(no subject)
Hello lovely people,
My mother arrived in London about a week ago.
(Which meant I spent the week prior, coming home from work and cleanin' and polishin' and sortin' like a mad, mad thing, until midnight. Lordy. I was exhausted before my mother even alighted in Heathrow.)
This may well be my mother's last visit to Europe, so I've taken time off work for the duration of her stay, and have been at her beck and call all day, every day. I've not been to yoga or the gym once, and I check my upper arms in a paranoid fashion every morning to make sure that my (formerly) trim triceps are not degenerating into teh dreaded chicken wings. But it has been lovely to see London afresh, so to speak. One forgets there are so many lovely places to visit, all of them within handy distance. We've been to Sir John Soanes' House (one of the most eccentric and enjoyable little museums ever), Tate Britain (for the Millais exhibition), the V&A (goodness, their new cafe is simply beautiful), St. Brides (my favourite church) for a classical guitar concert, Inner Temple Church (and the Inns of Court), Wigmore Hall (for a violin/viola/cello sextet), the Chelsea Physic Garden, and have had lunch and tea at some wonderful places, old and new. For dinner, my mother has been cooking traditional Japanese dishes every evening. Bliss.
Oh yes, the point of this post.
I still have not had the time to read every HD fest fic posted during the holiday season, but was absolutely blown away by some of the stories that I did manage to read. The HD Holidays fest was fantastically high in quality. Many of the authors were kind enough to reply to my (lengthy and rambling :)) feedback, and I long to go forth and make new friends, but at the moment, am on the net for just a few minutes every morning to check urgent personal/work emails.
On Monday, we are flying to Firenze. The hotel I booked looks super-beautiful, and I am crossing my fingers that the website photos did not lie :)
Next week, we plan to go to Bruges. Normal life will resume in early Feb.
I hope to catch up on reading then (painless_j has sent me an email about another upcoming fest with a fantastic list of authors!), talking to old friends, and hopefully making some new ones.
x
My mother arrived in London about a week ago.
(Which meant I spent the week prior, coming home from work and cleanin' and polishin' and sortin' like a mad, mad thing, until midnight. Lordy. I was exhausted before my mother even alighted in Heathrow.)
This may well be my mother's last visit to Europe, so I've taken time off work for the duration of her stay, and have been at her beck and call all day, every day. I've not been to yoga or the gym once, and I check my upper arms in a paranoid fashion every morning to make sure that my (formerly) trim triceps are not degenerating into teh dreaded chicken wings. But it has been lovely to see London afresh, so to speak. One forgets there are so many lovely places to visit, all of them within handy distance. We've been to Sir John Soanes' House (one of the most eccentric and enjoyable little museums ever), Tate Britain (for the Millais exhibition), the V&A (goodness, their new cafe is simply beautiful), St. Brides (my favourite church) for a classical guitar concert, Inner Temple Church (and the Inns of Court), Wigmore Hall (for a violin/viola/cello sextet), the Chelsea Physic Garden, and have had lunch and tea at some wonderful places, old and new. For dinner, my mother has been cooking traditional Japanese dishes every evening. Bliss.
Oh yes, the point of this post.
I still have not had the time to read every HD fest fic posted during the holiday season, but was absolutely blown away by some of the stories that I did manage to read. The HD Holidays fest was fantastically high in quality. Many of the authors were kind enough to reply to my (lengthy and rambling :)) feedback, and I long to go forth and make new friends, but at the moment, am on the net for just a few minutes every morning to check urgent personal/work emails.
On Monday, we are flying to Firenze. The hotel I booked looks super-beautiful, and I am crossing my fingers that the website photos did not lie :)
Next week, we plan to go to Bruges. Normal life will resume in early Feb.
I hope to catch up on reading then (painless_j has sent me an email about another upcoming fest with a fantastic list of authors!), talking to old friends, and hopefully making some new ones.
x