Hiatus, Indefinitely

Hi All,
As Im going through a time of pretty intense change, not to mention trying to iron out the divorce and immigration issues with Gavin, Im going to take an extended break from blogging. I might update here and there, but definitely not the once a day I had going. I will start up at some point in the future, but I'm taking a break--going underground. You can always reach me at truehannah@gmail.com or call me at 919-612-6097.

love love love all of you.
take care.
I'll be back in the fall.

If Ever You Go To Mad Hatter's For Breakfast

Avoid the Japanese breakfast. At first I was so excited because I haven't been anywhere that serves a Japanese breakfast (which is grilled fish, white rice with sesame seeds, miso soup and usually some shredded carrot or daikon radish). But I've been getting sick all day. Headache, nausea and a little bit of dizziness, which leads me to believe they use MSG on their salmon. Ick. And ugh.

I hope I get better before my tattoo session tomorrow. Im sure a tattoo needle could make me barf indefinitely if I don't start recovering.

Millennium Tunnel

There is this tunnel that you can walk through to get to the south bank that has this poem engraved in the walls. This part of it reads "I dream of a green garden where the sun feathers my face like your once eager kiss." Damn. That made me tear up a bit.

On the South Bank of the Thames

A nice shot of Heather and John, on the south bank on the way to Tate Modern.

Me and Heather on the South Bank

Hey Mona Lisa

tee hee hee hee hee

Trust in the Phantom Hand

This is in the member's lounge at the Tate Modern, which has an amazing view of London. I am being fed a tartlet by a phantom hand. All I can say is everyone involved in the making of this photo was a terrific sport. Thank you, phantom hand.

Gay Firemen Statue

This statue is near St. Pauls Cathedral, to commemorate the brave service of firemen during WWII. Also, the gayest statue ever created. I love it. Discuss the phallic imagery amongst yourselves.

Attempt to Be Cute

After a day out, I try to be cute at the pub.

Just a Break from Europe

I just think this is funny. That is all. As you were . . . .

Saturday was Sunny

So John, Heather and I did a bit of a walkabout. From where they live in Battersea we crossed the river and went to Sloane Square and Chelsea for some people watching and shopping. We started off at the Mason's Arms. Bob Geldof comes here sometimes! I thought I saw him, but it turned out to be a homeless dude. Anyway, here we go . . . .

Sloane Ranger

Me in front of Sloane Square, where all the posh rich ladies go to shop.

A Coffee in Chelsea Farmer's Market

Chelsea Farmer's Market is really compact but super cute. I couldn't get a big panoramic picture, so I had to settle for a smaller pic. It was really lovely and posh with people drinking summer Pimm's. We just had coffee though. But we soaked up the atmosphere just the same.

And Then a Nice Pint

When we were walking down King St we got a call from some of John's friends who were at this restaurant. So we had a lovely pint in the gardens.

In Front of My Favorite Building

Me and Heather on the Chelsea Bridge with the most glorious backdrop in the world.

Brick Lane, East London

Believe it or not, Heather and I used to live near Brick Lane. We once stalked Bjork there. True story.

Dinner at Brick Lane Curry House

There were a bunch of us, and it took for-friggin-ever to get food. On the plus side, we got free booze while we waited.

Cops at the Curry House

Even though dinner was excellent, it took forever to get the food. Two patrons got up and left before their food came, after they had been waiting for 90 minutes. Some of the restaurant staff, thinking they had dined and dashed, chased them down Brick Lane with a skillet and split their heads. Obvs, the cops came. I took surreptitious photos. This lady cop was deadly serious and also deadly beautiful.

One Knightrider

All I can say is, I love this photo.

Checking in with BPS

Everyday started with this beautiful beast. I love it.

The New Memorial

So this is the new Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. It is 2,711 slabs of concrete pillars on about 4 acres of land. The number 2,711 doesn't really mean anything--it's random. But it's on a rolly bit of land and very labyrinthine. You get down to where the pillars are really high and it throws sound around so you never know if that person you hear is behind you, around the corner or several rows over. Very unsettling. I found it to be a very appropriate memorial, and Im happy they placed it right beside the Brandenberg Gate and the Reichstag so it's right in the touristy area where everyone passes.

Brandenberg Gate

This is really magnificent to see in person. It's the only old gate to the city that still stands. Guess what? It was Hitler's favorite gate. If you go through it and swing a left you come to the new Holocaust memorial, and then after that the place where Hitler's bunker was, about 150 meters down the way.

