the biggest news is that i think i'm about to move out of my university housing into a place that is much, much, much cheaper. there is one last thing that needs to happen and then i'm out of here!! that in itself will make my happy for weeks on end. i will update you all when something happens.
thinking back, the last important thing was last friday. L cooked chili, i was through the roof. it was (sorry mumma) probably the best i've had yet, especially with my added sour cream, tortilla chips, and cheese. saturday N and i went to stockport. we got her ears pierced and did some very efficient shopping. when finished in stockport, we came back into town and did some knitting before heading to (the other) L's pantomime. this was an experience that i cannot begin to replicate via blog... pantos are simply something else. we don't really have them in the states, or at least they aren't mainstream enough for me to notice. in any case, we watched that, walked back through the curry mile for some falafels, and rounded out the night listening to our favorite djs at trof. sunday i knitted all day. monday i can't really remember anything of importance. watched a movie, gave M his bday present, generally lounged. tuesday was the last day of classes and so we also had the xmas party that night. it was lots of good xmas food, good company, and museum jokes and games (think snakes and ladders but with ethical reasons for advancing/knock backs). wednesday was spent running around town for the last bits of xmas presents, then more knitting. thursday was spent at the accommodation office trying to reason with the guy there about my housing. it got a lot better after that, though. N and i went to see Where the Wild Things Are, which is crap except for the scenery and score (done by Karen O and we all know how much i love her--give it a listen, you won't regret it). in any case, the movie put us in a good mood and we left to find that the falling snow had stuck, even though it was only about half an inch. being the good idea makers that we are, we decided it was a good idea to go for a run around the park. we picked up S on the way, F met us there, and we had a great time playing in the snow:
after we finished outside, we went back home and made smores (thanks mumma, they liked them lots, lots more than the first sad attempt!) and hot chocolate. it was really late by this point, so N and i bowed out for bed. she stayed the night so we could have scones and cream for breakfast in the morning before she headed to work and i headed to wales.
friday was our trip to conwy. M and i both needed the break after stressful weeks, so i decided the perfect solution was taking a trip with my birthday money. so thanks to Uncle Ken and Aunt Connie, your birthday and xmas present funded the following adventure. it was amazing.
we left manchester around 9:50, properly outfitted with food, water, gloves, several layers of clothing (M wore 5 pairs of socks, 3 pairs was the max for me). it was freezing the entire day, but we didn't really notice for the most part.
this is the path we could have taken. instead, we climbed up the steep hill on the right.
we managed to get all the best scenery and lighting. every time we reached the top of the next hill, the view was more stunning and in some cases literally took my breath away.
in any case, we stopped for lunch in a little outcrop of rock. mum wouldn't have been able to get there, it was a pretty narrow walk next to a pretty large drop. it was completely worth it. it was really really cold by this point, but we had the most amazing view of the sea, the islands, surrounding hills, and the... motorway. lovely. i compensated by imagining it 500 years ago.
after lunch, we kept trekking: first to the iron age hill fort, then the hill just beyond. little did we know it was already inhabited:
it was breathtaking. i still can't get over how well the light treated us, the ponies were not friendly but certainly not shy. it was the perfect end/reward to a day of hiking. we got back into town around 4 and got on the train just as it got really dark. our stopover was in chester, but neither of us cared to be outside any more, so we just got hot drinks and sat until our train got there. i came back home to good news about the housing situation and scones and cream for dinner (healthy, i know... but it was 9:30 and i didn't want to move). i've posted all the pics on facebook, the album is much more complete than the few pics i've posted here. today it's library, art gallery, and skypetime before heading to get falafels and listening to our favorite djs at trof (i like to repeat good experiences).
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