convincing a man...

well, really, after all these years dealing with the opposite sex I am convinced that no one can talk a man into do something he doesn't want to do. no one. I have been trying to get H to take a weekend off and go somewhere hot but he's not convinced- either that or he just doesn't want to get on a plane, eat some nice food and surf for a weekend...I can't quite fathom that though!

He's telling me there's too much to do, too little time and not enough of him to do it. But what does that have to do with surfing?!

Hmm, what to do? Gamble and book tickets?- or maybe just book them for myself?!

drunken Sunday?

the best day.

on the little green catching rays...

all equipment and bikes available at the gym...

then on the Green with friends- I was going to say old and new- but that's not really true- mostly old- although Dylan (at 3 months) is relatively new and showing his obvious boredom by falling asleep!

Great to catch up with Mathew, Imo, Snez and Huw- I pretty much downed a whole bottle of Lindauer myself and now can't feel my forehead- a good thing on a Friday night, not such a good thing on a hot Sunday evening with the un-partiest man in the world demanding tea!

am off to do the laundry and all the good domestic stuff that I have been putting off in hopes that it would 'do itself'...damn the cleaner...or not.

a plan?

haven't made proper travel plans for ages, don't know where to start...but I do need to get to France for the 25th of August and I need to be back in London by the - oh! the 9th September!!! I thought it was the 2nd. Well, let's hope I can get my shit together cause I don't wanna be driving a smart car on holiday!...and I'm too old to hitch-hike. Plus I haven't used a backpack for years and I am somewhat accustomed to the Mercedes we had hired last time we were in France- although I think I might be riding solo on this trip- so I won't have (or need) any back-up plans. (sorry- this will require some explaining which I was hoping not to do- but here goes...last time we were in France Hamish backed into a huge concrete barrier- which was about 6 feet wide by 4 feet high...hence the 'back-up plan').

I'm wanting to get some Mediterranean sun before Clémence's wedding on the 30th August and if I'm still not working then why not? Sun anywhere is always a bonus- especially if it's somewhere that's not home!

Today was supposedly the hottest day of summer so far but it was only a humid 27°C. Not hot- just sweaty- thankfully I was only on the bus for a 'brief' 15 minutes to and from Imogen's house this morning!

Have a great rest of your weekend everyone. Hope it's hot like Portugal was...but I think only Portugal is hot like Portugal was...and remember that some sunscreen is better than none, and even if you've applied, apply every time you expose new skin...Katherine...!

mothers...some people do have em

okay, so mum was at a 'town reunion' in Saskatchewan last weekend and - well, it sounded like it was a great time. She caught up with her brothers, her mum and old friends -no, I don't mean 'old' friends, I mean friends from the past....but after hounding her for months to send me photos of the new deck, the newly refinished office and her beloved backyard, she sends me photos of gravestones and my uncles' asses. HUH?

been out with Im and Katherine causing a bit of a stir at the Swan in Chiswick... definitely did some shaking but the stirring didn't quite work...

love you mum, even though you haven't sent me the deck, the office and the rest...

kiwis abroad

Well, Jane and Jeff have arrived for their month-long adventure. Although I met them at the airport last Thursday I have been blessed with a summer cold since and did not make it to the pig roast on Saturday...I'm sure it was a mini beer fest as well!

I heard they bought a campervan and headed off to Wales on Monday. All I can say is 'have fun kids', and don't forget to stop in Newport and give the rugby boys a squeeze.

Happy birthday Kelli!

long time...

since I've seen you smile!

Phew, what an action packed few weeks it's been! We had Clem's hen 'do'- a pretty tame affair at Guanabara with samba lessons and many fruity mojitos and caipirinhas to pass the night away. If it weren't for the fancy-assed professional dancers I would have cut a proper rug myself...we didn't make her do anything stoopid- except for the cheesy flashing Bride-to-Be veil...and she only had that on half the time anyways. So, dress is sorted, new shoes have been packed and Clem was home to France on Friday. Hopefully the frenchies didn't make her do anything horrible for her French hen night...remains to be seen.


