Friday, October 15, 2010

thursday. craft day.

had an unbelievably successful craft day yesterday! started out with some sewing lessons on my new machine with anna's friend michaela. she was very patient going through all the settings with me and showed me the difference between all the feet etc. she has a bernina, i have a singer. they are different from each other (her's is electric, mine manual), but we were able to figure it all out. unfortunately i can't put of pictures of what we made because it is a present for someone who checks my blog regularly.

did some watercolor painting when i got home, however this too is a gift and so i will have to put up pictures once it has been given.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

fall is in the air

and by fall (in texas) i mean the high is usually somewhere in the low-mid 80s. however, after some of those 104 degree days it is great to open up the windows and let some fresh air into my room. things have been interesting the last few months, seems like every time i turn around someone i know was getting into an accident or i was breaking something. all i am going to say about this stuff is please be sure to wear your helmets and seat belts, simple things like that can make all the difference. be careful out there.

since last writing in my blog i was lucky enough to go on two trips and have moved house. the first trip was to new york city, got to visit with so many friends! megan was there visiting laura, stayed jenny in park slope, and hung out with pat. did a lot of eating! A LOT of eating. besides seeing all the people the best part of the trip was the boat ride i went on with jenny. her cousin works for a company that does water tours around Manhattan island, we had free drinks and food while taking in all the sites.
here are a few pics of people, more can be found on my flickr site.

laura, megan, jenny.
















sushi with pat and jenny. 
















laura's office at PS 1... megan being a creeeeeepppperrrrr. 
















when i got back to austin i took on a lot of nanny jobs and then was able to go to england for my great aunt mary's 90th birthday party. i couldn't afford the ticket so trudy and phil were wonderful and bought me one with their air miles. wouldn't have been able to go if it weren't for them. thanks!




the night before leaving i had a little get together at the dog and duck for my birthday. it was great to see everyone before heading out. tsouni and anthony gave me this great mug.






















i flew into lexington the day before and drove to owensboro to pick up grandpa, hadn't been back to owensboro in about three years. funny how a place can feel so different yet look exactly the same. after a quick afternoon tea with kay wimsatt grandpa and i headed back to lexington. we flew to london on my birthday (even got drinks in the delta sky lounge during the lay over!).

grandpa in the sky lounge.






















while i was on the plane maria was completing an iron man. go maria! best birthday present ever.

















we spent a few days in the city then wen to porlock to stay at the anchor inn. porlock is beautiful, so nice to visit especially since i hadn't been there in about twelve years.

porlock.





















porlock. 
















porlock. 

















had a great time with stephen and alex in bristol. it is such a same that i only get to see them about once a year, two of my all time favorite people. i always know where i stand with them, and i always know i have a place with them. it was exciting getting everything together for the party (which was a huge success).

video of sasha.


here is one of the family. 
















after the party i spent a little time floating around visiting with family in wiltshire and bristol. met up with tsouni's parents in cheddar and had dinner at their house one evening. i think trish and andy really hit it off with my parents, hopefully they will all be able to meet up soon.

ended the trip with david in london, which is always a good way to end a trip. david is always so hospitable and wonderful (not just saying that since i know you will be reading it... it is true!). spent that friday night at graham's 90th birthday. started my week with a 90th bday and ended my week with a 90th. not many people i know have done that! last 90th of the year will be at the end of october with grandpa in kentucky.

on my final night we went to see sophie perform in her new group birrddy chick-chick perform. she always puts on a good show!

birrddy chick-chick 






















the trip back to austin was uneventful, watched a lot of movies on the plane. moved to my new place the weekend after i got back. i am now living on the east side, i share a house with two guys and one cat. scott and jeff have pretty different schedules to me so we are never really all home at the same time. it is nice to live in a house again. i have my own bathroom, which is always a plus, only ever had my own bathroom once before. here are some pictures of the new place.

this is roy. girl cat with a boy name. 





















the living room. tv! with cable!












kitchen and dining area.





















big fan of the stair railing.





















the front of the house.












my room (feels a lot less cluttered than it looks)
trying to decide what to do about all my paintings, don't want to put holes in the walls if i don't have to.












my room. 





















bed with drawers.












backyard.











 
austin city limits was this last weekend. brian came in, but i came down with a weird strain of strep throat. spent fri night throwing up and sat/sun with a fever of 102. on antibiotics now and feeling much better, but only got to visit with him for a day. maybe i will get to see him over christmas. had a good time at highball karaoke before getting sick!

sean, luke, brian, shannon, clint. 
















spent the last few days getting better and it is back to work tomorrow. hopefully will be meeting up for a sewing lesson this afternoon and will have things to post in the next few days.will plug the flickr site again if you would like to see more pictures.

i think this has covered most everything from the last few months. hope you are all well and will update again soon.