Still Have an English Brain

So, I've been back in the US for a year and a half, more or less, And I have report, I'm still not acclimatised. This is either good news, or bad, depending on your preference.

My sister complains whenever I use a British phrase. "Adele, you're an American!" My lovely friends across the pond say, "No! That's the correct way to speak!"

Anyway, it's my mother's birthday today. She didn't want normal cake, so my sister arranged for a cream pie and profiteroles to be on hand. I was offering to serve up, and asked my sister if she wanted some profiteroles, she said yes. Then I offered some to my Dad. Blank look. So I repeated the offer, "Do you want some profiteroles?" Again, non-comprehension. My sister steps in, "Do you want some cream puffs?"

Oh. I didn't even know I wasn't speaking American!

Home Stretch

I'm exhausted! I've been working pretty solidly on getting my house ready to let. The good news is two fold:

1 - I'm nearly done!
2 - I have a tenant moving in on the 13th!

Here's a list of what I've done (or had done) on the house:

Painted the woodwork outside (doors/windows)
Painted the woodwork inside (skirting, windows, doors, railing)
Painted all the walls which didn't have murals
Painted all the ceilings
Installed a bar for wardrobe space
Installed a bar for curtain hanging to hide wardrobe space
Ripped up the carpet
Installed laminate flooring
Cleared excess furniture
Cleared eves
Cleared rubbish from garden
Pulled out a raised flower bed
Put in 2 raised flower beds
Repaired 1 raised flower bed
Re-rocked the patio area
Trimmed all the bushes
Cut the grass (twice)
Seeded the grass
Painted the fence
Painted the shed
Repaired the shed
Weeded the drive and patio
Dug, levelled and rocked the area in front of the shed (it was horrible dirt before)


Ummm... not sure what else, but seriously, do I need anything else?!? I'm shattered. I've now packed my bags. I've got a bit of rubbish left to clear out of the spare bed. I've got one more trip to the charity shop to get rid of stuff. I've GOT to wash my hair! Then I'm off to my friend's house to drop off my car (she's selling it for me), she'll then drop me off at the train station. I'm heading into London tomorrow night to stay with friends who live about 20 minutes (train) from Heathrow. Then, midmorning the next day I'll head over to Heathrow to catch my flight.

Won't do me any good to turn up too early, as I'm flying standby again, so they won't let me check in til the last minute. But, I'm flying to Minneapolis, and the flight looks pretty empty, so it shouldn't be a problem. But, be sure to check out my other blog, High Class Hitchhiking, for all the adventures!

Much as it pains me to leave, I'm really ready to be gone. Being here has been really good for me, but for funny reasons. I've learned that I made the right decision last year in moving back to the US. England and the UK will always hold a special place in my heart, but it isn't home right now. Maybe sometime in the future it will be again. Hope so as I genuinely love the people and the land. But just now, it's time for me to go back to the US. I have a brand new life waiting for me, and I'm really looking forward to getting to it. No idea where the new path will take me, but one thing's for sure.....

I'll always Seize the Day and Throttle It!

Apparently, I'm French, and....

Apparently I'm French and have applied to take the IELT English Proficency Exam.

Or at least, so claim the Sussex Downs College. I just had the strangest set of emails from them. The 1st one was saying that they'd received my application to take the exam, but couldn't process it because the date was fully booked, and the next available was the 13th of August.

Ummm... exam? What exame? I really had no idea what the exam was, much less when I had applied for it. They didn't tell me what exam, just that the date I'd applied for was full. So I replied back that, I'm sorry, but I have no idea what this is about. What exam?

The reply I got was most annoying. It read, Please see attached. The date is fully booked, the next available is 13 August.

I don't THINK so! Not on your life am I going to open an unsolicited attachment from an unknown address about an exam I have no memory of applying for. I don't care if you have an academic email address (like the .edu suffix in the states, it's .ac.uk here. Reserved for academic institutions.) They can be hacked! Or otherwise forged.

I replied back that I would not open an attachment from an unknown source, that I didn't have any knowledge of any exam. That I had no idea what their office was for, and to please give further details.

Decided to give the place a ring. So I googled the name of the institution, came up with the same number as in the email (promising) and phoned them up. I explained that I'd started to get emails from them that I could not work out what it was about. She took my name and compared it to their records and discovered that they did have an application from someone with an address in France who had given my email address. I said, well they've got it wrong, because that's me. I'm a native English speaker, American, I live in the UK (easier than explaining the real state of affairs) I have a Batchelors, 2 Masters and most of a PhD from American or UK Universities. I would be the last person to apply for an English proficiency exam.

