good times

What an incredible few days we've had. On Friday afternoon we received an e-mail from Andy, a friend we made on our trip to Austria last September. He wrote to tell us he was in Paris and wanted to come over and visit with a friend for two days to see the boat and also to introduce us to two of his friends living in London. He and his friend Bernadette arrived late on Sunday night and from that moment onwards it was go go go.

Woz was able to take two days off work as he is in wind-down mode now that he has resigned and so on Monday we took the boat out. The weather was sensational and absolutely perfect for cruising the canal. We stopped along the way for the traditional English open chips, fish and mushy peas in the park before returning home late afternoon. Andy was taken with Nate and christened him 'Capt'n Little' (which he already answers to!).

On Monday night we invited Andy's friends and a friend of ours over for dinner and the seven of us had an amazing night together. It was an inspiring gathering of people who mixed brilliantly and some real friendships were formed and others cemented. When we decided to move to London we expected Londoners and London culture to be very English but for the first time we got a revelation of real London culture that night with a cultural mix of Australian, British, French, Austrian and Slovenian. Some of us travelling, some calling London our home, some born and bred in London, but all of us with a common bond uniting us. Creativity flowed ...

On Tuesday Andy, Bernadette, Woz, Nate and I walked all over London, heading to the Barbican for an exhibition on Alvar Alto and then to the Tate Gallery. We found a new favourite cafe for lunch north-west of London. Sitting in the huge open cafe in the sun, opposite the Smithfield market had a very 'Carlton' feel to it, especially as Woz bumped into a colleague he worked with in Melbourne who on a two day trip to London, happened to be drinking a pint at the next table.

Woz and I have grand plans to renovate a dutch barge once 'Capt'n Little' outgrows this one and we shared our designs with Andy who was inspired and excited by the project. He is very keen to get involved both in the design and build of the boat and so we may work together in the future.

Andy and Bernadette left early this morning to return to their holiday in Paris but with an open invitation for us to stay with Andy or at Bernadette's apartment in Vienna it wont be long before we see them again.

while we were away ...

Woz resigned! For the last two years he has absolutely loved his job - the hours, the people and the project he has worked on but has decided it is time to move on to bigger and better things. So, after this week he has two more weeks before he takes two weeks off to work on his Masters and then he's back into it again with a new company who happens to be his current client. He'll be moving out of architecture and into a project management role but still working within the rail industry. He's really looking forward to starting there and throwing himself into the new role. The other bonus is that they're only a five minute walk from home so he'll be able to have lunch with Nate and I every day if we're around. He'll also be able to work flexi-time so if he starts early he'll be home as early as 4pm, or alternatively if he wants a lie in he can turn up to work at 9.30 am, which is particuarly handy with a 9 month old baby who isn't sleeping through the night.

life as we know it

We've been offline for several weeks now and tonight for the first time are back on. I'm like a kid at Christmas time, not knowing which site to look up first or which e-mail to read. My mood has lifted 100% and Woz and I can now breathe a sigh of relief that life has once again returned to normal.

Over the last few weeks we've had to resort to such archaic methods of banking as queueing up and talking to an actual person, had to surf channels randomly on the TV and as a result ended up watching loads of rubbish because our online TV guide wasn't accessible, had absolutely no idea what was going on with our friends overseas as we realised that the way we kept in touch with their daily lives was to read their respective blogs of an evening and had to call or text friends in London rather than talk to them via messenger. Can you imagine?!

a very strange european winter indeed

This weekend was once again unseasonably warm and incredibly sunny. On Saturday we spent another full day working on the boat and were outside wearing only long sleeved t-shirts. We even had an alfresco lunch on the pontoon! I didn't see for myself but I heard from a reliable source that it was 14 degrees.


Most of our neighbours were also out working on various projects or dining in the sun so it was a very sociable day for Nate who sat on the pontoon and watched everyone coming and going.

winter wonderland!

Yesterday brought more snow and this time it fell quite heavily and continued until early afternoon. I was sooo excited but really missing Woz and wishing he come home from work and enjoy it with me. I got a call from a friend I used to work with to say that they'd closed the school and that she wasn't going in to work so we ended up hanging out together which was great.

