Home Sweet Home
Calling Olfa!
Olfa – how are you? Hope you’re OK and not facing any more problems getting online. Today’s blog will be a short one about our new (ish) home in Sri Lanka and after that I’ll give you the answers to the homework which I am so pleased you all attempted.
'Home sweet home’, ‘home is where the heart is’, see how many other phrases with ‘home’ you can notice in today’s post. Needless to say, once you have noticed them, try to use them.
Well, as I have said, we moved to Colombo a little under two months ago and we chose to rent a house by the sea. It’s about 7 km from my office – so not very far really, but it’s just outside the city limits and a 2-minute walk to the beach. I’ve been thinking about home a lot lately - Probably because it’s about the time when culture shock kicks in and leaves me feeling quite homesick. However, that said, it has to be the nicest house I’ve had and the ambience, the setting and the décor combine to make me feel it’s a home from home. Here’s a snap of the outside view if you’re standing just inside the gate. That’s the front door on the right – I like the shape and the texture of it. It’s very solid too.
In this one you should be able to get a good idea of the expansive sitting area which I am not quite sure how to refer to as it is a dining/drawing cum lounge all in one. I like that open plan look - It gives it a homely feel that makes me want to curl up with a good book. Incidentally, Ana Paula – you asked what I was reading at the moment. I am kind of reading about 3 books – The Post-birthday World by Lionel Shriver, The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga and I keep dipping in and out of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's My Nine Lives – a book of short stories. More about books in another post – can’t use that beautiful topic up with a post about home!! By the way, that’s my father-in-law sitting in the planter’s chair.
Now here’s one that might interest you – this is the outside view of the room from where I write to you all. Yes, that open door leads to our study. It would be nice to see the room where you blog from Olfa. Next time I’ll send you a picture of the inside of our study – I’ll have to tidy up first though! As you can see from this one, our house is a bungalow – that’s very convenient with a young child running around. Even though we aren't home owners of this one, if I were to have a house designed from scratch, I reckon I'd choose a similar one to this. :)
Well, I’m almost home and dry now but before I finish here’s what you’ve been waiting for:
Homework answers
1. Yes, you got it right – you just have to omit ‘‘ve’ and you have yourself a correct sentence. “I wish I could have sent this first letter yesterday, but it was completely impossible”. Probably what happened here is quite a common case of repeating the auxiliary verb for the perfect tense by mistake. Easily done.:)
2. Well done Mariela for this one. Yes, it’s that age old problem of infinitive vs. gerund. If you don’t know what those terms mean – look them up! In this sentence Olfa needed to use the gerund. “Just think for a person who is used to being connected many hours a day, the situation was just catastrophic”. You could probably drop one of the ‘just’s as well Olfa. I will talk about the many uses of ‘used to’ in my next post.
3. Now this one was tricky. It’s really a word order issue along with tense. How about this: “I will try, during this month, to share some special time with you and make French culture and habits more familiar to everyone”. Alternatively, “I will try to share some special time with you and increase your understanding of French culture and habits”.
4. Here’s the infinitive vs. gerund again, coupled with an agreement problem. “To everyone, I will really enjoy answering any of your questions”. If we use any with a countable noun we need to use the plural form.
I think you all got the matching exercise right, but here goes – just to confirm:
Engage with the basic facts or realities: get down to brass tacks
Exactly right/accurate: spot on
Connect: hang together
Overwhelm/impress or delight: bowl me over (a cricket term of course – look up other phrases derived from cricket if you’re interested)
Got tears in my eyes: welled up
Crying and snuffling/weeping: blubbering
Good night and sweet dreams.:)
Helen
Comments
Hi Helen, congratulations. You live in a wonderful house. Moreover, reading the place where is settled seems dreamily situated. Speaking about books, I casually discovered Alexander McCall Smith and his hilarious 44 Scotland Street Series. I enjoy a lot it because its chapters are short and it's very easy to read. I would like to make all your challenges, but I go a little short of time. Let me say that I'm really enchanted by this marvellous site and its better people. See you, Toni.
