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August 31, 2007
Friday Creature
Saw this mighty and imposing pidgeon at Blenheim Palace, the birth place of Winston Churchill. I'm glad i got my camera replaced quickly, I'm starting to run low on English creatures. I'm still totally bummed out I can't share the fugly-cute swan babies from Stratford, or the seagulls I caught feeding their young, but this morning I caught a very pretty butterfly on my front door frame. I think it may very well make an appearance next Friday.
It's this weekend I'm REALLY excited about, though. Going to see The Waybacks at Cooking on the Quarter, a neat outdoor event that's popped up on the South Side. Sunday I'm happy to be going rafting with some friends, I love out door activities and have the damndest time trying to find anyone to frolick outside with me. Past two hikes I've been on have resulted in chickening out. But you can't chicken out when you are strapped into a giant yellow raft! Best of all though, I'm about to pop with excitement for getting to see a musician I never thought I'd have the chance to-- Meat Loaf! He's preforming in Atlanta on Monday and my dad and I were lucky enough to get tickets.
Hope y'all have exciting weekends as well, I'll be sure to blog about mine....in the mean time, check out The Friday Ark!
Posted by Spike at 09:37 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 29, 2007
Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
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August 27, 2007
I don't know if I will get an English flower up today as I'd hoped. Today is one of those days where the to-do list is like a ton of bricks. Class > Dentist > Class > Work > Class > Visiting relatives....you get my drift. If I do get one up, it'll be later this evening. Apologies for the slackerdom. It's just how it roles during the school year. But hey, I'm enjoying my new job at least. Yay for not being totally 2-bucks-in-the-checking-account broke for the first time since I was 16 anymore. Or at least I won't be once the first paycheck comes in.
Happy Monday!
Posted by Spike at 04:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 24, 2007
Four Friday Swans
Once again, fell off the blogosphere. But now I am back in the US, have gotten through my first week of school, and have met my shiney new camera. Although a lack of pictures wasn't responsible for my disapearance, I feel somehow able to return to my backlog of Friday Creatures now that I'm armed to start catching new ones. So, to make up for my disapearing act, I present you with not one, not two, but FOUR Friday Swans. I only wish there were five so I could imagine with more accuracy Eddie Izzard belting out this post's title with the same gusto he spoofs the "five gold rings" line in "A Partridge In a Pear Tree" on his Dress To Kill show. Although there are technically five swans in the first picture, as dear boyfriend just pointed out. So I guess I can happily have my Izzard fantasy now.
Without further ado,
The other three after the jump, and check out the others on The Modulator's Ark. Have a good weekend, and I'll see you with a pretty flower on Monday!
Continue reading "Four Friday Swans"
Posted by Spike at 07:22 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 04, 2007
Return From Wales, and a Loss
I have returned from my grand adventure in Wales, but sadly I lost my beloved camera along the way. It had become legendary on this trip for its indestructability, and I suppose some lucky ebay purchaser or pawn shop peruser is currently enjoying my pictures of castles, and the last grains of sand that I couldn't get out of the battery case.
So although I don't currently have a single picture to share (and you have no idea the wonderful Friday Creatures I was so proud of collecting...baby swans, baby sea gulls, all in wonderful poses, even snails and slugs...) I DO have a list of "Things I Learned In Wales"
1. Reading Lloyd Alexander'sThe Prydain Chronicals throughout one's formative years does NOT prepare you to speak or read Welsh.
2. You know you are in a bad part of town when the ladies room does not have a tampon depository, but DOES have a box for used needles.
3. The scenery in Wales is so breathtakingly beautiful it WILL distract you to the point you leave your beloved camera on a train, but is also so breathtakingly beautiful as will destract you from the sorrow and self-loathing resulting from this loss.
4. There are many slugs in Wales.
5. The people in Wales are the nicest you'll ever meet. When we missed our bus, the cleaning lady at the hostel we stayed at could not be stopped from getting car and driving us into town.
6. In Wales, it does not rain. It's more along the lines of the wind just being really wet.
7. You will know when God does not want you to go on a hike in Wales. He will send you many obvious signs, such as incorrect bus scheduals, wet wind, and many locals hearing of your plans and responding "Ach, bad day for that!" And then, when you try anyways, he will make the trail so steep that your weak American thighs suggest you turn back, and go to another castle instead.
8. In Wales, the Irish landlord of the pub and hostel you are staying at will warmly embrace you when you explain that you are also of Irish heritage. He may not believe you at first, because you don't have an accent, but he will be very impressed when you offer your Irish last name and remind him there is a castle that still goes by it.
9. Always check to see WHERE your youth hostel is BEFORE booking, otherwise you may try walking the eight miles to your hostel and part way realize that you were headed to the OTHER Eagles in the OTHER village.
10. Feelings of concern that your highway adventure will end up like either Rocky Horror Picture Show (There's a light....) or American Werewolf In London (ah, the lonesome Welsh highway) are not necessarily alleviated by stopping by a bed and breakfast entirely decorated with teddy bears.
11. Always put extra pita bread in your backback. You will eat more than you thought.
Posted by Spike at 05:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 02, 2007
Friday Creature (A Day Early)
I know it's only Thursday, but I'm getting up at about 4:30 AM tomorrow to get to the first train of the day heading out to Wales. I'm not entirely sure where we are going-- two of my friends planned everything and I can't pronounce the names of the villages, but I know we are going to storm castles and attempt a five hour hike through some kind of pretty Welsh scenery.
Found this little guy wantonly harassing tourists with cuteness and a hope for ice cream cone crumbs at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. I've never seen a squirrel so bold. To emphasize this, I've thrown in bonus squirrel photoage, which, while not all that great, gives an idea of just how comfortable he was with the people wandering around. I might have seen someone pet the little guy, but I'm not sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me or not.
So with that, have a good weekend. Hopefully I won't be eaten by any descendents of the Ice Age cave bear whose paw bones I saw for sale in an antique store in Stratford today. Hopefully the descendents will be too busy modeling for Friday Ark photographers to notice a tastey lunch in the form of four cute students huffing and puffing on by.
Posted by Spike at 12:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 01, 2007
Wordless Wednesday
Posted by Spike at 01:23 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack