What I WILL Miss

I've been asked this question many, many times: "Are you going to miss it here?" The answer is an emphatic "YES!" Here are a few things I will miss horribly.

the smell of fairy liquid
traveling to places I had only dreamed about in the past
roundabouts
CONVENIENT public transport
the NHS
free prescriptions for me and the kids (and, yes, I realize they're paid for through taxes, but still, what a system)
free eye & dentist exams for the kids (yes, I know...)
free orthodontia (yes, I still know...)
free eyeglass lenses & frames for the kids (yep, still know...)
hearing an English accent everywhere I go
walking, both in the countryside and in town
uniforms
being a tenant
flowers and constant green grass
cool summers
fields and fields of rapeseed blooming, snowdrops, poppies
the kids' schools and the way they teach to boys
British meat - I like it better especially the beef, but I will never be a fan of lamb
PUBS and the whole pub culture, everything about it
my friends and friendly neighboUrs in the UK
football matches on the telly
learning something new everyday, whether weird or interesting
the oldeness of it all
school schedule & term breaks - this is a biggie
packing my own groceries - weird but true
hearing Girls Aloud and Take That on the radio
ridiculously cheap airfare (if you plan ahead) to places you never thought to visit but turn out F.A.B.

On the other hand, I am looking very forward to:

hanging out with people I love and missed
Chick-Fil-A sweet tea
7-11 coffee
my washing machine
driving on the side of the road for which my car was intended
being able to gets parts for my car because there are others like it
swimming in a naturally warm swimming pool vs one that says it's heated in the summer when it's not but should be because it's FREEZING
seafood that isn't a fillet of fried fish or a prawn
$1=$1
Target
screens in my windows
crickets & lightning bugs
closets and storage
MY KITCHEN & APPLIANCES - I am so lame
gigantic stretches of beaches that are warm and sandy (vs. a 'shingle' beach)
sushi
convenience
rediscovering the US of A with the kids and revisiting some old haunts

What I Will NOT Miss

Although I have immensely enjoyed my stay in the UK, there are a few things I will not think twice about leaving behind. They are:

outlets that you have to turn on
separate hot and cold taps
parking in the actual street where cars need to drive
MOT
having my vocabulary corrected
having a swipe card in a non swipe card economy
calling my credit card company whenever I travel, even if it's the distance from MD to NC
constantly doing math in my head to convert C to F or ounces & cups to grams, what IS the purpose of a "stone" anyway?
PE and Games kits x3
noisy especially when rainy street I live on
bayonet lightbulbs
breakers that trip and turn off all of the lights in the house when a single light bulb dies
driving an American car on the other side of the road
car issues in general
slow mail (US military not UK Royal Mail which is like lightning fast)
work paperwork
being a landlord
being a tenant
lack of conformity when walking down the sidewalk, oops 'pavement'
searching endlessly for groceries that I know MUST exist and lack of choice in some items
crap coffee
APPLIANCES!!!! farewell skinny damp fridge, separate freezer, six million dollar man washer and loud dryer. although you all work fine, I like mine better!
the insular feeling of the garden, not being able to mix and mingle across the lawn
the constant loop of Friends and Scrubs episodes
the unfavorable exchange rate and having to gamble regarding the exchange rate
Community Bank/Bank of America
the cold damp that's colder than just cold
foggy windows and wet or icy windows INSIDE the car
driving on ridiculously skinny hedgerow "roads"
cold beaches
queues

Upon my return, I am definitely not looking forward to:

traffic
American accents and how loud we are
outright rudeness vs the passive rudeness here
overwhelming choices
strip malls
cicadas & mosquitoes
giant plates of greasy food
finding my niche all over again

Saying Good-bye to My Baby

Things are happening all around us, maybe a little too quickly sometimes and then not quickly enough at other times.

Evan and I took a trip to RAF Lakenheath on Tuesday to drop off Cinderella Bullseye for her long journey home. We had to have the car completely detailed and shampooed because the US Department of Agriculture is very strict on importing bugs and soil inadvertently. When we arrived, we went to another car valet place around the corner from the office to have the chassis pressure washed underneath as well. They had us in and out in less than an hour. It took the inspector longer to document all of the dings and dents than it did for me to sign the mountain of paperwork involved. I gave her one last glance with a tear in my eye, hoping I will be reunited with my fourth baby very soon.

Evan and I decided to go up a day early because it is about a three and a half hour drive there and in order to shop at the base for a few items. On the way to the base, we tried to find a small town called America, but it was not properly signed (an anomaly here). Maybe they weren't so excited about being known as America, England or I suspect a bad American stole the sign.

I had an iPad2 in my sights, but was informed Tuesday afternoon that they had sold out the previous Friday and none of the games Evan wanted were in stock. Huge bummer for the two of us so we headed to our posh off-base lodgings I found on laterooms.co.uk. It was fairly stunning but the gardens definitely needed some tlc. I have photos but uploading has become an issue on the dinosaur Dell. Maybe I will add them one day. It was an ancient manor house in the middle of nowhere but like 15 minutes from base and 10 minutes from the car place. There happened to be a lot of Americans staying there who were most likely affiliated with the base somehow. It was odd to hear that many American voices at once when not expecting it. I need to get used to that.

