Wow, it is hot again this summer! The high for today is 39 degrees C (which is over 100 degrees F!!!) Boy do I miss my air-con. I am trying to figure out where we can go to escape the heat of our house that doesn't require too much time on public transport or cost too much money. Brad is heading to the horse races today. The blazer was a no go for him for sure.
July has been a busy month! And August will be the same of course, with all the birthdays and the travel to the US. Rebecca came to visit at the beginning of July en route to Copenhagen/Amsterdam for her bicycle teaching course. We had a nice time. I had to work the three days that she was here unfortunately, but Brad and his co-workers went to Wimbledon on the Monday, and she joined them. I am so glad she was able to do that, and they even got to watch Coco beat Venus Williams on Court 1 for only £10. And they didn't even have to queue at all!!! I took the morning off, and she and I went and had brunch in the village, trying to celebrity spot with no luck. But I did like going to work at noon!
Lauren went on her residential trip to Condover Hall. We had a bit of drama with the rooming situation, but it all worked out ok in the end. They didn't have unlimited access to their phones thankfully; they were only allowed to have them in the evening after dinner. The first night she called very teary and said she wanted to come home, but then the next 2 nights when she called, she was a lot more upbeat and happy. But she was really happy to get home on Friday! They did lots of outdoor activities like archery, climbing, ziplining as well as some water sports.
The last day of school was 19 July, which was a very rainy, yucky day which meant no time at the park after school. Uncle Bob arrived around 3:30 after a long delay in Detroit! He was supposed to arrive at 6 AM. He and I went into the city on Saturday. We saw Big Ben (under all the scaffolding), Westminster Abbey, the Churchill War Rooms, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Sqaure, St. Pauls and the Tate Modern. A few of my favourite places in the city. Rebecca has plans to take him to the Transport Museum and Burough Market next week when they are here for about 18 hours!
Thursday, July 25, 2019
Our first visit to Cornwall
and the hype is worth it! What a fabulous place.
We have heard everyone talk about Cornwall for the entire time we have lived in England so we decided we should go for it. And we invited Mum Mum and Nana and Papa to join us.
We left very early on the Saturday of May half term, hoping to miss most of the traffic. It was somewhat successful, but it took almost 7 hours to get there. However, we did see Stonehenge from the car, which is the closest I think I need to get to it.
We arrived to Harrowbeard House in the village of Marhamchurch, Bude about an hour before the grandparents, who had quite an adventure with it being Papa's first time driving on the left side of the road! I think they took most very small, narrow roads and avoided most of the motorways. The house was perfect: 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms with the MOST amazing view of the rolling hills of Cornwall. We could see several fields full of cows and sheep.
Brad, Nana and I went to Morrison's to get some groceries, and it reminded me of Florida at Spring Break...carts full of water and boos and many empty shelves. We couldn't find any tomatoes or avocados. As we were all tired from travelling, we walked down the road to the local pub. We had a great time, Lauren organised everyone to vote on Kahoot quizzes to do when we got home. We all made a list of topics and then had a vote. Very democratic.
Overall, the weather was typical of England: some rain, some sun and mild temperatures. We had only day that was a total washout and the last day was the most beautiful!
Sunday, it was rainy in the morning but in the afternoon, we headed down to Bude. They were having a fair right by the carpark that Brad had chosen for parking so we couldn't escape a few rides, but they were pretty inexpensive! We all had a go on the bumper cars, which was super fun!
Monday, we went to the Eden Project which was a much lauded place about an hour drive from Bude. It was quite a place with 2 different bio-spheres: one for wet and humid and the other very dry. Both contained very interesting plants and animals. Lauren really enjoyed taking photos.
Brad and I were able to take a day to ourselves to explore, which was one of the sunny days. I think the kids even went for a walk as well. Brad and I went to Port Isaac first, which is the town where Doc Martin is filmed, and they were filming that day! Not that we know anything about it, but it was definitely a draw. It was a VERY cute town! We had some great food and did some shopping and walked along the Southcoast path and had a lovely time just sitting and enjoying the peace and quiet. Then, we drove a little further south to Padstow, which has been made famous by Rick Stein, a chef. It was way more commercialised than Port Isaac and much busier. They were quite a few people crabbing. We had a nice time there as well and had a great dinner at a place called Beef and fish. We got back before the kids were alseep.