Waking up this morning there hasn't been any snowfall over night but there is still plenty on the rooftops of each boat and on the pontoon. Richard, one of our neighbours, cleared a path to all the boats so we wouldn't slip and also took the time to make us a snowman who is still standing proudly on the pontoon!

old times

This weekend we had another full day working on the boat. It was just like old times. Mess everywhere you turn or tread, power shut off and doors wide open while Woz was going in and out the boat (thankfully it was a sunny day).

The end result was worth it though. We did lots of finishing off bits and pieces jobs but the biggest difference is that we decided to move our meals table and fix it against the wall which is now a meals bench. It has opened the boat up incredibly and Nate now has loads of room to roll around and play. His high chair is perched at the very end of the bench where he can look up at me in the kitchen or back on the living area. Apart from Nate getting more playing room it has absolutely saved my sanity as I was really beginning to get cabin fever living here day in and day out. You only had to have one load of washing hanging and you felt like you were living in a shoebox - some would argue we are! Anyway, by our standards it's absolutely huge now!

another lensbaby shot

The more I use this lens the more I discover it will be months or perhaps years before I have mastered it. Even with an image in mind it is very difficult to see it materialised. It will probably be a similar undertaking to learning the violin - no frets to work with but purely an incredibly fine tuned eye (as opposed to ear!) will be required to make music, so to speak. I think I need to become 'at one' with the lens and clearly I am not!

looking out

Don't you just want to squeeze that belly?!

our excitement was contagious

Nate couldn't stop beaming from the moment we took him outside.

rosy cheeks

looking out from our bedroom window

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

After a chilly night we woke this morning to find the marina covered in a thick layer of snow! After two years this is the first time we've seen snow in central London. It was so unexpected too which made it even more magical! We've had such a mild Winter so far and really it has felt very much like a Melbourne Winter but with more overcast days. Today it is expected to reach a top of 4˚c which is more like a typical Winter's day. Right now, at 12.00 pm it is 3˚c so the gloves and hat will be coming out today!

a new toy

Our good friends Andrew and Vicki spoilt me during the week with a new toy, a 'lensbaby', which is a new lens I have had my eye on for a while. It is a strange looking concertina like lens for our digital SLR which allows you to bring a very small area of your subject into sharp focus and creates a graduated glow from that point (Nate's right eye). A very rudimentary attempt but it was my first time! Woz and I are going to have lots of fun with this I can tell!

stop the rocking!

I can't remember how long it's been since we had a still day. It has been so windy here the boat feels as though it is on the open sea and is rocking quite violently up and down and from side to side. My boat-legs are failing me today as I have almost lost my balance on a number of occasions! Outside, anything that isn't tied down to either the boat or the pontoon is as good as gone and at night, we are quite literally being rocked to sleep.

men at work

Woz went back to work on Tuesday ... sigh. So did the construction workers opposite us who are a year into a three year project. It was a rude awakening on Tuesday morning at 8 am after nearly two weeks of peace and quiet on the Marina. It didn't bother me when I was working as I'd leave before they clocked on and would be home as they were finishing up for the day (as Woz does) but now I have the pleasure of constant noise in the background forming a soundtrack to my day.

Today a good friend of mine, Ann, who I studied Auslan with, visited us for lunch with her family. They're on a holiday in Europe for a month or so. It was great to catch up on all the news and see her face to face - hand to hand. Here's us the last time she was here. The little boy in today's photo was but a twinkle in his father's eye.

making it count

New Years Eve - we are reminded of our bravery, naivety and sense of adventure all mixed in together as just two years ago we threw caution to the wind and moved to the opposite side of the globe. How those years have flown!

Unfortunately this New Years was one of the worst I've had - I came down with gastro in the small hours of the morning and spent most of the day and evening hovering over the toilet seat. We were both in bed well before 12 but woke to hear the firework display on the river.

Woz and I have huge plans for this year and are really excited about what it may hold for us. We have a term we use to encourage each other in life and it is one we really want to continue this year which is to 'make it count'. We have the opportunity at this time to be living in the heart of a vibrant, exciting city, to be parents to a beautiful little boy and to live each day for what it is. So here's to making it count.

