so, we went and did something apparently very english last night---watching a pantomime for the holidays. we saw 'jack & the beanstalk' at greenwich theatre and i have to say it probably one of the weirdest experiences of mine to date. pantomime's have been around a really long time in this country and the only way i could describe what i saw is a mixture of drama/cabaret/slapstick/audience participation/over the top drag queen show. in American terms--i think if you want to picture a bit of Saturday night live, the old variety shows from the 40's or bits of the carol Burnett show and times all these by 10. but even still its hard to capture the exact feel of these shows in American terms. anything that we might have had/do have like this was originally inspired by the british pantomimes. usually they consist of some fairytale, with men dressed up as women, pretty dancing girls, interjecting lots of song and dance numbers, audience participation (booing at the villains), singing at the end, a bit of slapstick, bad acting, over the top costumes & wigs and sets (some that even fall apart mid way through like ours did). the audience is full of people of literally all ages and by the end everyone has had a good time.
Read Morestaying warm
it gets cold here, darn cold. but london gets so cold it wont snow that often {if it does it melts really quick}. we get a lot of gray, wet freezing blustery weather.
from the months of like september to the end of april i swear the sun rarely comes out.
the houses aren't built with central heating. most have space heaters attached to the walls that come on at night. we don't get double glazed windows either unless you physically have them put in. see-- most houses are still old victorian ones and double glazing wasn't invented yet and they just transferred this little idea to apartments/flats. its only recently that the government has said put double glazing in new properties cause of environmental concerns.
Read Moreblessings
Gratitude >>
Read Morethankful shop
did my thanksgiving 'shop' for next week today.
have i mentioned how much i love borough market recently?
it makes the most mundane task just sheer delight.
Read More100 things in the world i love
100 things in the world I love >>
Read Moredrama queen
i busted up laughing, when i saw these pictures today. james was quite well known in college for following a time honored english tradition of putting blokes in dresses for theatre productions. his hippy-length long hair at school made him a perfect choice for a touch of comedy.
here he is as mrs cratchett in his university production of dickens' 'a christmas carol'. doesn't he look pretty? look at what great legs he's got in the second picture? what a great sport, my guy was.
Read Morefinale
even if it is a weird holiday, i enjoyed seeing the fireworks this year up on blackheath common. it was a perfect end to the last 6 weeks of campaigning and the post election parties. i feel like i've been in a dream and i've got to wake up now and get back to reality. reality though is that i've made some new cherished friends and i've been a part of something wonderful >>
Read Morehope wins
i feel at a loss for words today. i was up all night till 6:30 a.m. watching history live. never before in my life have i taken an interest in politics as much as this season {2004 was the first time ever i voted} and i credit it to obama. i think once in a generation someone comes around like this and i feel so grateful that i've been a part of history. although i did less than many, i campaigned for nearly 12-13 hours for him here in london. i feel like this win, i somehow helped bring in a very small way and for that i'll never forget it for the rest of my life.
Read Moreoctober plenty
the english sure love their traditions. yesterday in the pouring rain we went to 'october plenty'. its an autumn harvest celebration held every year around shakespeare's globe & borough market. its a mixture of ancient seasonal customs & theatre with a contemporary twist and its free to the public. this year it was held in conjunction with borough markets, 'apple day'.
Read Moremy afternoon with annie leibovitz
boy, we've been feeling culturally deprived recently. its been since late august that we've done anything remotely to fill our 'creative' souls and we've been foaming at the mouth since then to do something, anything to fill this void. there just hasn't been much of interest on in london recently. we've seen most of what's great already and trying to save our pennies can dampen any efforts for we do want to do {the r.o.h's nutracker and their £50/$100 tickets come to mind}. so, we were pretty excited to go see an entire exhibition at the national portrait gallery, 'annie leibovitiz: a photographers life'. all i can say afterwards is my 'culture' cup now runneth over.
i love annie leibovitz and i am so drawn into her pictures. i saw some of her prints earlier this year at a vanity fair exhibition and am familiar with her work from various magazines, etc {including vanity fair}. what struck me about this exhibition was the professional and personal photos mixed together and how poignant they were---especially in respect to the photos of the loss of her partner, susan sontag. i felt a bit drained after the exhibition, which i think is a sign of 'true' art; something that captures the emotions and passions of the moment and shares these with others as a gift. i guess that's why i have grown to love art so much is that i feel like i'm making emotional connections on almost a primal level.
