This weekend Chris's cousin Christiana graduated with a master's in Economics at Surrey University, officially. She's been living with her parents in Cyprus and just recently got a job as a receptionist at a hotel, which she is understandably ecstatic about in this economy, and in Cyprus especially. Of course she doesn't earn enough to move out of her parents place yet, but it's a start. She and her sister flew into London this weekend for the ceremony. She's the second from the left in the above photo.
Chris went to the ceremony in Guildford, which is a really sweet little town. Speaking of sweet, they apparently have an "American Candy" shop there, which sells all sorts of delicious things from the US which are impossible to come by here. Of course it's nothing I would ever be caught with in my shopping cart normally, but somehow being here I can't get enough of it. My knitting group asked me last night what foods I would miss from the UK if I moved, and I confess I couldn't think of anything (Except McVities chocolate digestives, but you can find those in the US so it's not really a loss). I think the truth is you don't miss anything until it's gone and you can't have it, so I'd have to actually leave the UK to realize all the stuff I love and would miss here.
Of course there is no shortage of M&M's here, as we took the girls out for Chinese in Soho and swung by the M&M shop on Friday night. You would never believe how many people want to shop for M&M related products close to midnight on Friday!!
Saturday was a rainy day and we spent the whole day at Westfields mall where the girls shopped until Chris and I dropped..... and then kept shopping. Fortunately we had dinner at one of my favourite spots, YoSushi! where the food comes by on a little track round and round. I was very good and had a seaweed salad and some tofu before giving into the red bean past mochi that I eyed over and over as it came round and round and round... they even had a chocolate one! Yum! The girl weren't so sold on Japanese food, and Valando had to use the kids "easy" chopsticks that were more like wooden tweezers but I have to give them credit for trying new things outside of their comfort zone. Even if those new things all looked suspiciously like fried chicken with just different dressing....
Sunday the girls did the Madam Tussards and London Eye thing while Chris and I enjoyed Putney and sunshine! We walked along the river path, and discovered a yard full of gnomes and frogs and whatnot to rival even my mother's collection. (Though only barely so). What you can't see in this photo is that behind the tree on the left there are EVEN MORE GNOMES!
In the evening I helped Patrick get in his US taxes just under the wire, while Chris and the girls went to Ed's Diner in Picadilly to enjoy American style food, burgers, shakes and fries.
I'm almost done with Patrick's amazing birthday sweater, just in time for the weather to get warm and sunny. Of course I have every confidence that it will get cold and rainy again soon....photos to follow next week when Patrick is back from the US, with exciting news about his new job in London.
I thought about doing an April fool's post last week and say I was going to stop blogging, but I thought a) that was too cruel and b) I was just too plain lazy, recovering from my flu and enjoying a 4 day Easter weekend.
I'm fully recovered now, and enjoyed the break in the weather this weekend (it was snowing Thursday, sunny Saturday and Sunday.......though it's back to rain all. this. week.). Chris and I took a long walk Sunday morning, and we were shocked at the number of runners. I attributed it to the spring weather and Putney being an energetic athletic place, but there were so many people! I thought, they've all been waiting for today, and they won't even still be running next week. Then Chris and I came to a tree that said "Wandsworth Half Marathon", I turned slowly to my right and saw that the runners all had numbers on the front of their shirts....... ah HA!
Speaking of athletes, Patrick came home from his rowing camp in Italy, and brought back a laundry mountain:
Smelling of corn chips.... ewwwwww! You will be pleased to hear that he did all this laundry himself, well minus one load that I put in for him the day he got back....
But he was pretty tired (see photo below)! Some of his friends in the club were questioning his choice to move in with his sister in the apartment we are buying and he said why not? She cooks, cleans, does my laundry, what could be better? To prove his point he sent me a SnapChat (I'm knitwittygirl on snapchat by the way, I highly recommend it) picture of his face with the word "cookies?"
In answer, he was able to send them back a photo of a two tiered cake stand full of two types of cookies ready for him when he gets back. Ok, ok, lest you think I'm spoiling him, 1) it's great to have someone who really appreciates your cooking, which Chris, sad to say does not, and 2) I really enjoy doing housework anyway, particularly for someone who appreciates it, and it's just as easy to do a load of laundry for three people as it is for two. And the reason I could get his snapchat was because he gave me his old smartphone when he upgraded, a L 100 value. Also, I really made the cookies for Jane (not pictured) and Aurelie who came over for a crafternoon on Sunday. Notice plate of cookies and tangerines in the foreground. Photo taken with new smartphone, I'm really loving it. It's an HTC Desire S for you phoneheads out there.
Aurelie is patiently working on a sweater for which there is no pattern except the one in my head. Since I don't work at the museum any more, it's taking her a long time but she is persevering. Go Aurelie! With the weather we are having she will be needing the sweater all summer I suspect, so it's still very relevant. I'm about halfway done in the Henri bulky cabled old man cardigan I'm doing for Patrick's birthday. It's a fantastic pattern, very chic, and since I'm one of the first people on Ravelry to make it I'm hoping that I'll be the featured photo. No pressure to Patrick, who is going to have to Zoolander it up for the mandatory photoshoot. Photos to follow soon, it's very bulky yarn and it took me one week to do a sleeve, back and the left front, so I'm hopeful it'll be done around this weekend. What will take the longest is the drying time in from blocking with all this rain!
Hope everyone with a lingering is hanging on as best they can, Chris says he read an article which explains that this weather patter is a result of global climate change. Lest it get you down too much, watch this amazing TED talk, the first one to really give me hope about anything. And I could have guilt free ice cream to boot!!
This week Chris's cousins are coming up to London for a visit, Christiana graduated last December and there ceremony is this weekend. Photos to follow!
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