Halloween Costume Research

I have finally motivated to start working on my cockroach costume, and have some ideas about the cockroach mask that I want to make, but I have to say that researching the costume (which involves looking at up close pictures of roaches to try to get an idea of how their faces are really shaped) is totally grossing me out. I also might be too lazy to figure out the extra legs dilemma and might have to just go as a maimed cockroach.

My talented sister

The other day a package arrived from Kate and Andy with lots of fun little baby gifts in it. There was a tinkling stuffed frog, which Jim particularly likes the sound of, some really fun baby booties shaped like lizards or turtles, a hat with matching booties and a beautiful baby quilt. We were touched by the gift, but when were told by Kate that she MADE the quilt we went from touched to seriously impressed. This quilt is much cooler than anything you could find in a store and Kate MADE it! I'm not sure where she got this crafty gene (maybe from our grandmother?) but she can do all kinds if cool things like make funky costumes, award winning beaded bird houses, and now quilting. I think she could actually start her own baby quilting business and make a small fortune (based on my newfound knowledge of how expensive everything related to maternity wear and babies is). Behold...the quilt! (and stay tuned in a few months for pictures of our baby on the quilt. I'm going to do my best to make sure there aren't any pictures of cats on the quilt before then. The quilt is off limits to cats!!!)

Hooray for Meg and Dan!

After a fun visit with Jackie and Piotrek, we were then lucky enough to have a visit from Meg and Dan on their way through London to various destinations (starting with America for some weddings). It was kind of weird hosting them in the flat that used to be theirs, but really fun to have them in town! They are already seeming very worldly after traveling for a couple of months and their next big stop is Africa, where they'll go on a safari and then volunteer in an orphanage. Very cool.

Jack was VERY happy to see his parents and he and Dan had some cat conversations. Both cats spent both nights with Dan and Meg, who are much more interesting than we are apparently.

They claimed that our sofa bed is more comfortable than most beds they have been sleeping in lately, but they may have been just being polite.


On their second day, we went out to see Kate and Simon and their week old baby Nelly. She was very small and sweet and mostly sleeping while we were there. Her parents were incredibly calm and happy...and I had my usual anxiety attack when around tiny babies response. We only have three more months until we'll have our own tiny baby and I hope it's true that some maternal instinct kicks in because at this point I have no idea what to expect.

Simon and Nelly:

Meg and Nelly:

Dan and Nelly:

Kate and Nelly:


After meeting Nelly, we headed back to the house for some BBQ. Dan started things off and Jim jumped in to help when he got home from work. There isn't a light in our garden, so headlamps are essential.


Unfortunately, all good times must come to an end and Meg and Dan's departure coincided with my once a week day at work, which made it extra crappy. Luckily, we'll see them again in a couple of months at Christmas.

Jackie and Piotrek come to visit!

Last Christmas, Jim and I got on the plane to fly back to London and lo and behold there was our friend Jackie, who, it turns out, lives in Manchester (we had been out of touch, obviously). Since then we have talked about getting together and finally it happened! Jackie and her new fiancee, Piotrek came for a visit!

One of the first things we did was go to the Hampstead crepe stand and get many, many crepes. So excited were they about the crepes, that Jackie and Piotrek got TWO each: one sweet and one 'savoury' (that's how they refer to 'not sweet' here in England). They then challenged us to visit the crepe stand frequently, sample all the crepe variations, and let them know which ones were the very best. Great plan!

Here's Jackie with an abundance of crepes:

And everyone enjoying their crepes AND the beautiful weather we were having this weekend:


With full bellies, we headed up the high street and made our way to Hampstead Heath for a leisurely (VERY leisurely because we were feeling slightly heavier than we felt before) walk through the park.


This walk was right up Jim's alley because not only were we going at a leisurely pace, but we also stopped and lazed around in a vast field. While in the field, we also attracted about four dogs, which was kind of funny. We must have smelled nice or something because the dogs were drawn to us.


We swung by the Kenwood House. (Breakthrough! I know how to get there without getting hopelessly lost now!) And then we headed to the Spaniards Inn to have some afternoon refreshments:


After a rest and some more digesting, Piotrek and Jackie took us to South Kensington for our first experience of Polish food. It was very dense and my favorite part was dessert: Apple Streudle! (with ice cream) It was a very food filled day.

We love friends visiting!

Growth

That was then (July, 4 months):


This is now (October, 7 months):


Whoah. Nice hair.

This is not photoshopped

This weekend, our friends Jackie and Piotrek were here and Jackie is allergic to cats, so the kitties had to spend the weekend camped out in the conservatory. In the process, they appear to have bonded because, for the first time ever we found them like this:

Jim sings

This is why I love Jim so much. Not only does he wash the dishes, but he also provides ample entertainment while doing so.