9/11

I don't think I could post a more fitting photograph for today even if I tried. As soon as I saw the word on HS:MS this morning I just knew I had to use a helicopter ride photograph and even though I have shown it before I just had to show this particular picture again today considering the date.

And just because I want to here are a few more shots I took while we were "OVER" New York a few weeks ago.

The following two pictures were taken from the top of the "Rock" in the early evening. In our opinion this was far better value for money than the "Empire State Building" as there was no queue to get up there, the glass elevator ride to the top was kinda cool, there was plenty of space at the top with not many people in it and there were no metal grills disturbing the fantastic views.

When we started to go up the Empire State it was light but by the time we got to the top it was dark which I was very pleased about given the views. The queues to get up there were really really bad and you have to change lifts on the way up so at this point we lost patience and went up the remaining floors on foot which was not as easy as we first thought! The top of the Empire is a very small place considering the amount of visitors it has and they pack you in like sardines so you are getting pushed and elbowed about a lot. If you only have the time to go up one of these fantastic buildings then I would say 100% it has to be the "Rock".

The crisis continues.

Not sure where or when this crisis (if that is what it is) is going to end. This week I have signed up to start an Internet course which will leave me as a qualified and registered bookkeeper. I have done bookkeeping extensively in the past but I really need a formal qualification which will allow me to go freelance (sitting still in an office doesn't float my boat). The long term plan being that I will be able to do this from home if I ever can't go out to work but in the mean time I will be able to bring in a little bit of extra money doing something that I find easy and enjoyable. What can I say I like money and I love everything having it's place and being neat in little columns. It's a pity I can't say the same about my house this week as it is a complete pig sty mainly due to the fact that I am having a HUGE clear out and move around. The playroom is now going to be the dining room and the workroom is going to be a family room so it's a bit like musical rooms at the moment. Then of course I will have to decorate and get new curtains and rugs and a sofa and cushions and ...........

Today's word over at HSMS is purple. I don't seem to be very motivated to get my camera out at the moment which could very well be due to the rain and crap lighting we have so I am afraid a shot I took a couple of months ago will just have to do today.

*Eleanor I will put the recipe up for the blackberry and apple cake in the next couple of days on my "Not a size Zero" blog. *

Bag Lady in a Crisis?

I've had a few days off from blogging as I have been too busy not being in work for the last 4 days. Saturday Pete wasn't too well so we just hung around waiting for the boys to get back from holiday and then I got some bits and pieces done around the place. On Sunday we went for a school shoe shopping / geocaching / sightseeing trip to Chester which turned out to be very successful. It even provided me with today's shot for HS:MS which is romantic. You have to promise not to laugh......

This is what Pete was looking at in the back of the tug boat that we hired so that the boys could drive us up the River Dee on a romantic cruise for our anniversary which was earlier in the week. The added bonus was the downpour and the shopping bag hat - you can see why Pete married me can't you ?!?!

We got off the boat and found a lovely little cafe bar along the water front where we scoffed down some scran before we headed for a spot of apple and blackberry picking. The proceeds of our foraging made this delicious cake this afternoon and believe it or not it is a Weight Watchers recipe which makes it taste even nicer and yes it is low fat custard too.

Tomorrow I am back in to work at 6.45am and then I am in at that time for the next 3 days which suits me just fine as it means that tomorrow afternoon I can go and share a coke (or 2) with Mima and Sue which will be lovely as we have not seen each other for ages.

And finally today I did something that I first wanted to do 20 years ago but just never got round to doing.......

Mid life crisis maybe???

Eeeee By 'Eck

I managed to take a picture on the day instead of using a photo I already have. Wonders will never cease!! I'm not holding my breath though as I will probably have "can't be arseditus" again by tomorrow.

Anyway on to the shot I actually took this morning.

We have a waiting game going on here at the moment as the powers that be have decided to mess with Pete's medication. It was supposed to happen yesterday but the nurse that he needed to see was off sick so we have to wait until we can get another appointment with her before it starts. Apparently he needs to come off the steroids, which keep him from getting Crones, and he is going to be taking immunosuppressents instead. It is going to take a long time to get him from one to the other and lots and lots of blood tests - no wonder the poor bloke is anaemic. Can't say I am looking forward to this as Pete tends to get what ever side effects are going with every drug he is given, his kidney failure is a side effect of a drug given to him 9 years ago for the Crones. The side effects for this drug? It is a good job I find bald men sexy is all I am going to say!

