We are back from our trip to the UK to see our daughter Erica, who moved there back in November to do a Post Doc at York University. I have missed her terribly, but being able to see her, in her new environment has done a lot to help ease my mind. York is incredible. It is quaint, beautiful, historic, and maybe most important to me as a Mother...its extremely safe. Crime is almost non-existent and what does go on is of the pick-pocketing/theft variety.

But anyway, I have a few tips to pass on to any friends or family who want to go over for a visit. Erica would LOVE to have you, so if you can make the trip then please do. The most important thing to pack is a sturdy pair of walking shoes. York is a walking city. A good part of the City Center is cobblestone roads that are mossy, slippery and uneven. Shoes need to be water-resistant, comfortable and slip resistant. Forget pretty, forget high fashion and for God's sake do NOT attempt heels. I had a pair of black leather Bass shoes with a thick rubber sole that did the trick nicely. Forget sandals, and canvas or mesh sneakers, too. It rained every day that we were there. Not all day, but still....it was wet the whole week.

Tip number 2....layers!! Be sure to pack clothes that can be layered easily. Its quite chilly outside (and damp), but for some reason all of the public buildings (pubs, restaurants, museums, shops...etc) are seriously overheated. It was like that almost everywhere we went. I wondered if the reason was to help keep things inside dry against the continous dampness. Erica supposed that the Brits get tired of being cold outside and insist on excessive warmth inside...??? I don't know the answer to that one, but trust me when I say you will have to come out of all but the lightest layers when indoors if you want any degree of comfort.

Another important bit that might come in handy? Erica WILL tell you that a destination is only 5 minutes away whether its 2 blocks away or 3 miles. She walks everywhere (or bikes), is in fantastic shape, and I don't think she realizes how far some things seem to an almost 50-ish person who lives in a town where cars are generally necessary. I definitely need to work on my stamina and endurance. It was exhausting but we were so enthralled with how much there was to see and do that somehow I managed to push through the pain and keep going.

We toured all the highlights from York Minster (awe-inspiring), to Clifford's Tower, to the Chocolate museum. We crammed so much into our week there that my mind is still spinning. The one thing that we didn't get to do (sorry Chelsea) was make it out to the University, so I did not get pictures of Erica's lab. Hannia says she thinks she might have a couple though, so she is going to check and make sure. We just ran out of time, and even Erica admitted it was a long haul away from the City Center....she even said at least 30 minutes. And considering some of the places we walked that were supposed to be 5 minutes away, I shudder to think what a 30 minute hike might be in Erica-terms. LOL. Scary. But anyway, I have some more stories to tell, and pictures to share over the next few days. But what I most want to say is this: Erica is happy there. She lives in the heart of everything going on in the historic part of the city. She has made friends and is nowhere ready to leave the UK just yet. And while I miss her, I think I totally understand after visiting. Its just awesome, and I am happy that she is happy. The weather kind of sucks. Chilly, and damp...but still...its fabulous and interesting enough to don a raincoat, grab an umbrella and go on without letting the weather interfere. I can't wait to go back for another visit.

I have a lot going on, and my brain is overwhelmed making it next to impossible to come up with anything clever or original. So, I am doing the next best thing....a meme. I found it here/. There are quite a few to choose from, if you ever find yourself in need.

Now on to the Rules of Sevens:

Seven Things that Scare Me:

1. Snakes!!!
2. Family or friends suffering....anything...emotionally, or physically.
3. Germs, epidemics, pandemics. Sickness in any form basically.
4. Roughing it, like with NO electricity or running water.
5. Things that move wrong. Like in horror movies. Think zombies and the possessed.
6. Right wing conservatives. Should probably be #1 on the list.
7. Crowds of people...probably with germs. LOL!

Seven Things I Like:

1. Hot coffee first thing in the morning.
2. Days off, full of potential with no plans.
3. Cats
4. Chocolate
5. Water...as in the ocean, a river, or mountain lakes.
6. Cool crisp sunny days.
7. Napping on a rainy afternoon.


Seven Random Facts About Me:

1. I have Hashimoto's disease (autoimmune/hypothyroid) and it has wreaked havoc with my life.
2. I judge people by their bumper stickers.
3. I don't really like tattoos, or excessive piercings.
4. I have become much more of a feminist as I get older.
5. I support Gay marriage.
6. I can't sing. At least not in tune.
7. I tend to like animals more than some people. Just some. Ok, probably a lot, but I'm sure that I don't mean you.

Seven Things I want to Do Before I Die:

1. Learn sign language.
2. Learn to sew.
3. Take a Mediterranean cruise.
4. Become a Minimalist.
5. Have more free time. To read. To meditate. To just reflect or do nothing.
6. Design my own house...exactly how I want it.
7. Live by a waterfront, be it beach, lake or river.

