Less than 24 hours now until we depart for St. John USVI where Mr. Jeopardy and I were married 10 years ago!!!! I will post pictures upon my return. Until then I will pass along my all time favorite tropical drink recipe which my beloved makes me every time we go to St. John.
(In England you just do not yearn for a tropical drink but maybe a pint or a bloody mary)
Lime & Coconut
If you like Piña Coladas, but Not Getting Caught in The Rain...Then You'll like this More Unique Virgin Island Frozen Selection
For 1 Drink:
1.5 oz Coconut Rum (light or dark rum can be substituted)
2 oz Rose's Lime Juice
1 oz Coco Lopez
1/2 slice of lime
Splash of Sprite (optional)
Slice of Lime Garnish)
Put all ingredients in a blender. Add 1 glass of ice. Blend till smooth. You can add a dash of Sprite or simple syrup to sweeten and/or to make blending easier if it is too thick. We get the most compliments on the Lime and Coconuts that we make with Sprite, and the lime in the blender is very important.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
The Damn French
My sweetheart and I just returned from a short weekend in Chamonix. The best thing about England is you can tell your friends back in the colonies, "Oh yes we just got back from weekending in Chamonix". Mr. Jeopardy has been talking about skiing with a colleague from work who is from France for months. I have been half listening and picking out bits and pieces such as: guide, glacier run, crevasses, roping down the first ridge etc. I have ignored all of this talk until last week when he told me that they just checked the weather and it was a go! He then said, "honey are you sure you do not want to try it?" I asked him if his life insurance was paid up for an answer.
Later, I heard him again on the phone with his friend from work discussing the trip. "No, it's probably best that she stay in the village, she can shop. Well, her anxiety is a little high." Mr. Jeopardy is such a sugar coater. What he really means is that in all likelihood once I got to the summit and looked down I would freak out and after promising the divorce papers would be in the mail I would then need to be choppered off the mountain. I did a little research about his glacier trip once he booked our airfare and this is what I found-
The Vallée Blanche expedition could be more appropriately called ski mountain-eering than simple skiing. Go prepared for changing weather and changing terrain: the weather in town may be balmy, with a howling wind at the top of the Aiguille du Midi and zero visibility. Be ready for freezing, windy weather. Pack goggles or mountain-eering glasses, good gloves, a warm jacket with a hood if possible, and your ski hat.
You start by climbing—roped to your guide and holding your skis tied together—down a narrow windy ridge. At the end of the ridge, you break the tether with the guide and, sheltered from the wind, step into your skis. Groups are separated from one another by several hundred meters. You may be skiing on trails for a time, then turn off for powder if your guide finds it. Sometimes the trail simply ends, which means climbing over rocks or ice chunks with your skis on your shoulder or balancing over a snowbridge spanning a deep crevasse.The mountains surrounding you are all famous in the annals of climbing. The Vallée Blanche starts on the upper, smooth portion of the glacier. As it begins to break up and crevasses block the route, skiers sideslip down narrow chutes in a region called the Seracs. At the end of the Seracs and after almost two hours descending on skis, there is often a stop at the Refuge du Requin for a warm drink. From the refuge the run enters a wide-open area called the Salle à Manger (dining room).
The needlelike Aiguille des Drus, with Europe’s longest climbing vertical, towers above the glacier. From this point the Mer de Glace begins its drop into the valley. As the glacier ends, another refuge, Les Mottets, offers snacks and drinks. Then it’s back into the town, the entire trip having taken all day. Although guides are not required, they are strongly recommended. In fact, unless you are an expert mountaineer, you’d be crazy to attempt this adventure without one. If the clouds close in, the guides bring you down by compass and you’re assured of having someone to belay you when crossing over crevasses and during the initial windy climb down the ridge. As an extra precaution, each participant receives a beeper.
You start by climbing—roped to your guide and holding your skis tied together—down a narrow windy ridge. At the end of the ridge, you break the tether with the guide and, sheltered from the wind, step into your skis. Groups are separated from one another by several hundred meters. You may be skiing on trails for a time, then turn off for powder if your guide finds it. Sometimes the trail simply ends, which means climbing over rocks or ice chunks with your skis on your shoulder or balancing over a snowbridge spanning a deep crevasse.The mountains surrounding you are all famous in the annals of climbing. The Vallée Blanche starts on the upper, smooth portion of the glacier. As it begins to break up and crevasses block the route, skiers sideslip down narrow chutes in a region called the Seracs. At the end of the Seracs and after almost two hours descending on skis, there is often a stop at the Refuge du Requin for a warm drink. From the refuge the run enters a wide-open area called the Salle à Manger (dining room).
The needlelike Aiguille des Drus, with Europe’s longest climbing vertical, towers above the glacier. From this point the Mer de Glace begins its drop into the valley. As the glacier ends, another refuge, Les Mottets, offers snacks and drinks. Then it’s back into the town, the entire trip having taken all day. Although guides are not required, they are strongly recommended. In fact, unless you are an expert mountaineer, you’d be crazy to attempt this adventure without one. If the clouds close in, the guides bring you down by compass and you’re assured of having someone to belay you when crossing over crevasses and during the initial windy climb down the ridge. As an extra precaution, each participant receives a beeper.
A beeper??? How about crazy to attempt the adventure period! End of story! Thankfully, at the end of the day I received a welcome phone call from my sweetheart confirming that he was indeed alive and to meet them for Apres ski. When I asked him how his adventure was he looked at me and very seriously said, "you would never have made it down". Enough said.
While my foolhardy spouse was risking his life I had a very nice stroll around the village, some shopping and a wonderful lunch on my own. During the course of my wonderful day I had the opportunity to think about all France has to offer. Jeff and I have been many times and each trip has been a delight. We have been to Paris, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Provence, Lyon and now Chamonix.
Anyway, as I was mulling over the fact that the stereotypical American view of the French is that they are snobs and arrogant I had to admit to myself that if it were true and all French people were snobs perhaps they are bit justified in their highbrow ways. Take away their politics, Socialism, Chirac and the fact that you just never depend on them when it comes to the "War on Terror" you are still left with quite allot. Ok, one joke first....
Q: How many gears does a French tank have?
A: 4 reverse and 1 forward, in case the enemy attacks from the rear.
Who better then the French have such wonderful food? After all, what are the three main ingredients in French cooking? Butter, butter and more butter. Regardless of the size of the village you can always find a Frommagerie, Butcher, Patisserie, Wine shop and if you are lucky a Chocolate shop! The French simply do not believe in processed food the way Americans do.
The French architecture is truly beautiful whether you are discussing the most beautiful city in the world Paris or the smallest village in the countryside. Every turn on the road reveals another treasure. One cannot argue that the country of France for the most part has amazing scenery and that the weather compared to England is much better. I would visit Paris year round if I had the opportunity.
Everyone knows that vacation is hard to come by in the States unless you have been employed by the same company for 25 years. In France, 5 weeks vacation is standard and 11 paid holidays are piled on top of that. Standard!!!!! You cannot say that the French do not have work/life balance. Now they have time to enjoy that wine, cheese, frois gra and BUTTER!
Everyone recognizes that Paris is one of the worlds fashion capitals. The French have a way of looking fashionable no matter how hard their day has been. I can spot a French person a mile away in an airport over here in England. They are by far the most "put together" individual in the vicinity. They have achieved a look that looks casual and careless but one that if I had hours to plan could not achieve.
I could go on and on...... Is it any wonder their life span is longer than ours? Those damn French! I am so jealous.
In closing I will pass along another French joke which my father-in-law Bill sent to me. It is a keeper.
Jacques Chirac, The former French Prime Minister, was sitting in his office wondering what kind of mischief he could perpetrate against the United States when his telephone rang.
"Hallo, Mr. Chirac," a heavily accented voice said. "This is Paddy down at the Harp Pub in County Sligo , Ireland .. I am ringing to inform you that we are officially declaring war on you!"
"Well, Paddy", Chirac replied, "This is indeed important news! How big is your army?"
"Right now", said Paddy, after a moment's calculation, "there is myself, me cousin Sean, me next door neighbor Seamus, and the entire dart team from the pub.. That makes eight!"
Chirac paused. "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have one hundred thousand men in my army waiting to move on my command."
