It’s been almost over a year since I posted.

Here’s a report:

It’s still raining.  It’s been a soggy, thunderous winter, and here we are in April huddled under our umbrellas.  All day long Gaia sings rain, rain, go away (which sounds more like ray ray gogo way).  When the clouds part for a bit, Isla says, “Look! A sunny day!” And then they close back up and it’s wet again.  But I don’t mind too much, because I know the summer will be pure, uninterrupted sunshine.

The cats are multiplying and two more are pregnant.  They hang about outside our glass windows waiting for the leftovers of our meals: a bit of scrambled eggs, the last of the smoked salmon, a rind of cheese.

We are busy working, writing, volunteering, and learning.  Isla is occupied with marching to the beat of her own drum, and Gaia is only concerned about having fun and making sure she gets her way.  C and I are their frazzled mischief management team.  Two days a week, we pack ourselves into the car and drive together: first stop; the girls’ garderie, and then onward to Beirut.  We listen to Pillars of the Earth on audio and forget that we are not in twelfth century feudal England, but stuck in Beirut traffic.

Things to look forward to this spring and summer: an Easter visit from C’s sister, brother-in-law and the girls’ cousin who is a year younger than Isla and a year older than Gaia, a trip to Sweden where we’ll be joined by my sisters, a trip to the US, a visit to Lebanon from C’s sister and another cousin at the end of the summer

Things to look forward to in future springs and summers: camping trips, a vacation in Italy, a balcony of our own for enjoying warm mornings and evenings