Katherine and I went for a much-anticipated weekend of sun in Albuferia (that's at the bottom of Portugal for you lot- who know who you are!!!) - it was the week of my birthday and I was feeling the need. Haven't had a weekend away with a girlfriend for YEARS. It was just the thing to refresh my being! We planned in April. Left home at 5am. We slept on the plane. Uncomfortably. Had a bit of uncertainty about how we were getting to our hotel then shared a cab with some orange girls from Manchester. We were into our beach clothes by 12:30 and on the beach by 1:30. What a great day. Nothing burnt! and a fun night of drinks and dancing. Met a gaggle of English boys and their dads on a family-oriented stag weekend. Tucked into our air conditioned beds by 3am.
Then.
Up and on the beach by 10am! After a day in the sun we were only a little burnt- my boobs, Katherine's butt- and off to dinner, vodka and more scary Portuguese cheesy men dancing. Am pleased to say we held our own and closed the bars down for a second night running. I was especially pleased as it meant that although I am 35 I am not too old to party properly! I thought I'd passed it. Plus I haven't had much in the way of partying of late being married to the most un-party man on the planet.
So.
During this week of adventures I had the most horrific ear infection ever. EVER. I can't remember the last time I had one, or ever if I've ever had one but this one took the cake, the bread and perhaps even the bed. I couldn't swallow or speak without having pain in my jaw. I couldn't sleep, eat or sit without pain in my jaw. I couldn't bend, walk or talk without pain in my jaw- which I'm sure was a relief for some, but not me. I would not recommend an inner ear infection to anyone- even if I had enemies I wouldn't recommend it. All this meant I was on a mushy diet for our weekend away- please note, I did not say 'liquid'...

So Katherine and I came back with the cheapest souvenir- a tan. Really nice and brown and I'm sure when we are 75 or 80 we will not regret the fact that we hired sun loungers for two days but will remember tales from Wales and the guy letting his girlfriend squeeze his zits while gazing lovingly and longingly a her- and then squeezing hers back! Why us? They picked, scratched and squeezed in front of us for a good hour! If they were closer I would've asked them to move. If they weren't English speaking I would've made sure they understood!!!! Honestly.

It feels like forever since I've updated this.

And- oh lord help me. I have reinstated my facebook account. Talk about the biggest timewaster in the entire world! I have stopped looking. I have reconnected. I have laughed and viewed photos of babies till I can't view any more photos of babies! All good though. Need to concentrate on real life now- and man, I will be quite busy next time I am back home!- 'home' being Kelowna in this instance...has been strange in a nice way to reconnect with old friends and flames.

days of summer remembered

...last Thursday...

laying on my back on the Little Green...looking up and seeing

...followed by...

and now
rain.

it's my party

so today I am 35. I had a pretty peaceful day. Until I moved to New Zealand I didn't know my birthday without sun. Since I moved to England I haven't known my birthday without rain. July is always hot, hot and dry in Kelowna and my birthday was always hot, hot and dry- well, dry as in no rain, no snow and nothing wet besides the sprinkler or the lake- and even that was by choice! Today in London it rained, it poured and although there was a minuscule peek of sun there was also a bit of thunder and lightning! Quite exciting for a July birthday!

...it was uneventful until I broke a £50 champagne glass (yes, the ones I got a week ago) with £60 worth of champagne in it...ho ho ho. Haim was pretty happy with that let me tell you! At least I didn't cut myself walking through the remnants to unplug the power cord that happened to be in the way! And Haim got the vacuum out and tidied up without too much fuss and (believe it or not!) no swearing. a miracle really. No limbs broken. No blood. Just another year on the tally board. One more chalked up.

I even got a small cake at the Glasshouse and I had prayed that the wait staff wouldn't sing Happy Birthday- they were quite respectful of that prayer and subduedly wished me well which was great. By that stage in the evening there weren't many people in the restaurant so that was even better.

Although the occasion did warrant a bottle of special champagne (see above) and a lovely lunch and dinner out there were no diamonds this year. A girl can only hope.

new bag for the (old) bag lady

do I have the best friends or what? A surprise birthday gift (the biggest and best ever!) from the girls made my Wednesday night- at Snez's birthday dinner!!! I got a new bag, played auntie trace for a few hours - shushed Dylan til he fell asleep on my shoulder (dead arm for an hour, pins and needles shortly followed- how do you mums do it?!) and caught up with the girls all at once! And since my birthday is on a wonky Monday this year and we all have much to do next week they gave me my gift early (nothing wrong with that I say!). Good ole' Im remembered that I loved this bag when it was first out last year and she dutifully fulfilled my wish. It's huge! Big enough to take on our weekend to Portugal (next weekend!!!) but then that might just not be big enough...will have to test it out though, especially after waiting all this time for it!

