new things for a new year

We've spent the past 2 weeks driving up and down the country seeing family and friends over Christmas and New Year... It's been good, and now we're both somewhat spent and looking forward to playing hermit for the rest of the month. (Apart from the Vann family Christmas next weekend...it never stops!) Despite being extremely grateful to see our own bed again, being able to simply get in a car and drive a few hours to see loved ones is still immensely satisfying and still feels somewhat novel.

Here's a few fun things that our trip included, aside from good time catching up with folk:
1. We took a day trip to London, as a Christmas gift from my parents, and spent the day bumbling around art galleries, coffee shops and cobbled streets and soaking up the vibe (and the rain) of London. As part of the day out we made a point to find Seizure, an art installation in a dilapidated council flat in Elephant & Castle into which the artist poured 70,000 litres of copper sulphate solution, creating an incredibly beautiful crystallized cave. Very blue. Very amazing. Very London.

2. We drove to a small village in North Devon and watched my very dear friend Josie get married to her life's love. The day was sunny and crisp and blue, and the bride didn't stop smiling once :)

3. On our way back, we went for an extremely bracing but beautiful walk along the beach at Woolacoombe, where Andy spent his childhood holidays. We shimmied down sand dunes, took pictures of our shadows and wrote dreams for a new year in the sand.

Here's to a year of new adventures...

Thanksgiving II

Last weekend we threw our second Thanksgiving feast for our northern friends, bringing some stateside tradition that we got love over to the UK. Thanksgiving is one holiday that I feel like I can really go in for - its all about sharing good food with family and friends, which in my books sounds like a pretty great combination. It feels weird and really good to be able to officially call something "our annual...(event)"; there's something about establishing traditions that makes you feel connected and rooted to a place and its people, which is something that I am slowly beginning to feel here.

It felt like an appropriate and timely celebration as well - near the end of what has been an often tough and bumpy year, I do feel so incredibly thankful for our lives here and the people in them. It was awesome to share a feast with the people that have seen us through our first year of transition to Manchester and in a small way return the favour!

We chowed our way through an enormous turkey (that had a very happy life!), homemade stuffing, candied yams, bacon-beans, mash, creamed corn, apple cabbage...and after a break which included a quiz (do you know how fast a wild turkey can fly?), we went on to a dessert of mostly pies: pecan, apple, cherry and of course the star - pumpkin pie! (Thanks to Sarah who smuggled a can through from the US last summer!).

It was a great day, and are still working our way through the leftovers...We're looking forward to carrying on the tradition every year, connecting past traditions with friends we meet and walk with on our journey...

Happy Thanksgiving!

lull and laud

Both of us have been very much immersed in our work this past month; time feels like it is free-flowing and already Christmas seems but an arm's length away. I hate it when someone, as they did today, asks what we've been up to, and I end up scratching my head in wonder and with total lack of recall. Um...went to some lectures? Read books? Ate, slept?

That's okay I guess, some weeks are just like that. Andy's been buried in work and I've been buried in ploughing my way through the final year (eek!). There have been some fun different things to break up the routine, such as a Halloween reunion with some dear friends from university (above), where I went all-out as a lego person. I rocked second prize! I'm also still loving my weekly life drawing classes (above), relishing the total contrast to the rest of my social-work-theory- laden week.

Because I haven't been up to much excitement, I thought I'd take the opportunity to give a shout out about some people in my life who have been doing some more amazing things! Firstly, my friend Kenneth is officially my hero for running the New York marathon, in an incredible time. He trained for what seemed like forever, including during when we met up in Spain this summer, where he would get up early and run up the Sierra Nevadas in ungodly heat. Now that's dedication. Way to go, KP.

Secondly, my sweet friend Cory passed the bar and can now practice law in New York City! I met her at the beginning of her journey and let me tell you, the law degree is no picnic. I think she probably had some of her toughest times doing it it, but she did it and I'm totally proud of her and in awe. Finally, in the next 8 weeks, three separate friends: Bekah, Joanna and Josie will tie the knot and start the adventure of doing life with someone else - this too I believe deserves applause as one of the most crazy, brave, challenging and worthwhile things someone can choose to do in life.

Here's to knowing some incredible people...

cold tents, warm hearts

We just got back from the Greenbelt Festival and have the feeling of well-earned exhaustion. It was my first Greenbelt experience and I wasn't disappointed - much, much mellower than my last big festival experience at Glastonbury, Greenbelt had a huge variety of stuff going on that really catered for any age and any walk of life. I drank lots of tea in hippified tea tents, saw some great comedy, music, engaging speakers, and ran into a great deal of old friends.

Particular highlights were sneakily getting the best seats in the house (up on the sound desk with Andy's mate) for Ockham's Razor, an 'aerial theatre' group who put on a heart-stopping and beautiful performance (pictured above). Other memorable shows were Foy Vance, Susan Enan, (buy her new album, you won't be disappointed) and an incredible performance by Duke Special, complete with 7-piece band, costumes, lights, wine, the works. Stunning.

I also got to meet several of Andy's old friend who I'd not yet crossed paths with - it's cool to continue to piece together the past of the person who you're sharing your present and future with. During one of these encounters I was alerted to the fact that some people actually read this blog (!), which I have to say I was vaguely surprised about...as a response to a direct request I shall endeavour to be little better at updating it. You better be reading this, John! :) Incidentally, even though this page has really just turned into my sporadic injections of events and tidbits, if you want to get a feel for some of the stuff that Andy has going on, check out his microcosm at indielab .

buddies, baldies and bagpipes

The past week our very good buds Sarah and KP were in town visiting us from Missouri as part of their European summer tour. We had loads of fun showing them around a few particularly 'English' sights, including small Yorkshire villages, the cobbled streets of Oxford, curry on the Manchester curry mile, and of course lots of real ale in some fine pubs.

