Wedding Fever

Leaving the palace in style

After yesterday I cannot imagine that many people aren't feeling a little bit of the warm and fuzzies when thinking about the royal couple starting their lives together.  There is a definite chance we're all suffering complete media overkill but, as a bride to be myself, I know I could not get enough of watching the crowds, the flowers, the dress and of course the looks that the couple shared during and after the ceremony.  I loved the nerves before the wedding, the smiles during, the excitement when it was all over - and of course the surprised look as Kate and William walked out onto the balcony for that kiss and realised just how loved they were.  Not to mention the fact that afterwards, I got to sit in a sunny (although slightly chilly...) garden with friends, drinking champagne to toast William and Kate for the day off work and discuss the minute details with my like minded girlfriends.

I would never suggest that my wedding will be anything like the royal wedding yesterday.  Goodness knows that there will not be street parties across the land, although having a member of the world's media present to assist with skypeing the ceremony so my grandparents can watch in Colorado would be a nice touch.  Having said that, while planning is still in the early stages I hope that I don't get lost in the details and remember, like I think William and Kate did, that despite all the hoo-ha all that really matters is the commitment you are making.  It's not about the diamond tiaras, or horse drawn carriages, or expensive (really beautiful) dresses.  It is about having fun with the day, enjoying each other and the family and friends who are there to share it with you.  Plus the hats, I am really expecting some good hats in the crowd...

I know that I'll be Gav's princess, not just for the day.  I can't wait! 

Catching up

It's been a while since I sat down and wrote out a little something to say.  I think it's because the sun has started to shine and the world seems a lot more exciting than in the depths of January.  Well, maybe not more exciting, but there is definitely more opportunity and willing here to 'do' the fun stuff than 'not'.

So, what have we been up to?


Not as much on the allotment as we'd like, unfortunately.  Gav's been busy with projects and work of his own and I'm not certain how to use the rotovator, which is our next big task.  However, we did have a busy weekend just after my last post, where I got to borrow a Very Big Van from work and drive it around the city, to collect a shed that we bought on ebay.  For the bargain price of £20 we got to dismantle the shed, put it in the van and then put it back together again at a later date.  I was extremely helpful in the dismantling and carrying and Gav's done a fine job of rebuilding and making the shed nice now.  

He's also rearranged our 'poo store' and put it next to the shed.  It's nice to be able to have a proper home at the allotment, we've put some chairs there and bought a wheelbarrow that can live in the shed.  It's probably bigger than some New York apartments so all in all, a good deal.

The plan now is to rotovate the plot and create some proper beds for me to start work at planting and growing.  I've already pot planted some raspberries, blueberries and strawberries so should hopefully have a pretty mean fruit salad waiting for us later this year.  Given our current time scale I think we'll have to aim for some late season bits and pieces, not quite sure what yet as Gav is the primary reader of the gardening books, but any suggestions are welcome.  I'm mildly shocked that it's already late April but think that even if we don't get huge crops from our work this year, we'll have laid out the groundwork for some pretty good years to come.  Especially with all the poo that Gav's purchased.


Some photos coming soon for you (woops, lost my camera!).......  

After today I am going to be enjoying the best 11 day break from work since Christmas, so it is entirely possible I will get some time to play on the allotment.  Or do some studying of my own!!  I hope that everyone out there is looking forward to a nice long weekend, followed by another nice long weekend, possibly with a nice short work week or (if you're super lazy like me!) three extra days off in the sunny sunshine that we're currently enjoying.

Don't eat too many eggs!!

Living in the forest

We live near a place called Mousehold Heath in Norwich.

Mousehold is pretty cool for walking in and especially cool now we have a dog - 10 minutes out of our door and you can pretend you're in the wilderness.  Or, as wild as it gets in Norfolk.  

I was walking home from work yesterday and arranged to meet Gav, his dad and Pepper on "our favourite walk".  I think it was a nice surprise for Pepper to meet me in the heath.  I wonder though, does she think that when I leave the house, I just wander the heath waiting for her to join me.  I bet she wishes she got to go to work, too.

 

Fortune cookies of the world

I spoke tonight with one of my favourite people.  Possibly the only person who could say to me, "even without the accent, I knew your voice...my beautiful Anne" without a hint of irony. It always makes me really happy to speak with Grandma and I know I should call her more, because I'm pretty sure it makes her happy too.

There's very little I would change in my world beyond distance.  I have been extremely lucky to have spent my life in all the places that I have and my friends are fortunate to be spread in all the far-flung corners of the world.  I know that if I was to ask for a couch in most places someone would be able to sort something out, and that's a really wonderful feeling. At the same time, the world is sometimes insurmountably big and we don't get to see the people we want to all the time so I know it's important to appreciate the phone calls and say 'hello' to the ones we love.  And the ones we just really like.  Not forgetting the people that make us laugh, or find different perspectives, or even just sometimes get our goat even though they mean well.


