I Sit in Amazement!

I sit...because I'm tired after a grueling day. I spent the day with several of my friends out on the streets of London--in the glorious sunshine. After getting up early, riding the tube all the way across London and walking around, cheering--we're beat. But the tiredness we feel can in no way compare to that of our friend and colleague, Hachie Gal. Today, the 26th of April, Hachie Gal completed the London Marathon.

She's been training religiously for months and despite a cramp and unseasonably warm weather--she mustered bucketloads of determination and will to get across that finish line. She's simply amazing to have completed one marathon--but this one makes the perfect dozen for Hachie Gal. In the process, she raised enough money for the Guide Dogs to get one dog through puppy training and support it during it's life in service to a blind person.

With military precision, Budman led Hachie Gal's motley support crew to all the agreed stops to provide her gel packs and sports drinks and the ever important bananas...
Here's a picture of the crew (I'm photographer) as we started the day.

From the left: Stef, Paulster, Budman, and Chris.

Here are a few shots from the day.
This is Mile 7, the first place we met up with Hachie Gal--good spot, Stef!


Here's Hachie Gal at a stop with Chris and Budman.


We followed Budman from stop to stop and wedged ourselves into the crowd to ensure that we could spot our runner and pass along the supplies and/or encouragement. Along the way, we got to see lots of crazy costumed runners and people running their hearts out for their favourite charities.

The London Marathon is famous for runners dressing up in Fancy Dress [Costumes]. Today was no exception. We saw: The Devil, a Dalek, Several Superheroes, a tomato, a bear, a fox, The Hof and Pamela Anderson in their Baywatch Days, a couple of Fred Flintstones, Cops and Robbers, a Yellow Submarine, several Rhinos--quite an array of characters.

Here's the devil, getting away from me...


Oh...well, there was this one time that it took all 3 boys to figure out which way to go.


After finding Hachie Gal after the finish, we went to a great burger joint near Budman and Hachie Gal's house for dinner and a rest.
Wow, did we ever deserve that! Here's a picture of all of us, taken by a fellow supporter.


Congratulations Hachie Gal! Well Done. We are inspired by you and very proud of your accomplishments.

Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of the purchase of our house!
So, the subject of much of the blog is now 1 year old when marking by our historical clock.

Spring has Sprung

This is our first spring in the house, so the mysteries of the garden [yard] are starting to reveal themselves...
The former homeowner had tons of daffodils [jonquils] in the front flower bed and those have come up nicely. I picked the first one and took it to the office to enjoy it!

I planted some bulbs one dreary weekend this winter and those are starting to come up. To be honest, I know NOTHING about gardening, so had to call my mom and ask her which way to plant the bulb (pointy end down?)...so imagine my delight when they actually started coming up!

Here's my first hyacinth making its way up.

It's now spent, but was a lovely fragrant, hot pink flower in the back flower bed near the door. There were several in a line...very nice.

Several weeks ago, we had some sunny days, and I snapped a few shots of Kenny out in the garden. Here he is with the daffodils in the background.


Lyd sent me some bluebonnet seeds from Texas and I planted them in accordance with the instructions...but have yet to see any sprouts.
I may not get my very own bluebonnets this year.

BUT...I have noticed that the UK does have bluebonnets. My neighbours yards and several in the neighbourhood have bluebonnets...so they can survive and thrive in the UK. Maybe next year.

A Day in Zurich

In keeping with our quest to experience all things Swiss, after our trip to the mountains and sledding (see post from January) we spent the Sunday before we flew home that evening in the city of Zurich.
It does seem like a distant memory at this point, but what a fun day. We've since had the repatriation to Australia of the Falcon and Buffy...and how sad we are for that.

No day exploring a city can start without a hearty meal. And Zurich was no exception.
Nothing like some giant sausages to make us happy...

Thanks for Stef the photographer--capturing Me and Paulster, Falcon, Buffy and Martini with our plates piled high.

And here's Paulster with his monster sausage...clearly, he's delighted.


And Falcon, pleased with his choice...a lamb shank, I think.


So, after our meal, we needed to walk it off a bit and see some sights.
Here are some snaps of the city.






Somehow, the day took on a Boy Band Theme...
Here's one shot that could make the album cover.


Buffy infiltrated the Boy Band...


The tour wouldn't be complete without having seen the largest church clockface.
St. Peter, Zürich 28 feet 5 inches (8.7 m), built in 1534, the biggest church clock face according to Wikipedia.


...Or a random billboard near one of the city's important historic sites the Fraumünster (Minster of Our Lady). It houses magnificent stained glass windows by Marc Chagall. The main attraction of the Fraumünster is the set of five stained-glass windows designed by Marc Chagall in 1970. Best seen in bright morning light, the windows are 10 meters high and each has its own color theme. Chagall may have used the colors symbolically, with blue and green representing the earth and red and yellow representing the heavens. Sorry, no photos allowed in the church...and it was a bit dreary that day...

The Falcon was particularly interested in a photo of the Pink Dog billboard.


All the excitement of the weekend meant that at least the Falcon needed a little nap.


Which was a good thing, because we literally ended up speeding and sprinting to make out flight back to London. Oops...was I reading the arrival time as the departure time?! Ah...a fitting end to an exciting weekend.

But that can't be the end of the Zurich/mountain fun...In the January post, I was reserved and didn't post the video of Budman bobbing for swiss cheese in a fondue pot. So I have to do it now... (It should be noted that I do not have the Budman's explicit agreement for the posting of this video, but I did receive the approval of everyone else at the table to witness it, including Hachie Gal--so I'm claiming creative license).
You'll have to crane your neck a bit...but well worth the watch.



...and that's the official end of the Winter postings...

Breaking the Blog Silence

There are several reasons for the blog silence in recent months...but mostly just excuses. So, I'm going to start by going back to a weekend in January and finishing the blog post on our trip to Zurich.
It's time for some spring posts, but can't do that until I finish chronicling the winter adventures...