"Begorra!" said Paddy. "I'll have to ring you back!"
Sure enough, the next day, Paddy called again. "Mr. Chirac, the war is still on. We have managed to get us some infantry equipment!"
"And what equipment would that be, Paddy? Chirac asked."
"Well, we have two combines, a bulldozer, and Murphy's farm tractor."
Chirac sighed, amused. "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 6,000 tanks and 5,000 armored personnel carriers. Also, I've increased my army to one hundred fifty thousand since we last spoke."
"Saints preserve us! said Paddy. I'll have to get back to you."
Sure enough, Paddy rang again the next day. "Mr. Chirac, the war is still on! We have managed to get ourselves airborne! We've modified Jackie McLaughlin's ultra-light with a couple of shotguns in the cockpit, and four boys from the Shamrock Pub have joined us as well!"
Chirac was silent for a minute and then cleared his throat. "I must tell you, Paddy, that I have 100 bombers and 200 fighter planes. My military complex is surrounded by laser-guided, surface-to-air missile sites. And since we last spoke, I've increased my army to two hundred thousand!"
"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!", said Paddy, "I'll have to ring you back."
Sure enough, Paddy called again the next day. "Top o' the mornin', Mr. Chirac! I am sorry to tell you that we have had to call off the war."
"I'm sorry to hear that", said Chirac. "Why the sudden change of heart?"
"Well", said Paddy, "we've all had a long chat over a bunch of pints, and decided there's no bloody way we can feed two hundred thousand prisoners.."
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
No Tortilla Chips, Leaky Light, No coffee, Hard Water Hair and Poo
Grrrr.... I feel guilty venting over the small things when I should just be happy that I can walk upright and am healthy right? But it is the small things which will drive you mad. I am having one of the worst days ever in terms of all the little things which I know I should just brush off. However, this blog is therapeutic so even if no one reads it I will feel better. This may be a long one so family be warned and friends with too much time on your hands may want to hit pause and come back to me later.
The hard water hair thing has been going on for awhile. For those Jeopardy fans the water is Southeast England is deplorable (see map to the right as my proof). We- according to all water hardness maps have the highest concentration of mineral laden water in the UK. A decent water softener is 500 £ so we are sticking it out for now. My hair which used to be soft and shiny is dry, fly-away and flat with no bounce to it. According to my hairdresser the water in our area can also turn blond hair brassy or greenish in color. My mantra every day has been "I hate my hair". My beloved assures me my hair looks fine and is not orange or greenish in color. How do you trust hair advice from a man who shaves his head once a week? I went to Sally's Beauty Supply this morning and bought some very expensive shampoo for hard water hair. Who would have thought they even sold such a thing? The gal at the counter asked me if I had a Sally's Discount Card. Apparently if you are a hairdresser or a beautician you qualify for 20% off. I told her that if I was a hairdresser my hair would not look the way it does and I would not be asking her for advice on what to do with it. Stay tuned for future gripping narratives on how the clarifying shampoo works.
The tortilla chips are what really gets me. I had high hopes for tonight which happens to be "Bunco Night" with the Thames Valley American Women's Club members. They are a group of American Expat ladies who live in the area and I am sooo excited to be able to commiserate with them regarding the challenges of the Expat life. I had planned to make guacamole because it does not involve using the stove and there is a pitiful lack of good Mexican food to be had here at least not which I can find. I had to go to 5 grocery stores to find tortilla chips!!!! England has the market on "crisps" as they are called here but evidently no plain tortilla chips. To top it off the bags I finally did find were half crushed. Instead, the Brits have every flavored chip known to man (Fish & Chips, Hoison Duck, Chili & Chocolate, Soy and Tabasco......) What the bleep ever happened to a plain tortilla chip?
Crisps are a national treasure here but heavily taxed with a 17.5% VAT. The market is so big that P&G who make Pringles recently went to court to avoid the tax and be labeled a snack and not a crisp. I kid you not.......
UK Tax Court Says Pringles aren’t Crisps A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but a potato snack that isn’t called a “crisp” (“chip” for US readers) doesn’t have to pay Britain’s 17.5% value-added tax. So, the people at Procter and Gamble went to tax court in the UK to have their Pringles brand snacks, which are clearly labeled as “potato crisps” on the container, declared “not crisps” for tax purposes. On Friday, the judge declared P&G correct; Pringle’s aren’t crisps. Most food in Britain isn’t taxed. However, the national tax authority said Pringles came under a clause that permitted the taxation of junk foods like potato crisps, puffs, sticks, “and similar products made from the potato, or from potato flour, or from potato starch.” Well, 17.5% is worth fighting over when one sells as much of the stuff as P&G. The company’s lawyers invoked an inverse of the 1980s “duck test” – if it looks like a duck, waddles like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck. P&G’s legal team noted Pringles, which stack nicely in a can, don’t look like crisps, don’t feel like crisps and don’t taste like crisps. The thingies are baked from dough and are not fried slices of potato. Moreover, real potato crisps “give a sharply crunchy sensation under the tooth and have to be broken down into jagged pieces when chewed. It is totally different with a Pringle, indeed a Pringle is designed to melt down on the tongue.” Justice Nicholas Warren at the High Court in London ruled that for the purposes of VAT, Pringles aren’t “made from potato.” He said they aren’t crisps and, therefore, are not subject to the 17.5% tax. However, he didn’t say what they are either. This could bring up some trouble for P&G as a result. One could cogently argue that if Pringles aren’t taxed as potato crisps, P&G shouldn’t be allowed to sell them as such. As noted, though, that’s what each and every can of them claims to contain. By the same token, the list of ingredients on that same container says [upper case letters in the original], “INGREDIENTS: DRIED POTATOES, VEGETABLE OIL (CONTAINS ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING: CORN OIL, COTTONSEED OIL, SOYBEAN OIL, AND/OR SUNFLOWER OIL), RICE FLOUR, WHEAT STARCH, MALTODEXTRIN, SALT AND DEXTROSE. CONTAINS WHEAT INGREDIENTS.” Funny, it seems the first ingredient is . . . potatoes. An appeal is likely to succeed.
We woke up this morning and my best and most truest friend- the dog was practically hyperventilating. Mr. Jeopardy is so good at ignoring this it amazes me. How can Shadow possibly recognize him as the pack leader? I am the one that caters to this dog day and night! I asked him do you need to go out? I have never seen him move so fast in my life. He was out the door like a gun shot. I guess feeding him french fries was not a good idea. So here I sit after donning my gloves and picking up mounds of poo venting my frustrations.
It would be fine if it ended there but when we woke up we realized the coffee grinder broke. No coffee!!!! How can it get any worse? I just knew this was going to be one of those days. My beloved said he would take apart the grinder when he got home and it was probably just blocked. This is where being married to an electrical engineer comes in handy. (It's the little things). Before he left for work and while I was in the shower my beloved told me that I better call the landlord because the light above the toilet in the bathroom upstairs is leaking water and could potentially cause a fire. The water was probably overflowing from the attic water basin. He then wished me a good day and was out the door leaving me to potentially die in a fire while I was in the shower.
Not one hour later he calls and of course forgot his blackberry and would I bring it by the office? Well it's a good thing I did not perish in a fire now isn't it! Yesterday he forgot his notes for a conference call and I had to bring those by. What will happen when I start work shortly? Is it not enough that I have a career (which will entail covering hospitals in all of Southern England), clean, do laundry, do all dishes, take out the trash and take in the dry cleaning, care for the dog as well as do 90% of the grocery shopping? I admit I am superwoman but there are limits.
So what did I do but get in my little car and take his blackberry to the office because I love the sap. Appropriately enough I plugged in my ipod and guess which song came up for the drive?
None other but Creedence Clearwater-
I see the bad moon arising.I see trouble on the way.I see earthquakes and lightnin.I see bad times today.
Tomorrow is another day right?
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Costco Treats
Mushy Peas...........yum
Oh the options at Costco in England. It's much more than pizza and burgers it's fast food cottage pie, chicken bake and jacket potato served with tuna, coleslaw, baked beans, cheese or chili.
Oh the options at Costco in England. It's much more than pizza and burgers it's fast food cottage pie, chicken bake and jacket potato served with tuna, coleslaw, baked beans, cheese or chili.
