Little Things We Miss About London

It's been more than a year and a half since we left London. Not a day goes by I don't miss our time there and the city and the country and the life we built with friends in the neighborhood and church and school. Sometimes the homesickness is so strong I feel a physical ache in my heart. I would jump at the chance to return someday. However, I am trying to move forward and learn to enjoy now--only just!--I'm certainly taking my time at this! Davy reminded me the other day when I used the word 'rubbish' that we're not in London any more. (Imagine that in the tone a 10 year old is perfecting in preparation for the teen years.) True, we're not. But some parts will live on forever. Like the word 'rubbish'. I'll never let that one go. Ha!

Here are some other random bits we've reminisced about, thinking London does it better.

"I'll tell you for why"

The use of the word "whilst"

The yellow light as transition between both changes of traffic light

The words painted on the street reminding you which way to look for cars

Being asked, "Alright there, love?"

Could do

And here is a video I slopped together with some bits and bobs of clips I found while trying to organize our digital life. I don't promise this is the last--I think I've found another motherlode in the dark recesses of my backed-up files. In the meantime, I'll be watching this one repeatedly and weeping a little. ;)

Living the London Life (Spring '17)

I utterly forgot I had this languishing in drafts for months and months.  I'm sure I had all sorts of things to say then, too, but now, most of it is just for the memory book--images of everyday life in (sometimes) extraordinary places.

Spring in London is long and slow, with ups and downs.  Now I'm thinking about it, I'm sure these were more like late winter/early spring.  There were Saturday birthday parties the boys were invited to for friends at school (hence the Harry Potter fancy dress (costume)).  Sundays never got easy, but we got more used to the way they worked.  The girls explored every nook and crany we could, walking up the hill to Hampstead on fine (and not so fine) days.

My brother-in-law gave me a gift for Christmas to do a special thing in London I wouldn't normally be able to and so Eliza and I splurged on afternoon tea at Sketch.  Tre posh.  The bathrooms themselves were from another world.

Boys in their uniforms.

That hedge around our flat building had the prettiest blooms and when summer did arrive we learned that they were tiny little plums!  I guess it had been seriously trimmed right before we moved in, and three years later it was producing again.  Such fun!

Sweet school run moments.  (I miss that walk, even if I didn't always love it then.  Such is life.)

Half terms meant the boys were off on daily adventures with us.  We visited a lady in our ward (where she spoiled the children rotten!) and then found the coolest crescent street.  Around every other corner in London is a gem.

To get us through the winter I instituted a hot chocolate crawl (I think I did mention that previously) and it kept going for a while into spring (and summer) too.  Eliza got so sick of the drink itself, but she never did loose her excitement for a marshmallow or whipped cream.

Eddy decorated my birthday cake.

We explored the Founder's Museum, an old orphanage with tragically sad stories of families in the Victorian era.

Chocolate from the place Roald Dahl liked.  Apparently the Queen gets boxes sent over from Prestat as well.  I think there are much better chocolatiers, but who am I really to say.

Christmas gift from Grandma--the kids had to wait until March to see the Lion King and didn't really know what it was all about.  But boy did we convert them!  They LOVED the show!  We are too frugal to buy concessions at the show, so a stop off at the corner Tesco Express was in order.  Magnums any any any day!

Football allll the time and football computer games at the library with a gaggle of friends on rainy days.

My girl.  She never falls asleep on me anymore, so that really was the last time I held her sleeping.

Calling goodbye to the brothers and daddy through the post slot.

Tired of the pictures, mom. 

Kew Gardens magic.

Mews and croissants in Notting Hill.  I can't believe now that that was our reality.  It seems like a dream.

Okay, now here really comes spring.  Bright green and blossoms in St James Park.  The first day in months Eliza could strip off those tights she did!

An awesome art gallery installation in East London.  We got to it finally in its last week.  The artist had doorways in several mediums, the fabric and wire being the most photographed on Instagram (where I found all the coolest things to do ;) ).  The details were astounding to me.  Through the tunnel of doorways you traveled to several cultures and I loved seeing how similar and different the entryways of the world are.

I would sometimes go out of my way to walk by this street art, I just love it.