Saturday, June 30, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Final Plans
OK - I think I've got nearly everything figured out. I've got tickets to Romeo & Juliet on the way, I've got train passes and tickets ordered, I've got B&B's, hotels and hostels arranged and couches to surf. Here's where we're staying:
London x 1 night after coming from Edinburgh en route to Leeds Castle:
http://www.hostelworld.com/availability.php/StChristophersOrientEspresso-London-504
In Maidstone x 1 night:
http://uk-bookings.eviivo.com/MyWebsite/Page/MyWebsite/MyWebsite.aspx?XsltBranding=true&StyleDir=InformationBritain&ReferrerName=InformationBritain&ShortName=grange_moor
B&B x 1 night:
http://www.woodstanway.co.uk/index.htm#
And in Paris x 2 nights:
http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/FIAPJeanMonnet-Paris-20653
In Paris, we'll be doing this:
http://www.fattirebiketoursparis.com/bikes/bike-tour/versailles-bike-tour.shtml
and this:
http://www.fattirebiketoursparis.com/bikes/bike-tour/paris-bike-night-tour.shtml
and we may do the day tour as well.
I'm tempted to go to EuroDisney, but I think that might be too much!
London x 1 night after coming from Edinburgh en route to Leeds Castle:
http://www.hostelworld.com/availability.php/StChristophersOrientEspresso-London-504
In Maidstone x 1 night:
http://uk-bookings.eviivo.com/MyWebsite/Page/MyWebsite/MyWebsite.aspx?XsltBranding=true&StyleDir=InformationBritain&ReferrerName=InformationBritain&ShortName=grange_moor
B&B x 1 night:
http://www.woodstanway.co.uk/index.htm#
And in Paris x 2 nights:
http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/FIAPJeanMonnet-Paris-20653
In Paris, we'll be doing this:
http://www.fattirebiketoursparis.com/bikes/bike-tour/versailles-bike-tour.shtml
and this:
http://www.fattirebiketoursparis.com/bikes/bike-tour/paris-bike-night-tour.shtml
and we may do the day tour as well.
I'm tempted to go to EuroDisney, but I think that might be too much!
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Somedays...
...work stinks. I NEED a vacation and wish I didn't have to worry about it. That is all.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Weekend Project
...soaping!
Three batches made: Cedarwood Mint, Black Forest Juniper and Instant Karma. All 3 are very earthy and woodsy; not my usual sweet and fruity scents. I attempted some swirls - we'll see how it goes! They smell great, irregardless of how they look!
Three batches made: Cedarwood Mint, Black Forest Juniper and Instant Karma. All 3 are very earthy and woodsy; not my usual sweet and fruity scents. I attempted some swirls - we'll see how it goes! They smell great, irregardless of how they look!
Saturday, June 23, 2007
My Travel Scrapbook
Front CoverMetal tags say "Europe" and "2007"
I cut and did the lettering myself
Inside Cover
Itinerary Page
Inside back cover
Back cover - I thought it was ver Harry Potter-ish! All of the papers are from Die Cuts with a View "Once Upon A Time" Series. I embossed the front and back covers at the spine with gold embossing powder, but I think I will add some copper emboss to the front cover.
A.'s Travel Scrapbook
Front Cover The metal tags say "Europe" and "2007"
The paper is ~1/4 sheet of the Union Jack - the inside covers and back cover are also covered this way.
This is our itinerary (duh!) My plan is to give the book to A. on the plane and not tell her about Paris until she reads it in her book!
Page 2 of the Itinerary
A preliminary list of firsts - trans-Atlantic flight, train trip, castle, etc
A.'s dad, my hubby, has a serious talent at finding 4 leaf clovers. It truly is a gift - last weekend he found four 4-leaf clovers and one 5-leaf clover. Here's one he found for A. for good luck on her trip!What I've Been Doing This Week
I've been working on my and A.'s travel scrapbooks! Lots of little piddly work, but they are coming along nicely! Of course I have mine all planned out how I want it, then make A.'s and like hers better! But I'm liking mine more and more - I think it will be cool!
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
They're Off
...to Norway! The boy (i.e. I.) and his grandpa are in Norway and apparently I. is having a great time - he and M. have disappeared, only to come out for meals! Yay! I hope he stays all summer!
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
What I'm Loving Now
1. New Die Cuts With A View "The Once Upon A Time" series mat stacks
2. Hairbands with the grippy stuff on one side so they stay put (hairbands are THE fashion accessory this season - or at least they are for me!)
3. Sending I. to Norway - he's SO excited!
4. Meeting up with A., I. and A.'s friend for lunch and having a really good time - "Hey Copper, wanna whopper?" and "Where's Waldo?" and "I'm gonna take a picture of one of those guys with the red coat and big hat and they can't move at all even if you kick them for you" (A. said to her friend)
5. Wearing my very cool camo Bermuda's - they are so awesome
6. Buying a weed whip that is rechargeable and small and light enough for me to use without developing lateral epicondylitis
7. Planning my and A.'s travel scrapbooks - I like to make a kit for us to take along and put the small scrapbook together while we are travelling so when we get back, we have something to show to everyone immediately. Then we can take our time with the big scrapbook (yah-like 2 years!). My book will have the "Once Upon A Time" cardstock on the cover and throughout the book cuz it looks like England to me. A.'s will have the Union Jack and other 'typical' British stuff on it and in it.
8. NOT telling A. that we are going to Paris as well as England AND Scotland and keeping it a BIG surprise for her! (She was pretty amazed that we were going to Scotland.)
9. My iPod - it has all the BEST songs on it and I love the shuffle feature!
2. Hairbands with the grippy stuff on one side so they stay put (hairbands are THE fashion accessory this season - or at least they are for me!)
3. Sending I. to Norway - he's SO excited!
4. Meeting up with A., I. and A.'s friend for lunch and having a really good time - "Hey Copper, wanna whopper?" and "Where's Waldo?" and "I'm gonna take a picture of one of those guys with the red coat and big hat and they can't move at all even if you kick them for you" (A. said to her friend)
5. Wearing my very cool camo Bermuda's - they are so awesome
6. Buying a weed whip that is rechargeable and small and light enough for me to use without developing lateral epicondylitis
7. Planning my and A.'s travel scrapbooks - I like to make a kit for us to take along and put the small scrapbook together while we are travelling so when we get back, we have something to show to everyone immediately. Then we can take our time with the big scrapbook (yah-like 2 years!). My book will have the "Once Upon A Time" cardstock on the cover and throughout the book cuz it looks like England to me. A.'s will have the Union Jack and other 'typical' British stuff on it and in it.
8. NOT telling A. that we are going to Paris as well as England AND Scotland and keeping it a BIG surprise for her! (She was pretty amazed that we were going to Scotland.)
9. My iPod - it has all the BEST songs on it and I love the shuffle feature!
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Got 'Em!
My shirts for Harry Potter related events in England, that is! Here's what I got:
For the Book Release
For the Book Release
For a random day
If I was going to a LIVE PotterCast, I'd wear this for Sue! As it is, I'll probably save it for another event.
For the Movie Premiere
Here's What I'll Be Doing In October
http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2007/6/14/j-k-rowling-to-tour-in-us-october-2007
Yep! I'm gonna win one of those tickets for the NYC Event!
Yep! I'm gonna win one of those tickets for the NYC Event!
Hurry, Hurry ...
...take your WOMBATs before they close!
Here's the link at Leaky:
http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2007/6/13/do-not-disturb-sign-gone-on-j-k-rowling-com
Here's the link at Leaky:
http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2007/6/13/do-not-disturb-sign-gone-on-j-k-rowling-com
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Lest You Think I Am the Evil Step-Mom
...we are sending my step-son somewhere cool this summer, as well. I. will be going to Norway for 5 weeks! He'll travel there with his grandfather to visit my husband's foreign exchange sister. Her son and I. are the same age and hit it off immediately last summer on their family's visit to MN. I. will be there for 2 weeks with his grandpa and will be there alone for the last 3 weeks. We REALLY hope that this is a growing up experience for him and that he can learn to function independently away from his mother. We're so excited that he has this opportunity and hope that he will come to appreciate what this means for him at some point. And we're hopeful that he will be invited back!
Monday, June 11, 2007
I'm Addicted
...to my statcounter! Every day, I must check the stats - who has been here? where did they come from? how long did they stay? what did they read? over 200 visits? (probably mostly by myself)
It's driving me crazy not being able to figure it all out!