Happy New Year!

regents park

After at least a week of overcast days this morning the sun was shining so Woz and I took a walk along the canal to Regents Park.

tip of the iceberg

We're already well into the time off Woz has and although he has been working on his masters it has absolutely highlighted how much more work he has to do. Think we're going to dedicate Saturdays from here on in to slogging through it. He's going to go in to work tomorrow while there's no one there so he can work in a less distracting environment!

thank you

A big thank you to those who sent presents over for Nate from Australia. If we haven't already been able to speak with you we hope to be able to call over the next few days.

christmas day

Our first Christmas Day as a family was fantastic! We had a very relaxed, sleepy morning before opening presents. It was fun watching Nate rip the paper apart. He was of course too young to understand any of it but just having him there made it all the more exciting.

After breakfast we headed over to Vicki and Andrew's to spend the day with them and their four day old baby son! Looking at him next to Nate it was hard to believe that just six months ago he was that small! It was such a lovely relaxed day with a big roast dinner followed by walk to the park, pudding and then a nap. It was very special for us to be able to spend our first Christmas as a new family with another new family. It hadn't quite sunk in for Vicki and Andrew and it still hasn't for us (six months later!) and so we spent most of the day shaking our heads and saying 'Who'd have thought?'

too many toys to choose from

i'll have that thanks!

first christmas

chrismas eve

We spent a good part of our Christmas Eve calling family in Australia as it was Christmas morning for them. My parents were given a webcam for Christmas so we tried that out and got to see and talk to the whole family.

christmas in the west end

happy holidays

Woz finished work last night for ten days. I'm not sure who was more excited, him or me. As usual he has big plans for the next ten days so today we've got all of the work out of the way; first our water pump needed fixing, followed by a huge clean out/clean up, followed by lots of wood chopping, food shopping, Christmas baking and finally some present wrapping
for the little 'un.


We decided not to go away this Christmas to allow Woz to concentrate on his Masters research, so he'll be busily working away at that over his break but it will be nice to be able to see him each day and for him to have some time with Nate.

to market to market

I did a last minute shop at the market yesterday for some fruit and vegies. I couldn't bear the thought of standing in a ridiculously long line at the supermarket being subjected to hearing 'Last Christmas' played for the fifth time in one day. Which brings me to a thought - no one seems to play traditional carols here for some reason.

The market was incredibly busy but had so much more atmosphere and you didn't really have to wait to be served. I was navigating Nate's push chair through the crowd and 'pulled in' behind a large burly man pushing an empty trolley. He seemed to be making his way through the swarms of people so I thought it would be a good idea to follow him. I soon discovered why. He was tearing along ramming the ankle of any unsuspecting shoppers ahead of him and as they jumped out of his way he shouted in a huge booming market type voice,

'Alright darlin'? Wwwwwwatch yer feet, if you don't I wont!'

christmas is coming

Our tiny little boat now has a tiny little tree. I picked one up yesterday at a stall on the side of the street about a fifteen minute walk from home. To qualify it had to be small enough for me to carry with one hand whilst pushing the buggy with the other.

My favourite part of Christmas as I was growing up was finding a tree and decorating it. Those were the good old days when we would chop one down from the bush surrounding our house and cart it inside. The thrill of seeing the box which held all the Christmas decorations retrieved from the depths of the linen press would always hark the start of the festivities for me.

The trees here are absolutely beautiful. Perfectly conical, bushy and green ... but they just don't smell like Christmas. The smell of the pine needles was the one thing that helped me hold on to the magic of Christmas as I grew up - that and Christmas carols. So I feel a little like a fish out of water here; it's cold, the trees don't smell as they should and it's dark but suddenly all those 'Winter wonderland' songs are beginning to make sense in a way they just couldn't when it was 30 degrees!

eye eye captain!

stark reality

Cor blimey it's cold here! The coats are on and buttoned up and the gloves and scarves are shortly to follow. Winter has officially arrived!

Almost everyone we meet asks the same question of living on a boat ... 'Doesn't it get cold in winter?'. We are often heard to retort quickly, 'Not at all! We have central heating and a wood fire', which is true, and on a good day it's toasty and warm throughout the boat, but the reality is that for the last two weeks we've had to turn the central heating off as it has been so windy that the diesel fumes were blowing back into the boat through the chimney, and when we light the wood fire we stoke it with enough coal to last the night which means that we generate a heatwave in the boat (28˚C last night!) but by morning the coal has burnt out and it feels as though ice has settled on the floorboards. This morning our thermometer in the bathroom (which is closed off to the heating in the main part of the boat) read 7.6˚C.

