So Long Seabird Lane (?)

It's hard to believe we've been at 49D Seabird Lane for more than five years.  We moved here on January 1st, 2008, when Katy was only seven and a half months old!!  This is where Katy learned to crawl, walk, run and dance.  This is where she learned the piano and Tagalog.  This is where she started playgroups and kindergarten, and where she shared many happy playdates with friends from all over Hong Kong.  This is where she has celebrated her 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th birthday parties.  We're going to miss Seabird Lane in many ways.  Katy, with the passion and loyalty of children, is heartbroken to be leaving her house, despite the many excitements promised to her in a new house in Minnesota (her own ensuite bathroom!).

Here's a quick homage to our home for the past five years.

This is what we see when we go home - it's particularly spectacular when the flame trees are in bloom.

Of course it always takes a while to get home as Katy loves to stop and gather flowers along the way.  It was a process to teach her not to pick flowers and only pick the ones that had already fallen to the ground.

 

The two large upper windows are ours.  Katy's room is on the left and the guest room is on the right.

Across the road is a large green grassy area - a luxury in Hong Kong.  Rick and I have been waging a battle over the last two years to get the area into better condition - rocks removed, ground levelled, grass mowed.  It's all now finally coming together...

 

Our downstairs terrace - we just finally got outdoor furniture set up there in January.  It was wonderful to be able to sit outside and enjoy the outdoors when the weather was cooler.

Our view from the upstairs balcony - we can see Central on a clear day!  Another battle started but not yet won has been to get those darn trees trimmed so we can have our million dollar views back!

 This is not a clear day!  Unfortunately the clear days are in the Summer, when it is a little hot to be outside enjoying the views!

 

 

Looking the other way, we get a beach view in the distance past those wretched pine trees.  Although the pine trees are the bane of our view, they provide a magic enchanted forest for Katy to play in.  She has spent many many happy hours playing in "her" pine forest.

We've also recently gotten a huge pappasan for the upstairs balcony, and enjoyed many lovely evenings outside ensconced within, cuddling as a family playing games and having picnics.

 Katy's room and the view outside.