Merry 2013!

How do I recap this year?  I guess it all starts with the Babbity Bowster.

Wha learned ye tae dance, Babbity Bowster, Babbity Bowster?
Wha learned ye tae dance, Babbity Bowster brawly?

Ma mither learned me tae dance, Babbity Bowster, Babbity Bowster,
Ma mither learned me tae dance, Babbity Bowster brawly.

Aunt Beth and I were looking for a place to stay in Glasgow and saw this place in the guidebook, and HAD to stay there.  Who doesn't want to stay in a pub?  So I emailed them right away, and we had our first reservation for our trip.  It was also the scene of the huge gash in the side of the station wagon...narrow alleys.



 
Battlements: one of the highlights of the trip was to Doune Castle, where they filmed monty python & the holy grail.  Unfortunately we couldn't go up on the battlements, but we could wander everywhere else as Terry Jones narrated. 


Auntie Jenn had many fun adventures with Ally & Josh over the year, from riding on all El trains but the yellow line to swimming to finding Josh's favorite book on evolution to making crafts and singing and playing instruments and reading books galore.

Birthday: Mom's birthday was celebrated with cousins and aunts and chosen family, as well as a performance of the book of mormon.

Ballet: I continue to have season tickets to the Joffrey Ballet, and enjoy the three or four times a year I am guaranteed to hang out with my friend Cindy!


Indiana is where the Lindsays have been gathering at Auntie Grandma's house in Culver. We were able to do some swimming, some reading, and we discovered that Ally & Josh love the bungee cord ride!

Trains: I am more in love with trains every day.  I was able to add trips on the Tube as well as the Glasgow subway (third oldest in Europe, btw).  And the first class trip from London to Edinburgh was worth every penny.  It had been a dream to travel first class...

You betcha! I was able to go to Minneapolis for ACUHO-I and see lots of lovely friends like Sara, Michelle, Colin and other housing folk.  As well as take a crazy cab ride to Cafe Latte across town.

By the way, did I mention I went on a trip to England?  London is lovely, and I could go back many many times...the shops, the bookstores, Covet Garden, Westminster Cathedral, National Gallery, Handel's house, the Tower, Churchill's War Rooms...the tea, the chocolate, and the bakery...


Orlando for TPE in March gave me a chance to see Jennifer and Melissa where we had a yummy birthday dinner.  And I was able to see Colin at his new place in Deland and see the east coast of Florida!

Watching Downton Abbey, Games of Thrones, Sherlock, Selfridges, Law & Order: UK, Torchwood, Orange is the New Black, Glee, the Big Bang Theory, and House of Cards as well as reading several books a month has been...

Silly.  You know I am.  As is this one...

Twenty years?  It was so wonderful to see all my Albion friends and reconnect -- I missed you all so!  Jim, Sonia and I relived our I-House days, Rob and I reminisced, and my KD sisters and I remembered the fun times.  Jim and Sonia also were able to spend some quality time at Albion's Kids n Stuff...

Every day I am thankful for the wonderful students, staff, and colleagues at SAIC. 

Relatives: I am thankful that I am so close to family, both blood-related and chosen. My Chicago family: Alli, Teryn, Anne, Sifi, Diane, etc.  And Beth's adventures with census records in Edinburgh and the ability to see family apartment buildings (or former apartment buildings -- I don't think they lived in a Baptist church) in Glasgow.  This is Beth in front of her paternal grandma's parents' address.  We were able to go to tenement museums in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and see what our family's lodgings might have looked like...

 

 And one last picture of the fam...we miss you, daddy!

Happy everything to you and your family!

ok, one more...

all i really need to know...

All I really need to know I learned from kindergartners.

-Auntie Jenn lives in a great neighborhood. There is a library a block away, a park across that street, a bookstore and toy shop, and a gelato shop that has a TRAIN table. (oh, and good coffee around the corner)

-In the next five years, we have to go on every EL train, even the yellow line to Skokie. The Christmas train is awesome! But the bus is exciting too – you can grab the strap.

-Singing and dancing and playing is great. (taking mandolin lessons is even greater)

-We went to Kansas on American Airlines – an airplane for the first time is exciting. Pools are super fun. So are making new friends. And we love Auntie Grandma, so we give her lots of hugs.

-Grandpa Bill lives in a cool place, and we like to do puzzles with him. He’s going to play Santa this Christmas.

-Hippie Grandma (Grandma Donna) puts basil in the eggs, and we cook and bake and play dress-up at her house. We missed her when she went to Hawaii, but she brought back a cool hula outfit!

-The BEST restaurant in the world is Heaven on Seven, which is only a few blocks away from Auntie Jenn’s work (at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago).

-Hats are fun, especially when they are hand knitted. I can wear a fishbowl or a pumpkin or a pink elfin hat.

-We love daddy. He cheers us on at soccer games and reads us books and takes us to cool places, like Chicago. He still teaches other kids (3^rd grade), and is reading this crazy series that Auntie Jenn gave him (Game of Thrones). We got to go to the Brookfield Zoo twice this year!

-Auntie starts with A, like Ally. Jenn starts with J, like Josh.

We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas…and a happy new year.

We won’t go until we get some, we won’t go until we get some…so bring it right here.

mmmm...

wa ha ha ha. I needed to use this lovely M. for Musings. and Music. and much much more.




I wish I could remember on what I wanted to muse earlier tonight. I did see a lovely mustache with turned up edges this evening on the train, and then out of the restaurant as I was walking back from wc.

Now, time for masterpiece.

are I blog again? I am excited by this cool site, which a friend of mine posted on facebook. I guess she is letting people use her cool letters, which are updated daily. It makes for some fun alphabets. I do love fonts, so this is a lot of fun.

And when I look for fonts, the most important letter of all is

of course

gonna try...

I'm going to try posting more often this year...we'll see how that goes. I'm watching a little russell crowe in 3:10 to yuma, and it's not bad for a western. exciting, yes.

I'm hopeful for a bright 2011, and will muse on some knitting and baking and reading and other things as the year goes on. As I looked at some of my pictures from 2010, I realized there were some very bright moments that I will not soon forget. :)this is one...



as well as this...

back in the blog

Holy cow! It's been a year and a half since I last posted, and I thought that would never happen. Too much of letting work take over my life.

Well, that's the end of that.

Bush speaks

Ok, so I can't believe it, but I was impressed by Bush tonight. He actually sounded like he cared about the country and its people. I thought that he was succinct, articulate and caring. I had no idea. Actually, I did know -- I don't think anyone could be president who didn't love the country, even if his ideas are misguided and frustrating. So I was a little teary, almost. There are good people who are doing good things, and I need to remember that.