The Month of November

AMERICANS INTERNATIONAL SERVICE EMPLOYEE PICTURE

THANKSGIVING, NOV. 25, 2007

The month of November brought about no changes. The weather is still the same, a little rain here and there, temperatures in the mid 50's to low 60's, and my annual flowers and roses are still blooming.

We did not celebrate Thanksgiving Day here as Dan did not have it off work and the kids were in school that day. All though, Bella's headmaster told me I could keep her home for the day if I needed, since it is a holiday for us in America. I graciously declined, as she will be missing a week of school at Christmas and if she is not sick, she gets quite bored. We did get together with the ISE's as a big group and celebrated the holiday on Sunday. Yes, We had turkey, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cakes, pies, potatoes and gravy and so on. That is the day that it felt like Thanksgiving Day. The above picture is a shot of everyone there that day. Now keep in mind, that this is only half of the families that are over here. We had 20 families that day, 90 adults and children, and there are 38 families over here. We rented the Woodnewton Village Hall and had a great time.

We are now finishing up school and counting the days until we leave for home. ( Six to be exact) Belle's school puts on a Christmas Program and she is an Elf in it. She will have to go through 3 separate performances, the last one being the night before we leave the next morning at 5:30 a.m.. We are going to pack this weekend, so hopefully we will have a stress free week.

Things we are going to do when we get back to America??? Dan has a list of 17 restaurants that he wants to eat at. He has been dieting the past 3 months so that he can come home to America and possibly gain 15 pounds and still be at his regular weight, if not below, that he was before the trip. Caleb is going to In Play with his friends and pretty much planning on living with Weston at his house and ours. We will see family and visit with friends close by and from far away. Go to Christmas parties, Ben's Christmas production that he wrote and is directing and is performing in, go to Dawn's churches big Christmas production, go to Kalahari water park with friends and family, and of course, visit, visit, visit and visit some more.

So...... this is probably my last post for 2007. May you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and I can only pray that God will bring many new and exciting memories into your life this next year as he has done for us this past year! Blessings! Pam

The famous "Rialto Bridge", Pigeons in San Marco Square, lovely canals and lovely people are just a few descriptions for Venice! We absolutely had a ball. The Venetian people were very loving towards our family and with restaurants and shopping galore, who couldn't have a great time. Our trip actually started in Rome with Ben and Dan lost. Yes, LOST. Our plane was late and with a screw up with the time, our second driver had to leave the airport. This left 4 of us in a car and two of us with a taxi. Ben and Dan graciously offered to take the taxi and we gave them the address to the apartment. Now, would it have helped if Dan new where the apartment was located, what part of town, and had looked at a map before they left? Yes, but that didn't happen. The taxi driver told Ben and Dan that "something" was going on in the city centre (true) and he could not take them there (apartment was located on the south side of the city centre, just north of the airport) and that he would drop them off at the Vatican. (Please note that the apartment was south of city centre) The Vatican is located North West of the apartment, across the River from us. Dan and Ben then found a Metro (not easy in Rome) and crossed back over the city centre to the Colosseum and the were able to connect up by phone with us and Enzo, our driver, who had stayed with us at the apartment the entire 2 hours, jumped in his car with me, and we went and found the boys. Not a great start, but it could have been worse. Needless to say we walked our feet off during those 4 days. The Vatican was impressive, the Sistine Chapel was a let down, only because to get to the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican has you walk through all of their museum rooms (PIO-Clementine museum, The Gallery of Maps, Room of Animals, Gallery of Statues, Gallery of Busts, Cabinet of the Masks, The Round Room, Room of the Muses, The Raphael Rooms, just to name a few) It took 2 hours just to walk through all these museums to get to the Sistine Chapel. The Sistine Chapel was still beautiful, but something was taken away from it because we had already been saturated with all the other art. I am glad we went, but I think they should start the tour with the Sistine Chapel first. The two hour walk was after we had stood in line for an hour just to get tickets! It is the only time we have waited that long for a ticket and probably the only time it will ever occur. The pope was in town on Wednesday, but we did not venture across town with the thousands of other people to take his picture. Our apartment was located right next to the Roman Forum and down the street from the Colosseum. We were able to walk most everywhere. One of the highlights of our trip was going to Piazza di San Giovanni and getting to see and climb the SCALA SANTA (Holy Staircase). The is supposed to be the same staircase of marble steps which Jesus ascended in the house of Pontius Pilate; it was brought to Rome by the Empress Helena. There are twenty-eight marble steps, recovered with wood for protection, while small glass sheets cover some spots that are considered to be a trail of Christ's blood. The staircase ends in front of one of the most venerable monuments of history and art of the Medieval Ages, the SANCTA SANCTORUM (Chapel of St. Lawrence). This was a really memorable experience because Christians around the world come here to climb the staircase on their KNEES while praying. It takes about 1/2 hour; I know this because Dawn, I and Caleb climbed it on our knees. The staircase is literally covered with people on their knees, no pictures allowed. About halfway up the staircase my prayers started changing to "Please, God, help me get the rest of the way up". I have a greater appreciated for beggers that we have seen on thier knees, bent over with just cup extended, waiting for money. My knees had bruises on them for 4 days afterwards. You know, I rarely get down and actually set my weight on my knees for a minute, much less for 1/2 hour. It is something I will never forget. Rome is a very large city, with lots to see and do. We did tours, museums, the Colesseum, the Pantheon, the Vatican, the Roman Forum just to name a few. There are over 400 churches in Rome to see also. I didn't realize when we went that they just started digging up old Rome 200 years ago. I mean, even today, they might start to put up a pavillion and when they dig for the lights, OOPS, they find stuff 8 feet under and then everything stops, and the archeologists come in and they start digging up homes, staircases, baths, whatever. All of Rome, at some time or another has been built on top of ancient buildings, temples and homes! The Roman Forum was filled in with dirt and used as a pasture 1,000 of years later, and then when current Rome wanted to use the ground for something, the ancient Rome was found underneath and they have dug it all out. Maybe in my simple mind, I make it out to be bigger than it is, but WOW. So much history, everywhere, underground. I thought that all the ancient stuff we hear about has always been there preserved, not buried. Anyway, I was impressed as you can see. Sorry to go on and on.

