#100happydays

Wow where did the last month go?  Travelling, working, holidaying and not blogging have been the go for me and I am very behind with my #100happydays so I'm going to bundle a bunch of them together.  Here are days 71-86:

71. Mewster investigating...

72. MozzyMr and I visited the Gilbert and George retrospective at the RAMM museum in Exeter, it was great but we weren't allowed to take photos so here is a picture of some taxidermy.  I visit to the RAMM wouldn't be complete without a visit to the bird room!

73. I LOVE this time of year, all the seedlings coming to life in the polytunnel, when you pull back the doors it smells amazing!

74. One of the many perks of working in a University International Office is getting snacks from around the world.  Now I appreciate wasabi peas are not difficult to get hold of in the UK however these blow your head off!

75. One tin foiled desk to send our colleague off!

76. More visits to London, this time to attend Secret Cinema, which involved dressing up in 1920's style clothing and having a lot of fun!  (Being Secret Cinema I can't really tell you anymore....)

77.  My runner beans were doing so well, until I planted them out before leaving for San Diego, when I got back they had been eaten by slugs.  Every last one of them.

78. Oh boy did I miss this little face whilst I was away, since returning she has been super clingy and appreciative of us being back.  

79. The rewards of all that hard work I put into making the back garden nice last year, so many of the plants I put in have established and are flourishing it's really nice to be out there in the evening.

80. The San Diego conference centre where I was based for the first week of my time in the US.  The conference was incredibly tiring but worth it, my hotel was a stones throw from the centre and every single day the sun shone!

81. Finally I had my last meeting and then I was on holiday!  MozzyMr joined me at the end of my week of work and we moved from the hotel I was staying in during the conference to an apartment North of Balboa Park.  This photo was taken in Balboa Park, so much colour!

82. It is fair to say we put on a little extra weight whilst we were abroad but hey you have to make the most of the food that's available to you!

83. San Diego had succulents and cacti absolutely everywhere you turned, I was in heaven!  My phone and my camera are jammed with pictures.

84. On our final evening we went out to the Harvey Milk American diner where I had this gin, it was supposed to be with tonic but I'm fairly certain they put soda water with it.  It wasn't that nice to be honest, but I did love the mason jar it came in.

85. My draw for the world cup sweepstake at work, not too shabby.

86. Last weekend I was in London once more, my brother and I did the double show of the Drowned Man on Saturday and one show on the Sunday.  We had the executive tickets for the Sunday as it was to be my final show, all three shows were great and it is with a heavy heart that I look at this picture and think that it was my last time seeing it before the production closes.

#100happydays round up:

• Days 1 - 10
• Days 11 - 20
• Days 21 - 30
• Days 31 - 40
• Days 41 - 50
• Days 51 - 60
• Days 61 - 70

#100happydays

March was awesome and it looks like April is shaping up to be pretty damn fine too, I'm having no trouble finding things to fill my #100happydays posts!  Here are days 51 - 60:

51: Yuck!  A selfie.  I never take selfies but I did on this occasion because I kicked it at the gym doing a hour of Body Combat followed by an hour of overly competitive Netball.  I was a BEAST!  My usually straight/neat fringe escaped into a curly mess the more I sweated it.

52: What a TOP night out at Exeter Phoenix seeing the Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show.  Apologies for the poor quality photo, the room was steamed up with everyone dancing and jumping about to some pretty awesome tunes.  It just so happened that most of my social groups were there that night, I felt like a social butterfly.  Loved it!

53: At the recent Crikey It's Vintage fair (which had moved to Exeter Castle) there were a selection of gorgeous vintage cars and some amazing stalls.  I treated myself to a ring and hung out with MoMa who had a stall.

54: I love my 3D map of Europe, I bought it at the car boot sale for a bargain 50p!  It was in it's original but tatty packaging, usually I just don't take stuff out of it's packaging but I really wanted this out on display.

55: Another Cat Snaps selfie of Mewster, she was playing with the app for ages, I love the look of concentration in her eyes!

56: Bit of a weird one, but seeing those classes at the gym stack up as 'attended' is so motivating.  Seeing myself sweating in those horrendous studio mirrors is a struggle but if I keep at it I won't hate what I see in those mirrors so much!

57: Ha ha ha!  Yep another The Drowned Man snap.  You really shouldn't take photos but I was in a hidden room (you have to crawl through a tunnel to get to it) and there was no one in the room for me to spoil the play for so I took a cheeky snap.  Trip 7 lined up for next week then that's it for a while, I need to build up the hunger again.

