Sunday, December 16, 2007

Warm heart cold hands

Freeeeeezzzzzzinggggggg this weekend in London.
The sort of cold that makes your face freeze and your toes fall off. No, I exaggerate, but they certainly get halfway there.

But I still went out. Brrrrrr.

Saturday afternoon was spent with friends where I met my new "nephew". I am one of a trio of aunties, the other two being Amy and Pandy. Of course, his real aunty was there too with her partner.

He is 4 weeks old. I couldn't meet him on his public debut at one week, since I was sick. He's tiny and wee and cute now, so imagine what he was like then!



He is perfect! I could hear him breathing! His hands are gorgeous, his eyes are gorgeous, even the little whorl of hair on the back of his head....! His little busy mouth...his grasping hands...He tucks in his little froggie legs and moulds himself to you. OK, I will shut up now.

**********

On Sunday, I bundled up and went out with a bunch of fun friends to the Winter Wonderland Christmas fair at Hyde Park. There was a ferris wheel, a bandstand, a haunted house, a toboggan slope, and virtual pod rides (flights?) from Bee Movie and The Snowman.










There were also stalls selling crafts, but most importantly, FOOD. This weather makes me ravenously hungry at regular intervals. There were pancakes and waffles, Pimms, mulled wine, sausage and sauerkraut, hot dogs, a whole pig on a flaming spit (couldn't get a photo between the cooks)....the mini pancakes were a treat with hot chocolate sauce. The German burgers and hot dogs were nice too. I got a bite of those off one of my friends.

But after a while my fingers went numb (inside my fleece lined suede gloves) and my toes were numb (despite wearing two socks and woolly insoles with my boots). So I parted with the group as they set off for the ice rink (yes, ICE) at the Tower of London. I wish I could have, but I was suffering. The cold has also given me a headache. When I got into the train, my toes started burning, and I hate when that happens.

I simply cannot wear enough to keep me warm, but I was so bundled up, I am sure I would have bounced and rolled if I had fallen.

What did you all do this weekend?

24 comments:

L B said...

I was all warm and cozy indoors! I chickened out at checking out the small flurry of snowfall in the morning...

cha0tic said...

Holding a baby seems to suit you. Or was that the only picture you weren't grimacing on and giving it the "Take this thing off me" look :)

This weekend I worked (I'm used to that though) Slept and drank. A good weekend thankyou. Looks like you had a good one as well.

Selba said...

Waaahhh.. you look perfectly ready to be a mom :D

I wish I could feel the breeze, the cold weather from winter... oh.. I miss winter so much!!!

My weekend? stuck at home as usual :P

MattJ said...

My weekend? Was out in covent garden at La Tasca but had to leave quite early as I was hungover and also suffering from mystery Lurgy - and I had to go to the london office at 8am - joy! Luckily I wangled a Hotel room - the rest of the weekend was spent online shopping for pressies and food! :D As a reward for accomplishing gift purchases so efficiently, I may have bought the coolest DAB radio for my kitchen - http://www.pure.com/Releases/Release.asp?ID=270

seriously cool. Today I am lurgy recovering! Obviously I can't gush over the baby as I am a curmudgeon :D

ML said...

What a sweet baby smooch! Love that picture you two.

It's cold here too, so I feel your pain. UGH!

Anonymous said...

Aww, sweet.

Beenzzz said...

I love newborns...except at night when I'm exhausted. They are precious though.
The Christmas Fair looks awesome! It's so frigid here too. I wish I could just hibernate like a bear.

Miss Dallas said...

OMG, that little morsel! Seriously, you're making my instincts go haywire!

Belive it or not, the frost held over the weekend here in Texas. It's a little cold here, so we ran errands and I took the dogs on walks. Did a lot of Christmas knitting, too!

Anonymous said...

Darling darling little guy. Is that baby L? He seems to like his auntie. This weekend was a blur - a sticky, crumbly, sugary blur. I could hardly believe it was Monday when I awoke this morning. Stay warm!

Olivia said...

LB - odd, I replied to you last night but it has not appeared. Anyway, I said that even though I had fun, I envy your cozy and warm weekend.

***

Lucid - I think you have visited me before, so welcome back. Thank you, the first sentence is quite a compliment for someone who used to be shy around babies. But no more, I guess.

***

Selby- hmmmmm, you might be right ;)

Thank you for letting the page load, however slowly.

Here you can HAVE some of this cold air!
It always does seem refreshing until you're in it! :o

***

Matt - you had to work this weekend, hung over and lurgical?

Oof.

I looked at that radio. It is very cool, for a guy. Mine is cool too, check it out:

The Vita R1

I will never know how such sound comes out of one speaker. One time I was on the phone and a man's voice came on with so much richness that I shrieked, thinking someone was in the house.

***

ML - hey, thanks for popping by to say hi. Hope all is well with you. I did so love holding him!

***

Froggie - hey, nice to see you too! I say, babies do bring old familiar names out of the woodwork.

***

Beenzzz - he is precious, and he is also a good baby (for now) but his Mummy did say she had a hard time getting him to sleep that morning. We all went gaga whenever he opened his eyes.

***

Jo - I thought you would enjoy this! As ever, I noticed you're having a greater variation in temps - Houston was in the 60s in the day and 30s at night. That's quite nice because you're comfortable in the day and then you can go home and stay warm.

