Autumn Sunrise

Both Sunshine and I were wide awake at 6:30 this morning (must have been all that chocolate at his parents last night!). As a joke I suggested that maybe we should just get up and go find somewhere to see the sunrise ... and somehow the idea caught on... Looking it up it appears there's not many good views of the sunrise from Bristol (lots to be found of the sunset), so we thought we'd just hedge our bets and head up to the Observatory overlooking Clifton Suspension bridge. All wrapped up and flask of tea at the ready, we drove up to Clifton in the cold but fortunately dry morning ... sooooooooo glad we did! The sunrise was a bit hidden round the corner behind some trees and a crane, but it was lovely to be up that early in the quiet city and watch it wake up.

We then headed into Clifton village for some hot chocolate and toast and then back home to DIY ...

Play Festival 2012

Sunshine and I (and a lot of our friends) go out to the Welsh contryside every summer to a little festival known as Play Festival, and this year, despite the rain, we went again . Not a lot of photos as we were too busy just hanging out ... but the one sunny and dry day, we and the Domakkes walked up to the top of the hill overlooking the site (the site is the slightly dense and colourful bit at the bottom of the first picture). We're back now after 5 days of camping and hanging out and dancing and signing and shows and enjoying ourselves ... here's to Play 2013!

Kew with Americans ...

We hadn't really planned on going anywhere over the Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend but then we had a message from our friend Mark saying that he had a half day layover in Heathrow on his way from the States to East Asia. He was thinking of coming and visiting us but it just didn't make sense with the timings... so instead Sunshine and I drove across to Heathrow; picked him up; and then drove over to Kew Gardens for they day - finishing with dinner and dropping him back at Heathrow (and us driving back to Bristol). Our other American friend Allen who is also in London this month came out to meet us too... 


I love Kew; I could spend DAYS there just sitting and drawing plants. We all got really excited by this Australian plant called the Wollemi Pine which looked like a Christmas tree with its own baubles! We also spotted a beautiful green woodpecker and Sunshine managed to get a few decent shots of it pecking at a tree. Even the slight drizzle didn't put a damper on things (we'd just run into a green house every time it rained!).... mmmm must go again ...

Kestrel Watch

Sunshine and I were up pretty early this morning so we went out for a walk to go kestrel hunting. There are a couple of old warehouses along the riverside where we live and you can see a pair of kestrels nesting there almost every year. Their nest is pretty easy to spot in amongst the pigeon and crows nests ... they leave a very white deposit on the wall! They were definitely there this morning - we even got a "bumshot". Unfortunately couldn't tell if they had young ones. Here's a close up of one of them... 

Mark and Nic's wedding

This last weekend Sunshine and I travelled over to Cambridge for the wedding of one of my closest friends, my man-of-honour, the person who actually introduced me to Sunshine... Mark, and his lovely lady Nic ...

It was a lovely, happy wedding and Sunshine was the official-unofficial wedding photographer. The venue was fantastic; the weather held up; the food was lush; and we got to sleep in a gypsy caravan that night! 

Congrats Bitterjug and Niddynoo, and of course baby Grace, for coming together as a happy family :)

Clare and Will's Wedding

Spent the weekend in the beautiful surroundings of the northern coast of Northern Ireland for the wedding of the lovely Firepoise and her musician man. And while it was raining in the rest of UK, in Northern Ireland it was sunny and clear and the happy couple had a stunning wedding-come-handfasting ceremony in front of a waterfall. 

Thank you for having us Clare and Will ... Big love to you both :)

Rest In Peace Dadu...

This morning, on my birthday, my beloved Dadu passed away. I have no surviving grandparents left, which makes me quite sad and contemplative. Still, I am so glad I got to see her in January. We will miss you SO much Dadu. I am sure you are in a better place now and rather than mourning your death we will celebrate your long and wonderful life...

Love you.

Dorset day 2

Today we were not so lucky with the weather, so we drove down to Studland and took the chain ferry to visit some friends in Poole. We sat in their living room; staring out at the fantastic view; drinking copius amounts of tea; and just catching up on life ...


