14.04.08
Posted in
General
| 16:36
It is absolutely gorgeous here. Well, right now that is. The weather is just like Seattle in a way, but with one major difference. It changes frequently and drastically. This morning I had a lovely walk down to High Street Kensington, sun shining, birds singing, pretty bulbs and all. When I left my appointment, however, the rain was pouring down, and without an umbrella, I would have been completely soaked in less than a minute. It's typical these days, blinding sun, crazy rain or hail showers, and back to sun within an hour. I love it! I take my big umbrella and my sunglasses everywhere. It's sad to think that without any care my pretty windowboxes will be dead when we come back at the end of April, which brings me to...
Virgin Islands! This Thursday! We couldn't be more excited for beaches and sun and rum... Ten days of sailing bliss and visiting with my parents. Now I just have to scrub the flat and get packed... Yikes...
Steve worked from home most of last week, which was a nice treat, but I think it's going to be late nights for a bit more. He has been busy busy at work, and apparently things are going really well. And that's about all I know about that. I ordered a few games for us from a series designed for two players, which have been really fun! We have a decent collection of board games that we love, but are not as fun with only two, so this has been a treat. If you are a game lover with only one steady opponent, check out Kosmos. Especially Lost Cities!
I have joined the London Rollergirls, and it's a blast! I have only skated at two practices so far, but am rolling around my flat and working hard to get in shape. I'm really excited to get to the point where I can start scrimmaging! Very fun group of girls. Now all I have to do is buy a set of outdoor wheels, get Steve some inline skates, and start terrorising Hyde Park on the weekends!
That's about all for now, I'll update after our trip!
Love, Helen
OHHH!!! Almost forgot, more pictures up on Picasa, and more to come soon!
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01.04.08
Posted in
General
| 13:19
My next new thing? I know, conventional sports just are not me. Sorry.
For worried parents and the like, I just purchased the best health insurance there is, so no worries!
I'm going to go check it out tonight and give Steve a chance to study for his exam.
And, this just in, going to wander Central today with Meagan!
All in all, looks like a good day.
Love,
Helen
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30.03.08
Posted in
General
| 03:45
Apparently I lied. Sorry!
A few pieces of big exciting news, although I'm sure the few of you who actually look at this blog probably know... I was accepted into every program at every university that I applied to, and will be starting the Magazine Publishing program at Middlesex University late this September. Yay! And to go with that, I now have a prospective student visa that I can change to a student visa this Fall. That takes care of our next few years! And Steve has been busy busy with work, and has a few new clients, so that has also been exciting for us. Here is where I would make a joke about Steve updating someday, but now I have absolutely no right to tease.
Last week we spent in Chicago with Steves mama, and my parents came out as well for a big meeting of parents and kids! The original reason for planning the trip was getting me a visa, but it was wonderful seeing everyone. Unfortunately the plauge was going 'round and it made for a somewhat subdued if otherwise lovely visit.
The next big event in our lives is a trip to the Virgin Islands in April! We are meeting my parents and a friend on a sailboat in Road Town, Tortola, and taking off! It will be a looooong flight, but very worth it. I am looking forward to doing it over again, as last time I was there I was a supremely awkward 13 years old. We will be sailing the islands (British only) for 10 days.
In other news... Not a whole lot, that pretty much covered it. I met a few lovely ex-pat friends in Leicester Square today for amazing treats and cappuchino and a little shopping, and Steve is away at Rafaels playing games tonight. Last night we found a gem of a Lebanese restaurant down the street by Olympia, it is run by a sweet woman who cooks herself and comes out and tells you if she is not satisfied with your order and helps you! Sounds annoying maybe, but it was actually wonderful! Tasty wine from Lebanon too... Then since it was windy and pouring we went home and curled up in front of the fire with Irish coffees. All in all it's been a nice weekend!
My plans for this next week are to get a little more organised
around the house, I know it's been three months, but what with all the
paperwork and all there were a few things that got stashed away in
cupboards and forgotten. Also I seem to always have a foot out the
door because I'm worried that we will have to move by December in order
to be able to take our vacation home before our landlord moves back
in. Steve is dying for me to just settle down though, so I am going to
try to oblige! I also have a little shopping to do before the Virgin
Islands...
Hope everyone is doing well!
