wooden shoes and windmills

what?

2006-04-19T14:10:00.000-07:00

I am finding myself incrediably distracted today and not able to get any work done. I leave for Orange County and all of my dear Orange Countians in exactly 18 hours. Only 7.5 hours of work, two car rides a plane ride and one very short sleep to get through before I'm there!!!

very disturbing

2006-03-23T21:42:00.000-08:00

So, um, it sort've concerns me that something like this exists in the world today. Run for the hills, protect the children, hunker down in a bunker somewhere! He's, it's, lose.

I think my favourite part may be when he sings to his adoring audience as the camera comes in for a close-up. My he's dreamy.

Breakfast of Champions

2006-03-21T08:06:00.000-08:00

It's not Wheaties...

MMM. Oatmeal with dried cranberries and a sprinkling of brown sugar and a double tall 2 pump hazelnut non-fat extra hot latte' - it's pretty much the most perfect breakfast on earth!

I had a perpetual grin on my face yesterday. Maybe it was because of the first day of spring - which definitely made an appearance here in Seattle. Maybe it was because my mom arrived up here (finally) on Saturday completing the Lilly family's move back to Washington. Or maybe it was because this friend arrived safe and sound at home in Alaska after a VERY long time away. Just the thought of him reuniting with all of his friends after so long is enough to make a person grin. Whatever the reason, yesterday was a great today.

Today? Well, today is yet to be seen.

not really a post....

2006-03-16T07:52:00.000-08:00

...but something you definitely should take a look at. There's an amazing photo exhibit up on the Mezzanine level of my office building by Nicholas Prior called "Home/Less". The pictures were taken in Seattle - It's worth checking out.

Greatmorning!

2006-02-07T07:24:00.000-08:00

7.24am
I never thought I could be so thankful for getting up before the sun and starting work at 5.45am but when your office is on the 10th floor and faces a mountain range and the sunrise it's hard not to be thankful. The sunrises are so brilliant some days it's like an enormous light show, just for us early birds, that changes second by second.

7.25am
This morning there is a lavender-rose haze shrouding the city and more of the same peeking up from behind the mountains. I know in a minute the sky will have changed completely.

7.28am
The rosey-pinks are still backlighting the mountains but now the sun is preparing to make its grand entrance with a brilliant prelude of orangy-yellow that spreads forward beyond the mountains and reflects off the whispy Cirrus clouds blanketing the sky.

7.33am
Mt. Ranier is coming into full view and while magnificent in her own right - especially with a thick covering of snow - she pales in comparison to the rising sun.

7.38am
The sun has risen just above the tips of the mountains and its bright gleaming turns everything below it - all of the buildings and trees and people and cars - to shadows while it fills the sky with its brilliance.

7.41am
Good morning sun. Welcome to the day....

"But I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, "You are my God."
My times are in your hands"
Psalm 31:14-15a

Happy Tuesday!

A new home a crazy new store

2006-01-24T07:49:00.000-08:00

So I'm living and working in the city now. I moved - to a cute little house in Magnolia - at the beginning of January. I also moved to a new Starbucks - downtown - and another new job - U District. Living in the city (or just outside it) has been great so far. Working in it has been great and with many hilarious (read: Odd, scary, crazy) moments.

For example: last night when I was working a woman came into our store with one of our paper cups that she had clearly dug out of the trash, and asked for a coffee refill. This same woman had tried to pull this a couple of nights before when I was working. Having never encountered her before, I gave her the benefit of the doubt when she told me she wasn't aware of our refill policy and gave her her grande coffee for the refill price of 55 cents. I also informed her that next time she would need to pay full price. It's not that Starbucks couldn't afford to give her a whole pot of coffee it's just the principle of the thing. Anyway, last night she came in again and tried asking for a refill. I immediately interrupted the eager new barista working the register and told the woman that she would need to buy a fresh cup of coffee. She was mad. She started yelling at me that she owned the company and would speak to David (no clue who he is) and come back later that night and fire me. It was all I could do to keep from laughing in her face - which would have undoubtedly made her more mad because she so clearly believed the claims she was making. Finally I told her I would call security if she didn't leave the store immediately and she stalked off grumbling.

