Weekends

Friday night was an early, early night. I watched some tv, ate some potato soup, and called 'er a night.

Saturday was well depressing. The roommate and I were out in Dartford, shopping for our party later that day, and were both struck by the disgustingness of the residents here. It's the holidays for crying out loud...where is the pomp and circumstance? Where are the little kids dressed to the nines? Where are the ugly sweaters? This place is FINE, but it's not classy. There isn't an ounce of class hanging around these dirty corners and I'm starting to tire of it. Thankfully, I'll be gone soon: whisked around the south of France, heading into Italy to spend time with family I've never met. Sounds like a plan to me.

Today though I want to show you some pics from the night at the Winter Fair in Hyde Park a few weekends back. Take a peek at the awesome night shots. Love love love London proper.

Something to think about, I guess.

Neat, eh?

Have a great Monday.

One Word Sentences

So.

Hung.

Over.

Trying to grasp onto the last bit of professionalism I have left. Wish me luck.

Snow, Germans, and Loser Rolls

Last Tuesday it started to snow. And it didn't stop until Thursday night.

The British are certainly not accustomed to doing things in the snow. Like living, for example. They rushed in throngs to the grocery store, plowing each other over to buy as much canned milk as they could carry home.

They (and me, so I can't really say much) wear wellies in the snow instead of proper snow boots. Again, they aren't used to getting so much of the white stuff, so it only stands to reason that they don't have proper winter gear.

The kids were sent home at 12:30. We were sent home shortly thereafter. It was amazing. They let us know by evening that school would be closed Wednesday. Imagine my delight when it was also closed on Thursday.

My boss and a few others headed to Stansted on Thursday afternoon to catch a flight to Bremen, Germany. Gets ourselves some Christmas markets, y'all. It was a little more like the Binbrook Fair than I expected and a little less like, well, Germany. Still, it was great to be there with the women I was with and though my pictures are all skewed by the fact that I was freezing cold and not willing to take many good shots, I still caught the essence of the place.

And now we are back at school. Kids have seven and a half more days of lessons and I'm just about at my wits end. Part of me has this burning desire to go home (like, to Canada), see my friends, hug my mother, and just sit by a fireplace somewhere (someone HAS to have one). Alas, I'm getting on another plane (I know, I'm so hard done by) and heading to France. Sh*t...I still have to plan that trip. Jamie, I'm so on it ;)

Tomorrow I have five lessons in a row to teach, followed by a session I'm running on teaching teachers how to teach student-led lessons. I'm tired already. I should just go to bed. Oh, back to my mood. I'm in a strange mood. I am in vacation mode now that we had three days off last week and instead of wanting to catch the kids up as much as possible, I'm slacking HARD. I guess that's what happens when holidays come around, right?

Did you know that houses in England (including mine) have plaster over brick walls? Very few actually have drywall? God, this place is old. So I asked the caretakers at school for a hammer and nails to hammer in some pictures (now they're just in the way) and they laughed at me, telling me I needed proper screws that go into plaster and brick. Yeah.

I'm on a bit of a loser roll today, one could say. But I was overjoyed when Matt sent me a "gossip update" from Korea. Talk about hilarious. He caught me up on all the latest gossip out there (filled with Matt sarcasm and a few little harsh realities), so now I feel like I'm with you guys again ;) Even funnier, I showed my year 11 students where I used to live in Korea. There were four of them in class today. FOUR. And they STILL couldn't manage to get all the work done that I had assigned. NO ONE is in the mood to work. Sigh.

Anyway, hope your day is going FAR better than mine.

I Watch This

It's a little ridiculous and now that Courtney Cox has split from her long-time husband, it's sort of sad to even see her, but I do watch this in jolly old England. They are obsessed with wine, parent in the oddest of ways, and the main character mothers like my Korean Mother did (who has been replaced, might I add, by Sheila, my boss, with whom I'm going to Germany soon. Random.). All in all, nothing to write home about, but here I am, writing home about it. God, get some material, ladybird.

Oh, and the guy on the left is that man who managed Dean and Deluca on Felicity. Dward? Jose?



Can you tell it's time for bed? I'm off.

Nighty night.

On my Fingertips

if I never see you again

I will always carry you

inside

outside

on my fingertips

and at brain edges

and in centers

centers

of what I am of

what remains.

--Charles Butkowski

Clutter

As a roommate, I can't stand clutter. The old adage works fine for me: a place for everything and everything in its place. Drink that sh*t in.

But as a solo tenant, I adored it. I love STUFF. The walls should be white-washed, the furniture kept simple, but lordy help us all if there isn't STUFF around. I love to walk into a place and feel the urge to just touch things. What kind of place is so lame and boring that visitors don't want to just pick stuff UP?

My Aunt Erika's house was always like that: stuff everywhere from places all over the world. I'm sure that now that they have more space out in the country, there are different things to touch, but I'm positive that it is still as glorious as it was in the city.

