Wednesday, February 2, 2011

2/2/11: Home is wherever there is you

     It has been a long time since I sat down to blog.  Longer than I realized and all that time seems to have just slipped by.  Sean and I spent a few weeks back in the States traveling from one family to the next visiting everyone for Christmas and New Years.  London to Boston to Conneteticut to Boston to New York to Ohio to Boston, spending precious time with family and dear friends.  Planes, trains and well more planes.  Shortly after New Year's Eve Sean and I had to part ways.  He had to head back to the UK to jump right back into work and I stayed behind with my family in New York to wait for my visa to come through.  Eventually it did come in the mail and Sean came back to Boston to straighten out some passport issues he was having.  By the end of January we were back on the plane together to London.
     The flight was EMPTY.  I'm talking 35 passengers max.  Everyone had a row to themselves to stretch out, sleep and watch airplane movies.  Most importantly though, no one was coughing or sneezing on me.  We landed later at night and driving up to our apartment felt nice and familiar.  Nothing was open that late so we had to spring for a cheesey greasey pizza.  Inside the flat I found a nice lovely surprise waiting for me.  Sean had gone out and bought me a little easel and a few new canvases then set them up in the corner of the kitchen.  I have now taken over that space and call it my "studio".

I love our red bowl or oranges.  Perhaps those should become
a still life study.
   Well, we've been back for about a week now.  We are filling our days with laundry and unpacking, exercising and cooking tasty meals together.  We went on a splendid double dinner date with our neighbors and even went climbing in a castle.  Sean also discovered a fully stocked art store in our town which had everything and anything.  The ex-art-store employee in me was dying to organize their shelves and floors but I held back.  I found an ad at the counter for a life drawing class (wine and snacks included) on Tuesday nights.  I must check it out.

Hopefully 2011 will be filled with a little more art.

     Sean gave me some wonderful gifts for Christmas including a pass for yoga and photography classes!  The photo sessions start next Thursday and we just made our debut back to the hot steamy yoga room and struggled through those heart pounding 90 minutes.  My sleep schedule is completely messed up.  I want to take naps at 7pm but then I can't fall asleep till 2 or 3 am.  I guess it doesn't matter that much that my schedule is so off but it is pretty embarrassing when the mailman wakes up you at noon to deliver a package and you come to the door with sleepy hair and red pajamas.  With all the exercise we've been doing I thought for sure I'd get on a good schedule but no such luck.  Oh and the terrible bed we have does not make for a peaceful night's rest.  (We get our new mattress tomorrow!!!!!!) Needless to say I drift in and out of being really perky then really sleepy.  Bleh!
     The weather here has been mild with the sun shining every now and then.  It seems like we left the States at the right time.  We would have been stranded by 40 feet of snow no matter where we were.  Sean just popped in to tell me he wants to go out for a run tomorrow because it's supposed to be in the mid 40's.  Not too shabby eh?   Tuesday we went out for lunch and during our walk I noticed several trees blossoming and new bulbs poking up.  People still have pansies and primroses out in their planters and I am anxious to see what spring looks like here.  This morning (we set the alarm for 8am) I heard birds singing outside somewhere.
    My parents will be coming to visit towards the end of February and we are busy putting a schedule together.  How much can we pack into a few short days? It will be a marathon. I wonder how this jet lag will work for my folks? Sean and I are both excited to finally get out and do some touristy stuff and see the sites of this great city.  Money, tickets, passport! Money, tickets, passport!
    We are getting back into the swing of things and so far 2011 isn't too shabby.  Waiting for that visa was tough though. I honestly can't remember the last time Sean and I spent so much time apart.  It was tough.  Really tough. I think tougher for Sean though.  You see, I had plenty of distractions which came in the forms of energetic nephews, trips to the pool with my father, struggling through new knitting patterns with my mother and treacherous drives into the heart of Ohio to visit my sis.  Sean had a quiet flat and a city that was still all too new.  Being home with my family for those few weeks was wonderful but I started feeling homesick.  Homesick for London, for the home we had just started to settle into before we left for the holidays and more importantly homesick for my sweetheart.  During the past six or seven years I have moved so many times, to new cities, to new apartments every year and now to a new continent.  It always fumbled me up where I should call home.  Boston? Dunkirk? London?  One day I heard this song on the radio and it had summed it up for me.  I even remember where I was and where Sean was.  I was home in West Roxbury and Sean was away on business.  Funny thing though, when he got home from his trip he said "Hey I heard this new song...." "No way! Sean, I heard this new song".  Now it's not so new and its awesomeness is blowing up but to me it will always be our song and it will always make me tear up when I hear it.
This one's for you Sean <3  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb9jY8yAxgs&feature=related
(oh and these guys will be in London....hopefully we can catch their show)

1 comment:

  1. Miss you two. Hope to visit soon !Enjoyed Edward Sharpe's song...so fitting for you two..great attitude to have.

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