We had some errands to run on Saturday. So, we got up early and left the house not long before seven.
We stopped off for breakfast:
Strolled by Lina’s to look at the giant candy Easter Eggs in the window:
And just happened upon this fella:
I love when errands become lazy strolls, walking hand in hand down almost deserted streets. It’s as if all of London belongs to you, or at least a small slice of it.
Now, I am not a fan of Ed Rooney, but I had a bit of his day today. I had a warm gummy bear day. Do you remember that scene at the end of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, when Mr. Rooney walks on the bus and he has to sit next to the girl who offers him a warm gummy bear? By the end of today, if someone had offered me one, I know that I would have also flicked it away in silent disgust.
This morning I was one of only three people waiting for the train, but then it was late and there was a crowd. A woman, who I see everyday waiting on the train as well, actually used her briefcase to block me, so she could get on before me. I’m going to try and chalk that up to the fact that her hair is always pulled back in such a tight bun, it looks like it hurts. So maybe the pain from her bun, causes her to always be so rude. Of course, all the men made sure they were getting on, pushing and shoving their way through. Gee, nothing like a gentleman to let a lady on first.
Tonight heading home, I got a seat on the tube. That never happens. Next time, I’m just gonna keep standing. The tube smelled awful, like that hot school bus smell with a bunch of punky kids on it and you know that they had gym class that day and haven’t showered, do you know what I’m talking about? The man who sat down next to me, hadn’t bathed in quite awhile, but I couldn’t politely or discreetly move as by that point the tube was packed and there was no room. I tried to breath through my mouth.
The teenage boy across from me had his finger so far up his nose that I was sure we would have to call for a surgeon to remove it, when he suddenly pulled out a ginormous booger and proceeded to fling it onto a ladies skirt! I think my mouth might have fallen completely open at this point.
A five minute walk from the tube to the train station, where by the time I got on a train, I was frozen solid and was so happy that for once the train driver had been kind enough to turn the heating on. This warm fuzzy feeling didn’t stay for long, no siree, it didn’t! It lasted only long enough for a man to get on with a huge tuna salad sandwich baguette. The smell of tuna baking in the heat of the train was utterly enticing, NOT!
I was so happy to get off the train and breath in the fresh air again. I slowly walked home. By the time I got to the cottage, I couldn’t feel my fingers, my nose, or my cheeks, but I didn’t care, I couldn’t take one more smell or rude person today.
Today was definitely a MONDAY!
Chinatown is an area I criss-cross through often when I’m traveling here and there in London. Yesterday, while going to pick up a goat good luck charm for the Chinese New Year, we happened upon the lion dance.
This is one of my favourite things to see! Every year, usually by chance, we come across this tradition being performed. There are two performers inside of the costume (which is how you know it is a lion and not a dragon dance) and they go from door to door performing “cai qing” which translates to, “plucking the greens”. The lion dances around the doorway where the greens are hung, moving cat like backwards and forwards, or bending low as if hunting prey and slowly works his way up to pulling the greens down.
Occasionally we’ve seen a shop put out oranges on a small table to which the lion happily gobbles up. Yesterday one store on the second floor placed their greens, tied to a stick, out through the window. The acrobatic team worked with each other, standing on shoulders and stretching the lion’s neck, they plucked the greens from the second story window, to the delight of all of us below. There was a lot of cheering.
As we headed out through the gates, the Hippodrome Casino was handing out fortune cookies to advertise their business. Unfortunately, the fortune inside wasn’t a fortune, but was another form of advertisement for a big gaming event. But, Mr. Michie didn’t know that, he only saw the side written in Mandarin.
I told him it was I good thing that I could read Mandarin, to which he just stopped and looked at me with raised eyebrows. With a smile, he asked me what the fortune said, to which I replied that it said: “Help! Help! I’m trapped in a fortune cookie factory!” to which we both busted out laughing.