Speaking of playing auntie trace- wow, there must be something in the water at the moment. Births, due dates and prams abound in my life right now. Congratulations to all of you new mums and mums-to-be! My clock has stopped at noon a the moment...not feeling very clucky or nesty. Must be something to do with that dead arm. Or something like that! I'm happy to be auntie trace for a while- I can return Dylan with a poopy nappy and I know I can sleep till 10 if I really want to- or drink all that lovely champagne we've just acquired without feeling the least bit of guilt- monetary or otherwise- having NOT spent nappy money on it!!!

This week has been busy. Went to Kingston for a quick shopping trip on Wednesday and saw an OLD woman on the bus reading an article in a glossy magazine about the 5 best tips for making your orgasm last longer...and I truly mean she was reading the article! I was sitting across from her and trying not to laugh when the grumpy looking man behind her poked her at their stop. EW. But it goes to show doesn't it? Apparently it doesn't fall off if you're ugly or old!

errand day

after speaking to (my uncle) Trace on Sunday night, I am wondering why I even drive anymore. We both agreed that there are more ‘special’ people driving than ever and if we’re not behind them they are coming for us down the centre line. And really, how does that thin strip of white keep me safe?! Over here the roads are filled to breaking point with fools behind the wheels of mercedes, bmw’s and volvos. I had them all in a perfect line for about 40 miles yesterday, alternately speeding, swerving and signalling into oblivion and if all that viewing pleasure wasn’t enough, I spent the best part of the beautiful sunny early evening stuck behind another idiot who had tenderly placed his bmw into a lorry on the North Circular. Of course it was 5:30pm, the almost-rush hour home and all lanes were chocker. Luckily the streetcar I was in had air conditioning and a decent radio. I find that as long as I am cool and have music I can sit in traffic for hours and not be bothered…well, aside from the wasted time, the missed appointment and the extra cost for the car…anyways, when I finally did get home I managed to score a parking spot right outside our front step- despite the fact that the theatre was drawing quite a large elderly crowd! Bonus. If I’d been home earlier I probably wouldn’t have gotten that spot and I would still be dragging groceries across the Green. So I guess traffic is sometime a good thing. Despite the pollution. And the hours of wasted time- if I had a tape deck I could’ve listened to and practiced my French- and I suppose the cost of petrol. In fact, despite all the negative environmental and monetary costs, traffic is okay. It gives you a chance to think about your life-well I suppose if I wasn’t sitting in cool-air comfort and singing along to Robbie Williams I would’ve thought about my life. But I was singing to Robbie and laughing inwardly at the poor kids beside me in an ancient toyota with all the windows opened and looking like they were about to die of heat (and probably BO) stroke. But with age comes comfort.

So yesterday I did all the errands I have been postponing for the last few weeks. Huge black bin bags of plastic to recycling. Costco run to Watford for an institutional-sized box of washing powder, dishwasher tablets and nurofen. The organic shops along the way for the essentials, and a stock up of a few live herb plants to re-pot. Ikea for a door mat and a loss of sanity. Charity shop for a quick browse and a substantial drop-off. Oh yes.

Hamish wanted these crystal champagne glasses for ages, and he finally found them in town, so I dutifully spent almost all of Friday tracking down the wine shop that sold them as well as traipsing into Soho to a little-known wine shop (it's speciality is whisky) for a couple of bottles of the good stuff. Of course, these new glasses need a proper shelf space and I had none. Out comes a box and in go my special glasses, glasses and glasses. Now safely ensconced on the ensuing free shelf, his prized flutes are standing awaiting their dew…and a box full of glass bits is stored away, while another has already been unpacked and placed on the charity shop shelves. I figured it’s not too big of a sacrifice as most of the stuff I got rid of was from ikea and due to break at any time!!!

oh, and mum-I found my scissors.