A time for reflection

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and are looking forward to a joyous New Year.  While my Christmas was wonderful, the week leading up to it was bitter sweet.  A very dear friend of mine lost his battle with alcoholism and the ravages it has on the human body.  It was a harsh reminder to take better care of one's self.  My heart aches for my friends in Florida who were also close to him.   As we often do at this time of year i have been reflecting on the past. This year has been sweet and sorrowful.  A year full of transformation, starting with my engagement in January during my first ski trip.   The next big change in my life, moving myself and six cats to the UK.  In all the transfer went really well if you don't count the fact that the British Airways World Cargo sub contractors at Philadelphia airport forgot to put the first 5 on the plane.  In the end, everyone made it to England safe and soundly. Our next trip to America included my 20 year high school reunion and the wedding of a very good friend.  We spent some time in Florida visiting friends and some of the animals I worked with when I lived there.  We stayed in southwest Florida for several days getting our wedding plans in motion.  It was also the last time I saw Brett, I am thankful I had the opportunity to spend some time with him before his passing.  I had a slightly extended stay in the States while I waited for my engagement visa to come through, but I returned to the UK about two weeks after my fiancé. Our time in the Uk was filled with travel, friends, and family.  In all, we visited Edinbourough and Glasgow, Scotland; the Snowdonia region of Wales; Coventry, Stone henge, Bath, Blackpool, New Castle, Berwick upon Tweed, Sea houses, Farnese Islands, Holy Island, Eastbourne, Brighton, and I am sure many more areas of England.  I am very thankful for my opportunity to take in as much of this country as possible.   Our next trip to the states was to be monumental, we had the most beautiful wedding despite the several snags along the way.  We had a fabulous time in Sanibel and Miami.  We capped this trip off with my husbands second real American Thanksgiving. The glorious Florida weather made the snow and cold a bit more bearable upon our return to England.  The weather did help put everyone in the Christmas spirit as our house became a winter wonderland.  We had some close friends and family over in Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  The day after Christmas (Boxing Day) we went to Fountains Abbey and were fortunate enough to catch the Carol service.  My wonderful husband has given us much to look forward to in 2011, a Western Mediterranean cruise with a focus on Italy!  We are both very excited and I have been doing research on our ports of call to make sure we get the most out of our visit. This post is dedicated to:      Michael Brett Stone      Bill Meier       Charlie Houllis      Jeff Peters And all others we lost in 2010.

Married Life

Wow, what a whirlwind! Shortly after my last blog entry, I went back to the States. Spent a couple of days at my parents house picking stuff up for our DIY Beach Wedding in Florida. All the planning and emailing would finally be over and I could enjoy my beach party. It went perfectly! Steel drummer played the right songs... weather was GORGEOUS, and we even had a small pod of dolphins swim by and join in. They must have heard my processional song from the Little Mermaid! My photographer and officiant were fabulous, my flowers were the perfect colors. We even had a classic Camaro, similar to the one my Dad drove, there for pictures. The cake was picture perfect and my caterer was awesome as well. He was also from Pittsburgh and took care of us like family. I don't know how we got so lucky finding everyone and having it come together so well. I can say as much as I would love to hang out and see my friends and family and stay by the beach, I am glad the planning is over! In all I spent nearly 3 weeks in the Sunshine State. We spent time on the East and West coasts. We enjoyed quiet Gulf Coast Island life, and high paced Miami South Beach. We know which we prefer and where we would like to live as opposed to visit. It was just what I needed to face the winter in the UK. My first FULL winter in the UK, I am not sure if I could face it after my winter in PA last year...

Fuel for the Fire

Now that the weather has turned, it is time to start preparing for winter. We ordered coal and logs to help supplement our use of oil for heating this winter. Not only will it keep me warm inside, it did a good job of keeping me warm outside as well. It was delivered in these bulk bags to the front of the house. Our storage area is in the back of the house up some wonky steps. When this picture was taken I had already moved coal bucket by bucket for about an hour (probably about 45 buckets worth). The bag was filled to the top like the logs when I started at 0930. By 1330, I had finished moving the coal and started the logs. Thankfully not long after I started moving the logs some friends showed up and helped me make very short work of the rest. I built a fire that evening and it was lovely and warm without the central heating... Lets hope it lasts through the winter now!! Fingers crossed its a mild one.

First Frost

'Tis the season to be...cold. After living in Florida for 14 years I have experienced my first full year away. We turn on the heating daily, light fires regularly, and I wear layers of clothes when I am inside, you should see me when I have to be outside. Has anyone seen "A Christmas Story"? Ralphy's little brother, enough said. Everyone asks don't you like the snow in the winter? I shoveled through the PGH blizzard of 2010, 3 feet of WET snow in about 12 hours. It was fun for a little while, we made the best of a bad situation. I am not looking forward to another season of snow though. Good thing blizzards don't typically happen every year and rarely happen in the UK. All I have to say is 1324 more days until I am back in the Sunshine State as a permanent resident! Until then I might just stay in hibernation...

Getting around

Since coming to the UK, we have been struggling to decide what my mode of transportation would be. Currently we have one car, a business car, which I am not insured to drive. For now, if I want to get out of the village, it is on 2 wheels and pedal power! It is not so bad as long as I do not have to go anywhere in the rain and we haven't had terribly cold weather yet. There are several small villages within a couple of miles, but most of them have fewer amenities than my village. The next town is only about 4 miles away and I try to cycle there at least once a week for physical and psychological well being. Part of the ride is through a farmers field and the remainder is on a fairly quiet road. It is relatively flat in this part of the UK, which I am thankful for! I only got lost once and that was on the way back from town I missed a turn in the fields. I came to a dead end and it took me a few minutes to figure out where I had gone wrong. Fortunately I could see the village church in the distance which helped me get my bearings and head the right direction. You should have seen me in the middle of these fields trying to figure out where to go! Since then I make the trip routinely and have had no problems. So remember when you are driving out there to watch for bicycles! Or just leave your car at home and pedal, it is good for you and the environment!

Purple Pasta

One of my important job as a stay at home wife to be in a foreign country is to find a healthy meal for us. This night is purple pasta. It is actually "drunken pasta" by Rachael Ray. The pasta was cooked in red wine. To add to the purple color, grated beets, sauteed with garlic and onions. A healthy serving of Parmesan cheese grated on top made this a great dinner. My other half was a bit nervous eating beet root and purple pasta, but he was pleasantly surprised. He even had a second helping! That is the true indication of a meal well done!

Roman Baths

A recent trip to the Roman Baths. We did 1150 miles around the UK and this was just one of the many stops of a sight seeing filled week.