Love,
Helen
My plans for this next week are to get a little more%2
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06.02.08
Posted in
General
| 20:25
Want to know the truth? We have been really boring. No real sightseeing or photo ops in the last few weeks. Steve has an excuse I guess, as he is working, but I have none and am starting to feel a leettle bit pathetic. The good news is that I finished my university applications and Steve passed his FSA exam and now we really have no excuses to stay in on the weekends! So expect more frequent updates again!
Tomorrow my friend Jodie and I are planning on going to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square and a tasty Mexican restaurant at Charing Cross. Hmm, what am I more excited about? OK, the gallery of course, but good Mexican food is sure hard to come by in this city! It was always so accessible in Washington, and with all the amazing ethnic foods here you would think you would find more... Good thing I make fajitas on a regular basis or I would be going crazy. I have actually been doing a lot of cooking recently, which can probably be attributed to the fact that I have a ton of time on my hands and am well rested by the end of the day when in a past life I was too tired to make dinner. Also, there are some exciting ingredients newly available to me from the Thai and Indian groceries nearby, and after spending the morning tending my windowbox garden, I now have fresh herbs. A few new recipes that I am currently loving are for Pad Thai, Pho, and Tom Ka Gai. Mmmm... The weather was gorgeous today, clear and sunny and not like February at all. I hope it keeps up, it was nice running down to Kensington in just a sweater and tee!
As far as Boris and family go... They will be gone shortly. A man came today and set traps. The last straw was waking up before dawn to squealing (no Steve, not the wind) and seeing a mouse run across the top of my bedroom curtains. Steve chased it and a friend around for quite awhile while I cowered under the blankets. Ick. Can't handle it.
So, friends and family from home... What should I plan for this weekend? You are of course supposed to be living vicariously through us, and I'm sure you wouldn't be spending as much time in as we have, so I want to hear some ideas! I'm off to the grocery, lots of love to all.
Helen
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28.01.08
Posted in
General
| 13:07
We have a mouse. His name is Boris. We're not sure if he has a family tucked away behind the walls, or if he is living the bachelor life and taking advantage of my cooking, but either way he's definitely a member of our household. We have no idea what to do about him. His first appearance was when Steve went for a midnight snack a week or so ago and he scurried across the counter and into a tiny crack between the top of the dishwasher and the counter top, but last night he made the (soon to be fatal) mistake of darting from the tiny space next to the refrigerator ACROSS MY BARE FOOT to God knows where. Now I have heard that mice are an unpleasant but very typical problem in this lovely city, but the fact of the matter is I get the willies getting out of bed now and imagine that they are everywhere. I'm not exactly excited about traps, because I don't like the idea of finding them around my flat dead or alive, and it's not like I (OK, Steve) could let the live ones out on our doorstep anyway unless we wanted them back in within the hour. So in the city, what does that mean? I have a feeling dropping off live mice in other peoples neighborhoods is not the quickest way to make friends in a new city. Today I plan on serious cleaning, especially in the kitchen, but I can't imagine that that is the problem in the first place because it's not like we leave food out, and with all this time on my hands the place is always clean!. I read in a few places that peppermint oil on a cotton ball is a deterrent, so we'll see how that goes, but I am going to call the estate agent and the council I think, because ICK!
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07.01.08
Posted in
General
| 13:04
We are in! Well, not completely, we still have 25 or so boxes in storage, but we are fully functional in our beautiful new flat. It is furnished including kitchenware, so we were able to move in, buy a few groceries and get on with our life. Fully moving is going to be an interesting process... First of all, Steve is going to bring home what he can carry every night this week from Rafaels flat in Battersea where he will be working until they find their new place, because we decided to take only what we could comfortably bus with on Saturday. Then I have to find a "man in a van" to get our things from way out by Heathrow, hopefully this week so we can get some of our personal belongings and make this place ours. I'm looking forward to that. As for other necessities, laundry hampers, "rubbish bins" (hehe), dish racks, etc., we are pretty much going to have deliveries made, because trying to move large objects on and off the tube/bus does not make you very popular. Rough on the arms and back too! Again, I absolutely love the transportation here, having a car is not necessary, but you do feel it when you want to stock up a flat, for instance. Luckily, I have found that you can order pretty much anything you could ever want online, and have it delivered for 5 pounds no matter how big or small or how many items you order. So I have been going about my daily business with a notepad and making lists (OK, that's not particularly unusual for me...) and hopefully we'll have everything we need delivered by the end of the week. That includes groceries too! No, we are not so lazy that we are going to quit grocery shopping, but if you think about starting from absolutely nothing in the cupboards, that first trip is pretty big! Imagine a normal American shopping trip with a car, maybe 8-10 bags sometimes? Yikes. Our location really is ideal. We are just as close to shopping, pubs, etc. as we were in Battersea, but we are on a really quiet street and you would never know from here that a 5 minute walk brings you to most every amenity that you could think of! And our landlord is very sweet, we actually technically are supposed to go through our estate agent for anything we need, but she's doing some things on her own, and really making sure some small repairs are done before she leaves to go traveling in a few weeks. The downside is that we found out the other day that she may be back to live here in a year, but she's pursuing a job opportunity abroad that will hopefully come through, because we like this place! The nice thing is that if we do have to move in a year, we still won't have to deal with furniture or anything. ANyway, speaking of the landlady she and the window cleaner are here, so I'm going to cut this (not very) short!
