Moscow Circus Maximus...

So it was off to the circus for this little black duck yesterday - the Moscow State Circus at the Old Deer Park in Richmond to be exact - so me 'n' J set off to catch the matinee performance with our 50% off vouchers expecting a jolly afternoon of old-fashioned family-style entertainment.  And...well...wow!  We loved it! 

The theme was the story of Rasputin (you know, Ra-ra-rasputin, lover of the Russian Queen for all you Boney M fans) and while that side of things didn't really grab me, the performers absolutely did.  What amazing discipline and precision...even the mad man who ran around the OUTSIDE of the sky wheel WITH A BLINDFOLD ON completely impressed me despite the rising tide of fear in my belly while watching this one.  But I've included pics of my faves for you (scanned from the £3 program) and at £7.50 for each ticket, that's excellent value for a pretty awesome afternoon's entertainment!

ps...speaking of circuses, I had a terrible fright today when  I opened my blog - the face of David Cameron stared out at me!  Good grief how did he get there??

This Leo's Pride...

I was just sitting here in the glorious sunshine wondering what on earth to write about today.  The washing machine is burbling away in the background, I've done a whole lot of admin and the world seems like a very lovely place to be in right now...and then J popped in to show me the latest PR on a project that he completed recently and all of a sudden, I knew exactly what I wanted to tell you all...

I am really proud of my fella!

Not being able to draw a straight line (or decent circle if you will!) at all, I am always amazed at people who can.  J has 21 years under his belt as an Interior Designer (with Wandsworth-based rdd) so watching him work (well maybe not watching it ALL) and produce these amazing drawings and designs for his clients produces something akin in little ol' moi, to awe.  One of his latest projects is The Arch, an AB Hotel which opened officially in January this year.  It's getting all sorts of 'critical acclaim', nominations for major design awards and loads of fabulous PR...and every time J shares a little piece of this with me, I could just burst with pride! 

How blessed am I to be completely inspired by my man?  Now I just need to 'inspire him' to take me for the grand tour!

ps...and here's another shameless plug - check out the links in the blog to see The Arch and other stuff from rdd...so cool.

Games People Play...

I have always been amazed at the number of games on Facebook and the number of invitations I get to indulge in Mafia Wars on Treasure Isle or join the Farmville Sorority.  I have also been quite selective - choosing only 1 or 2 to indulge in - and loyal - when everyone shipped off to Farmville I stayed resolutely with Lil Farm Life and just dipped into my Lil Green Patch every now and then.

But this weekend I've been suckered into 2 new worlds - Social City and Cafe World - and I'm hooked...

...and it's those two sisters of mine that have done it!  They just looked like they were having so much fun so I surrendered to their call...and now I find myself wondering how many cheeseburgers I've served and whether I can afford to complete the rest of my Cafe refurb. or assessing whether I have enough leisure activities for all my little Social City peeps to do.

As if I didn't have enough to do!

What's that?  Grubs up...oh best get back to the kitchen...

Easter Parade

We've had a fairly restful Easter up here on Kingston Hill and as I'm watching the sun still peek through the clouds at 6pm, I'm finding it hard to believe that I'll be back at work tomorrow morning (lady-of-leisure-ness is so NOT over-rated!)

But in reflecting on our weekend of me 'n' J just hangin' out together, I think we have managed a number of high points which I thought I'd share with you:

1. The return of Ashes to Ashes Series 3 on Friday night (Gene is back, the fashion is still questionable and we still have no idea how it will all turn out)

2. The return of Doctor Who on Saturday night (and whilst not quite ready to relinquish the top spot in my timelord affections to anyone other than the rather lovely David Tennant, I have to say I like this new doctor's quirky gangly-ness)

3.  Watching Frost/Nixon on Saturday night (which we have been threatening to do for ages - completely fascinating!)

4.  Having our first BBQ of 2010 on Sunday (shamefully late I know but we hope to get in the groove from now on in)

5.  Finally finishing the Rupert Everett bio on Sunday (a personal goal of mine - it was going on a bit and I was torn between finishing what I started in case there was a cracking ending or bailing and wondering did I miss something - fyi it was a combination of the former and the latter which I will leave you to work out)

6. Learning how to play Monopoly Deal (card game version of the board game - much faster and furious-er) and playing several mini 'tournaments' over the weekend - J is ahead 2 'sets' to 1...grrrrr maybe not such a high point? 

and last but by no means least...

7.  Sleeping til we've finished (a little piece of everyday heaven)

and I still haven't cleaned my windows or 'redone' the garden...

Sigh...what a perfect weekend...

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

No Raindances Please...

It's Easter Sunday and we've gotten off our backsides to rectify some rather uncharacteristic behaviour that has shadowed us thus far into 2010...

...we are having our first BBQ of the year!

Yes it's true.  What with...well...weather (no raindances please) and the busyness of life in general, we have not ventured into our small patch of 'great outdoors' to fan the flames of BBQ bliss this year.  But we are rectifying that oversight this afternoon and J's already out there fanning said flames in anticipation of our guests' arrival.  We have mountains of meat and the obligatory salad-y accompanients and I believe there is even a small trifle for dessert.

So there you have it.  The sun is shining and the bbq is smoking...but enough of this gas-bagging.  I'm must be off peeps...I'm already 1 G&T behind!

Wishful thinking...

Well here we are...it's April, it's Easter, we're on British Summer Time...

...and I have no daffodils...

Such a disappointment after I got 6 gorgeous sunshine-y blooms last year and after only 2 the year prior, I thought things were heading in a more prolific direction...

So J bought me some home the other night to console me...

So happy and bright aren't they?

But part of me still wishes that I grew some of my own.

Sigh....