Richmond with Veg

Richmond with Sarah
Originally uploaded by wonderwomanyank.

back in late October, flatmate and cycled out to Richmond and went for a row on the Thames. one of the last warm weekends of 2006. the jamaican's rental punts, where richmond city centre meets the river on the steps with the pubs, down past the twickenham yacht club and the little sailing racers doing fast loops on the river. gypsy boats and geese, wind and sun, green hills and their grand houses sloping down to the water.

i miss my bike, and the ability to get out of central london.

birthdays

thanks to all those who took the time to get in touch with warm wishes. 75 more years to go before i'm 100. looking forward to most of it.

it was a fairly uneventful day, with a dentist appt, antique shopping with my mom, hair appt, a long run among boring dallas suburbs, dinner with an old friend, and then chatting over champagne with brigid and co.

excited about all the things i've lined up to do/accomplish this year.

ahh, home...

overcrowded Saturday trains, luggage and stairs at the rail stations, walking through sunny crisp streets. quiet house.

working on a university essay - relationship between good urban design and citizenship, civility, and sustainable communities. one of my favorite topics. and most of my favorite urban authors., sennett, sasskin, putnam, duany, (my undergrad thesis), carmona, davis, whyte, jacobs. i'm struggling to get back into focus mode after the week of vacation, but i'm enjoying it. plus i've got pepys biography to finish when i'm procrastinating.

and enjoying my room. the ladybugs launched a guerrilla attack while i was gone, and the sun shines through my sheer curtains, filling the room in a warm orange glow.

in the news

(the local paper, not bbc)
dynacorp's (based in irving) security issues. they maintain air force one.
my aunt's endless running commentary on 'inconvient truth' and corrup politicians
her husband works for the part of halliburton being spun off, too politically sensitive.
a two year old was stabbed to death in a house full of kids, no adults nearby, nobody's talking.
and another 14 year old shot his sister in the face, thinking it was a toy gun.

christmas, dallas

reconnecting over the bar at dallasite high society parties
cycling round white rock in the wind, on my mothers bike
gifts mostly running/cycling related, they're good on the trousers and pants
but from waist up i look like a secretary from essex, jd sport style
this makes me laugh as i feed the neighbours cat and fill up the cooler with ham
for the big polish family dinner up north on the river.

at my desk in london.

IMG_1620
Originally uploaded by nomadic revolution.

smile.

i take back what i said about warm winters

it's cold enough now that the moisture precipitates out of the air, that the dawns and nights find the streets wrapped in fog. not yet 'sweat- ice-forming on the outside of sports clothes cold', but 'steam-everywhere' cold, with cars, people, manholes, building exhaust vents all trickling little while clouds that hang in the air.

its a warm christmas in london

and i'm half living off stollen and mince pies.
still cycling on the old red bike.
markus is in town for a few days,
i've just had the most relaxing weekend in months
(dexter, eggnog, lots of sleep, no hangovers, amazing runs, good music)
(and avoided school or job work)

life's intense.

IMG_2017
Originally uploaded by wonderwomanyank.

will find time to blog ect later.