I have had many good meals here in the UK but traditional British fare is not among them. Food has evolved here and you can find very good Thai and Indian fare. There are also many decent italian restaurants as well as restaurants which serve a more modern mix. Sadly, no sushi has been found outside of London and mexican or tex mex is very hard to find. We have one mexican joint a village over but the food is "ok" and the margaritas lacking the main tequila ingrediant. It is on par with Taco Bell on it's best day.
I stll get a kick out of the abundance of sausages, cottage pies, beans, chutneys, puddings and the like. I have had to swear off "chips" because they are everywhere and you cannot have just one. I would certainly describe the traditional food here as heavy and dangerous to the waistline. It definitly lacks the crunch of fruit and vegetables. Thankfully the grocery stores here have great produce. When referencing traditional pub food your only vegetables are "mushy peas".
It is perhaps a good thing we are living here as expats and not Italy, Spain or France. After all it is much easier to turn away "bangers and mash and toad in the hole" than pasta, parmagiana, risottos, crepes, the french delicious sauces lade with butter and spanish tapas. I may reach my goal weight after all....
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
The Royal Mail
I imagine this post will have me reported to animal cruelty by Jeff's stepmom Renee. In my own defense our dog has significant issues and the mail slot is just one of them. The royal mail system is unique in the fact that homes do not have mail boxes and the mail carriers do not pick up your mail but only deliver it. Instead you need to drop off our mail at these cute little red mail stations all over town.
Our mail slot is spring loaded and when mail is delivered each day it makes a loud "thwacking" noise. From the day Shadow arrived he has been terrified of the mail slot and it's dreaded thwacking noise. He avoids the front door at all cost and will only come near it at the end of the day when I tell him "daddy's coming home". Only the presence of the precious pack leader can persuade him to go near the door.
As we had some time on our hands last weekend I persuaded Jeff to go outside and pretend to be just coming home. Usually he knocks when he comes home and calls Shadow's name so that the fraidey cat knows it is safe to run to the front door to greet the pack leader. Watch what happens when Jeff drops some mail through the slot.
Now aren't you all glad we don't have children??
Monday, April 6, 2009
The Hobbit Sink
Today I made a few calls to some local "letting agents" to explore potential larger properties. I know I should not be complaining. UK homes are notoriously small and we both knew this going in to the move. We are both grateful that we have our health and jobs. I will be officially employed with St. Jude Medical May 5th! Wahoo!!
However......this is my bathroom sink. As you can see there is not a great deal of room for toiletries. How is a woman, any woman for that matter supposed to make do with a sink with an opening which is 10.5 inches wide and 6 3/4 inches deep? My beloved has built me shelving over the toilet and installed a cabinet in the adjacent room which houses the washer and dryer. It is not exactly an ideal dressing area but it is easy to shave your legs and do a load of towels simultaneously. I call this the hobbit sink and hobbit house as I am quite sure Bilbo Baggins lived in a house quite similar. Sigh......I do not know if I want to deal with the hassle of a move so close to starting a new job not to mention the fact we just had our furniture from California moved in not a month ago. I dread trying to get that desk down the stairway of death.
Why is it that we as Americans always want more? If I were born here perhaps I would not know the joy of a bathroom which you could actually lay down in if you had imbibed too much. Here, I would have to curl into a little ball but would not have to crawl very far to the toilet. You never appreciate what you have until it's gone right? Even the dog is feeling closed in- I kid you not. When the beloved and I are both home weekends and evenings he is constantly getting scolded. "Shadow get out of the way! Shadow move!" I don't know which is more painful the thought of moving again or knowing what we could have in terms of space if we part with more of our money. Many people here live in houses the same size as ours with 2 or more kids! Good God I cannot imagine. Of course it would help so very much if the English believed in closets. Our house has no closets so we have purchased 5 large wardrobes which take up space in our upstairs area. Jeff, my sweetheart, is always telling me that most people here only have a few nice outfits which they wear to work and nowhere near the number of wardrobes we have. If he thinks for a nanosecond that this statement will deter me in any way from further "acquirement" he is dreaming. When my in-laws visit we will need to move two wardrobes to the garage. If we do not they will have to climb over the bed to reach the other side of the guest bedroom. If I did not care for my in-laws this would be an ideal situation but they are great folks who are foolishly planning a trip to London and parts beyond. This will include a few nights in the hobbit house.
Jeff would like a bigger kitchen. As it stands our kitchen is the size of most American walk-in closets. As he is known as Chef Jeff in many inside circles I understand where he is coming from. He desperately desires a kitchen island where he can layout all of his fancy ingredients and chop chop away! I am very grateful to have an awesome husband who loves to cook for me. I myself do not cook so could care less regarding the size of our kitchen with one exception. When Chef Jeff goes overboard which usually happens on weekends it involves using EVERY pot, pan, grater, utensils, peelers, herb spinners, knives and whatnot that we own. Previously, I was always able to keep up with his antics by washing all dishes, pots and pans as he cooked. NOW, I have to wait until he is done before I can get in there and by that time everything has gone to hell in a handbasket.
So, what to do, what to do? Should we stay or should we (and our pounds) go to a bigger residence? Should we suck it up as this is the true European experience? Maybe time, and my in-laws will tell......
Life is short, love those around you,
Marjorie
Thursday, April 2, 2009
The Yankee Wench Blog
Friends and Family,
I have started a blog chronicling my adventures in the UK and abroad. I am titling it the Yankee Wench because there are hundreds of pubs here in Merry Old England and if I owned a pub (which I do not) I would call it the Yankee Wench. I will send you all an e-mail of new posts or if you are REALLY bored you can log on periodically.
Now, I would like to start by saying that many of you have suggested that I start a blog (ok maybe one or two) but I have decided it would be the easiest way to keep in close touch with all my favorite people. The only exception to this rule would be my parents who do not have e-mail and insist that I print out my previous adventures and send them snail mail which is a major inconvenience. My father refuses to pay the cable company for the high speed internet charge. This from a man who campaigned for Hilary and voted for Obama and he is worried about $40 per month being an excessively high charge. But I digress, I could write a book on the idiosynchrasies of my parents who are my favorite people and the source of much humor.
I hope you all keep in close touch through this blog and e-mail as I miss friends and family very much. I should warn you however that this blog may suffer from some geographical and historical inaccuracies. I have a few friends who are much like my husband "Mr. Jeopardy". They are amazing people who are very exacting and during their downtime probably read the Economist and only watch the History Channel, A&E and Discovery. (Karen, Patrick, you know who you are) My husband is always trying to correct my minor geographical and historical flubs but will forever be unsuccessful. I beg that you enjoy my blog as it is and forgive any inaccuracies.
Your link to life abroad-
Marjorie
I have started a blog chronicling my adventures in the UK and abroad. I am titling it the Yankee Wench because there are hundreds of pubs here in Merry Old England and if I owned a pub (which I do not) I would call it the Yankee Wench. I will send you all an e-mail of new posts or if you are REALLY bored you can log on periodically.
Now, I would like to start by saying that many of you have suggested that I start a blog (ok maybe one or two) but I have decided it would be the easiest way to keep in close touch with all my favorite people. The only exception to this rule would be my parents who do not have e-mail and insist that I print out my previous adventures and send them snail mail which is a major inconvenience. My father refuses to pay the cable company for the high speed internet charge. This from a man who campaigned for Hilary and voted for Obama and he is worried about $40 per month being an excessively high charge. But I digress, I could write a book on the idiosynchrasies of my parents who are my favorite people and the source of much humor.
I hope you all keep in close touch through this blog and e-mail as I miss friends and family very much. I should warn you however that this blog may suffer from some geographical and historical inaccuracies. I have a few friends who are much like my husband "Mr. Jeopardy". They are amazing people who are very exacting and during their downtime probably read the Economist and only watch the History Channel, A&E and Discovery. (Karen, Patrick, you know who you are) My husband is always trying to correct my minor geographical and historical flubs but will forever be unsuccessful. I beg that you enjoy my blog as it is and forgive any inaccuracies.
Your link to life abroad-
Marjorie
It had to happen sooner or later.......
