Epping Forest, Day 82

We had a picnic in Epping Forest today. The sun was shining, though it got very cold sitting on the ground after a while (I can't complain though...a picnic in January in Canada is unfathomable I think)! The park was lovely and open and there weren't many people around which was nice.

There is something so beautiful about the light here; when it actually decides to shine (which is not that often), it is very strong, though at the same time there is a soft quality to it. Hopefully I'm making sense, but if not I think the photos below illustrate what I am trying to say!

Clarity, Day 81

sitting in a stream of sunlight in a room filled with songs of norah jones is probably the best creative motivation. i ended up filling four note pages in an attempt to sort out the clutter of thoughts floating around in my head. they ended up presenting themselves on the pages in a jumble of run on sentences and about seven attempts at a poem. i love how writing can always bring clarity to a confused mix of thoughts and feelings.

i hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

x

Just Baking Some Cookies, Day 79

Platform 9 3/4 and the British Library, Day 76

I love how you can get on the tube here and make it to your destination via so many routes (there are 275 stations!). In many cases you can choose to travel on above ground trains (my favourite) or on the underground (Hampstead station is 192 ft below ground!). I started my journey today at Liverpool Street Station (I love how this station is always busy, even late at night) and handed in my resume to the store Lush. I then went to Kings Cross Station to try and find platform 9 3/4 and after roaming around for a good ten minutes looking incredibly lost, I finally found it tucked away.


Can you imagine if you were a little kid and completely believed in the world of Harry Potter and found this? I’m sure there have been many to try and shove themselves through the wall….

Anyways, I love how this station is always bustling. Before the train leaves the station, a whistle is blown as a warning and you see everyone running with their luggage to catch the train.


I then went to the British Library across from Kings Cross. It is quite a peculiar looking building on the outside, and rather ugly as well. However inside is absolutely stunning! It reminded me of the reference library in Toronto. The British Library has been deemed one of the greatest libraries in the world; perhaps because it houses original manuscripts belonging to some of the world’s greatest authors?


I got to see the original Alice in Wonderland story written by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (he published the revised book under the name Lewis Carroll) who originally wrote this fairy tale for a girl named Alice Lidell. It was so amazing to see the original words and illustrations of a story that was to become so well known and celebrated.

I also got to see lyrics scrawled on the back of envelopes, scrap paper and birthday cards by John Lennon. Hard Day’s Night was scrawled on the back of a birthday card for his son Julian who had recently turned one and an untitled verse was written on a lined piece of paper, music notes and a weird doodle of a man surrounding the messy handwriting.

And then there was a draft of Sylvia Plath’s poem Insomniac, scrawled on a plain white piece of paper. For some reason looking at her handwriting was kind of eerie and seemed more “real” to me than Lewis Carroll’s or John Lennon’s. I think that anyone who reads her poems or novels feel as if they know her in some way because her writing is so personal, her voice so distinctive. Seeing her dainty handwriting just increased that personal element to her writing and it was as if I was reading one of her diary entries, not a poem!

I saw one of Jane Austen’s notebooks from 1792, filled with stories and short pieces she wrote between twelve and seventeen, and Sigmund Freud’s handwritten manuscript Creative Writers and Day Dreaming which he delivered in 1907 in Venice.

I left feeling so inspired and very lucky to have seen original work from some of the world’s greatest writers.

A Successful Road Trip, Day 75

So despite our previous fail of a road trip, Samantha and I successfully made it to the countryside today.

There is something so distinctive about the British countryside; everything always just feels so English. You know you’re in a small countryside village when you see a pub called The Grey Fox or The Red Lion or The White Swan (they always seem to be named after a colour and an animal…?) or see couples strolling by in matching wellies. You can almost hear them chatting about going home and making themselves some Yorkshire tea and toast and Marmite and discussing what they’ll watch on the “telly”. I just love British people.

The light was absolutely beautiful today and therefore a perfect day to take pictures!

