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!