London Part Two

We went to the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday. They were only doing them on odd days in March so we knew the crowds would be bigger. We thought we were getting there early enough but at first it didn't seem so. We went to the Victoria statue in the circle outside of the gates. That gave us a view of the approaching bands and troops. Then they all go behind a gate. The people crushed against the fence may have seen some things but they really wouldn't have a good view. It is a 45 minute ceremony so people started getting bored and left. That opened up the steps right in front of the statue and a perfect view of the gate.

It was diplomatic introduction day so this is the carriage carrying the Venezualan ambassador.

Great view right?

We toured the Royal Mews after the changing of the guard. This is where they have all the carriages and horses. This is the coronation carriage that has been used for hundreds of years. They have to take a wall down to get it out.

We took a boat ride since it was a warmer day and got a great picture of the London Eye. We never made it into there but I'm sure it gives great views of the city.

Of course no trip to London would be complete without a trip to Harrods. I got some cookies for my mom and chocolate for me. Whitney went to the Laduree store and got macarons.

We went to St. Paul's Cathedral. It was huge inside (no pictures allowed). We climbed up to the top of the inside of the dome. That is not for the unhealthy (257 spiral stairs up). 

Other places we visited were the National Gallery (loved the huge Monet Water Lillies), Courtald Gallery, Trafalgar Square, Kensington Palace, Victoria & Albert Museum, Selfridge's and lots of rides on the tube.

We also tried lots of different foods while there. Among my favorites was baconaise (bacon flavored mayonaise for fries), prawn salad sandwiches, and these prawn cocktail flavored chips.

London - Part One

We spent a week in London in March for spring break. There was so much to see and do that a week isn't enough time.

The weather overall was pretty good. It only rained twice. A lot of the places we visited you couldn't take photos inside so I didn't get as many pictures as I normally take.

We started our first day of touring at the British Museum. It is free to visit (what a bonus for locals).

The Rosetta Stone

They have a huge ancient Egypt collection

Actual pieces from the Parthenon in Greece

My favorite part of this museum was the Asyrian collection but I didn't take any photos. I hadn't really seen pieces from that time period and it was a great collection.

The second day we went to the Tower of London.

They were setting up for the Game of Thrones premiere so had to avoid the tents

What a great tour guide (they hate being called that)

Collection of armor

This was for a child or a dwarf - stories vary on that

We also saw the crown jewels right when they opened but no photos. 

The Tower Bridge

After that we went to the Globe Theater which isn't Shakespeare's original one (that burned down) but a recreation. It had a great museum inside.

I'll have more later.

Alton Brown Live

Last Thursday Dan and I went to see one of my favorite Food Network personalities, Alton Brown, on his Edible Inevitable tour. I bought my tickets as soon as they went on sale and we had great seats. If you don't know who he is, just watch Good Eats, Cuthroat Kitchen or Iron Chef America and you'll know who it is. It was quite a fun evening.

He put together a 2 1/2 hour show. It was a combination of songs, stories, cooking demonstrations. His only requirement it was stuff that no one would let him do on tv. His two cooking demonstrations was making ice cream in 10 seconds using fire extinguishers and cooking a pizza in 3 minutes using a massive pizza oven made from concert lights. Both were highly entertaining.

The evening ended with questions from the audience. I couldn't believe that he had filled the Civic Center so much but all the balconies were full (if you've ever been here you'll know that's a lot of people). Alton has always been a big one for using twitter so all questions were submitted that way. You had to include a selfie.  At intermission is submitted one and it was one of the ones picked! So my selfie shows up on the big screen and I stand up waving my arms like a crazy woman. I asked him what his favorite sabotage was on Cuthroat Kitchen and he said the ones that really make the chefs think like the warped crepe pan or using a wok for stir fry but only upside down. After the show everyone around me loved my question and then someone from work was just two rows ahead of us.

It was a fun evening. Unfortunately you won't be able to catch him since his tour just ended. But if you get the chance I highly recommend it. He was really funny and it was a clean show for all ages.

Friday Fragments

Wow I have returned from the land of travelling and have a short bit to write some fragments. I tried to last week and my Blog app for the ipad wouldn't let me save the post. I thought it was just a small problem so I uninstalled and installed the app and now it won't connect to my blog. Alas no help there and I didn't have the patience to figure it out.

London was great. Lots of stuff to do but the plane ride to/from is killer. Literally had a 4x5 inch tv screen to watch anything on. 

And as soon as we got home last Friday I turned around and went to Washington DC on Monday morning for a work trip. Jet lag kicked in and it was not a pleasant Tuesday. I won't be doing back to back trips like that again for a long time.

And them I missed out on tornadoes and hail at home plus the trees have all bloomed and gone green. Talk about missing a season.

Obligatory selfie pose from trip.

I'll post more later but wanted to let people know I'm alive and kicking!

Hodgepodge Time

1. What's the first image that comes to mind when you hear the word 'spring'? Which phrase best describes the season of spring where you live right now (today)-sprung! almost there, or still waiting?

Oklahoma is the land of weird weather. Last week closed for snow and in two days a beautiful weekend. The trees start budding and then get hit with snow again.

