chloe rose sloan sandwith

and i'd like to formally welcome the newest addition to the family - my third niece - miss chloe rose sloan sandwith born to terran and wendy on 22 december at 5:01 pm (alberta time).

4 lbs, 13 oz, 18" long, brown hair, hazel eyes (just like me!)

and really, really cute...

holidazed

yes, it has been a while since the last post, but i've been busy in a state of relaxing, drinking and eating. i started out the holiday at doctor duncan's pub with the work mates on 21 december, which was much fun and davoud even came to pick me up so i didn't have to take the bus home.

did a load of food shopping, more baking of cakes and a french candian tortiere, which i have to say was probably one of the best meals i've ever made accompanied by cheesy mashed potatoes and carrots. i have to say that i didn't go to church on christmas eve. i was planning on going to the church in moreton where my grandparents were married, but i was too sad at the thought of it.

so christmas eve, we met sam, kel and lou down at the willow bank for a couple of pints before heading home to eat our dinner. christmas morning was full of presents, maple flavoured bacon, tea and mimosas. after a small hiccup in the travels down - which involved broken glass and more air for the tires - we got to davoud's mum's house for dinner. lots of family and more presents.

the past few days have been very relaxed. just been visiting with friends and family, a small side trip to the cotswolds yesterday - see pictures below - and back up to liverpool tomorrow. new year's eve will be spent in the comfort of my apartment with the backgammon board, some old fashioneds, a champagne risotto and a bottle of bubbly to bring in the new year.

i hope everyone's holidays have been as wonderful as mine ;) don't worry, i'll be home for christmas in 2007.

the blue boar

sweaty guinness in my grandma's favourite pub in the cotswolds

me outside the blue boar in the twilight

seven down, two to go

i was convinced yesterday was wednesday. it's quite easy to lose track of days, months and weeks when i work this many days in a row, but trust me, it's not something that's going to feature in next year's calendar.

i *think* i'm all ready for christmas apart from a big food shop. the bakings done, presents bought, wrapped and under the tree, all my christmas cards have been distributed, parcels arrived long ago in canada...

now i just have to finish up work. davoud's coming up here on thursday night until christmas morning and then we're going to head to his mum's for christmas dinner (insert deep cleansing breath to alleviate nerves here).

with any luck i should have a phone line by friday morning so i will no longer have to neglect my transatlantic phone calls, but i'll keep you posted on that one.

the christmas party

the penguin cake...otherwise known as *snow topped spice cake* and it was pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty tasty
me and santa claus. god bless the liverpool santa dash.
val eating the penguin...she did share...
...with harriet;)

i'm on day five of working nine days straight. cannot *wait* for friday. my weekend was filled with christmas craft workshops at the gallery, a christmas party, shared meals, and lots of glitter.

moving pics

slowly climbing the escalator in ikea on a surprisingly quiet saturday morning. turns out everyone else in the world was christmas shopping

val getting up to mischief in the marketplace

testing beds because my mum told me to, although i didn't do the full five minutes on each side test ;)
you can almost see the tears in my eyes as i see the bill get longer and longer and longer...possibly the most money i've ever spent in one go, but boy did i get a lot for my money!

once the bed was finally together - thanks to davoud's handy skills and ability to read ikea instructions properly - i needed a nap

davoud, chris and i went for a meal at mei mei before going to a fionn regan gig on sunday night

and after all was said and done...a timer shot and a glass of vino were in order. this flat is a beige version of my last place in montreal

the final touch

moved in

well, i'm moved in to the new flat thanks to the cavalry (aka val, davoud and frank the van). Val and i did a run of all my stuff from sam's place on friday night and woke up early on startuday to meet davoud at ikea in warrington. we were slightly delayed leaving due to the police recovering 7 stolen vehicles from val's parking garage. nice.

ikea was an experience as always (i will post pictures later) and i was slightly depressed about the amount of money i shelled out, but hey, i got a lot for it. after fitting *everything* into frank we unloaded at the new place and then val went off for frank's afternoon duties on the wirral.

by that point a lunch break was needed before tackling the ikea instructions, so davoud and i walked to lark lane for lunch and then headed to matalan and asda before coming back to boxes and swedish furniture. somehow, we got the bed, sofa, half a chest of drawers, half a chair and the kitchen unpacked before bedtime. and there was one stonkingly good pizza sandwiched in there too. i finally made it to the pizza parlour to order my pizza and drink a beer whilst i wait. my new favourite pizza place by far. i do love an artichoke.

i'm at work today and really wish i wasn't. just want to be at the flat getting everything sorted! bah. we'll see how amazed i am when i get home to what davoud's been able to accomplish. no doubt i'll be impressed ;)

btw - no wireless or broadband in the flat and BT doesn't have a line already installed there as they said they did, so it won't be until after christmas that i have a landline or access to my hotmail account.