Seven Things I Can Do Well:

1. Plan...a party, a trip. I'm a virgo detail-oriented kind of gal who leaves nothing to chance.
2. Keep a cat well and happy.
3. Make you laugh.
4. Raise some pretty spectacular kids.
5. Daydream
6. Nap
7. Listen

Seven Things I Can't Do But Wish I Could:

1. Figure out this world peace thing
2. Speak another language fluently
3. Dance
4. Grow a spectacular garden (flowers and veggies)
5. Design clothing for real women.
6. Be invisible
7. Master yoga

Seven Phrases I'm Known to Use:

1. WTF?
2. It is what it is.
3. Whatever
4. And???
5. Is it Friday yet?
6. What day is it anyway?
7. Get over yourself.

At first the morning seemed innocent enough. We slept in a bit. Coffee was made, and orange danish rolls were ready to pop in the oven. The weather was lovely, so I opened the back door to let the cats go out in the morning sun for a little while. I decided to strip our sheets off the bed and give those a wash, so I could have fresh clean linens for the night.

So there I was in our bedroom, sheets in my arms when I heard Bruce saying some loud expletives. What??? It was a lovely morning, what in the world could be interrupting us? I walked down the hall to find chaos. Omen apparently had a hair ball and was vomiting copious amounts of cat puke all over the study. Poor thing....everytime she caught her breath the retching would start all over. It was everywhere, and Bruce was yanking out the carpet cleaner, and telling me to get her out of there. So I locked the cat in Erica's bathroom (vinyl flooring) and tried to assess the damage.

First of all, I am not good with medical emergencies. Neither human or animal. If something or someone gets sick, or injured, I panic completely. My ability to think and react just goes out the window. A vomiting cat is probably not the end of the world, but in my panicked mind, its trips to the emergency vet, and I start feeling like it is the most devastating thing ever. I was almost in tears, shaking like a leaf....I am not proud, but it is what it is.

On the other hand, my almost perfect husband has the opposite reaction. He is able to deal with the situation, but he also starts barking orders like a drill sergeant, and yelling. Like at some point, he yelled that we were about to have outdoor cats. A few expletives here and there. Stuff like that. And none of that, the yelling and barking of orders helps me at all. It has the opposite effect, making me unable to think or function even more. But like my own reaction, maybe he just can't help it. I guess it really would be difficult to be calm and zen, making mild suggestions of what needs to be done....LOL.

So then, while he is running the carpet cleaner, he ordered me to go check on the cat. Omen was so freaked out, scared out of her mind, and when I cracked open the bathroom door, she bolted. Right under our bed. And started vomiting all over again. Under! My! Bed!! Our gigantic, king-sized bed that is impossible to move unless you dismantle it. OMG, to say that I was freaking out is an understatement. I got Bruce, who was feeling completely disgruntled by then. He managed to get Omen out from under the bed. But we had to take the mattress and the box springs off the frame so I could scrub the spots on the carpet. Luckily, the vomiting was subsiding so it was just a small spot. But still...it had to be cleaned.

Anyway, we survived. Omen coughed up a doozy of a hairball, so that was probably all that was wrong. She has been fine for the rest of the day but I have been keeping a close eye on the situation. I think we scared her half to death....my poor baby. All the carpet is cleaned and my bed has been put back together. I had been meaning to rotate the mattress anyway. Its a pillowtop, so it can't be flipped. We have to rotate every few months to ensure even wear.

In all the chaos, the orange danish rolls got a bit overdone, but not so burned as to be inedible. And the rest of the day has been fine. I had errands to run, Bruce did yardwork. No more puking cats, thank you Jesus.
But it was not a fun start to the day. I certainly would NOT want a repeat of this morning at ALL!

Its a beautiful Saturday. Unfortunately, Bruce got called in to work (not until 10:30, so at least he got to sleep in). He wasn't jumping for joy, but neither was he too unhappy. He gets to use a make up day off during our vacation, and less of his vacation days. It works. I spent a good part of today outside, letting the cats play. I still can't leave them out in the fenced in yard without supervision. We have gotten a little more relaxed....sometimes coming in for brief periods of time and going out to check on them frequently. But I have this fear of one of them getting out of the fence and with that road in front of our house....I don't want to think about it. The day is too nice for that.

So about the crime spree. There has been a rash of robberies, and break ins all around us. This past week, 3 young men, all armed with guns broke into a home very close to us. I didn't see any of it, but Bruce saw about 20 police cars heading just down the road. I was with my friends for Girls Night Out, so I missed the excitement. Fine by me. But these men broke right in to a home where the husband, wife, and 3 young children were AT HOME! One of the bad guys shot at the husband, putting a hole through the leg of his jeans, but missing any injury. The wife came out with a gun and shot one of the intruders (injurying him, but not seriously). The 3 men jumped in their car to leave, drove straight into a ditch and then took off on foot. The police had them apprehended within a short period of time. That is the one thing that is good to know....our police and sheriff's department seem to be capturing these criminals pretty regularly. But then again, driving into a ditch during a getaway makes me wonder just how intelligent these guys really were? How stupid must you be to think that armed robbery is a good idea? If I were going to risk my freedom, the stakes would have to be high. I mean seriously HIGH! Like millions of dollars kind of high. As far as I know, nobody out here in this part of the world has a stash of jewels, original artwork, or stacks of cash enough to make it worth it. It blows my mind.