Of course none of that bothers me now ... it couldn't be further from my mind. I'm sitting by the fire which is glowing with red hot coal and both Woz and I are in t-shirts and bare feet ... but then there is always the knowledge that tomorrow I'll be wearing thick socks, knee high uggs and a coat while eating my breakfast.

Ahh the price of adventure!

adiós amigos!

And so we say goodbye to Barcelona ... until next time.

two generations

Sunday afternoon in the park.

an artist in the making?

gaudi's handprint

stunning views

park güell

Commissioned by Eusebi Güell as a stylish park for Barcelona aristocracy, Park Güell is a showcase of Gaudi's finest work and absolutely breathtaking. Just a pity about all the tourists.

la sagrada familia

Almost every inch of the facade of this incredible cathedral was covered in scaffolding and the mark of construction was everywhere. Even inside the windows you could see the criss-cross of layer upon layer of scaffolding poles. I'm not one for taking photos of famous iconic photos covered in scaffolding so I took a shot of its spires, although now I think about it the scaffolding is as much a part of the cathedral as the stone itself as construction began in 1882 and it is not predicted to be completed for another fifty years so. A missed photo opportunity perhaps? Oh well, we'll have to go back then wont we? I wonder if it will be completed in our lifetime or if Nate will have to visit it for us?

hola!

No post for a few days as we've been in Barcelona. We spent three short days there and it wasn't nearly enough. We went along with Woz's office for their annual Christmas trip so we were put up in a swanky hotel in the centre of town which was such luxury for us as we normally travel on a pretty tight budget.

Barcelona - what an amazing, surprising, inspiring city. Had we not gone as part of the office trip I am not sure we would have made it there as it wasn't high on our list of travel priorities but having been it is now top of our list of places to return. I have seen images of Gaudi's work countless times but I can truly say that I had no real appreciation for them until I saw them in the flesh and in the context that Gaudi designed them for - nature.

There are some places you can visit and upon returning home you're happy to have seen what you've seen and experienced but at the same time are quite happy not to see again. Been there, done that. There are others which infect you like a virus and you leave knowing that they will always be in your bloodstream. There will always be something inside you that longs to return to have the opportunity to understand the city.

We will be back, for at least a week next time to see all the places we didn't manage to get to and to just enjoy the culture and feel of the city.

If you're planning a trip to Europe, Barcelona is a must see!

has it been two years already?

December 31st 2006. When Woz and I left Melbourne for London that date seemed like a lifetime away yet here it is fast approaching and my visa is running out. You may have read earlier this year that Woz was granted British citizenship thanks to his Scottish heritage. Nate also has a British passport which leaves little old me with my Australian passport.

It's all very last minute but I've organised an interview at the British Home Office later this month to apply for the extension of my visa. Unfortunately they don't allow you to apply until 28 days before it expires so I'm really hoping they approve it as it will leave little time for Woz and I to whip up a plan B. They tell me it's all a matter of paperwork.

As I was feeling a little reminiscent I had a look back to this time last year in our archive posts and saw that by mid November last year we were waking to cold frosty mornings and it made me realise how mild it has been lately. While we daren't leave home without a coat, scarves have been a fashionable accessory rather than a necessity and gloves haven't even got a look in.

I remember visiting our friends Karen and Eric in London while we were still living in Melbourne several years ago. Having left our Summer to travel over here in the peak of Winter Woz and I were wearing thermals head to toe, coats, scarves, gloves and hats. I remember so clearly Karen leaving for work in an unbuttoned coat with bare hands, head and neck on an absolutely freezing morning saying 'Oh it's not nearly cold enough for gloves yet'. I remember thinking she was absolutely mad and yet here I am, doing the same thing.

upgrade

I've upgraded this site to make it much easier for me to edit (no more html) and at the same time changed the appearance slightly.

If a post has a comment against it the best way to view it now is by clicking on the title of the post and you will be able to view the post itself with the attached comments below. You can easily return to the main page by clicking on 'Home' below.

Happy viewing and remember, we love youse all!

fun at the park

I met Woz at the park again today on his lunchbreak. It had been a while since I'd taken Nate to this particular park, which I visited almost every day in Summer. It was a very different experience; hardly a child in sight, the trees almost bare and the ground littered with coloured leaves. It was a cold day and the park was lacking in atmosphere, but for Nate ... his Dad was with him and fun ensued!