Now on to Venice. We absolutely loved Venice. With all the canals and the beautiful sea blue water, the boats, the people and the cleanliness of the city. It was very easy to get around with the Vaporetto Buses to different areas, and if you had 15 minutes, just walk! The Rialto Market was so impressive, the Murano glass jewlrey was exquisite, ATM's and pharmacies were around every corner. Our first morning there, the tide was in (sirens went off at 5:30 a.m. to warn the Venetian people to get out the walkways) and it flooded portions of the city. The walkways (2 feet high) made it easy to get around the water and still shop! Prada, Gucci, Versace........all available in Venice. The mask shops were in abundance. It was all in good fun for the tourists and it didn't slow anyone down. Our room at the hotel would sleep four, and was very big and newly remodeled. Expensive; I think it was 150 euros a night ($200) and this was for a cheap hotel with no hot water the two mornings we were there. I looked at some hotels and the average was 300 euros a night! ($450 approx.) We loved Venice so much that hot water didn't matter and we loved Venice so much that we are already planning our return trip in March! We really liked the small, quaint city on the water. No cars or automobiles of any kind, just men running through the streets pulling small wagons, yelling, "pardon, exus........" whatever they yell in Italian. You know to get out of the way!

Needless to say, we all came home exhausted and blisters are still healing on our feet. Belle and Caleb have started on the second half of their term in school. Every six weeks they get a week off and at Christmas it is 3 and in the summer they get a 6 week break mid July. The week off every six weeks is really nice. We are getting ready to celebrate "Guy Fawkes" Day with bonfires and fireworks across England. He is a guy who loaded up the cellar with gunpowder under the House of Parliment and before he could blow it up, a friend told on him. So, it is now a "holiday" here and all the villages or towns across England have bonfires and fireworks to celebrate that the House of Parliment was saved! Should be fun. Our weather has been dry and about 60, partly sunny. Really nice fall weather. The sun has started going down about 1:15 in the afternoon, it is dusk at 4:15 and is dark at 5:00 p.m. I guess this will continue and by December 1 it will be dark about 3:15. Can you imagine the sun already starting its downhill decline around noon? I can't wait! Sounds like lots of reading time to me. Belle has been going to bed earlier, and earlier because after it has been dark for two hours, she is ready for bed! About 6:30 she starts telling us she is ready! Funny, huh? No wonder I had trouble getting her to bed this summer when the sun was up until 10:30! Her body must really be affected by the light outside.