She then tried to convince me that native English speakers do take the exam when they're emigrating abroad. Umm... not for any reason I could fathom. And I really ought to be an expert in the field! Whatever, they said they'd stop contacting me.

Good, but seriously, be more helpful in your emails. That whole thing ought to have been resolved back when I first asked what exam, after the 1st email!

Belated 4th of July

Every year I promise myself, I will be in the United States for Independence Day. And where am I? Not in the United States! Again! Seriously, the last time I was Stateside for the 4th was 1999! I think that's grounds for revoking my citizenship.

Anyway, instead of getting to celebrate back in the US, I always invite my friends to my house for a barbecue to "Celebrate the day we kicked you out of our country." :-D They always reply that they'd, "Love to come celebrate the day we got rid of you." Which always makes me laugh, because there's the whole, you fought us for several years to try to keep us, and then you came back later during the War of 1812, thing! Hilarious.

This year, though, it was a little different, because I wasn't in the US, but I'm not LIVING abroad, either. So I couldn't invite people round. But, my best friend, bless her, offered to help me make a 4th of July dinner for me :-) We couldn't do it on the 4th, but . . . never mind! Today is close enough.

We made pulled pork sandwiches. Here's the recipe we started off with.

We made a few tweaks.

1st - We didn't marinate (at all). We just bunged it all in together and let it simmer.
2nd - We didn't use the oven. We used the slow-cooker. Just turned it on and left it for 3 hours. Perfectly done and perfectly moist!
3rd - We didn't have all the same spices, but we got close.

It turned out absolutely PHENOMENAL! Absolutely gorgeous! Loved it. In fact, it was so good, we stuffed ourselves to the point where we can't even eat our Apple Pie!

Along side we had:
A Gorgeous Salad - Greens, Mushrooms, Bell Pepper, Carrots, Walnuts and Cranberries with Honey Mustard Dressing.
Pickled Beetroot - Ok, I know, that's not really "American", but we both absolutely love it, so we had it anyway!
Corn on the Cob - Anything more 4th of July?

Here's some photos of our yummy dinner.

Lest You Think I've Gone Native

Just in case my British friends are worried that, having moved back to the US, I've completely forgot all that I've learnt about being British....

I tried to get in the wrong side of the car today.

Again.


This is at least the 3rd time this week.  This time, with witnesses!

Waiting for My Taxi

It's done.  I've got everything packed up, packed away, sold off or shipped out.  I'm just sitting here waiting for my taxi to the train station.  It's only a mile, but . . . at 4.20am, and with luggage, I don't fancy walking down to the station on my own.  My flight's at 9.00am, from Gatwick, changing planes at Atlanta.  Let's hope we don't have a repeat of my last visit through Atlanta: stuck for 5 days and ending up in a different country than originally intending!  Yep, let's hope that doesn't happen again!  I'd also love it if I got put in business class.  After the week I've had, I'd really like to sleep on the flight!  Anyway, I'm off shortly.  Very strange feeling.

Change Is in the Wind

Ok, way back in . . . May? I said something about the fact that changes were coming, which was a good part of why I had been rather absent from my blog. Some of you will already be aware of what this change is, since you've been helping me deal with it or get ready for it. But, for those who don't know, here's the official announcement.

I'm leaving England and moving back to the United States.

This was not a decision I made lightly. It came after nearly a year of consideration.  I really feel like it's the right decision, but at the same time, my heart is breaking.

My move date is 15 September, and I'm heading to Salt Lake.  My sister lives there, and I'm due to be an auntie (Today!  She's at Labour & Delivery as I'm writing this!) so there's a dual pull there.  My plan is to be there for a year, and then see where I need to go, what I need to do at that point.

