Friday, October 25, 2013

Autumn Adventures (Hint: It includes a high-flying sofa)

Its a beautiful autumn day today. I went for a walk this morning and took the shortcut through the park, noticing the rows of pillars and doorsteps shaded by colored trees, while falling leaves blow across streets still wet from last nights rain. It's everything I imagined autumn in London would be. My husband brought me to such a nice city. Isn't he magnanimous? I love his beneficence!

On a more.... exciting note, we've moved! Our flat is (almost) finished, and we've made the transition from ground floor to top floor- which is so exciting! They still have to finish up some fixtures and a few other details, but for the most part, we're settling in and finding landing spots for everything we own. Its so nice to be here- knowing that we're here for a while, making a home.
But... not everything went up easily. We had a few large pieces that couldn't make it up the narrow stairwell. The only alternative? The window. Yep. Three stories up. For reference, see below.


That would be Aaron hanging halfway over the roof (you can't see Matt behind anchoring the rope.) Richard and I are hanging out the windows, trying to finagle it into the right window.

A few people totally freaked out when they saw it. One girl walked right under it with headphones on, oblivious to our warnings and the danger she was in. :-)

Our neighbors moved their car, which was probably wise. But in the end, there was no major damage done. So all in all, things went pretty well, I'd say.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Extra Credit Opportunity

So last night, we went up to check the progress on our soon-to-be flat (which, by the way, is looking fantastic and making me all excited and stuff!), and looked out the window to this sky.
Seriously gorgeous!


In other news, I saw this video last weekend. Its fast, so turn up your sound and hang on, but CGP Grey does an awesome job explaining the differences between the United Kington, Great Britain, England, and all the hullabaloo that confuses us Yanks.


And, if you're really going for the bonus extra credit, or just a geography nut, here's another of his videos on the difference between The Netherlands and Holland, which makes the UK drama look rather staid.


You're welcome. :-)

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Ramblings and Such

While my friends across the pond are experiencing the angst of a government shut-down, we're waiting with anticipation for the completion of our upstairs flat. Today the painters arrived, signaling the transition from building to finishing! We're so excited to really settle in, and I can't wait to show you all the process. I've taken some pics along the way, so perhaps I can post a timeline when its finished!

In the meantime, here are some shots of our last few weeks.

Our sleepy Saturday morning. Breakfast casserole & french press coffee are always a good way to start out the day!

Last night, the hubby got a hankering for some prawn crackers (or shrimp chips!) If you've not had them before, they look like little glass discs (see the bag in the foreground), and when you put them in hot oil, they *poof* up and look like colorful, bendy, fishy, styrofoam, which is basically what they taste like. (Though he'd probably argue with me on that one!)

Last week, another Auntie stopped by for a few days. I'm loving all these family visits! We took a few hours and visited the Columbia Road Flower Market. It was jam-packed, shoulder-to-shoulder scuffle down a crowded quarter mile, whilst vendors yell out their sales, competing for buyers attention. I'm convinced the two men competing to sell orchids are actually brothers out-bidding each other to make twice the profit! ;-) (But I won't spill their secret!)
We picked up a lovely bouquet of drying hydrangea. This is it, a week after purchase, drying out, but keeping its color beautifully. And I'm so excited to have a plant I can't kill, as its already officially dead!


Auntie and I went to Buckingham to try to see the Changing of the Guard. We arrived a half hour early to find crowds already lined up at the gate. We pushed in, and got glimpses and peeks, but watched most of it through the raised iPhones in front of us. Basically, if you come to visit me and want to see the changing of the guard, we'll plan to pack a breakfast and be there all morning. :-P Still fun to say I've done it, kinda sorta.


Browsing the Southbank Book Market under Waterloo Bridge.

Kensington Palace, past home of Princess Diana, and current home of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. (I'd say Wills and Kate, but apparently, that's not 'proper'.) We were surprised they didn't come out to say hi and give us a tour, but they did just have a baby, so I suppose we ought to cut them some slack.

I was told a certain aunt of mine loved/loves Princess Diana, so we made sure to stop by the memorial fountain.

Rather puny if you ask me, but Auntie said the queen was pretty peeved at Di for divorcing Charles, so I guess this fountain is all she got.

Crocus plants (crocuses?) (crucusi?) pop up throughout London's parks, showering the ground in a carpet of purple. It's an unexpected punch of color in the usual shades of autumn.

Loving our time in London, and praising God for his continual blessings, both little and big!