It's driving me crazy not being able to figure it all out!
Improving Disposition
I am getting over my disappointment about missing the LIVE PotterCast in Chicago for the release of Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows. I'm still a bit sad, but had such a great idea that it's brought me out of it!
I just contacted Melissa, Sue and John about being a PotterCast liason in the UK for the public movie release and the book release! My husband has a digital voice recorder that I could use for 'man on the street' - type interviews that I think would be a lot of fun. I hope they get back to me - I'd love to be a part of the Harry Potter experience in this way! I'm such a nerd!
p.s. yah, I know, I was way off on my prediction of where the PotterCast Trio would be for the book release. Oh well, like I said, a girl can dream and that's exactly what I'm doing now!
I just contacted Melissa, Sue and John about being a PotterCast liason in the UK for the public movie release and the book release! My husband has a digital voice recorder that I could use for 'man on the street' - type interviews that I think would be a lot of fun. I hope they get back to me - I'd love to be a part of the Harry Potter experience in this way! I'm such a nerd!
p.s. yah, I know, I was way off on my prediction of where the PotterCast Trio would be for the book release. Oh well, like I said, a girl can dream and that's exactly what I'm doing now!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Running
I love to run. Mind you, I am not fast (I suppose I should call it jogging, but running sounds cooler) nor can I run for a long distance. Since my back injury in April, I haven't been able to run, but my back has been feeling much better and I needed to get back into the swing of things before all the momentum ran out.
So today I ran.
It was on a treadmill and was only for 10 minutes, but it felt great! Slowly I will work my way up to a 5K, then a 10K. My goal is the DisneyLand Half-Marathon.
We participated in the Inaugural Half-Marathon last September and have signed up for this year's as well. I don't expect to be able to run the entire race, especially after my back injury way-laid my training, but someday I will complete it! I just plan on being able to run in the race part way and make it farther than I did last year.
YAY for me!
So today I ran.
It was on a treadmill and was only for 10 minutes, but it felt great! Slowly I will work my way up to a 5K, then a 10K. My goal is the DisneyLand Half-Marathon.
We participated in the Inaugural Half-Marathon last September and have signed up for this year's as well. I don't expect to be able to run the entire race, especially after my back injury way-laid my training, but someday I will complete it! I just plan on being able to run in the race part way and make it farther than I did last year.
YAY for me!
Soap
So, what's the big deal with soap? We all use it (I hope) and it's all the same, right? Wrong! There is a vast difference between store bought soap and the kind of soap that I make. Store bought soap, for the most part, is actaully a detergent. It is filled with chemicals that most of us can't pronounce, but it is effective at cutting through that oily layer our skin makes on a daily basis (alot of times too effective; it can actually strip the oils off our skin which leads to an overproduction of oil as our skin tries to rebalance itself).
The soap that I make is a true soap, no detergents added. It has been specially formulated to do exactly what I want it to do (isn't chemistry cool?!). The soap that I make cleanses your skin without stripping it. I have formulated my soap to have a lot of thick, rich lather, be very conditioning to the skin and be an effective, but gentle cleanser.
How do I make soap? Soap is the salt of an acid base reaction (remember your general chemistry? The product of an acid base reaction is a salt). I mix lye, the basic ingredient, with fatty acids, in this case vegetable oils. I simply mix, fragrance and color, pour it into a mold and put it into a warm oven overnight. By morning, I have soap! After the soap has hardened and can hold it's shape, it can be cut into bars and then is left to dry which leads to a hard bar of soap.
While my exact recipe is a secret and has been fine tuned to my liking over the last 6 years, I can tell you that my soaps contain coconut oil, palm oil, olive oil, sweet almond oil, castor oil, shea butter and silk. I use soap specific dyes, micas and ultramarines to color my soap. I am a scent ho and love fragrances, so I use fragrance oils as well as essential oils in my soaps.
While I have been soaping for 6 years, I still strive to perfect the swirl. I love swirled soap and marbeled soap. Check these out, this is what I'd love to perfect:
http://www.sweetchurnedsoaps.bravehost.com/soaps.html
Unfortunately, life gets in the way of soaping far too often and I don't get to do as much of it as I would like. Also, unfortunately, my husband is allergic to the fragrances I use and so I have to soap at my parent's home which makes it a bit more difficult.
I'll post some pics of my soap sometime soon. Too bad there isn't a smell feature on the computer, then I could relaly impress you!
The soap that I make is a true soap, no detergents added. It has been specially formulated to do exactly what I want it to do (isn't chemistry cool?!). The soap that I make cleanses your skin without stripping it. I have formulated my soap to have a lot of thick, rich lather, be very conditioning to the skin and be an effective, but gentle cleanser.
How do I make soap? Soap is the salt of an acid base reaction (remember your general chemistry? The product of an acid base reaction is a salt). I mix lye, the basic ingredient, with fatty acids, in this case vegetable oils. I simply mix, fragrance and color, pour it into a mold and put it into a warm oven overnight. By morning, I have soap! After the soap has hardened and can hold it's shape, it can be cut into bars and then is left to dry which leads to a hard bar of soap.
While my exact recipe is a secret and has been fine tuned to my liking over the last 6 years, I can tell you that my soaps contain coconut oil, palm oil, olive oil, sweet almond oil, castor oil, shea butter and silk. I use soap specific dyes, micas and ultramarines to color my soap. I am a scent ho and love fragrances, so I use fragrance oils as well as essential oils in my soaps.
While I have been soaping for 6 years, I still strive to perfect the swirl. I love swirled soap and marbeled soap. Check these out, this is what I'd love to perfect:
http://www.sweetchurnedsoaps.bravehost.com/soaps.html
Unfortunately, life gets in the way of soaping far too often and I don't get to do as much of it as I would like. Also, unfortunately, my husband is allergic to the fragrances I use and so I have to soap at my parent's home which makes it a bit more difficult.
I'll post some pics of my soap sometime soon. Too bad there isn't a smell feature on the computer, then I could relaly impress you!
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Rugby
...is an odd game! We watched my step-daughter play her final 2 games of the year today and really didn't understand much of what was going on. I wish I did - it looks like fun and a sport I would have liked when I was in school!
I think this is a line out
A Scrum
Disappointed
The PotterCasters are going to be in Chicago for the Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows release and I'll be in London. They'll be closer to home than I will be! Not that I'm sad about being in the UK, it's just that I really wanted to go to a LIVE PotterCast as part of my ultimate HP experience - you know - do it ALL!
My biggest disappointment about the whole release thing is that it would have been nice if the 'powers that be' (i.e. JKR, PotterCast, etc) had announced their plans earlier. (I know, I know, they probably didn't know until recently either, but I so wanted to see everyone.) It takes a lot of time to plan a trip - I had to get OK for vacation way back in February - and knowing that this was the final book and how big a deal it is for fans, they should have realized that many fans would be making special plans for it and that many of us would want to know where our favorite people would be so we could celebrate with them. Had I known earlier that there would be absolutely no opportunity for me to see JKR in the UK and that PotterCast would be a mere 8 hours from my home, I may have forgone the expensive trip to Europe and saved it for next summer (and saved more money for the trip and gone when airplane tickets were much cheaper than the middle of July). I'm not blaming or begrudging anyone - I made the decision to go and am still VERY excited because it's going to be an awesome experience - but it would have been nice to have had the time to plan things in advance by where the people I wanted to be with would be.
That's all. I'm just kind of a sad panda right now. I'm sure I'll get over it and have a FABULOUS trip :)
My biggest disappointment about the whole release thing is that it would have been nice if the 'powers that be' (i.e. JKR, PotterCast, etc) had announced their plans earlier. (I know, I know, they probably didn't know until recently either, but I so wanted to see everyone.) It takes a lot of time to plan a trip - I had to get OK for vacation way back in February - and knowing that this was the final book and how big a deal it is for fans, they should have realized that many fans would be making special plans for it and that many of us would want to know where our favorite people would be so we could celebrate with them. Had I known earlier that there would be absolutely no opportunity for me to see JKR in the UK and that PotterCast would be a mere 8 hours from my home, I may have forgone the expensive trip to Europe and saved it for next summer (and saved more money for the trip and gone when airplane tickets were much cheaper than the middle of July). I'm not blaming or begrudging anyone - I made the decision to go and am still VERY excited because it's going to be an awesome experience - but it would have been nice to have had the time to plan things in advance by where the people I wanted to be with would be.
