LOtR...musical!?

So, they've made a musical of the Lord of the Rings and we saw it Friday night in London. Supposedly, it's the most expensive musical ever made, but I don't think they put the money toward the acting. Gandalf spit out his lines like Speedy Gonzalez without any emotion. The songs weren't too bad, but the choreographer got a little out of control when it came to hand movements. Every time the elves spoke, sang, or were just standing in the background, they made funky moves with their hands almost like sign language, but not quite. It was so strange and cheezy that we had to laugh, even at the most serious moments. The set was pretty cool, probably where they spent the most money. The stage revolved in just about every direction. As for other special effects, the spider was super cool - an oversized puppet on strings. Overall, we had a good time, but I definitely do not recommend the show.

Before we saw the show, we grabbed dinner at a yummy sushi restaurant and then coffee at Cafe Nero where Chris became friends with another one of nature's creatures. This time it was a ladybug.

Another Cute Little Doggie

I've just finished my third little doggie and was a bit lazy with this one. Another friend had a baby around Easter. She had seen the last little doggie I made and mentioned it every time I saw her during the last few months of her pregnancy. When I found out she had a girl, I decided to see what a variegated doggie with a pink nose and paws would look like. I also added a bow to make her look a little more feminine. Like I said before, I got a little lazy and there are quite a few flaws in this one, but I won't reveal the unfixed mistakes. I was just looking at the original link for the pattern and realized that my doggie looks completely different than the pattern creator's. Oh, well. She's still a cute little doggie.

Hever Castle

A few weekends ago, when the weather was dry (unlike the last two weeks), we took the Vespa on a mini-trip to Hever Castle, the home of Anne Boleyn, queen of King Henry VIII (until he had her head chopped off). It was about a 2 hour ride and just chilly enough for my toes to be numb by the time we got there. We sat in a cafe and drank tea until I defrosted. The sun was shining off and on for the rest of the day, so we were able to enjoy a picnic lunch of hummus, pita chips, and fruit. We wandered through the gardens and found a nice place to nap near a fountain. Well, we weren't the only ones who liked the spot. Chris awoke to a tapping on his leg. It was a duck! There was a pair of ducks who decided to keep us company. They came right up to us and were so friendly that one of them let Chris pet him. I fell asleep again and when I woke up a second time the friendly duck was sitting right between my leg and Chris's. I've never had a "wild" animal come so close and feel so comfortable. Eventually, we had to say goodbye to our cute little friends.

Hats!

Two more hats are finished!

The first is my second knitted hat, and I was pretty impressed with the finished product, even though it looks a little imperfect in the photo. The most important thing is that Chris loved it! He wore it almost every night when we were in Bulgaria. The second is for a girl in my dorm who had been asking me to make her a hat for months. I had planned to crochet on the plane to Bulgaria, hoping to finish before we arrived. I hadn't planned very well, though, because I ran out of yarn before the hat was complete. I tried it on and it somewhat resembled a yarmulke. So, it sat and waited in my suitcase for one week and then another two in my house until I finally had a chance to get to the yarn store. Then it was finished in no time and Adrianna loved it!

Wasn't meant to be...

After crocheting for a year and feeling pretty good about my progress, I acquired a desire to knit. So, during the Christmas holiday, I spent a day with my mom and sister. My mom showed us the basic stitches and we all went to work on the same hat. Of course, my mom finished first, my sis second, and I finally just finished last week. I was so proud of my first knit project and got lots of compliments when I wore it Wednesday and again on Friday.

Well, Friday night my husband and I went to London to see "The Rocky Horror Show" and it was awesome! The show was out late, so we spent the night and ran some errands the next day all around town. In the morning, I was a bit chilly, so I wore my hat. Soon it became a little too warm. I put my hat in my bag. About three hours later, I was cold again, so I reached in my bag to get my hat and IT WASN'T THERE! It was lost and I had no idea where. We had been from Holborn to Oxford to Piccadilly and Leicester Square. There was no possible way I could retrace my steps. I just hope my hat was picked up by someone who will use and appreciate it.