Though this was just one of the more colorful incidences I've already encountered in just about 3 weeks at this store it doesn't hold a candle to the individual that defecated while his friends captured it on video, outside our store a couple of nights ago.

To that individual, wherever you may be, you're a winner.

The SUPERhawks are going to...

2006-01-24T07:45:00.000-08:00

SUPERBOWL XL!!!
Here We Come!

Virginians?

2005-08-26T21:47:00.000-07:00

Am I the only one who has never known the word Virginian to refer both to a person from the state of Virginia and to someone who has never had sex? One of the guys I work with is getting married in a couple of months and I overheard him trying to tell another one of my co-workers - in I guess what he thought was a more delicate fashion - that he is a virgin.

So that's what the kids are calling it these days. Interesting.

driving

2005-07-26T21:46:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok, I realize it's been months since my brother Eric and I actually drove from So. Cal to Seattle but there are still pictures to share - a journey documented. We had a fantastic time and here it is (some of it) in pictures:

One essential for any road trip: Red Vines!

The place to get the good stuff, perhaps - far superior to the stuff from South Weed.

Eric got bored somewhere between Bakersfield and Ashland. Meet Licorice Man!!!

Ahh... driving whilst photoing - a deliciously dangerous combination.

No rain, nor hail, nor sleet, nor snow, nor blurry Mac trucks could stop us!

Average speed: 80mph. Average numer of times Burt's Bees was applied daily: 10

So there you have it. There were others including entire documentation of our drive up the Oregon coast but I don't remember where I stashed those ones. Hum.

Seattle

2005-05-26T01:31:00.000-07:00

I caught a glimpse of Mt. Rainier today beyond the rows and rows of evergreen. Its magnificent snowy peak set upon a backdrop of clear blue sky made me smile from ear to ear – the sort of toothy grin that makes your whole body feel like a smile long after your face has returned to normal.

[photo by: manju.cs.berkeley.edu/. ../Mt-Rainier.JPG]

No, I’m not having delusions of longing for the Pacific North West – this time. Roughly three weeks ago I, once again, moved away from home. Or, rather, I’ve moved from my family and all of my dear California friends to the only place I always feel truly at home. I’m back in Seattle.

[photo by: bigwhiteguy.com/images/ daily/starbucks.jpg]

I’m living with my grandparents and working back at the ‘Bucks. There’s more to the story but I’m not eager to air it within this medium. I get to play with my younger cousins often since they live just down road and I got here just in time for Spring. The days are long and getting longer. The raccoons drink and splash in my grandparents’ backyard pond. The scent of freshly cut grass mixed with pine and cedar should be bottled, though it would never smell this good. I’m really loving it.

You should come.

BOOKS!

2005-04-25T16:56:00.000-07:00

AAAHHHH..... a long satisfied exhale after a weekend spent celebrating one of my all-time favourite entities - books! Writers - published and unpublished alike - along with readers from all walks of life, filled the UCLA campus Saturday and Sunday for the LA Times Festival of Books. Nothing but books and writers and readers for two days!

Saturday my mother and I drove up to UCLA early. We snagged tickets (all free, mind you) to speakers like James Patterson and Sue Grafton - both were great (Grafton was cheeky and so funny in person). We browsed booths of book sellers - bought some books (just a few, surprisingly) - and enjoyed our book-loving selves thoroughly. I even hit up a few panels of authors discussing topics like Creative Non-fiction (Anne Patchett and others) and children's picture books (Rosemary Wells, Marie Louise Gay and others).

