Merry Christmas from Ed, Christa and Athená!
We hope 2026 brings you plenty of adventures and lots of moments to treasure with all the important people in your life.
As the year draws to a close, we have found ourselves reflecting on the past twelve months. Ed decided to gather together “a few” photos to share with friends and family. It turns out this was a slightly bigger task than anticipated: he took around 16,000 photos over the year, whittled these down to 200, and then culled them a little further to arrive at the 60 you see below (scroll down to skip the waffly bit!).
We’ve been very lucky to squeeze in several trips, days out, meet-ups with family and friends, as well as tackling some long-planned renovations at home. The big project this year was converting the garage into an art studio and a small storage room. Discussions began last Christmas, and it took several months to find the right builder. By mid-July, we finally bit the bullet and work began - a project we were assured would take about four weeks (five at most). Naturally, in true Grand Designs style, our modest garage conversion stretched from four weeks to four months, with the window only being fitted in November. And yes, the cost doubled along the way, too! But now it is finished, Ed's looking forward to getting into his painting more, and both Christa and Athena are hoping to share the space for their own creative ventures at the same time.
Over Easter, we travelled to Croatia, with a couple of days in Mostar, Bosnia, added in for good measure. In classic Ed and Christa fashion, we hired a car so we could explore as much as possible and rest as little as possible, too! We stayed in eight different places over two weeks, starting in Dubrovnik, driving to Ston, and then crossing the border to Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Along the way, we visited the Blagaj Tekke monastery and the Kravica waterfalls, before heading back into Croatia to Krka National Park - where we stayed in a mushroom house, Athena’s favourite part of the whole trip.
We went underground to admire the spectacular stalagmites and stalactites in the Oziđana pećina cave, then explored the many waterfalls of Krka National Park, before driving on to Plitvice Lakes for even more breathtaking scenery. After discovering an army of ants in her bed, Athena was very happy to leave the countryside behind and head for the coast, visiting Zadar, Šibenik, Trogir, Split and Makarska, before finally returning to Dubrovnik. Each town offered something different, along with plenty of opportunities for Athena to whizz around at lightning speed on her scooter.
Things slowed down a little over the summer once the building work began, but that didn’t stop Christa and Athena from squeezing in a trip to Greece in June while Ed was at work. It was their last chance for a term-time holiday before Athena started school in September.
Feeling suitably jealous, Ed swiftly arranged a trip for us all to Shropshire with his parents. Athena was delighted to discover sheep grazing next to our holiday cottage - sheep that had been painted orange for a country show (apparently it’s a bit like fake tan for sheep!).
The rest of the summer was filled with small trips and days out, mostly to National Trust houses and our favourite art gallery, Compton Verney, which is wonderfully child-friendly… and serves excellent gluten-free cake in the café. Ed and Athena also headed to Norwich to visit his good friend Alice and her family, and it was lovely to welcome other close friends too: Mike, all the way from Devon, and Sam (with family) visiting from Thailand. Athena spent lots of time outdoors, learning to ride her bike without stabilisers and bravely attempting to go solo on her roller skates. Finally, we managed to fit in a long weekend to Devon before the start of the new academic year.
Work has been busy for both of us. Ed’s school took on boys in September, which has gone well but involved a great deal of preparation and promotion. With any luck, numbers will continue to grow, and he’ll be able to focus more on teaching than marketing! Christa’s company was bought by an American firm, which unfortunately led to a wave of redundancies and a stressful summer while she waited to hear her fate. Happily, autumn brought good news — she was one of just three people (out of around 35!) to keep their job. She’s now waiting to see how her role will change in January.
Athena started school in September - a transition we knew wouldn’t be entirely smooth. She experienced quite a lot of anxiety adjusting to a big class, new teachers and new friends. One term in, her confidence is still developing, but she loves her teacher and has made some lovely friends. She also shone in the school nativity as a star, albeit a very quiet one! We’re really pleased with the progress she’s making, particularly with her reading and writing. When she’s not practising those, she’s usually drawing or colouring - something Ed is especially pleased about, as he still harbours hopes of raising an artist.
In early December, Ed received an email from his old friend Geoffrey, whom he knew from his Arizona days, inviting him to London for a short catch-up. It was the first time they’d seen each other in 19 years, so despite the train journey taking almost as long as the meeting itself, he was very glad he went. It was a lovely chance to reminisce, and hopefully a gentle nudge to make meeting up a more regular thing from now on.
We’re currently spending Christmas in Greece with Christa’s parents, enjoying some much-needed sunshine, delicious food and precious family time. Athena has been counting down the days to play with her cousins Anastasia and Iliana, and we’ve loved watching them together. We weren’t quite prepared for how quickly Athena’s Greek would come on, though - we’ve been immensely proud as she’s started forming longer sentences with fewer English words sneaking in.
Wishing you a Christmas full of good food, good company and plenty of laughter, and all the very best for the New Year.
Ed, Christa & Athena