Family and Friends,
I am actually surprised it took this long but in my own defense Heathrow airport can be very confusing. How I ended up in a taxi only lane in a narrow tunnel with VERY CLOSE rails is any ones guess. This anxiety provoking loss of direction when I was actually supposed to be at a nearby airport hotel for a final interview combined with driving on the left and a poor sense of spatial relations caused destruction of my passengers side mirror (see attached).
Although rattled I am a determined individual and managed to call my beloved who was not in the least bit surprised and follow my derelict GPS to my proper destination. I was offered the job which is a testament to my overall ability to rally in a pinch! The picture attached is much improved from immediately post accident when my mirror was hanging on the side of the car. My beloved who majored in electrical engineering was able to reconnect the electrical and lighting. I have ordered a replacement cover at the dealer which will cost a fortune after painting. Perhaps getting this accident out of the way will mean smooth driving before I receive my company car.
Jeff and I spent the weekend in Rome which is my all time favorite city with the exception of the Romans. I am still amazed that England can be so close to France and Italy where fashion and food are king and not have received any overflowing benefit. This probably is a good thing since I cannot cook nor accessorize and would feel woefully inadequate living amongst those with these God given talents. What makes Rome my favorite city is that you can never walk too far without encountering a major historical site. In one weekend we walked past the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Coliseum, Piazza Navona and spent several hours at the Villa Borghese. The villa and gardens house an amazing collection of paintings and sculptures and was built by Cardinal Borghese who was the nephew of the then Pope Paul V. I would highly recommend visiting it if you find yourself in Rome because you can view the collection in under two hours and it is a beautiful gallery. The Cardinal being typically Italian and the favorite nephew of the Pope was able to amass the world renowned collection of art through bribery, blackmail, theft and intimidation even sending in the Papal Guards to jail prior owners on trumped up charges until they relinquished their art. I just love Italian history.
I just have to share a story about the Italian machismo which Jeff and I overheard. Besides their incredible disregard for others on the roadways the Italians males are incredibly chauvanistic and as in the case of this gentleman make no attempts to hide it. Jeff and I were just waiting for our taxi to depart for the airport when we had the opportunity to overhear a phone conversation with a hotel guest and his significant other. He was speaking in English and quite loudly as anyone within the lobby could hear the entire one-sided conversation. "Julia you are not listening to me. Julia! I will wait one hour and no more. Julia, I am done listening to you. No! Quit speaking now! Julia, why do you still speak? I am done talking to you now. We will talk later." The whole time he was shaking his head at the bellman and concierge like- can you believe the gall of this woman? Trying to reason with me? Afterwards when we were on our way to the airport I asked a question and Jeff said to me, "why do you still speak? no speak." Nice try.......
I have verbally accepted a job with St. Jude Medical launching their Deep Brain Stimulation product in the UK. It's a great opportunity! Cross your fingers as I am waiting on the paperwork. I am scheduled to start next month and am very excited about the technology and the change of pace. The only room left to paint is the laundry room and I have moved on to flower planters. For those few who are grievously concerned that my e-mail updates may slow, never fear. There will be plenty of time in the OR waiting for cases to start. You still may have the opportunity to spam me.
Love,
M
I am actually surprised it took this long but in my own defense Heathrow airport can be very confusing. How I ended up in a taxi only lane in a narrow tunnel with VERY CLOSE rails is any ones guess. This anxiety provoking loss of direction when I was actually supposed to be at a nearby airport hotel for a final interview combined with driving on the left and a poor sense of spatial relations caused destruction of my passengers side mirror (see attached).
Although rattled I am a determined individual and managed to call my beloved who was not in the least bit surprised and follow my derelict GPS to my proper destination. I was offered the job which is a testament to my overall ability to rally in a pinch! The picture attached is much improved from immediately post accident when my mirror was hanging on the side of the car. My beloved who majored in electrical engineering was able to reconnect the electrical and lighting. I have ordered a replacement cover at the dealer which will cost a fortune after painting. Perhaps getting this accident out of the way will mean smooth driving before I receive my company car.
Jeff and I spent the weekend in Rome which is my all time favorite city with the exception of the Romans. I am still amazed that England can be so close to France and Italy where fashion and food are king and not have received any overflowing benefit. This probably is a good thing since I cannot cook nor accessorize and would feel woefully inadequate living amongst those with these God given talents. What makes Rome my favorite city is that you can never walk too far without encountering a major historical site. In one weekend we walked past the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Coliseum, Piazza Navona and spent several hours at the Villa Borghese. The villa and gardens house an amazing collection of paintings and sculptures and was built by Cardinal Borghese who was the nephew of the then Pope Paul V. I would highly recommend visiting it if you find yourself in Rome because you can view the collection in under two hours and it is a beautiful gallery. The Cardinal being typically Italian and the favorite nephew of the Pope was able to amass the world renowned collection of art through bribery, blackmail, theft and intimidation even sending in the Papal Guards to jail prior owners on trumped up charges until they relinquished their art. I just love Italian history.
I just have to share a story about the Italian machismo which Jeff and I overheard. Besides their incredible disregard for others on the roadways the Italians males are incredibly chauvanistic and as in the case of this gentleman make no attempts to hide it. Jeff and I were just waiting for our taxi to depart for the airport when we had the opportunity to overhear a phone conversation with a hotel guest and his significant other. He was speaking in English and quite loudly as anyone within the lobby could hear the entire one-sided conversation. "Julia you are not listening to me. Julia! I will wait one hour and no more. Julia, I am done listening to you. No! Quit speaking now! Julia, why do you still speak? I am done talking to you now. We will talk later." The whole time he was shaking his head at the bellman and concierge like- can you believe the gall of this woman? Trying to reason with me? Afterwards when we were on our way to the airport I asked a question and Jeff said to me, "why do you still speak? no speak." Nice try.......
I have verbally accepted a job with St. Jude Medical launching their Deep Brain Stimulation product in the UK. It's a great opportunity! Cross your fingers as I am waiting on the paperwork. I am scheduled to start next month and am very excited about the technology and the change of pace. The only room left to paint is the laundry room and I have moved on to flower planters. For those few who are grievously concerned that my e-mail updates may slow, never fear. There will be plenty of time in the OR waiting for cases to start. You still may have the opportunity to spam me.
Love,
M
Ski Trip to The Dolomites
Friends & Family,
Jeff and I just returned from an action packed ski trip to the Dolomite mountains. The mountains are located in Northern Italy on the border of Austria. The dolomite mountains are touted to be the most beautiful and dramatic range of mountains. It has been a worldwide skiing destination since 1956 when Cortina hosted the Olympic winter games. All of the towns in this area have two names one in Italian and one which is Austrian. We flew in to the Verona airport and drove north to the ski region of Val Gardena. The flight was just 90 minutes from Heathrow which is only 15 miles from our home in England. I have my share of complaints with regards to living in England but the UK is a fantastic launch pad to get to all the really good places! I liken England to an old black and white movie while the rest of Western Europe (Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece and France) are all in high definition color. I am sure in time it will grow on me.......hopefully
Our goals for this trip could not have been more dissimilar. Jeff wanted to ski from village to village in northern Italy, enjoy the beautiful scenery, food and culture. I only desired to come back in one piece. If I broke anything it would mean additional time cooped up in our little UK house and the inability to move forward with gainful employment. Skiing is something I picked up at Jeff's request 3 years ago (he begged me). He will lie and tell you that I am a good skier with the hopes that this motivates me. Anyone who has spent any time with me knows that I am not known for my grace, balance and hand eye coordination.
I was skiing with hundreds of Europeans who have been skiing since they were children. Actually, we did not run in to any other Americans during our time at the resort. On the plus side the Europeans simply do not fall while skiing and they obviously could tell that the very slow moving erratic American should be avoided at all cost and kept their distance.
I averaged about 3 falls per day and only lost my skis twice! This is definitely an upwards achievement for me. My entire right calf is yellow, black and blue from the first day of skiing. It is a very respectable bruise and speaks to my grit and determination which almost makes up for my lack of lack of athleticism.
The two things that struck me about this area of Northern Italy (besides the dangerous black runs) were the odd combination of food offerings and two habits the Italians have which would drive any American insane.