A surprise: my mom discovered Michael Hague, an illustrator with stunning work that I grew up loving, was signing books at one of the booths. I returned Sunday with an armful of my own copies. Gracious Mr. Hague signed all four of my books even though the limit was supposed to be three and he was 15 minutes past the end of his scheduled signing time. Hague has done illustrated copies of many classics. His version of Bilbo Baggins was the first I ever met, he brought the world of Pod, Homily and Arrietty Clock alive for me and his Mole will always be the protagonist I see when I read Kenneth Grahame's classic.

Sunday I headed back to LA on my own for a second day of book fun and the icing on my book festival cake: a reading by Anne Lamott from her newest book with a signing to follow! But, Anne (yes, of course, we're on a first name basis now :) was the last "act" of the day so I spent the rest of my time in a panel discussion titled How a Children's book Gets Published, with Authors Bebe Moore Campbell and Quincy Troupe and Illustrators Robin Preiss Glasser and Kadir Nelson and then a conversation with Mary and Carol Higgins Clark mediated by Connie Martinson.

About an hour before the much anticipated Anne Lamott reading I headed to the Barnes and Noble tent to purchase Anne's latest. When she finally came on stage to cheers from an overstuffed tent full of eager fans, she was exactly as I had imagined (with help from the info on the fly leaves of her books :). Bohemian. Funny. Purposeful. She read the first piece from Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith and then fielded questions - only one of which attacked the committed Jesus follower's anti-war, anti-Bush, liberal, leftist leanings. She closed with the last chapter in her phenomenal book on writing: Bird by Bird. It was so exciting to hear from a writer that has so impacted me.

All of this paired with the fact that the late Bill Peet - a genius author and illustrator and another favorite that I was introduced to as a child - designed the festival logo, made for a superb celebration of literature.

Feels like home to me

2005-04-10T11:42:00.000-07:00

Being back in Seattle (we arrived yesterday), I'm reminded how much I LOVE this place. I was crazy to even think I'd be able to permanently settle somewhere other than here someday

After my aunt, cousin and sister (Becca is down from school this weekend!!!) picked us up at the airport, we headed over to my other cousins' little league game. Kyle (11) and Shane (10) are great baseball players!

"Can I have some of your tots?" Then we hit up one of our favourite Pacific Northwest fastfood that isn't fastfood restaurants: Taco Time. Taco Time is great for reasons only people who have ever been there would appreciate: Crisp Bean Burritos and the best pellet ice on earth - oh, and really great tots.

The afternoon was spent playing with my cousins and practicing my swing in my uncle's homemade batting cage - complete with pitching gun. 11-year-old Kyle stood outside the cage coaching my stance and telling me why I was having trouble connecting bat to ball. "Don't move your feet so much, Heather! Pretend your feet are stuck in cement. Put 75 percent of your weight on your back leg and when you swing forward lift your heel up like this." He was great, so serious.

I love being with family.

i long for that day when the praises never cease

2005-04-03T23:02:00.000-07:00

Worship. Adoration. Honour. Thanksgiving.

This evening, as I was praising Jesus and feeling so very thankful for a voice to sing with and arms to raise, the tinyest hint of envy crept into my mind as I thought of Pope JP II who was worshiping at the feet of his Creator at that very moment. A very little thought of "not fair" quickly overshadowed by thoughts of "Wow! How very cool!" ran through my mind as I worshiped, and in my mind's eye was a picture of my own eternity worshiping my Dad in Heaven. I long for that day when the praises never cease and every knee remains bowed before God. WHAT A DAY THAT WILL BE!

shoes, lies and coffee cups

2005-03-31T16:06:00.000-08:00

I love Dilbert. The attraction started when I was working in New Mexico at a severely dysfunctional newspaper. A co-worker and I found great comfort (and humor) in the fact that, at least once a week it seemed, Scott Adams (Dilbert creator) looked through his spyglass into our particular news room and wrote a comic strip - yes, there were that many similarities. Melissa and I started our now-reknown "Wall of Dilbert". I think it was taped to the side of Melissa's desk. So, you can see, my history with Dilbert is long and sentimental. He's a good buddy.

