Father Christmas has come

to Cechy. We opened our presents around the tree yesterday, after traditional schnitzel, potato salad and a toast. After that, we watched telly. Pretty ordinary really. Then this morning we discovered Father Christmas had come. The weather is still mild, no snow. Everyone is well, especially the cat of the house, asleep on our bed.

Happy Christmas 2013

It is spring in Karlovy Vary. After lunch, the sun broke through. We spent the morning walking. Here is a picture of us, taken this morning by a passing tourist. This evening, we shall have schnitzel and potato salad, then open presents around the tree. Tomorrow, Father Christmas will come, if we have been good. Happy Christmas to you all, Vera and Michael and Jack

...and now for something completely different...

Michael writes one more time...

In the spring I found myself short of reading matter. For some years I had found the deepest reading relaxation came from Georgette Heyer's swashbuckling historical romances - there's nothing better at bedtime than a sword-fight and a happy ending!

However, having read and re-read her excellent novels until even they began to pall, I found myself scouring other authors' output for similarly entertaining tales. I searched in vain...so I wrote my own. It is not a work of high-brow literary fiction: unlike Dostoevsky or Dickens, you can't brag about having read it - but it is a lot more fun.

So if you like something light-hearted with which to snuggle down on the sofa, treat yourself! In the UK you can get it on Amazon as a proper book here or an an eBook here; if you live in the States you can get the paperback here and the photons here. If you live elsewhere there are various options, depending on your country, but if you have trouble sourcing it, let me know and I'll see what I can arrange.

I suggest you get a copy now, but save reading it until that bit of Christmas when you just have to lie down...

Printed matter

Michael writes...

My book, How to Meditate on the Train, is now available in the traditional, printed form.

If you live in the UK you can get it for £3.33 (with free postage!) by clicking here. 
In America it costs $5.11 - click here. 
It's €3.93 in Spain, €4.26 in Germany and Austria, and €4.05 in France.

Now think, how else can you spend quite so little money whilst be sure of buying someone a Christmas present they don't already have?

Save money this Christmas!

Michael writes...

If you were wondering how to give everyone you know a decent Christmas present at less than £3 each, I have the solution!

As you know, the most magnificent tome in the history of western literature and eastern spirituality was recently published as an eBook at £2.99 / $4.80.
(UK:http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Meditate-Train-Michael-Pockley-ebook/dp/B00GN1OE6G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385117003&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+meditate+on+the+train)
(USA:http://www.amazon.com/How-Meditate-Train-Michael-Pockley-ebook/dp/B00GN1OE6G/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1385117144&sr=1-1&keywords=how+to+meditate+on+the+train)


But how on Earth does one give someone else an eBook? Here are Amazon's instructions:-

Purchase a Kindle Book as a Gift

Most Kindle books available in the Kindle Store can be given as a gift to anyone with an e-mail address.
Kindle book gift notifications can be sent to any e-mail address. The recipient can read the book on a registered Kindle device or any free Kindle reading application. You do not need a Kindle device to send or receive Kindle books as gifts.

1. From the Kindle Store, select the book you want to purchase as a gift.
2. On the product detail page, click the Give as a Gift button.
3. Enter the personal e-mail address of your gift recipient.
4. Enter a delivery date.
5. Enter an optional gift message.
6. Click the Place your order button to finish your gift purchase using your Amazon 1-Click payment method.

You can redeliver a Kindle gift book you've purchased by going to Your Digital Orders in Your Account. From the Order Summary page, click the Resend E-mail button. 

They don't need a Kindle to read it - almost any electronic device can be enabled by downloading free apps from here:http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771&ref=kcp_ipad_mkt_lnd
 
So there you are. A magnificent, life-changing present for everyone you know at less than three quid each. Plus, owing to the spiritual nature of the gift, it doesn't even commercialize Christmas.

Chantal visit

My sister and her man visited us today. We had a walk through the woods. pub lunch and then walked back. It was a lovely time.

Jakub, Michael, Chantal, já

drawing lessons - hodiny kreslení

Na začátku školního roku začal Jakub chodit do hodin kreslení. Zde něco z toho, co nakreslil.

Jack started drawing lessons at the start of this term. Here's a couple of the pictures he's done so far.

cauliflower patties and fruit salad - květákové placičky a ovocný salát

Master chef at work

než se to snědlo - before we ate the

Jak je vidět z fotek, trávíme dlouhé večery vařením. Večeři tentokrát vyrobil Jakub.

This is how we spend those long evenings. Jack cooked supper.

Treacle Tart - koláč se zlatým sirupem

Hi everyone

Michael's been busy in the kitchen. Yesterday was black treacle pie, today it's treacle tart. The kitchen looks good too (after the baking). The treacle tart is partly for his students, a taste of real England.

Michael pekl. Včera koláč s černým sirupem, dnes koláč ze zlatého sirupu. Kuchyně je v dobrém stavu - po pečení je uklízeno, nádobí umyto. Upekl pro studenty, aby ochutnali kus pravé Anglie.

Autumn

Today is election day in the Czech Republic. But there is also time to enjoy walks in the forest, experience falling leaves, a few mushrooms - Michael found this one last week - before the end of the season, and generally love the sunshine, before winter sets in. The mornings are chilly now, but around midday, we have been in T shirts.

It's half-term. Jack is away with the scouts.  We are chilling out, going for walks, socializing and that's about it.

Art show

Michael writes...

Some months back I bought ten canvases, all 50 x 50 cm. The plan was to use them for a series of similar paintings, variations on a theme - and that's what I've been doing with most of my spare time, painting ten pictures simultaneously.

Here's a photo Vera took of me in action last week:

I did them all at the same time because the technique I've been using involves lots of glazes, or layers of thin paint, so that the warmest underneath colours glow through.

Eight of the pictures are now complete. You can see them on my website at http://koanzone.blogspot.cz

Once I've finished the last two, I guess I'll have to buy some more canvases!

Houby mushrooms

Milan went mushrooming a couple of weeks ago. Jack went today. Milan před dvěma týdny. Jakub dneska.

Life in September 2013 jak nám bylo poslední měsíc - září 2013

Back to school ......... Back to school clubs............... Back to teaching ............... autumnal weather (quite a lot of rain, actually). Diets.... We have been eating less. We can now get into our clothes more easily. Michael's sport diet paid off yesterday, as he swanned in to the finish of the Babice quarter marathon. Eva, Jack's Godmother, came to watch. Jack wasn't there though. He was on his bike with the scouts. No photos of that yet. 

Ev

Chess club at the end of August - Pohár Říčany konec srpna

Eva

Michael and Eva

us

Jack's camp Jakub na táboře

A few pictures from scout camp, back in July - tábor v létě
Camp was for 2 weeks and Jack grew up a lot - tábor trval 2 týdny a Jakub tam hodně rychle vyrostl

start

the theme was Ïndians - podle Vinnetou

sewing!! šití!!

spending tokens at the end - utrácíme dolary našetřené během tábora

the end - konec

- waiting for the train home - domů....

Karlovy Vary rodinné fotky - family photos from Karlovy Vary

last week in the local mountain resort

uncle doing what he enjoys most

auntie about a week before she died

uncle a week ago

view of Imperial in the background and the theatre in foreground on right

view of the old town centre

view of the new concrete hall with natural springs in foreground

Twins?

 

Jack Pockley?

Chris Froome?