Anyway, we had a good night's sleep and full English breakkie and headed bask to the base to go to the bank and run a couple of errands before taking the car to the place. Evan turned on the radio and it took us like a full minute to realize that we were hearing an American voice speaking to us and then that it was NPR! In England. On the radio. We were stunned. It was a nice send off for Cinderella Bullseye and a great way to transition our car back into America. Definitely a sign. So we decided to try the exchange one more time to see if a shipment had come in overnight. Not expecting much, I asked the guy at the Apple counter if they had gotten any iPads and he sad YES!!!! I litruhlee jumped for joy. No kidding, I hopped up and down like the Easter bunny delivering candy. I got exactly the one I wanted and Evan found the game he wanted and we were smiles all around! We got to the car place early and they accommodated us early. One of the employees gave us a ride to the train station JUST as it began to pour, we caught every train home early and arrived home about four hours later, very weary but happy travelers.

And PS, just in case you weren't paying attention, I have and iPad2!!! Now I just need to figure it out because Craig won't help me in the least as he is a staunch PC user, sort of like his Grandfather in the whole "buy American" theme as it applied to car purchases.

SE7EN

So Craig was watching the movie SE7EN the other night. I remember one time we were walking and trying to remember the seven deadly sins and kept coming up one short so this time as he watched the movie, he wrote them down because he knew I'd wanted to know. In addition, he googled them and found out the seven corresponding virtues which aren't nearly as popular and wouldn't make as good a basis for a creepy movie. Anyway, here's some good food for thought:

Wrath v Patience
Greed v Charity
Sloth v Diligence
Pride v Humility
Gluttony v Temperance
Lust v Chastity
Envy v Kindness

A Challenge

I am sitting in the kids' playroom on the computer watching four buff men trim the eucalyptus tree in the back gahden so if this blog post seems scattered, I will undoubtedly blame it on them. Although it will be a challenge to concentrate, this is not the challenge referred to in the title of this post.

A while back, my friend, Amy, emailed me a link and asked if I had seen the subject of the link and knew the story. I had not and did not but had a sneaky suspicion that I knew where to find it. A quest began.
I don't get down to the High St much anymore for a variety of reasons, mainly because I don't need to buy anything, but I remembered a passage that leads to the back of the High St and a few more shops. Well, yesterday was a gorgeous day so I hoofed it down to the High St to run some errands and lo and behold, I found the object of my quest!! Here are photos of my discovery and the link to their background. What a neat bit of Britain and a simpler time which definitely fulfills my definition of "quaint". (For all of you Cheltonians, they are where Cambray St meets the High St in the passage to the right of HMV as you face HMV. A lot of times there is a Gloucestershire Echo guy hawking papers inside its entrance.) There were placards under some of the mosaics; I made up the rest.
The circus is coming to town!
The Ringleader announces the show. Here come the elephants!
"Enticed by the irresistible aroma drifting from Bloodworths Corn Merchants, they raid the feed store."
"Their keepers frantically struggled to control their errant charges."
"Amazed Cheltonians and the local Constabulatory watched with alarm and delight."

Link to the pet shop, click HERE.
Link to the hardware store, click HERE.

This pet shop/hardware store is now located right behind where we live and we have visited it regularly for those bits and bobs that aren't available in regular hardware stores. Also, the pet shop is in the back and who doesn't like to see hamsters and mice frolicking from time to time? It just so happens that Owen, Evan and I were on the Bath Rd yesterday for eye appointments and can you believe it? The old Bloodworth's sign was being replaced THAT DAY! Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me to get a shot of it, but how weird that I was taking photos of the circus hubbub and the ancient sign was changed on the same day.

Notes

Owen has a great week in France. He brought home gifts. I got a diamond ring and an olive pot. Craig got a pair of flip flops and a cereal bowl. I love how kids think.

Finn scored second highest in the school's Maths competition for Years 7 & 8. He got into the next level of competition and has another test to take on Tuesday.

Evan is two tests away from completing his GCSE's (like SAT's for every subject).

We went on our last walk with our walking group to Upper and Lower Slaughter. It was a beautiful morning which quickly turned sour just as we finished lunch. It's been miserable ever since.

I am sort of getting tired of camping out in the house. Two more weeks until luxurious temporary quarters!

Catching Up

Firstly, our second computer died. We shipped a non-working one home and now the second one died too. Both power issues. Thankfully and fingers crossed our dinosaur Dell is still up and running despite every attempt to kill it. Go figure.

Secondly, since our laptop died, I can't download photos since there isn't enough room on the dinosaur Dell.

Thirdly, we just returned from a nice week in N. Wales at a farm cottage. The kids got to feed animals, ride horses, fight off aggrohead goats and pit bulls and enjoy the countryside. We saw a castle, a garden, an electric mountain, a slate factory and a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car rally race. It was relaxing, fun and educational. We also watched five hours of television one day to see the top 100 family films (as of 2005) according to Britain. It was actually worth it.

Penultimately, we paid to send Owen away for a week on a school trip to Burgundy, France. He was super excited and I am glad he is getting this experience. They teach most of the lessons in French and they do a lot of outdoor and circus type activities.

Lastly, Craig and I are going to Copenhagen, Denmark tomorrow through most of the week as our side of the kid swap with friends. The bigger boys will be living in a furnished home and are looking forward to it. I know I am looking forward to some husband time before the true whirlwind begins.