Camera

It's time for me to retire the Blue Beast (the $99 Fujifilm point-and-shoot camera I bought with Laura in Toronto in the Summer of Summering: 2010) and join the big leagues.

I need to take better pictures...I've reached the end of the proverbial creative rope. I can't show you what I see anymore...can't electronically journal these amazing sights if I don't upgrade.

Though Erin told me long ago that a Canon point-and-shoot is a great bet, I think for the everyday the-camera-needs-to-be-convenient-not-fancy, I can cart along the Blue Beast. But for those special days (like all my days spent traveling, including those day trips into London), we need an upgrade.

So I'm asking for some help. You must know something about cameras. I will buy one back in Ontario, since I've researched enough to know that it's prohibitively expensive to shop for electronics here in Jolly Olde.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

I find myself falling deeper and deeper in love with Dan Griffin. He's from Toronto and his voice is just what I need right now.

Have a listen here if you want to be lulled into a peaceful state.

A Fine Day for a Royal Wedding

We got on the train in Dartford with few people. As the train made its stops, however, more and more fancy-dressed celebrators joined us. Girls in tiaras, ladies in pageant-worthy hats and dresses, and men in suits, adorned with top hats, canes, and pipes. These men had been entertaining us for some time, so I just had to take their picture.

"You guys going to a party today?"
"Nope...we're just going to hang out in a park and enjoy the day."

Ah England...the advent of pomp and circumstance. It was destined to be a good day.



We walked from Charing Cross to Trafalgar Square: it was closed. So we kept walking along Piccadilly Street to learn that St. James' Park as well as Green Park were both closed (full up with people, to be more accurate), so we finally rested in Hyde Park. What a sight to see...the whole city was buzzing with pre-wedding jitters.



An entrance to Green Park, completely swarmed with people trying to get a glimpse inside.



We arrived at Hyde Park just as Prince William declared, "I will". The crowd went wild and then this happened. This is the moment when Prince William slid the ring onto Kate's finger...swoon...

LOVING life...

Three ecstatic Canadians in a park (with a plain old Ferris wheel behind us)...



I had turned around, saw the Ferris wheel, and said to my friends, "And isn't it so perfect that the London Eye is there in the background, opposite all this magic?"

They promptly turned around, examined the structure...

...turned back and said, "That's a plain old Ferris wheel, Alexis, not the London Eye." Then proceeded to laugh at me.

Funnier still was the fact that these guys

heard everything and had quite a chuckle at me.

Not to worry though...they later helped me identify Jerusalem, one of England's national anthems. Nicely done.

Here are some locals doing it up right with party hats, Pimm's (in which we indulged quite a bit later with lemonade), waistcoats, and picnics. Gotta love the English...

Love was definitely in the air in Hyde Park

The Queen, as she left Westminster Abbey. Check out the creepy William and Kate masks looking out at us!



My friends were clearly loving the souvenir scarves sold outside all the parks. Go Team Kate!



At about 1:30 pm, the Prince and Princess stepped out onto the balcony at Buckingham Palace to greet their country. It was seconds later that they kissed.



Planes flying overhead (this promised to be a "crowd pleaser" and though I was a bit skeptical, it was a pretty amazing thing to witness. Those planes were OLD and flying in perfect formation. I'll take it!)



Adorable inscription...so English. It reads, "Metropolitan Drinking Fountain & Cattle Trough Association." Of course it does.

This is the Goring Hotel where Kate and her family spent the night on April 28 and got ready on the day of the wedding. Absolutely no one was allowed down these streets, even hours after the wedding was finished.

Hours after the kiss, Buckingham Palace was completely accessible. We walked up to the gates where guards and police officers had been posted since 4am that day. They were exhausted, but not at all snippy. They had done a remarkable job of keeping crowds at bay, everyone calm, and the morale quite high. It was a joyful day and I thought they did a remarkable job of keeping the peace.

The famed balcony where Prince Charles kissed his Diana and nearly 30 years later, we watched with baited breath as Prince William kissed Kate. What a sight.

The ever-pristine grounds of Buckingham Palace were a bit marred (if you ask me) with press boxes and set-ups so cameras could see everything and broadcast it. Since I too watched on a live screen, I should be so grateful to see this set-up, but it certainly didn't look as nice as it normally does.



Presumably staff on the balcony, teasing us into thinking there would be more Princess to see.





Press boxes set up to the right of Buckingham Palace. Groan.



One last glimpse (alright, several last glimpses) at the Palace.

We stopped for a quick rest along the Mall and this group of royal horses marched by. Super cool.

Looking back across St. James' Park, we caught a glimpse of the real London Eye. Silly tourist ;)

Churchill's War Rooms...apparently I have to make time to see these (no idea what they are):



We walked along the edge of St. James' Park, our last Royal Park of the day. What a gorgeous day for a gorgeous occasion...

We got back on the train, feet throbbing, heads full of the kind of pageantry that little girls' dreams are made of. What a magical day.

Waiting

As Erin and Jeffrey make their way from Asia back to North America, I found this message about waiting that might inspire you...

Pippa

Though I'll post my own pictures of what I saw of the Royal Wedding, I thought I would share this absolutely precious moment between sisters.

Image courtesy of amazonaws.com via Bippity Boppity Boo.tumblr.com via A Cup of Jo.