That's all. I'm just kind of a sad panda right now. I'm sure I'll get over it and have a FABULOUS trip :)
Friday, June 8, 2007
It's All Coming Together
...my plans for my trip to Europe for the Ultimate Harry Potter Experience!
Here's the way it's currently looking:
Leave MSP 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, 10 July.
Arrive London Gatwick a.m. Wednesday, 11 July.
Take a train to Edinburgh.
Wednesday p.m. arrive at Couchsurfing host's near Edinburgh.
Thursday, Friday and Saturday sightseeing in and around Edinburgh, Scotland.
Sunday a.m. take train to Maidstone, southeast of London.
Somehow get to Leeds Castle on Sunday afternoon for sightseeing, then the Globe Theatre's production of Romeo & Juliet at the Castle that evening.
Stay overnight near Leeds Castle.
Monday a.m. train or bus to Winchcombe in the Cotswolds to check into the B&B.
Monday and Tuesday hanging out at the B&B, horseback riding, etc.
Tuesday evening bus or train to London to arrive at London Couchsurfing hostess' home.
Wednesday-Sunday sightseeing in London.
Friday, 20 July wait in line for Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows and attend a release party either at the Borders store on Charing Cross Road or the Waterstones nearby (depends on where my favorite PotterCasters will be if they are in London; otherwise I plan to meet up with new friends from the Leaky Lounge!).
Monday, 23 July a.m. train to Paris.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday in Paris and Versailles.
Wednesday, 25 July p.m. tain back to near Gatwick.
Thursday, 26 July around noon fly back to MSP.
Yay! I can't wait!
Here's the way it's currently looking:
Leave MSP 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, 10 July.
Arrive London Gatwick a.m. Wednesday, 11 July.
Take a train to Edinburgh.
Wednesday p.m. arrive at Couchsurfing host's near Edinburgh.
Thursday, Friday and Saturday sightseeing in and around Edinburgh, Scotland.
Sunday a.m. take train to Maidstone, southeast of London.
Somehow get to Leeds Castle on Sunday afternoon for sightseeing, then the Globe Theatre's production of Romeo & Juliet at the Castle that evening.
Stay overnight near Leeds Castle.
Monday a.m. train or bus to Winchcombe in the Cotswolds to check into the B&B.
Monday and Tuesday hanging out at the B&B, horseback riding, etc.
Tuesday evening bus or train to London to arrive at London Couchsurfing hostess' home.
Wednesday-Sunday sightseeing in London.
Friday, 20 July wait in line for Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows and attend a release party either at the Borders store on Charing Cross Road or the Waterstones nearby (depends on where my favorite PotterCasters will be if they are in London; otherwise I plan to meet up with new friends from the Leaky Lounge!).
Monday, 23 July a.m. train to Paris.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday in Paris and Versailles.
Wednesday, 25 July p.m. tain back to near Gatwick.
Thursday, 26 July around noon fly back to MSP.
Yay! I can't wait!
New Harry Potter Stuff
New Deluxe Edition Cover Art:
http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/#article:9966
Here's a link to the picture:
http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/static_images/image.php?image=news/books_covers_us_deluxed_dh_1.jpg
My theory:
I think that Harry, Ron and Hermione are in either Albania or Romania and are looking for or have just found and destroyed a Horcrux. What do you think?
I'm so excited for this book!
http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/#article:9966
Here's a link to the picture:
http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/static_images/image.php?image=news/books_covers_us_deluxed_dh_1.jpg
My theory:
I think that Harry, Ron and Hermione are in either Albania or Romania and are looking for or have just found and destroyed a Horcrux. What do you think?
I'm so excited for this book!
Why I Love To Blog
1. I can jabber on about anything and don't have to worry about people liking what I'm talking about or not.
2. Since I start and end all topics, I don't feel like a thread killer (it feels like every time I contribute to a topic on a forum, group, etc, I kill the topic - that's the last thing that gets posted).
3. I can be as nerdy as I wanna be and no one can put me down.
4. I can talk incessantly about the dogs.
5. I can be as nice or mean as I want to be and not have to worry about hurting anyone's feelings.
6. It's fun!
7. I actually really like writing and don't ever get the chance to do it in 'real life', so having a blog is a great creative outlet for me. ( not that anything here is really that creative, but whatever...)
2. Since I start and end all topics, I don't feel like a thread killer (it feels like every time I contribute to a topic on a forum, group, etc, I kill the topic - that's the last thing that gets posted).
3. I can be as nerdy as I wanna be and no one can put me down.
4. I can talk incessantly about the dogs.
5. I can be as nice or mean as I want to be and not have to worry about hurting anyone's feelings.
6. It's fun!
7. I actually really like writing and don't ever get the chance to do it in 'real life', so having a blog is a great creative outlet for me. ( not that anything here is really that creative, but whatever...)
The Girls
...started agility training this week! Sadie just loves it already - we knew she would! Kami keeps looking at me like I'm crazy to ask her to go through a tunnel or weave through poles. I think we'll keep both dogs in it. Despite the fact that Kami thinks I'm nuts for having her do it, I think that she enjoys doing something that's fun and that she can be crazy during and any other excuse to nibble Sadie's tail and bark! We took home a set of poles to work with this weekend, plus all the normal obedience stuff. Busy dogs!
This Week
...has been crazy. The State Department of Health has been at my building on their annual inspection. While I always know that what we do in my therapy department is legal and ethical and the best thing for our patients, I ALWAYS fear that one of us may have missed something and that I will get in trouble and lose my license. When you work under the guidelines of the Federal Govt., which I do in billing for Medicare, there is no room for error - not knowing about something is not reason enough to excuse an error. Scary. Have you ever tried reading any Medicare guidlines? How anyone knows what they are doing is beyond me.
Luckily, the inspection went OK and therapy received a few compliments! Whew! I can relax for another 9-15 months!
Back to normalcy...
BTW, did you know that the nursing home industry is THE most regulated industry in the US? It is even more regulated than the nuclear industry. Unbelievable.
Luckily, the inspection went OK and therapy received a few compliments! Whew! I can relax for another 9-15 months!
Back to normalcy...
BTW, did you know that the nursing home industry is THE most regulated industry in the US? It is even more regulated than the nuclear industry. Unbelievable.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
What I'll Be Doing In the UK
Obviously, there are MANY things I would like to do while in the UK (if you've read any of my posts, you can see I am not a stingy planner by any means!), but here are the things I will definitely be doing:
1. Seeing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - preferably on opening day
2. Going to a release party, preferably in London, for Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows
3. Reading Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows
4. Going to the B&B in the Cotswolds
5. Going to a LIVE PotterCast (I hope)
6. Riding The London Eye
1. Seeing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - preferably on opening day
2. Going to a release party, preferably in London, for Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows
3. Reading Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows
4. Going to the B&B in the Cotswolds
5. Going to a LIVE PotterCast (I hope)
6. Riding The London Eye
(picture from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_eye)
7. Walking across the Tower Bridge
(picture from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_bridge)
What I'm Loving Now
1. Enchanted April
2. Planting flowers and tomatoes finally
3. Fitting into clothes that have been too small for a long time
4. Starting to plan for another trip after my Harry Potter vacation!
5. Thinking about seeing Romeo & Juliet performed by the Globe Theatre actors at Leeds Castle in England!
6. Watching puppies sleep and dream
7. Buying my best friend a birthday present early and hoping that she will LOVE it!
2. Planting flowers and tomatoes finally
3. Fitting into clothes that have been too small for a long time
4. Starting to plan for another trip after my Harry Potter vacation!
5. Thinking about seeing Romeo & Juliet performed by the Globe Theatre actors at Leeds Castle in England!
6. Watching puppies sleep and dream
7. Buying my best friend a birthday present early and hoping that she will LOVE it!
Fabulous Movies
How did I forget it before on my Top 5 List?
Enchanted April
Oh how I love this movie. It makes me so happy!
And lest I forget - A Room With A View - another wonderful Merchant & Ivory film.
Watch them soon if you've never seen them before. And if you have seen them before, re-watch them! They are so good!
Enchanted April
Oh how I love this movie. It makes me so happy!
And lest I forget - A Room With A View - another wonderful Merchant & Ivory film.
Watch them soon if you've never seen them before. And if you have seen them before, re-watch them! They are so good!
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Clean Eating
First off, what is clean eating?