ON Brad's birthday, Brad, Mum Mum, Papa and I went on a 3 mile walk from Bude to Widemouth (pronouced Wid-muth not Wide-Mouth) along the South Coast path, which was breathtaking!!! It's hard to even describe the views and the rocks.
On the final day, the grandparents went off to a town just north of Bude while the other 5 of us went on a 15 mile ride from Wadebridge to Padstow. Drew was a bit apprehensive to be on the back of the bike with Brad, but all of them did really well. The ride was very beautiful and it was amazing how much the water came in while we were biking! We were able to see a beautiful sunset on the last night from the local school, which was just up the road from our house.
On Saturday, Brad and the kids left around 7 AM and were home before noon! Mom and I went to the Exeter Cathedral since we had a bit of time before our train left and we had a nice brunch in Exeter before taking the train back to Wimbledon.
A few numbers from our holiday:
Tubs of clotted cream consumed by the adults: 4
Bottles of gin enjoyed: 1
Puzzles worked: 2 (we had to purchase a second one after we finished the first one in 3 days!)
Football goals purchased: 1
Scones eaten: too many to count! We tried all sorts
Games of Hand and Foot: a lot, and Alison is hooked!
We have heard everyone talk about Cornwall for the entire time we have lived in England so we decided we should go for it. And we invited Mum Mum and Nana and Papa to join us.
We left very early on the Saturday of May half term, hoping to miss most of the traffic. It was somewhat successful, but it took almost 7 hours to get there. However, we did see Stonehenge from the car, which is the closest I think I need to get to it.
We arrived to Harrowbeard House in the village of Marhamchurch, Bude about an hour before the grandparents, who had quite an adventure with it being Papa's first time driving on the left side of the road! I think they took most very small, narrow roads and avoided most of the motorways. The house was perfect: 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms with the MOST amazing view of the rolling hills of Cornwall. We could see several fields full of cows and sheep.
Brad, Nana and I went to Morrison's to get some groceries, and it reminded me of Florida at Spring Break...carts full of water and boos and many empty shelves. We couldn't find any tomatoes or avocados. As we were all tired from travelling, we walked down the road to the local pub. We had a great time, Lauren organised everyone to vote on Kahoot quizzes to do when we got home. We all made a list of topics and then had a vote. Very democratic.
Overall, the weather was typical of England: some rain, some sun and mild temperatures. We had only day that was a total washout and the last day was the most beautiful!
Sunday, it was rainy in the morning but in the afternoon, we headed down to Bude. They were having a fair right by the carpark that Brad had chosen for parking so we couldn't escape a few rides, but they were pretty inexpensive! We all had a go on the bumper cars, which was super fun!
Monday, we went to the Eden Project which was a much lauded place about an hour drive from Bude. It was quite a place with 2 different bio-spheres: one for wet and humid and the other very dry. Both contained very interesting plants and animals. Lauren really enjoyed taking photos.
Brad and I were able to take a day to ourselves to explore, which was one of the sunny days. I think the kids even went for a walk as well. Brad and I went to Port Isaac first, which is the town where Doc Martin is filmed, and they were filming that day! Not that we know anything about it, but it was definitely a draw. It was a VERY cute town! We had some great food and did some shopping and walked along the Southcoast path and had a lovely time just sitting and enjoying the peace and quiet. Then, we drove a little further south to Padstow, which has been made famous by Rick Stein, a chef. It was way more commercialised than Port Isaac and much busier. They were quite a few people crabbing. We had a nice time there as well and had a great dinner at a place called Beef and fish. We got back before the kids were alseep.
ON Brad's birthday, Brad, Mum Mum, Papa and I went on a 3 mile walk from Bude to Widemouth (pronouced Wid-muth not Wide-Mouth) along the South Coast path, which was breathtaking!!! It's hard to even describe the views and the rocks.
On the final day, the grandparents went off to a town just north of Bude while the other 5 of us went on a 15 mile ride from Wadebridge to Padstow. Drew was a bit apprehensive to be on the back of the bike with Brad, but all of them did really well. The ride was very beautiful and it was amazing how much the water came in while we were biking! We were able to see a beautiful sunset on the last night from the local school, which was just up the road from our house.
On Saturday, Brad and the kids left around 7 AM and were home before noon! Mom and I went to the Exeter Cathedral since we had a bit of time before our train left and we had a nice brunch in Exeter before taking the train back to Wimbledon.
