Charming Cotswolds

It is always great to get out of Cambridge- not that Cambridge is bad, just that it is nice to get away!

So, a quick trip to the Cotswolds (which is out near Oxford and surrounding shires) with two lovely couples and gorgeous little Alice!

We were staying in Broadway. A cute little town- what I expected England to be like. We had fun cooking, drinking, playing games and walking all weekend, as well as a few trips to the pub.

Here are a few pics!

Nick checking out the woolly pigs, some Christmas berries, our first mole hills (successfully climbed), a cool house in Upper Slaughter (great name eh?), Broadway and of course us lazing around in our top little house!

Thanks Isa!!!




And of course, three great things that happened today:
I got the Oz pressies and cards posted!
My cloning seemed to work last night
I'm enjoying some excellent cheese we brought back from the Cotswolds!

Thursday... feeling like a Friday!

Its Thursday night... but really, its like a Friday! Why? We are off to the Cotswolds for a weekend away tomorrow.

I can't wait.

I'm finishing my cards for Christmas, sitting in the living room. Its cold outside.





This is what I'm drinking.













This is dinner.







Here are the little chaps I made on the weekend.





Here is their home.










And here is my dining room Christmas decoration.









Three good things today are:
1) Wrote lots on my book chapter. I'm almost up to date!
2) Dinner smells spectacular.
3) My boss has taken all my crystals to shoot at the Synchrotron tomorrow!

Hope you are all well. Tell you more when I get back from our weekend away!

K.

Three Good Things...

After talking with mum and dad this evening, I've heard that scientists have shown that if you think of three good things that have happened to you during the day, then you are likely to be happier. Since Scientists are always right I'm going to give it a try.

So, for today.....

1) Had a long chat with my sister in Sydney today.
2) Found out that my niece liked her Mermaid that I sent for her birthday.
3) Had a chat with my parents- and that they are well, and also happy.

Time to cook dinner. Thai red curry....

Yum!

Danish Christmas Mice, Cake and Sea salt

Well, it has been an eventful weekend- and productive! Saturday I managed to get almost all my Christmas shopping done.

Saturday night was great fun. We went to our friends (AJ and Tina) for a Danish Christmas party. Tina cooked up a storm, and over much eating and drinking we played some very amusing party games. You can see from the photos that some of us were not feeling so well this morning!

Today was also productive. My lovely husband decided to help me out and he baked our Christmas cake. I'm so lucky!

For me though, I had to get cracking since I needed to finish my niece's birthday present. Well, she is finished- not my best, but made with plenty of love. I hope she has a safe voyage to the Blue Mountains, where I believe there are lots of bush fires. Stay safe everyone!

Now I've got to clean up.....

Ciao.

Red wine and I'm still lost.

It's Friday night. Thankfully I made it this far.

It has been a week from hell, and I've got to get my head around it before next week explodes. Am I the only person that suffers from this sort of problem? I've a list a mile long (yes, now I'm in the UK I'm talking miles.... sorry). It really is overwhelming when I think of all the things I want to do. I think it is Christmas that is the problem, and the fact that my lovely friends are all overseas.... in the States, in Denmark, and of course in Oz. I miss Oz.

Let me say that again
I miss Oz.

I don't think my friends really believe me. I feel sometimes that my job is a Tour of Duty, but I'm losing focus as to what that duty is.

I think it is the weather..... it gets you down sometimes.

So, being a scientist I should look at all this logically. I'll start with a few 'bits' that are on my list, and then I can sit back and think about it.

1. Get some science done (this is a very long and slow process, it never stops and I always never have enough results to justify any relaxation)... so, lets move on....

2. Organise Christmas.
Christmas is sort of the strangest thing for us here. We spend it in Cambridge all by ourselves since it is so damn far and so damn expensive to go home to see everyone. When I say it like that it brings tears to my eyes. All our friends are growing and changing and we are missing out..... all the babies are now children, I have a trail of changed addresses in my little black book, I don't even know where most people really live anymore, other than on paper..... where do they wak up in the morning? I wish I knew. It hasn't been 2 years yet! I digress- I guess since we are so alone I like to try to make it special. My husband doesn't seem to care but I do the whole thing- last year I cooked a Goose. This year, well, it might be duck.... add that to the list- organise a duck!

3. Organise more Christmas.... I have to be super organised since it all has to be sent well in advance if it is to make it to Oz in time. I've finished making my cards, just got the labels sorted, now I need to find the energy to write on them. I've got a string of presents to acquire.......