I will end now. I haven't blogged in a while and wanted to let you know about life here, besides our vacation. Everything is good! Making new friends all the time. Caterpillar has about 42 families over here. We have started a new ladies bible study during the day, twice a month, and I have joined a book club. Three of my closest friends will be coming back to America in February, March and July. I will be sad to lose them, but they are going back to the Peoria area, and I look forward to continuing a long term friendship with them there and all my friends back home meeting them also. Life keeps moving and growing! Take care everyone, and remember, "Home in Six Weeks!"

Love, Pam

Rome: the big city.

School has Began

Autumn Term is finally here and school has began. The kids are in uniform, as is the custom here. Caleb will learn to live in a suit, with tie, every day for the rest of the school year. Belle's uniform is more adaptable with pants in grey, different skirts in grey and she can add the school royal blue sweatshirt or cardigan (jumper) they are called. And she has the option of a full dress, in grey! Both love their schools here. Belle will begin her year relearning vowel sounds and sight words. She will also have a 10 word spelling list a week! Someone who can't read yet, is only five, will have spelling tests! This will be fun, as she does not take teaching well from me. Oh well, we both will learn. Caleb has 14 subjects in one week. They are scheduled around each other, some twice, back to back. He has Italian, French, Math, Science, English, History, Geography, Art, Music, PE, Computer Lab, Food Tech, ACS class,R.E. class. I know, I don't know what the last two are either! Life goes on.

Belle is sick right now with Tonsillitis and has missed 4 days of school. She is running 101 to 103.5 temperature non-stop. They now have her on antibiotics (5 day only of Amoxicillin) and they are letting me give her Tylenol with Ibuprofin, at the same time, to bring the temperature down. It does come down to about 100 and then goes back up after 3 hours. I am looking forward to her getting back into school!

I walked home with an English couple in the village last night from a school meeting. They have a little boy in Belle's class that is full of energy. They were telling me that I should never call for an ambulence because we are in Northamptonshire, so the ambulance has to come from there, (45 Minutes Away) to pick up and take us to Peterborough which is 13 minutes away! (I am thinking I need a self-refresher course in First Aid) :) This couple had friends in another village and half the village was one shire (county) and the other half was in another one, and while the fire department decided who was responsible to put out their house fire, the house burned all the way to the ground! Yikes! It is fun to visit with them and hear their stories of woe. Everyone has been concerned about Belle and asks after her constantly. I am very appreciative of my friends here. I have had offers of help, babysitting if I need to get away, pick up medicine.... They have all been most kind. I feel like we have traded a Church family for our Village/ISE family. God is Good.

Well, that is my week in a nutshell. Lots of Laundry, Doctor Visits, and driving back and forth for Caleb's bus. To leave on a light note: My dad, who lives in Florida, has acquired a new living companion that I have named "Gypsy". It is a turtle that has dug out the sand under his sidewalk and my dad believes it is a protected gopher turtle, so he cannot touch or move it! Ha! God just knew he needed something else to keep watch over! In England, a gypsy is someone who moves onto your property to live and you cannot evict them without a court order. This is not always a homeless person, but working people who live out of a camper because they cannot afford rent. It can be quite a problem in the larger towns. Hence, the name "Gypsy".

Fun Times in England

Dan at Castle Rising

Mike and Jackie at Beach


Big Bus Tour, London

Family at Lincoln Cathedral Square (Caleb stayed at friends house)