First the food, which was an odd but wonderful combination of Italian and Austrian/German. There was many Apres ski bars and restaurants which served entrees of pizza, pasta, risotto, frankfurters, wiener schnitzel, Speckknödel (dumplings with pieces of bacon) and Spinatknödel (made of spinach) and beef, chicken, pork and veal with a variety of sauces. My husband pointed out that my wiener schnitzel was prepared with pork and true, traditional wiener schnitzel is only made with veal. How Mr. Jeopardy knows these things is beyond me but it may be of interest to you all. My very favorite apres ski drink was the "Bombardino". It is made with 1/3 rum, 1/3 egg nog liquor and 1/3 black coffee with some whipped cream and nutmeg on top. A few bombardinos and you almost forget the fact that you cannot walk without pain.
As far as the Italians go they may make some of the best food on earth but they have no concept of lines or the speed limit. On the morning of the first day we attempted to enter one of the main lifts when we discovered a large crowd of people attempting to enter the narrow entryway to the lift. There was no line, no barriers, no order, no rhyme nor reason, NOTHING! What was evident was that it was every man, woman and child for themselves. There was pushing, shoving, and absolutely no consideration for anyone else. Not only was there no consideration but in fact they displayed cunning and no shame at cutting in front of others. I was amazed! Apparently, according to Mr. Jeopardy, my beloved, the Italians have no concepts of lines and that this is very common throughout Western Europe with the exception of England. Long live the Queen! Another plus for the merry old crown. I told Jeff that I was going to fall to the floor and cry out with an injury in order to stop the the man behind me of shoving me forward. He advised against this as they would only step over me with glee and never look back.
The other cultural difference that struck me was the lunatic driving not only evident on the Autostrada but on the narrow, windy, steep, cliff side road leading up to the ski valley. I honestly have to tell you that I may have been safer on the streets of Baghdad than on that particular road. Even Jeff who is entirely unflappable was rattled more than once when while driving back down the mountain to our hotel at night. The Italian drivers would overtake us and a line of cars going downhill right before a major curve which made it impossible for them to see what was coming around the corner. This overtaking, never using their signals and tailgating was a common occurrence. I could not believe that they would risk their lives and everyone elses in such a manner. I would advise anyone who plans on driving in Italy to do the following: insure your rental car to the max, never take your eyes off the road, expect the unexpected and pray.
And lastly a note on on UK television................
During my last six weeks of unemployment I have painted our home, taken up yoga been to Madrid and the Italian Alps and spent some time discovering daytime UK television. For those of you that are great fans of the 80's you would be delighted to live here in merry old England. Daytime television consists of oldies but goodies such as Remington Steele, Airwolf, MacGyver, Party of Five, The Practice, Hill Street Blues, Falcon Crest, TJ Hooker and my all time favorite Matlock. If Moonlighting was still being shown I would never leave the house and need to enter therapy.
Jeff and I just returned from an action packed ski trip to the Dolomite mountains. The mountains are located in Northern Italy on the border of Austria. The dolomite mountains are touted to be the most beautiful and dramatic range of mountains. It has been a worldwide skiing destination since 1956 when Cortina hosted the Olympic winter games. All of the towns in this area have two names one in Italian and one which is Austrian. We flew in to the Verona airport and drove north to the ski region of Val Gardena. The flight was just 90 minutes from Heathrow which is only 15 miles from our home in England. I have my share of complaints with regards to living in England but the UK is a fantastic launch pad to get to all the really good places! I liken England to an old black and white movie while the rest of Western Europe (Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece and France) are all in high definition color. I am sure in time it will grow on me.......hopefully
Our goals for this trip could not have been more dissimilar. Jeff wanted to ski from village to village in northern Italy, enjoy the beautiful scenery, food and culture. I only desired to come back in one piece. If I broke anything it would mean additional time cooped up in our little UK house and the inability to move forward with gainful employment. Skiing is something I picked up at Jeff's request 3 years ago (he begged me). He will lie and tell you that I am a good skier with the hopes that this motivates me. Anyone who has spent any time with me knows that I am not known for my grace, balance and hand eye coordination.
I was skiing with hundreds of Europeans who have been skiing since they were children. Actually, we did not run in to any other Americans during our time at the resort. On the plus side the Europeans simply do not fall while skiing and they obviously could tell that the very slow moving erratic American should be avoided at all cost and kept their distance.
I averaged about 3 falls per day and only lost my skis twice! This is definitely an upwards achievement for me. My entire right calf is yellow, black and blue from the first day of skiing. It is a very respectable bruise and speaks to my grit and determination which almost makes up for my lack of lack of athleticism.
The two things that struck me about this area of Northern Italy (besides the dangerous black runs) were the odd combination of food offerings and two habits the Italians have which would drive any American insane.
First the food, which was an odd but wonderful combination of Italian and Austrian/German. There was many Apres ski bars and restaurants which served entrees of pizza, pasta, risotto, frankfurters, wiener schnitzel, Speckknödel (dumplings with pieces of bacon) and Spinatknödel (made of spinach) and beef, chicken, pork and veal with a variety of sauces. My husband pointed out that my wiener schnitzel was prepared with pork and true, traditional wiener schnitzel is only made with veal. How Mr. Jeopardy knows these things is beyond me but it may be of interest to you all. My very favorite apres ski drink was the "Bombardino". It is made with 1/3 rum, 1/3 egg nog liquor and 1/3 black coffee with some whipped cream and nutmeg on top. A few bombardinos and you almost forget the fact that you cannot walk without pain.
As far as the Italians go they may make some of the best food on earth but they have no concept of lines or the speed limit. On the morning of the first day we attempted to enter one of the main lifts when we discovered a large crowd of people attempting to enter the narrow entryway to the lift. There was no line, no barriers, no order, no rhyme nor reason, NOTHING! What was evident was that it was every man, woman and child for themselves. There was pushing, shoving, and absolutely no consideration for anyone else. Not only was there no consideration but in fact they displayed cunning and no shame at cutting in front of others. I was amazed! Apparently, according to Mr. Jeopardy, my beloved, the Italians have no concepts of lines and that this is very common throughout Western Europe with the exception of England. Long live the Queen! Another plus for the merry old crown. I told Jeff that I was going to fall to the floor and cry out with an injury in order to stop the the man behind me of shoving me forward. He advised against this as they would only step over me with glee and never look back.
The other cultural difference that struck me was the lunatic driving not only evident on the Autostrada but on the narrow, windy, steep, cliff side road leading up to the ski valley. I honestly have to tell you that I may have been safer on the streets of Baghdad than on that particular road. Even Jeff who is entirely unflappable was rattled more than once when while driving back down the mountain to our hotel at night. The Italian drivers would overtake us and a line of cars going downhill right before a major curve which made it impossible for them to see what was coming around the corner. This overtaking, never using their signals and tailgating was a common occurrence. I could not believe that they would risk their lives and everyone elses in such a manner. I would advise anyone who plans on driving in Italy to do the following: insure your rental car to the max, never take your eyes off the road, expect the unexpected and pray.
And lastly a note on on UK television................
During my last six weeks of unemployment I have painted our home, taken up yoga been to Madrid and the Italian Alps and spent some time discovering daytime UK television. For those of you that are great fans of the 80's you would be delighted to live here in merry old England. Daytime television consists of oldies but goodies such as Remington Steele, Airwolf, MacGyver, Party of Five, The Practice, Hill Street Blues, Falcon Crest, TJ Hooker and my all time favorite Matlock. If Moonlighting was still being shown I would never leave the house and need to enter therapy.
Moving in March 2009
Friends and Family,
I am sending along some pictures of moving day which was the arrival of our shipment of goods from the USA. Jeff was adamant we bring his desk and our bedroom set. It was a day the movers would like to forget as our little home in the UK is quite "cozy" and equipped with a narrow staircase of death. Furniture which glided up our large stairway in CA squeezed by with with much effort and many British curse words which have now become part of my vocabulary.