The rain had died down a bit by the time we headed back to pick up Loz. I managed a few springy pictures - look, a robin collecting for its nest; and spring blossoms - before we packed up and headed home, stopping on the way to visit the symbol of fertility that is the Cerne Abbas Giant...


Back home now ... and that was definitly too short a trip. SO going back to Dorset soon ... it was beautiful! Thank you Loz and Marky (and Sunshine) for a smashing weekend ...

Dorset day 1

Weekend away in Dorset with our friend Loz ... we drove up last night to her boyfriend's (who lives in Dorset) and ended up in the most fantastic 'local' pub full of entertaining locals and great music - and its own museum! This morning we headed off to buy some fish for dinner ...

At Lulworth Cove ...

From Lulworth Cove we took the coastal path to Durdle Door ...

After which we walked all the way back and then stopped off for lunch in a pub overlooking Corfe Castle.
From there we headed off for another walk ...

Finding massive ammonites, on the way to some abandoned limestone quarries ...

In the evening Marky took us POND DIPPING! We fund a newt, some lesser and greater boatmen, and a whole bunch of other insect nymphs and larvae (sorry no photos - was too dark). Then we had our fish (grey mullet, yum yum ....) and sat round reading books and watching films ... aaaahhhhh ... just the kind of holiday we needed....

Yurt living...

Well I'll be ... it appears I have forgotten about blogging for a while ... weeeeeeeelll, not really forgotten - just been too busy. And none of what I've been busy with seemed worth blogging about - illustration work, dance teaching etc. Yesterday seemed to be the first day in weeks that I felt like I had time to just go away and enjoy the day ... and so we did!

We loaded up our trusty steed Bramble, and went on a 45 miles tandem ride into the countryside to visit our friends Amy and Guy who live in a yurt that they have built themselves on the egde of a gorgeous little forrest. The only downside was that to get there we had to do a lot of cycling UPHILL. Sunshine had his gps phone tracking thing on (so we could track our route) and it told us that we had climed 900 meters! All worth it though to end up where we did - such a gentle way of life ... sitting in the yurt eating cheese sandwiches, watching bluetits, great tits, coaltits, long-tailed tits, nuthathces, and even a greater spotted woodpecker through the window. We then went for a walk into the forrest and bumped into a startled deer (no photos as he ran off before I could get a the camera out ... you get a llama instead). Lovely afternoon and then fortunately a mostly downhill ride home.

Sunshine and I were so tired when we got home that we could barely do anything last night. Still feeling it today ... but what a great way to start the spring ...

Origami cuties

For some reason, I have been possessed by doing origami animals recently ... it all started with this cat, which led to this bunny, which led to a conversation with my sister who directed me to a panda (thank you Miss Yuka Nakamura for panda instructions...).

Mr Panda currently safely deposited with my Japanophile, panda-loving friend Kat, who just had a baby a couple of weeks ago ... Happy Baby Ted and Kat!

Dadu

Quiet on the blogging front as I was away visiting my poorly grandma - my Dadu. Fortunately by the time I got there she was feeling much better having responded well to the medication she was given. We talked crochet and I shared with her all the work we were doing on the house (via this blog). My sister (in blue - who lives in Australia), and my Aunt, both of whom I haven't seen in 2 years were there too so it was nice to just hang out with the family ...

Dadu - we love you. I hope I have inherited your longetivity genes!

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012!

For the last few years (I think since we moved to Bristol) we've been making lists around the Christmas/New Year time. A list of nice things that we did/happened/achievements; and one as a list of plan for the following year. We also go through the Plans list from the previous year (see above) to see and tick off what we have accomplished.

As we came to the end of the year and I started reflecting on all that had happened I was dreading writing up our "Nice things" list. I couldn't get beyond the fact that this year has been the year of loss; of death; of loosing my innocence in a major way. I've gained so many gray hairs that I've actually started dyeing them ...

