Sofia and I met up with an old work friend today at Burnby Hall Gardens in Pocklington, a market town about 8 miles from my house. It was a lovely afternoon with sunshine and clear skies. Sofia had a great time looking at fish, sitting in the grass, watching ducks and ducklings and then having half a banana while Pauline and I had a cup of tea. The water lilies were amazing as well as all of the roses and other flowers in bloom. Here are a few photos from our day:
Since the weather was rubbish last Saturday we decided Sunday to take our bikes out for the first time. Of course, I was too busy trying to get everything sorted that I completely forgot to take photos. It was a quick ride, just to get the feel for them and to see how Sofia would do in the baby seat. Everything went fine aside from the little helmet I got for Sofia. She can't wear it in the baby seat because the back of the seat comes up so high and the helmet goes back too far. I put it on her and she spent the entire time with both hands pushing up the sides trying to get it off. Because of the issue I just mentioned, I stopped to have a look at her and the helmet was pushed down in the front and she was looking at me through the holes in the top. So, after all of that--I don't think she can wear it. Any suggestions?
Tom and I took Sofia out on our local bike trail, The Hudson Way, on Monday and Wednesday evenings. The Hudson Way is a former railway line that ran between Market Weighton and Beverley which opened back in 1865 and stopped servicing the area in 1965 (and now they think it would be nice to have a train line again!). It is named after George Hudson, the railway pioneer. It is 11 miles along a path that is mostly graded rocks. It is a bit rough in some places, but generally easy to ride on. Since we live in the edge of the Wolds it gets a wee bit hilly to get anywhere unless you head towards the flat areas which aren't nearly as picturesque or interesting. I am sure over time I will get used to all of the hills, but right now it is a bit slow going.
Last night it was a beautiful evening so we headed out for a ride around 8pm on the Hudson Way. We got a couple of miles down the track and made a detour on to the country roads headed towards Dalton. After a couple more miles we turned around since it was getting cool and the sun was starting to set. Off in the distance I could see a reddish looking field. We thought it was soil, but then I remembered seeing poppies a couple of weeks ago. We went a bit further to see the poppy field. It was so pretty in the evening sunlight. Of course we only had the little camera with us so it was difficult to capture just how beautiful it really was.
Anyway. After looking at the poppies we headed back. We hadn't realised that the wind was at our backs on the way out, but quickly found ourselves pedaling into the wind to get home. It felt like it took ages and I was getting tired out. Sofia was starting to complain a little bit, too. We finally made it home after riding for just over an hour. Sofia was exhausted. She had a bottle and a nappy change and off to bed she went. She slept all night in her cot without waking until 6:30 this morning. Yay, Sofia!! I will do a Sofia update in another post.
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Yay! I rang this morning about our bikes being ready. Yes, ready to go. [sidenote: I had to get the Navigator 2.0 since the 3.0 was sold out across Europe and wouldn't be in for months. The only positive is saving the 80 pounds] Tom, Sofia and I went down in Tom's car thinking they would both go in his car. Well, Tom thought, but anyway. After nearly an hour getting all of the accessories we needed, a helmet for Sofia and me and whatnot we managed to get Tom's bike in his car. The nice man who helped us out, Nick, offered to drop off my bike at my house since he lives about 8 miles further on from us. Not 20 minutes after we got home my bike was delivered to the front door.
Now, too bad it is cold and raining outside. New bikes sit in the living room and we can't even take them out. Weather meant to be more of the same tomorrow. I can't wait to get Sofia out on the bike to see how she likes it.
I will be sure to document our first bike adventures!! Can't wait.
]]>Something that has been bothering me...
There is a brand here in the UK called Müller. It is really a Germany company that set up here back in the 90s with a factory down in Shropshire. They do yogurts, rice desserts, etc. It is a big seller here.
OK, it is a German company and it is spelled Müller with an umlaut over the u meaning it should be pronounced as Mueller with a long u rather than Muller with a short u. No, no. Not here. It is clearly pronounced Muller. I lived in Germany for a short time and took a German language course so my ears are tuned to such things. Every time I hear the commercials or see this brand in the store it annoys the hell out of me. Either take the umlaut off of the u or start pronouncing it correctly.
I feel about 1% better about this now that I have shared this with others.
As you were.
]]>Show us the very last picture you took. No cheating!
Early this evening I brought Sofia out to the duck pond with hopes of seeing the ducklings. There were a few ducks when we got there but when I didn't have anything for them they quickly went on down the beck. Sofia was practicing her latest sound Bababababababa when I got this photo of her.
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Loathes
Tom and I have been talking about buying bikes for a couple of years now. And that is it, talk. So, a couple of weeks ago I found out where they sell Trek bikes near us and we went down to have a look. I like one they had in store, but it really wasn't right for the kind of riding we will do. The Trek Navigator was recommended. This past weekend we went back to the shop and talked with someone about getting one of these for me and then picking out one for Tom. I am waiting for the shop to call me today to see if they have any available. The Navigator 2.0 is available, but this one, the 3.0, may not be available right away (obviously being American-made they take a bit of time). If there is a long waiting period on this one I will go with the lesser spec for 80 Pounds less. I am having a baby seat fitted to the back so the family can go riding together. Fun!! Tom was set on getting a cool bike with disc brakes but was talked out of it on Saturday and he went with the man's version of the Navigator 3.0 (the second photo below). It has been years since either of us has been on a bike. I am so excited. Now, where to store them is another story. If all goes well we could have them by this weekend or next weekend.
Now, let's hope we get a stimulus check at some point to cover some of the cost of these!
Show us a flag.
Wellington, New Zealand:
The Instructions:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.
The Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.
A couple of days ago I received a FlickrMail from a photo editor of a magazine in the Netherlands informing me that she used a photo of mine in the most recent issue of said magazine. The photo is copyrighted and I didn't give permission for the photo to be used. The message simply stated that my photo was used and would I like a copy of the magazine. I replied that, yes, I would like a copy of the magazine and gave my address. A second message came stating that with the magazine she will send the billing address so I can bill them for using the photo. I replied with the question, "what do you normally pay for the use of a photo?". She replied back that they pay 110 Euros for stock photography.
I wasn't so mad about this at first, but after I sent my reply to her I started thinking about it and have been thinking and researching this over the past couple of days and I am getting more and more annoyed. You can't just take someone's copyrighted photo off of Flickr, use it in a magazine (I haven't received the magazine yet to see how it was used and if it was attributed to me) and then send me a message later telling me to bill them.
I want to deal with this responsibly and not just let it go. I mean, on behalf of the millions of people who have this happen I can't just blow it off.
Any advice on what I should do? Hopefully I will get the magazine tomorrow in the post to see how it was used, etc. It wasn't a photo of a person or anything personal (then I would be really p'd off). Should I write a letter to the magazine editor, ask for more money or something else?
Photo in question:
edited to add: I am not upset with Flickr but with the magazine who used the photo without permission. When you display your photos publicly you run the risk of them being taken and it isn't Flickr's fault.
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