© Annie Leibovitz
i love annie leibovitz and i am so drawn into her pictures. i saw some of her prints earlier this year at a vanity fair exhibition and am familiar with her work from various magazines, etc {including vanity fair}. what struck me about this exhibition was the professional and personal photos mixed together and how poignant they were---especially in respect to the photos of the loss of her partner, susan sontag. i felt a bit drained after the exhibition, which i think is a sign of 'true' art; something that captures the emotions and passions of the moment and shares these with others as a gift. i guess that's why i have grown to love art so much is that i feel like i'm making emotional connections on almost a primal level.
there were a lot of photos in the exhibition and i have way too many favorites to try to choose, so here's just a few that caught my eye :
© Annie Leibovitz
everyday should be like 'annie'
my 2nd favorite film of all time next to breakfast at tiffany's is annie the musical. the 1982 version was the very first film i ever saw at the cinema. my grandmother took me, she snuck in cupcakes and it was one of the most enjoyable two hour memories of my youth. i loved the songs, the dancing and the fact i could escape to where days were filled with music and everything in the end turned out just fine.
Read Morerandom things
i've been quite busy recently with random 'life' things. it's good for the 'ole' spirits and helps pass the time i guess. i can't believe its october though--christmas stuff is already in the shops and we've had to turn on the heaters. sheesh, i'm not ready for winter! anyway here are a few things we've been up to recently >>
Read Morefaraway friends
lucy & her adopted daughter
the youngest members of gansabra
posing for the camera
building forts
studying hardlucy knows what education will give to these children---nearly all are always studying and many are even the top of their class! they are really trying to follow the example lucy is setting--she just earned a masters degree in social work from mizoram university.
i think everyone who comes into your life are there to be our greatest teachers for that specific moment in time. i'm so thankful for lucy & the children at gan sabra for coming into my life & what they teach me on a regular basis. although i forget my blessings sometimes, my friends in india teach me to never underestimate the power of positive thinking, hope & the real meaning of gratitude. i pray that one day soon {hopefully next year} i will get to visit and shower each & everyone of them with millions of hugs & kisses.anyway, i'd like to end with a moving letter the children wrote to lucy on christmas. this was previously posted on gansabra's blog and is in lucy's own words:
I want to share with you what the children at Gan Sabra did-their gift to me for Christmas. On 24th December the children gathered around me and gave me envelops-the used envelops- inside there was letter written for me (separately from boy and girls). I was wondering why they gave me that and i started reading, it was writte by them and here it goes:
''Loving Mother
Christmas Blessing to you. this is christmas we want to give you many gifts. but we dont have things. But Mum, we love you and this christmas you know that we love you and we are telling you again.
You too love us and our family is happy. Our real parents died before now you are our parents. you teach us good things we will always keep them. you provide tasty food, medicines and toys too thank you. we will be good.
God bless you.
(sign by each child themselves and sign for by elder ones for those who cannot write)''
the best christmas gift i ever received and i believe the best ever always.
lucy----------
if you want to help gansabra in any way this holiday season they are in dire need of blankets & bedding. they have recently had more children admissions and their supplies have remained the same. the winter for this year is being predicted as going to be colder than usual and lucy recently wrote to me saying how worried she is about staying warm. for address of the orphanage & further details on assistance this christmas please contact me {see side-bar}. if you can't afford to send something, adding them to your christmas card list would brighten their day.
this time of year
greenwich park
i love this time of year
the colours of the trees
the cool crispness in the air………
Read Moreprime time family
i've mentioned on here before that i don't see much of my family. since 2001, i've been home twice & my parents have come to england once. its not a great average i know & i frequently find myself having to justify this number to anyone who finds out. the truth of the matter is-- its complicated. no i'm not 'the angry one' out of the family & no i dont despise them its just if you had the choice of spending three weeks on a beach in thailand or one week running grocery errands down to albertsons with your parents what would you choose?
Read Morefrustrated
frustrated with doctors who don't seem to listen
with not knowing what's going on in my own body
with no answers after TWO YEARS
that i have no energy anymore
with the fact that i'm in pain in places that shouldn't hurt & i want it to stop
that the doctors are even starting to suggest that its 'in my head'
for horrid periods that last two very long weeks & that make me throw up
for abdominal pain that puts me into the E.R.
for the strong possibility that i may never have children
for the possibility i may have to have a hysterectomy
for feeling like i'm going to have to live like this forever
greenwich, in-laws & the human race
over the weekend, james and i were super crazy busy {which seems to describe everything at the moment with me}. his parents came down from the midlands & we spent most of the time entertaining them in greenwich & canary wharf. although i enjoy seeing them having visitors can be draining. i'm the type that has to clean the house about 3 times over, getting everything perfect so i can relax but in reality that doesn't happen till they're gone. i like to put little touches when we have house visitors {thank goodness they stayed at a hotel though} like fresh cut flowers, nice organic biscuits to serve with a cup of tea & lighting candle/incense to create a soothing environment. i think the home is a real presentation of yourself which is why i go to such effort when we have friends over. either this or i must have some martha stewart blood running through my veins after all.
although i didn't get any pictures of his parents {camera shy}, here's a few highlights from Saturday. there wasn't a cloud in the sky all day i might add which is rare for london and made the day that much better.