This particular strip landed in my inbox today:

I like it because it reminds me of working with kids - though I have met a few adults that lie outrageously like this too. Kids lie about some of the most obvious things that even though you should be scolding them you can't help but laugh.

Sister comes in holding her head and screaming that her twin sister hit her. I ask the twin, point blank, "did you hit your sister?" The accused twin, fist still clenched, without batting an eye, denies any affiliation to said incident. "I wasn't even in the same country! Honest!"

Of course she's lying. I know it. She knows it. But you gotta give a kid credit for ingenuity and on-the-feet-quick thinking - and then you have to punish.

I'm working today - which is nice - but I made the most asinine choice in footwear this morning and I'm paying for it now. Whoever invented very high heels should be killed and left in a purgatory of 13 inch high heeled shoes where they are then forced to march for all eternity. Or I should be hit of over the head for choosing to wear them. They are so tall - the tallest I've ever worn. And while the temporary height is nice (my own little glimpse of the view above 5'4"), I'm convinced it's not worth it. Plus, since I possess all the grace of a baby giraffe when I wear normal-heeled shoes, jacking my heels up a few inches doesn't help and I'm terrified of falling on my face. Honestly, it's happened before. So far today, so good, but I'm not home yet.

Though my lack of walking ability should have forewarned me, it didn't, and I also can no longer be trusted to drink gracefully out of coffee cups. I had a very messy coffee incident yesterday and henceforth I'm boycotting all ceramic-style (basically anything without a sippy-top lid) mugs. I sware the cup just jumped out of my hand, but I should've seen it coming. The mug was against me from the start. Fine mug it was, too.

Today is sunny, breezy and a little on the warm side and as I drove into work I could smell fresh grass cuttings from the lawn outside the church building.

I love days like this in California.

SHE IS WOMAN!!!!!

2005-03-17T16:31:00.000-08:00

I've got this friend. He's a good friend. He likes to pose in wife beaters and backwards baseball caps and let out neanderthal yells about women who have more hair under their arms than they have on their heads.

I know, I know....but what can ya do?

In other news, Heather embarrassed herself the other day. What? Not surprised?

See, there's this person I'm sort've attracted to. I did this very clumsy thing, a very Heather-esque thing - right in front of said person. Suffice to say, I was mortified - and I don't embarrass easily!

Why? Why me?

i'd like to swim in a cappuccino right now!

2005-02-24T09:28:00.000-08:00

You're a Cappuccino!

What Kind of Coffee are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Ok, sorry for all these quick, little "check this out" posts but, truly, these little distractions are much more exciting then my life of late.

Plus, it's always nice to be told you're delicious and a treat for all.

I got this gem from Aaron.

Enjoy!

watch

2005-02-23T13:06:00.000-08:00

this and tell me what you think of Google someday taking over the world. I'm being hyperbolic, of course - or am I?

curious weather

2005-02-22T11:03:00.000-08:00

seriously. I've never known So. Cal. to have it. Usually it's pretty even keeled here - downright predictable. On any given day, any time of year, sun can typically be forcasted. But today, in the span of about four hours, the weather has changed from bright and sunny and dry, to dark and brooding and pouring rain, and back to the former again. curious.

If you're bored like me - heck, even if you're not - check out this bit of genius, nicked from Joy's site. Guaranteed for at least five minutes of a good time.

choir ladies make me smile

2005-02-16T14:01:00.000-08:00

The job hunt marches on. Come next week I may be working part-time at my church. I'm still fairly undecided about that particular decision. I'm actually trying to avoid heading back to Starbucks for fear of getting stuck in the world of retail coffee sales.

Meanwhile, I'm singin' in the choir. My father (the choir director) coerced me into singing in the Easter musical the choir is preparing so, tonight, I sat through two hours of a church choir practice. It brought back odd, humerous memories of other times I've sung with this choir. Many of the ladies in the soprano section have been sitting there for years. This evening I sat next to a particularly plucky "lifer" who shook her head madly anytime one of her section sang a wrong note or rhythm. Oddly, when we broke into sections and she was tasked with plunking out the soprano line on the piano she plowed through the music with little regard to any rhythm at all.

