Keris Stainton's Blog, page 64

Train to Chicago : 3 September 2001

Sunday on the train was pretty boring and then we arrived in Chicago! Got to the hostel and they said we were only booked in for one night not two and we'd have to stay in a dorm room for the second night. So we phoned Tina from the train and left a message saying we'd love to stay then we went for dinner and David said he'd rather not stay. We rang her again and got the answering machine again, so she probably thinks we're massive idiots. Which is fair enough.*

We queued for two hours to go up Sears Tower and then we were knackered so we came back to the hostel. Had a really good night's sleep, thankfully.

Got up late this morning because we hadn't changed the time on the alarm clock. Tried to move room, but had a right palaver so put our bags in storage and went out.

Walked to the Rock'n'Roll McDonald's to get the Metro Ducks tour, but it wasn't running so we got a trolley tour instead and it was great. Chicago is really beautiful.

After the tour, back at the hostel, had no problem changing rooms at all and then we went out for the evening. We walked (quite a long way) to Navy Pier, which was really cool. Sat and had a beer, listening to a soul band and then it started to rain so we went to the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. for dinner, where David walked face-first into a frying pan like something out of a cartoon.

Had a really nice dinner (and margarita) before getting the subway back. There was an old black guy on the train singing a Stevie Wonder tune and asking what it was. It was Sir Duke and I told him all excitedly. He didn't understand me at first – I had to say "Dook" instead of "Duke" – and then, when he realised we were English, he started talking about the Queen Mother. Heh.

* See! So stressful!

My favourite fictional character

Day 3 of the 40 day book challenge is 'A book with a favourite character.'

I read The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay about twenty years ago and fell completely in love with the main character, Peekay. So much so that I dreamed about him and, after I finished the book, lay on the bed crying for, um, quite a while.

I loved the book – and Peekay – so much that I'm actually scared to re-read it in case I don't like it.

Who's your favourite fictional character?

If I could live in a book…

Day 2 of the 40 day book challenge is 'A book you wish you could live in.'

Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City series springs to mind immediately mainly because I feel like I have lived in them and that the characters are my friends (honestly, when I read the two most recent books in the series I kept crying just because it was so lovely to spend time with them again).

I've wittered on about this so many times before, but I discovered these books at a really low time in my life and they (along with Barry Manilow albums – I really am a gay man trapped in a woman's body) basically got me through it.

So I feel like I know the books, I know (and love) the characters, I know the setting (1970s San Francisco? Yeah, I think I could live there) and it wouldn't be too much of a culture shock to suddenly find myself there…

If you could live in a book, what book would you choose?

My favourite book(s) this year (so far)

Remember how I tried to do a drawing challenge and failed miserably? Well I didn't learn from that at all, so now I'm going to attempt this 40 day book challenge I found via Ten Cent Notes.

Day 1 (which I should've done yesterday) was 'A favourite book of 2011 (so far)' and I've had to pick two (one non-fic and one fic) because I couldn't help myself.

As I read Delusions of Gender by Cordelia Fine I had to keep a post it pad next to me to mark the pages. I read bits out to David. I read bits aloud to myself. It made me rage and smack myself in the forehead, but it made me laugh a lot too. It's an amazing book and you should read it. Whoever you are.

I love Sarra Manning's YA novels. I loved her first adult novel Unsticky so much that the minute I finished reading it, I wanted to start it again. Like Unsticky, her second adult novel – You Don't Have to Say You Love Me – jumped straight onto my favourite "chick lit" novels of all time. It's funny, sexy, romantic and I didn't want it to end.

Cross-country train : 2 September 2001

No pics so here's one from Seattle

It's 7.30 on Sunday and we're at a service stop at Minneapolis/St Paul (the Twin Cities). Yesterday, I got up early and went to the newly-arrived observation car*. There was some lovely scenery in Montana, but North Dakota was pretty dull. Sat and read and did some writing. Got talking to a woman who asked if she could buy me a cup of coffee. I said no, I was fine, and she said, "It would make me real happy…" 

Had another game of backgammon with D and I won! Went to the dining car for dinner (catfish and rice) and we were seated with two women travelling alone. Hilary was on her way to Vermont to start college and Tina was on her way home just outside Chicago. Tina invited us to stay with her for the two nights we're there, but we said we've got somewhere we can't cancel. Now though, I'm thinking maybe we should have accepted. What difference does it make if we pay for the hostel but stay somewhere better? The only thing is it's 30 miles outside Chicago and I wonder what we'd get to see of Chicago itself. I'm going to ask D what he thinks when he wakes up.** 

* That observation car is one of my happy places: looking up through the glass roof at the leaves rattling in the trees. Gorgeous.

** You would not believe how stressed I got about this. Or maybe – if you've been reading my blog for a while – you would. I still feel a bit fretful about it now, ten years on.

