random acts of senseless beauty

So I go and see a film of a book of a blog of a book, about women finding their loves of words and men and food… a brilliantly written screenplay to boot… and come home inspired to write.
“I am a writer” says Amy Adams/Julie at the end of the film.

I feel like I’ve [...]

Drip drip drip little April showers…  The gorgeousness of 1950s orchestral/choral music from Disney’s Bambi has been echoing round and round in my head for the last couple of days.
Down in Tennessee it’s closer to March’s ‘coming in like a lion’ analogy with tornado warnings, but I’m up in Michigan for the weekend where the [...]

I’m going to take part in Earth Hour later today – are you?
Across the world, and 8.30pm local time, everyone is encouraged to turn off their lights for one hour as a small way of tackling global warning.
Here in Nashville the mayor will be turning out the lights downtown, and lots of bars are hosting [...]

Hi. I’m getting the blog a shiny new suit ready so it’s all lovely a fresh when I start blogging again about all sorts of wonderful things like being ENGAGED!!
Hooray!

It’s been cold here.  I know it’s been cold everywhere, but in the last couple of weeks it’s been surprisingly and abnormally cold here in Nashville.  The other night we got down to -15C, and it didn’t rise above freezing – even with weak sunshine – for a good few days.
Right now it’s 49F/9C here [...]

It seems apt that my first post since the US election be today, 20th January 2009, as Barack Obama is inaugurated into the office of the President of the United States Of America.
For it is in America that I still find myself; here in Nashville, living and loving to the best of my ability.
So why [...]

Here’s a clip my lovely sister forwarded on to me.  Watch through to the end. Laugh, and then… well I’ve cried every time I’ve watched it.

Here in the USA election day has finally rolled around after what has seemed like the longest campaign in history.
There have been great, and respectful, discussions between friends, and hideous, hateful and libelous ‘discussions’ played out in public.
I find myself totally tense today in a way I didn’t expect.  I desperately want Obama to win.  [...]

… Too long since a post.  and all I’m going to put up is photos.

My how she’s grown

Fabulous Peter
soon and soon. I promise.

2402
… how, with only 20 houses on my new street, our number can be 2402?

From Bananie’s site…

MeMe Mosaic
Here’s the meme:
If you want to play too, type your answer to each of the questions below into a Flickr search. Using only the first page, choose your favorite image, then copy and paste each of the URL’s into the mosaic maker (3 columns, 4 rows) – I regularly use this one. [...]

Here in sweet Nashville, Tennessee there has been a ‘gas crisis’.  That is, about 10 days ago every station in the city and its surrounding areas ran out of petrol.
Seriously.  They ALL ran out.
As Thomas said, it was like being back in the 1970s.  Queues needing a police marshal, arguments, fights… all CRAZY.  I had [...]

And finally, today… it’s both Peter’s 4th Birthday, and International Talk Like A Pirate Day.  Lots of fun, and a million photos on Flickr.

Also I got some AMAZING photos of the kids while we were waiting for the school bus…

Ball?

Attitude!
Now, I have to try and find a ‘gas station’ that still has gas in [...]

After the first weekend, the next two weeks were filled with the stuff of ‘arriving’.
It has all gone amazingly smoothly – with one exception which we’ll get to in a bit.  I’m fully installed in my lovely room at Ann’s house, complete with new furniture bought from the Salvation Army and painted/sanded so it looks [...]

When there’s been this much of a gap between postings it’s hard to know where to begin, what to include and what to omit, whether to concentrate on the solid (then this happened) or the abstract (and I felt kind of odd), how many pictures to include… and then instead of getting on with it [...]

Hello.  I’m sorry.  It’s been CRAZY.  I have LOTS to say and LOTS of photos to put up, but I’m here in Nashville and I’m alive and I have a room and a car and a bank account and a phone and even have my first friend visiting (yay Sammy!) and we’re just heading out [...]

As I prepare pack I’ve been watching the Olympics.  It’s always one of my favourite fortnights… I love the passion and the prowess, watching the years of hard work come through for people.
The UK has had a rougher ride at previous games, doing not so bad in Athens in ‘04, but now?  To be 3rd [...]

I hadn’t cried at all at work, then the a friend made me laugh so loudly that the tears came unbidden. 
The email read “a parting gift.  It’s not much but…” and then it was simply a link to this:

Jim. The pleasure has been all mine. Never change.

The crying part of leaving has started.
To be honest I’m surprised that it took this long to really kick in, but it’s now here in full effect and I don’t think it’s in any danger of going away for these last 17 days.
As I say, though, it took a while to come. There’s been a [...]