we managed to catch a few minutes of a cricket game going on in the park. considering how hot it was, i'm surprised they were playing with their heavy clothes.
wandered around looking at all the trees in the park. i love trees & yes i occasionally do hug them {you should try it sometime}. this one is gorgeous & quick random fun fact ---some of the trees in greenwich park are older than america!
it was such a beautiful day. although you can see the pollution over the city---the sky was still blue, people were out with their families & it was glorious.
mildred
although i didn't get any pictures of his parents {camera shy}, here's a few highlights from Saturday. there wasn't a cloud in the sky all day i might add which is rare for london and made the day that much better.
we managed to catch a few minutes of a cricket game going on in the park. considering how hot it was, i'm surprised they were playing with their heavy clothes.
wandered around looking at all the trees in the park. i love trees & yes i occasionally do hug them {you should try it sometime}. this one is gorgeous & quick random fun fact ---some of the trees in greenwich park are older than america!
it was such a beautiful day. although you can see the pollution over the city---the sky was still blue, people were out with their families & it was glorious.
mildredon the way home, we of course had to visit our pet ducks george & mildred at brookmill park. all george could do was feed his face on the bread that we gave to them {typical bloke eh?}---mildred though she decided to totally strike a pose & show off in the water. doesn't she look grand?
when we got home we raided the freezer for our skinny cow mint chocolate chip ice lollies/popsicles. a perfect end to the day!
sunday evening we were crazy enough to do a 10k run in the freezing pouring rain {thus no pics} for the nike human race 10k campaign held at wembley stadium.
i thought it was a great concept----25 cities across the world uniting for one day in the name of health & sports. it was more rock concert/race as there was pre race performances by moby & pendulum & there was great music around the course too including some coming from a swinging 60's double decker red bus. our time wasn't exactly the best we've ever done {we usually do 6 miles in an hour, hour/10} but it was wet & dark so i think that's a great excuse. although the race didn't start when we hoped cause of the concert, we were cold & didn't get home till nearly 11---it was a wonderful evening.
so that was my weekend in a nutshell. we're hoping for a bit more of a quiet weekend for the next couple of weeks, but i then remembered i've got a 5k race next weekend as well!
when we got home we raided the freezer for our skinny cow mint chocolate chip ice lollies/popsicles. a perfect end to the day!
sunday evening we were crazy enough to do a 10k run in the freezing pouring rain {thus no pics} for the nike human race 10k campaign held at wembley stadium.
i thought it was a great concept----25 cities across the world uniting for one day in the name of health & sports. it was more rock concert/race as there was pre race performances by moby & pendulum & there was great music around the course too including some coming from a swinging 60's double decker red bus. our time wasn't exactly the best we've ever done {we usually do 6 miles in an hour, hour/10} but it was wet & dark so i think that's a great excuse. although the race didn't start when we hoped cause of the concert, we were cold & didn't get home till nearly 11---it was a wonderful evening.
so that was my weekend in a nutshell. we're hoping for a bit more of a quiet weekend for the next couple of weeks, but i then remembered i've got a 5k race next weekend as well!
tag.
A list of things about me >>
Read Morepetits trésors
i had the best of luck shopping in paris this weekend. the theme for my 'finds' seemed to be little treasures {or should i say petits trésors en francais} and from the pictures you'll see why!
i've never seen such detailed and beautiful die-cuts before. i'd be afraid to use them in any crafts for fear of ruining them!
there are 25 of these petit little story books, each hand illustrated by the artist elisabeth ivanovsky.
j'adore the madeline books and it seems even more scrumptious in french! don't you love the illustrations?
if you can believe i found all of the above--- the die cuts, madeline book and mini stories all from the musee d'orsay gift shop? never underestimate where you may find things!
i found a collection of amazing vintage hand drawn postcards from marché aux puces de st-ouen in the antique market. these two are just a few that i'm going to keep & frame--the rest i'm going to hopefully get onto a new etsy shop sometime soon. the postcards all are early 1900's french {obviously} and are in my opinion adorable works of art.
you can see how much detail went into this when you look at it up close! i love the color and how their eyes are so permeating!
i've never seen such detailed and beautiful die-cuts before. i'd be afraid to use them in any crafts for fear of ruining them!
there are 25 of these petit little story books, each hand illustrated by the artist elisabeth ivanovsky.j'adore the madeline books and it seems even more scrumptious in french! don't you love the illustrations?if you can believe i found all of the above--- the die cuts, madeline book and mini stories all from the musee d'orsay gift shop? never underestimate where you may find things!
i found a collection of amazing vintage hand drawn postcards from marché aux puces de st-ouen in the antique market. these two are just a few that i'm going to keep & frame--the rest i'm going to hopefully get onto a new etsy shop sometime soon. the postcards all are early 1900's french {obviously} and are in my opinion adorable works of art.you can see how much detail went into this when you look at it up close! i love the color and how their eyes are so permeating!