A few numbers from our holiday:
Tubs of clotted cream consumed by the adults: 4
Bottles of gin enjoyed: 1
Puzzles worked: 2 (we had to purchase a second one after we finished the first one in 3 days!)
Football goals purchased: 1
Scones eaten: too many to count! We tried all sorts
Games of Hand and Foot: a lot, and Alison is hooked!
Thursday, May 9, 2019
My first six weeks as a driver on the wrong side of the road
The car has definitely allowed for new adventures!
Over the Easter break, we made our first road trip to Birmingham. I registered to run a half marathon in Sutton Coldfield. I am so glad we had the car, since the AirBnb was about a 15 minute driver from the course, which turned out to be 4 laps of the same course through Sutton park. I was a bit nervous about that, but it was an absolutely perfect day and it meant that I got to see my family four different times throughout the race. I ran in 1:50, which I am happy about.
Then, on the last day of the break, Easter Monday, we drove to West Wittering beach, which was fab! It was an hour and a half each way; I think we lucked out with the timing, but we had a great time!!!
Lauren and I also drove to theWaitrose for the first time and I did my weekly shop and purchased a cart full of groceries for the first time in 4.5 years. It was a good outing for us; they have a scanner where you can scan and bag as you go, so it's pretty quick. And you can get a free Sunday Times if you spend over £10. I can't say that I am ready to do that every week, but it is nice to have the option.
I have learned that I am absolutely rubbish at parallel parking, which is not a good thing when that all parking is on the street. One night after I got home from collecting Alison at gymnastics, we drove around and there was literally no parking, not even a space that I could attempt the parallel park. Thankfully, the parking at the train station is free from 6:30 PM-8:30 AM. And there is parking available in the mornings. I nearly parked in the driveway of the house next door that is up for sale.
I am happy to say that I haven't gotten into any more altercations!
I am getting more confident, although I really haven't driven many places other than to Mitcham and locally.
Over the Easter break, we made our first road trip to Birmingham. I registered to run a half marathon in Sutton Coldfield. I am so glad we had the car, since the AirBnb was about a 15 minute driver from the course, which turned out to be 4 laps of the same course through Sutton park. I was a bit nervous about that, but it was an absolutely perfect day and it meant that I got to see my family four different times throughout the race. I ran in 1:50, which I am happy about.
Then, on the last day of the break, Easter Monday, we drove to West Wittering beach, which was fab! It was an hour and a half each way; I think we lucked out with the timing, but we had a great time!!!
Lauren and I also drove to theWaitrose for the first time and I did my weekly shop and purchased a cart full of groceries for the first time in 4.5 years. It was a good outing for us; they have a scanner where you can scan and bag as you go, so it's pretty quick. And you can get a free Sunday Times if you spend over £10. I can't say that I am ready to do that every week, but it is nice to have the option.
I have learned that I am absolutely rubbish at parallel parking, which is not a good thing when that all parking is on the street. One night after I got home from collecting Alison at gymnastics, we drove around and there was literally no parking, not even a space that I could attempt the parallel park. Thankfully, the parking at the train station is free from 6:30 PM-8:30 AM. And there is parking available in the mornings. I nearly parked in the driveway of the house next door that is up for sale.
I am happy to say that I haven't gotten into any more altercations!
I am getting more confident, although I really haven't driven many places other than to Mitcham and locally.
Last weekend, we got
A CAR!!!!!
It is a BMW X3, 2 years old with only 14,000 miles on it.
Now that Alison is doing gymnastics at a gym that is about 2 miles from our house (and a 40 minute bus ride one way), we decided it was time to get a car.
I am amazed that we have been non-car owners for nearly 4.5 years. It will definitely open up opportunities to go places that we have not been because they are hard to get to via public transport. But by no means are we going to start driving places that are close by and easy to get to. The kids would have it that way (one in particular....Lauren), but parking is a nightmare in a lot of places and I am not super confident about parking an SUV in the narrow places I have seen around.
I have already had my first incident (not surprising to anyone!). I was driving back from taking Alison to gymnastics and I hit the bus with the side view mirror. Oops. There is a bit of paint on the mirror and the mirror came off but it's ok now thankfully. Suffice to say, Brad was not very happy with me....
The process was quite easy. We went to cargiant, which is a big place for pre-owned cars about a 45 minute journey away. We found a few cars that we wanted to look at and then we got the keys and we were able to look at the cars without a salesman hassling us. They do not negotiate on price: we know because Brad tried!
