Things feel happier and brighter. A number of things just seem to be going well. Maybe it’s karma, maybe it’s that time of year, who knows. I give you the following:
1) Our neighbor’s house continues to undergo its renovation. They were due to have moved in to the house by mid-December. As of last week, their house looked like this:
If you’re thinking their house looks a lot like ours, you’re not wrong. They used our architect and our blueprint (and are even buying the same radiators we have). The new neighbors are really nice but rent a house while their home is being renovated, so they don’t exactly see what goes on while they’re away. I sent them a kindly worded email about how the neighborhood can’t wait until they move in, but we’re a little over the builders “borrowing” our ladders, their dogs shitting in our gardens, and mostly I’m not delighted with a) the fact that the builders keep using our water supply, which we pay for and b) they broke our tap doing so. Our neighbor apologized profusely and just came by with a huge box of chocolates and a bottle of champagne. You’d be surprised what I can forgive with a bottle of bubbly.
2) I’ve bid on and lost the same authentic US 1980′s style pay phone, which a telephone enthusiast had over here and re-built himself. It came up for auction Wednesday night due to the two previous winners being assmunches. I won it last minute. Tomorrow the babies and I are off to south London to pick up the new addition to this modern household.
3) While on ebay, I stumbled across something very cool (photos to come after Christmas). I took a chance and sent the guy an email (when I say “took a chance” I mean “had two glasses of wine on an empty stomach and was feeling fairly ballsy”) making him a low offer on it. He accepted. A piece of the past is coming to us shortly for a price so low that it makes me shake my head in amazement.
4) I also had to sell some baby items on ebay recently (I don’t spend my entire life on ebay, honestly, however I can appreciate that thus far this post is reading like I twitch at anything that may include an auction time left on it) as there was no one to pass them on to, they’re too big to post, and the babies can’t use them any more. I had two of the same thing go up, and a mum who lived nearby said she’d been looking for a pair of these two things for ages, would I be interested in a buy-it-now and she can pick them up? I took her up on it. When I phoned her to arrange times to pick them up, I heard two babies screaming bloody murder in the background and the mum was nearly in tears. When she came to pick up the items, she packed them in the car, along with four Grobags I came across that the babies no longer fit and that her twins could use. She thanked me profusely. I like to think it was twin mum karma passing on.
5) Because of your fabulous suggestions, the nursery carers are getting Starbucks gift cards today. While buying them, the nice barrista behind the counter undercharged me for the coffee I was buying myself (why yes it was a gingerbread latte, how did you know?) When I pointed out he had undercharged me, he simply smiled and wished me a Merry Christmas.
6) I lucked out and got tickets to see Cat on a Hot Tin Roof here in London for a stupidly low price on Wednesday. The tickets were in the 7th row from the stage. There, 7 rows away, were Claire Huxtable Phylicia Rashad, Sanaa Latham, and Adrian Lester. Not to mention the star, Darth Vader James Earl Jones. And let me just say this about his performance: Holy. Fucking. Shit. To say I was blown away is an understatement. He was every single bit the definition of the screen and stage legend he is known as.
7) We got dumped on. It is awesome.
8) As Suzie wrote me and as my heavily highlighted Radio Times (the Radio Times Christmas Edition is the bible in this house every single Christmas season) has indicated, David Tennant is on TV in the next two weeks no fewer than 12 times. It’s like Christmas. Oh wait…
9) and finally, I think I have Santa to thank for this one.
-S.
That’s great news about the BA strike. I hope the court order will hold and you’ll have a couple Swedes under the tree for Christmas.
The amount of cuteness emanating from your twins is ridiculous. There should be a law.
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
I love how their expressions mirror their shirts.
Do they switch off shirts, or is that a constant state of affairs?
I’m glad your holidays are going well!
After reading your last post I did think of you and smile when I heard that the BA strike was off. Glad to hear that things are going OK. Have a great Christmas and New Year.
that sounds like a whole host of goodness:)
and o/t but a big Thank You! for organising Around the World…
I had a lovely hour or two reading the blogs and the comments on my own. and, indeed, writing my own.
Nick looks woobegone, Nora looks elated. Did you have to direct him away from the Christmas tree to get this shot and he was upset to be directed away from him lights?
On an unrelated note have you started potty training and if so do you have any advice to offer?
You are very deserving of all this awesome!
In a couple hours, I’m out of here, and won’t be back until after Christmas, so Merry Christmas Shannon! Please give the twins, Jeff & Melissa an extra hug for me!
Oh, Shannon. I am just so pleased and happy for you. That is all.
I thought of you as soon as I heard the strike was off. Did you see DT on “Never Mind the Buzzcocks” this week? I didn’t because I plain forgot.
I will wait with interest to see your other ebay purchase (the cool piece of the past)
The pics are great, especially of the Terrific Twosome, but would it be possible for a bigger copy of the snow bunch of trees pic? Is the original file larger? I do love me some trees.
Merry Christmas to you and your family.
So glad everything is coming together for you! I am just hoping to make it through the holidays in one piece this year.
Dear Santa,
Thanks very much for making it possible for Melissa and Jeff to come to their other home for Christmas! You rock!
Wow, you can tell Nick is Alastair’s son: http://www.flickr.com/photos/everydaystranger/3430423147/. Your daughter looks so much like you in the way she smiles.
Oh such good news to hear and see from your sweet little family. And you have snow over there, too! This morning I looked out of the window down on our street and watched the cars slipping along by 3 km/h. Wonderful(“Wundervoll” in German)!
Merry Christmas!
P.
It’s so good to read that things are better. Congrats for getting your phone (photos please) and whatever else it is you bought. Love the photo of the snow and the twins. They are just too cute for words.
Are the shirts on the twins representative? Or do they take turns wearing them?
Oh, the moaning I could do about builders.
My house is very modest, and was duly the first in this new street.
I can add brickies mud stuck halfway up my rendering irremovably, builders taking pungent smokos in my alfresco area, using MY CHAIRS to do so, making phone calls bang outside my bedroom window when I am starkers post shower and just barging in the front door, because they thought the house was empty.
Also the sheer amount of hairy bum-crack I saw was positively indecent. None of em seem to know about these things called ‘belts’.
xx
g
I love it when things all seem to fall into place! I’m so happy right now I could *bust*! The photo of the twins couldn’t be more perfect. I was wondering if they trade off wearing each shirt as well.
glad things are turning around for you…:) i must ask, where did you get those adorable naughty/nice shirts for your twins?!
You were the first thing I thought of when I heard about the strike being blocked. :)
Yay for pretty snow and nice baristas.