Random glimpses into my life with Toddler Monkey

This one is from this morning. Toddler Monkey* was jumping around my bedroom, causing havoc while I was getting dressed:

Me: Hey! Don’t stomp and jump on that pillow! You’re going to rip it!

Toddler Monkey: But I’m sailing!

(Meanwhile Infant Monkey is snoozing away in her baby basket, oblivious to the yelling and jumping)

Me: Sailing?

Toddler Monkey: I’m sailing to the castle! (runs to the window and points to a neighbor’s house) See? Over there? Can you sail to the castle with me?

Awww. Later this morning while I was doing dishes (and Infant Monkey was still snoozing away. IM is a much better sleeper than TM ever was!):

TM (running around the kitchen): When I grow up I’m going to have a big tummy just like you!

Me: Gee, thanks.

TM: I’m going to have a baby like you!

Me: Oh, you mean you’ll have a big tummy like I did when I was pregnant.

TM: Yeah!

*I’ve decided call my 2 going on 3 year old daughter “Toddler Monkey” rather than “Terrific Terror” since it fits better with the monkey theme. Though pretty soon I suppose I should be calling her “Preschooler Monkey” since technically she hasn’t really “toddled” for at least a year now.

#quotes #toddlermonkey

More photos from Cornwall

I wanted to share more photos from my fabulous trip to Cornwall. I have so many photos, but I don’t like to post ones that feature my family, so that kind of limits what I can share on my blog.

Here is a lovely house we drove by on the way to St. Ives. We drove by many houses that looked just like this. So pretty!

Me holding up Lanyon Quoit.

This photo is of some farmland behind a restaurant where we stopped for a break at Zennor. I stepped in stinging nettles just before taking this photo. Ouch! I didn’t know what stinging nettles even looked like before this trip. But now I certainly do.

An old pew (600 years?) depicting a mermaid at St. Senara’s Church in Zennor. Legend has it that a man from the village was lured out into the sea by a mermaid.

At St. Ives, I visited this bookstore and bought a book:

Another photo down a side street in St. Ives:

The next few photos are of St. Mawes Castle, which was very near to the farmhouse/rental cottages where we stayed.

A photo of Doc Martin’s house in Port Isaac where we stopped on the way to Tintagel:

And here’s Tintagel castle (which King Arthur buffs will certainly have heard about)! Unfortunately, we got there too late in the day to do any real hiking (not to mention I was pregnant, so I couldn’t really do a lot of climbing), but it was definitely worth seeing. So lovely and very awe-inspring. My photos don’t do it justice. I’d love to go there again.

This is only part of the castle (there is more just over to the left, hidden by the cliffside).

“Merlin’s cave” is at the base of the cliff, near the ocean.

Across from Tintagel. I guess it’s not much to look at, but I thought the greenery and wildflowers were pretty. I think all the mist and light rain that plagued our trip only made things feel more magical there.

And just some random doors that I thought were pretty. Don’t remember where this was:

Phew! Because I was busy with my family and toddler and wasn’t the person in charge of trip planning, I’m afraid I wasn’t as good as keeping track of where we went, so my memory is a little hazy. I hope I got everything right! I loved Cornwall and would love to get back there someday.

#tintagel #pbs #tv #DocMartin #travel #cornwall #cornwalltrip #kingarthur #bookstore #photos #bbc

Re-reading Susan Cooper’s “Over Sea, Under Stone” in Cornwall

This past summer, my family and I headed out for a vacation in Cornwall. I loved it there, and actually felt I’d already been since I’d read Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper over and over again as a kid. I re-read the book during the trip (unfortunately, I forgot to bring Greenwitch) and was surprised by how much I remembered. It was fun recognizing so many of the places Cooper mentions and I was particularly excited to try my first Cornish pasty. (Apparently “pasty” is actually pronounced “pass-tee” rather than “pays-tee” which is how I’d read it as a kid.)

Over Sea, Under Stone takes place in a fictional town called Trewissick, but some people on the internet have said that this was based on the fishing village of Mevagissey, where Susan Cooper vacationed as a child. I have no idea how true this is, but we did end up visiting the village. Here are some photos!

The harbor:

Up one of the side streets:

And here’s some proof I was actually there:

Next week I’ll post a few more pictures from the trip.

#susancooper #mevagissey #greenwitch #darkisrising #travel #overseaunderstone #cornwall #cornwalltrip #photos