The Tales of Missus P.

Since spreading its wings in February 1998 Antony Gormley’s The Angel of the North has become one of the most talked about pieces of public art ever produced.

Rising 20 meters from the earth near the A1 in Gateshead, the Angel dominates the skyline, dwarfing all those who come to see it.  Made from 200 tonnes of steel, it has a wingspan of 54 metres.  Getting up close and personal with the Angel is an experience you’ll never forget!

The Angel of the North is one of the biggest attractions in the area.  I’ve not seen this close up yet, but I see it not far from the street when we go out to the store.  It’s quite a monument, and there are images of it all over the area on buses, signs, cups, t-shirts, you name it.

While this was the most obvious choice for my “A” post, there are some more listed at the Gateshead Leisure and Culture page.

A to Z Blogging Challenge

As I posted Tuesday, I’m going to take on the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  From what I understand, the topic can be about anything, it’s just to motivate you to write with some kind of discipline.  I decided to write on Gateshead-Newcastle so I can look into some things around here, plus give a little mini-tour of where I live.

Tomorrow I’ll start with the “A” post and work my way through the month to “Z”.  I’ve already made a list so I think I’ll have plenty to write about each day.  It also gives me a little excuse to research and see what kinds of things we can do this summer around town.

I’ve been going to the gym, the library, playing on Xbox (as seen above) and getting my homework finished up before I graduate in May.  Having a self-made project is just what I need to give me focus each day.  I hope it’s as interesting to everyone as I think it will be!

Since I’ve not written anything in here for a while, I think I’ll do the A to Z Blogging Challenge starting on April 1st. I think I’ll just blog about Gateshead-Newcastle since I’ve been researching about my new town on my own accord.

Today, despite the sun, I’m staying in. Yesterday I took a walk to the park to pick up a bike that a local couple was selling. The girl had only used it twice and they wanted only half for what I could have gotten a new one in about the same condition. It’s purple too! The only problem now is, I need to get a pump, lock and get use to riding again since it’s been a year maybe since I was last on my Trek.

I attempted to ride the new one in the park but it was just too hard on my legs. I know lack of practice is part of it but this was really difficult after a while. So I ended up walking with it back home. This picture was taken after I had to call Steve at work to ask exactly how you get out of the glorious maze that the huge Saltwell Park is.

I promised Steve that I wouldn’t take the bike onto the street and would just ride it on the sidewalk and in the park. However, we have hills here. Lots of hills. So it’s hard to just take a ride anywhere. There are slender overpass sidewalks that require non-biking as well. But no matter, it’s exciting to have a bike again.

Last weekend Steve got my gym membership at The Leisure Centre so I have to still set up my induction for using the gym equipment. I’m staying inside today because that big walk and insanely hard bike ride made my legs tire out a lot. Tomorrow I’ll head to the bike shop for the pump and the lock. The gym induction will be soon after.

I have my housewife routine down pretty well here. We get up at 8AM. I have breakfast with Steve, make his lunch, send him to work then do my thing in the day. I’ve been working on homework, taking walks, reading, shopping, watching BBC specials on literature and period piece television shows. I’ve baked (as Suzanne’s Foodie Blog has been showing) and even playing video games on the Xbox. Not having one of those for all my years really makes me feel deprived!

At night there is quality time with movies, IT Crowd, and more video games. The weekends have been fun too. I’m still trying to figure out how to get to places other than the grocery store and Retail World so Steve’s been showing me other places nearby and how to get to them on the bus. A few weeks ago I took the metro in Newcastle too. I’ll get the hang of public transportation eventually.

We’re coming up on March which means I have my graduate portfolio to get done in a few weeks too. May graduation is creeping closer.

One lesson for today: if your Kindle freezes, don’t panic like I did. Take the power button, slide it to the right and hold it for 15 seconds then turn it back on. Select book and read as normal.