In the last 15 months we have lost 5 people very close to us, and if you include all those lost within our immediate and close circle of friends and family, it comes up to a total of 13 ... The universe has taken from us the old; the young, the unborn; the sick and the healthy. I have probably cried more this year than when I was a baby. I've not really written about these things on this blog, partly for privacy; but also partly because I just don't know how to...

But then we came to write out what good things HAD happened to us this year - and the biggest and most important thing was the House. Doing up the house has been our therapy. The house has been the thing that has grounded us and kept us sane. The house is what Sunshine and I have been working on together - our first proper collaboration. It has brought us much closer and made us realise what a good team we are. We owe a lot to this house. To our Home.

Anyways, we had a very very productive Christmas doing DIY and a fantastic New Year with friends and lots and LOTS of dancing. Things can only get better in 2012 ...

Sunshine and I raise a glass (of home-made mulled wine?) to all our friends and family and wish you all a Happy Healthy Joyful Peaceful and Fantastic 2012!

xxxM

Back Bedroom Part 4 & Lit-up-cycling

Its Christmas eve, and what have we been doing? Filling!

Whilst Sunshine recessed some plug sockets ...

But we also downed tools at 6 pm so we could go and join a group of about 20 people cycle around the Bristol harbourside in their lit up bicycles ... you can see us fairly clearly at about 2:25 - we're the only tandem (and yes, the cargo bike does have a Christmas tree!)



Then we came home and Sunshine made the best mulled wine on the planet ever! Yes, I am a bit biased ... who wouldn't be about their best husband ;)

Hoola Flappers...

I don't talk about it often on this blog but I do teach quite a lot of swing dancing here in Bristol. Down the right hand sidebar there should be a list of stuff I'm teaching/have taught this semester with Swing Dance Bristol. Occasionally though, I get asked to do something different ...

Recently our Hoola Hooping friend Dr Emma (another one to have left the sciences to pursue their passion), asked me to teach at the South West Hoop conference or "SWHoop" that she organises. As I knew there would be not enough men to balance the numbers, I thought I'd teach some solo charleston instead ... also, its such a fun and happy dance that I knew it would go down well with the hoopers - and I wasn't wrong!

I taught a routine last Sunday at SWHoop 1 which you can see here (its a 12 minute review video of the weekend - but the link should take you straight to my class ... if not, I start at about 10mins20secs). SWHoop 2 today Sunshine came with the stills camera and got the only pictures I've ever had of me teaching - which, considering I've been teaching dance for about 10 years, is quite the achievement!

Out with the old ...

and in with the new ...

Doing all this DIY has also meant a bit of a re-thinking of the amount of stuff we've accumulated. Things are being re-gifted, charity-shopped, and even thrown away. Sometimes though, the things that need throwing away due to them being on their last legs (ha ha pun intended) are very difficult to throw away as they have no replacement.

I find it hard to find shoes that I like. And when I do, I tend to hang on to them for years ... even when they are barely wearable ... take the camper Mary Janes on the top left. I LUUUUUURVE them ... they are SO comfy - and the best thing for cycling in. BUT, their bottoms have split and water gets in. And even the threads have started coming apart.

I've spent months stalking ebay for them - but they just don't appear (and on the odd occasions they have, they have been the wrong size). I think I've found one online shop in Spain that possibly stocks them ... so the other day this other pair of Camper Mary Janes appeared on ebay. They're not the same; and don't have any nice red accents; but they they're cute enough.

Then my red Birkenstocks ... oh my goodness have I had them for a long time. Infact I think I bought this with Sunshine about a month after we started going out. Again, they have been worn to smithereens. Sunshine keeps threatening to throw them away - he even complains (albeit jokingly) to my mum about them! He's made me buy a new pair (the brown ones) which I've now had for at least 2 years .... but I still keep going back to my old ones. They are like old friends ... they have the stains of white paint from my degree show to remnants of the wallpaper that we peeled off in all this DIY stuck to them.

Anyways, the old shoes are going. The Campers are going in the rubbish collection this week; and I've promised to let go of the red Birkenstocks when the DIY is done. This is my homage to them... I had to take photos of them before I gave them up... I will miss you shoesies...