It's a quiet time of the year here as far as work goes- it's Summer so everyone is off on holidays and the kids aren't in school, and even the staff at StAG get a much needed rest from their labours. I'm picking up a few new photography projects, and helping to plan some events at Anglesey Abbey, but that's about it. These days I've been sorting through all the photos that I took over the 5 weeks that I was in the US...it's taking a VERY long time to do that as there are like 3000 or 4000 images! But it's getting sorted bit by bit.
Yesterday we had a nice day out with the international families group- it's a bit weird since we don't have any kids, but it does give us plenty of chance to talk to the parents, and we went out to Wimpole's Home Farm where there are animals to pet (and talk to) which always keeps me fairly happy. I spent about 10 minutes petting a goat- it was great. :) They also did a cow milking demonstration, and many of the internationals were interested in that. At least one friend remarked when he saw a horse and it's foal that he never knew that horses fed their babies with milk. When you are from a major city there are lots of things that you simply don't know or have never been exposed to.
Today we're trying to sort out 2 table things we're making for Nelly to be able to use the cat flap- it involves sawing, drilling, and other fun things like that. :) I've a little design in my head that I'm working off of- i'll try to get some photos up of the process. I hope we can do it today, but we need to buy a handsaw as no one here has a saw! I might be able to borrow one from the Abbey but the blades on those are notoriously dull. :)
That's it from Cambridge for now- over and out!
Sunday, 26 July 2009
Saturday, 18 July 2009
July 18, 2009
G pointed out to me that I hadn't updated the blog since I got back, and I said "Yes I have!" Well, apparently my iPhone blog post didn't make it, so here's a real post to let you all know that I made it back safe and sound. :)
Monday, 13 July 2009
July 13, 2009
Happy birthday Mom!!!
It's about 12:30am, and instead of finishing off my packing I've been doing random stuff online, such as sending an email to this horrid camera shop letting them know that I'm returning everything to them and expect a full refund. They're totally crooks. Anyway I've sorted another way to get a camera to me in the UK. Phew. :) More on that later!
Getting up at 6am tomorrow- that's 5 and a half hours from now. I don't feel very sleepy- this crazy schedule of mine is catching up with me and now I'm not sleeping right. It'll be useful in the UK since we're 5 hours ahead...I hope it'll be useful anyway. :) I expect to sleep on the plane and the bus to Cambridge.
ok I'm really going to finish the packing now- it's now or never. I can't believe I'm heading back tomorrow! I'll be a bit relieved when I'm on the plane to Newark, and thence to London after hanging out in the airport with a good friend who's coming to visit. Pr for smooth travels for me and decent rest. I'll post when I arrive back in the UK.
It's about 12:30am, and instead of finishing off my packing I've been doing random stuff online, such as sending an email to this horrid camera shop letting them know that I'm returning everything to them and expect a full refund. They're totally crooks. Anyway I've sorted another way to get a camera to me in the UK. Phew. :) More on that later!
Getting up at 6am tomorrow- that's 5 and a half hours from now. I don't feel very sleepy- this crazy schedule of mine is catching up with me and now I'm not sleeping right. It'll be useful in the UK since we're 5 hours ahead...I hope it'll be useful anyway. :) I expect to sleep on the plane and the bus to Cambridge.
ok I'm really going to finish the packing now- it's now or never. I can't believe I'm heading back tomorrow! I'll be a bit relieved when I'm on the plane to Newark, and thence to London after hanging out in the airport with a good friend who's coming to visit. Pr for smooth travels for me and decent rest. I'll post when I arrive back in the UK.
Sunday, 12 July 2009
July 12, 2009
It's Sunday night, and the "oh my goodness I'm about to travel back to a foreign country" mindset is in full swing in my brain now. :) Everything that I have been meaning to do and didn't get to has popped up in my mind, and a giant list of things that I'm so thankful for having already done springs to mind as well. There's a massive pile of things on my bed which need to be packed neatly into suitcases/bags, and a few things from the storage unit that need to come back with me which are still in the storage unit. :) I'm feeling a power surge to start packing right now, despite my previously feeling exhausted from consistent lack of sleep, not eating properly (I seem to be forgetting to eat sometimes this week) and the pure adrenaline of spending quality time with family and friends, combined with the excitement of traveling. So in other words I'm a bit of a nut case and expect to be for the next several days, until I get settled back in to Cambridge. :)
Random pre-travel thoughts are going through my mind- will I be able to find my friend Matt to meet up at Newark and hang out for a bit? Will I get stuck next to some strange person (I've been sat next to people who hum the entire flight, who haven't showered in weeks, or who sleep and trap me in the window seat, or are so wide that they take half my seat) ? Will I get the taxi pick up from the rental car place sorted out? Will I be able to find the National Express bus station at Heathrow for my bus to Cambridge, and will I get there in time for my 8:10am bus? Will there be space for my luggage (I have an extra bag)? Will I be awake enough when I get home to get started on the mound of work that's been piling up and be able to sort through the emails that are enquiries on work that is pending? Heck it's no wonder I don't feel sleepy with all that going on. :) Honestly sometimes I think my brain just creates it's own hype for the adrenaline rush- most of that is not critical, and of course it'll all work out in the end. In what will feel like no time I'll be asleep on the bus from heathrow, and G will be giving me a ride home. I'll be thinking about how interesting England always smells, and getting used to the British English all around me. I'll be wondering about when I'll find time to tackle my overgrown garden, and petting my sweet little cat, and admiring the ancient Cambridge buildings anew. Ah travel- this is why I love it. :D
It's 11:30pm now, and since my bed is almost entirely covered with things I'd sorted earlier today as a pre-packing measure I'd better get some of it packed so I have a place to sleep. Tomorrow I'm off to Birch Run with my mom to do a bit of shopping, and doing some random errands before I head out Tuesday morning. Good night all!
