In Preparation For . . .

VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!!!!!!! it's less than a week away, which means that all my valentines have been sent out (CHECK YOUR MAILBOXES (unless you're that creepster who still hasn't sent me people mag, but i can wait)!!!) and that my flatmates and i spent three hours tonight constructing a foam valentine's day tree (that's my flatmate fran!):

we also blew up lots of balloons that say valentines-y things on them, and cut out lots of paper hearts. there are streamers still to be hung and paper chains still to be made, but there's time. as usual i'm not living with people who were so excited about valentine's day before i got here, but they've come on board nicely. the girls more than the guys, but they'll come around.

not much else - no class mondays, or wednesdays, so i'm kickin it for a while. have to go grocery shopping tomorrow. can't wait to be back at kenyon where they feed me fo' free (ish). oh! we had a hockey game (field hockey, but they're not so big on ice here) yesterday, and we won! 3-1. the first time the team has won since before christmas. and i'm goalie! it's great. i love being on a team again. we were meant to have a lacrosse game today, too, but apparently the pitches were frozen. honestly, they're a little pansy-ish about the weather.

two weeks ago we went here, to peterborough:
this is where katherine of aragon is buried! and where mary queen of scots was, too, for a few years until her son got his act together and moved her to westminster. but how sweet is that?! plus it's quite pretty! it's the oldest norman-style cathedral in all of england. it's still sort of strange, though, because the woman who was telling us about it was thrilled that it's been around for almost six hundred years. i spent the past semester surrounded by a city that is four THOUSAND years old. six hundred seems sort of youthful! still, i think i'm going to start reading more about british history again. i've basically watched every tv show i can think of.

movies for valentine's day marathon:
love actually.
the notebook.
finding neverland.
a knight's tale.
how to lose a guy in 10 days.
pride and prejudice.
2 weeks notice.
le divorce. (SIKE!)
juno.
dan in real life.
p.s. i love you.
notting hill.
stranger than fiction.

i know most of you (all of you?) are probably throwing up right now, but this is a very serious holiday. it requires its own filmography. suggestions?

love you all!

CLICHED BRITISH SIGHTING!!!!

No lie. I saw an old man, walking along the side of the road, in a large field with trees at the far end. He was wearing a tweed jacket with leather elbow patches. He was wearing green corduroy pants, and these pants were tucked into tall brown leather boots. He was wearing a little hat that looked like a beret, only less pansy-ish. It too was green. There was a dog next to him. And he was carrying a gun. Because yes, this man was going hunting, with his pointer, in the fens of East Anglia. It. Was. Awesome.