500!

That last post was my 500th! Wow.

And when I did a Google Image Search for "500″ I found this picture, which, it transpires, is from Savage Chickens – Cartoons on Sticky Notes by Doug Savage and they're ace. I like this one.

What we did in the summer holidays

You know, I'm not really sure. We had a week's holiday in Northumberland, which was rainy but wonderful. We took the boys to a fire station open day and to an aquarium

and to see Wall-E on the outdoor screen in Manchester

They enjoyed it, honest!

We went to the park and blew bubbles in the back garden and my nephews came to visit.

And I decluttered. I decluttered and decluttered and decluttered. I was a decluttering MACHINE. It's kind of addictive, actually. The boys are lucky to still have beds. And once I'd finished decluttering (or at least finished Phase One) I cleaned. A bit. And I bought a new washing up bowl. I know! Fancy!

And as well as decluttering, I scanned many, many photos into the computer. Like these of my parents in Canada in the late sixties:

 

And yet there are still many, many more to do.

What else? I watched Friday Night Lights and quivered with fear at the knowledge that soon it will end. I don't want it to end. What will I do without it?! What?!

Tim Riggins is not the only reason I love FNL, honest.

I also watched Miranda (again) and Timothy Spall: Back at Sea, which I love! I love how he and his wife Shane are doing this incredible round Britain by barge thing, but at the same time are total nervous nellies about it. Or at least Tim is. I also started watching The Cosby Show from the beginning and I'll be writing about that more at some point because it's just lovely.

Gorgeous illustration by lepetitelefant on etsy

And I read lots of lovely books. Kissing Kate by Lauren Myracle. Pretty Bad Things by CJ Skuse. My So-Called Phantom Love Life by Tamsyn Murray. Loved them all. Oh and Are We Nearly There Yet? by Ben Hatch, which is the story of how he and his family – wife and two children under 4 – drove 8000 miles around Britain to write a guide book. It really didn't help my longing to take Harry and Joe on a road trip…

I also started rereading Heidi on the Kindle (it was FREE!) (or as Harry just said when he saw that link: "Zero pound!"). I loved Heidi so much as a child and I can totally see why – it's just adorable. I'm actually surprised at how clearly I remember it considering it's probably more than 30 years since I last read it. I read some other books too, but I can't remember what. I've got a bit overwhelmed with books lately – my TBR pile is ridiculous and now they're building up on my Kindle as well. I'll readily admit I've got a problem. I'm a bookaholic. *hangs head in shame*

Oh and me and David went to the cinema! On our own! While we were queueing, I asked him what film we'd last seen at the cinema together and he thought for a bit and then said "Rio?" Nope. David saw it with Harry and I saw it with Harry, but we did not go and see it together (without Harry) because that would've been weird. So we saw The Inbetweeners and even though I know it's wrong and I disapprove of so much of it (actually, I disapprove of the word "disapprove"), it was really really funny.

Oh! And writing! Yes, I did some writing. Little bit. Mainly I did researching and making a playlist and fretting, but I did actually manage to get some words down too. Yay me.

What did YOU do in the summer holidays?

Seattle to overnight train : 31 August 2001

Last day in Seattle. Checked out of the hotel then went for brunch at the bagel place. There was a Beatles tribute band on at Harbor Steps so we stood and watched them – they were really good. There was a random guy dancing down the front with coloured chiffon scarves – hilarious.

From there we went to the internet cafe and sent probably our final emails and then on to the Amtrak station. 

I'm writing this on the train*, which has been pretty cool so far. Had a sub for tea and we're going to have some wine later. 

* We got the train from Seattle to Chicago. It took 48 hours.

Seattle : 30 August 2001

Got up late and went to McD's for breakfast. Got the bus to the Museum of Flight, which was great. Tried to decide if we could afford to go for a little flight, but thought probably not.

Me and JFK's Air Force One

Later went to the launderette, did a bit of shopping, had tea at Wendy's and then watched TV. Not very eventful, but we're kind of winding down, ready to move on tomorrow.

Seattle : 29 August 2001

Moon rock!

Went up to Barnes & Noble then got a coffee at Starbucks.Got the monorail to Seattle Centre and had lunch then went to the Pacific Science Centre.

Went to the Planetarium and the Titanic IMAX film and then the Titanic exhibition. We were given a boarding pass with a name on it and then at the end we could check on the 'memorial wall' to see if our person had survived. When we got three, there were little kids going "Haha! I lived and you died!" at each other, which was pretty bad taste. The gift shop was even worse – all sorts of tacky replicas of the artifacts brought up from the ship and one of those water sausage things with a little Titanic and iceberg. Ugh.

From there we walked to Fado and had dinner then did the pub quiz. It was great fun and we came second, even though most of the questions were aimed at Americans. From there, we ran back to the hotel to catch The West Wing.