I eventually made a decision about next years holiday at about 11 last night so we are now going to the nice lady in the South of Croatia (Pete better get a hat). It's the first time I have been so organised about a holiday so far in advance but I really needed something to cheer me up and look forward to and this way I am going to work for a reason which makes it much easier!

It's funny really as we went skiiing near to Dubrovnik for our first Christmas together in 1990. We flew into Dubrovnik but had to fly back from Split as while we were there they stopped people going on holiday to Yugoslavia and declared Dubrovnik unsafe. This was the year that Pete gave me a bag of Cheese and Onion crisps as a present and made me eat them early on Christmas morning. Not easy to do when the crisps were stale and I had been drinking the night before (heavily as there was not much else to do due to the huge blackout). It took a while but I did eventually find the gold locket and necklace at the bottom of the crisp packet all covered in grease and crumbs!

Right it's time for me to get off my butt, tidy up the scrabble, get dressed and take myself off to work for the next 9 hours. Hi Ho Hi Ho

O Dear

Kyle playing in a large O in Lake Huron.


Just a very quick one for now - I will extend later. I am just on my way out to the travel agents to find out about flights to Dubrovnik and/or Montenegro.

Edited to add: I am confused - even more confused than I am normally. I went to the travel agents and got the relevant brochures for next year and then I spent a couple of hours trawling the Internet and have ended up getting nowhere. I have narrowed it down to 2 places one is a package deal in a large complex in the North of Croatia where there are lots of things like table tennis etc and we can get to Venice. The thing I don't understand is that it is significantly cheaper for us to get a 2 bedroom apt over a one bedroom apartment and its even cheaper still (by£400) if we get 2 separate 1 bedroom apartments which has completely thrown and annoyed me. I phoned up the tour company and the only explanation that they could give me was "Well you have 2 children with you" so it seems that "Thomson" now penalise you for taking your children on holiday even though they say that children under 16 will get a discount!!

The other one is a private cottage with a sea view and a pool in the South of Croatia run by a lovely lady who would pick us up from the airport free of charge, hire us a car when ever we wanted it and generally be very nice and helpful (I've been emailing her today). This one is also a LOT cheaper than the other one (even with the flights added) and has things like a washing machine, BBQ, garden etc etc that the other one doesn't have. The downside is that if I go with this one I am back to organising holidays by myself from scratch over the Internet and trying to match up flight dates with accommodation dates etc etc and I really wanted to have a year off from that. ARrrrrggghhhhhh !

Blue

and I don't feel much like blogging at the moment. In fact I don't feel like doing much. It was Pete's 40th last Thursday and it is our wedding anniversary tomorrow. The boys have gone away with my Mum for the next 6 days so hopefully my mood will start to lift soon. Maybe if we had a bit of sunshine that might help !?!?

V is for Butterfly

I obviously didn't take this picture today what with it being dank, grey, wet, nasty and totally pants outside. It was in fact taken at Science North up in Sudbury, Canada in a nice little butterfly house.

I'm off to get something done now before I sit down with Matthew to do his Art Project ready for him to take in for the start of his GCSE's in a couple of weeks. It's amazing how this project means I have to go shopping today for chalks (mine aren't the right type), card (I don't have the right colour) and netting and that is just to start with.

Still suffering..

.. from Jet Lag and post holiday blues. I was back at work this morning at 7am which was not easy but I am off now until Wednesday afternoon so it's not too bad. I have been given my hours for the next two weeks and I am not a happy bunny as I have been given 12 hours more than I actually want next week which resulted in me asking how much notice I need to give by 8am this morning. I think it may be time to start job hunting again if things don't improve soon. Not a prospect I relish as I do love my job it's only the amount of hours that I have a problem with as I only want a 20-25 hour week.

I still haven't got round to sorting out all my holiday snaps but it is on my list of things to do today if I get the time. I have managed to find this one though that can be used for today's prompt of HS:MS which is the letter "S".

This was a sign at Killbear provincial park in Canada. They have rare and venomous Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake and Eastern Fox Snakes there that get themselves run over, hence the signs. We didn't see a Rattler but a Fox snake did slither right in front of us and scared the life out of us as even though they don't have a rattle they do vibrate their tails in the dry leaves and it sounds like a rattle.

Hi Honey...

...we're home! After a long journey we eventually touched down at Manchester Airport at 6am this morning. Can't say I enjoyed landing much as at the time I was holding 2 full sick bags and trying to open another one ready for Kyle to use. That child finds the most awkward times to get a migraine. I am mostly unpacked and put away with just a last few items hanging out on the line drying I really can't believe how lucky I have been with the great washing weather we have had here today. Please forgive me for such a short post and a total lack of photographs but I have now been up (and awake) for about 30 hours so have no inclination to started editing the hundreds and hundreds of pictures waiting for my attention. Off now to fold and put away some more clothes and clean the kitchen then I may just sit down in front of the TV with a glass of wine and some chocolate I wonder how long I will stay awake for after my first sip of winzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

What would win...