2. Bed, couch, stapler, garage door, computer mouse, recliner, flashlight, door knob...which household item containing springs most needs replacing in your home? Speaking of springs...did you ever own a Slinky?

I don't think anything needs replacing. We just had the garage door fixed so hopefully that was the last thing in a bit. I had a slinky and Whitney had a slinky that was actually made of plastic.

3. March is Women's History Month. Share a favorite quote by a woman.

I'm terrible about quotes. Perhaps Lucy from Charlie Brown "If everyone agreed with me, they'd all be right."

4. What's a question that looms large in your mind right now?

When will I get a new boss. Its been 10 months since our last director passed away unexpectedly and the higher ups are finally getting around to writing a job announcement. Which means it will be another 6-12 months before they hire someone.

5. Are you a sugar freak? By that I mean how much do you love sugar? With all the bad press sugar gets these days, have you made any efforts to reduce the amount of sugar you consume?

I enjoy sweet things but as I get older I eat them less and less. Not because of any bad press but just because my tastes change.

6. Would you rather have less work to do or more work you enjoy doing?

More work that I enjoy doing. It is so much better to be busy than doing less work and bored.

7. Ever been to Texas? Of the top ten Texas tourist attractions which would you most like to see-The Alamo, The San Antonio River Walk, The State Capital, Dallas World Aquarium, Padre Island National Seashore, Houston Space Center, Schlitterbahn Waterpark in New Braunfels, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Moody Gardens, or Galveston Island?

I lived in Texas and hello...Oklahoma is right next to it. Of those listed I've been to 9 of them. The only one I've missed is Padre Island but I've been to Port Aransas which is just north of Padre. I'm not sure I would really recommend any of them though.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Off to London Thursday! Just a little excited for a real vacation!

The End - Winter Reading Challenge

So this is the end of the Winter Reading Challenge that Rebecca Jo started up. I've enjoyed keeping track of all the books I've read. And yes, most of them are forgettable. LOL

Love, Chocolate and Beer by Violet Duke (This was way too long)

Finding Southern Comfort by Barbara Lohr (This was so unbelievable)

The Cowboy's Christmas Plan by Shanna Hatfield

Stronger by Lexie Ray

Just this Once by Rosalind James

Snow Angel by Melanie Shawn

Until I Found You by Victoria Bylin

Shell Game by Chris Keniston (this one was cute)

Game for Marriage by Karen Erickson

Game for Love by Melissa Foster

The Look of Love by Bella Andre

These books I read in the first week of March but included them on the list just to round out my numbers.

Hooked on You by Lindsey Brookes

Treading Water by Marie Force

One to Hold by Tia Louise

Cassie's Cowboy Crave by Kimberly Krey

What have you learned from what I read? That I read terrible literature and there is hardly a worthwhile book amongst them. Hey a girl's got to escape sometimes, right?

Thank you Rebecca Jo for hosting this over the winter.

Hodgepodge Like a Lion

1. 'In like a lion, out like a lamb'...does the first part of this saying describing March weather ring true where you live?

In Oklahoma you can have a lion and a lamb day all in 24 hours. So the saying works just about anytime of year.

2. March 4th is National Grammar Day. What common grammatical error bothers you the most?

Oh there are so many. My first real boss was an English professor and he taught me so much. I really don't like erroneously place commas.

3. William Arthur Ward says- 'The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.' Which one are you?

A realist.

4. What's something you need to 'march forth and conquer' this month?

Being out of the office for two straight weeks. Between a vacation and then as soon as we return going on a work trip the pile of paper and emails waiting for me will be intense.

5. An ongoing debate around here...do you dust first, then vacuum or vacuum first, then dust? Of the two routine household chores, which do you dislike the least? How's that for wording?

You should dust first then vacuum. And of the two I don't mind vacuuming. Don't you wonder why there are two u's in vacuum and no other word?

6. According to thrilllist.com, the ten most photographed sites in the U.S.A. are-Cinderella's Castle in Orlando, Southernmost House in Key West Florida, The Space Needle in Seattle, The Site of the Boston Massacre in Boston, The Bellagio Lake/fountains in Las Vegas, The Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, Coit Tower in San Fransisco, The Art Institute of Chicago, Niagara Falls, and snagging the number one spot-The Guggenheim Museum in New York City.

How many on this list have you photographed? Which on the list would you most like to visit and photograph?

From this list I've taken pics of Cinderella's Castle, Space Needle, Bellagio Fountain and the Lincoln Memorial.

Bellagio Fountains

Since I've never been to New York City that would be tops on my list.

7. Fifty years ago Monday (March 2, 1965) The Sound of Music premiered at the Rivoli Theatre in NYC. Have you seen the film? Do you own a copy? On a scale of 1-10 how much do you love it (or not)? Ten=best movie ever. If you're a fan, what's your favorite scene or song from the movie?

I've seen the movie many times. Remember it used to come once a year. I'm not a huge fan of the movie but I like it better than Wizard of Oz.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Whitney graduates college in two months! So proud of how hard she has worked and how hard she is looking for a job. Applying for work is hard business.