March 8th Happy Birthday MarkT! XXX

Happy Birthday to my wonderful, lovely, kind, funny, gorgeous husband who makes all my days special!

School Trip!

Hi everyone, I know bad blogger but there has been a lot going on and sometimes it just doesn't seem necessary to write it all down! However I have just come back from a school skiing trip to Hermagor in Austria, one of my sons is a teacher and takes a party every year. This year they were short on staff so he asked if I'd like to go along to help look after my grandchildren! I couldn't refuse an offer like that, and as I am still job hunting I had plenty of time on my hands! I should hopefully have some good news on the job front in the next few days, I just need to make the right choice. Anyway here are a few photos including my son, daughter-in-law and eldest grandaughter trying out her new skis, and the lovely ski lodge where we stayed.

2006!! -- 2007!!

First of all A Very Happy New Year to all our friends in Blogland. It's been a fantastic year for me starting with the birth of my 3rd grandaughter in January and buying our house in February. We have travelled to Tunisia, Turkey, New York, Vancouver and California. We saw some amazing and beautiful scenery and met some equally lovely people. Best of all we got to stay with two very special people, Gary and Steph, they are truly good friends. Then there were Rachaels gigs and The Who concerts, meeting bloggers from around the world and Mariettas blinner! Summer in England this year was long and hot which is very unusal but the end of the year has been rain, rain and more rain! At the beginning of December we went to Norfolk to celebrate an early Christmas with my mother, sister, nieces and extended family. Christmas was busy with 14 family and 1 black labrador squeezed into our little house with people sleeping on sofas and airbeds, but it was fun, and to have all my sons, daughters in law and grandaughters together was so sweet. The autumn saw the passing of my dear aunt in October, she was a lovely, kind and generous lady and I miss her. Then sadly Marks mother passed away 3 days before Christmas. Although she was only poorly for a couple of days, her quality of life was poor as she had had dementure for several years and was unable to do anything for herself. So in a way it was a blessing for her and she passed very peacefully with Mark and I at her side. Last night, New Years Eve, saw us providing the lighting for a rock band called The Bite at a party for around 180. A very lively celebration and a very late night 4am bed! So what of this fresh New Year 2007? Well I hope to find a new job soon, as always I'm excited and optimistic that that everything will fall into place and if it doesn't then we'll work it out. Also I'm hoping that Gary and Steph will come to visit us, we miss them loads. I'm hoping that Marks guitar playing will improve and that he and Gary will write a song together. But most of all I'm hoping for love, peace and good health for my family and friends.

CHINESE THEATRE HOLLYWOOD

This the interior of the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, all hand painted and stunning, also the VIP lounge.

M0RE VANCOUVER

Views of the ferry to Vancouver Island, Deep Cove, the lake in Stanley Park and one of the many totem poles along the shore

more photos

Here are a few more pictures of beautiful Vancouver!

travelling -Vancouver

Well we're home and what a wonderful time we've had. I know Mark will want to post all about the musical events so I will stick to holiday photos. First off we flew to Vancouver to stay with Marks aunt for 4 nights, what a beautiful city, how I wish we'd had more time there. We were staying in the West End a lively and vibrant area with just about everything you could want. Whilst there we visited Granville Island famous for it's fabulous indoor produce market and many arts and crafts. We walked in Stanley Park where we saw racoons and black squirrels. We were taken on a drive to Deep Cove by a kind friend and saw yet more stunning scenery. The colours of the autumn leaves and the truly amazing architecture along with meeting Marks aunt for the first time made it a great start to our trip. More photos to follow.

NEW YORK NEW YORK!

Well we made it to NY and had a fabulous but exhausting time. We walked our socks off all week and managed to see all the famous sights. We saw a show on Broadway, took a yellow cab, rode on the subways, ate from deli's, street sellers and all night diners, and chatted to NY cops and complete strangers. We walked in Central Park, went to the Guggenheim, crossed the river on the Statton Island ferry (it was free!!!) We climbed the Empire State Building, (in the lift), visited the fabulous art deco Chrysler Building, Times Square, Maddison Square Gardens and Radio City. Whilst walking in Chinatown we came upon an Italian street festival. Shopping in Macys and Bloomingdales was fun and so were the many other shops we found, but for me the 3 hours I spent wandering in the fabric district was just mind blowing and I'd go again just for that! Seeing Ground Zero and the little church was very poignant and we spent a long time just reading many of the strories and letters from around the world. The photos are just a few from the hundreds we took, I thought I'd include the one of a rather ambitious menu we saw in a back street cafe, (we didn't try it!) I know Mark has been reporting on Joes Pub, so suffice to say that while he got his photos of Pete, I got a KISS from him ......