By far the highlight was an impromptu meeting with an eclectic acoustic music group as we were enjoying a pint in the Peveril of the Peak in Manchester. Halfway through our first pint in strolled a bald, totally tattooed, fishnet-clad northerner brandishing a set of tartan bagpipes and with an equally random mix of musicians in tow. You really can't make this stuff up. Needless to say we hung around for a few more beers to enjoy the Irish music and generally soak in the randomness of it all. What this man does as a day job is anyone's guess...

Adventures in Love

Yesterday Andy and I had the pleasure of attending our dear friends Sam and Lisa's wedding. The day was packed full of smiles, laughter, good music, good food, and really excellent company. I looked around and was acutely aware of what a phenomenal pool of people surrounded these two; its so true that like attracts like - they are two of the most solid, excellent people I know and it showed by how well loved and supported they were as they embarked on their new adventure together. When they kissed and were announced as man and wife in the church, it took several long minutes for the whooping, clapping and cheering to subside and I felt privileged to be cheering for now and into the future....

Social take 2

Last week saw another "Social" event, quarterly artistic/musical collaborations that seek to promote awareness of and raise money towards particular social causes. This time round the topic was corporate responsibility, focusing on large Western profit-making companies being held more accountable for fair trade and decent standards for the workers in their production countries. I contributed an installation that involved forged receipts and golden objects and highlighted the human stories behind common items we buy at the supermarket - tea, fruit, flowers, cheap clothes...The night was full of a variety of art and great music. Money raised went to the fantastic campaign work done by Speak. For more on them, go to www.speak.org.uk. I'm constantly inspired by the energy, enthusiasm and sheer talent of the people who pour themselves into these events...good people to know!(Photos c/o Hannah Raeside)

Blast from the Past

On Friday Andy and I drove to a pub in Alderley Edge and met up with the Trevelyans: Andy, Sophie, Sam and Susanna, who are the family that I lived with and worked for in my very first year of living in New York, all those years ago. Needless to say, Sam and Su have grown so much since they were the 3 and 5 year-olds that I began working with; they both definitely retain their character in the way I remember it though.

Andy and I knew each other from the climbing wall in Oxford when I was at uni and they offered me a job as a nanny to Sam and Su for a year, while he and Sophie worked on research in their respective areas of science at Columbia. What a year it was! They provided me with my 'in' to New York and gave me not only a roof over my head and a job, but the extreme privilege of looking after two of the most fun, clever and engaging kids I have ever met. Seriously, these kids are incredible and I had so much fun learning about children, New York, and about myself in that first year living with them.

I don't think I ever told them this, but being part of their family was the thing that secured for me the decision that I did in fact want to have a family of my own, one day. There's nothing quite like good role models and adorable, adventurous kids to convince you that raising a family is extremely hard work, but completely worth every sacrifice.

Yellow House Reunion

Last weekend The Yellow House girls reunited for the first time in years - it's times like this that make me so happy I'm living in the UK again. Each and every one of these ladies are absolutely beautiful inside and out. We all lived together for 2 years at university in, you guessed it, a yellow house of madness and mayhem. We have seen each other through so many changes and it was amazing to meet up and see how each of our lives have developed!

Left to right: Alex aka Algernon, Tara aka Tara-Wara, Vanessa aka VeeGee,Kate aka KatieB, and me aka Milky.

The countdown begins

Welcome to our blog! Having only just ventured into the blogging world, this is somewhat foreign to us but hopefully will serve the purpose that we want it to, which is to keep our friends and family updated as we leave New York, bounce around a few countries and start a new life in England.

The countdown has begun for both of us for leaving this magical city, and it's hard to fit into a few corny paragraphs my feelings about our time here and it coming to an end. For me, New York City has been the singular most pivotal chapter in my life and its not one I'm moving on from easily. I've gained a community of friends that have become closer than family, I've set upon a career path as a social worker (glutton for punishment, I know) and I'm taking with me my buddy for life, Andy. I have to say, up and leaving a country and starting a new life (again!) is infinitely less frightening with someone at your side :)

We've been trying to live it up as much as possible over the past few weeks, and have had great times seeing bands, shows, museums and eating and drinking in our fave spots with our fave people. Yesterday we spent the day with about 13 or so of our friends cooking, eating, playing Taboo and taking an unexpected tour of downtown Brooklyn and lower Manhattan in what has officially been dubbed the "Eastermobile". Good times.

In the meantime, I'm finishing up work this week and trying to pack up life and get it together for leaving for Peru! I'm realizing how much I'm gonna miss my clients at my job. Crazy, high-maintenance and crack-addicted though they may be, I've been very shaped by working with this population and I am supremely inspired and impressed by their perseverance and hope despite even the most incredible obstacles they face.

Okay, turns out I'm that annoying blogger who doesn't know when to shut up. Who knew ;) We'll both be posting on our travels but this is just sort of an intro. If you like, you can follow our thoughts and pictures here as we leave New York and head to Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile and perhaps elsewhere en route to England.

Enjoy the ride; I know we will :)