Hi!Helen My first impression of your home is so inviting and homely and, what’s more, the plants around its entrance look very much eco-friendly. I especially like the open and spacious area. I bet you don’t need to worry Isabel to get bumpy heads (which is correct -singular or plural) when she starts running (very soon) everywhere. Our bungalow’s layout was like a maze and it had a labyrinthine corridors so that our son would accidentally keep banging his head against walls. Our home has been recently renovated, redecorated and added a room on upstairs. It has an expansive lounge and a dining room that has an arch between them like yours. We are almost home and dry and I feel it’s a home from home. I think I am so lucky to have two homes sweet home one in Korea and other England even though handling culture shocks and homesick are sometimes too tricky for me. Thank you!xx
Hello Helen Your house in Colombo looks absolutley charming. It seems to have the perfect combination of lights, shadows and fresh air. I can picture myself taking a nap there, in the torrid hours of the tropical noon. And I can guess also that there is a splendid garden too. I noticed your father in law is on naked feet. Is that usual? That should be very comfortable at all. I hope your homesick feelings dissapear very soon. I'll be waiting for more pictures and for some Olfa's post too. Best wishes.
Hi Helen! I hope you get over your homesick soon :-). Anyway, your new sweet home is cosy and homely. It seems your house is surrounded by plants, isn´t it? Besides, I´d like to thank you for telling me what you´re reading at the moment. Oh, it was interesting to know you´re reading The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. Are you enjoying it? I read an article about it yesterday and I found the plot very gripping. This book will be released here in Brazil next week. Well, I´m home and dry now and I´m looking forward to hearing about the many uses of 'used to' and more about books :-). Best wishes, Ana Paula.
Hi Helen, I usually like the open place which is bright enough. The garden, your lounge com dining looks very beautiful which attracts people's eyes when they look at your blog. Hope to see more in your next blog.
Hi Helen! Such splendid place is definitely worth to name home sweet home. If you have been living one room flat for many years you´ll have hated the place desperately for sure. You´ll just have to imagin a bottle of champagne I am sending virtualy to you to open there in order to tide over the homesickness. Good luck!
Hello! Helen,your home is very nice. i was expecting to read in the homework answers ,in your last blog, some techniques for the translation issue ,and some words about Olfa`s use of the word (reunified)and what she should say instead.hope next time .thank you
Hello! Helen,your home is very nice. i was expecting to read in the homework answers ,in your last blog, some techniques for the translation issue ,and some words about Olfa`s use of the word (reunited)and what she should say instead.hope next time .thank you
Dear Helen, I love your home sweet home in colombo Srilanka. The entrance of your sweet home is very welcoming and attracting. I love the open plan of your inside home which make you connect with everyone in the home. That means you can talk to the living room people from kitchen or dinning area especially with small children it is easy to look after tham with any problem. I will write more in next blog. kind regards.
Hi Helen, Hope you relaxed yourself in the weekend. Home sweet Home blog made me to remember many things how the house should be. The front portion of your house is really nice and stylish one. You arranged a variety of crotons and plants in a attractive way. There should be taste for making like this, not many people have passion for doing this. The drawing, dining cum lounge is also a spacious one and I hope there is a provision for allowing sunlight coming into the hall naturally. Everything is in the hall tidy with a expensive furniture. The colour of the wall, furniture even cushion is good. You don’t forget to motivate us to read even when you describe hour house. Thanks for your advice. The outside view of the house and the place where you study and blog are very natural. Isabel must be enjoying all these. Where do you have a plan to buy a house like this? When you are away from your own country you must have all these kinds of facilities to live, otherwise life will be boring. I hope you are enjoying home from home. What ever may be there will be a deep silence in your heart when you think of your own country and nearest and dearest. Won’t you?
Hello Helen, I welcome you as a new teacher blogger. It's really great to meet you and know about you on this blogland. Your home is a perfect picture of peace and tranquility. Before knocking at your door one can stop to look around those hosts, I reckon it would be so calming to your eyes everytime you look at them. May you too have a home of your own like this one. Best wishes, Naheed
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