"Eating clean refers to consuming high quality foods not containing sugars, fats, trans-fats and other unnecessary ingredients. Compare clean eating to fueling a high quality ultra performance sports car. The car won’t perform well unless you fill it with the highest-grade gasoline. Similarly your body won’t function effectively or look good if you feed it inferior quality foods. The basis of eating clean involves consuming lean protein along with complex carbohydrates at every meal. The quantity of protein should approximate the size of the palm of your hand. The most important meal of the day is breakfast which should be balanced with oatmeal topped with berries followed by egg whites. Lunches and dinners should contain protein from excellent sources like chicken breast, turkey, pork or beef tenderloin, fish and egg whites. Each meal must include fresh fruits and vegetables. Complex carbohydrates like these ensure proper utilization of protein, essential for building lean muscle mass."
Source: http://www.oxygenmag.com/expert.php?id=105
I truly aspire to this ideal of nourishment, but most days I find it difficult to do to say the least.
I know that it will make me feel SO much better and help me look so much better. I know it is the way we are supposed to eat, not all that overly processed junk they call food. But those horrible cravings won't leave me alone sometimes. What I've learned this time around in the weight-loss game is that giving into those cravings once in awhile isn't the end of my weight loss journey. Just because I eat junk one time or two or even a half a dozen times doesn't mean that it's all over. I can turn myself around with the very next decision I make.
So, today's craving was Chinese buffet. I love the sizzling chicken and crabmeat rangoon and steamed dumplings. But you know what? I sure don't feel good after eating them. And it's not guilt I am feeling (I gave myself permission to eat it) - it's an actual physical discomfort. I don't feel this way after eating a clean meal and I like not feeling anything but satisfied after eating. Can it be I am learning?! I may get there yet!
"Eating clean refers to consuming high quality foods not containing sugars, fats, trans-fats and other unnecessary ingredients. Compare clean eating to fueling a high quality ultra performance sports car. The car won’t perform well unless you fill it with the highest-grade gasoline. Similarly your body won’t function effectively or look good if you feed it inferior quality foods. The basis of eating clean involves consuming lean protein along with complex carbohydrates at every meal. The quantity of protein should approximate the size of the palm of your hand. The most important meal of the day is breakfast which should be balanced with oatmeal topped with berries followed by egg whites. Lunches and dinners should contain protein from excellent sources like chicken breast, turkey, pork or beef tenderloin, fish and egg whites. Each meal must include fresh fruits and vegetables. Complex carbohydrates like these ensure proper utilization of protein, essential for building lean muscle mass."
Source: http://www.oxygenmag.com/expert.php?id=105
I truly aspire to this ideal of nourishment, but most days I find it difficult to do to say the least.
I know that it will make me feel SO much better and help me look so much better. I know it is the way we are supposed to eat, not all that overly processed junk they call food. But those horrible cravings won't leave me alone sometimes. What I've learned this time around in the weight-loss game is that giving into those cravings once in awhile isn't the end of my weight loss journey. Just because I eat junk one time or two or even a half a dozen times doesn't mean that it's all over. I can turn myself around with the very next decision I make.
So, today's craving was Chinese buffet. I love the sizzling chicken and crabmeat rangoon and steamed dumplings. But you know what? I sure don't feel good after eating them. And it's not guilt I am feeling (I gave myself permission to eat it) - it's an actual physical discomfort. I don't feel this way after eating a clean meal and I like not feeling anything but satisfied after eating. Can it be I am learning?! I may get there yet!
What I Did Today
I cleaned out closets, dressers, etc.! WooHoo! I put all the winter stuff away, finally, and pulled the summer stuff out. I then organized sweatshirts into hooded and non-hooded pullovers and hooded and non-hooded zip or button-ups. I also organzied shirts into work, non-work but able to wear on casual days and work-at-home shirts. I got rid of a bunch of clothes that were too big (::smile::) and found a lot of clothes that now fit me! I found 2 pairs of overalls that fit - jean capris and khaki capris. I <3 overalls!
I'm Waiting...
...for an announcement. How can I plan my trip to England for THE ultimate Harry Potter Experience IF my favorite podcasters won't tell me where they will be??!! C'mon PotterCast - tell me, tell me, tell me! Ohhhhh puhleeeaaaazzzzeeeeeee!
More London Calling
How could I forget the Original London Walk? I can't wait!
I want to go on these: (there's lots I want to go on, but doubtful I'll make them all!)
SHAKESPEARE'S LONDON - The Bankside
10 am on Mondays from WestminsterTube, exit 4
This one's the full ticket. The best this town has to offer. We start with that wonderful boat ride - downstream and back down the centuries: from the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and Elizabethan London. Ashore we explore the Bankside district - the world of Shakespeare in Love. Home to the Globe Theatre, old and new, and the other Elizabethan playhouses...and bear-baiting dens and St. Saviour's, where he buried his brother Edmund, and an ancient, swaybacked coaching inn in whose courtyard Shakespeare's plays are still performed. And a bonus - there's also cobbled, echoing Clink Street threading between brick cliffs of warehouses where bars of sunlight probe the shadows...yes, this is also the London of Charles Dickens's troubled boyhood. The London that formed him - and which haunted him to his dying day. The boat ride costs £2 (£1 for kids), a brilliant discount!
THE OLD PALACE QUARTER -they don't make 'em like this anymore
Hidden Courtyards, Secret Passageways & Antique Arcades 11 am on Mondays from Green ParkTube, Ritz exit
"I'd put this one in the top four or five of the 51 different walks that I'm personally able to guide. It's got everything I want in a walk." (David). Okay, that's the "opinion" - here's what it's based on. 1) It's olde, vintage London. There are turnoffs - secret passageways - that take you into the 16th century. And the 18th century is par for the course. And it's so well preserved it's a miracle the whole neighbourhood hasn't been sold off to a museum! 2) So, as you'd expect, visually it's very appealing. 3) It's storied. It's storied because it's full of character, full of characters, and marinated in history. 4) It's nooked and crannied. Why is that important? "Well maybe it's just me, but I like to see things other people don't get to see" (David again). 5) It's got a wonderful guide. Her name is Angela. Here's some more about this walk...
JACK THE RIPPER HAUNTS
7.30 pm nightly from Tower HillTube
Please tread carefully and keep away from the shadows - you are about to enter the abyss...
He came silently out of the midnight shadows of August 31, 1888. Watching. Stalking. Butchering raddled, drink-sodden East End prostitutes. Leaving a trail of blood that led...nowhere. Yes, something wicked this way walked, for this is the Ripper's slashing grounds. We evoke that autumn of gaslight and fog, of menacing shadows and stealthy footsteps as we inspect the murder sites, sift through the evidence - in all its gory detail - and get to grips, so to speak, with the main suspects. Afterward you can steady your nerves in The Ten Bells, the pub where the victims - perhaps under the steely gaze of the Ripper himself - tried to forget the waking nightmare. More...
STONEHENGE & SALISBURY EXPLORER DAY
"You'll never see anything like it again..."10 am on Tuesdays from Waterloo Railway Station
To go on the Stonehenge & Salisbury Explorer Day meet your guide - Richard (he of the red cap) - in London, by the main ticket office of Waterloo Railway Station.
Salisbury is the most spectacularly beautiful cathedral in Britain. Salisbury is the river Avon and mediaeval streets lined by half-timbered houses with high oversailing upper floors and tall gables and rejoicing in names like Ox Row and Silver Street and Fish Row. Salisbury is Thomas Hardy's Melchester and Anthony Trollope's Barchester - and views over the meadows that Constable painted. That's for starters. In the afternoon we're heading back thousands of years...taking picturesque country roads past the ancient site of Old Sarum and through a lush valley, past old churches and thatched cottages and country mansions. Yes, we're bound for Stonehenge. Stonehenge - "those storm-sculptured stones...that outlast the skies of history hurrying overhead". Stonehenge - observatory? altar? temple? tomb?...to serve strange gods or watch familiar stars. There, on Salisbury plain, under a sky like moving marble, we'll be face to face with primeval Britain.The Stonehenge & Salisbury Explorer Day takes placeevery Tuesday at 10 am from Waterloo Railway Station.Meet Richard at 10 am by the main ticket office -it's opposite Platform 16 - of Waterloo Railway station.