4. Write a book chapter. I don't even know how I got bullied into it, but I've got to write a text book chapter on microbial physiology. 12000 words and figures for publication...... it has to be exact. Science is not forgiving. Close enough is NOT good enough.

5. I lost my mobile phone this week. Surprisingly I feel insecure without it, and I barely even use it. I spent 30 minutes on the phone getting a new one organised and all saving my old number and transfering it to my new SIM. At least that worked out. Of course I've lost all the phone numbers I had.

6. It is my nieces birthday soon, and I need to finish making her present. I've got a long way to go.... Why do I take on such crazy tasks? I think I need creative outlets to stop me from going mad. I am mad. I know that....

7. Oh, and then it is back to Christmas. There is that big Christmas party we are having at out place..... there is the decorations, the invites and the food/drink to sort out.

8. Organise a trip away with my husbands friends for the first week in December. Well, this is mostly done by one of the other people : ), however I'm kind of double booked and might have to pull a crazy 24hr stunt travelling from the Sychrotron in Grenobel back to London within 24 hrs (non-stop, no sleep, this is what being a crystallographer apparently is all about).

9. Mix the Sloe Gin bottles..... (I'm worried they aren't as good as last year since the colour is being imparted much more slowly). We still have a freezer full of Sloes.

10. House work- washing, cleaning, fix the crack in the bathroom titles that leaks everytime you have a shower into the kitchen below.

11. My glass of wine is empty..... I need to think about it all again.

I hope your mind is more settled than mine. I'll be fine tomorrow, or even if my husband returns tonight for dinner. It is 10.30pm, still haven't cooked dinner but he said he'd be home at around 8-9pm.... I'm used to it. Maybe I'll just go to bed.

Sweet dreams everyone! Maybe it will be better tomorrow.

Adieu.

Robin Hood in Epping Forest

It's getting dark these days- but since we hired a car this weekend (so we can go Sloe picking tomorrow with friends) we decided to go to Epping Forest because I was desperate to see some trees.

It was fun- great to get muddy, and to smell a forest again.

Enjoy the photos..... the only missing thing were the gnomes.

Taking London by Force

It started on Friday.... a plan. The boys were in the Peak climbing Grit- meaning the girls were in Cambridge planning trouble. London trouble of the shopping kind! Over some wine and cheese Heidi and I convinced ourselves that we needed to go to London to do some shopping, and the markets seemed like a good place to start.

On Saturday we did a reconnaissance trip to Portobello Rd and a small market at Piccadilly Circus. We also managed a little trip to Liberty, where I found some lovely fabrics (albiet rather costly) that I was unable to part with (although my conquest was only over smallpieces of fabric).

We headed home to enjoy more wine and cheese and listen to the joys of Cambridge fireworks since Guy Fawkes Night was being celebrated early on the Sautrday. The boys came home at around 11 pm and we planned the final assault on London for the following day.

Sunday- We stopped in at the BM to check out the Lindow Bog Man, only to be told that his exhibit was under-going rennovation and he was not on show- however we were placated with Cleopatra, a buch of other mummies, the Rossetta Stone and our personal favourite, the Isle of Lewis Chess men (although about a quarter of them were on loan!).


I also managed to pick up this delightful little Peruvian owl at the museum for the Christmas tree- I'm thinking of a theme of birds.

Next we hot-footed it over to Westminster to the London Eye for a dusk trip up the wheel. Great view! And we made it down in time to get some cracking photographs of sunset over Westminster and also of Big Ben. Dinner at a local pub and then a quick trip home on the train.


It is now Monday and Ian and Heidi had to get themselves to Heathrow- they fly out early tomorrow. We managed a quick photo together before we had to head into work.

Work was well, work. Finally got another crystal onto the X-ray set, but really it was too small to tell much other than it isn't salt.
Two surprise parcels from my lovely mum arrived packed full of goodies- check out these yummy fabrics (some were from my old collection sadly sitting in a box under my old bed in Sydney, and the others were fantastic little pieces mum managed to hunt down somehow! Aren't mums just the greatest?
And then when we got home from work we found a little present stashed in the 'little good bush' in the back yard.... and I'm drinking some now. It is very, very good.

Thanks Ian and Heidi! Wishing you both a safe and exciting trip.

.

I forgot!

I forgot to post this, sent by my dear father!

