taketimetoshine: (Winter Warmth)
And no, I don't mean 'New York'. I mean York, England. I was born here, I grew up here, I choose to stay here and I love it. I could wax lyrical about this city for hours if you let me, but I'll try and keep it to a decent length post.

York, for anyone who doesn't know, is a historic walled city at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events in England throughout much of its two millennia of existence. It now offers a wealth of historic attractions, of which York Minster is the most prominent, and a variety of cultural and sporting activities.

The city was founded by the Romans as Eboracum in 71 AD. It became the capital of the Roman province of Britannia Inferior, and later of the kingdoms of Northumbria and Jórvík. In the Middle Ages, York grew as a major wool trading centre and became the capital of the northern ecclesiastical province of the Church of England, a role it has retained.

In the 19th century, York became a hub of the railway network and a confectionery manufacturing centre. In recent decades, the economy of York has moved from being dominated by its confectionery and railway-related industries to one that provides services. The University of York and health services have become major employers, whilst tourism has become an important element of the local economy.

I love walking around the city - along the rivers or the walls (the most complete in England), up the narrow medieval cobbled streets - feeling wrapped up in it's history. I love York Minster (the largest Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe), I love the old architecture, I love the museums. I like the fact we have distinct seasons, and a drier and warmer climate than the rest of the region. We have theatres and music and food & drink, we've sport, we're a founding National Science City, we're part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a city of Media Arts.

What's not to love?

Gypsy

May. 9th, 2016 09:36 pm
taketimetoshine: (Have The Answer)
Oops. I seem to have acquired a second cat. A kitten. Or, I will have her in a few weeks when she's old enough to come home.

One of the ladies at work, her cat has had a litter of kittens. She was showing us pictures of these tiny little fluffy things and lamenting how she didn't know how she was going to home them etc etc. Clearly she was angling towards sympathy/people offering to take one, and even though I knew that was what she was doing... I fell for it.

A little grey short-haired kitty, tentatively called Gypsy, will soon be joining me and Cookie. She's not sure what cat got her 'British Blue' pregnant so she's definitely of a mixed breed but her colouring is beautiful - and I'm curious to see how it changes as she grows.

Introducing them could be interesting, Cookie's been a lone-kitty all her life but I'm reading up on how to do it. Cookie's always been pretty laid back so hopefully she'll just go with the flow
taketimetoshine: (Stitched Heart)
Well, Happy Birthday to me.

Or not, as the case has been. I've spent it curled up in bed with a fever and a bad stomach - napping, reading, running to the bathroom. Just how I wanted to spend the day. I've planned on having a lovely day out at some of the local museums that I love, before meeting up with my parents for a meal.

My mum came round this afternoon though, with a couple of bottles of lucozade, some chicken broth and some crackers. And my birthday presents - a new shower curtain, toilet seat and towels. I'm planning on redecorating my bathroom this summer and hd chosen the accessories I wanted to match my colour scheme.

My friends mostly got me various fun flavoured coffess and chocolates, and giftcards for some local bookstores. Oh, and some information leaflets about how to rent an allotment, since I'm getting into gardening which is difficult when you're in a first-floor flat.

I've spent some time on social media too. I now have a Twitter (although I'm not entirely sure what I'm supposed to do with it) and a Pinterest which I am completely in love with and can see myself losing many many hours too.
I also re-wrote my bio on my profile page.
Exciting, no?

I'm probably going to curl up in bed with my book and some music for the rest of the night.
taketimetoshine: (Winter Warmth)
Whenever I come to a stumbling point, writers block... whatever you want to call it, I write a list. I figured blogging could be pretty similar. I'm blocked, so rather than stress about it, I'm going to give you a list. And not just any list but an A-Z of me!

