Birds and Bees…

Birds and Bees

We haven’t got enough space to put up our Christmas tree this year, so I wanted to try and make the house look a little bit festive with some other decorations. I’ve been coveting these tiny sparkly birds ever since I first spotted them, so I decided that a Christmas wreath was as good an excuse as any to go out and buy a set.

These are the ingredients:

The birds and bees are all on little clips, so it was just a question of positioning them on the wreath and speading them out neatly. Easy peasy, took about ten minutes, and required absolutely no crafty or artistic skills at all!

Once I’d added up all the bits, £21.98 seemed like a lot of money for what looks like a few twigs with some chocolate wrappers chucked at them. But it looks very sweet (no pun intended), and I can put it away safely in a box at the end of the season to be used in future years.

Actually, as it doesn’t really look all that Christmassy, I might just relocate it to the Shed and leave it up all the time. It feels like better value for money if I can look at it every day, rather than just for one twelfth of the year!

London Trip

British Library

This must be the most-photographed view of the new British Library. But it was such a beautiful day, and the building looked so striking against the clear blue sky, that I just couldn’t resist. I went to see the Royal Manuscripts exhibition which was very beautiful, but very busy. I got a bit tired of having to peep over other people’s shoulders, so I left after about an hour and went up to the Treasures of the British Library gallery instead. Much cooler, much quieter, and still full of beautiful things.

While I was there I wandered over to the conservation centre, where they have a little exhibition that I hadn’t seen. I was surprised to find that I actually knew almost everything the exhibition had to show me. I always feel as though there’s more I can learn about almost everything, so sometimes it takes me by surprise to discover that I already know more than I think!

Happy Birthday!

In the afternoon I met up with a friend who’d been in a meeting just around the corner from the Grant Museum. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go in again, and was excited to discover that we’d arrived on their birthday! Yes, we did sign the card and fill in the quiz. Jo loved the museum – although frankly who wouldn’t love a place with a skeleton in a party hat?

Pulmonary Vein

I had every intention of taking lots of artistic photos, but Jo and I were so busy going around pointing at exciting things that I failed miserably. I did like this one though – another ingenious bit of labelling on an elephant’s heart.

Manatee Socks!

As if Jo wasn’t already excited enough about the preserved infant manatee, she was thrilled to bits when I gave her a gift of manatee socks! The manatee looks suitably impressed, I think. Probably jealous. Jo’s going to visit manatees in Singapore soon, as well as meeting orangutans in Borneo. Now I’m jealous!

Walking home

Despite leaving London just after 5, it was getting dark by the time I walked home from the station. The lake was misty as the sun set, so I took the opportunity to snap a picture. Quite a contrast to the blue sky over London!