Mont Saint Michel

As a child, I loved many hobbies and crafts. I remember shrinky dinks, latch hook, and various crafts that involved melting crayons. If we are lucky, these childhood joys follow us into our adult life. I now love quilting and cross stitch. I can't count how many baby quilts I have made for my friends; each one gives me hours of pleasure.

My adorable husband also has a hobby that he still loves... puzzles! We did one puzzle together about two years ago. Lenny has been reminiscing about how much fun it was ever since. We have hunted the internet and London for another similar puzzle to no avail. Being the good wife that I strive to be, I started to hit the pavement. Where was I able to find a puzzle good enough for Lenny?.... The Mall of America, Minnesota! Not only is it the largest mall in North America, it also has two puzzle shops! I found this really cool puzzle of Mont Saint Michel. Lenny and I loved Saint Michel when we went there last spring. For almost a week, Lenny had a real labor of love. He stayed up late, looked at the puzzle in passing, and thought of it when he was away (okay, that last part is poetic licence.) These puzzles are no child's play~ 1000 pieces that all look the same to me! But, in Lenny's hands....the final product is beautiful.

Isn't it fun when we get to connect with our inner child?

L'Shana Tova

This weekend was Rosh Hashanah ~ Jewish New Year. Lenny and I are trying to establish our Jewish home together while we are living in London. But, when you live in London (probably this is true in most of Europe) around 70% of the synagogues are Orthodox. Basically our choices for services are totally-orthodox, mostly-orthodox, or pretty-much-orthodox. :) Lenny and I went to services at the local temple in Richmond; it is pretty-much-orthodox. What does that mean? Women and men sit separately. The entire service is conducted in Hebrew. Every woman wears a skirt and most of them wear hats... but not all of them! That is how you know it is ONLY pretty-much-orthodox and not totally orthodox. Oh, I had one other clue... of course the rabbi would not shake my hand, but the man at the gate who is a member of the congregation did shake my hand. See what I mean? Very liberal!

Overall, the congregation is amazing; they are really nice, very welcoming. But, my baby Hebrew skills struggled to hang in there for 4 hours. What's that I said? Oh, are you re-reading because you think you mis-understood? Yes, I really did say 4 hours. Let's just talk about that for a minute, shall we? 4 hours is a long time. Okay, a really long time. But I did make it. I didn't need to go back the next day.... but I will go back in a week for Yom Kippur. A moment of truth ~ I didn't follow the service for all 4 hours (The full service is actually 5.5 hours) I was reading a Rosh Hashanah survival guide! Seemed appropriate.

Thank you to the Richmond Synagogue for welcoming us to join you. You are a lovely congregation.

Comfort foods

You don't realize what your comfort foods are until you want one of them and can't get it. Such was the case for me!

I recently had a bit of an upset stomach. The next day I really wanted French toast, pancakes or waffles for breakfast~none of which are readily available in England. We found a place that offered English Breakfast, Full English Breakfast, or Vegetarian English Breakfast. All of those options basically include roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, baked beans, eggs and toast (maybe a few other extras depending on which breakfast you get).

Since I couldn't get my breakfast comfort food...I then wanted an evening comfort food! Tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwich. I don't think moms know all the little things that daughters pick up, but I am starting to realize there are about a million of them. My mom once put a lid over the sandwich to help the cheese melt.... I now do the same! Lenny said that his comfort food was sauerkraut & turkey sausage on a baguette smeared with Gulden mustard ~ that is thanks to Momma B.

Home is where you hang your hat

Home for the last two nights was a wonderful, cozy tent perched on a ocean front cliff outside of Happisburgh. Emily and Jayme's friend throws an annual camping birthday party. This year, Jayme, Emily and Baby Rebecca headed up early for a family vacation... and they invited us to join the party!

Friday night: We arrived at the campsite when it was already dark. Emily warned us to put Chula on a lead because of the ocean front cliff! (It was good advice!) We all curled up behind the windbreak and enjoyed some late night time with friends. After a bit, we snuggled into our temporary home. You know those white noise machines with ocean waves? We had the real deal. I woke up a few times during the night but was lulled back to sleep by the crashing waves just a few feet away from us.

Saturday: We woke up to a glorious sunny day and... an amazing view! Jayme and Emily took care of us with coffee and breakfast; I had my first ever bacon sarnie. Yummy! While the boys went to the store for all the BBQ goodies, the girls went down to the water for a bit. As the day went on, more and more people arrived. By the late afternoon, there were 2 sleeper vans and 5 tents pitched in our area. The evening progressed with a little visit to the pub, a BBQ, our best attempt at Smores with British ingredients, and of course... we had a few pints! I finally declared the evening too cold when I had on silk REI thermal long johns, a t-shirt, a long sleeve shirt, a sweatshirt pulled over my head, a windbreaker, a campfire.... and I was still chilly!

Sunday: After a very, very, very windy night.... we woke up to a dark sky and impending rain. We all packed up, gave thanks for a glorious Saturday, and made our way home. A fun time was had by all. Happy Birthday, Ian!

Warwick Castle

Both Lenny and I grew up going to Renaissance Festivals. I clearly remember all the actors and the scenes set up at the Festival. Maybe my favorite memory is of the flower wreath that I got to pick out each visit and wear around my head like a princess. In a land scattered with castles, the English have brought all the pompes and circumstance to castle life. It is really a sight to see!

Lenny and I stopped at Warwick Castle on our way back from the Lake District. They have actors playing scenes as blacksmiths, archers, house servants, and soldiers. Little boys get shields and swords and the little girls go to the princess tower and walk around with either pink shields and swords (a fact that I love!!) or princess hats. In the center field, the children play a 'rat' throwing game! All around are tents with scenes, shops, and sporting events. What fun!

Lake District

People have been telling us about the Lake District in England... since the first day we moved here. Okay, that might be an overstatement. But you get the idea. We heard it was really wonderful.

Lenny and I decided that we should celebrate our anniversary of getting married in Lake Tahoe with a trip to the Lake District. Cute, huh? To be honest, I didn't think it could live up to all the hype. Also, I knew I was a very tough judge. Come on... I grew up in Minnesota. We vacationed at lakes all my life! Some of my earliest memories are from the boundary waters canoe area. In all honesty.... I LOVED the Lake District. It is amazing. Breathtakingly beautiful. Mountains and countryside surrounding 5 pristine lakes. There are adorable little towns scattered about each of the lakes. They do a superb job of maintaining the small town feel, while bringing in all the stores/restaurants any tourist could dream of. There is just too much to say about the few days we were there to do it justice. I'll try to give a brief top 5 list ... and some great photos.

Bank Holiday Weekend in the Lake District: Top 5

5. Burleymead B&B~ there was a whole row of adorable old Victorian houses that have been turned into B&Bs.

4. The weather~ that unmistakable British grey sky, misting that is not quite rain, overcast days with a small sign of hope, that little flash of blue fighting to break through.

3. Our hikes ~ Ashness Bridge and Cat Bells Mountains

2. The Dog and Gun ~ An adorable pub packed with owners and dogs. In the town of Keswick, there must have been a 2:1 ratio of dogs to people!

1. Peace~ walking with Lenny & Chula.... and feeling like we were the only people in the world.