Mine

Today has just been one of those days.
I look at him and see my entire world,
and I cannot quite contain the happiness.

Mine, all mine :)


I wish the weekend wouldn't end.

Hippo the Horse

We are back from Berkshire after a day of horseriding for me. This was David's Red Letter Day experience gift to me for Valentine's Day. We'd booked it pretty soon after 14th Feb, but I didn't want to risk booking before the Spring because I didn't particularly want rain. It couldn't have worked out better. The weather was glorious - and hot!

I was assigned a horse called Hippo. Could you imagine a better name for a horse?! ☺ Unfortunately, he was the lazy horse and sometimes refused to walk even when my 'assistant' pulled him along. But other than that, he was a sweet-natured thing and I took to him pretty well.

I've been horseriding three times before today, spanning about 15 years (!!), but I couldn't ever say I learnt anything much. Today we trotted ☺ Sure, those of you who ride are laughing, but for me that's something :) And I was even prouder because lazy Hippo responded too!

After the lesson, we spent an hour walking (well the horses did the walking) in the fields and woods near Cullinghood Stables.

Lunch followed (served on the premises) - tomato soup, lasagne, chocolate cake (and a little snooze in the car) - and then another hour in the woods. It was lovely and of course my nether regions are rather sore at the moment. But I have a 'country air' glow about me and I just know I'm going to sleep like a log tonight!

Gentle Fawn

Today was the bathroom's turn for a make over. We chose Gentle Fawn. The idea was for it to be subtle but bring out the stone colour of the tiles.

Another afternoon closed up in a room, just the paint and me. Within 30 minutes I was high on the thing and had no escape. I wanted to finish it, today.

Alas, the colour turned out to be a bit darker than we anticipated. It is verging on pink.



...I know, I was shocked too. Admittedly, it lightens as it dries so ask me again in a few hours. But if we ever have a baby girl, the bathroom can be her room. It's already painted right... a few teddy bears here and there, she can sleep in the bath.

So as I sit here, sipping my beer (the paint jobs must be doing something to my testosterone levels... I've been craving beer for two hours now and boy does it taste good!) & desperately needing a shower (my fingernails are encrusted with paint - I detest rubber gloves), I can think only of the reaction my father will have when he sees my handiwork.

All those years of patiently putting up with little me 'helping' as he did up the house, and I still can't paint a straight line to save my life. Sure, the rest is great... but those lines, oh those lines! (Note how I haven't posted a picture of the ceiling area. Oh no, I have way too much pride for that. I'll let you all tell me how amazing and professional it looks... you won't be seeing the edging and detail.)

My dad will. And he'll have a fit.

I do, however, feel the need to thank him for something other than passing his skills on to me (although debatable, of course). He taught me to always clear up right after I've finished doing something. I take this for granted and only today did I actually acknowledge where it came from. When we finished painting a room (or anything else for that matter), there'd always be that extra stage afterwards - the 'not really fun bit' - the cleaning up stage.

This 'skill' has translated to other areas of my life as I grew up. Cooking, leisure, DIY, what have you. I always clear up right away and I can't imagine being any other way! And for instilling that in me, as insignificant as it may have seemed at the time, I thank you Daddy :)

Ps: I get the crooked lines from my mother ;)

Remembering: Three Years Ago

Today three years ago was a day I'd simultaneously been dying for and dreading. It was the day David and I left Malta and moved to England. It wasn't a temporary move, we knew that. We knew we wouldn't be returning for good (until possibly retirement age!). This year, at last, the date doesn't make me feel sad. This morning, David and I lazily recalled the problems we encountered (setting up bank accounts, missing boxes, etc) and the minor culture shocks (even though many in Malta insist that the fact that we speak English means that moving to England is no trouble at all); acknowledged how far we've come since that day.

We'd been together for 10 months at the time. I know many people thought we were crazy. Certainly about each other. Possibly the other type too. Who knows? Who cares? It worked out :)

We'd gotten engaged ten days before, a shotgun engagement if ever there was one. I packed up my entire room in a daze. I wasn't quite sure what was going on realistically until the day before we left, when my parents came to say good night and we cried and cried. My heart breaks a little bit again just remembering it.

That first day in the UK was a shred of hell. It's been a MANIC three days. First day was godawful. I thought I'd never settle in. I was exhausted, working on 3 hours of sleep, totally exhausted and emotional, having just left my entire family behind. And once we got here, everything started going wrong. We tried to open bank accounts, and were refused; got sim cards that are enabled to call overseas cheaply, but were told it'd take 48hours to activate them; tried to find calling cards, but no one's ever heard of Malta; didnt find the phone line we were told would be waiting for us [at the flat] when we arrive - we were instead informed that our order was 'misplaced' and would have to be reinitiated and that'd take 1.5 weeks - from an old blog. Had I been given the chance to simply turn back, I possibly might have that day. Things got better after that though and thanks still goes to Natwest for being the only bank to give us the time of day and to put a smile on my face for the first time ever in England!

By the next day, I was feeling much more positive: The dock is lovely. Just outside the window and balcony we often have visitors of the ducky type. The swans don't usually come too close (snobs). But we still get to see them swimming gracefully along the dock as if they own the place. Then at night, the ducks sleep on the boats in the dock. It really brings everything to life so much more.

I love it here :)

We'd moved into a small 1.5 bedroomed flat overlooking Royal Victoria Dock in East London. I suppose the water being so close by made us feel slightly more 'at home.' If nothing else, there were some terrific views.



Within a week David was at work. I stopped using the Internet Cafe in Greenwich and finally had internet at home. A month later, I started working too. Visitors never ceased. They were our lifeline to Malta. The tears slowed down. Concerts, theatre, travel all became part of a lifestyle we love. We moved out of that flat a year later and into a larger one very close by, and so on and so forth from then on.



In reality we were just a couple of kids trying to make it somewhere in a big, big world.

All pictures dated April 2006.

Six Months

Six months ago today :)

For, you see, each day I love you more,
Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow
- Rosemonde Gerard