The two weeks are over and Mike and Jackie are back home. It is really something when you sit down and think, yesterday here, today, there. It is amazing how far you can travel in the world in one day. We did lots of fun things. Everyday we went somewhere. We visited Baston village where Caleb's school is, and then went to the Waterside Garden Center. One day we went into Peterborough and visited the huge Queensgate Mall (yes, I drove to the city centre and found parking!) (look out Chicago, here I come!). It was the first time I have actually driven, parked and entered the Queensgate Mall! We spent one afternoon over in Oundle for banking, shopping and eating. We then headed to London for sightseeing and the show "Fiddler on the Roof". It was fantastic and now we have decided we are going to go to London once a month and do a theater show! The kids really enjoy them and we feel like we really know London pretty well. We took Taxi's around town this time, and if you are just moving around in the center of London, the fare is not to bad. Mostly 5 pounds wherever are destination took us. The tubes proved a little too intense for a man with a cane! (Mike) Caleb and Belle have decided that a cab is the only way to travel! I am sure we will here lots of whining the first time back to London as we head over to the tubes! OH well. On Sunday we went to Lincoln to see the Cathedral and Castle. The cathedral was lovely and the castle closed early for their mid-summer's eve concerts. Jackie and Mike were only able to see the outer wall of the castle. We ate lunch in a nice little place that had awesome chicken and mushroom pies (pot pie). Our food was really good and we will go back there again.

Monday was a bank holiday (Dan is off work). We went up and toured through Burghley House. It was really neat. Everyone will have to go there when they come to visit. It is only 12 minutes from us and some of Pride and Prejudice was filmed there. Very old Manor House. That afternoon we went over to the Nassington Village Fair, where the kids have contests of decorated bikes, things made out of vegetables, games, adult competition with flowers, the biggest vegetables, the prettiest and so on. We did not compete this year, but maybe next year I will compete with some shortbread cookies?? The rest of the week found us back up at Waterside, Dan's office and lunch, over to Corby to visit Matalans (clothing) and Asda (groceries), and lunch over in Ufford at the White Heart Pub. On Saturday we drove over to the coast, stopped at Castle Rising (way cool) and then we went to the beach. When you say "beach" over here, you really mean beach. The tide goes out on the east side of the island and it leaves about a mile of beach before you ever get to the water! There are tide pools everywhere, so the kids can play, but no real water. The english people seem happy with this, as everyone is up against the sand dunes and the water is a mile away! So, we joined everyone else, and the kids built sand castles and just messed around in the tide pools. It was a very enjoyable day and a good one to close Mike and Jackies two week visit.

Now it is time to get ready for School. Belle and Caleb both start back on Wednesday. I am looking forward to having time to catch up on laundry and be able to do computer stuff and gardening. I should have lots of time on my hands to catch up with everything, and still do lunch with the ladies! We have new ISE's arriving all the time and some going home to America. The lunches are a good way to catch up and visit and meet the new ladies.

To sign off with something funny! Yesterday, we went to Yarwell for church and then decided to go for a bike ride. We have not had any rain in almost two weeks now and the temps are in the low to high 70's. Great weather for a bike ride. I have not ridden a bike in 5 years and I thought, no big deal, we will go slow..... anyway, we ride our bikes up to Wansford (not Yarwell) but Wansford. This is where I take Caleb to catch his school bus and it is up and down hills! Anyway, we go there and get on a byway that leads into the woods. Again, we start getting into hills. We took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up stuck in the woods (Sulehay protected woods, 210 acres) for over an hour! I was really getting mad, my butt hurt, and my arms and neck were killing me from leaning over the bike and holding my upper body on them. Caleb was nearly in tears, and Belle, well Belle was just along for the ride in the carrier, so she didn't have much to say! By the time we made it home we were gone 2 1/2 hours and had ridden 5.8 miles. Wayyyyyy too long for a first time bike ride in 5 years! So, today, I started out with a hot shower and 4 ibuprofin so I could turn my head and lift my left arm. Thankfully couches and chairs all have soft padding so my butt bones hurt, but are not paining me to sit here and type! Caleb, Belle and I, all slept about 10 hours last night! Next time I will be more carefull which bridlepath I choose so the family can talk about the fun we had, not how miserable we became! Of course, Dan had great fun and thought it was fantastic!

Signing off for now, an American Mom in England

The In-Laws have Arrived

Hello to all. As you can see, Jackie and Mike arrived safely in England. They started their week off with a spin in the mini cooper around the village and dinner at the Queenshead. Tuesday we went over to Oundle and did some shopping and ate lunch in a coffee shop. Wednesday we found ourselves at Queensgate Mall in Peterborough. We enjoyed the shopping there and went to the city square and took pictures. On Thursday we went up to Caleb's school and to a big Garden Center with lots to see and do. We spent 3 hours up there shopping. The English are all about their gardens, so you can imagine the size of this garden center! Huge! Tomorrow you will find us headed for London for a show and shopping. Check back with you on Sunday!

