Mike & Abby: 2005

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Spring Cleaning

my side

mike's side

What else would a perfectly normal person do on their weekend than neurotically clean and organize their closet? My mother should be proud. . .and maybe a little concerned.

A neurotic can neither enjoy his illusions nor give them up.

-Mason Cooley

fireplace

Finally, after living in our new home for almost a year, we've made it to our bedroom. We went with a monochromatic theme with romantic touches. It's just so nice to put a fresh coat of paint up to make it your own. It's difficult to tell in the pictures, but the stripes on the wall are actually pearlescent. We just need a rug and a few more decor items and we'll move onto the next project!!

Saturday, January 15, 2005

Catherine & Abby (Girls night out at Gilley's)

Thursday, January 13, 2005

Christmas Vacation 2004

We had a brilliant Christmas Vacation this year in London, England (12/22-12/30). We stayed in a quaint hotel in Bayswater (near Notting Hill and Hyde Park) which was actually three Victorian townhouses. We each had our own twin bed, Mike and Abby's in the basement! We were all a little amused by the archaic plumbing.

On Christmas eve Debbie, Corey, Mike, and I were able to see By The Bog of Cats starring Holly Hunter at the Wyndham Theatre in Picadilly Circus. It was a sad story, but I think we all really enjoyed the experience of both they play and the surroundings (the theatre was built in 1899).

We used the underground (tube) for most of our travels and took two day trips to the countryside. The first on Christmas day to Salisbury where we were able to attend a Christmas service at Salisbury Cathedral, then had a traditional English Christmas meal. We also stopped by Stonehenge and Bath, only briefly as most places were closed for the holiday and the sun begins to set around 4pm. We shared Christmas dinner at a Chinese Restaurant (how "A Christmas Story" is that!) that actually charged us extra for eating there on Christmas.

On Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, we took another trip where we drove through Greenwich (meridian), then onto Canterbury. In Canterbury we went to the Cathedral which was absolutely breathtaking. The Crypts where the archbishops, etc. are buried lined the border of the interior of the church. After lunch Mike, Deb, and Dan went on a walking tour with our overzealous tour guide while Abby and Corey went on a shopping break. We stopped at Leed's Castle which was pretty amazing, then stopped at the White Cliff's of Dover on the way back.

There was just so much history, architecture, culture, and sites to see it was almost overwhelming at times. The lifestyle there is just so different than how we function...it was a pleasure to see how other people live their lives. It certainly made us appreciate all that we have, to be able to get into our car and go wherever we want, whenever we want. As Dan would say, to not have to back into the toilet because there's no room to turn around once your in. It was a great end to a very prosperous year for us, we will remember it always. . .thank you Dan & Debbie for making it possible for us. Happy New Year Everyone!