THE BEATLES 'IN MY LIFE' WALK
11.20 am on Tuesdays from MaryleboneTube
"There are places I'll remember all my life", sang the Beatles in one of their most evocative songs. Many of those places are in the "London Town" of this walk...so get back with Richard, "the Pied Piper of Beatlemania" (The Miami Herald), to the film locations for A Hard Day's Night and Help, the registry office where two of the Fabs were married, and the apartment immortalised by Ringo, John and Yoko. We'll also see the house where Paul lived with his glamorous girlfriend, actress Jane Asher. Those were the days...for it was in that house that John and Paul wrote I want to hold your hand. And to cap it all we'll go up to St. John's Wood to see the legendary Abbey Road studios and crosswalk. As the Toronto Globe and Mail said of the walk, "A splendid time is guaranteed for all."
GHOSTS OF THE OLD CITY
7.30 pm on Tuesdays from St. Paul'sTube exit 2
At night the ancient City is deserted...and eerie. Exploring its shadowy back streets and dimly lit alleys we might be in a medieval citadel, in overpowering stone. The very street names - Aldersgate, Cloth Fair, Charterhouse, Threadneedle - take us far back. We're alone...or are we? For this is the hour when the She Wolf of France glides through the churchyard, the hour when the dark figure on Newgate wall rattles his chains, the hour when the Black Nun keeps her lonely vigil, and something inexpressibly evil lurks behind a tiny window. We're on their trail...or are they shadowing us?
LITTLE VENICE
11 am on Wednesdays from Warwick AvenueTube
If you fancy something completely different, this is the walk for you. Little Venice is the prettiest and most romantic spot in town. A unique combination of white stucco, greenery, and water, it boasts the finest early Victorian domestic architecture in London; a Who's Who of famous residents (Robert Browning, Edward Fox, Joan Collins, Annie Lennox, and Sigmund Freud to name but a few); and a jewel of a "village" street. And that's not to mention its canals. One of them - Regent's Canal - is known as the "loveliest inland waterway in England". Part of the walk is along the canal towpath - which to this day is studded with fragments of evidence that bring the Age of Canals to life. And afterwards you can have tea - or a bite to eat - at a stylish canal-side cafe.
OCCULT LONDON & THE DA VINCI CODE
"Researching this I often felt we should be in a Witness Protection Programme..." Brian2 pm on Wednesdaysfrom TempleTube
People have long sensed the high strangeness of London. That some of its nodal points appear to be the foci of arcane secrets; that the Monument and Nelson's column - can it be a coincidence that they're both 202 feet high? - cast significant shadows at the summer solstice; that there appears to be "intelligent design" in London's alignments and angles; that there could well be a secret gnosis incorporated into the architecture of some of our most famous buildings; that a 1960 mural by Jean Cocteau in a hidden little London church suggests that he and Leonardo da Vinci were collaborators across the centuries - and that their religious beliefs were not nearly as orthodox as the history books would lead us to believe. Dan Brown's best-selling novel lifts the lid on some of these matters. As does Gerard de Sede's The Templars Are Among Us. And if they're right...it's a live rail running right through our culture. "Heretical beliefs", the goddess mystery, sexual alchemy secrets, mastery over time itself, gateways where the human and divine worlds meet; a church that's allegedly denied its true roots....Dangerous to touch! Guided by Tom, Brian or Richard III. N.B., do get a 2-Zone Travel Card.Like Sophie and Robert Langdon we take a short tube journey.
THE BEATLES MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR
2 pm on Wednesdaysfrom Tottenham Court RoadTube(meet outside exit 3, by the Dominion Theatre)
Guided by "the pied piper of Beatlemania", this is a chance to Imagine Beatlemania and the Swinging 60s. It's a Magical Mystery Tour of the Beatles" London haunts: their Apple offices, where they played the famous rooftop session Paul McCartney's headquarters; and the world famous Abbey Road Studios and the Abbey Road crosswalk. Richard P., recaptures the era when London was the cultural capital of the world and the "Fab Four" were its rulers. And if you'd like to know something about where you'll be meeting Richard, well, simply click me!
THE LONDON WALK - St. Paul's to the Tower of London
2 pm on Wednesdaysfrom St. Paul'sTube, exit 2
This is the City of London Grand Tour. It gives you a stunning overview...from St. Paul's Cathedral to the Tower of London. You can't do better than that for a jumping off point and a final destination. But - whisper it - the getting there is the real fun...because we explore twisty little alleyways and piquant nooks and crannies and a secret stretch of shoreline that'll give you a thrilling view across the river to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and the Tate Modern.Seeing this London is like hearing music you never would have known to listen for.
GHOSTS, GASLIGHT & GUINNESS
7.30 pm on Wednesdays from HolbornTube
This is the most haunted city on earth: unutterably old, built over a fen of undisclosed horrors, believed to contain occult lines of geometry. A city where the very mist is like a sigh from a graveyard. Now I don't want to weird you out, but where we're going tonight time past and time present can fuse...especially when the daylight bleeds away. If in a dark window you see an even darker silhouette staring back, or if the branches of a tree suddenly shiver like a spider's web that's caught something, or if you follow a stranger into a graveyard (or a pub where everything isn't as it seems)...you could well be wayfaring to the rebecks of eternity. Fancy a pint?
OLD KENSINGTON - London’s Royal Village
2 pm on Thursdays from High Street KensingtonTube Meet in the rotunda just beyond the ticket barrier.
This one's special. It's rarely the first - or even the second or third - walk people go on, but when they do get round to taking it, they often say it's the one they liked the most. And no wonder, because Royal Kensington is London at its best - picturesque, stimulating, and full of character. Its parts are as delightful as London can provide: everything from warmly handsome old Kensington Palace (home to the late Diana, Princess of Wales) to Kensington Gardens (all meadows, shaded walks, bowers, and flower gardens, it might be the grounds of a stately home in some rural shire) to cobbled little soigne lanes and mews, girt with pretty cottages and charming old shops; and from millionaires" row and regal avenues to beautifully kept squares and a clutch of the world's greatest museums; let alone a garden in the sky (the largest and most breathtaking roof garden in Europe); the secluded town house of the greatest Londoner of the 20th-century, an American president's flat, the most astonishing small literary house in the world, acres of gentility, a secret trap-door into a hidden world, and more history and colourful characters than you can shake a stick at. And afterward you can visit the State Apartments or take tea at the Orangery at Kensington Palace! Now who's for a visual or two?
IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES
2.30 pm on Thursdays from EmbankmentTube
"The game is afoot!" It's time to go sleuthing with Corinna or Richard IV and their Baker Street Irregulars! You'll explore an area whose "everchanging kaleidoscope of life" intrigued Holmes and Watson. You'll follow their adventures in Charing Cross, the Strand's gas-lit alleys, and Covent Garden with its Opera House and colourful market stalls, ending, where else? at the superb re-creation of Sherlock Holmes's study. Housed in the building immortalised in The Hound of the Baskervilles and featuring many artefacts donated by the Conan Doyle family, it's a place "where a dream becomes reality". And best of all, it's free to visit!
OLD MAYFAIR - "the best address in London"
10.30 am on Thursdays from Green ParkTube(meet Russell on the corner, just outside the north exit)
Now here's a champagne cocktail of a walk. It's a marriage made in heaven: "the best address in London" and a top drawer guide - a chevalier and a place where Old Masters and old money, Rolls Royces and glamour, titles and butlers are par for the course. It's hob-nobbing with knobs on it - because Mayfair's been home to Clive of India, Disraeli, Handel, Florence Nightingale, Jimi Hendrix, Dodi Fayed, and the Earl Mountbatten, to name but a few. Last but certainly not least, it boasts London's best village within a village - Shepherd Market, a charming little nest of alleys that hasn't lost a jot of its 18th-century scale and village atmosphere, let alone its raffishness.
THE ANCIENT CITY AT NIGHT Take Another Look!
6.30 pm on Thursdays from BankTube(meet Peter G. by the Wellington statue outside exit 3)
If I were going to take Julius Caesar, Charlemagne, Dante, Elizabeth I, Adam Smith, George Washington and Claude Monet on a London Walk this is the one I'd plump for. Because of where it goes and what we see. Historically this is the oldest part of London; but it's also the most aggressively modern part. And after hours - which is when we're heading in there - it's transfigured: crystalline, transparent as a dragonfly, submerged in its past. We can peer into its depths. And then rub our eyes and wonder at a church that "transcends originality", at the only private house in the country with its own court and cells, at a lost river, at a jewel box of a market (going there is a little touch of Harry Potter in the night), at Dirty Dick"s, at the architectural equivalent of a butterfly collection. And to see it at night - washed in blue and green light - it's like moving, stunned, through the crevasses of a mountain glacier!. And that's just first impressions, a quick scratch at the surface. The behind-the-scenes stuff - hidden courtyards, dimly lit alleyways and wonderful old pubs* - will take us right down into the depths of London's ancient past. Guided by Peter G.*Yes, pubs are included on this walk; a post-walk curry is an optional extra (which is by way of saying, the walk ends near that little parade of the best - and best value - curry houses in London!)
