Long hot summer part two

After getting back, we had two friends from Holland visiting. They came to cycle around the country. They left the car here and set off on their bikes. After that the cyclone of house renovation began. We had a lady come and help pack up all our stuff, and unpacked the back rooms in two days, our cellar got filled up with things just form the kids’ room, and on the weekend the painter boy came, did the painting, and then came the hard part. We decided to change the old plastic floor of the kids’ room to partly carpet partly tile floor. So far so good, got the carpet and the tiles, now we needed somebody to help lay those tiles. It also turned out that the tiles we had bought were the most difficult kind to cut and lay as well. Finally, the man from whom we originally had bought the house came and helped Kimo do it. Kimo is such a wonderful „handyman”, he can do anything, apart from messing with electricity (understandibly of course!). So while I was in the east of the country with the children, this project got finished, and when we came back, got the bunkbeds made, got some new toy storage furniture, and now the room looks much better. This whole businness took up most of July, and the beginning of August as well.

During this time we had a very long heat wave with temperatures in the 40’s (Centigrade of course), so a lot of the times we took off to a swimming pool nearby, but only after four when the sun was bearable. Even our metre-thick walls got warmed though, so the coolness that used to be in our house was simply gone. But since i’m a summer girl, I don’t mind hot weather. Good for my sinuses at least.

And the last bit of our holidays are coming up now. From August 11 we were invited to go to the summer cottage of some friends at Lake Balaton. This is like the seaside for Hungarians (without the salty bits). Being the largest lake in Central and Western Europe, it is an attracion for tourists as well. The place we were staying at was right on the beach so it was ideal for the children. The other family also has three children of similar ages, so they really had a ball. We had all kinds of weather there including a hailstorm as well. On and off Kimo and I had a sore throat, but the children stayed healthy thank God. We even had a chance o go swimming when it was pouring down with rain (not the ice). Lots of sun and water and sand and mud and cycling, it was a real beach holiday.

Now we’re back, Bella got her school books yesterday, and I came down with a cold. Kimo is making bookshelves and working and being a superdad at the same time:)
Summer was too short of couse, but I’ll also be glad to be back at our normal routine in September. And at the Veni Sancte (school opening mass) Patrick will be among the first graders next Sunday. Fancy that!