Writer's Block

Well this course is certainly sapping the writer in me. It really hasn't got going yet but there are a lot of silly (though I'm sure very valid and important) little exercises to do which I'm finding a bit dull. I'd probably engage with them better if I could actually talk about them but I'm officially gagged from posting anything I've written on the internet (plagiarism concerns) or indeed discussing any comments made about said writing. Well where's the fun in that? I'm sure it'll take off soon but right now....yawnsville!

Aside from that life is pretty great. Not much going on except I'm loving the great weather, making vitamin D as much as I can just in case this turns out to be summer. I'm optimistic of a nice one this year just to balance out the miserable one we has last year. I like to think that's how ol' mother nature manages it anyway. I start to sneeze as soon as the summer gets here. It kicked in last night unfortunately which is a bit earlier than normal (the first 3 weeks in June are normally the crucial test of the pelvic floor for me) but who knows maybe that'll mean it'll finish earlier this year too!

I often wonder if it's worth getting an allergy test done just to figure out which are the offending pollens. A couple of years ago I went on holiday to Seattle and The Pacific Northwest and as I left England I was a sneezy, runny, itchy mess but as I touched down in Seattle - nada! Gone Baby! I really wanted to move there after realising that! Plus it was the best vacation EVER! Actually all three of the holidays in the US of A I had were brilliant. The first in '93 was when T was working in New York for for 5 months. I went for 10 days and we stayed in B&Bs in New England just as the trees started turning.
Of course we did all the touristy New York things too. I loved the trip we took on The Circle Line, viewing NY from the Hudson. T's apartment was in Battery Park right underneath The World Trade Center. It was beautiful - you practically stepped out onto the river-front. I loved New York and I would have moved there in a heartbeat but it wasn't to be and Tim came home that Christmas for which I will always be grateful.

My second trip was to Washington DC in 2004. We went to one of my dearest friend's wedding in Virginia and then stayed in DC for about a week. We had a great time! The wedding was absolutely beautiful in the most gorgeous place. Stunning. And DC was amazing too. Like New York everywhere I turned felt like I was walking onto the set of a movie. I found all the war memorials to be very moving, particularly this one.

Then in 2006 we went Seattle, again to attend the wedding of a dear friend. The wedding was in the mountains in Washington State in the most incredible setting. After the weekend my family and my friend from DC's got a cabin on Lake Chelan with a big lakeside deck and we were in heaven for another week. If I ever want to relax I imagine that I'm there sitting on the deck looking over the lake, listening to the sound of the lapping water. This is what we saw when we looked out the window next to our bed in the morning.


This is a late afternoon shot of the sparkles on the lake. Magic place!

Where would be my next dream trip ... well New Zealand is supposed to be nice in winter.....