Flexnib, good to hear from you again - are you still blogging? Send me the URL if so. How am I? Well that's what I want to blog about! I'm mostly okay now, after a rough year or so. Hi Liam and Tigs (and Valerie, who I say hi to quite often.). And El - I have tried to comment on your new blog twice but both times the comment seemed to get eaten. (Are you the seventh Eleanor Hogan or did you sign up in 2007?)

My son went apple bobbing at a farmers' market in England about 18 months ago. he really enjoyed it (was 10 at the time) and mentioned it recently. Glad to see you blogging again!

I remember crying on the first day and my mother passing me a hankie through the window - which I later lost and felt guilty about. I remember a neighbour boy who I'd played with at home crying so much in the first week that his older sister was sent for from grade two. I remember feeling confused because I wasn't able to relate to him - we never played again, because at school the boys and girls didn't play together. I remember pretending to be asleep at my table when everyone else sat on the floor for a story.

Our public primary school is like that too. We often stay for 30 minutes or more after school, playing and chatting. Parents often adjoin to a local cafe together after drop-off in the mornings. It's a big part of our week and I will miss it a lot when we hit secondary school in only 2 years time!

Happy birthday to you and to Pearl!

Me too.

I'm glad it all went as well as it possibly could.

My son was not at all interested in trains or Thomas stories. I knew a few boys who were totally obsessed with Thomas for years. I haven't a clue what made the difference. I only knew one girl who liked trains but she seemed to lose interest when she was over three.

We could have a civil partnership under British law but have no plans to do so. We don't envisage any legal issues should there be a death or break-up and both of us are 'anti-marriage' - anti straight and gay marriage. In me this arose from feminism and a view of marriage as based on ownership rights. It just feels pretty irrelevant - and we've been together for over 18 years, we don't need it!

We're not religious at all but we're hangers on to various friends' rituals, eg Passover, Christmas etc. We have some close friends now 60 who have now-adult offspring - they (the parents) were raised Jewish and Christian like you and Marcia and did exactly as you describe when their daughters were young - they selected the Jewish and Christian rituals they liked and celebrated all of them. I think that worked very well for them. Neither of their daughters has children themselves so I've no idea whether they would carry on these traditions. I recently asked one daughter (33) if she thought of herself as Jewish and she said no - that she had when she was about 20 but no longer does. (She's not religious at all.)

I see resemblances but I see differences too. Carrie looks as though she has a wider face and bigger head. Here eyes look different too.