.. in a fight a sperm whale or a giant squid? This is the subject that Pete and the boys were discussing for over 30 minutes while we walked along side Niagara Falls yesterday and I mean a serious conversation. Me? I was happy with my camera.

The ride on the Maid of the Mist was "Awesome" creating yet another unforgettable experience for us.

I even managed to capture a very rare moment of tenderness between my boys.

For food? We ate at the Flying Saucer Restaurant where we got to eat Poutine a Canadian delicacy of chips, gravy and cheese - yummy!

The evening was spent walking down the strip and seeing the falls all lit up I do have photos of it all but I have to get dressed now and re-pack (I am looking forward to not living out of a suitcase on Friday) ready to check out and drive round to the speed boat which we are booked on for 10am. The sun is up and it's nice and warm already so even though we will get soaked through we won't be cold. I will be hunting for a triangle for HS:MS on my travels today.

On the move....

AGAIN! We got back from the cottage yesterday after a wonderful week up there. We got to go up to Sudbury to the FANTASTIC science place on Saturday which meant that there was next to nothing between us and the North Pole except maybe a few polar bears. I have loads of photos to share but I have not had time to put them on the computer, so sorry Suzy you will have to wait. I have managed to do 2 though just to keep her happy.

This first one is the view we woke up to all last week - yes we could see this from our bedroom window! The land in the distance is Killbear Provincial Park.

As there are lots of leaves on the this picture I am using it as my HS:MS shot for today. I have played along over the last 2 weeks but have not been able to upload them - I will so a huge catch up when we get home at the weekend.

Happy Hour on the lake. It's a strong cosmopolitan in the glass and the reason for the face is that I am not as comfortable as the boys swimming with turtles especially when some of them are rather large (huge) snapping ones! I did relax eventually though.

In a couple of minutes we are jumping into the car - again and heading round to Niagara Falls which is about a 2 hour drive from my Aunts house. We will be riding the maid herself this afternoon before staying in a rather swanky hotel tonight and then tomorrow we will be partaking in a little bit of speed boating and white water rafting - should be fun.

In the Canadian Wilderness..

..sort of. We are currently living in a little cottage on the lake front somewhere on Georgian Bay which is part of Lake Huron, one of the great lakes. We don't have internet access here but I have just switched my computer to put some photos on it from the camera and I have managed to get on to a very very low signal coming from somewhere so I am taking advantage of it. The link keeps coming and going but if I can get it for long enough I will upload some photos later.

Last Sunday we drove from Ottawa through Algonquin National Park, with a few stops along the way, across to Parry Sound and then up to the cottage it took us all day but it was fun. All except the bit when I fell over and scraped all the skin off my knee at Peck Lake in the park resulting in me having legs that look like they belong to a five year old.

We still haven't seen any bears or moose but there have been sightings of them about 15 minutes walk away from where we are staying so we are hopeful. The boys are loving swimming about in the lake with rubber rings, floating seats, lilos and painted turtles and are only out of the water for about an hour each day. Chipmunks are everywhere, snakes, red squirrels, black tailed foxes, chipmunks, groundhogs, deer, snapping turtles, vultures, ospreys, humming birds, loons are just a few of the things that have been sighted. I'm just not quick enough to photograph them all especially when we are in a boat speeding along between the thousands of islands in the area.

We have been geocaching which ended up with Pete and Kyle doing a little bit of cliff jumping while we were there. Today we plan to drive about 3 miles up the road to Killbear National Park to walk some of the trails there and find another 3 caches and hopefully avoid the rattlesnakes. We have been told that there is a good beach there too so I am sure that Kyle will be testing that out as long as we don't get a thunder storm.

On the Road.....

Again! It seems like ages ago that we left home but it has only been 8 days, I think this could be because we have packed an amazing amount into such a short space of time. Today we have driven East to Ottawa stopping at "Bleasedell Boulder" along the way which Kyle just had to climb with a little bit of help....

After a nice relaxing drive to Kingston to see "Fort Henry" we turned North up to "Smiths Falls" where we visited "Timmy Horton's" for coffee, doughnuts and cookies before continuing on up to Ottawa. After parking the car we booked into the rather splendid hotel that we are staying in and got ready to explore the city. This place has the most amazing buildings on Parliament Hill which are beautiful, unfortunately the light wasn't playing so I couldn't get any really good shots tonight.

