one of the young boys.  The kid’s father gave me an odd look, ‘crazy americans’ I heard him think.

We paced the ship after dinner, waiting to say goodnight to the dogs.  The show was a blast, dancing that had us on the edge of our seats.  Bedtime was a struggle, so much excitement.  Tomorrow is our last day.  I’m anxious to get a photo of finn with the captain, but I learned today that I have to request it in writing.  Hmmm…not sure about that, seems a bit formal for our taste.

QM2 Day 5

Day 5

We woke with breakfast knocking at our door.  Meal times really take it out of me – constantly reeling in and/or reprimanding the monster boy – eating in the room takes the pressure off.  Tonight we’ll do another fancy dinner, but until then I’m taking a break.

The dogs are happy.  Jordan and Rama were playing together, and Rama and Ruby were tugging a toy together.  I haven’t witnessed either of my dogs pooping, but I’ve gotten reports.  All of a sudden I realized that they are learning to pee and poop on the floor…hopefully they aren’t un-learning house training!

Minor altercation between Jordan and Cyrus (the sharpe)….Jordan stood her ground and was pretty terrifying.  It is impressive to see how few issues the dogs have overall, considering they’re just thrown together in a small space.

Finn went to daycare for a couple hours, and I got to run around the ‘track’ on deck 7.  It felt great to run in this foggy, damp, temperate weather.

Back to visit the dogs, and then lunch.  A temper tantrum drove us back to the room with no lunch.  Probably should have opted for nap before lunch. I learn something every day.

Later…

2.5+ hour nap was needed.  By the time we got out of the room it was nearly 4.  Visited the dogs, but finn’s excess energy needed to be expended.  Off to the indoor pool for some jumping.  Young girls love finn.  Maybe little girls love all ‘babies’, but they seem to flock to my boy.  Anyhow, we spent some time ‘swimming’ and a while watching table tennis.  Back to give Jordan her meds and then off to dress for dinner.  In all the clothing I’ve brought on this ship, I don’t have enough formal wear.  Had to re-invent my sexy black number from the other night.  Oh well, nobody is noticing me anyhow as I’m just a mom these days.  Dinner lasted about 15 minutes.  No eating, lots of toys on the floor, we made an escape out the back door and headed up to the buffet.  Fried fish, crackers, and apple.  At least he ate something.  I ignored my instinct to take finn straight to bed, and we went up to say goodnight to the dogs.  After learning that the show tonight was Motown, I again ignored the parental voice and dragged finn to the theater.  When will we get a chance like this again?  So we watched some fabulous singing and dancing before heading to bed.

Queen Mary 2

It may be self indulgent, but I’m going to branch away from the blog focus on my business.  Here is a snap shot of my travels across the Atlantic with my two year old son and two dogs on the QM2

Day 1

today was nuts.  we got to the boat around 11, moms car filled with me

finn dogs and bags following a cab with mary and 2 big bags.  down

pouring rain just stopped as we pulled up to the boat terminal.

everything was out, and we were getting ready to say our goodbyes when

i realized we’d left two suitcases in the tule .  goodbyes were

short and sweet.  got through security and then had to wait for the

purser to come down to check in the dogs.  wait and wait and wait.

finn getting hungry and tired.  got a hot dog for finn.  a sharpe, an

english bull dog, two dachsons, and a couple other random dogs joined

us.  one couple moving to england with their dog and two.5 year old

were very sweet.  finns a bruiser/punk and i had to pull him away

after a bit.  but finn and he had fun until finn got rough…we saw

them again later at the pool.  i had expected the crew to take the

dogs up to the kennels for us…but they didnt.  it was a major

challenge getting up the plank and on the boat and up the elevator to

the 12th floor with everyone.  sucked, actually.  people were nice and

understanding and helpful…but it was still a nightmere.  got the

dogs situated in their kennels, and planned to go back to them at five

to figure out the food and stuff.

to our room for unpacking and nap (by now its around 1).  our bags

showed up one by one.  finn needed to sleep.  put him down, and went

to wander around a little.  nowhere to sit close by the room. not sure

what we’ll do about that, since the moniters dont work.  sigh. anyhow,

found the kids area, the gym, the spa, and the shops.  when finn woke,

we went to the pool…view of manhattan and the statue of liberty.

wow!!!! by then it was almost 4, and time for the drill.  ugh.  back

to the room to get ready, and grab our life preservers.  drill was

short, finn insisted on keeping his jacket on .  then back to room

to get ready for dog check up and dinner.  dogs were so happy to see

us, and got to run around while the boat pulled away.  amazing to

watch. im happy to report that they had jordan and rama’s special

food, so glad i didnt bring it!

finn and i headed down the the super casual dinner spot, as i wasnt

prepared to deal with table cloth dining tonight.  maybe tomorrow.  it

was unremarkable, but we enjoyed salmon melon and cheese…i enjoyed

the flourless chocolate cake gluten free!

did a little exploring and then back to the room to finish unpacking

and finn to bed.  its a riot to be surrounded by our suitcases, our

‘life’, amazingly it all fits.  finn crashed fast and i went back up

for the last kennel visiting hours – 8-8:30.  dogs seem very happy,

already learned to pee on deck.  they are in the same kennel, which

makes a huge difference for rama’s seperation anxiety.

i’m back in the room now.  thinking that sleep will come fast.

love to you all.  i wont bore you with every detail in the future…i

thought today was worth reporting…

day care in the morning looks fab, maybe i can sit by the pool and

read my book.  wow, novel concept!