Baby Blessings and Other Mischief

Remember back in April when I said that my friends M&J had their baby, Peanut?  Well, this last Sunday, he was blessed.  I drove up on Saturday to spend the weekend in Sheffield.  It was a double blessing (first seeing M&J and the baby!): My Mom got to meet all the wonderful people I became friends with when I lived up North.  We stayed with the Bradbury Family (whom I always refer to as "the Redheaded Family" because all 3 of the kids and their dad are ginger, and their mum's a bit on the ginger side.)  They live nearest M&J, and I love them DEARLY. In a perfect world I'd get to live near all my favourite people.  *sigh*  Someday, yes?  We also had a lovely visit with my friend Sarah, whom I haven't seen in years!  She up and moved to Australia for a year, then got hitched and moved farther North, so it's a little more complicated to see her.  *grumble*  Anyway, we had a grand time visiting with her and her family after the blessing on Sunday.  Also, J's favourite cake in the world is my Spice Cake.  So she asked me to make one for the dinner after the blessing.  Naturally I couldn't just do a plain cake.  I had to make it pretty!  Now, I'm SO not a pro-baker.  But, I do enjoy playing around with the decorating.  I'd love to have mad skills, but sadly the combination of heat and car vibrations on the 4 hour drive north didn't do my feeble attempts to make it cute any favours.  But here's what it looked like when I first finished it off:

My mother made the baby booties and I did the rest.  (If you want the recipe, here's the link.)

So, since we were going to be up north all weekend, we made plans to visit the Lake District.  I'd never been before, so thought it would be the perfect opportunity to check it out.  I booked a place at a National Trust place.  They have various cottages and flats that they rent out.  We stayed at Acorn Bank.  It was a wonderful spot!  Just outside of Penrith.  We totally had a ball walking through the countryside.  I especially enjoyed driving the crazy narrow winding roads.  The best bit was this one bump, where you went over it and our stomachs dropped out from under us!  It was fantastic!  (Yes, I know.  I'm nuts.)

Here's some photos of the walks we did.

 The Lake District is also famously where Beatrix Potter lived for many years.  In fact, she bought many of the farms in the area, and left them in a trust (now called the National Trust, which is now the US equivalent of the National Parks) upon her death.  Many of the stories she wrote are set in and around the area, either inspired by her visits to the area as a child, or once she had returned to live as an adult.  In fact, if you pay attention to the stories, you can recognise the locations and even the streets!  It's pretty cool.  We went to Hill Top Farm (her home), but it was raining, so we didn't want to wait the hour before we could get in.  Instead, we went to the "Beatrix Potter's World".  It had scenes from all the books done out in gorgeous diorama.  Really delicate and pretty.  They also had a kitchen garden set out like Mr McGregor's Garden, complete with Peter's jacket and shoes!

On Wednesday, we started back home, but rather than driving across on the Moterway, we drove along Hadrian's Wall.  It was great exploring the ruined forts and walking along the wall, hiking up to the beautiful crags.  At least, that is, until I took a tumble and twisted my ankle.  As many of you know, this is not an unusual occurrence for me!  I did manage to walk it off, but it was getting late, and we still had a long drive South to make, so we decided to call it a day.

Veni, Vidi, Vici

Great weekend and fun couple of days in the Lake District.  I totally recommend it to anyone!

The Story So Far......

We find our hero (ok, heroine) succumbing to the sweet oblivion of sleep..... here's a flashback to find out what had lead up to this collapse.....


Getting on the plane was an adventure.... my ticket said I was in Seat 1J. I had to reread that to make sure I got it right. Yep. 1st row, seat J. Window. No one sat next to me. Sweet. Here's the photo of my little nest:



So, once I got seated and settled, the attendants came around with your choice of orange juice, champaign or .... something else .... samosas? Is that a drink? Of course, I went with the oj:



And, the first thing I did? Took off my shoes. They were so far away in the corner of the bulk head, I literally couldn't reach them from my seat. And, I couldn't touch the bulkhead with my feet all the way extended. Umm... nice? No. FABULOUS!



Then, once you got settled and had your drink, you had to choose your menu for breakfast. Now, I thought we had to choose which starter, main and dessert (yes, dessert with BREAKFAST!) Nope. Only which main. You got all of the rest of it.




Then, once we got airborn, they started bringing round the food. No cart for us, though. Individually brought out, placed on a linen table cloth..... yeah. That was nice. And more silverware than you could shake a stick at! Seriously! Spoon, 2 forks and 3 knives! And they brought MORE for the dessert!



(Dessert at breakfast: GENIUS!)

I slept through the middle of the flight, which was brilliant. The seats weren't the really amazing new ones that really do go totally flat, but.... they went flat enough! I slept for 4 hours, or so, which was just amazing. I'm normally lucky to get 1 hour sleep on a plane. I didn't even break out the movies! I read my book, did some work (as in Work, not PhD) and had another nap (45 minutes, or so).... then they were bringing round the pre-landing 'snack'



That chicken sandwich was brilliant. So yummy.