58: Gorgeous vintage books at a stall on the South Bank in London, I got to hang out with my lovely sister-in-law and nieces on Saturday.  The sun was shining, we had cake it was great!

59: Another snap from the South Bank in London, right next to the National Theatre is this fab structure which looked so vivid against the blue sky.  I love the shadows of the people walking across the bridge above us.

60: I found The Moomin Shop in Covent Garden, instead of buying a mug which no doubt I will break I bought a set of Moomin tea spoons.  This way I get to enjoy them every-time I have a cup of coffee or a pudding!

#100happydays round up:

• Days 1 - 10
• Days 11 - 20
• Days 21 - 30
• Days 31 - 40
• Days 41 - 50

Resolutions in review

Wow, March has been awesome so far.  Hectic for sure, but awesome.  I'm finding some of my resolutions easier to keep than others but that strikes me as pretty standard!

1. Be in the moment.  I have been taking a slightly different approach to this resolution recently, I have been taking the time to evaluate what I already have and ensuring I use it.  For example, I love my Kindle and love how easy it is to just download a new book to it and to start reading straight away.  The thing is I have an ever growing pile of actual books that people give to me because they think I will like them, so my task recently has been to work my way through the real books and save the ones on my Kindle for when I am on my travels and need to pack light.
2. Take every opportunity to exercise.  Well I bit the bullet and joined the gym.  I've been loving going to classes and netball every week and I'm finding the more rigid structure of class timetables more motivating than slotting exercise sessions into my week here and there.  Now the weather is getting better I have to admit I'm more inclined to walk to work as well, when I do I average 15,000 steps without even trying!
3. Be organised about lunches.  Nooo I'm still struggling with this one, any suggestions folks?
4. Reconnect with friends.  This month we went up to Birmingham to visit good friends Bon, Andy and their new (ish) baby Archie.  It was such a chilled weekend and perfectly sums up how awesome those pair are and how lucky we are to know them :)
5. Allotment time.  I think this might just be my favourite time of year for the allotment.  Of course I love harvesting armfuls of crops, but when you first put the seeds in and check them everyday for progress, for me that is the most exciting time!
6. Seek out culture.  Not a bad month for culture at all!  Two visits to The Drowned Man, an evening with comedian Jon Richardson, an afternoon at the Natural History Museum and a morning at Tate Britain.  I'm loving seeking out exhibitions, plays and films.  This month I want to visit the Gilbert and George retrospective exhibition at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter!
7. Be more efficient with chores.  Whilst taking up classes at the gym has been great for me they definitely eat up my time in the evenings but I have managed to do the odd job here and there to reduce the amount of cleaning I have to do at the weekend.  My mornings have also become a ruthlessly efficient time for doing laundry, and tidying up.  That said there is room for improvement, I might draw up a rota to formalise what needs doing on which days, you never know it might help me focus my mind?

Alternative advent calendar #22

So Helene in Between wrote an excellent post called 10 Things That 2013 Taught Me, I sat nodding my head in agreement with almost every point listed so thought I would list my own 10 things that 2013 taught me in homage to Helene's excellent blog!

1. 2013 taught me that I cannot get enough awkward cat photos, I post so many to Facebook it's a miracle more people haven't blocked me...

This fella ate a bee, his face is a picture of regret.

2. Breaking Bad stole my life in 2013, but then I think it stole everyone's life didn't it? 2013 taught me that opening a Netflix account might have been a bad idea.

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3. 2013 has been a painful wait, waiting, waiting, waiting for Sherlock series 3 to air.  As it happens it's going to be shown on 1st January 2014 but whatever.  It's here!  It's here!  Therefore 2013 has taught me that patience is a virtue.

4. 2013 taught me to embrace my inner old lady and so I turned all out-doorsy, lots of walking in the woods, walking on the beach, digging on the allotment and visiting National Trust properties where I enjoyed a cup of tea and a cake.  Oooooh lovely bit of cake.

Introducing the 60-year old girl meme

5. Coffee made me it's slave.  I've always been partial to the odd cup of coffee but this year I don't seem to function without it.  Help me.  2013 taught me that I need to get more sleep.