Day 2

we are definitely getting our sea legs.  i realized half way through

today that its okay to slow down.  so i decided to take a nap when

finn napped.  excellent choice. day care was excellent.  just a couple

hours, but i got to run at the gym (tomorrow i’ll do deck laps, its

much nicer weather than i was expecting), visit the dogs with out the

monster boy, and lay by the pool for a bit.  of course i was antsy the

entire time, but tomorrow i will be more comfortable with it.  finn’s

chair fell over during lunch (we’ve been working on sitting on the bum

while eating, but we arent quite there 100% yet), drawing huge

attention to us.  one old woman came over and said she thought we

should call the doctor.  hmmm….not so much.  nap time was awesome.

then up to see the doggies again.  finn thought he’d hang out in the

crates for a while.  weird.  the dog owners are all very interesting

people…i guess they will be my people for the trip.  down for a

swim, and then back to the cabin to get dressed up for the formal

dinner.  i was worried i was pushing it with finn, but he did great.

it was worth it just to get pretty, when else can you do something

like that?  after a quick visit to the dogs, we went to the show for a

few minutes.  singing and dancing are fun, but it was a bit late for

us.  by the time we got back to the cabin it was almost 9.  crashed

out.

pic downloading problems…photos to follow.

Day 3

my internet time is running out.  so i’ll attempt to make this short.

finn is in heaven here.  he runs through the halls like he owns the

place. many people know his name already. his day is filled with

visiting the dogs, hanging in the day care ball pit, swimming, napping

(3 hrs today!), and eating at the fancy restaurant.  i’m pretty happy

too – took a kick boxing class today, relaxed for 3 hrs while finn

napped, had an after eight parfit (sp?) for dessert.

the ocean is magnificent.  we went down to the ground floor to watch

it through the window.  amazing.  we’re just off newfoundland now, and

the fog is thick.  hard to believe we’ve been at sea for 2 full days

and 2 full nights.

Day 4

The clocks are set forward an hour every morning so far.  This morning was the hardest.  We didn’t get to breakfast until after the dog visit.  I think we’ll have breakfast in bed from now on, so someone wakes us up…with food J.  Finn has had a rough emotional day, possibly from the sleep disruption.  Or maybe it’s just a bad day.  We’ve sure had a lot of each other!

Dog photos today – special fleece jackets for every pup.  Cant wait to see the group shot.  Such a funny crowd, dogs and people.

Jordan’s skin is in bad shape.  Started her antibiotics last night, but I’m worried I was a bit late in administering it.  She’ll be okay, I’m planning to wash her with her medicated shampoo this afternoon.  Should be fun.  Despite her skin problems, she has won everyone over with her sweetness and love.  She seems to be quite comfortable with boat-life, especially as the weather has cooled.

Rama is over his obsession with humping Jester.  He is his usual playful self, unflappable in his ebullience.  No one would guess he’ll be 11 in October.

Definitely missing my hubby today.  Wishing we could share this bizarre and unique experience floating on the Atlantic ocean.  Looking out at the misty sea, exploring the ship’s lavishly grand nooks and crannys.

Finn is ‘precocious’ according to a man at a neighboring lunch table… I think that’s a euphamism.  Naps are key for this boy, fortunately hes gotten quite good at taking them wherever.  As long as the conditions are right, he’ll sleep.  It may take a few minutes to adjust, but he goes down quickly when he needs to.  I’m proud of this, it didn’t come easily!

We spent the afternoon in the big kid’s pool.  Jumping in over and over and over.  Room service tonight, just to break things up, and then the show.  Show tunes captivated Finn for about 20 minutes.  Impressive! Good night to the dogs and then another new experience – shower time.  Day 4 is complete.

A summer move…

My family and I have decided to go on an adventure. Seeing as my son has dual citizenship (British dad and American mom), moving to the UK seemed a natural progression for us. After all, the boy has to learn to understand his father’s sense of humor! So we leave in July. Myself, baby Finn, and the two dogs, will climb aboard the Queen Mary II and spend 7 days traveling across the Atlantic. A fabulously elegant transition to our new digs.

Meanwhile, I’m still seeing clients (whilst madly wrapping up a lifetime here in Cambridge). Make an appointment now before its too late!

March Infant Massage Classes

Infant Massage Class starting in January

Exhale Spa, Boston

I’ve added a new venue to my practice…I believe it’s called diversifying?  Fridays 8:45am – 3pm and Sundays 3 – 8pm, I will be working at the prestigious Back Bay spa Exhale. Its an exciting addition to my practice.  I’m looking forward to being a part of this elite team of therapists.

Exhale Spa

28 Arlington St. Boston MA 02116

(617) 532-7000

www.exhalespa.com