And, by the time that was all eaten and cleared away, it was time to get ready to land. For the first time EVER, I wasn't just DYING to get off the plane. Sure, I was looking forward to landing, but more because I was anxious to get the rest of the way to Utah, than because I was desperate to get off the plane. *sigh* What a wonderful way to fly.

So, got through customs (no problems there), got my bags, re-checked them, and got back through security. I arrived to Terminal E, and my next flight was scheduled to leave from A, which is the opposite end of the airport, so took the little train to get there. Arrived...... and saw a HUGE list of standby passengers.... 17. And I was? #17. Called Lois to let her know I'd arrived in Atlanta. She filled me in on V (my friend, Veronica, who arranged for my standby ticket.  She goes by V) not getting to come They managed to get 15 of the passengers on the flight. That left me, and this other guy, Toa (he's Samoan) trying to get to Salt Lake. So we headed off to the next flight option.... back at Terminal E! Got in touch with Lois again (she called my UK mobile and left a message. I called her back from a pay phone.... much cheaper!) and found out the scoop on the next flight... I thought it was HILARIOUS that she knew I'd not got on the flight before I did! V - you're a fabulous travel agent! Tried to get ahold of V, but couldn't. Called Mary Lou, too.... also ignored my call to let her know I was in the area and say hi. Not that I expected her to drop everything and drive 3 hours to the airport, just wanted to say hi, since I was near by. Chatted with Toa for the 2 hours between the first and second Salt Lake flights.... and the whole time he's getting updates from his cousin, who works in the Atlanta airport, on the status of the flight. We were convinced there was NO WAY we'd get on, either of us. V thought the same. It was completely booked, and everyone had checked in.... and there were 4 or 5 standby people ahead of us. So we figured we would have to catch the NEXT flight, at 9.30, getting in at 11.50 Fortunately, miraculously, even (for us!), a WHOLE BUNCH of people didn't make the flight. So, we made it on! And not only that, but there was even a spare seat between me and the guy in my row. I was in coach, not 1st, but I didn't care a bit. As far as I was concerned, this was the best view ever:



Sometime during the flight they brought round a 'snack'. Just for comparison's sake, I took a photo:



Uh huh. Whatever. Still didn't even care. It was a 4 hour flight (or so... can't remember if it was 4.5 or 4.... but it was long) to Salt Lake, and I was pretty sore by this point. I was REALLY feeling grateful for the 1st Class flight from London, because I'd have been in REALLY sad shape by that point without it. So... again, V, THANK YOU.

Arrived to Salt Lake around 9.00 pm. My luggage had caught the earlier flight, so it was already here, waiting for me. Went to Lois/Steve's house and had a quick change of clothes (and shoes) and went off dancing.  Came home around 12.30, and slept. Was actually tired enough that I didn't sleep brilliantly, so was up around 7, though climbed in bed with Lois and watched cartoons (Chip & Dale) for a while, and had a short nap. Got up officially around 8.

I'm still jetlagging a bit, even having had a 2 hour nap earlier, but... it's just good to be home.

Jetlagging

I really really really like walking through my front door at the end of a trip. Especially if I can fall straight into bed. That's what I did yesterday afternoon. It was bliss! I had dinner with some friends, here at my house, then went BACK to bed for the rest of the night around . . . 7? 8? Something like that. And it was torture to get up this morning at 10! Pathetic, I know. But I had to get up so I could take the rental car back. I worked out it was cheaper (and so much faster, not to mention less painful!) to rent a car and drive home, rather than taking the train. So, no more dragging bags through the Underground for me! But, it did force me out of my cosy nest to deal with the return this morning. Never mind. I'm currently sitting on my sofa, talking to my Sister on the phone (as if I hadn't just spent the past 10 days at her house!) trying to get up the energy to open the suitcases.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I truly love Thanksgiving. Partly it's the food. Who wouldn't enjoy a holiday where the main component is eating?!? Other holidays include food (4th of July Picnics, Easter Dinner, Christmas Dinner . . . ) but Thanksgiving is food. However, as much fun as eating all that luscious bounty is, I love more than just that. I actually enjoy the whole week. You start the preparations ages before hand.

