Birthdays in Blackheath

It was Sheila's birthday yesterday and we went out for some wine and cheese at Zero Degrees in Blackheath. It was a gorgeous night: clear and quite warm, so we had a nice time. Though not romantic (thankfully), it was the perfectly busy crowd for us on a Thursday (service was great, too).

Completely against my better judgment, I asked someone to take our photo. It wasn't that he was Eastern European and barely spoke English that was the issue, it was that he was doing it wrong. Clearly...



Let's just take a picture of the church instead. Argh.

I do take a much better self-portrait, non?



Happy birthday, my friend!

Loving the East Coast

Ever since I can remember, I've wanted a group of friends like these...



And now by the grace of something-or-other, I've got them. I'm just about the luckiest duck in the pond, I'd say.

Simultaneously, I always wanted to travel to Eastern Canada like my parents (far left), Alex (and Barb, probably taking the picture), Mark and Mary (far right) did back in 1980.

I LOVE this picture.

Thanks for sending it, Mom :)

Let's Try

Be happy

I'm feeling inspired and warm and comfortable and healthy today.
I'm feeling like work is only work...
it will pretty much be exactly the same
if I'm here or if I'm grumpy or if I'm over the moon.

I can't stop a grin from passing over my face over and over again today.
It's Eliana and Adeline's birthday today (5 months old...can you dig it?),
so in the spirit of all things lovely, I thought I'd give something new a try.

Let's try this...

Let's figure out the things that make us happy.

Then let's do the things that make us happy:

do the things that keep us happy.

Let's put aside those things that bring us instant gratification because we know that in a few hours, the regret will weigh us

way...

back...

down.

Let's fill our lives with the people who replace the things we thought brought us happiness:

and make all the room in the world for them and all the stuff they've brought with them-- baggage and Big-gage; patience and virtue; hostility and resentment (we'll get rid of that eventually); joy and more joy.

Let's set a table for those we love

feed them well

and toast

to a good life.

The Assignment and the Answers

Image courtesy of Halifornia (love).

Love this most: "Others are merely mirrors of you." Amen.

Cute Kids

It's Nathan and I...in a boat.




Ah, the good old days on Buckhorn Lake.

The Perfect Ending

I always think that the perfect way to end a perfect day is with a perfect night. Makes perfect sense, right?

It was a hard week around these parts with my father jet-setting out to Vancouver, Mum upset from Burlington, and all of us reeling from the thought that sometimes Our Time comes far sooner than we thought it would. To end the Weeks that Ended All Weeks, I settled in before nine on Friday night (I slept at 9 pm) because I was feeling under the weather, and spent the day doing great things on Saturday. Since I'd dreamed about teaching a particular subject to my students on Saturday morning, that is the subject we covered (two actually: solving inequalities and finding averages from grouped frequency graphs...sweet). My kids canceled tutoring after Saturday School, so I was free to go get a new phone on Saturday (with Sheila's help, of course). I'm all set up now with a real person's phone: touch screen...um, and other things (you know I'm not exactly technologically savvy).

Dinner was at Erik's house after I picked him up at a bar. Oops...I mean I met him after work and we walked back to his place together. But Sunday...Sunday was The Day to End All Days. We went to St. James' Park for a picnic and some people watching, then I read and toured the city for a bit while Erik went to rehearsal. From where I sat, this is what I saw...

I left the park, totally enamored by the fact that I live here. I toured around some shoppes and sights,

bought some boots,

image courtesy of Clark's

and did some research at book shoppes along the way.

It was a gorgeous day, topped only by the most romantic evening I've had in a really long time ever.

Before meeting up again, I found myself in Chinatown, as I often do.

Isn't it a bit odd that I feel more at home here...

...than I do here?

No matter. Here are some images from My People and their Town...

I just had to try Seoul Bakery (sorry the website isn't an official one, but at least you get a map here) at long last, since I'd heard so much about it. When I found myself with no cash in a place that didn't take cards, leave it to the Koreans to just let me go after I ate and trust me to return with what I owe.

Gone are the days at El-Cheapo with Matt-uh We-ba where I could eat a whole bowl of hastily prepared mandoo soup for $2. Still, the food was quick and it was good.



Of course, true to form, there were socks, mushy Choc-o cakes, and stickers for sale. Nice-uh. I wonder if the Korean experience will ever come out of me? I do love to go back for the flava.



So...onto the evening. We finally went to Gordon's Wine Bar along the street that links Charing Cross to Embankment Station. It is LITERALLY a hole in the wall...a cellar along a crowded street ("therearenotanymicehere therearenotanymicehere therearenotanymicehere" was the ongoing chant in my head) with a delightful outdoor patio. Perfect for chats about Bruges and Portugal, I think. We got a bottle of wine, a platter of cheese and there you have it: perfect.

I hope your weekend was a delight.

As Lovely as a Sunset

People are just as wonderful as sunsets
if I can just let them be...
When I look at a sunset,
I don't find myself saying,
"soften the orange a bit
on the right hand corner."
I don't try to control a sunset.
I watch in awe as it unfolds.

Carl Rogers

Quote courtesy of Good Morning and Good Night.

"No. I like you.
Just as you are."

Mark Darcy

Quote courtesy of Bridget Jones' Diary ;)

I thought you should know...

Image courtesy of Flickr

The Leaf Falling

In memory of a dear member of our family...

Do not stand at my grave and weep

I am not there: I do not sleep

I am a thousand winds that blow

I am the diamond glints on snow

I am the sunlight on ripened grain

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

of quiet birds in circled flight

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry

I am not there. I did not die." Mary Elizabeth Frye

"I will be the leaf falling from the tree as you sit by the river."

I hope that brings you some peace.

Love

In case you can't read the fine print, "Shouldn't all people be entitled to Equal Rights (and lefts)?"

Love.

I hope you're having a good day.

Roar

Though some might say that a porch is the most important feature of a house, I just can't get over the roar of a fire. A good fireplace is just about as perfect as it gets.

Autumn is here in England: sweaters are the new t-shirt...boots the new Birkenstock. I don't miss the heat...there is something so romantic about the chill in the air.

Image is courtesy of Note To Self via Apartment 34. Love.

Bon Iver - Holocene

Friday Night in Bexley

I went over to Keri's on Friday night with the thought that even though they were going out, I just could not. Despite my best efforts, however, I managed to spend some time at the stoutest pub on God's green earth. You'll see why in a sec...

Here's a sampling of the new Canadians.

Aleisha and Kathleen...



Frank and I...

Brie...

and her fiance Brett...

Cory...

and Seth.



Kathleen spent a year in Korea as well, hence the half-heart. I wasn't into it apparently.



Ah, as promised, a very short pub. Keri stands about 5'3" tall and could easily touch the ceiling. I guess a fascination with this sort of thing is a Short Person Fantasy. I can't really relate.

Oh Quimbles.

And there you have it: Bexley, though a part of London Proper, is no more classy than Dartford. Hands down your pants. Really?

I do hope your weekend was lovely.