"She's just playing notes right now," another cheerful soprano explained to me when, I suppose, she saw the confused (read: "lost") expression on my face.

It's not so bad, though. I'm excited to be singing in a group again and the musical seems like it'll be nice. Plus, the people in the choir really are lovely.

variation on a theme

2005-02-16T08:01:00.000-08:00

Sitting outside Starbucks in Huntington Beach this evening, with the coming-of-night air pushing away the heat of the day, I was annoyed with my community - my country. I can't really recall another homecoming (to Southern California) where I felt so very opposed to this place. And I've had my share of homecomings. I can't quite pin-point the annoyance and the elusivity of the feeling only adds to my frustration.

Sure, I've longed for other places before. The green trees and mountains of British Columbia - my university home - or of Seattle - my first home - and I have a special sort of love affair - very unlike the way I love California. Ask me almost any time of the year and I'd say, resolutely, that the Pacific North West is, without contest, God's country! Still, I don't usually feel strong urges to flee from the flat, crowded beach communities that make up my southern home.

The only other time in my life I can remember fiercely disliking this place was when I was relocated here, from Seattle, as a 15-year-old. But that was a unique, strange, immature season in my life when any place other then Washington State - all that I had ever known - felt foreign to me. Back then it took a long time for California to grow on me, but, gradually I accepted it as my home. Still, it has never really been the place I feel I belong.

Right now I miss Europe. I miss the small church village called Zeelst near my town in the Netherlands. I miss the tall, thick forests of Belgium and flat, green, Dutch farmland dotted by the occasional windmill. Surprisingly, similarities abound between my Dutch home and my American home, except that in the US I'm no longer a foriegner. I'm common. I miss the house in Veldhoven where - to all of our Dutch neighbors - we were the mysterious and crazy Americans at the end of the street. They would walk past during evening strolls and stare openly into our windows for some glimpse inside our private world. Needless to say, I'm having a hard time adjusting to "home" this time.

This evening, sitting outside Starbucks, only the deep pinks, oranges, purples and blues of the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean remind me that, despite the manufactured landscape, this, too, is God's country. I just need to find contentment within it.

home again, home again...

2005-02-10T15:39:00.000-08:00

As the heading of this post would suggest I am, in fact, home again. This time it's for good - or as "for good" as anything in a single twenty-something's life can be. I've said "goodbye" to Europe (for the time being), and "hello" once again to good ole' Southern California. I'm not terribly happy about the change, but not really all that upset about it either. Profound, eh? I'm tired, and not sure how to feel, and my head is in many places - could be because I've only been on the ground now for about five hours and am still on Dutch time. It could also be that I've left Europe about six months sooner than planned.....

I did, however, spend six days travelling to Brugges and Parijs to console my disjointed spirit - to reconnect with my displaced self. It didn't happen. I'm still as disjointed and displaced (or maybe I'm misplaced...) as ever, but I have some awesome pictures and more than a few stories of adventure to bear witness to my journey.

'Spose now I should change the name of this little spot since I am no longer surrounded by windmills - a big disappointment - or wooden shoes (though I did come home with a couple pair).

Also, should start looking for a "real" job. Hm... how does one DO that?!

on leaving...

2005-01-30T14:59:00.000-08:00

Mixed emotions. My last Sunday at Cornerstone Baptist Fellowship the dear, sweet, loving church family that has embraced me so warmly and without condition or expectation during my sojourn here. I will miss the people at my little Dutch-English church. Too soon. I'm not ready to go. I had settled in for a year and am leaving just shy of six months. It feels sudden and hurried. I've only begun to appreciate the landscape of this beautiful country - I've not yet had the time to enjoy it fully.

