some completion

A little over three years ago, I began a journey that took me out of country, cross country, traveling to multiple countries and just a general lack of a "home".  My life was fractured with little bits of me in Arizona, Florida and London.  I try not to be materialistic but this journey has included an incredible amount of material loss - like my library of 800+ books, family photos and other treasures. 
Simplification has certainly been the order of the day ... of necessity going from an almost 6 figure annual income, a marriage, a beautiful home and an exciting career track to barely keeping my head above water, a separation waiting for the legality of divorce, a new little home and a decimated career due to the economy.
But that is what life is all about, right?  Challenges, Joys, Sadness, Contentment, Grief - And our characters are measured by the grace and fortitude with which we weather the tsunamis of life.  I get that.  but sometimes I cannot help a bit of a whine ... or feelings of deprivation ... and then the immediate guilt that follows because so many are in far worse shape than me.
Living in Utah and restarting with nothing but a few tubs of personal items and clothing has been a great learning experience and has certainly led me to appreciate the simplicity of life that I have found here.  We have a little home but the key word is "home".  It has become a sanctuary and a place that my son and I feel safe and relaxed and ... finally ... content and settled.  PHEW.

Camden - London

Camden Market, London

London Fog

Belsize Park NW3, London, Winter 2007

fried rice

House Fried Rice stand at Camden Market - London - December 2007 - worth noting that this area was destroyed in the fire a month later.  

More from Highgate Cemetery - West Side

The guided tour on the West side of Highgate was definitely worth it.  It was a snapshot of lives in Victorian times, hearing all of the stories.

Path through Highgate

The peaceful vibe of Highgate with the winding paths is amazing.

Thomas Sayers & Lion

Thomas Sayers was a bare-knuckled fighter in Victorian times.  The fighting was illegal so the locations would rotate and you could only find out about it by word of mouth.  Thomas Sayers was only defeated once in his career and his funeral procession was 4 1/2 miles long!  This is his grave above and the statue is of his dog Lion.

Sleeping angel

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The detail and enormity of the statues at Highgate is incredible.  This is one of my favorite of the sleeping angel.  It is the only one that I saw that the angel was laying down.

angel at Highgate

Many of the Angel monuments are really tall - like over 10-12 feet or more.  This is a more traditional angel.

Mausoleum of Julius Beer

Julius Beer was a newspaper man and a self-made success story.  The mausoleum cost over 5000 pounds (10,000 dollars) 120 years ago which is staggering!  It is the highest monument on the west side and it is said that Julius built it that high to block the view from the promenade and thumb his nose to the aristocracy.  When Highgate fell into disrepair, the mausoleum was preserved inside due to 17 feet of pigeon POO.  Yes - pigeon POO!  Over the years, the inside of the mausoleum became a haven for the pigeons and their droppings accumulated over 17 feet which dissuaded many grave robbers in later years.  All the poo has been cleaned out and everything was intact in the mausoleum.  The picture below was into the mausoleum and the face of the little girl in the arms of the angel was actually the death mask for Beers' daughter who died at 8 years old.  It was difficult to see into the mausoleum so the clarity is not great.

inside mausoleum

angel in Highgate

Highgate Cemetery - West Side

One of my favorite places in London is Highgate Cemetery.  It is a Victorian garden cemetery and has the most amazing flora and fauna and, my favorite, statues and monuments.  The purpose of a garden cemetery is to let things grow wild and indeed it has!  The East side claims such famous residents as Karl Marx and, more recently, Douglas Adams, but the West side...well, the West side is amazing due to the crypts and the Egyptian influence.  So here are a few before I leave...

Highgate - West Side entrance

Inverted torches

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Inverted torches are seen throughout Highgate - the photo above is of a door of a mausoleum.  You will also see them on gravestones and held in a downward position by angels.  The guide said that is was a symbol of the light of life being extinguished.  I found it particularly interesting as well since the torch is a symbol of the Goddess Hekate who carries torches to light the way into the Underworld for souls.

Cedar of Lebanon

The Circle of Lebanon is a group of mausoleums formed into a circle towards the top of the cemetery and is crowned by a Cedar of Lebanon.

Terrace Catacombs & Mausoleums

the photo above is the circle that is below the cedar.

peeking into the catacombs

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The catacombs are currently going through restoration as they have been badly damaged by thiefs and vandals as well as many many years where there was a lack of upkeep.  This was just a peek through but there are more underground, including some tunnels built into the hillside and a tunnel leading to the east side so that bodies never actually leave sanctified ground by crossing the road from the chapel on the west side to the burials on the east side.

Nero

Nero the Lion is the guardian for the tomb of George Wombwell who was his owner and had an exotic animal show that toured throughout London and some of England in Victorian times.

More to come!

halfway somewhere

“This bridge will only take you halfway there, to those mysterious lands you long to see. Through gypsy camps and swirling Arab fair, and moonlit woods where unicorns run free. So come and walk awhile with me and share the twisting trails and wondrous worlds I've known. But this bridge will only take you halfway there. The last few steps you have to take alone.” Shel Silverstein

Full circle, in a manner of speaking.  Life has been change for the past few months (YEARS!) and I am working hard on some stability.
 