When we reached the top of the hill (and caught our breath back) we saw a couple of these little guys scrabbling about in the dirt which made my day.


We walked a little bit further and found the coolest fire fountain....

Dinner tonight was a great experience at a place called "Richtree Market Restaurant" where you are handed a card each on your arrival. You then walk round the restaurant finding the food that you fancy, you hand the card to the chef and they swipe it adding your choice to the final bill. It was that good that we are eating there again tomorrow night.

We have timed our visit really well as tomorrow the International Buskerfest is in full swing, the 1st Rideau Canal Festival gets underway AND the International Firework Competition starts at 9.30 just over the water and on top of that the hotel has a swimming pool so I don't think we will be stuck for anything to do.

The only thing I have left to say is a huge "GOOD LUCK" to my cousin Claire who is playing in beach volley ball competition this weekend in Toronto. We will be thinking about you.

Back in Claremont

The flight from Newark in New Jersey went well with no complications and after picking up a new hire car, which is not as glamorous as the first one, we got back to Claremont mid afternoon. We were all that knackered that we just relaxed and took it easy for the rest of the day.

Yesterday was a bit more eventful and active. On the way to Stouffville we dropped off 11 Travel Bugs and Geocoins off at a geocache, including Matthews coin which is in a race with Kyles to see which one can get back to Cheshire England first. Once in Stouffville we visited "Timber Creek" where we played crazy golf and went into the batting cages.

"SPS"
Someone Elses Portrait

After a walk round a giant "Wal-mart" we went to catch dinner at Burds Family Fishery. Between them the boys managed to catch four HUGE rainbow trout one of which Nick BBQ'd for us to eat - delicious. The others have been frozen ready to take to the cottage next week to be smoked for dinner one night.

To finish off a great day we went to watch "Batman The Dark Knight" at the local cinema which we all really enjoyed.

Tuesday 29th July

Our last full day in New York and time to finish off the to see list. Having now got the hang of the subway we hopped onto one to take us to the South of the Island which didn't turn out to be as simple as we had hoped but we did get there in the end. With a very small amount of queueing we got on the boat to Liberty Island to go and get a close up of the statue which we managed to do despite the intense heat even at 10.30am in the morning.

After a boat ride back to Manhattan we caught another subway which took us to Coney Island which is awful, it is the only time while we were in New York that I felt even slightly unsafe so we didn't stay long - just long enough to visit the Aquarium and for the boys to go on the roller coaster.

We returned to Manhattan and dropped the big camera off at the hotel, got some dinner and then headed off to go on "The Beast" which was fantastic. On your last night in New York what better thing could you do than go on a speed boat ride out to Liberty with pumping music and the sun almost setting - "Awesome"!!

After a bit of shopping we had time for a couple more shots before we went to bed.

Starbucks at 12:15am

See how close our hotel was to "Times Square".

Monday

Yesterday morning saw us rushing down to the Downtown heliport in a taxi to catch our 10am flight. I can not put into words what an amazing experience it was even with the mist that covered everything. It was the best 20 minutes ever and worth every single penny that it cost us.

The plan was to then go to the Statue of Liberty but things didn’t quite go to plan as the queue was enormous so we decided to get the first boat out there this morning before we head off to Coney Island. After a drink, and a quick photo shoot we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge which was unbelievably hot.

After a quick walk uptown along Canal Street then through Chinatown and Little Italy we hopped into a cab and back to the hotel to drop off some stuff and have a quick 30 minute sit down before we headed out to the coolest sweet shop ever – Dylan’s Candy Bar where the tables were made of gum balls (gob stoppers to you and me) ……

The next stop was the “MOMA” for a very quick 45 minute visit as it was just about to shut. It was long enough for us to see everything we really wanted to see but I could have spent a lot longer in the “Dali” exhibition as it was spectacular. I never realised his paintings were so small and detailed I just presumed they were larger than they are, unfortunately it was the only area that we couldn’t take photographs. This one was everyone elses favourite....

Cheesecake from Junior’s at Grand Central Station then beckoned and boy was it good. We had 2 slices between the four of us and we only finished half of each they were that big but it must be the best Cheesecake ever.

The final stop of the day was at The Empire State building and after nearly a 2 hour queue we got to the very, very busy 86th floor. To say we weren’t impressed was an understatement the view was stunning as it was dark but the amount of people up there was horrible.