*If I have time before the movers pack up the computer tomorrow I'll make an effort to post some pictures of recent adventures: Delft, Amsterdam, a Dutch castle and a German castle!*

I'm home, I'm home and I don't care who knows it!

2004-12-22T22:38:00.000-08:00

The longest Tuesday of my life is finally over. It started at 5am when I rose (after only a little more than an hour of sleep) to shower, grab coffee and settle in for the 2 hour drive to Brussels where I was due to catch the 10.10 flight to NY - 22 hours later I was home. With the nine-hour time difference between Eindhoven and OC I had to keep asking myself: "Is it really STILL Tuesday?"

So now, here I am. Home. It's the best feeling.

questions

2004-12-15T01:33:00.000-08:00

Questions asked this morning by the twelve-year-old I spend most of my days with:

"Heather, what does 'breathless' mean?"

"Heather, why is Christmas all about chocolate? Or is it all about candy canes?"

To these and volumes of other questions I'm supposed to be a wealth of knowledge. Of course, I'm not.

But the best comment of the day he came up with all on his own:
"'Sex and the City' must be the lowest rated show right, Heather? Because it's just all about sex - and who wants to watch that?!"

He's a smart kid.

much more than turkey

2004-11-26T12:56:00.000-08:00

A Happy (be-lated) Thanksgiving to Americans the world over. As hard as it can sometimes be to celebrate American holidays outside the country, mine was a Thanksgiving that will not soon be forgotten.

It started with the saga of the pie. I had been invited to the home of an American man and his Australian wife who I know from church. They normally have a Bible study in their home on Thursday nights but yesterday, in honour of the holiday, they were having a special dinner. Everyone was bringing something to contribute and I had been asked to bring a desert. At first I was quite keen on making a pumpkin pie until, after visiting the market, I realized pumpkin - in any form (not whole and definitely not canned) - is very hard to come by in this country. Period. Pumpkin is typically used to feed pigs here, and therefore is not eaten by civilized humans. As a result canned pumpkin does not exist in Holland. I was not defeated. I switched my focus to apple - which the Dutch have PLENTY of - and took an apple crisp instead.

I arrived at the apartment with very little trouble - in other words I didn't get lost as per usual - and was ushered into a warm, fantastic smelling room filled with people. There were seven countries - Nepal, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Holland, Australia and America - represented at our Thanksgiving table that evening, and plenty of delicious food. Besides the usual turkey and stuffing we ate an Ethiopian noodle dish called Bami, couscous, sweet iced tea (sans ice), and a variety of salads. My Australian hostess even went through the much be-laboured processes (due to the country's lack of pumpkin and pumpkin-related products) of boiling, scraping and pureeing to make the most delicious pumpkin pie.

After dinner we sang songs of worship of thanks to God and had a time of sharing and prayer. It was awesome and not like any Thanksgiving I've ever experienced.

Hope yours was just as memorable!

'bout time, eh?

2004-11-24T00:01:00.000-08:00

I think I've waited long enough. It's been nearly three months since I exchanged my tiny little bedroom in Southern California for a similarly tiny room nearly half a world away in Holland. Several people - mostly family members - have been clamoring for updates and pictures of my European adventure thus far. Finally, I've decided, it's time to post something...anything!

I'm encouraged to do so by the 200 or so pictures I took during my trip to England two weeks ago. I visited the post-grad darling of Canterbury (ie. my dear friend Leanne) for the bulk of the week and capped the adventure with two days in London - and my first stay in a hostel. Besides taking in culture and way more designer coffee than I could really afford it was quite splendid to have days full of no obligations or responsibility. Here, in pictures (because I've finally figured out how to post them), is my trip!

Starting in Eindhoven I traveled by train through Holland, Belgium and France to Calais-Ville where I hopped a ferry to Dover, England. I should have only needed to change trains three times but I missed one of those connections and that number grew to five. Some things never change. Ya gotta love traveling the rails.

