Incoming! Mind the Gap as you step into the car.
My favorite thing about London was the metro, which they lovingly call The Tube. It’s a huge network of underground subway tunnels and stations. I was shocked to learn that it has been around since 1863. In one station, Covent Garden, you can only get between floors via elevator or a 193-step spiral staircase. We took the stairs and laughed thinking about women in gowns from the 1800’s going up and down without falling.
Notting Hill Tube Station
The Tube is packed with musicians…really good musicians. As in, if they dimmed the lights and served pints down there, I’d sit and listen for a while. We heard everything from crazy polka music to rockers on electric guitars, but my favorite were the folk rock singers. All the musicians were licensed to be there and had special locations where they could stand (as Thomas demonstrates below). I’m not sure what it takes to get licensed, but it would be a fun job to audition them.
Thomas plays Air Guitar
Other than hanging out underground, we also went to three shows: Cirque de Soleil’s Varekai, Avenue Q, and Chicago. All were wonderful! We checked out the main sights, including the extremely crowded changing of the guard, and the museums. I couldn’t believe that the museums were all free…and they were packed with families. It was great! Anyway, it was a wonderful break away, and with being only an hour and a half train ride there, we will definately visit again.
Cool mosaic in Tottenham Court Road station
We didn’t make to much of an effort with photos since it rained the entire weekend, but if you’d like to see them, they’re posted on PicasaWeb:
Recycled Crate Tree Art at Place Poelaert
This post is specifically for my grandmother – Hi Mama C! I was checking Facebook yesterday, and she had set her status message to: Dallas, I am going through withdrawal. It has been 10 days since you have added to your journal.
I didn’t realize I had been on that long of a break, but here’s what I’ve been up to for the past 10 days.
- 10 – Went to a Troc (second hand store) with Reid and her daughter. Train to London with Thomas.
- 9 – Toured London on Hop On/Hop Off bus and saw Cirque de Soleil.
- 8 – Watched the changing of the guard, visited Tate Modern Art Museum, saw Avenue Q and Chicago.
- 7 – Toured British Museum and Harrods department store.
- 6 – Train back to Brussels. Caught up on laundry, email, etc.
- 5 – Volunteered as server at the AWCB Cafe. Hot water heater broke!
- 4 – Girl Scout cookies arrived! Sorted and dispersed cookies, then on to my troop’s meeting.
- 3 – A day to rest…organized closet and dresser so all clothes fit.
- 2 – Tested out Girl Scout Thinking Day craft with Reid.
- 1 – Shopped for breadmaker, boots for me, and jeans for Thomas – got none. Dinner and boardgames with Reid and her husband.
- 0 – Checked out the Brussels Antique Market and Midi Market. Edited London photos and worked on blog.
Thanks, Mama C, for the reminder to check in with my blog. This next week is actually pretty quiet, so there should be more regular posts. What have you all been up to?
Before I moved from the US, I collected a bunch of vintage sheets – yellows for a different quilt and blues and greens. Last year, I made half of the blocks for the Candy Bar Road quilt with the blue/greens, but got bored of my fabrics and set it aside. Yesterday, I pulled it out again, feeling inspired to *just* finish it, and saw that I had enough blocks done if I reduced it down to a baby quilt. It’s no longer the Candy Bar Road pattern, but it’s a lot closer to being off my Work in Progress list.
Now I need some help… It currently measures to 36 x 36 inches, but I would really love to add a border to get it up to atleast 40 by 40 inches. I have these 6 fabrics I haven’t used yet, or I could repeat one of the solids – blue, green, or purple – since it’s already pretty busy. I’m thinking of the bottom left fabric as the backing with the green or blue solid as the binding.
So what do you think? Which of the fabrics do you think would look best for the border, backing, and binding?
Belgian restaurants are quiet the experience – they’re quiet, intimate, and very classy. But Cook & Book in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert is a little different – it’s a bookstore with 9 restaurants in it…each with a different theme matching the books sold in that area.
Front of Cook & Book
The rooms are decorated to the nines – the travel room has an airstream camper you can eat in, the gardening room has a greenhouse inside and garden gnomes hidden all over the walls.
The Travel Room
There was also a 60s diner room where the cookbooks were sold. You could watch the chefs working here while you wait.
60s Diner Room
The British room, with a nice selection of English books and plush leather seats, would be a great one to sit and browse for a while. There were also rooms for comic books, children, art, and music.
The British Room
My favorite was the fiction room, where books were suspended from the ceiling. My friends and I had lunch here – soups, salads, sandwiches, and pasta.
The Fiction Room
If you’re in the area and looking for a unique dining experience, or a huge bookstore that is just fun to browse, check it out. I’ve posted more photos on PicasaWeb:
Friday night was a reading night. We turned off our computers and snuggled up on the couch with each other and our books. Thomas read Snow Crash and I read House Works, an organization book. I had great plans to tackle our overflowing closets this weekend…but I didn’t.
Dallas in the Snow
Instead, it snowed most of the weekend and I spent too much time in front of my computer. I did some photo-editing (seen throughout this post) and travel-planning, and have been getting ready for Girl Scout Cookie Sales. I don’t think I’ve mentioned on here that I’m volunteering with the American Girl Scouts Overseas.
Connor at the Playground
Yesterday, Thomas volunteered at his new hangout, the Brussels HackerSpace, and helped them install some new plumbing. I took advantage of that time and played with fabric. I don’t have anything to show yet, but I finally have an idea on how to use my leftover scraps from my online quilting bees this last year.
Fall-Colored Path
That’s about it. This week hasn’t started, but I’m already exhausted. What’s on your agenda?
I’ve posted the rest of these photos on PicasaWeb. The playground shots are from November, but I just found them on Thomas’ computer.