A is for asexual. I am an heteromantic asexual. This means I could be in a romantic relationship with a man but one that doesn't involve sex. I'm not anti-sex, it just doesn't interest me. I pretty much have no sex drive, but I tend to be a hopeless romantic. I am, however, single.
B is for beaches. I love going to the beach. A nice hot summer day, warm sand beneath me, cool water lapping at my toes. A picnic. A book. An ice-cream. What's not to love?
C is for candles. I love candlelight, I find it very relaxing. The flickering of the flame, the soft hiss of the wax. I'm also fond of a scented candle.
D is for daydreaming. My mind wanders quite easily but I find it almost meditative, just taking a few moments to drift away, especially when working on a problem and I quite often find I've solved it subconsciously while imaginging myself on that wonderful secluded beach!
E is for eyes. The windows to the soul, as they say, and one of the first things I notice about a person. I am a sucker for big, brown, soulful eyes with long eyelashes.
F is for fairy tales. I grew up listening to them, I always remember my dad sitting on my bed, reading to me from a big book of fairy tales. As I've grown up, I love the mythology and folklore surrounding them... and, really, who doesn't love dwarves, elves, fairies, giants, gnomes, goblins, mermaids, trolls, witches, and magic?!
G is for gardening. I don't get to do it very often because I don't have a garden of my own, but I love it. I love the sense of nurturing something from a seed to a plant/flower/vegetable/fruit. I love the feel of the dirt beneath my hands. It's just so real
H is for happily ever after. Good beats evil, the guy gets his girl (and vice versa) and the dog lives... See hopeless romantic and fairy tales! LOL
I is for internet. I barely remember a time before it, I love what an amazing resource it is, a cure for boredom and it's where we all are right now!
J is for Jane Austen. She's one of my favourite writers, as cliche as it may be. I adore Pride & Prejudice. I don't know what else to say, really!
K is for Knights Templar. I love the mystery and mythology and all the stories surrounding them, what they stood for and what happened to them. I love the cross of fiction and fact.
L is for lapis lazuli. My favourite semi-precious stone and my favourite shade of blue. I've always loved it. It's sch a vibrant colour.
M is for magic. Again, going back to fantasy and fairytales but I adore magic. Not the earth-magic but the sorcery and spells of fiction, think Harry Potter style.
N is for nature. It's like I said - I adore our natural, physical, material world and all its parts, and the study of it, really.
O is for Once Upon A Time. Currently one of my favourite TV shows. I love the weaving of all the different fairytales into the stories... which is why I started watching it in the first place. I'm a little behind - I should probably catch up!
P is for paranormal. As much as I love the natural world in all its forms, I'm also fascinated by the phenomenon that cannot be explained by the bounds of what we know. Ghosts, demons, angels, UFOS, vampires etc
Q is for quotes. Maybe it seems like a weird thing to be into, but I have a whole notebook full of quotations I like. Some motivational, some from media... anything that appeals to me, I'll make a note of it.
R is for rainbows. Firstly, they're pretty. I know its merely light reflections but I love the reminder that good things come from bad, as it were.
S is for science. Again, the fascination with the world around us, studying it, learning what I can about it. Scientific method also makes a lot of sense to me.
T is for tennis. I am not a sporting person. I don't enjoy participating in sports, or in watching them. Except for tennis. There is something about it that I adore. Djokovic, Murray, Federer, Wawrinka, Nadal, Williams, Azarenka, Murguruza, Kvitova, Halep...
U is for unicorns. What do you mean 'they don't exist'?! In Ancient Greek times, they were included in natural history books and were believed to live in India.
V is for vampires. I'm pretty much a fan of them in all genres - from Buffy, to Twilight, to Anne Rice, to LJ Smith, to Bram Stoker. Immortality achieved by living on life essence... intriguing, no?
W is for werewolves. I'm starting to notice a pattern here. Did I mention a love for all things folklore/paranormal/magic/urban fantasy? And lycanthropy too is not a recent phenomenon, with early reports dating back to Petronius in the Roman times.
X is for X-Files. I fell in love with the show as a teenager for featuring in a serious drama way so many of the myths and folklores that I adored. I loved the mix of science and myth, blending of the two within the realms of also being a cop show.
Y is for Yoga I'm not the most flexible person in the world but I find that along with daydreaming, yoga works as a form of meditation for me. It helps me with stress relief and lets face it, suppleness and strength are never bad things to work on
Z is for Zombies Did you know the first use of the word 'zombie' dates to 1819 in a history of Brazil? Personally, my preferred zombies are the original Haitian voodoo reanimated dead but, like with most of my folklore, I enjoy most stories featuring them!

June 2016

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