Loves,
Helen
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03.01.08
Posted in
General
| 00:34
I know, I know, since it was our first New Years together and in London we really should have gotten out and done something crazy and exciting, but the thought of a quiet night in by ourselves was such a rare and exciting opportunity we just had to take it! I made lots of tasty Indian food, we drank lots of wine, and watched movies. It was perfect. We have so much planned for 2008 I'm sure it will go by quickly! Trip to Chicago to see (both!) families in March, Virgin Islands in April, lots of Summer possibilities including Seattle, school starting for me in Fall, family visits, friends visiting... We should keep busy! Which is the way to be I guess. To continue the countdown, two more days until we move. So exciting! If you have not been able to tell, we are both ready to have a place to call home after everything we have been through. Now if only we could figure out how to move everything... At home all you do is convince friends/families with pickups to help you. I have not seen a single truck in London, and sure don't know anybody that owns one! What it looks like people do here is hire a "man with a van." Sounds sketchy, huh? Luckily we didn't ship much, so it shouldn't be too painful, we'll let you know Saturday night though! Hopefully it won't take too long to get phone and internet set up, I hear it can be awhile sometimes. But it might actually be nice to be cut off from the world for a change... I am very excited to explore the new neighborhood, go to the markets in Notting Hill, walk around Holland and Hyde parks... It's a very nice area that we will be in. I have been looking into volunteering until I get a student visa and can legally work here. There are tons of options actually, many of which would involve working on publications that would definitely be nice on my CV. Anyway, not much else has changed, we'll get more photos of our new place up when we're settled and also when we get out and about more! Take care you all and much love and a happy new year!
Helen
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31.12.07
Posted in
General
| 01:22
Yes, we were tourists again yesterday... And it was amazing! This is definitely a place we will want to take all of you friends and family from home, and unfortunately you're going whether you like it or not because we didn't get to see everything. The tower is not just one tower, it's a pretty good size complex, so
you could spend a whole day there, we found that 3 hours was not
enough. Anyway, this was a place high on our list of things to see, and not just because I finished "The Other Boleyn Sister" the day before (which was a great read by the way). The oldest tower, called the White Tower is in the middle of it all and was built by William the Conquerer in 1078. I think the middle wall was built in the 12th century and the outer wall the 13th. You don't really get to see things like that at home, Seattle was founded in what, the 1850's? Of course we took tons of photos, so check out our Picasa album, there's more there... Then we met some new friends at a pub near Oxford Circus, made it through two pints, and had to find food, then went home and dropped! It really is amazing how different the everyday is here. We walk absolutely everywhere. At the end of a day running around town my feet still reeeally hurt! It's getting better though. Today was definitely low key, we slept in, played with photos, and I got some chores in and Steve had a chance to play some games. Air mattress #2 died though, so we'll see how my patch worked but we will probably end up with a bed of couch cushions for the next week. Funny, the no name air mattress lasted over a month and then some, and the Aerobed made it a week and a half before the same thing happened. Hmm... But the countdown is on! Friday is our last night here and then we are in our new flat all by ourselves! Can't come soon enough...
Love to all!