An Almost Road Trip, Day 74

Samantha and I were all ready to go on a road trip into the country today. We got up early, brought a bunch of cds into the car, stopped to get coffee on the way and had even made lunch to bring with us. We had just made it passed the toll into Kent when a flashing red light appeared on the dashboard and the car was filled with a beeping sound. When we looked up what the symbol meant in the car manual, it said that the coolant level was low. After filling it up with water, we continued on our journey only to hear the annoying beeping sound once again. The manual clearly stated that if the red light returned after we filled it up, we must NOT drive the car and "seek professional help". We began our way home, only to find that the engine was overheating (Samantha filled the coolant container up with five litres of water in just twenty minutes). After running out of water, it was a race against time to get home and I began to have a minor panic attack as smoke began to rise out of the front of the car (I have to say, I was quite proud of Samantha...she didn't freak out at all, though it was deathly silent in the car for a good while). We pulled up into the car garage and I was laughing as everyone looked sceptically at the smoking car, the woman at the front desk going, "what happened?!" It was definitely an adventure to say the least, and I'm happy to say that the car did not burst into flames, it was just simply a leak in the coolant container.

Yesterday I had this weird moment where I really missed sitting outside on my porch in the summertime. I suddenly realized that you can't do that here in England. It is such a different way of life here and although it is very exciting and beautiful, I think that one would could easily feel very trapped. Although London is huge, there are just so many people. You can't just hop onto the subway and go downtown as I did easily and frequently in Toronto and you can't just sit outside on your front porch when you need some fresh air. Although it is so beautiful, and though I will always love Britain with a passion, I am beginning to realize that I could never live here.

I'm feeling rather ill, though with Ava sick all week I was expecting to get it sooner or later!

Finally a New Post, Day 73

I have taken way too long a break from this blog!

It didn't really seem like a proper week as Ava hardly went to school as she was very sick. On Wednesday she stayed home and sucked her fingers (a comfort thing she has done since she was a baby) literally all day. We all laughed so hard when she finally took them out of her mouth to eat dinner only to find they had turned a different colour and were withered like prunes.


I always love talking about Toronto with Londoners who have been there before. Earlier in the week I went for an interview to get my national insurance number (I can finally start applying for jobs, thank goodness) and the lady told me she was so surprised when she went to Toronto because of how empty it was. I realized then how much of a shock it is going to be to come back home. I have gotten so used to the sheer volume of people here, the never ending bustle and the noise; Toronto is going to feel so tiny and empty!

Yesterday when Samantha left the house to bring Ava to school, I told Maude that if she got her coat and shoes on while I was upstairs getting dressed, we could go with Samantha to Stoke Newington when she got back. This resulted in Maude yelling, "come on Andra! Andra! Come on!" up the stairs for a good twenty minutes. And when I came down, I found her all ready to go indeed:


I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

x

We Love Jonas, Day 67

Samantha and I have both developed a love for Jonas from Big Brother. The other day, I was reading a trashy gossip magazine and found this photo of him inside:
which I then proceeded to stick up on Samantha's wall opposite her bed. The girls didn't say anything about it until this morning.

Maude: "Andra did that" (pointing to the picture).
Ava: "Why did Alexandra put that picture up there?"
Samantha: "Because she thought it would be funny".
Ava: "I like the picture".
Maude: "Me like his body".

First of all Maude is TWO but second of all, not once have Samantha and I commented about liking his body so we really both have no idea where that came from. I guess Jonas just has that affect on everyone, including two year old girls.


Poor Ava is sick and has been in bed all morning. She has been excitedly anticipating her friend's birthday party all week and it's going to be heartbreaking when she walks downstairs only to find that she's missed it.

Maude just always seems to be filled with joy. It's photos like this one that prompt me to stop whatever I am doing, look at her and go, "WHAT am I going to do with you?"

Missing My Sister, Day 63

Like Olivia and I, Ava and Maude look nothing alike. There's something about Maude that makes you smile, while Ava is very strikingly beautiful.

Ava is very protective of Maude, always looking out for her. We were walking down the high street one weekend and Maude had been walking along the side of the sidewalk closest to the road. I had watched as Ava had instinctively taken Maude's hand and guided her away from the road.

It is very sweet to see how much they both adore each other, particularly because my sister and I are very close like that as well. It is so touching to see how much they love each other, how well they understand each other and how protective they are of one another at such a young age.

Ah I miss my sister!!