I wish my grandparents were closer, as I wish that I was closer to them (weather in Boulder today sounds glorious compared to Norwich).  I'm having a think about them and hope that you have a moment to be selfish too.  Pick up the phone, call someone you haven't for a while and put a smile on your face.

Grandma & Pa-Gordy on their wedding day.  Aren't they beautiful!

Nearly National...

Those who know me well will attest to my love of sports and running around a field filled with jolly hockeysticks and the like.  Or perhaps not.  Having said that, I have grown to appreciate the allure of sports since my days of standing in the rain (or, as I got older, "running" with Georgie and finding ourselves a piece of toast before heading back outside to and "look like we'd been active" by shaking water from the nearest tree onto ourselves in order to achieve that classic "rained on" look favoured by gym teachers).  In the past twelve months, I have been to see both an English and an American football game (Norwich and Denver each lost, so I am not a good luck token and should not venture to too many games in coming months) and if the opportunity for an ice hockey match should arise then I am there...love the fisticuffs.

Having said all that, I am very proud of my mother-in-law to be who very nearly became a national indoor bowls champion and proves that, despite what her son has sometimes said, second place is not first loser.   Well done Carol!!  Next time...

Published in the Ipswich Evening Star, 5 March 2011

 

Chilling

Tonight, my beloved is cooking chili for dinner.

I'm excited.











I am chilling out on the sofa, watching Masterchef and surfing the net.  A little bit of wine will be drunk and if we're lucky the blanket will come out.  Isn't it nice to look forward to the weekend?

Chilling.  The future.

Here we all are, sittin' in a rainbow...

Yesterday was perhaps the First Day of Spring.  I think it's my favourite day of the year, because it means that winter, with its miserable cold, rainy, long days is on the way out.  I like snowy winter days, yes, but I love seeing the daffodils and spring flowers starting to grow and make the green grass that little bit more colourful.  To be fair to the British weather, I am pretty sure we've had a few nice days recently but yesterday gets the title because it was actually a Lazy Sunday, the nicest day of the week and best day to enjoy spring.

And we totally enjoyed it.

The morning cranked into gear with a little dog walk alongside the riverside walk, past the old Jarrold Printing Press and Cow Tower. I was having fun playing with my camera and taking photos of the new buildings and old city wall while Gav made Pepper a little crazy and sent her off running amongst all the flowers.  I really love blue-sky-days and think that they make wherever you are just a little bit better than normal.  I especially love walking along where we are - we're lucky that we've got the Cathedral on our doorstep and lots of really quite beautiful buildings nearby that make the daily walk a little bit more interesting.  Norwich is my adopted home town and it keeps on providing me with new little gems that I didn't know existed before - I'd been living here eight years before I really discovered the riverside walk.  While it's no mammoth trek through fields it's a nice wander with ducks, swans and a little bit of history (not to mention a few memorable pubs, but this was a morning walk we took so the only hairs of the dog we encountered were Pepper's own) along the way.  

With all this blue sky, the allotment was calling.  Well, it called Gav at least.  He headed off after brunch, dressed to dig.  Pepper and I moseyed on up an hour or so later, having spent a little time making sure our hair was pretty and looking at the photos we'd taken.  She's such a poser, honestly.  Any day now she's going to get all Mariah Carey on me and start telling me which side is her best, but for now she's happy to work for tidbits and affection.  

We found Gav hard at work and busy creating his own little store of dirt.  The grand plan is to clear out our allotment and remove all the carpets that had been left by the previous tenants.  Once we've done this then we'll rotovate (that's the royal 'we' and mostly means 'Gav'll play with a big petrol powered toy and dig up lots of dirt') before we start the fun stuff and start growing all our food and really living the good life.  I didn't want to get too involved in this dirty work so set myself the task of cutting up some bramble bushes that were threatening to take over our carpeted allotment.  We have some nice 'before' and 'after' pictures, to show you the fruits of our labours:

The pile Gav started with... I think he was digging for treasure.

Gav's dirt store.  This will be emptied to fill in the  pond and then filled with some smelly muck that'll give us the best tomatoes you've ever had.

Bramble-tastic

The sun came out to celebrate my clearing.  It was impressive, I tell you!

A strawberry shaped bird feeder found on our digs.  Our allotment will be sponsored by Kath Kidson.

Of course, no allotmenteering is complete without a visit from the BEAMs. Our little helpers came and encouraged some worms to live in our allotment by mushing up the mud just outside.  I'm pretty sure that one day soon I'll get those little wellies marching up and down to aerate the soil and get all sorts of creepies and crawlies to come and help our garden grow.  As long as I provide their mum with some extra washing powder, no doubt!!!

Sadly all lazy Sundays must come to an end.  Ours ended with a nice little wander with Pepper dog on Mousehold.  Have I mentioned how awesome Norwich is?  There's a giant heath waiting for dogs to explore and kids to race dirt bikes on.  We set our little four legged friend free to run in the forest and chase squirrels and look for frogs before we headed home to rest and be happy.