Hitler's Favorite Chocolate Statuary

So Heather and I play a game that's called "Hitler's Favorite." It started when we did a walking tour of the city and the guide named a number of things as "Hitler's favorite . . . ." his favorite architect, his favorite building, his favorite view, favorite kind of nuts. So we started figuring out other things that must have been his favorite.

I heard this is his favorite (sorry Heath, favourite) chocolate statue of the Reichstag. Fassbender & Rausch did it. I also heard his favorite chocolatier was Stollwerck.
We do know he had a favorite shopping center in London. That much is true . . . .

Biking Through the City

On the last day in Berlin we biked through the city from P'berg to Zoo Station. This is in the Tiergarten. It was really hot so lots of Germans were sunbathing naked. I don't think Im mature enough to ever live in Germany. I always laugh when I see "fahrt" in any combination of words, and I think naked pasty people are also worth a giggle.

Anyway, I got my farfegnugen levels topped up and Im ready to smell some roses. Conveniently, for your viewing pleasure, that happens next . . . .

Berlin Roses are So Sweet

This is in Savignyplatz

I'm Back . . .

London and Berlin were great!! I will be posting many, many photos as I find some time. But right now, demands of life are pretty big and I don't have much free time.

I hope you all enjoyed my mom's guest blogging. Im surprised she didn't put in my synchronized swimming performance of 1998. We watch that on video all the time . . . . Seriously though, thanks mom! You can guest blog any time. Me blog es su blog.

It turns out that my car was indeed totaled, but the insurance took care of everything and the loan is all paid off and everything. Im going to be rocking out in the old Scion xB. But very carefully from now on. I feel better about the whole thing now.

I still have a huge amount on my plate (that makes me cry a little when I think about it) but one thing at a time, right? In the meantime, enjoy some beautiful scenic photos.

My New Reason for Living

Is to climb this structure before I die. I want to attach zip cables and zoom around the stacks. I Love The Battersea Power Station. If you were able to move St. Paul's Cathedral, it would fit into the middle courtyard here. It's enormous. And I adore it. I have a zillion pictures of it.

Mural Outside Tate Modern

Barack Obama Wins

This says it all. I never thought I would see this in my life time. Maybe we are in a post-racial society. This morning the projections for the Electoral College give Obama 287 votes. I'm going to believe in a land slide for Obama in the fall.

Did anyone listen to the McCain speech? James Carville said McCain's advance people did a wonderful job. They succeeded in building an audience where McCain was the youngest person in the room. It was pretty awful. He shouldn't try to compete with Obama in oratory.

Here are the stats

Barack - the next president of the united states- has 1741 pledged delegates and 329 superdelegates for a grand total of 2070

Hillary Clinton - the next female member of the supreme court - has 1624 pledged and 291 supers for a total of 1915.

The DNC rules committee made a decision on Saturday to seat the FL and MI delegations but give them each half a vote. So the total needed to be nominated is 2118.

The superdelegates are moving Baracks way.

Newsfutures - the betting pool place - now has Barack Obama has 97% sure to win and HC has only a 5% chance of winning. . In the general election the bet is that the Democrat is 59% sure to win.

The electoral college estimates - based on opinion polling - now have Obama with 276 ecv and McCain with 238 ecv and 24 ties. 270 votes are needed to win it.

Puerto Rico vote split delegates: 37 for Hillary and 18 for Obama. South Dakota and Montana have only 31 between the two of them. So it's still down to the supers. And I think the DNC told Hillary on Saturday that they were not going to go with her argument about winability. Look for the superdelegates to declare en masse after Tuesday.



PS to Hannah. Allen Friedman is operating on Ted Kennedy today.

Kill Hill part 4

Please, please Hillary don't make us go through this. You've lost. Go home. Do it gracefully and maybe we'll forgive you. You need something like 153% of the remaining delegates to win. Unless you want to pull a revolution and take all the votes from Michigan just give it up.

I tried to find a picture of Hillary baking cookies. This is as close as I could find. If you find a pic of Hillary with a cookie sheet in her hand let me know.

DIY floor

We have planned to install a new wood floor for a long time. This summer is the time. I'm posting the beginning of the process and will add pictures as we go along. At some point I hope to have one of those time lapsed jobs that show the whole process - start to finish.

Our friend Jeff Martinson is helping in this picture.

First Date

It is actually a well known fact that Hannah has dated. But the first date is not particularly familiar. In fact Hannah may not even remember this. It is a precious memory of her mother's. Hannah probably doesn't know that I have this picture of her on her first date. Sixth grade, I think. To be fair to all the boys who were clamoring to ask her to the end of year dance she said "yes" to the first. Just because he barely reached her waist was no reason to refuse him and hope that some one taller came along. I love that girl.