SNAPSHOT

'tis sun day and we are waiting for the outlaws
or should i say the inlaws
mrs fireseed's sister and her family
mrs fireseed senior has already turned up early
and is disgusted with the state of the flat
cussing and cursing
she attacks the laundry room
bagging up recycled plastic and paper
smelly food leftovers
feeling guilty
mrs f has belatedly joined in with this sudden burst of spring cleaning
as for me
i am an island of calm in this sudden sea of frenetic activity
i am sitting in the kitchen
having my normal leisurely sunday breakfax
lots of freshly ground and brewed coffee
and piles of toast with orange jam from cheju island on top
i am reading a most interesting book
by a couple of clever fellas called lakoff and johnson
called 'metaphors we live by'
all about how met her 4 is central
not only to the everyday language we use
but also to our thoughts and actions
hannah e is running round the house
with a big bunch of bananas on her head
our little fireseedlet is all excited
cos her nanny's here
her cousins, aunt and uncle are on their way over
and she knows she's going out
finally the mood jolts me into action
a spring clean of the 50% of the spare room that is not a complete no-go zone
and still just about qualifies as my recording studio
the other 50% being well and truly buried underneath mrs f's stuff
as i start getting to grips with the dust and the grease
hannah comes running in
with the huge bunch of bananas on her head
and i snap her on the digital camera
two or three nice ones
still can't get over how you can immediately tell
whether you've taken a good one or a dud!
finally the house is clean...or at least cleaner
i get showered and changed
and everyone arrives
it is a blustery spring afternoon
the sun threatens to break through but doesn't quite manage it
the party jumps into a couple of taxis
which whisk us across the bridge to the island of sonyudo
in the middle of the han river
couples and families stroll around
distorted piped music interrupts at intervals
the island used to be a water treatment plant
now it's been transformed into a park and museum of river ecology
the concrete pools and aqueducts have become home for plants
one bit has been imaginatively turned into a kids adventure playground
hannah elisabeth is getting on great with her cousin jiwoo
who is busy making sure h doesn't get into any scrapes
we spend some time in the adventure playground
stroll around
grab some coffee
churros for the kids
which reminds me of spain
somehow churros have caught on in sk
now that's globalisation for you!
snap! hannah emerges from a metal pipe
with jiwoo and big cousin yoora in hot pursuit!
snap! hannah looking tearful as she pulls herself up an incline
with the help of a rope and jiwoo pushing behind!
snap! h, nanny and yoora squinting up at me
as i look down at them from the top of the climbing frame
snap! a lovely one of mrs f, her sister and my mom-in-law
snap! a top-notch one of aunty minja and family
snap! a good one of family fireseed
even despite the sunlight reflecting uncannily off my forehead
as per bloody usual
snap! jiwoo and hannah hugging each other
two sweet little girls out for the afternoon
back to our place again for dinner
fried bacon 'samgyopsal' for everyone else
fried tofu for me
chocolate ice cream cake for the rest of the family
bought to celebrate mrs f's birthday a couple of days early...