Helen
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28.12.07
Posted in
General
| 00:28
Well, it came and went. Not a particularly big deal, although we managed to do two Christmas dinners and brave Oxford Street the Saturday before... We went to midnight mass at St. Mary the Boltons in Chelsea, which is a beautiful 150 year old church in a lovely neighborhood, but it wasn't quite the same as home. It was somewhat comical actually, after spending every Christmas I can remember at joyful St. Barnabas this service could only be called somber. We definitely noticed how reserved the English can be. Also we butchered all the carols, because the lyrics we knew had different melodies, and the melodies we knew had different lyrics. We had a nice long and quiet walk home because transport stopped at midnight. Christmas morning we slept in and opened presents in bed, and then the guys worked for awhile while I tried to sort out my first big turkey dinner. Well, maybe not so big. The turkey was three pounds. It turned out great though! We got to talk to family which of course was wonderful, but let me tell you - we sure missed home and will definitely look forward to Christmases with the families from here on out! I was particularly sad about missing the second white Cristmas on Bainbridge in my lifetime... Yesterday was back to life as usual, although I was ignorant and didn't realise that Boxing Day here is the shopping equivalent of the day after Thanksgiving at home, and spent the day is massive mobs. In other news, we move to our own flat in nine days and it can't come soon enough! For the first time in six months for me and three for Steve we will finally be settled. We have both been feeling the strain of it for sure, although Steve handles it like a saint while I am of course the basketcase. It will be nice for work and home to be separated for him, and we'll finally get a little time together. Well deserved. It's been a long haul. Anyway, we look forward to it, and to a happy and exciting new year! Miss you all!
Helen
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20.12.07
Posted in
General
| 00:43
After a long and fun day of shopping and preparing for our early Christmas dinner tomorrow, Steve and I are snuggling in to watch Scrooge and A Charlie Brown Christmas and drinking hot buttered rum. None of which he has experienced, but are family traditions for me. Life is good, but tonight is making me miss home!
Love to all,
Helen
*Come to think of it, you all better have the best hot buttered rum recipe ever -
1 part unsalted butter
1 part sugar
1 part brown sugar
2 parts vanilla ice cream
Slowly melt butter and sugars in saucepan, pour in bowl, add ice cream, mix until smooth, and refrigerate until ready. To serve, fill mug about a quarter of the way with mix, put in a shot of rum, and fill with boiling water. Nutmeg on top, and mmm... Christmas!
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18.12.07
Posted in
General
| 20:13
We were sleeping peacefully last night when we both woke up to two loud pops! We sat up, looked at each other to make sure we were not dreaming, decided that it came from the wall next to us, couldn't figure it out, and went back to sleep. Then, a few hours later, it happened again, except this time a loud hissing started just after, and I felt air blowing on my legs. Turns out, our air mattress popped. We were asleep and not moving, the popping was what woke us up both times. Hmm. I sat there with my fingers covering the quarter sized hole and noticed that there was a huge bulge in the mattress, so I figured that the earlier popping was one inner chamber breaking, and the one that made the hole was the same except it ripped along the seam. Very strange. Anyway, today I set out to get us a new mattress and I discovered Argos. That place is pretty much amazing. You walk in the store and there are rows of catalogues to flip through that have just about everything you could want. You pick what you want, pay for it, and wait in line while it's retrieved from this massive warehouse that is behind the counter somewhere. I also found an alarm clock. Finally. Sweet.
Nothing particularly exciting to tell, Steve has been busy with work and I have been doing chores, errands, and working on college essays. Tomorrow I am heading to Covent Garden to have lunch with a friend of mine from home, so that should be fun. Who would have thought that two girls that grew up on Agate Point would cross paths in London years later? I never thought I would end up here...
Hopefully next time will be more exciting...