6. Millenials.  2013 taught me the best ways to get the best out of my millenials.  It's not easy folks.

19 facts we learned about millenials

7. 2013 taught me that sometimes you just have to stand up and be counted.  It's scary and isolating (yep I've lost friends over my decision to strike) but if you believe things are wrong then you have to show those that make the decisions that you won't stand for it.

8. 2013 has taught me that I scan Buzzfeed far too much, but that means I find gems like this computer game in the making, so that's ok then.

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9. 2013 has taught me that I'm not scared of flying after all, duh.  I'm guessing 2014 will teach me not to spend all my money on holidays.

10. and finally.... 2013 taught me I can have my mind blown away by The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable.  Have I mentioned it before?  I not sure I have.  Accidentally purchased another ticket for February.

So what has 2013 taught you?  I would love to know!

Life lately

1 and 2. This beast is such a sweetheart, little Mewster is such an awesome little cat to live with!

3. Digging out old treasures to sell on ETSY, I am a hoarder and I didn't know :/

4, 5 and 6. I am loving watching autumn roll in.

7. Sat on Falmouth Quay eating a pasty and drinking a ginger beer with this baby seagull as my chum.

8. Actually enjoying the heavy rain we've been having, is that weird?  I just think it's pretty.

9. Preparing for tomorrows strike action, more info here. 

10 and 11. Attending Ruthie's hen do, with Big Lebowski  dress up, bowling and a butler in the buff.

12. Celebrating my Birthday, hazaar!  My lovely colleague decorated my desk with balloons and confetti!

13. Birthday messages from little kids = awesome!

14. Birthday prize: a new pet portrait to add to the collection, this one is actually very good.

15. Birthday celebrations... raspberry gin, delicious, many shots were consumed, surprisingly no hangover!

16. Hanging out in London with this pair, MozzyMr and my brother.

17 and 18. Opposite the studio where we saw The Drowned Man and the mask worn during the production, little did I know when I took this that I was about to be come obsessed with that play and promptly book two more visits.

The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable

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MozzyMr and I have returned from a weekend visiting my brother near London.  We drove home this afternoon through the "storms" (what you mean rain?  Rain in Autumn Shocker!), and I'm writing this because I can't get to sleep and in any case I thought I would let you know about the AWESOME play/production we went to see on Saturday night.

For the last few months my brother has been waxing lyrical about a production by theatre company Punchdrunk called The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable.  He didn't give many spoilers away and I will try not to either because hopefully all of you near (or indeed not so near) London will go and see the production because truly it is amazing.

You will notice the absence of photographs in this post because for once I was actually enjoying the moment rather than photographing it.  The production is set in an old Royal Mail sorting office across four floors and you are free to roam the sets whilst the acting takes place around you.  You are given a white mask to wear throughout which signposts you as a member of the audience but also helps to create anonymity, eliminating that awkward feeling of being up close to the action.  If you want you can follow one or more of the actors or alternatively you can have a poke around the sets to discover clues to the storyline.  As part of the experience you are told to ditch your companions and explore on your own, I wasn't massively keen to do this myself and wanted MozzyMr to come with me.  I was let out of the lift on the basement floor with my brother whilst Moz was held back in the lift and taken to the third floor. My brother quickly disappeared (he has seen the production several times before and had a plan of action to follow so scuttled off to pursue it) leaving me in the dark, on my own and pretty pissed off.  I roamed about for ages not coming across anyone just creepy sets and dark corridors, moving up a floor proved a good plan as I found my first cluster of action, from that point onwards I went with the flow and fully immersed myself in the production.  The production is three hours long, as we were part of the first group to be let into the building we had the place to ourselves for what felt like the first half an hour or so.  I explored the sets until I found a pocket of acting taking place and started following one of the actors from one set to another, with 600 audience members roaming the floors it was surprising that I came across MozzyMr and my brother a couple of times throughout, but I left them to it and went off to explore elsewhere.  At one point one of the actors took me by the hand and led me to a side room which he locked behind him, for a couple of minutes the story continued just for me, which was weird, but amazing.  The attention to detail throughout the production is stunning and this little aside was unexpected but totally made the evening.

I appreciate that I haven't gone into much detail about the actual comings and goings of the production (I wonder if my brother will frown about me telling you about the aside??), for one thing I don't want to spoil it for those of you who might go, but secondly because of the freedom to roam and explore the experience is so unique to the individual, I came away with an entirely different view of the production from those of my brother and MozzyMr.

Go, seriously just book the tickets and go, I am planning at least one if not more trips back before the production run finishes.