Here in England I get to cheat a bit. Since there's no competition for the food at the supermarket, I can do my shop on the Wednesday, which means everything's nice and fresh. (I always try and get a fresh turkey from the Butcher, rather than a frozen one, so I don't have to worry about defrosting. But even on a year when I get it frozen, that's still the only thing I get ahead of time. (*Edit* This year's was horrible! There were simply no juices to use to baste. Not impressed. It wasn't dry, but it wasn't up to my usual standards, either.) In any case, the preparations start at least the day before.

Making the Desserts. This year I went with apple pie and brownies with this yummy (and very easy) moose. It's been ages since I made pie, though, so I was a bit worried about the crust. Had a bit of left overs, which I made into a quiche for dinner. Wow. I needn't have worried. Flaky, buttery and soft. :-)

Oh the lovely smells! One of the best bits about Thanksgiving is all the delightful smells. Many times I enjoy that part more than actually eating anything. Oh so yummy. And none of the drawbacks to actually eating it!

Family. I've been known to be terribly homesick for the whole week of Thanksgiving. It's one of the days that I most wish I were with them. Probably mostly because I know they're all together laughing and having fun without me! I've never liked being out of the loop. Fortunately, we've come up with a few creative solutions. The best bit is Clever Endeavour. That's a board game we've had since I was a teenager. Clues are read out and you have to figure out what the object is. You get more points for getting it sooner, but if you guess wrong, you lose points. Points move you forward (or backwards!) along the board. But the game is really all audible, not visible or activity based. So, I can guess, too! So, we always play that or Double Talk (similar idea, but based on Puns). It's great fun, and one of my favourite traditions.

Friends. Since I can't be with my family, I choose to be with my friends. I invite people I love to come share my Thanksgiving Dinner. I choose different people every year (although there have been a few overlaps!) so that as many people as possible get to find out what Thanksgiving means. This year I had 6 guests, only 2 of whom were Americans.

That's what I love about Thanksgiving (apart from eating the food, which obviously is part of the list). So wonderful. A day dedicated to feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. Love it!

Remember

I'm not sure what it is about November that sparks the British Memory. You've got 'Remember Remember the 5th of November', and then, the next week you've got Remembrance Sunday, followed, of course, by Armistice Day on the 11th of November (the end of WWI was officially declared and the peace treaty signed in the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month). In any case, today's Remembrance Sunday, roughly equivalent to the American Memorial Day.

During the end of October and up through the 11th of November, Britain is awash with poppies. The 'Poppy Appeal' raises money for the families of service men/women who've died in the line of duty. It was lovely to see so many poppies at church today.

So, to you who serve: Thank you. You put your lives on the line. You protect us. You put everyone in your country over your own needs. That's an incredible act of love. I pray for your continued safety every day.

To you who send your husbands/wives and sons/daughters off: Thank you. You parents have taught your children selflessness. Something that's in an increasingly short supply. You spouses give these men/women the support they need at home to be able to do these dangerous jobs. You're equally deserving of our gratitude. You are also in my prayers.

To you who've lost friends and loved ones: Thank you. I grieve for your loss, but I celebrate the cause. They have not sacrificed for nothing.

As most of you know, I'm a religious person. I very firmly believe that those who have offered the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf are taken into God's arms.

"Greater love hat no man that this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" John 15:13.

Evening Cool

Summer's finally arrived to England. This past week has been truly lovely. Every day has been sunny and warm. I've even had to work to not get sunburnt. It's been wonderful. I've been doing my PhD work outside at the patio table. It's been wonderful to work outside, instead of being cooped up in my office. But my favourite time of day is the evening. Around 8.00 pm, as the sun goes low in the sky, the blackbird comes to perch on the back fence, and starts singing his heart out. As the sun sets, a breeze picks up. The heavy humid air is still warm from the sun, but the breeze is cool as it ruffles the hem of my skirt. The breeze also brings with it the sent of the jasmine growing along the fence. The breeze, warm humid air and sent of jasmine is enough to make you forget that you're in England, and not on some tropical island paradise. Evening is always my favourite time of day, and these have been enchanting.

You Know You've Been In England Too Long If . . .

This is my personal 'You know you've been in England too long, if . . .' list.

• You get in the car to drive, and look up only to realise you've got in the passenger seat. (Yep, did that Saturday)
• You can't figure out why that guy making a left hand turn is in the wrong lane . . . then realise that it's you in the wrong lane!
• You twig to anything.
• You hoover the carpet.
• You queue.

I'm sure there are loads of others, but I don't always notice them. In fact, I don't usually notice them! Anyway, it has been kind of a cultur shock living in the USA again.