***

Nikki - Yes, that is the Baby L! Scared to come over to your blog now in case I see lots of baking and things....!

Jahooni said...

Oh he is super cute. Great picture of the "auntie" too....

Sounds like a fun weekend. As for me, I shopped, wrapped, shopped put up a "new" tree, shopped, wrapped... oh wait, I think I might have slept a few hours in there!

Christopher said...

The best part about this entry was that you said there was a haunted house at this Christmas spectacle...what kind of place was it? I imagine corporations scaring you into all sorts of holiday horror, with counselors at the end of the haunted house telling you that the only way to get past this nightmare before the birth of the baby Jesus, is to open a charge account at Harvey Nichols...Am I right?

Oh the delight of the ferris wheel, now is that the famous one that is up all year 'round in London? Does it work only during special occasions?

Then of course because of the whole paragraph about the food, and how good everything sounded I all of a sudden remembered that I had some brie in the fridge. So much for my bitching about weight gain and carbohydrates...you then do an entry about a haunted house and food and I am back to square one!

As usual, I am so happy that you stopped by and said hello like you always do. I always look forward to your little hello's!

xoxoxo

The Moody Minstrel said...

First let me get this out of my system:

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!

Okay, now, anyway...

You're just not oriented to the cold, are you, m'lady? Must be all those years spent in the heart of Texas (or was it the liver? Right kidney?). But food is still food, right?

Mattj
A curmudgeon? I thought you were a dewberry! ;-)

Selba said...

I've been online for a long time on the net so can upload your page :)

Btw, you are tagged with Christmas spirit!

Anonymous said...

Hi! Well I spent my weekend at Manchester and had a great time seeing the SawDoctors on Friday and The Pogues on Saturday. But you got to cuddle the most handsome baby in the world! He looks adorable. Next time you see him give him a squidge from me! xxx

Olivia said...

Jahooni - today I wrote my Christmas cards :) That's all I need to do this year!

***

Kissy - you are such a sweetie! I look forward to your hellos too.

Well, the haunted house had a hung Santa outside. I guess it was slightly modified for the season.

This ferris wheel is a fraction of the size of the London Eye, the big one you're thinking of, which goes all the time, and is run by British Airways so you book a ticket and take a "flight" which lasts half an hour.

xoxox
***

Minstrel - did you know that aaawwwww backwards is wwwwaaaaa, which is what babies do?

Maybe it was all those years in Texas, but also I my lips used to turn blue at the swimming pool when I was little, then I was told I had MVP when I was in my teens.

***

Selby - I will have to come and check that out later this week. I may not be able to check blogs for a couple of days as I am out in the evenings. I hope you are enjoying your week off.

***

Daffy - hey, nice to see you. Were those concerts you went to? I've heard of the Pogues.

I;ll see him in the new year so you
will have to remind me to squidge him for you! Or his Mummy could do it sooner!

cha0tic said...

Yes I have visited before. I'm normally cha0tic, but my usual SN wasn't available, so I used my alternative.

Anonymous said...

He looks well contented and you look happily at ease! Please say hello to everyone for me when you next speak to, or see, them.
I like the photos! Good to see that you enjoyed yourself, albeit that it really was rather too cold.
I spent most of the weekend at the bookshop as, not surprisingly, it is our busiest time of year.
Take care and stay warm. xx

neena maiya (guyana gyal) said...

Dear 'auntie', your 'nephew' is totally, completely, heart-meltingly adorable. Makes me miss mine though they're not babies anymore. I spoil 'em when I'm over *there*. Then I leave and the parents have to undo the damage. hee hee.

I think I'd brave cold weather to have so much fun too...or that's what I'd like to think. Last weekend several inches of rain tumbled down and some places flooded. I was supposed to go see some Canadian movies but decided, nah, ain't worth the trouble. So I stayed home...but couldn't power up the pooter thanks low electricity supply. I read and read and watched tv.

AmitL said...

Hi,Aunty,err,Olivia-your lil nephew seems to be a real dah-ling.Nice description you gave.

A big laugh at the way you described the winter wonderland and concentrated on the Food part.

I have the same prob with cold weather-it gives me a headache..but,not the kind of cold you're having..I get it when it touches 15 deg C..hehe!ya-I'm a real warm-blooded creature,in all ways!

MattJ said...

Dewberry? Charming!

Olivia said...

Lucid/Cha0tic - aha, of course I remember you. I even think I met you once at a blinks.

***

Flighty - just wondering, do you like the smell of a newly printed book, or the smell of a room full of old books?

Not only is it still cold, but now it's DAMP.
The ground is wet with no rain having fallen. Mind you, I suspect this is much like winter when I was little, only I got used to much milder stuff. Not including the balmy southern winters...!

***

Guyana Gyal - you do realise you sound like a Granny more than an Aunty, don't you? :P

Come on, I'll show you a cold winter, that'll cure you!

***

Amit - that headache lasted in various forms for various reasons for 3 days! Today I am fine, only feeling awful for other more stressful reasons!!!

15C sounds wonderful!

Anonymous said...

Arty I don't actually have much sense of smell but like all bookbuffs I do sniff books!
I wonder if old books have soaked up fragrances over the years!
No doubt there is plenty to be found on the subject, but I'll save that for another time. xx

Christopher said...

Have a WONDERFUL Christmas/Soulstice/New Year, and see you again, next year! xoxoxo

Kissy