Brad had to go back and collect it on Sunday because we got too close to closing time after we did the viewing and financing, etc. It was quite a journey home I think, but it's so weird to walk out of the house and see the car outside and know that it's ours!
It is a BMW X3, 2 years old with only 14,000 miles on it.
Now that Alison is doing gymnastics at a gym that is about 2 miles from our house (and a 40 minute bus ride one way), we decided it was time to get a car.
I am amazed that we have been non-car owners for nearly 4.5 years. It will definitely open up opportunities to go places that we have not been because they are hard to get to via public transport. But by no means are we going to start driving places that are close by and easy to get to. The kids would have it that way (one in particular....Lauren), but parking is a nightmare in a lot of places and I am not super confident about parking an SUV in the narrow places I have seen around.
I have already had my first incident (not surprising to anyone!). I was driving back from taking Alison to gymnastics and I hit the bus with the side view mirror. Oops. There is a bit of paint on the mirror and the mirror came off but it's ok now thankfully. Suffice to say, Brad was not very happy with me....
The process was quite easy. We went to cargiant, which is a big place for pre-owned cars about a 45 minute journey away. We found a few cars that we wanted to look at and then we got the keys and we were able to look at the cars without a salesman hassling us. They do not negotiate on price: we know because Brad tried!
Brad had to go back and collect it on Sunday because we got too close to closing time after we did the viewing and financing, etc. It was quite a journey home I think, but it's so weird to walk out of the house and see the car outside and know that it's ours!
Friday, April 5, 2019
My vow....
...is to start trying to update this blog once a week. If not for you, but for me. I don't want to forget all things that I think about everyday.
What prompted this vow?
I just wrote an e-mail to Lauren's dance school asking about a video, and rather than typing "Thank you," I typed "Kind regards," because that is the acceptable way to sign off on an e-mail in this country. And if you just get a "regards," that is not a good sign. You need the Kind in there to know all is well.
Over the weekend, Brad ran the London Landmarks Half Marathon, which ran from the Mall near Buckingham Palace past St. Pauls and through the West End and then to the Tower of London and ended near 10 Downing Street and Trafalgar Square. It was an amazingly beautiful day! The kids and I went along to support him. (I think it's important for the kids to support us just as we support them in all their activities.) We found these bouncy and spinny circles in St. Paul's courtyard, which were super fun and the girls can have fun anywhere as long as there is enough room to do some gymnastics. And Drew is always happy to read one of his football heroes books. I hope we are able to get into the city more because each time I go into the city, I am in awe of the unique places I find. And I am so grateful to live in this stunning place.
Not to say there are not some ugly sides to it right now, what with all the knife crime and BREXIT.
Drew is football OBSESSED!!! If he is not outside in the back garden training, then he is reading his Match of the Day magazine, reading a Football heroes book or watching a match on TV. When there has been a match the night before, the first thing he does when he wakes up in the morning is ask Alexa for the scores. He knows so much about football (and I know more than I ever thought I would!)
What prompted this vow?
I just wrote an e-mail to Lauren's dance school asking about a video, and rather than typing "Thank you," I typed "Kind regards," because that is the acceptable way to sign off on an e-mail in this country. And if you just get a "regards," that is not a good sign. You need the Kind in there to know all is well.
Over the weekend, Brad ran the London Landmarks Half Marathon, which ran from the Mall near Buckingham Palace past St. Pauls and through the West End and then to the Tower of London and ended near 10 Downing Street and Trafalgar Square. It was an amazingly beautiful day! The kids and I went along to support him. (I think it's important for the kids to support us just as we support them in all their activities.) We found these bouncy and spinny circles in St. Paul's courtyard, which were super fun and the girls can have fun anywhere as long as there is enough room to do some gymnastics. And Drew is always happy to read one of his football heroes books. I hope we are able to get into the city more because each time I go into the city, I am in awe of the unique places I find. And I am so grateful to live in this stunning place.
Not to say there are not some ugly sides to it right now, what with all the knife crime and BREXIT.
Drew is football OBSESSED!!! If he is not outside in the back garden training, then he is reading his Match of the Day magazine, reading a Football heroes book or watching a match on TV. When there has been a match the night before, the first thing he does when he wakes up in the morning is ask Alexa for the scores. He knows so much about football (and I know more than I ever thought I would!)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)