I just about fell over when Kate Spade's apartment was showcased on becauseimaddicted.net. You recall Kate Spade from her purses (Charlotte had one so small that her tampons wouldn't fit inside. "Kate must have a teeny tiny v*gina.") and though I'm not a huge fan (listen to me...I'm so discerning all of a sudden), I fell in LOVE with her house. Like, I'm curious to see if I can just marry this woman to move into her amazing place. Sigh.

Kate's not-at-all teeny tiny apartment is, therefore, going on the vision board. Yippee. Here's to beautiful homes and even more beautiful humans inside.

We British Love our Tea

When I used to live with Tammy and Ken, we would often celebrate the end of a long week with one of these.

I highly recommend it. Thanks, Jamie for the reminder ;)

The Blueberry Tea

1 oz amaretto almond liqueur
1 oz Grand Marnier orange liqueur
1 cup of Orange Pekoe tea.

Rim your mug with warm water then sugar. Pour booze in first, tea in last. Indulge. This is clearly in the spirit of all things snow-day-related.

You're welcome.

On a completely unrelated note...

I found some rather sad things a while back when I was feeling a little more down. Though the feeling has passed and joy has spread over me and us and...well, you get the picture, there are still some things I should have posted way back in the day.

Here goes.

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplane circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message, 'He is dead'.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one:
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods:
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

--W.H. Auden

Yeah, yeah, it's gruesome, but lordy, the imagery in it is divine.

We all have someone, don't we?
Here's hoping yours is beside you on this cold night.

A bit suggestive, but who cares?

School let us out a bit early today (two whole hours! What what!), so Ryan and I trudged home to give our lift to some other Canadian teachers. BIG mistake. It was snowing like a G6, if I might be so frank ;) Anyway, home was so incredibly warm and cozy, it was a welcome sight at the end of those 25 minutes. Fastest walk home ever, note.

Anyway, imagine our elation when we got matching texts over dinner that school was canceled tomorrow. UnREAL how this country shuts 'er down upon a few flurries. BUT to be fair, it was a rather torrential downpour of snow. I think we would have been closed too up in the Great White North.

Anyway, in the spirit of all things snow-day-related, here is how I'd like to spend my day tomorrow.

image courtesy of thingssheloves.tumblr.com

How else do you spend a perfectly snowy day?

Have a good one ;)

Last Day in Austria...best photos ever

On my last two days in Graz, I took a MAD tour around. Though I followed a map and thought at times, "wow, this is so lame", I actually had a really good time and took some amazing photographs. If I do say so myself. Take a peek...this is the last of them.










May I present the Graz opera house...

I'm not sure what this building is, but it was strategically placed across the street from the opera house so that discerning viewers like Yours Truly would glance across, fall madly in love, and want to return.



Opera house in Graz.



A door (at the posh opera house) for my friend.



The front entrance to my future Austrian apartment. That's right.



Sadly, this is the only picture I took of the food in Austria. But really, how weird is it to snap a photo of your dinner? Talk about a loner move. This was sheep cheese on polenta on greens with black pumpkin oil. Gorge.



Inside the pub where this miracle of culinary delights was had:



Laura, another door to add to the collection ;)



Gorge. That's it.


I'm in LOVE with these pictures. Especially this one.


Right on riverview.



The old and the new. Riverside.

The hotel at which I did not (sadly) stay. For the same price as Gerti's adorable (completely out of the way) inn. Sigh. Love the city scape. I guess the new has to be built somehow. My first (and last) Austrian crane. Oddest museum model ever... Then I looked up to see the real thing.

The Christian imagery was everywhere...

Bar accoutrement...

The old meets the new...

Outdoor art exhibition. Laundry. Who'da thunk it? I love how the light is just dancing over the tops of these pictures...

Cute pubs. They're everywhere. Love. Riverside, mountaintop. Riverside. Panoramic view from the oddly shaped...well, you'll see... The oddly-shaped non-moving, floating cafe and museum in the centre of the river. Riiight. This picture is one of my favourites... The staircase up to the top of the city (in daylight).

Half-way up...

Waiting atop all the splendor that was the view of the city was this jazz band, wowing us with their talent and courage. Playing atop a mountain? Pretty brazen.

The long and winding road...

And this is the photograph that sparked the thought that I was actually happy to be there alone. "Beautiful", I said to myself. "Glad you aren't here." Those rays of sun? Could it GET any better? Not much. Is that purple spurt of colour not devastatingly beautiful? Because I happen to think so. The outdoor opera from atop. Swoon.

Outdoor opera house. Second view. Second swoon. Sky Bar in the light of day... I took the one less traveled by. In-autumn-splendor-giddy. Standing proud. Caught the yellow in the dying light... Love. Stadpark. Austria does AWESOME rock walls... Austria does stairs... Austria does religious statues in the strangest places... They tag here too. Alas, a door to something...nothing...not that it matters a bit. Things are looking up. Outside the mausoleum: Austria does church.. Austria does cookies... Austria does Christmas... Town Hall. The ominous sky, the hopeful travelers... Love the colour there...in architecture... and in nature... My view over Herngasse, Sunday morning, drinking coffee... My last lattes and cappuccinos came from this bar on Sunday morning.