APPARITIONS, ALLEYWAYS & ALE
7.30 pm on Thursdays from EmbankmentTube
Dead men walking. Ghosts. Poltergeists. That's what these crepuscular, crooked little alleyways are known for. And that's why Russell speaks in a low voice - lest they hear us and come calling. And best stay close together because stuff happens on this walk. Like seeing a gray procession of headless figures! I don't know whether it's atmospheric conditions or the power of suggestion or Russell's sepulchral voice, but it's happened more than once. Or a creepy churchyard where the gaslights are guttering and the shadows are deeper than they should be. Give it a wide berth. One of our guides had the most terrifying experience of his life in there. Russell gets you safely past it - and if he feels up to it - he just might tell you about it. Ditto the haunted old pub where we'll fortify our - er - spirits...before heading into the spooky "old palace quarter". N.B., Variations on a theme...which is by way of saying this walk is similar but not identical to Monday night's Ghosts of the West End walk. The chief difference being that Apparitions, Alleyways & Ale has a ghost-busting pit stop. Halfway through the walk, Russell will take us into that haunted old pub where things go bump in the night.
ROYAL LONDON & WESTMINSTER ABBEY
10.45 am on Fridays* from Green ParkTube Ritz exit
Kettle drum buildup. Trumpet fanfare. Oh yes! This is the way to do it. Because Brian and Tom know the best place for viewing the Changing of the Guard...and time it perfectly. And because of the magic carpet of their commentary. It opens those casements.You're not just looking at famous buildings - you're looking into them. Indeed, they've both been in the palace - and not as tourists. One of them - you'll have to guess - is more or less on a first name basis with Prince Phillip! And because the "route" includes two royal parks and a secret royal passageway into London's most perfect Georgian street. And as for the tour inside the Abbey...well, again it's a question of knowing where to look. And how to look, what to look for. And because they'll get you straight in, via a cloister entrance, whereas the "public" often has to queue for an hour or more. (How much is your time worth?) And they get you a huge discount on the admission price. Because? Well, how do you gainsay being treated royally?
HAUNTED LONDON
7.30 pm on Fridays from MonumentTube(meet just outside the Fish Street Hill exit)
It's blue dusk. Feeding time. Time to pierce the veil which hides the future after death. The time when rooftop cats look down - their eyes green as ringstones - and see things that maybe we shouldn't see. Down here in the creepiest part of London...in alleyways so narrow you can't open an umbrella in them. And so old they're cobwebbed with time. And cobwebbed with something else too. Cobwebbed with events that occurred long ago - events that under certain conditions can again "become dynamic". So when you see the unholy Trinity - and you will see it - and when silver dragons leer at you - and they will - and if you hear footsteps up a deserted alleyway - or voices of persuasion that whisper in the darkness - or catch a glimpse of a hooded, staring transparent figure - congratulations - you've just fed a haunting. It'll be back. And one day...so will you. Now who's for a really cozy pub?
SOMEWHERE ELSE LONDON
10.30 am on Saturdays from EmbankmentTube
What a wonderful goulash of a walk this is. It gets you into streets that you'd never find off your own bat - streets that look like an old movie shot through a vaselined lens. Into a neighbourhood that precious few Londoners have seen, let alone visitors. It's a thrilling discovery - the real deal. There's no better sense of place in London - and no finer architectural effect. Yellow brick, perfectly preserved, all unselfconscious self-respect, real Cockney - unaltered Dickensian London. And the miracle is that it's still there, embedded in central London - screwed in to the big city. That discovery alone makes this one of those bewitching "somewhere else" London Walks. And getting there is a bit of all right too - because there's a dramatic river crossing, a stroll along the Thames, the world's foremost arts complex, London's best loved old theatre, a real London street market (instead of a tourist trap), a stunning bird's eye view of the capital (and there's a lift, so we won't have to climb hundreds of stairs!), and buckets of character.
SPIES' & SPYCATCHERS' LONDON
2.30 pm on Saturdaysfrom Piccadilly CircusTube(meet by the Clydesdale Bank, outside the subway 3 exit)
"Espionage was the hot end of the cold war"
Spies" London is peopled with Ian Fleming's James Bond and John Le Carre's George Smiley. But it's also the London of the genuine article. The London where for over 40 years Burgess, Maclean, Philby, Blunt and the mysterious fifth man infiltrated the British and American security services and spied for the Soviet Union. This walk takes us into that hole and corner, cloak and dagger London - into the secret places of that murky nether-world. Here we venture into the covert London of MI5, MI6, and the American O.S.S., progenitor of the CIA. Here we close in on the American Soviet agent who finally confessed and unveiled the "Cambridge Ring". Here we pinpoint the "dead letter box" and unmask the fifth man. Here, in Spies" London, fact really is stranger than fiction.
MURDER MOST FOUL - London's Chamber of Horrors
6.30 pm on Saturdays from EmbankmentTubeStrong stuff this. It's down and dirty. Lower depths. Paths of infamy. In short, crime scenes. Murder at the Savoy, death at the Cafe Royale, a body found in a trunk at a left luggage office, a killer identified by a blindman, a woman found holding a smoking pistol over the body of her lover, "silk stocking murders", Dr. Crippen, the Krays and a world champion boxer's "suicide"...welcome to the nightmare factory...welcome to the dark side of "the most civilised city on earth". Good night Ladies. Good night Gentlemen. Sweet dreams!
ANCIENT LONDON - Knights, Nuns & Notoriety
11.30 am on Sundays from Tower HillTube
This is a jolt of the pure stuff...the best sort of London Walks alchemy. The alchemy that results when you mix alleyways that tourists never find with London history that would do the Sorcerer's Apprentice proud. Here we're in an urban enchanted forest, a place where 13 knights performed three deeds of bravery - one above ground, one below ground, and one in the water. A place where there's a centuries-old peep hole - still there - to keep nuns safe from prying eyes. A place of a Maypole and 11,000 beheaded virgins and the most spectacular statue in London and a show-stopping garden with a fountain whose waters mimic the tail feathers of an ostrich. Let alone Bedlam, an outrageous prioress, Bluebell Girls, black magic, Geoffrey Chaucer and traitors" heads.
THE REAL WORLD OF HARRY POTTER -Wizards, Werewolves & Vampires
5 pm on Sundaysfrom EmbankmentTube "Nothing like a night-time stroll to give you ideas"
Let's put the cat amongst the pixies: Harry Potter isn't just kids' stuff. There are very real tales - and real locales - behind the stories of Harry and friends. Those tales, those locales inform this walk. Was there really an invisibility cloak? What's the truth behind the Philosophers' Stone? What place inspired Diagon Alley? Where was the legend of Dracula born? Where in a famous movie did a werewolf go on a rampage? There's good gripping London stuff behind a lot of the Harry Potter goings on - everything from characters' names to the origin of monsters. We'll solve a mystery or two: e.g., where is the entrance to The Ministry of Magic and can we get in? In short, this walk is a serious study of a subject more fantastical than fiction. And, yes, there's even some magic. As one walker put it, "dead brilliant." Guided by Alan.
And there's MORE to do and see in London:
At Greenwich "the Royal Charter" Market you can find a comprehensive collection of unusual, unique and exclusive arts & crafts products from more than 120 stalls. Open every Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays from 9:30am - 5:30pm.
Welcome to Greenwich England! A World Heritage site.
The place that sets Time (Greenwich Mean Time) and Place (Greenwich Meridian). It is truly unique.
It is the birthplace of Henry VIII and his famous daughters Queen Mary & Queen Elizabeth I. http://wwp.greenwichengland.com/
More later!
Some of My Favorite Things
Some of my favorite artwork. I have a collie print from him - gorgeous!
http://www.ronkrajewski.com/index.html
And these dog weathervanes:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Hand-Made-Collie-Dog-Weathervane-NEW_W0QQitemZ230136722275QQihZ013QQcategoryZ10835QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting
http://www.ronkrajewski.com/index.html
And these dog weathervanes:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Hand-Made-Collie-Dog-Weathervane-NEW_W0QQitemZ230136722275QQihZ013QQcategoryZ10835QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting
Friday, June 1, 2007
I Wish
...that PotterCast would make a BIG announcement about their plans for the Deathly Hallows release! That's all!