moving day

well, i have to pack up the last of my stuff this morning before running a vast amount of errands, and finally picking up the keys at 1 pm!

i have to say i'm very excited about the new flat, but will miss having someone around to randomly chat to. the amount i talk to myself is definitely going to increase. sam's the best housemate i ever had...no offence to any previous live ins. coming home and being to do whatever i want after work whether it be paint, pick up the guitar or just sit in the quiet and stare up at the ceiling is going to be a luxury though.

it feels like i've accumulated a lot of stuff in the past year and a half, but it's not really that bad. it will definitely fit in one frank vanload. i think val and i will move all of my stuff over tonight, sleep at her place after kraft dinner and watching dirty dancing, then head to ikea first thing in the morning to meet davoud.

then the really fun begins: ikea instructions.

bah.

i miss snow

i was having an afternoon cup of tea with sandra, one of my colleagues at the gallery, as a bit of a break before working late tonight and realised the one thing missing that really gets me in the christmas spirit: snow.

thankfully j9 posted a couple of winter montreal pics on her blog to help me out...st. catherine st at its best ;)

i think living in montreal for 5 years conditioned me to associate christmas with first snows, new scarves, being wrapped up whilst christmas shopping, and lots of festive parties. that and the decorations. the brits haven't quite got on the bandwagon of lots of christmas lights on houses, in the streets and random trees outdoors. don't get me wrong, they do take the christmas *lights on* business very seriously, but it's not quite the same.

there's something about snow falling onto white fairy lights and that soft glow that just *means* christmas.

photies from london town

a very arty shot taken of this panel of chinese style wallpaper in the hotel room as taken by davoud
not quite the hoff, but knows how to spot a knightrider reference
me looking sad because i'm sat in front of a map of canada and not actually there. but that hair does look pretty, pretty, pretty shiny
one of my favourites
the oldest working zamboni known to man and what's that flying from the scoreboard? that's right my friends...a canadian flag. and every team member on the blaze has a flag on the bottom of their jersey from their country of origin. i would have to say that at least 60% of the team were canucks!

packed like christmas cake

there was so much going on this weekend i don't even know where to begin on the port sunlight to coventry via nuneaton onto london back to coventry via broadway and then to work in port sunlight this morning excursion. i'm tired just thinking about it ;)

let's try a list:

a) tropicana of whisky: as promised, davoud took me to albannach his favourite whisky bar in london, which just had too much on offer. a couple of old fashioneds one day and then back for some real drinking the next. i finally got to try to infamous port ellen; a definite springtime scotch.

b) the zetter: now known as the best hotel *ever*. great ambience, different coloured lighting, and 4000 music tracks on demand. not to mention a rain shower style shower a la cottage in parry sound. dad - i swear yours is better ;)

c) the vintage house: possibly the best whisky shop i've ever been into. i can't believe they were selling one bottle for £20,000. uh...yes please.

d) the suzie wong experience: i've had bad service in my life, but this had to be the worst. i should note - or else i'm sure davoud will;) - that this restaurant used to be fabulous. it has now turned into an eatery where you have to wait over an hour for your food, be treated to staff that don't know how to work the computer ordering machine, but do give you 50% off your bill. let's just say it was the worst restaurant ever according to larry david.

e) canadianna: davoud does his homework. cyber candy shamelessly imports all sorts of north american confectionary so i stocked up on reese pieces and nerds. we also stumbled upon another commonwealth store that sold - you guessed it - kraft dinner! and guess how much it cost? an abominable £2. a special treat for val and i this coming friday night. a trip to the maple leaf pub was also in the cards to sample some sleeman honey brown and mooshead. for a canadian pub they have very little selection *and* were showing a football game. bah

f) lunch at the v&a: perhaps the best gallery or museum cafe. not only was the food amazing, but we ate lunch in this beautifully tiled room with vaulted ceilings whilst being entertained by a pianist tinkling a baby grand.

g) swings n things: take two for the swings n things in broadway. you may remember video from the road trip last may that showed me having a go on the rip slide thing in broadway. well, there will be another posted soon...

h) hockey night in coventry: davoud's very first hockey game. i have to say the elite league games are really rough, but the coventry blaze did win. the *funniest* game ever in between periods...turkey bowling. they pick people from the crowd and set up bowling pins in one of the nets. each contestant gets three chances to hoist the frozen turkey down the ice and knock as many pins down as possible. too funny, but at least i know how to get my turkey for next thanksgiving ;)

i) davoud: who generally just makes everything brighter and shinier than it really is. he even polishes my boots ;)