MONKEYS!!!!

Like the tenative approach from both parties? He's thinking give me the damn peanut, lady! And I'm thinking, please don't rip my face off. These are the green monkeys that were eager to eat all of our peanuts which were smuggled in. Well worth the price of admission. The red monkeys were quite shy with us; however they were great fun to watch playing with each other.

More of the Gambia to come!

Headed to Gambia....2 weeks. Can't wait.

African sunsets, hot sun, good people, malaria, someone to bring a drink with an umbrella-ella-ella in it, monkeys, lots of cheeky monkeys.

And no work! Ya-woo!

talk soon.
Lo

My cousin, Cait, came to visit Ian and me for Christmas. She and her husband Ed wanted to hang out in London with our Charlie Brown Christmas tree and check out the sights. Originally, I had planned just to see them for about a days time, however all went to hell in a hand basket when Ian and I fell ill in CA and brought our germs across the Atlantic. We cancelled our trip to Edinburgh and stayed pent up in our room while we hosted our Toner clan guests. I don't think we contaminated the two of them, but we managed to have a couple of nights out and get a few pints in and a good pub meal.

We had a good time hanging out at London Bridge, one of my favourite spots for old school London. Cait and Ed had spent time in the City as well as tracking old haunts of Dickens. I informed Cait of the newest serialist in the UK who writes weekly in the Scotsman, Alexander McCall Smith, Sandy if you will. I told her how great it would be to share it with her English class and how sure I was that the students would get a kick out of the tales of 44 Scotland Street. (Remember, my old Edinburgh stomping grounds.) I was telling Cait that is she wanted to check out his most recent writings that I was most positive she could find some microfiche and share the stories with her students. That pesky little internet just wasn't in the forefront of my mind. What era is it?! Maybe I'm losing it, lord knows sometimes I struggle.

Well good times were had by all. Ian is planning on joining Ed and his family on the cattle ranch one of these days and living out his dreams of becoming an american cowboy. Coughing and sniffles aside, it was good to hang with fam and ring in the New Year.

xoxo.

Lo

Lo

Tube tales....London sucks the soul

That pretty much sums it up. I have concluded that it's sucking my creative juices from me as I have been confined to submitting to the daily commute becoming a drone, a scurrying rat, a band geek that marches through the Tube interweaving with the masses as if it's been choreographed stepping in time without touching the soulless beings that criss-cross me, but dare to touch. This new London life is quite different that my previous life in Muswell Hill where I simply rolled out of bed walked up a hill and a flight of stairs. Black taxis, double decker busses and Tube journeys were simply for my weekend explorations and all inclusive of the adventure. Now, each day I awake knowing that I will fight my way from bus to train to Tube to bus attempting to knock 1 minute off the commute. Head down and hands in my pockets, I set my sight far in the distance. I have learned that making eye contact is a sign of weakness and only slows me down. I am able to glide through the stations with ease and quickly reach my spot where the Tube doors will open and welcome me to take my place amongst my new best friends. Every day brings an unknown as I enter the train. Sometimes I make close friends that are so close too close we could be married in some countries, other times I make Martha Graham proud with my shape shapes. I have practiced my snow boarding skills and tested my balance to conquer the train as it bobs and weaves. I have amused myself with the fantastic thought of free falling into the crowds to watch the people roll like the tide. Somehow I don't think they would be that amused.

It's a young city because it's a hard city; the greedy stay and the wise have abandoned it. I just got here though and so did my furniture, I can take it a little longer. The country awaits me.

Toulouse, France

up top, Warwick (War ICK)

xoxo,

L