Martin and Scott (our UK movers) arrived early in the morning and once they introduced themselves promptly asked for a cup of tea. I offered them coffee and broke the news to them that we did not drink tea. They both looked flabbergasted and Martin stated "love this is an all day job....." I could not get the idea out of my mind that they would purposely scrape up our furniture unless I produced some tea so I told Martin I would run down to the store. Martin by that time was busily smoking his first cigarette and asked if it would not be too much trouble could it be decaffeinated tea because of his heart. I of course being me had to point out the obvious that the cigarettes were not doing much good for his ticker. Martin said "well aren't you a diamond" and proceeded to ask if I had whole milk and 2 sugars to go with his decaff tea. He also informed me that cigarettes in England were called fags. After returning from the store I made my very first cups of English tea in a pot because we do not own a kettle. Scott was quite happy with his tea and after 5 cups of tea and much coaching by the cantankerous Martin he proclaimed my tea acceptable by the end of the day. My advice to all my American friends......NEVER offer to warm up a cup of tea by utilizing the microwave. In my naivety I offered to give their cups a quick warm-up. By the looks on their faces you would have thought I asked them to slaughter a chicken on the lawn in a sacrilegious ritual. Brits never warm up their tea in the microwave. They pour in more hot water and reinsert the tea bag.
I was well on my way to confirming their suspicions regarding ignorant Americans.
I have attached pictures of the stairway of death and of Martin who triumphantly along with Scott managed to wedge the desk up after calling up some other big lads "Jules and Stewart". There was many a "bloody hell", "arse over elbow" and other colorful outbursts during the endevour. The only casualty was the staircase itself which now needs repainting and touch up. After settling the desk in the room and leaving Jeff to put the C-section desk back together Martin proclaimed that he would be happy to recommend another firm for us when we depart the UK. The last picture is of Shadow ready to ride off at the end of the day in the movers truck. They took quite a shine to him and nicknamed him Muttley.
I will end this e-mail with the peculiarities of the UK washer and dryer. We have a separate washer and dryer here so I suppose we should be grateful. Jeff's friend who is another American expat apparently has the combo version and doing one load of laundry takes her all day. I would compare our washer and dryer efficiency to the US versions as ridiculously poor. Our dryer has a water tray which must be emptied after every cycle. Even with an exterior exhaust it takes 2 back to back 90 minute cycles to get one load of clothes dry. Towels and sheets are an all day process. Both washer and dryer do not run constantly they wash or dry then go off for 10 seconds then start washing or drying again. Both are miniature versions of what we had in the U.S so if we do not do a load every other day we find ourselves in a heap of trouble. To do one load of laundry from start time to finish takes 4 hours. What I find most humerous is that the dryer has a cool down cycle to ensure that the clothes never get to hot. Even after a 3 hour dry time my clothes come out slightly damp and steamy.
I asked our landlord about this and he stated that he supposes it may take 30 minutes to dry a load of laundry. Really? What was I doing wrong? When I showed him the directions he admitted that his girlfriend does the laundry and he was not sure of how to operate the dryer. Of course the next logical question was what did he do prior to meeting his girlfriend? According to our landlord he confesses "mum did it". Hmmm... this explains quite allot. Perhaps he would have benefited from spending time with my mom whose favorite saying was "I am your mother not your maid". Any potential visitors should be prepared to wear their clothes a little on the damp side.
Jeff and I are headed off to ski the Dolomites and the Sella Ronda. Jeff is looking forward to the skiing and I am hoping to return in one piece. I will send along our pics and adventures in the next e-mail.
Love,
M
I am sending along some pictures of moving day which was the arrival of our shipment of goods from the USA. Jeff was adamant we bring his desk and our bedroom set. It was a day the movers would like to forget as our little home in the UK is quite "cozy" and equipped with a narrow staircase of death. Furniture which glided up our large stairway in CA squeezed by with with much effort and many British curse words which have now become part of my vocabulary.
Martin and Scott (our UK movers) arrived early in the morning and once they introduced themselves promptly asked for a cup of tea. I offered them coffee and broke the news to them that we did not drink tea. They both looked flabbergasted and Martin stated "love this is an all day job....." I could not get the idea out of my mind that they would purposely scrape up our furniture unless I produced some tea so I told Martin I would run down to the store. Martin by that time was busily smoking his first cigarette and asked if it would not be too much trouble could it be decaffeinated tea because of his heart. I of course being me had to point out the obvious that the cigarettes were not doing much good for his ticker. Martin said "well aren't you a diamond" and proceeded to ask if I had whole milk and 2 sugars to go with his decaff tea. He also informed me that cigarettes in England were called fags. After returning from the store I made my very first cups of English tea in a pot because we do not own a kettle. Scott was quite happy with his tea and after 5 cups of tea and much coaching by the cantankerous Martin he proclaimed my tea acceptable by the end of the day. My advice to all my American friends......NEVER offer to warm up a cup of tea by utilizing the microwave. In my naivety I offered to give their cups a quick warm-up. By the looks on their faces you would have thought I asked them to slaughter a chicken on the lawn in a sacrilegious ritual. Brits never warm up their tea in the microwave. They pour in more hot water and reinsert the tea bag.
I was well on my way to confirming their suspicions regarding ignorant Americans.
I have attached pictures of the stairway of death and of Martin who triumphantly along with Scott managed to wedge the desk up after calling up some other big lads "Jules and Stewart". There was many a "bloody hell", "arse over elbow" and other colorful outbursts during the endevour. The only casualty was the staircase itself which now needs repainting and touch up. After settling the desk in the room and leaving Jeff to put the C-section desk back together Martin proclaimed that he would be happy to recommend another firm for us when we depart the UK. The last picture is of Shadow ready to ride off at the end of the day in the movers truck. They took quite a shine to him and nicknamed him Muttley.
I will end this e-mail with the peculiarities of the UK washer and dryer. We have a separate washer and dryer here so I suppose we should be grateful. Jeff's friend who is another American expat apparently has the combo version and doing one load of laundry takes her all day. I would compare our washer and dryer efficiency to the US versions as ridiculously poor. Our dryer has a water tray which must be emptied after every cycle. Even with an exterior exhaust it takes 2 back to back 90 minute cycles to get one load of clothes dry. Towels and sheets are an all day process. Both washer and dryer do not run constantly they wash or dry then go off for 10 seconds then start washing or drying again. Both are miniature versions of what we had in the U.S so if we do not do a load every other day we find ourselves in a heap of trouble. To do one load of laundry from start time to finish takes 4 hours. What I find most humerous is that the dryer has a cool down cycle to ensure that the clothes never get to hot. Even after a 3 hour dry time my clothes come out slightly damp and steamy.
I asked our landlord about this and he stated that he supposes it may take 30 minutes to dry a load of laundry. Really? What was I doing wrong? When I showed him the directions he admitted that his girlfriend does the laundry and he was not sure of how to operate the dryer. Of course the next logical question was what did he do prior to meeting his girlfriend? According to our landlord he confesses "mum did it". Hmmm... this explains quite allot. Perhaps he would have benefited from spending time with my mom whose favorite saying was "I am your mother not your maid". Any potential visitors should be prepared to wear their clothes a little on the damp side.
Jeff and I are headed off to ski the Dolomites and the Sella Ronda. Jeff is looking forward to the skiing and I am hoping to return in one piece. I will send along our pics and adventures in the next e-mail.
Love,
M
English Chutney and Whatnot
Hello all from the good ol grey UK,
I will start off by telling you two amusing things Mr. Leonard my driving instructor shared with me.
1) We are very lucky to be living in South East England as this area gets the best weather in all of England. Really? No really?
2) He also cautioned me from using the mister so much (defogger).. According to Mr. Leonard it uses up almost as much gas as the air conditioning. Of course I asked the obvious question, "do you use your air conditioning much here?" His response was, "Oh yes occasionally in the month of July."
The weather forecast in the six weeks I have been here usually consists of fog, partly cloudy, mainly cloudy, light wind and rain, showers and rarely like today partly sunny. The sun here is rare and fleeting so I try to make the most of it. I believe the weather in the UK is a cross between Seattle and Cleveland.
There is a television program that is on here in Great Britain called "A place in the Sun, Home or Away". It is on every day almost 24 hours a day. Couples from Britain are followed while they look for a new home either in the UK, Greece, Spain or Italy. It astounds me that while the camera follows them to Canterbury, Kent and Essex and then to someplace 30 degrees warmer with a pool and endless sunshine they still hem and haw. Jeff usually has to tell me to shh while I am yelling at the TV. "Spain you morons! Spain!