[getting back on the train in Antwerpen, Belgium]

Thankfully I arrived safe and sound (and, mind you, much later than scheduled) in Canterbury Saturday night. The majority of the week was spent walking the streets of central Canterbury and...

[downtown Canterbury]

sitting in its coffee shops with a book. This was my first British Starbucks and I felt the need to commemorate the occasion with a photo (we don't have Starbucks in Holland). This particular shop is next door to the gate of the Canterbury Cathedral.

Riding in one of these double-decker monstrosities on the "wrong" side of the street while the driver squeezes it through Canterbury's "west gate" is quite the experience.The wall - remains of a time when Canterbury was actually still guarded by a wall - still exists in places. The west gate is thick, strong and VERY narrow!

Friday Leanne and I caught the train to London. She had a conference to go to for a class - serious grad student that she is - so I spent the day exploring the city on my own. My first stop: Trafalgar Square.

[This amiable pigeon was kind enough to pose in my panorama of Trafalgar Square, London]

Next I headed to Covent Garden. A bustle of activity, this area was mostly booths of artists selling their wares - jewelry, pottery and the like - but this particular weekend there was a food fair going on. I strolled among the stalls sampling cheeses and baked goods and - because I was feeling adventurous - whiskey, which was awful.

There was also a place to watch this particular street performer who, among other things, balanced a bicycle on his head and jumped through the hoop this boy made with his arms. He was definitely a crowd pleaser.

After that I walked around in the dark snapping pictures like this:

[the must-have London photo of, what else, those landmark red phone booths]

whilst trying to find one of these:

[how do you spell relief for my tired feet: u-n-d-e-r-g-r-o-u-n-d!]

Riding the tubes in London was a ball what with all the pushing, shoving and smelly armpits in my face not to mention strange looks from Londoners listening to our funny North American accents.

[ahh Charing Cross - my favourite street in London]

That evening Leanne and I met back up at the hostel (St. Christopher's by the London Bridge tube station - highly recommended) grabbed dinner, Starbucks and one of the best films I've seen in a long time: "Finding Neverland". See it, it's brilliant. After the movie Leanne and I took a (unintentional) 90 minute walking tour of London. It was 1 AM when we started out towards St. Chris' and 2.30 before we arrived "home". I can now say from experience that the view of Big Ben and the Eye of London from the Thames is mysterious and beautiful in the middle of the night but the train overpasses we scurried under - are not so much.

Saturday morning dawned much too soon for our tired tootsies but we drowsily hauled our behinds out of bed determined not to waste a day in the city. First stop Leicester Square to buy theatre tickets and then on to Harrod's department store.

[London cabs are the coolest!]

The Christmas displays in the windows at Harrod's were enchanting and to fully complete the wintry/christmasy feeling they had a Christmas tree display above the main entrance - complete with fake snow being blown off the top of the building. Leanne decided to stand underneath the falling "snow" and pretend to be something special. :)

[it's hard to tell in this picture but there really is fake snow falling on these people]

Finally, after lunch at TGI Friday's (can't get much more North American - and much less British - than THAT restaurant) we decided our day needed culture so we tubed it to Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.
At Westminster Abbey we arrived after visiting hours but just in time for the evensong service (sung almost entirely by the Westminster Abbey Boy's Choir) so we stayed for the experience.

[night falling on Big Ben]

Our day was rounded out by an evening at the theatre - Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap" at the St. Martin's theatre. In it's 52nd year it's the world's longest running show. We found out at the end whodunnit but we're not aloud to tell. Don't even ask. We promised.

Sunday morning Leanne got to sleep in but I hauled my bag to the Canterbury East train station and started my journey back to the Netherlands. After nearly 12 hours of travel I was happy to be back in Eindhoven and after six nights of sleeping on Leanne's floor (no offense Leanne - I was thankful for your floor) I was thrilled to sleep in my soft, warm bed!

So there it is - my first post from Holland. This should satisfy all those clamberers. Stay tuned for upcoming pictures from previous trips to Amsterdam and Aachen, Germany.