Random pre-travel thoughts are going through my mind- will I be able to find my friend Matt to meet up at Newark and hang out for a bit? Will I get stuck next to some strange person (I've been sat next to people who hum the entire flight, who haven't showered in weeks, or who sleep and trap me in the window seat, or are so wide that they take half my seat) ? Will I get the taxi pick up from the rental car place sorted out? Will I be able to find the National Express bus station at Heathrow for my bus to Cambridge, and will I get there in time for my 8:10am bus? Will there be space for my luggage (I have an extra bag)? Will I be awake enough when I get home to get started on the mound of work that's been piling up and be able to sort through the emails that are enquiries on work that is pending? Heck it's no wonder I don't feel sleepy with all that going on. :) Honestly sometimes I think my brain just creates it's own hype for the adrenaline rush- most of that is not critical, and of course it'll all work out in the end. In what will feel like no time I'll be asleep on the bus from heathrow, and G will be giving me a ride home. I'll be thinking about how interesting England always smells, and getting used to the British English all around me. I'll be wondering about when I'll find time to tackle my overgrown garden, and petting my sweet little cat, and admiring the ancient Cambridge buildings anew. Ah travel- this is why I love it. :D
It's 11:30pm now, and since my bed is almost entirely covered with things I'd sorted earlier today as a pre-packing measure I'd better get some of it packed so I have a place to sleep. Tomorrow I'm off to Birch Run with my mom to do a bit of shopping, and doing some random errands before I head out Tuesday morning. Good night all!
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
I just made it to Ann Arbor and checking email at Panera, and feeling really annoyed. There were 2 young moms sitting near me, with wee ones maybe 18 mos old. No surprise that the kids made a bit of a mess. But the panera woman who came round to clean up made a HUGE show of cleaning up and said really loudly "some people just cant clean up after themselves." These 2 ladies happened to be speaking Spanish, and i got the distinct impression that she said that so loudly because she thought they wouldnt hear. Anyway i felt really angry at this racial ly motivated comment. Get over it America! America is a multiethnic society with people speaking lots of languages and from different ethnic backgrounds. I love that about our country- its diverse and i'm happy to embrace that.
-- Posted from my iPhone
July 7, 2009
Here i am on a plane...again. :) 6am puddle jumper to Detroit from Wichita. Its barely light outside, and i'll be glad to touchdown in Detroit. I have one more week to the day in the States before i head back to the UK. I can almost smell England right now- every place has a smell and I have a little smells catalogue somewhere in my brain. :)
Outside the plane i can see the patchwork quilt of the farms of Kansas below us in the rosy colour of dawn...its lovely.
-- Posted from my iPhone
Outside the plane i can see the patchwork quilt of the farms of Kansas below us in the rosy colour of dawn...its lovely.
-- Posted from my iPhone
Sunday, 5 July 2009
July 5, 2009
Today has been a recovery day for G and I both after a VERY long day photographing my dear friend Holli's wedding. We were at it for at least 12 hours- well I was, I think G got a break in the middle of the day that I didn't get. :) The wedding went very smoothly and so did the photos, and now my problem is that I don't have enough space on my hard drive for the 30GB worth of images that we both took. I may have to wait to process them all till I get back to Cambridge so I can back up my hard drive and clear the laptop hard drive off. We spent the day hanging out with our friends who are hosting us- they have 4 girls, and we've enjoyed spending time with them. This is the first night I've been in bed before 10pm for several weeks.
G is London bound Tuesday morning, and I'm heading back to Michigan VERY early Tuesday morning myself. Tomorrow we're going to the zoo in the morning and then having lunch with someone from River, and then I'm having coffee with some BNI folks in Wichita. It'll be a good day overall.
As always I'm feeling a bit sad about leaving family and friends and heading back to Cambridge- I tend to anticipate feeling sad kind of far in advance since I don't leave until the 14th. :) But it will be nice to sleep in my own bed again, and to get back to my photo projects and my work at the Abbey.
G is London bound Tuesday morning, and I'm heading back to Michigan VERY early Tuesday morning myself. Tomorrow we're going to the zoo in the morning and then having lunch with someone from River, and then I'm having coffee with some BNI folks in Wichita. It'll be a good day overall.
As always I'm feeling a bit sad about leaving family and friends and heading back to Cambridge- I tend to anticipate feeling sad kind of far in advance since I don't leave until the 14th. :) But it will be nice to sleep in my own bed again, and to get back to my photo projects and my work at the Abbey.
Saturday, 4 July 2009
July 4, 2009
Happy Independence Day!!! This is going to be brief as I'm exhausted after all day photographing a wedding. I'll be back in A2 tuesday and G is off to London. Hope you enjoyed the weekend!
-- Posted from my iPhone
-- Posted from my iPhone
Thursday, 2 July 2009
July 1
Im writing this from the plane around 10:15pm somewhere far above the heartland of America. Its dusky down below, and from here I can see little burstd of fireworks in small towns all across America. Little puffs of red and white and green are appearing in every town and village and farm...its so touching really. Tho I live far away I'm reminded of the soldiers who died to give us freedom, and tho I dont know their names I'm still grateful. I hope you have a blessed 4th of July.
-- Posted from my iPhone
-- Posted from my iPhone
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