THOMAS THE TRAIN ENGINE

Yes, your eyes do not deceive you! It is Thomas the Train Engine! We went to the Nene River Valley Railway this past weekend and rode on a steam engine train. It was very cool. I felt like we should have had our cowboy hats on and guns and at any minute Owen Wilson was going to come charging up along side to rob us! Chugga Chugga Choo Choo! This is the oldest running steam engine railway in England. Even on special weekends, Thomas the engine is used to pull trains. The inside of the rail car is preserved just like it was in the old days. It reminded me a lot of Harry Potters scene when the kids are on the train in their compartment. Two big couch benches facing each other. That is the kind we chose. They also have seats facing each other with tables between them for taking tea and snacks.

Sunday we spent the day at Nene Park at Dan's division picnic. Spent the afternoon playing, visiting and eating. I caught up with womEn I had met in February when I came over and met new ones also. I believe there were 4 ISE families and the rest were single British guys and British Families. We had a wonderful time and spent the afternoon there.

This week I am busy getting groceries ordered, laundry folded, and the house cleaned (when am I not???) awaiting for Dan's parents to arrive. We are looking forward to spending time with them and going sight seeing. Hope you all are having a wonderful summer! Pam

Paris

Steak Tartar on Top And a view of Paris from the Eiffel Tower

Paris

Let me start by saying that Paris was a beautiful city. It was crowded, very hot, and seemed to take forever to get anywhere. The French are very proud of their language and we entered one cafe that repeated the menu in two words of English for each item. The rest of the time we "guessed" what we thought the meal might be and ordered it. We were only stung once, and that was poor Luke. He ordered something and what came out was Steak TarTar. Raw Hamburger Patty that is supposed to be good. He did try it, (I wouldn't) and ate about half. It really looked like worms on a plate. I will include a picture of that. We also found that since Paris is up "so late" we could not find breakfast anywhere! Not even a bakery around the city centre. The cafe's did not start serving food until 12:00. We found this out because we missed the breakfast served by the hotel because we were up twice during the night with fire alarms going off! The boys did not even hear the first one, so after getting dressed, and putting my contacts in, I stepped out and banged on their door. It ends up that someone was taking drugs and smoking to cover it up. (Thats what we were told anyway). We were so tired, that we didn't care and nobody got up for the second one 5 hours later, except me, the "mom". I just had to make sure that it was a false alarm before I could go back to sleep.

I learned from this trip that I am a "Beach" person at heart and my Bella does not do well walking in the heat, nor myself, dragging her along and trying to deal with the heat! She kept asking where the "pool" was! Dan said that the city was much like New York, but not as closed in and suffocating. I believe that at that point, I decided that I never have to see New York! It was very crowed, (summer holiday for kids) and there were thousands of People out and about. The Eiffel Tower was very impressive. The pictures do not do it justice. It is so large! I will include pictures from Ben and Lukes camera as they went up in the tower to see the city. The lines were large, and we didn't want to wait with Belle and Caleb. Luke and Ben hopped off the bus, they had their tube tickets and knew where the hotel tube stop was, and we said "Adios", call if you need anything! It took them 30 minutes to climb to the first level and then 1 hour wait for the elevator to go up farther! The pictures are beautiful and I am thankful that I had two young strappin boys that just had to go up! We were able to get into Notre Dame Cathedral. Absolutely beautiful. On Sunday we hired a driver to take us to Versailles, the Palace of King Louis the XIV, XV, XVI, and home to Marie Antoinette (wife of Louis XVI). It was beautiful and you can view the pictures on the album sight.

The subway was very fast. I guess it covers a lot of city and to be efficient we felt like we were flying. I shouldn't say "felt", we really were. This was not a "brace the feet" type subway; you had to hold the bars or sit. The subway is also open from one end to the beginning and you can watch it snake along under ground! London subway's are not like this and they are not as fast.