Picture to be added

The Rock was so much better as there were no queues, there was hardly anyone at the top and as a bonus you got to see all of Central Park and the Empire State building.

I will finish adding pictures later as we have to leave now to go to Liberty and Coney Island.

Sunday

Our first full day in New York left us totally exhausted. After watching some of the many, many runners go past the hotel.......

we headed off into Central Park with plenty of water to keep us hydrated in the heat. We decided against the bikes because of the marathon so ended up walking for about 2 hours. A trip into the zoo was then in order which was a bit bizarre in a thunder storm surrounded by skyscrapers.

We went back to the hotel to drop off the big camera as it was getting heavy and to jump on the subway to Grand Central Station where I had planned to have a large piece of cheesecake. I say planned as I couldn't actually face it after my Beef Brisket sandwich which I swear had half a cow on it, it was that big.

A long walk down the full length of 42nd street towards the terminal for the boat ride followed with a stop to buy some shoes and some ice cream to die for from The Cold Stone Creamery. After you order your ice cream of choice they get the ice cream slap it on a stone surface add the bits and pieces (in my cake cookie dough, chocolate sauce, fudge sauce and choc chips) and then they mix it altogether and put it in the container of your choice - DIVINE! We came out and walked down to the port but by the time we got there the storm had set in and we decided a speed boat may not be the best idea so a taxi was hailed to take us back to Macy's where I only managed to buy a bag. Another storm headed in so we went to Planet Hollywood where we had a very disappointing meal but with the discount we got on the New York Pass it only cost us £15 for the three of us which included 6 large drinks and a £5 tip that was added on to the bill. The card then got used again in Madam Tussuad's which entertained us for an hour before we went to the cinema in Times Square to watch Hellboy 2.

Not sure what my face is all about, he was pinching my bum at the time so it could have been that!! It was lighter when we came out of the cinema than when we went in as all the lights had come on which was rather weird. I have been looking out for the Naked Cowboy ever since we got here but it has been on the news that he has been arrested for some reason so I don't think he is about at the moment. However, as we walked back to the hotel Pete thought his luck was in when he spotted the naked cowgirl in a little black bikini complete with boots and cowboy hat so he headed off in her general direction you should have seen his face when he realised that she was over 60 years old. We didn't get many pictures today as Pete was in charge of the camera for a while and then we dropped it off and only had the small camera and the pictures didn't turn out that well.

Show Off Sunday

How totally A MAZE ING is this city - it's even better than I remember. Kyle is not impressed though as he says it smells bad and I must admit there are some rather interesting smells. It hasn't all gone well so far it started with us getting thrown off the plane in Toronto just as we were about to take off as the tail fin needed replacing, in hind sight I think it best that we had to get off. An hour later when we were all sat in a replacement plane the airport went on to red alert because of a storm and everything was grounded for another hour. When we got on our way the flight was a bit bumpy but generally a good and very quick flight. I had managed to get the window seat by default (Kyle broke the screen on this seat so HAD to swap with me earlier in the flight) and because we were landing at Laguardia the plane did a full circle of Manhattan and I got to see it all through the window. I don't think I have ever been so excited in my life - the helicopter ride tomorrow morning might just top it though!!

Pete now understands why I said we wouldn't be getting many taxi's while we were here as we had the scariest car journey ever from the airport to the hotel mainly on the wrong side of the road at high speed, the less said about that the better. From our room on the sixth floor we can see Central Park in one direction and Times Square in the other so it's kinda cool especially if you are fourteen.

The hotel is good with revolving doors in the lobby to entertain the kids - which they sadly do. The one bag we bought with us got thrown into the room and we headed out into the heat to our first stop which was here ....

THE ROCK

from the top we saw this one way.....

and this the other way.....

We spent about an hour up there before coming back down and heading off here.....

to look like English tourists.....

Why am I blogging while I am in New York I hear you asking?? Well here it is only 6.30am (when I started anyway) and we have chaos outside the hotel window as the half marathon is just about to start and come passed our window soon so the street is closed off and full of NYPD. The reason I'm awake at such a silly time? A huge thunderstorm about an hour ago.

Today's plan is to do Central Park, Central Park Zoo, THE BEAST speed boat ride, Shopping at Macy's, Grand Central Station (for cheesecake) and then the Empire State Building late tonight (about 10pm) and if we have the time a quick visit to the MOMA for Matt and I. I think we may sleep well tonight after I have blogged of course!

**MIMA** I wish I could come over and give you a biiiggg hug but I am thinking of you and sending you lots of cyber hugs and kisses.