One of these days, I'll have a sister with which I can share lovely things instead of argue about horrible things. Life is so kind...why not share that? Come to think about it, I guess I've already chosen these sisters...and it's with you that I share all the things that make me so very happy, so very scared, so very vulnerable. YOU are my insides.

Miss you today.

Airing my Italian Laundry

My second part about being in this part of Italy (surpassed only by the amazing feeling of being with my family) was the hanging of laundry outside apartments. I couldn't help but take a few snapshots of what I saw because it looked so darn cute. Take a peek...

Selby Website: swooning

Image courtesy of theselby.com. Image available here. All via A Cup of Jo.

So I've added a house to my Vision Board. This one just happens to be in Hackney here in London. What a shocker.

Since I strive to surround myself with the kind of luxury and kind of positive thoughts as I'd like to have in my life, I was drawn to this house and it's age, character, and, of course, yellow bricks. They remind me of London, Ontario: of the connection I have to home; of the places from which I've come.

It's all good.

Today we went to see the Royal Wedding in Hyde Park. Talk about luxury. I have pictures to post, some of which I doctored a bit because the day was a little gray then a lot sunny. Plus, there was just so much to see, I wanted to focus on the sights that made me feel like this is the most magical place on earth today.

I'm feeling really, really good. I hope you are, too :)

We Have Bebes!

In Toronto today at 1:43 pm, Eliana was born. Her sister Adeline was born five minutes later. Both are perfect. Everyone is healthy.

Mommy and Daddy are in love.

Can you think of a better way to end a day? Because I certainly can't.

SO much love from me to all four of you xoxoxo

Sarah Kay: If I should have a daughter ... | Video on TED.com

We don't have babies yet, but this might get us inspired :)



Sarah Kay: If I should have a daughter ... | Video on TED.com...click here!

Here's the poem by Sarah Kay that just brought me quite easily to tears. "A performing poet since she was 14 years old, Sarah Kay is the founder of Project V.O.I.C.E, teaching poetry and self-expression at schools across the United States."

Tread lightly, friends...

If I should have a daughter
instead of Mom,
she's gonna call me Point B
because that way she knows
that no matter what happens,
she can always find her way to me.
And I'm going to paint solar systems on the backs of her hands
so she has to learn the entire universe
before she can say,
"Oh, I know that like the back of my hand."

And she's going to learn that this life will hit you hard in the face,
wait for you to get back up just so it can kick you in the stomach.
But getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way
to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.

There is hurt that cannot be fixed by Band-Aids or poetry.
So the first time she realizes that Wonder Woman isn't coming, I'll make sure she knows she doesn't have to wear the cape all by herself.
Because no matter how wide you stretch your fingers,
your hands will always be too small
to catch all the pain you want to heal.
Believe me, I've tried.

"And Baby, I'll tell her, don't keep your nose up in the air like that. I know that trick; I've done it a million times.
You're just smelling for smoke
so you can follow the trail back to a burning house
so you can find the boy
who lost everything in the fire
to see if you can save him.
Or else find the boy who lit the fire in the first place,
to see if you can change him."

But I know she will anyway, so instead
I'll always keep an extra supply of chocolate and rain boots nearby,
because there is no heartbreak that chocolate can't fix.
Okay, there's a few heartbreaks that chocolate can't fix.
But that's what the rain boots are for.
Because rain will wash away everything, if you let it.

I want her to look at the world through the underside of a glass-bottom boat,
to look through a microscope at the galaxies
that exist on the pinpoint of a human mind,
because that's the way my mom taught me.

That they'll be days like this.
They'll be days like this, my momma said.
When you open your hands to catch
and wind up with only blisters and bruises;
when you step out of the phone booth and try to fly
the very people you want to save
are the ones standing on your cape;
when your boots fill with rain, and you'll be up to your knees in disappointment.
And those are the very days you have all the more reason to say thank you.

Because there's nothing more beautiful
than the way the ocean
refuses to stop kissing the shoreline,
no matter how many times it's swept away.

You will put the wind in win-some-lose-some.
You will put the star in starting over, and over.
And no matter how many land mines erupt in a minute,
be sure your mind lands on the beauty of this funny place called life.
And yes, on a scale from one to over-trusting,
I am pretty damn naive.
But I want her to know that this world is made of sugar.
It can crumble so easily,
but don't be afraid to stick your tongue out and taste it.

"Baby," I'll tell her, "remember,
your momma is a worrier
and your poppa is a warrior,
and you are the girl with small hands
and big eyes
who never stops asking for more."

Remember good things come in threes
and so do bad things.
And always apologize when you've done something wrong.
But don't you ever apologize
for the way your eyes refuse to stop shining.
Your voice is small, but don't ever stop singing.

And when they finally hand you heartache,
when they slip war and hatred
under your door and offer you handouts
on street-corners of cynicism and defeat,
you tell them they really ought to meet your mother.

Induction

Image courtesy of trafalgarssquare at esty.com

The general consensus is that within 24 hours, the world will have two brand new girls to make our worlds better places.

My whole heart is back home right now...I'm praying hard for health, happiness, and the wonderment that comes with everything working out exactly as it is supposed to.

I love love love you two already!!!
In fact, I love love love all four of you!