Happy Halloween!

On Thursday night I carved my little pumpkin from Sainsbury's--the patterns with the carving kit were too big, so I had to redraw a smaller version and carve it from that. Turned out pretty well. I roasted the pumpkin seeds on Friday and they were fantastic! Friday night we went to the movies--"An American Werewolf in London". The reviews made it sound more funny than scary, but it was pretty scary, too--lots of gore with very fake-looking blood. Still, it was perfect for Halloween, and it had some scenes on the North Yorkshire Moors, so that was cool.
On Halloween itself, Saturday, we watched the Disney version of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and went out to dinner, then on to Fab Cafe. It was a fantastic place to go for Halloween--they really get into it. The staff dresses up, the place is all decorated, and they give out free snacks and drinks! We had a great time!

Birmingham

Victoria Square & Town Hall

Looking down towards New Street (the main shopping area)

Leaves changing on the walk home

Saltaire

The River Aire

United Reformed Church--grade 1 UNESCO World Heritage Site. A sign out front said they were doing a marathon bible reading, and had been going for over 3 days straight!

Village & train station

Salt Mills (named for founder Sir Titus Salt--they were textile mills)


Pics from Light Night:

Assembly room in the Town Hall

Richard & me in the stairway up to the Town Hall clock tower

View from the end of the street, over towards Meanwood Grange

On Saturday we went to Saltaire, a village that Sir Titus Salt founded in 1853 for his mill workers. He started it so his workers could have better living conditions than they had in Bradford, and also because it's strategically located on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal of the River Aire, as well as the railway. Saltaire was really pretty, but it has a bit of an eerie, almost too perfect feel to it. It's definitely nicer than Bradford, but I still think I prefer Headingley.

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Hedgehog!







This weekend we went down to Yorkshire Sculpture Park, which is really mostly park and not much sculpture. Note how none of my pics have sculptures in them...
There were some outdoor sculptures, as well as a couple of indoor galleries, but most of the park is just trails around the farms & lake. Finally saw a field of corn for the first time in England, and saw a hedgehog--so adorable! Richard poured a little water in front of it, and it lifted its head & drank some of the water and rooted around a bit. It sneezed at one point, which was one of the cutest things I've ever seen.
Tomorrow night is the Leeds Light Night, when they switch on the Christmas lights around the city--isn't that crazy early to be starting the Christmas season? I love it, though!

More apartment pics

Living room

Dining area

Bathroom

Bedroom

Back in Leeds

Welcome home flowers from Richard

The street we're living on

The building

The kitchen

I'll post pics of the rest of the apartment when it's all tidied up :)
The job search is stressing me out, but this morning I realized it's only Tuesday--I've only been looking for a job for 3 days. I need to give it at least a few weeks before I get stressed out...

Back in the States

Me at Baltimore's inner harbor


The S.S. Constellation

Gorilla at the National Zoo

Kelly and Pudd

Tiger

Will with Kelly's sunglasses

Uncooperative lion facing away from me at the National Zoo

Uncooperative baby looking off camera

Nick and Pudd at the zoo's pizza playground





Will at Dave & Buster's

Kelly & Nick playing coin games and neglecting Pudd while he steals their tickets

After finishing up my dissertation, I spent about 48 hours in Leeds--cleaning out my dorm room, celebrating with my coursemates, moving my stuff over to Richard's place, and packing for the U.S.
On the 4th, I flew out to Baltimore and was immediately struck down w/ coughing, aches and a high fever. We worried it was swine flu, but it turned out to be pneumonia and cleared up (mostly) in about a week. By then, I was off to Seattle! I didn't get to do some of the things on the list (didn't go out for drinks at my usual places, missed seeing a few people, never went to Dick's drive-in, etc.), but I had plenty of Mexican food, went shopping with Mom, and got to see some of my friends. When I was in line to check in at the airport, I cried a little. As much as I love England, I love Seattle, too. 10 days really wasn't enough!
Now am back at Kelly's briefly--we had a great time today at the National Zoo and Dave & Buster's with Nick! There's not much else I really wanted to do here--am done w/ my American shopping and food, and I don't want to subject Kelly to the Lincoln Memorial again ;)