That is a very old joke, but it never gets old! When we were little and would go out for Chinese food with my grandparents and it came time for the fortune cookies to be passed out, we would go around the table and everyone would read their fortune. My Grandpa, would always say:, “Oh, No! You’ll never believe this, my fortune says: Help! Help! I’m trapped in a fortune cookie factory!” to which everyone around the table would bust out laughing and there would be a short pause while my sister and I puzzled this one out for a second! He was a great teaser!
Oh, to be little again! I’m happy that we had the good fortune to see the lion dance again this year, it is always magical to share in this experience.
Well we had a few plans up our sleeves for Valentine’s Day, but ended up just taking the day as it came! It was wonderful! If we got to do something, then we felt it was meant to be, if not, then it wasn’t the Valentine’s we were supposed to have.
First stop, The Prince Charles Cinema, where we just managed to get tickets to see Breakfast at Tiffany’s. It was almost sold-out when we got there. You got a free drink with your ticket. We opted for Coke to go with our popcorn. A lot of people had dressed up in their best 1960’s/Audrey Hepburn attire, it was adorable!
A walk through Soho, looking at the lanterns strung along the streets for Chinese New Year.
Dinner at Kua’ Aina, a Hawaiian North Shore treasure since 1975, they have opened two branches in London and we decided to try the Carnaby St. location last night. They serve a selection of Kona Brewing Co. beer and we are big fans, so that was a treat as well. Nothing like the sweet taste of grilled pineapple to make you a happy camper!
It was a nice day, no pressure, no rushing around, just breathing in each other and the world around us.
Yesterday, I pampered myself to a hair cut, mani and pedi. I work hard for my money and I think that everyone has the right to treat themselves once in awhile.
I have been through a ton of hairdressers since living here and I have finally found the right one! And it isn’t just the hairdresser, it’s the atmosphere as well. My hair salon of choice in London is the Aveda Spa in Covent Garden. I have been going there for over a year now and I always walk away happy. It is an oasis of serenity.
I hadn’t had my hair cut since the beginning of December. Between my work schedule, weekends being pretty busy and my lovely hair stylist being fully booked, it meant I had to wait ’till this Saturday. But it was well worth the wait! I got a lot of hair chopped off and I LOVE IT! I had numerous compliments; one by a complete stranger that passed me on the street, which made my day!
To celebrate the weekend and a new haircut, Mr. Michie took me out on a date. It was so very cold yesterday and all I wanted was some soup, so off to Cha Cha Moon we went. I had a delicious, warming bowl of wonton soup and a glass of their lemon iced tea. Heaven!!
We spent today, re-organizing all the Christmas decorations. I ordered some storage bags and they arrived this week, so we went to work. It was another downsizing exercise, just keeping what we need and donating the rest to charity. The house has been thoroughly Spring cleaned. It was a lot of work, but it was well worth it. I’ve put out a few of my Copenhagen surprises and a set of very happy party lights are now adorning the mantle.
One bag of unsorted items remains, but it will have to wait until next weekend. It holds the key ingredients to three separate packages that I plan to mail home. Still, I’ve accomplished a lot, so now I’m sitting back with a glass of wine, next to Mr. Michie, staring at our new lights. Here’s to weekends!!
When I was in elementary school and the electrifying, magnificent, blissful four letter word that is S-N-O-W, was sent forth from our lips, we all squealed. Someone would always be the organizer and tell everyone else in the class that we had to do a snow dance and wear our PJ’s inside out, so that our town would be wrapped in a white coverlet of snow and we would have the day off from school.
Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. It normally depended on whether or not the snow was moving up the Gulf or coming over the Blue Ridge Mountains as to whether we would be graced by Susie Snowflake herself. Well, I saw that heavenly four letter word yesterday and I was beaming all afternoon, I kept staring out the window last night, I barely slept, the weather channel promised it was gonna happen. But alas, I woke up to freezing temperatures, a black sky and NO snow. So, off to school I went.
I’m not greedy, I would just like ONE snow day. Just one day off from school, where everyone can play outside or stay in and drink hot chocolate and stay cozy. Just one day, that’s all I’m asking for.