Allot has happened in the past few weeks. I have been granted a provisional license to drive in the UK which will allow me to skate by for at least one year. Mr. Leonard is convinced I will never pass the Practical but I aim to prove him wrong!
I am on second or final interviews with three top international companies so I hope to have a full time job by the end of the month. Interestingly, the base pay and bonus for this level of device job is half of what it would be in the U.S. thanks to socialized medicine and the National Health System. Heads up to my medical sales friends in the U.S.A. who all voted for Obama. Be prepared for your income to take a nosedive. On the positive side all three companies are excellent and it will allow me to make friends here and immerse myself in the technology and the culture. I really need to get a job because I am running out of rooms to paint. I finished the downstairs yesterday and I am down to the stairs and upstairs hallway. I have been spending more time at the gym and have even dragged Jeff to yoga class with me. He is much better at the tree pose than I am. It turns out that I have very poor balance. Who would have thought?
I received my first care package in the mail. My wonderful sister sent me a box full of Crystal Light in multiple flavors. Oh happy days!!!!! I have been lost without my CL drink mixes. Jeff said that the box should last me at least a year after viewing the contents of the box. What? I told him one month to six weeks at the most. He told me that he cannot believe that I would put that many chemicals in my body in such a short time. Apparently my beloved considers his Sunday morning bacon rashers, Herbie's Pizza loaded with bacon and sausage and diet Pepsi as the epitome of healthy eating. We both agree that the red wine is sure to flush the toxins from our system. Jeff then told me to have my sister send him chili powder and chipoltle sauce which is not available here. I told him that my sister is my CL supplier and he needs to ask his own family to hook him up for his chili seasoning needs. Besides, it would make his mom so happy to finally after years of asking me what Jeff needs for his birthday or Christmas to actually have a legitimate answer! Donna, now you know he needs chili powder and chipoltle sauce
Although the grocery stores here do not have certain items they have shelves and shelves of beans and chutneys. Just today at Waitrose I noted there must have been 40 different types of beans with the most popular being Heinz baked beans. The English eat beans on toast, beans on baked potatoes and sausage and beans. They are part of every full traditional English breakfast. With the large Indian population here in England there is also a selection of beans with curry. As far as chutney goes I have never seen such a selection. Chutney appears to be a sauce/pickle/relish mixture. In one store you can find an average selection of the following: Hot Tomato chutney, Curried Aubergine chutney, Mediterranean chutney, Beetroot and Horseradish chutney, Date and Orange chutney, Gooseberry and Coriander Chutney etc etc etc)
Jeff and I are going skiing next weekend in the Italian Alps. Yup, the Italian Alps. If I survive the experience I will be sure to include lots of pictures in my next e-mail.
M
I will start off by telling you two amusing things Mr. Leonard my driving instructor shared with me.
1) We are very lucky to be living in South East England as this area gets the best weather in all of England. Really? No really?
2) He also cautioned me from using the mister so much (defogger).. According to Mr. Leonard it uses up almost as much gas as the air conditioning. Of course I asked the obvious question, "do you use your air conditioning much here?" His response was, "Oh yes occasionally in the month of July."
The weather forecast in the six weeks I have been here usually consists of fog, partly cloudy, mainly cloudy, light wind and rain, showers and rarely like today partly sunny. The sun here is rare and fleeting so I try to make the most of it. I believe the weather in the UK is a cross between Seattle and Cleveland.
There is a television program that is on here in Great Britain called "A place in the Sun, Home or Away". It is on every day almost 24 hours a day. Couples from Britain are followed while they look for a new home either in the UK, Greece, Spain or Italy. It astounds me that while the camera follows them to Canterbury, Kent and Essex and then to someplace 30 degrees warmer with a pool and endless sunshine they still hem and haw. Jeff usually has to tell me to shh while I am yelling at the TV. "Spain you morons! Spain!
Allot has happened in the past few weeks. I have been granted a provisional license to drive in the UK which will allow me to skate by for at least one year. Mr. Leonard is convinced I will never pass the Practical but I aim to prove him wrong!
I am on second or final interviews with three top international companies so I hope to have a full time job by the end of the month. Interestingly, the base pay and bonus for this level of device job is half of what it would be in the U.S. thanks to socialized medicine and the National Health System. Heads up to my medical sales friends in the U.S.A. who all voted for Obama. Be prepared for your income to take a nosedive. On the positive side all three companies are excellent and it will allow me to make friends here and immerse myself in the technology and the culture. I really need to get a job because I am running out of rooms to paint. I finished the downstairs yesterday and I am down to the stairs and upstairs hallway. I have been spending more time at the gym and have even dragged Jeff to yoga class with me. He is much better at the tree pose than I am. It turns out that I have very poor balance. Who would have thought?
I received my first care package in the mail. My wonderful sister sent me a box full of Crystal Light in multiple flavors. Oh happy days!!!!! I have been lost without my CL drink mixes. Jeff said that the box should last me at least a year after viewing the contents of the box. What? I told him one month to six weeks at the most. He told me that he cannot believe that I would put that many chemicals in my body in such a short time. Apparently my beloved considers his Sunday morning bacon rashers, Herbie's Pizza loaded with bacon and sausage and diet Pepsi as the epitome of healthy eating. We both agree that the red wine is sure to flush the toxins from our system. Jeff then told me to have my sister send him chili powder and chipoltle sauce which is not available here. I told him that my sister is my CL supplier and he needs to ask his own family to hook him up for his chili seasoning needs. Besides, it would make his mom so happy to finally after years of asking me what Jeff needs for his birthday or Christmas to actually have a legitimate answer! Donna, now you know he needs chili powder and chipoltle sauce
Although the grocery stores here do not have certain items they have shelves and shelves of beans and chutneys. Just today at Waitrose I noted there must have been 40 different types of beans with the most popular being Heinz baked beans. The English eat beans on toast, beans on baked potatoes and sausage and beans. They are part of every full traditional English breakfast. With the large Indian population here in England there is also a selection of beans with curry. As far as chutney goes I have never seen such a selection. Chutney appears to be a sauce/pickle/relish mixture. In one store you can find an average selection of the following: Hot Tomato chutney, Curried Aubergine chutney, Mediterranean chutney, Beetroot and Horseradish chutney, Date and Orange chutney, Gooseberry and Coriander Chutney etc etc etc)
Jeff and I are going skiing next weekend in the Italian Alps. Yup, the Italian Alps. If I survive the experience I will be sure to include lots of pictures in my next e-mail.
M
2 Weeks In
Family and Friends,
It is hard to believe I have only been here 9 days. I have seen more rain, sleet and snow in these 9 days than my entire 4 years in California. Jeff and I just returned from Madrid where we spent the weekend. Thankfully it was sunny there or I would be climbing the walls. When we landed at Heathrow the pilot announced, "welcome ladies and gentleman to another horrendous night of weather in London". There has been so much rain in South East England that my car almost stalled in a foot of water while trying to pick up Shadow from the country kennel today. I am going out to buy a pair of Wellies this weekend which are English rain boots. I have no idea why I brought all of those open toed shoes with me!!!!
Madrid was absolutely beautiful, very clean and architecture which reminds me of Paris. I will send a link to our pictures in the next e-mail. Jeff and I had a very hard time staying up for dinner while we were there. We arrived for dinner at 9pm both nights and the restaurants did not start to fill up until 9:30 pm. How do these Spaniards do it? Of course no one starts work until 9 am and lunch is between 2-3 pm so go figure.
I have discovered why Jeff likes Spain so much and the answer is the ham. He loves ham and it is in every restaurant and hanging from every restaurant window. Ham (while not my favorite) appears to be the national dish of Spain. They have ham croissants, ham pizza, ham quesadilla, ham salad, ham slice appetizers and ham and cheese poppers. You name the dish and they have added ham to it. The wine we had was delicious and very inexpensive. We brought back several bottles of Rioja which would average $12 per bottle. Spain is very inexpensive compared to the UK when it comes to wine and food.