I keep on meaning to share this:

On Christmas eve we were at a church and they were taking donations in envelopes for a children's foundation.

Ava had said, "Mummy, what are you doing?"
Samantha: "I am donating money to children who are less fortunate than you."
Ava: "Do you mean children like Maude?"

A Book of Musings, Day 61

Last Thursday I went into the library and saw small handmade books of poems a lady had made for people to take. I was suddenly inspired, remembering all the zine projects my writer's craft class had done last year. After a weekend of putting together some of my writing and photos in a small book, I am finally finished! I am going to put a few in the coffee shop and some in the library (i'm hoping that lady won't be too annoyed).

This is the back and front cover:

And here's a page from it:

It is still FREEZING here! I spent the weekend under a blanket in my pyjamas watching Big Brother and drinking lots of tea...I really can't complain.

x

early morning musings, Day 60

cold toes
arms translucent as a butterflies’ wings
counting blue veins
and freckles
in the cold bath water of morning
with hands instinctively tracing the patterns
on the white enamel
the ones she found in the costal cartilage of his ribcage
that rose with syncopated gusts of breath
in tune with hers(lumberous body)
remembering how
skin brimmed over fingers
as she squeezes flesh of stomach
and incandescent thoughts
float through the fluid
that fills her head
moments of silence and stillness and goose bumps and soap
listening to voices that can’t be placed
in the house with many rooms
rice paper arms shrivelled to prunes and full body shivers
at seven am.

Maude's First Day of School, Day 59

A Snow Day (Minus the Snow), Day 58

Ava had a snow day today. You'd think on a snow day you'd go tobogganing, or make a snowman or even just skip through the snow. The thing is, there is hardly any snow to do these things...these British are just so dramatic!

We had pancakes this morning to celebrate the "snow day" and the girls lounged around in their pyjamas for quite a while...it felt like Christmas holidays all over again!

Afternoon 57

Despite the fact that I video blogged about how there was virtually no snow on the ground this morning, it is blizzarding like crazy! All the schools ended up shutting down half way through the day. Maybe tomorrow Ava will get to have a full snow day.

I finally received my driving licence in the mail! I still can't believe I could hop into a car right now and drive around (which, for the record, I have no intention of doing as I would crash in mere seconds). It's now time for more theory test studying...ugh.

Day 57

Preparing for the Snow!, Day 56

With the Gaters gone, the house feels very empty! It's a miracle really how we fit everyone under the same roof!

Ava went back to school (rather excitingly) this morning, and according to the weather forecast, there is a huge possibility that there will be snow days for the rest of the week due to heavy snow fall! (Considering how everyone reacted to 1 inch of snow a couple weeks ago, it will be rather interesting to observe how they deal with quite a bit more than that).

Maude starts school on Friday (well, hopefully) and it will be interesting to see how she makes that adjustment. She currently thinks she's a cat, (I suspect this is partly due to the fact that my mother and I laughed hysterically when she first began greeting everyone in meows) and I'm wondering how that will go down with the other children in her class.

I've sadly become slightly addicted to Big Brother, a show where about twelve people are put into a small house which is filled with cameras. Every week one person gets voted out until there is one person left, the winner of the season. There really isn't much more to it, though I find it quite interesting that you can switch on the telly and get live feed from this house. It's quite bizarre if you think about it.

I hope everyone is surviving the cold back in Canada! (I've heard it's -20?!)

Desert Memories, Day 54

city lights are passing
they remind me
of whispering words of sweet inspiration in the back of cabs,

my body flowing into yours with every sharp turn and quick stop
as if I were the rolling hills of your desert plane back
never ending and smooth, sprinkled with freckles of sand grains
and red swipes of a lion’s paw which origins are still unknown,
or the sand dune arcs and notches of your spine
carefully separated by coasts of cartilage

there should be a book composed of
the whispered words
that flowed between us like water
a desert never sees

Ava, Day 52

I love this photo because it is a true representation of how beautiful Ava is. I love how she looks completely unaware that her photo is being taken.

We didn't get out of the house today until noon and by the time we finished our lunch at the coffee shop and took a long walk through the Coppermills the day was almost over. The girls were very tired to say the least.

I wish everyone an amazing 2010! xx