Since it is so close to Hallow's Eve.

And I always loved Dr Who.

New Toy!

Today I got a new toy (A HP photosmart all-in-one). I'd been planning to get it for a while.....

Now I feel like I can do anything. (It prints, scans and photocopies)

Tonight I've been testing it out. I have grand plans for it.

It's first job is to make my Christmas cards, and I must say that I'm most of the way there. I just need to test out ways of making it print on to fabric.

So far though I've printed a photo (Mr Henry Gell on his first birthay) that is now adorning our fridge. I've also drawn several designs and scanned them in, combined them and run them through photoshop.... and well, now I just need to check them on fabric before the whole print to kill mood takes me.


What am I listening to:
Crayon Caribou (formerly Dan Snaith's Manitoba)
Diamond Day Vashti Bunyan
Adventure.exe Final Fantasy
Alone In Kyoto Air
Only a Rake Holly Throsby
Chasing Cars Snow Patrol
Who Knows Where The Time Goes? Fairport Convention
Sometimes My Bloody Valentine
Kaze Wo Atsumete はっぴいえんど
Too Young Phoenix
Silence In Space Undertheigloo
Totally Underwater Shelly Poole
Over the Hill Polly Paulusma
If I Piers Faccini
Better Together Jack Johnson
Hype (V. 2) The Hampdens
Autumn in Our Town Dave Brubeck
Souls on Satellite (Acoustic) Borne
Shopping Trolley Beth Orton
Songbird Bernard Fanning
Dig a Hole The Ailerons

Just stuff to cruise to whilst crafting.

Waiting

Ian and Heidi are flying in from Germany today. Thus, I'm waiting at home to make sure they arrive safely, so I'm goofing off surfing. Love a wireless life.


What mythical creature are you?

Thanks for the link Blueant.

This is me.... pretty good guess actually.

Dolomite depression

It's Saturday. I'm at work.... always at work. Proteins never rest, they are like small children, it's late nights, no private life, always running them over columns, waiting to see what the result is on a gel, re-equilibrating another column. I'm always waiting.... waiting.... something might happen soon......I 'm currently trying to get over our trip to the Dolomites.

It's October. We're in Italy. Flew in to Brescia/Verona and Ian and Heidi picked us up. We drive to Bolzano. Top little town. I wish I spoke some German, but we struggled by on our Italian. Marmalade Crossiants and an excellent coffee for breakfast. Heaven.

Day 1: The food took a leap to the relms of
brillance.
Geeze I miss Italian food- the cheese, the meat, the fruit and the coffee..... We moved to Cortina fitting in an awesome alpine pass and a super short via ferrata. Found a good little hotel run by a friendly family. Cortina was shutting up shop for the break between the summer madness and the winter crazyness. Cortina is cute. Would have liked some time to go shopping.

I think Ian and Heidi had a great time on their first Via ferrata. I was very happy with the new Petzl gear we had bought before we left. The main hope of the group was that the weather would stay healthy. Iain and Ian were secretly planning an attack on a Grade 5C ferrata called Tomaselli, but that wouldn't come for several days. We ate out at a resturant and slept well with the plan of attacking a 3B the following day, called Strobel, which was a little mountain just out of Cortina.



Day 3: Via ferrata Strobel
Strobel was a nice day out. A rock scramble to the start there were quite a few other climbers out as well. The ferrata was like a mountain climb, with good examples of ladders. There is a picture of us all at the summit!












Day 4: Via ferrata Lipella
Lipella was a grade 4C. It involved a start through some old war tunnels in the mountains, and then was mainly a traverse along a long mountain, finally culminating in a climb to the summit at the end. Overall an excellent Via Ferrata, with very long sections. Awesome!!!!




























Day 5: Via ferrata Tomaseli
The big day- grade 5C! Technically we could feel it, but maybe a grading of 5B would have been better- it was pretty short but exhilarating!
We started at the little bivoac and the climb jumped straight in from the start. Fantastic views even though it was a bit misty.
The end of the day involved an 1.5 hr descent through some war tunnels from the top of the lift station. Lots of fun....













Day 6: Back to Bolzano.... shopping.... new crampons! Super light, super awesome.

Day 7: Back to the bench..... And guess what! I've got crystals, but not the right thing!
: (

Anyway, must get back to my protein. It needs me and the sooner I'm done the sooner I can go home and get the weekend chores done.

Hope everyone is well.....

K.