I think other people were wishing for that snow day as well as my train was exceptionally quiet this morning. The second full week since everyone has returned to work and the memory of Christmas seems to have faded like an old piece of cloth. Everyone is tired. Everyone is waiting for the weekend.
The quietness continued on the tube with my band of mismatched travellers. Until we hit my third stop down the line, where a mother and her son get on every morning. Any peace to the journey usually ends there, as he is a very lively little person. He’s feeling his oats lately and spends most of the journey telling his mom, “No!” or screaming. When they get off a few stops down he shouts, “Goodbye!”, to everyone, most of the people in the carriage normally respond with a wave, a smile or a nod. There is a collective sigh of relief that peace has returned as we shuttle down the tracks.
There is another mother who gets on in the morning with her daughter, who is about 7. Their routine, normally involves studying for a test or finishing up homework. She is very animated and today while working on smilies, she stated that my scarf was as yellow as sweet corn and her gloves were as navy as blueberries. I couldn’t help but laugh, she has quite an imagination, I hope she never loses that!
Come on, Miss Susie Snowflake! Just bring me one really good snowy day, that’s all I need. Maybe I should do a snow dance and wear my PJ’s inside out tonight for luck!
I spent the day by myself wandering in and out of my favourite London spots. I had a bit of Christmas shopping to do and my path took me from one end to the other. I passed the lego reindeer in Covent Garden:
The “Blush” entitled Paddington Bear designed by Nicole Kidman:
I went shopping at Fortnum & Masons, always a sumptuous feast for the eyes:
I stopped by Lina’s for some Italian Christmas pastries:
And I treated myself to an afternoon showing of “It’s A Wonderful Life” at the Prince Charles Cinema. Which is one of the greatest little movie houses in the world! It was bitterly cold outside, but I was snuggled up with popcorn and a coke watching an old black and white Christmas movie! It was a day of bliss!
The merry-go-round at the Leicester Square Christmas Market, where I waited for Mr. Michie to meet me for a dinner date:
I love when we get to have totally un-interupted time together. We even went past a Christmas Party Bus on our way home, too cute!
I use a number of shortcuts streets when I’m traveling around central London. One of my favourite is Brewer Street. I had an errand to run tonight on Carnaby Street, then I slipped through Kingly Court to pick up some wonton soup for us at Cha Cha Moon and finally I headed to Whole Foods to grab a couple of things on my way home. Brewer Street was my cut through.
My favourite Italian Deli, Lina’s, is on Brewer Street as well as a sweet ice cream parlour. It’s one of those great streets, you know? The brick, the colours, the buildings. It’s the kind of street that looks like it could have been on an album cover in the 70s or 80s, with Bob Dylan walking down the middle of the road or something along those lines.
It always looks pretty, but there is a magic to it at Christmas. I snapped a picture of the twinkle lights overhead as I waited to cross the street tonight. It made me smile. Here’s to finding joy in the little things and here’s to the weekend, long may it last.
It was freezing again when I left the house this morning. The wind almost knocked me over. By the time I got to school the sun was just starting to peek over the rooftops. A glorious sunrise turned into a very overcast day, but that doesn’t matter, for I was blessed to see a new dawn.
It was cold this morning. The wind whipped my hair around my face as I walked to the train station in the dark. This is the first morning that it has remained dark for the majority of my journey into work. Now and then I would see glimpses of a lit window or the light from another train passing us, illuminating the arch of the trees and highlighting the tracks beside us, before the world returned to obscurity. It felt almost like a Dickensian winter morning outside. I could appreciate the feeling that the glow of a candlelit window promised after traveling for so long in the blackness of shadows.
The air was fresh and clean coming off of the river this morning and as chilly as it was I decided to take a longer walk to work. It made my cheeks turn pink and my nose run, but I was so happy. My detour route takes me by some hidden gems. The air smelled of pine needles as I passed by a row of houses. There were piles of branches on the curb that were the shaved off remnants of Christmas trees. Shorn around the base to fit inside their tree stand. There were still plenty of leaves underfoot that crackled and crunched as I walked over them. Unusually, I passed no one for ages, it was bliss, the world was simply mine.