London Calling
The Clash are so cool-but not the point of this post!
I got a London Pass. Check it out!
http://www.londonpass.com/?ref=ppc03&OVRAW=london%20pass&OVKEY=london%20pass&OVMTC=standard&OVADID=945110521&OVKWID=5726930521
Here's where I want to go: (direct from their site)
The Tower of London
For over 900 years the Tower has dominated the city of London and today is still one of the capital’s most prominent landmarks and a world famous visitor attraction. Throughout its long history the Tower has served as a royal palace and fortress, prison and place of execution, an arsenal, royal mint, menagerie and jewel house. Discover its long and eventful history, its buildings and collections including the Crown Jewels and Royal Armouries.
St Paul’s Cathedral
Come and experience the majesty and glory of St Paul’s Cathedral. Built between 1675 and 1710 St Paul’s is the creation of Sir Christopher Wren. Its iconic dome dominates the London skyline and visitors with a head for heights can climb 530 steps (85 metres) from the cathedral floor to the Golden Gallery for breathtaking, panoramic views of the capital. The Whispering Gallery, famous for its acoustics, is 30 metres above the cathedral floor while below, in the elegant and spacious crypt, are the tombs and memorials of such historic figures as Admiral Nelson and the Duke of Wellington. A £40 million programme of cleaning and repair work for the cathedral’s 300 th anniversary has already transformed the interior of the building. Visitors to the cathedral will see the difference created BY the creamy Portland stone, the dazzling byzantine - style mosaics and the wealth and detail of carving that the cleaning has revealed.
The Tower Bridge Exhibition
Tower Bridge has stood over the River Thames in London since 1894 and is one of the finest, most recognisable bridges in the World. At the Tower Bridge Exhibition you can enjoy the breathtaking views from the high-level walkways, learn about the history of the Bridge and how it was built from the inter-active displays and videos, and descend into the Victorian Engine Rooms, home of the original steam engines. London Pass holders must obtain a ticket from the ticket desk
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world and an official residence of Her Majesty The Queen. The magnificent State Apartments are lavishly furnished with treasures from the Royal Collection, including masterpieces by Rubens, Holbein, Breugal and Van Dyck. St George’s Chapel, within the Castle Precincts is one of the most ecclesiastical buildings in England. Windsor Castle is less than an hour by train from central London.
Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace, Henry VIII’s magnificent riverside residence reveals over 450 years of history. Who will you encounter in Henry VIII’s and King William III’s magnificent State Apartments? What stories of the day will they have to tell? The sights, sounds and smells of the great Tudor kitchens where banquets were prepared for Henry’s court of over 1000 people bring to life the shear size and scale of the operation of feeding the court. On the first weekend of each month, food historians recreate the dishes prepared for Henry and experiment with the delicacies of the day. The gardens provide a wonderful opportunity to relax and unwind and for those wanting a challenge, there is always the famous maze. The home to many works of art from the Royal Collection, you can discover one of the largest collections of tapestries in the world and marvel at the ‘Triumphs of Caesar’ by Andrea Mantegna, celebrating its 500th anniversary this year.
Royal Mews
One of the finest working stables in existence and home to the royal collection of historic coaches and carriages, the Royal Mews is responsible for all road travel arrangements for The Queen. Visitors can view the Glass Coach, used by royal brides, the luxurious Australian State Coach, with central heating, and the most dazzling of all the Gold State Coach, which has been used at every coronation since 1821. Guided tours run at regular intervals.
Kensington Palace and The Orangery
Experience the age of elegance in the State Apartments and displays of royal court and ceremonial dress at this most fashionable of royal addresses. The current exhibition, Diana, Princess of Wales, by Mario Testino, is included in admission to the palace until December 2007. The iconic images, many never before displayed, are united with her famous dresses, worn by the princess and later auctioned for charity at Christie’s, New York.
National Portrait Gallery
The National Portrait Gallery is home to the largest collection of portraiture in the world featuring famous British men and women who have created history from the Middle Ages until the present day. Over 1,000 portraits are on display across the floors from Henry VIII and Florence Nightingale to the Beatles and the Queen.
London Bicycle Tour Company
See London by bicycle with the London Bicycle Tour Company. Take a mountain bike or traditional cycle and experience a guided tour exploring London. The expert guides will stop at intervals to speak about the history of the surroundings. All routes have been designed to keep you away from the traffic. Helmets and insurance are included.
Chislehurst Caves
Miles of mystery and history beneath your feet. Just a short way from central London lie the Chislehurst Caves - over 20 miles of dark mysterious passageways hewn by hand from the chalk, deep beneath Chislehurst. Experienced guides take you on a 45-minute lamp-lit tour and tell stories of Druids, Romans & Saxons. You’l see the tunnels which were famous as a shelter during the Second World War, the caves church, druid altar, haunted pool and much, much more.
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre Tour and Exhibition
Shakespeare’s Globe was founded by the pioneering American actor and director Sam Wanamaker and has become one of London’s most successful theatres and top visitor attractions. The theatre is a faithful reconstruction of the 1599 open-air playhouse where Shakespeare wrote many of his greatest plays. Resident storytellers introduce visitors to all aspects of the Globe, historical and contemporary, including Sam Wanamaker’s epic struggle to recreate the theatre for which Shakespeare wrote many of his works.
Tours by Boat
A trip up or down the river will give you an entirely different view of London than the one you get from land. You'll see how the city grew along and around the Thames, and how many of its landmarks turn their faces toward the water. Boat trips on London’s canals, especially Regent’s Canal in London’s canal-laced “Little Venice”, are becoming an increasingly popular way of seeing the city. You can discover Regent’s Canal on Jason’s Traditional Canal Boat Trip. This starts from romantic Little Venice, continues through Regent’s Park to the colourful street markets of Camden Lock, guided by a live historical commentary.
The Big Bus Company
The ONLY way to experience the architectural and cultural magnificence of London is on our open-top live-guided sightseeing tours. A day full of history, amazing facts, and above all lots of fun, is guaranteed. And you will have the best view around! Tickets are valid for 24 hours, enabling you to Hop on and off where you like, and include free walking tours of the city.
The Sherlock Holmes Museum
Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson lived in a Victorian lodging house at 221b Baker Street between 1881-1904, according to the stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The house was built in 1815 and is listed by the Government to protect its architectural and cultural heritage. It is open as a museum dedicated to the life and times of Sherlock Holmes, and the interior has been faithfully maintained for posterity exactly as described in the published stories.
Britain at War Experience
Winston Churchill’s Britain at War Experience, Tooley Street, London Bridge offers visitors a glimpse of what life was like for the civilians in war-torn Britain during WW2. This is a unique museum with film footage of those turbulent years and featuring evacuation, rationing, shelters, weddings, bomb disposal, women at war, gasmasks, documents and artefacts. Walk through the London Blitz. See it! Feel it! Breathe it!
Other London things I want to do:
I got a London Pass. Check it out!
http://www.londonpass.com/?ref=ppc03&OVRAW=london%20pass&OVKEY=london%20pass&OVMTC=standard&OVADID=945110521&OVKWID=5726930521
Here's where I want to go: (direct from their site)
The Tower of London
For over 900 years the Tower has dominated the city of London and today is still one of the capital’s most prominent landmarks and a world famous visitor attraction. Throughout its long history the Tower has served as a royal palace and fortress, prison and place of execution, an arsenal, royal mint, menagerie and jewel house. Discover its long and eventful history, its buildings and collections including the Crown Jewels and Royal Armouries.
St Paul’s Cathedral
Come and experience the majesty and glory of St Paul’s Cathedral. Built between 1675 and 1710 St Paul’s is the creation of Sir Christopher Wren. Its iconic dome dominates the London skyline and visitors with a head for heights can climb 530 steps (85 metres) from the cathedral floor to the Golden Gallery for breathtaking, panoramic views of the capital. The Whispering Gallery, famous for its acoustics, is 30 metres above the cathedral floor while below, in the elegant and spacious crypt, are the tombs and memorials of such historic figures as Admiral Nelson and the Duke of Wellington. A £40 million programme of cleaning and repair work for the cathedral’s 300 th anniversary has already transformed the interior of the building. Visitors to the cathedral will see the difference created BY the creamy Portland stone, the dazzling byzantine - style mosaics and the wealth and detail of carving that the cleaning has revealed.