I am back in Florida and settling in.  I just got back from London a few weeks ago and have been busy unpacking (finally) and getting organized.  The apartment is good - good location, good floor plan and lots of room and light and a great office space.  My space is set up - the books are on the shelves and the statues have all found homes.  I have been cooking and breathing and it is good.
 
I made some work changes and started a brand new job today from home as a Recruitment Manager.  

It felt good today and there are lots of confirmations that I have done the right thing.  For sure, Munchkin Man is ecstatic that his gypsy Mom is setting down some roots - poor wee Capricorn!
 
I will be returning to London to visit in the near future and hopefully to live again in the not so near future.  I miss it but again - confirmation that I have done the right thing for the time being for my son and my sanity. 
 
I am looking forward to reconnecting with the vox community - it has been sorely missed. 
 
I am looking forward to reconnecting period and start working to live, instead of living to work.
 
Hugs to everyone...hope you didn't forget me totally!

Happy 2008 from Zach & his Mom (that would be me!)

As Zach and I are sitting here and counting down the last 20 minutes of 2007, we decided that we did not want to do resolutions but we would rather focus on the positive and send some good mojo out to family and friends, so we came up with some wishes for 2008 from us to alllll of you!

We wish you peace and prosperity and the time to enjoy it all!

We wish you fun and giggles and goofiness and pure joy!

We wish an end to conflicts and the strength to move forward!

We wish that dreams do come true, especially for those less fortunate than we!

We wish everyone a Snappin' and Crackin' New Year!

Watch this space!  Things are going to be happening in a GOOD way in 2008!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are off to the USA in the morning so catch up with everyone on the other side of the pond!

They are HERE!

It has been a bit of a crazy week for work and prepping to have Zach and my Mom arrive but finally THEY ARE HERE and I can get a posting up...still running a bit crazy as this weekend is all about Christmas shopping but we got and decorated our tree last night and FINALLY, it feels like Christmas!  I am so HAPPY that they are here!  So here are some shots of my munchkin and Mom and the tree and the AWESOME London Fog that finally rolled in last night but has been hanging around the city for a bit!  Today we are off to Harrod's - WOOHOO!

Zach on the river - London Eye

Mom Mom here for Christmas!

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Zach at home with Mom!

Zach with the Bobbie at Buckingham Palace

Zach at Belsize Village

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Our Christmas Tree

Belsize Village at Sunset

Christmas Decoration

George the Camel

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Magick Safari

Last night was our company Christmas party and we had LOADS of fun!  London in the Christmas season is magickal in and of itself (stay tuned for pics this weekend!) and last night we kicked off our night at the Natural History Museum and the Ice Skating Rink.  I did not skate - crutches for upcoming trips would be awful - so most of us settled for giggling and calling out from the bar overlooking the rink.  As we were departing for the pub - British Airways had a MAGICK GIANT SNOW GLOBE all set up!  Who could resist???  We got to be IN the snow globe with "snow" swirling madly around us!  So - here is my magick picture - some of my team and me in a Christmas snow globe!

before and after

We have had several very windy days and the temperature has definitely dropped from brisk Autumn to chilllllly winter is coming!  All the glorious leaves have blown off in many cases as well as dramatically changed colors - I thought I would entertain myself with some before and after...

after 1

before 1 

before 2

after 2

before 3

after 3

Snow White Kinda Moments

I was up very early this morning - took off to the Heath and made it as the sun was up and starting to peep into the Heath.  It has been a very animal oriented day starting with the ducks at Hamsptead Heath:

Ducks at the Heath

 

and then moving to the other end of the pond with the swans:

Swans at the Heath

and then we were joined by the white swan's buddies - are there grey swans???  or are they geese?  I should interject that I like to admire all fowl from afar after being traumatized at 2 years old by a goose that was as tall as me and fascinated with my lacy toddler panties - so fascinated that he chased me round and round poking at me or, more specifically, at my butt.  Since then - I admire from a distance although geese do not really rank high on my list (right!?!!?) so forgive my ignorance of knowing if these are grey geese (I mean it IS a vodka) or grey swans....

So life was idyllic this morning at the ponds...until the arrival of Rob - an energetic golden retriever who apparently had quite a passion for fowl himself...

A passion that only lasted until the swan/geese/birds/whatever noticed him swimming frenetically towards them.  They turned as a unit and began to swim towards him and Rob (who must have done this before) hastily reversed direction and contented himself with posturing from the bank.  Another pet owner standing there and giggling with me commented that actually, swans were quite dangerous and could break a dog's neck.  Geez - who knew??  Apparently Rob did judging from his reversal.
So, all was well at the Heath as the dogs began to arrive and walk their owners. 

This afternoon, though, I was heading to the library and walking up the street when I spotted a squirrel dashing in front of me.  I took out my camera figuring I would not catch him but to my great surprise, not only did he stop, but he proceeded to chatter and move towards me.   Aggressively.   I was a bit taken aback at the ferociousness but it was enormously funny at the same time.  I suppose I need to leave more nuts for the winter...

He actually was scampering away when he heard the camera and turned around again at the curb and started all over again. I guess even squirrels need to have a release.  Hilarious!

So - those are my Snow White moments with the animals minus me singing (be grateful for that) and birds landing on me (I AM grateful for that)...wonder when the short guys show up and do you think that they will do the laundry?