Florida

Did I mention I was in Tampa for a couple of days? It was really hot there.  The work part went well and then I had lunch with an Auntie who lives in the area before my flight home yesterday.


I had a nice view from my room.

When I had a break from work I sat here and knit.

I finished a scarf made from a lovely alpaca yarn right before I left.

It's soft and will be very warm.

And I knit most of a sock whilst in Tampa.

Flight delays are no big deal for a knitter :)

Until Next Year

The gifts have been distributed and opened.

The cookies are delivered.

The knitting is done.

The socks are likely already on feet.

It's fun having little kids around for Christmas.

If a bit tiring.

I have a new owl hot pad.

A jar full of chocolate.

And a new book to look forward to.

And I finished a scarf for myself.

Hope everyone had a fun Christmas!

Little Decorators

Today the pseudo-grandkids came over with Girl-child to finish decorating the tree.

I saved some non-breakable ornaments in a box so that they could have a go.

Of course, the job was done quickly and then they were on to different things.

Ya gotta love the technique small children have at tree decorating time :-D

Last Stop: The Library

I don't believe I'd ever been to the British Library before (not sure how that happened), so that was my last stop, after the Victoria and Albert.

There was an Alice In Wonderland Exhibit.

That was about all that could be photographed though.

I remember this image from when I was a freshman in college ... a friend thought I looked like Alice and she sent me a card with this on it during finals.

I also enjoyed looking at everything from the Magna Carta to the Beatles' notes.

There was a great bench in the entrance.

After that I went back to the hotel to rest up.  I was too tired, my feet hurt too much and it was too expensive to go to a show. 

I did think this was an odd combo at Heathrow airport.  I guess you can drop off the kids and go have a smoke.

The trip was a lot of fun; it was just what I needed.

Now I guess I'm ready for Christmas.

Whirlwind London: Day the Second

First thing on day two I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum.  Unfortunately, the special exhibitions don't allow photography, but since I got there before they opened I ended up taking a few pics in the South Kensington neighborhood.

This is, I believe, the Natural History Museum:

Random art-deco style building:

Sticker on a post.  No idea what it means.

Empty church (Catholic).

Italian sports cars.  In London traffic.  What a waste.

People don't need phone booths any longer, but WiFi, yes.

I do love old and new together.

When Soak Becomes Spill in front of the V&A

This is one of the exhibits I saw at the V&A.  It was wonderful.

I also saw an exhibit on Indian textiles and jewels from India.  After four hours I had to get something to eat, so I skipped the permanent collection.

iKnit London

No matter where a knitter is in the world, s/he can find her people somewhere.

I went to iKnit London for knit night.

It's a tiny shop, full of colorful shelves and colorful personalities.

There is beer and wine available.

I helped someone learn how to kitchner a toe closed on a sock.

They thought some of my ways quirky (picking, using two circs to make a sock).

I was mistaken for another American who was there a couple of weeks ago.  Apparently we all sound alike.

And I was told to say hi to Franklin Habit because he came up in conversation and I mentioned I'd met him.   Apparently we all are neighbors too :D

It was tons of fun.  I stayed longer than I'd planned.

And I picked up some locally sourced/dyed yarn.

The South Bank

I first discovered the South Bank in London when I went on a similar trip with Girl-child. We walked from the Globe Theatre to The Eye that day, and enjoyed the graffiti, the performance art and the beautiful views of the city.

This time I walked from the Tate Modern to iKnit London.

This guy was really good.

These were fun - lined up along a wall that would otherwise be gray and dreary.

I thought we had a lot of bridges, but they have lots and lots of bridges.

This ship is from WWI - an art installation piece with history.

I stopped at The Slug and Lettuce for a bite to eat.

This guy's shirt reminded me of what I saw the first time I was in London (1974).