I had my 3rd driving lesson today and my instructor whose name is Mr. Leonard reminds me of Mr. Rogers. He is the nicest man and has a great deal of patience. I asked him this morning why getting the hang of the roundabouts, turns and changing lanes seems so difficult when I have been driving for over 20 years in the U.S. He told me that while I seem to be a very intelligent young lady he fears I have developed some "bad habits" and have been getting away with them for awhile. Here are some of his favorite phrases- 1) Mind the curb now, mind the curb.... 2) Your shaving the cars on your left again.... 3) Watch as it's a bit dodgy through here... 4) Mirror, signal, mirror, change lanes, change lanes, change lanes now please 5) You mustn't speed around these bends, imagine "John the Skip" is coming the other way 6) Give way, give way to oncoming traffic remember please 7) Your keen on the blinkers aren't you? Your confusing the traffic behind you now.... and occasionally, 8) Well done, well done, good effort there!
I hope everyone is well and I will send out the Madrid pictures soon. I have a big day planned tomorrow as the plumber is coming to visit with the landlord. For whatever the reason you need to turn on the bathroom sink prior to turning on the shower in order for it to work properly. I would go on and on about the idiosyncrasies of our little home but I do not want to scare away any potential visitors.
It is hard to believe I have only been here 9 days. I have seen more rain, sleet and snow in these 9 days than my entire 4 years in California. Jeff and I just returned from Madrid where we spent the weekend. Thankfully it was sunny there or I would be climbing the walls. When we landed at Heathrow the pilot announced, "welcome ladies and gentleman to another horrendous night of weather in London". There has been so much rain in South East England that my car almost stalled in a foot of water while trying to pick up Shadow from the country kennel today. I am going out to buy a pair of Wellies this weekend which are English rain boots. I have no idea why I brought all of those open toed shoes with me!!!!
Madrid was absolutely beautiful, very clean and architecture which reminds me of Paris. I will send a link to our pictures in the next e-mail. Jeff and I had a very hard time staying up for dinner while we were there. We arrived for dinner at 9pm both nights and the restaurants did not start to fill up until 9:30 pm. How do these Spaniards do it? Of course no one starts work until 9 am and lunch is between 2-3 pm so go figure.
I have discovered why Jeff likes Spain so much and the answer is the ham. He loves ham and it is in every restaurant and hanging from every restaurant window. Ham (while not my favorite) appears to be the national dish of Spain. They have ham croissants, ham pizza, ham quesadilla, ham salad, ham slice appetizers and ham and cheese poppers. You name the dish and they have added ham to it. The wine we had was delicious and very inexpensive. We brought back several bottles of Rioja which would average $12 per bottle. Spain is very inexpensive compared to the UK when it comes to wine and food.
I had my 3rd driving lesson today and my instructor whose name is Mr. Leonard reminds me of Mr. Rogers. He is the nicest man and has a great deal of patience. I asked him this morning why getting the hang of the roundabouts, turns and changing lanes seems so difficult when I have been driving for over 20 years in the U.S. He told me that while I seem to be a very intelligent young lady he fears I have developed some "bad habits" and have been getting away with them for awhile. Here are some of his favorite phrases- 1) Mind the curb now, mind the curb.... 2) Your shaving the cars on your left again.... 3) Watch as it's a bit dodgy through here... 4) Mirror, signal, mirror, change lanes, change lanes, change lanes now please 5) You mustn't speed around these bends, imagine "John the Skip" is coming the other way 6) Give way, give way to oncoming traffic remember please 7) Your keen on the blinkers aren't you? Your confusing the traffic behind you now.... and occasionally, 8) Well done, well done, good effort there!
I hope everyone is well and I will send out the Madrid pictures soon. I have a big day planned tomorrow as the plumber is coming to visit with the landlord. For whatever the reason you need to turn on the bathroom sink prior to turning on the shower in order for it to work properly. I would go on and on about the idiosyncrasies of our little home but I do not want to scare away any potential visitors.
The Big Move Feb 2009
Family and Friends-
Shadow and I are settling in nicely. He is back to being his obnoxious self which includes lunging at other dogs (I purchased him a new harness), barking unnecessarily at unsuspecting Brits and sleeping on the bed when Jeff is gone. He has successfully spread his dog hair everywhere and I am back to vacuuming every other day.
I have signed up for my first driving lesson tomorrow. I have been driving now independently for two days and I would classify myself as "moderately dangerous". The roundabouts are quite tricky and they are very popular here. I am fine with driving on the left side while being seated on the right side of the car but the roundabouts and switching lanes are throwing me for a loop. I am constantly getting off the wrong exit at each roundabout. I am also perilously close to damaging the passenger side of the car since it is hard for me to judge my distance to the curb while being on the other side of the car driving. I even have scared Jeff on a few occasions who as you know is difficult to rattle.
Surprisingly right after I landed I received two calls for interviews. The first was from St. Jude Medical. They have two open positions in Southern England one for their Neuromodulation division and one for deep brain stimulation. I had my first interview this morning and am moving on to the second interview February 20th.
The second job is with the EP division of Boston Scientific (it is such a small world-my former employer). This proves that you should always leave on good terms. That interview is scheduled for next Friday. Plan B was working on a contract basis for Stereotaxis and getting my MBA and I am following fate on this one. Both of these companies called the day after I arrived in England. If I can get in with a top company in either of these positions I will run with it. This would give me a very worthwhile experience here while in the UK and both are international companies where I stand a good chance of staying when we return to the U.S. Cross your fingers that the right thing happens.
Jeff and I are going to Madrid this weekend on Friday so I will send along some pictures when I return. Shadow is staying at the "Old Beams Kennel and Cattery" where they have fleece beds, heated individual kennel runs and classical music piped in. Those Brits love their dogs!
Lastly- my biggest pet peeves so far are lack of Chrystal Light drink packets and instant oatmeal in the grocery stores, the size of my washer, dryer, shower, sinks and bathrooms (very, very small) and the lack of anything good to watch on Sky TV despite 1000 channels. Thank God they have Fox News and Brit Hume here!!
I am impressed that it is difficult to find anyone here who does not speak excellent English and by that I mean perfect grammatical English. There are a bit to many "brilliant, fantastic and keen" words thrown in but other than that they are extremely well spoken.
I miss you all!
Shadow and I are settling in nicely. He is back to being his obnoxious self which includes lunging at other dogs (I purchased him a new harness), barking unnecessarily at unsuspecting Brits and sleeping on the bed when Jeff is gone. He has successfully spread his dog hair everywhere and I am back to vacuuming every other day.
I have signed up for my first driving lesson tomorrow. I have been driving now independently for two days and I would classify myself as "moderately dangerous". The roundabouts are quite tricky and they are very popular here. I am fine with driving on the left side while being seated on the right side of the car but the roundabouts and switching lanes are throwing me for a loop. I am constantly getting off the wrong exit at each roundabout. I am also perilously close to damaging the passenger side of the car since it is hard for me to judge my distance to the curb while being on the other side of the car driving. I even have scared Jeff on a few occasions who as you know is difficult to rattle.
Surprisingly right after I landed I received two calls for interviews. The first was from St. Jude Medical. They have two open positions in Southern England one for their Neuromodulation division and one for deep brain stimulation. I had my first interview this morning and am moving on to the second interview February 20th.
The second job is with the EP division of Boston Scientific (it is such a small world-my former employer). This proves that you should always leave on good terms. That interview is scheduled for next Friday. Plan B was working on a contract basis for Stereotaxis and getting my MBA and I am following fate on this one. Both of these companies called the day after I arrived in England. If I can get in with a top company in either of these positions I will run with it. This would give me a very worthwhile experience here while in the UK and both are international companies where I stand a good chance of staying when we return to the U.S. Cross your fingers that the right thing happens.
Jeff and I are going to Madrid this weekend on Friday so I will send along some pictures when I return. Shadow is staying at the "Old Beams Kennel and Cattery" where they have fleece beds, heated individual kennel runs and classical music piped in. Those Brits love their dogs!
Lastly- my biggest pet peeves so far are lack of Chrystal Light drink packets and instant oatmeal in the grocery stores, the size of my washer, dryer, shower, sinks and bathrooms (very, very small) and the lack of anything good to watch on Sky TV despite 1000 channels. Thank God they have Fox News and Brit Hume here!!
I am impressed that it is difficult to find anyone here who does not speak excellent English and by that I mean perfect grammatical English. There are a bit to many "brilliant, fantastic and keen" words thrown in but other than that they are extremely well spoken.
I miss you all!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