The Louvre is the worlds largest museum and boy, do they have that right! After about 1500 hundred paintings, I was done! You cannot imagine the hallways, galleries and rooms filled with art, and Roman statues! And that is just the part we went into. We could not even get a picture to encompass the museum as a whole. I am sure that the Ben, Luke and Dan could have spent another 2 hours there, but Belle, was not doing well. We walked her little legs off the first night. The next day, the first staircase that we walked up in a subway, she exclaimed, "oh no, not again. My legs are tired!" It was definitely a "walking" vacation as the city centre is very spread out and to even get to a bus or a tube stop, you have to walk. Over all, it was very pretty and I am glad that we "saw" Paris. Will we go back? Yes, just not in the summer and when we have a sitter for Bella. It is not a vacation for little children. She could care less about the art and the Eiffel Tower, she just wanted to know where the next Disney Store was!

Cornwall Coast

A picture of the Cornwall coast through a wall from Tintagel Castle.

On Saturday we drove down to St. Michael's Mount. It is a castle that is on its own Island and the family that owns it still lives there on the backside of the island and castle. Little did we know that the castle is not open to the public on SATURDAY! We still made the most of our time. The walkway that leads over to the castle is only usable at low tide. We decided to walk over anyway (lots of people were) and we were warned that the tide was coming in and there are no ferry's on Saturday's either. So, you know, we figured we had time. We get over there and they blow a whistle to head back, tide is coming in fast. We started back, and the water was starting to cover the path of stones. The seaweed was slick and it was slow going. Only eight minutes had past since we started across with a dry path, and the path was covered in water. It gets like 8-10 feet deep, so you cannot just wade across. You will see on the photo site the difference in the path! It was cool. We then played on the beach, (cool day) and decided to drive over to "Land's End" the farthest most western tip of England. It had started to rain by this time, so we took some pictures, shopped a little and then headed back to the castle. Overall, we had a great weekend and got to see alot of the countryside. Lots of patchwork fields and hills. The kind we see on the postcards. Another great weekend, Signing off, An American Mom in England

Tintagel Castle

I couldn't post every picture, so you will have to go to the album site to see them. This staircase is just one of the few that had to be traversed to see Tintagel Castle, the believed birthplace of "King Arthur". We also were able to go down stairs to a beach and then into "Merlin's Cave". Lots of history and stair climbing as the castle sets on a cliff above the ocean. We spent half a day there exploring. Met two old ladies from Colorado on vacation there with their church. One used to live in Chicago, so she knows who Caterpillar is. We had a great time visiting with them and talking about where they had been already.

Dan and the kids did this staircase, I did not. I had already traversed down to Merlin's cave, and opposite this staircase, is another winding up staircase that leads to the main castle. I saved my strength for that one.

Cornwall Coast

Camelot Castle Hotel. This is where we stayed for the two nights in Cornwall. It is right on the coast up on the cliffs. Beautiful views of the ocean and surrounding areas. The Album page will have more pictures of the Hotel on it. The Hotel opened in 1887 and of course, is old. Wood floors in the rooms and they added bathrooms at a later date. Caleb had trouble adjusting because the rooms were so large and "old". It was great. It was built inside and out to look like a castle and it does. Ted, John and Irina own the castle. Ted is an artist and his art is displayed everywhere in the castle. He is quite popular here in England with some paintings selling for somewhere in the 1,000,000 pound range. John is an heir to a billionaire jewlry business and Irina is his daughter. We, Dan and I, saw Ted, but did not get to meet him. Luke and Ben are a different story. We arrived on Friday night around 9:00 p.m.. By 10:00 p.m. Dan and I were ready for bed and Luke and Ben wanted to walk into to town. We said no, but they could walk around the castle (no cliffs) and see if they were serving food in the bar. The next morning we find out that they did go in the bar at 10:00 p.m. and ask if they could get something to eat, and the bartender (polish) answers NO FOOD. So they go to the front to go outside and who is coming in, but Ted, himself. He asks the boys if they are having a good time, and they say yes, but does he no where they can get something to eat. (At this time they do not know who they are talking to) Ted, says, "why here of course". And Ben and Luke inform him, that no, "NO FOOD" is being served. Ted goes to the office and they see him heatedly discussing something with a man, and the next thing they know, Ted is showing them a table in the bar and handing them the menu and telling them to pick anything. They can get anything to eat. At some point he introduced himself. The next morning when they told Dan and I, we were like, What! I asked Ben if he left a tip, and of course the answer was NO. Oh well. So, the hotel was really nice and very accomodating to our needs.