Helen
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16.12.07
Posted in
General
| 21:42
Yesterday we decided to go to Hyde Park to see the annual "Winter Wonderland." By now I am getting to know the transportation system, so we walked outside right onto a bus (yes, we spend quite a bit of time on red double decker buses) and headed up to South Kensington to the tube. After refilling our transport cards we decided to walk instead because it was so pretty out and we had not seen much of the area. After getting halfway there, we went back because I indulged Steve in his belief that the atm we saw a sign for was way down this underground tunnel that led us all the way back to South Ken. He insisted on going further and further, even though we saw all these multiple exits to places we had passed aboved ground. His face was priceless when he saw where we ended up. I told him it wasn't shocking considering we passed so many signs telling us where we were going. Hehehe. I'm sure the whole thing was much more amusing in person than in print, but oh well. When we finally got to Hyde park, it was insanely crowded! That also shouldn't have been surprising on a Saturday night, but even though I can't quite pinpoint it, I swear walking in crowds here is different than at home. We went on a haunted mansion ride (yes, at a Christmas festival), and walked through a German market. I was really sad I forgot my camera, especially after trying all sorts of goofy hats on Steve. Thought about ice skating, but I'm so awful the idea of going out with that many people was scary! So we decided to move on to Covent Garden and explore instead. We found a fun pub that I had been to with a few other ex-pat girls last week and had a few beers from Prague, and enjoyed people watching and Christmas music. We pretty much missed the outdoor market there as it was closing up, but the ambiance of the city at night is enjoyable in itself, so we walked around a bit more and headed home for hot buttered rums and a cozy night in.
Today we had a bit of a lazy morning, and then went to the Science Museum. As with the British Museum, it's hard to do it all in one day, but we had fun with the space, medical history, and mathematics exhibits. The nice thing about museums here is thatyou don't feel pressure to see everything at once ecause they are free of charge. Next on our list of things to see are a service at Westminster Abbey, a tour of the Tower of London, and the market on Portobello Road. And of course everywhere we go we think of friends and family who would enjoy what we are seeing, so plan your vacations!
We miss you and hoping you're having a great holiday season!
Helen (and Steve, who I'm sure will write something someday.)
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11.12.07
Posted in
General
| 23:40
Sorry, it turns out it's just not practical to put them here with the amount we're going to have, maybe someday I'll get organized, but for now...
http://picasaweb.google.com/sbcook
Enjoy!
Us
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11.12.07
Posted in
General
| 18:07
And it's amazing! The experience of looking here is insane though... Steve and I got up early so he could dress up and interview with a bank (also a different experience) and I could start flat hunting. I had been told that everyone uses estate agents here, so I looked them up in a few nice neighborhoods and planned to spend afew weeks running around and searching. We walked up to South Kensington Station together, split off, and I took the tube to Hammersmith. I probably saw 12 agents and 5 flats, and by the time I went home to Steve I knew exactly which one we had to have. The first one I saw. I know 5 does not sound like a lot, but the rentals here go amazingly fast, and the really great places are usually not open long enough to make it online. What I heard from a few ex-pats I have talked to is that if you try to
shop around like we do back home, you end up missing 2 or 3 great
places and then settling. Plus, to get the price we did in the neighborhood (Holland Park) is unheard of. So I promised Steve it was worth seeing, we went back, he fell in love with it too and we put a deposit down. The flat is a spacious period conversion with huge windows and high ceilings, and it's on a quiet street but within easy walking distance of everything we need. We are both really excited, and definitely ready to be on our own again after... Wow... It will have been 3 months in suitcases! Oh well, crazy as life has been, it's worth it. We'll be on Lower Addison Gardens.
Sunday we walked downtown with the intent of seeing the British Museum, but it turned out that the journey was the bulk of the day. It's amazing how much we saw, and how much more we have to see! Among the major landmarks we saw in one afternoon:
Buckingham Palace
Trafalgar Square
Piccadilly Circus
The British Museum (and Rosetta Stone!)
Covent Garden
Houses of Parliament
Big Ben
Westminster Abbey
Obviously there are tours we want to take, and there is much more exploring to be done in each area, but it was crazy to think that we passed by all that in an afternoon! Everywhere you go there is this striking contrast between the old and the new. The city is gorgeous at night, walking along the river with all the lights was so romantic. And then we walked past the aquarium which is this beautiful old building and saw storm troopers on the roof. Strange, but really funny! So now there's a Star Wars exhibit we're excited about. We only saw a few exhibits at the British Museum, Egypt and Rome, but they were amazing and we may go back for more next weekend.
Anyway, I continue to explore and do a lot of chores, and Steve has been working some long hours, but by the end of January (we're moving on the 5th) we should be settled and the fun will really begin! And I'm sure we'll both be better about keeping in touch by then.
I'll try to keep updated!
Helen
*I know most of you won't know one neighborhood from another here, but I like to be specific just in case you're like me and like to stare at maps...
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07.12.07
Posted in
General
| 02:44
Promise! I just need to find the cord to plug in my camera!
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