The Tower Bridge Exhibition
Tower Bridge has stood over the River Thames in London since 1894 and is one of the finest, most recognisable bridges in the World. At the Tower Bridge Exhibition you can enjoy the breathtaking views from the high-level walkways, learn about the history of the Bridge and how it was built from the inter-active displays and videos, and descend into the Victorian Engine Rooms, home of the original steam engines. London Pass holders must obtain a ticket from the ticket desk
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world and an official residence of Her Majesty The Queen. The magnificent State Apartments are lavishly furnished with treasures from the Royal Collection, including masterpieces by Rubens, Holbein, Breugal and Van Dyck. St George’s Chapel, within the Castle Precincts is one of the most ecclesiastical buildings in England. Windsor Castle is less than an hour by train from central London.
Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace, Henry VIII’s magnificent riverside residence reveals over 450 years of history. Who will you encounter in Henry VIII’s and King William III’s magnificent State Apartments? What stories of the day will they have to tell? The sights, sounds and smells of the great Tudor kitchens where banquets were prepared for Henry’s court of over 1000 people bring to life the shear size and scale of the operation of feeding the court. On the first weekend of each month, food historians recreate the dishes prepared for Henry and experiment with the delicacies of the day. The gardens provide a wonderful opportunity to relax and unwind and for those wanting a challenge, there is always the famous maze. The home to many works of art from the Royal Collection, you can discover one of the largest collections of tapestries in the world and marvel at the ‘Triumphs of Caesar’ by Andrea Mantegna, celebrating its 500th anniversary this year.
Royal Mews
One of the finest working stables in existence and home to the royal collection of historic coaches and carriages, the Royal Mews is responsible for all road travel arrangements for The Queen. Visitors can view the Glass Coach, used by royal brides, the luxurious Australian State Coach, with central heating, and the most dazzling of all the Gold State Coach, which has been used at every coronation since 1821. Guided tours run at regular intervals.
Kensington Palace and The Orangery
Experience the age of elegance in the State Apartments and displays of royal court and ceremonial dress at this most fashionable of royal addresses. The current exhibition, Diana, Princess of Wales, by Mario Testino, is included in admission to the palace until December 2007. The iconic images, many never before displayed, are united with her famous dresses, worn by the princess and later auctioned for charity at Christie’s, New York.
National Portrait Gallery
The National Portrait Gallery is home to the largest collection of portraiture in the world featuring famous British men and women who have created history from the Middle Ages until the present day. Over 1,000 portraits are on display across the floors from Henry VIII and Florence Nightingale to the Beatles and the Queen.
London Bicycle Tour Company
See London by bicycle with the London Bicycle Tour Company. Take a mountain bike or traditional cycle and experience a guided tour exploring London. The expert guides will stop at intervals to speak about the history of the surroundings. All routes have been designed to keep you away from the traffic. Helmets and insurance are included.
Chislehurst Caves
Miles of mystery and history beneath your feet. Just a short way from central London lie the Chislehurst Caves - over 20 miles of dark mysterious passageways hewn by hand from the chalk, deep beneath Chislehurst. Experienced guides take you on a 45-minute lamp-lit tour and tell stories of Druids, Romans & Saxons. You’l see the tunnels which were famous as a shelter during the Second World War, the caves church, druid altar, haunted pool and much, much more.
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre Tour and Exhibition
Shakespeare’s Globe was founded by the pioneering American actor and director Sam Wanamaker and has become one of London’s most successful theatres and top visitor attractions. The theatre is a faithful reconstruction of the 1599 open-air playhouse where Shakespeare wrote many of his greatest plays. Resident storytellers introduce visitors to all aspects of the Globe, historical and contemporary, including Sam Wanamaker’s epic struggle to recreate the theatre for which Shakespeare wrote many of his works.
Tours by Boat
A trip up or down the river will give you an entirely different view of London than the one you get from land. You'll see how the city grew along and around the Thames, and how many of its landmarks turn their faces toward the water. Boat trips on London’s canals, especially Regent’s Canal in London’s canal-laced “Little Venice”, are becoming an increasingly popular way of seeing the city. You can discover Regent’s Canal on Jason’s Traditional Canal Boat Trip. This starts from romantic Little Venice, continues through Regent’s Park to the colourful street markets of Camden Lock, guided by a live historical commentary.
The Big Bus Company
The ONLY way to experience the architectural and cultural magnificence of London is on our open-top live-guided sightseeing tours. A day full of history, amazing facts, and above all lots of fun, is guaranteed. And you will have the best view around! Tickets are valid for 24 hours, enabling you to Hop on and off where you like, and include free walking tours of the city.
The Sherlock Holmes Museum
Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson lived in a Victorian lodging house at 221b Baker Street between 1881-1904, according to the stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The house was built in 1815 and is listed by the Government to protect its architectural and cultural heritage. It is open as a museum dedicated to the life and times of Sherlock Holmes, and the interior has been faithfully maintained for posterity exactly as described in the published stories.
Britain at War Experience
Winston Churchill’s Britain at War Experience, Tooley Street, London Bridge offers visitors a glimpse of what life was like for the civilians in war-torn Britain during WW2. This is a unique museum with film footage of those turbulent years and featuring evacuation, rationing, shelters, weddings, bomb disposal, women at war, gasmasks, documents and artefacts. Walk through the London Blitz. See it! Feel it! Breathe it!
Other London things I want to do:
Portobello Market on a Fri. or Sat. morning! And all of the fabulous shoping in the area! "Portobello Road Market is one of the most famous markets in the world and is internationally recognised for its second-hand and antique sections. Statistically it features in the top ten rankings as the most visited tourist site in London. It is regularly the focus of press and media attention and mostly remembered from the Disney film "Bed knobs and Broomsticks" and more recently the film "Notting Hill". Its history and culture span approximately 300 years of existence. During the week the market is used mainly by the local community and has a mix of fruit and vegetable produce, new goods and hot food stalls. Friday the second hand market is open and on Saturday the famous antiques market is held towards the Southern end of Portobello Road, near Notting Hill Gate. In addition to the antique stalls there are a whole host of arcades, galleries, shops and cafes open to cater for the flocks of tourists and visitors. A recent addition to the Saturday market is the Arts & Crafts section which is located just off Portobello Road on the Tavistock Piazza. This was created to encourage a range of unique trades and handicrafts." (http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/EnvironmentalServices/StreetTrading/portobello.asp)
Must see Skakespeare performed while in England at the Globe!
Love's Labour's Lost
by William Shakespeare
Opens 1 July
Self-denial is in fashion at the court of Navarre where the young King and three of his courtiers solemnly forswear all pleasures in favour of serious study. But the Princess of France and her all-too-lovely entourage have other ideas and it isn’t long before young love, with its glad eyes, hesitations and embarrassments, has broken every self-imposed rule of the all-male ‘academe’.
Shakespeare’s boisterous send-up of all those who try to turn their back on life, is a festive parade of every weapon in the youthful playwright’s comic arsenal: from excruciating cross-purposes and impersonations, to drunkenness, bust-ups and pratfalls. Even more, it is a joyful banquet of language, groaning with puns, rhymes, bizarre syntax, grotesque coinages and parodies. This heady combination enjoys its first outing at the Globe this season.
Ohhhhhh - I just found this:
http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/theatre/globetouring/
"Romeo and Juliet
For the first time in four hundred years a travelling company will be heading off around the country from the Globe Theatre.
In Shakespeare’s time actors often toured plays to country houses, inns and town halls all over the UK. The players regularly left London; sometimes due to playhouse closure to prevent the spread of plague or according to government bans, sometimes simply to extend the life of a new play. This summer, our actors will be emulating the experience of Elizabethan players, taking all the equipment they need and adapting the play to a wealth of glorious venues. Suitable for people of all ages, the arrival of the players will recreate the excitement and vivacity of an Elizabethan travelling performance.
Pack your picnic rug and sun-cream (or waterproofs and a hot toddy) and join our troupe of travelling players at a venue near you. Played with all the breakneck excitement and youthful exuberance of the play itself, this open-air production will be staged by eight performers and last under two-and-a-half hours."
I so want to go to it here:
Leeds Castle, set on two islands on the River Len in the heart of Kent, has been home to royalty, lords and ladies for over 1000 years. http://www.leeds-castle.com/goto.php?sess=u1258673p54n145c180445s0g1d0&pg=Special_Events
More London Calling later!
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