Cornwall Trip

So, like it is one of the top 10 wonders of the world to see. They are right! It is mind boggling to actually be there and see it for yourself! Stonehenge. It was really neat to be there and see all the thousands of people who came to see it also. The traffic going south on Friday was nasty, it took 8 hours of driving instead of the 51/2 it was supposed to take. I guess everyone was headed off for a holiday and half of them were headed to Stonehenge. What most of us don't know, is that this awesome display can be seen from the carriage way as you pass it! Instead of a hill, Stonehenge is sitting up there for all to see. It was cool.

POND BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAN !

Life in England Update

So, for those of you just tuning in, Somehow I have deleted my blog site. Pressed the one, little, wrong button. If it was a notebook, I could just turn back the page! After sitting for an hour, and deleting my last blog update, I shall begin again and maybe this time it will be shorter. Yes, all the other writings, updates, pictures, are all gone for those of you just joining us. MMMMMMMMMMMMMM. I am not happy!!!! So, here I go again.

Last Saturday was the Burghley Proms. About 6,000 people go to these. It is a huge concert on the grounds of the Burghley House. This is the house where they filmed some of "Pride and Prejudice". They have jousting tournaments, cannon fire, fireworks, opera singing and a fine orchestra up front. We all brought something to share and the Cat families (17 of them) shared dinner together. We visiting and just enjoyed the night. The kids were entertained with old time carnival rides and games. We are glad we went since next year we will be home for the month of July. It was a good time.

Belle missed two days of her last 4 days of school this week. She had a sore throat and cough. It is the first illness that anyone one of us has had since arriving here. We started on the Pond this week. Ben decided that it would be a "project" for him. We decided to remove the grass/sod that has grown all around the pond, covering the beautiful flagstones that they layed when they put the pond in. I will include a before and after photo so you can see it.
Caleb had a Disco with Kylee this week and a lady on a horse stopped by to give me an estimate for some painting I need done. We also fit in two movies at the theaters. One was Shreck III and the other, Hairspray. I highly recommend Hairspray. You can't help but fall in love with Tracy Turnblad, and she just makes you want to get up and dance with her! I hope all young people can learn from this film that it is about what is inside, not the picture on the outside. Great film.

Luuuuuuuuuuuke, Ben's friend is arriving on Thursday. Ben will go down on the train and then take the tube across England to pick up Luuuuuuuuuke at the airport. I can't help but say "Luuuuuuuuuke" "I am your father". Ben hates this and we have been warned that we cannot say Lukes name like this to him. Ha, Ha, Ha. We can't wait until Luke is here! We will be off to Cornwall for the weekend. We are staying at a Hotel that has three ghosts. I just found this out this week when I stumbled upon some information about haunted hotels. I couldn't believe it! We are not telling the kids about it. Are you kidding, I am going to have enough trouble sleeping! One of the ghosts is a nurse whom people wake up to while she is trying to give them a bath in bed! Another ghost throws pictures off the walls and the other ghost walks between the hotel and Tintagel Castle in the early morning. This is between you and me and Dan of course.

Before I go, some things that I know about England:

- Hiya, Are you all right then? (means, how ya doing?)
- Words with "z" are spelled with "s". Like, realized is realised.
- When your child is invited for "Tea" that means dinner also.
- Whenever you are invited to "a gathering" alcohol is always involved. I found this out when I was handed a pretty drink with fruit in it, at Belles school bar-b-q, called a Pimms. This is a drink with Gin, sprite and fruit in it. It was good, but imagine my surprise when I found out I had downed a glass! Dan even drank mine, and didn't realize what it was until I told him. Luckily we weren't driving! Just joking. Just a little Gin.
- When Belle tells me she feels "poorly" this mean she doesn't feel well.
- I love the village life. Everyone knows everyone else. Like our neighborhood but bigger.
- Never, ever eat "blood pudding". Filtered blood of animals through bread, meat, whatever, and you eat it. Globs.

So I will leave you with those thoughts, and what my week was like. Until next time!

An American Mom in England