Halloween in the UK

While Tyler was away for training in a far away land, Ady & I had a fun day together on Halloween. We took a walk outside through all the beautiful fall colors to the grocery store to buy what was left of the pumpkins. All that was left were these cool silverish-green ones and really small orange ones- so despite spending an exorbitant amount to get them, we were happy to have something familiar that reminded us of home and decided it was well worth it. Once we got home, we made a yummy roasted chicken and veggies dinner and baked up some pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. People had told us that Halloween here was very different from the U.S. and not to expect much trick or treating- so I was assuming that we would just spend the night inside carving pumpkins and hanging out. Although, to my surprise, as we were munching on our dinner, I could hear kids outside. I figured it was just American families coming home from their little parties, but our streets kept filling with more and more kids wearing Halloween costumes and holding treat bags. In a flurry, I threw together a not-so-cute, but perfectly functional cat costume. I used Ady's Crayola markers to draw whiskers and a nose on her face & crossed my fingers that she wouldn't color all over herself after this as I just did to her. It was perhaps a costume only a mother could love, but Ady was thrilled, nonetheless. She was so very excited to go out with the other kids. Every time we saw other kids, she would ask me, "Mama, are those trick-or-treats?" She would gallop down the street holding her orange grocery sack. After an hour of walking the alleys begging for candy, we got home and tallied our goodies... we made away with a killing of 3 pieces of candy. WAHOO! So really, people were totally right. The British are not too keen on Trick-or-Treating apparently... but at least we gave it a good shot. Ady was perfectly thrilled with her 3 pieces of candy- & was even sweet enough to offer me one whole piece of candy and bites of her "hard as rock" (as she described them) gummy bears.

Getting Settled

We moved into our more permanent housing last Wednesday. We are really enjoying the flat itself and the St John's Wood area. Our belongings and furniture pieces are trickling in over time. Every other day, or so, another item arrives from either our shipments from Utah or from online orders we have been making. Life gets easier and better with each thing. Ady was so happy to get her bed back. She has been a much happier and better behaved little girl than she had been in our other place. Despite my efforts to keep her entertained at our temporary housing, I think she was bored and cooped up & thus sought entertainment by being a naughty baby. That was pretty tough for all of us involved. We are happier now in our new place. It feels home-ey and welcoming and Ady has room to run and play and be a happy little girl. She is going to be in pure bliss when her toys arrive in the next week. ...And I may faint from pure joy myself. More to come on our place soon.

Tyler's work is going pretty good, although he has had quite a few late nights. He is meeting lots of people and experiencing a lot of new and great things. He is currently in Amsterdam for a training conference. I regret that Ady and I didn't tag along. His hotel is in the countryside and right on the coast. It sounds very beautiful. He took good care of me before he left. He made extra sure that I felt oriented and comfortable in our new place- and that I had a plan of action for the next 4 days. I have been struggling a bit feeling isolated & overwhelmed with all the things that come with moving to a new place- and suffering from major mom guilt. All will be good again soon, I have no doubt. We just need to get all settled in and start exploring places & things, and all will be good.

Escaping the Rat Race

On another free Saturday, we met up with Vinz again. He invited us over to his place for a most amazing Swiss breakfast, complete with bacon, 2 types of sausages, eggs, nutella & banana filled crepes, croissants, 2 types of juice, a variety of cereals... I'm probably forgetting some other items, but the point has been made. It was delicious and very, very filling. He even had special big chocolate muffins on Ady's & my plate as gifts for the ladies. So sweet.

Despite that we could barely walk after all that food, we managed to make it to Westfield Cemetery, which Vinz had been told to check out. The cemetery looked very very old and overgrown with vegetation... but apparently, it has just not been well maintained because the oldest graves we saw were from the early 1800s. And come to find out, once we paid our entrance fee (Yep, we had to pay a fee to enter a mismanaged cemetery), the cemetery with all the really old graves was across the road. He he. Oh well. Some of the grave stones had actually come out of the ground so you could see down into the hollow vault- and of course, we had to look.. but no skeleton sightings occurred. Some of the grave stones were actually cracked completely in half, & some had a big ol' tree growing right out the top of the burial- apparently some good fertile ground there. He he. British humor has apparently made its way into me. Oh, and in our wanderings, we discovered that Karl Marx was buried there, so we stopped and gave him a visit.

Then it was off to another big park called Hamstead Heath. It is a huge park with some areas left in a more natural state. The view of the city was stunning from on top of the hill. People were flying their kites, walking their dogs & children and enjoying a little breathing space out of the hustle bustle of the big city. It was a nice break for us.

Dress Code

When in Great Britain, do as the British do. Wear a wool coat. ...And so we shall.

Tower of Terror

One Saturday with not much to do... we decided to check out the Tower of London. We started out on a guided tour, but I was quickly overcome with way too many details of beheadings and executions that we decided to go our own way. I hate when you are told something and you cannot unthink it. Absolutely terrible images in my poor, innocent, non-murderous brain. There was so much death associated with the castle that it felt eerie and unsettling. It was very common that a King would have his wife put to death. One King had been married to his wife for only 11 days, I think it was, before the wife was sentenced to death. And to think we modern people consider that first year of marriage rough! Good thing we didn't live back then, & Tyler wasn't a King. He may not have put up too long with my "marriage is good, but it is an adjustment" statement I liked to make in our first year married. Anyway... enough about that. Lucky for me, we decided to skip the torture chambers. Thank goodness. I'm starting to learn that that is a part of British humor. There is this darkness about it. Here is an example: While at the gift shop, you could buy your child a pop-up book that pictured a beheading- & the head would actually come off! Oh so terrible! We saw the Crown Jewels while there, which was very interesting to see. We also saw centuries old knight's armor and battle weapons. There was also a great exhibit of royal coins through time. These latter things were more my cup of tea.

Speaking of tea... have you ever wondered what a crumpet is? While at the dreaded grocery store one day, I came across some & could not resist buying them. To prepare them, you put them in the toaster and then spread butter and jam on top. They tasted like an english muffin and a pancake mixed together. It wasn't too good, if you ask me. But maybe store-bought crumpets are like store-bought sushi- BAD! Next time I get the gumption, I will get a crumpet at a quaint English restaurant and pair it with a cup of tea (instead of ice cream). Cheers!

Little Zombies

Ady has been busy drawing pictures and learning how to write letters. These are a few of my favorite pictures. According to the artist herself, the first zombie is a picture of me. I can definitely see the resemblance. I'm pretty sure she was drawing her impression of me during our little grocery store nightmare last week. In the second picture, I have been told that the blob above the eyes is hair, and the squiggly scribble on the one leg is a bandaid. The third picture is of the ocean.

It was cute to watch her draw these. I think she even surprised herself that she could draw something that had order and represented something, instead of chaotic scribbles. She focused so hard to draw them, and took her time to draw each feature in places that made sense.

Economic Inequality: Occupy Protests

These protests are going on just down the road from us. It has been a peaceful demonstration here, unlike some other places, but police teams are everywhere monitoring the situation to assure that it remains tame. We have not felt threatened or afraid by the protests. It is actually a little thrilling to see.

Here is a link to an article that tells more info.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/18/world/europe/occupy-london-protests/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

"We are part of a global movement of people who are fed up with the current system."