But lets talk paint. I want to paint our dining room, living room and eventually den. Shades of blue....that much I do know. What I can't figure out is whether to go with pale silver/gray shades of blue, or more daring with brighter aqua and turquiose shades. Gray blues feel safer. I don't love overly bright colors on walls. I mean, I like it when I first see it, but I know I will get sick of it quicker. I think I prefer something semi-neutral and use accent colors to brighten it up. I have been using pinterest to pin dining room ideas, and its proving to be really useful for that. Still....light blue or aqua???? Which ever one wins out, I will stay in that shade family for the rest of the rooms. I KNOW I do not want a crayola box of colors especially since the rooms are all fairly open to each other. It needs some kind of continuity. I just need to get it right the first time, seeing as how Bruce and I are not overly fond of painting and it will probably have to remain whatever color I choose for a really long time.....Ugh....decisions, decisions.

I hope you had a good Friday the 13th. It was a pretty decent day for me. I finally got the figures for the new additions to my route (of course I have been doing the work for a full week as of today and you would think I could have gotten the paperwork BEFORE now, but it is what it is). Its a fair amount of time/money to compensate for not TOO much additional work. I didn't want it but now it seems ok. I guess it will do. It has to, since I wasn't given a choice...LOL. The new customers are friendly and very happy to see me. They were taken off the very end of another route, and added to the very beginning of mine, so they are getting mail service nice and early, and everybody seems very pleased by that. And then there was a moment this morning when I was asked if I might be able to work tomorrow. Ugh! I HATE working Saturdays, although I tend to be fine with it when I get Monday off in compensation. Still, it ended up being unnecessary, so I get to be off tomorrow and that made me particularly happy. So, yes, it was a good day and Friday the 13th felt like a lucky day today.

Other lucky things for the day....I was having a rough time trying to finalize reservations for our last night in the UK. We are spending it in Manchester, hopefully near the airport since our flight Saturday morning is pretty early. I had attempted to make a reservation online, but it never completed by giving me a confirmation code, and then no email confirmation ever came in. I have been trying to deal with it....I sent multiple emails, to no avail. The website had a link to check your reservation but it required a confirmation code, which of course, I didn't have so it was useless. I finally was able to get home early enough to call and get it straightened out (or as Erica says now....I got it "sorted"...hehehe). We did have a reservation after all. I have no idea why I didn't get the email, but I got the code over the phone and everything is confirmed. I was charmed by the British politeness and accents, and I got to use the British "zed" for "z" when spelling our last name. Thanks to Erica for making me aware of that to not sound stupid. LOL.

It looks like a beautiful weekend. I have lots to do to get ready for our trip. Errands to run: cat food to stock up on, camera batteries to buy and a few things that Erica wants us to bring for her, as well as some travel toiletries that I need to pick up. Gotta try to figure out what to pack since its fairly warm here now, winter things aren't being worn, and yet its going to still be quite chilly in Northern England. I need to drag a couple of sweaters back out I guess. But its all good. I don't care what the weather is like. I get to see my daughter, and thats more than enough to make me happy.

I will be seeing my daughter in a week. I miss her terribly, so I am beside myself with excitement. Somehow I have got to buckle down and make it through another week until its time to go.

And besides that, besides just waiting impatiently to go on our trip...its been busy. Crazy busy. Work has been hectic. There has been a lot going on all the way around. Way too much for a woman who likes things quiet and peaceful. LOL.

Oh well, I just wanted to pop in and say hello...things are good...and I hope its all good where you are. When I get my mind together, maybe I will stay awhile and chat.

Easter is over, and ours was uneventful, but restful. Fine by me. The weather was, and is absolutely gorgeous. Sunny, low 70's, no humidity. Perfect. I spent a good while out in the backyard just enjoying the sunshine.
Bruce had yardwork to do, but I asked him not to. Yardwork on Easter Sunday just feels wrong. I grew up in a family who thought doing much of anything on Sunday was wrong. Even non-working things like going to a movie. My parents believed in keeping the Sabbath, and it drove me insane. I promised myself never to do that to my family, but still....Easter is 1 day a year and mowing the lawn just seems like it could wait.

Speaking of the Sabbath, we watched a History Channel version of The 10 Commandments yesterday. Some Easter special. It brought up a lot of misinterpretations, and human revisions that have altered the meaning of a lot of things over time. For instance, taking the Lord's name in vain. Using God's name in conjunction with a curse word....not what it meant. That was an invention of our lovely Puritan ancestors. Its crude and vulgar, for sure, but still...NOT in violation of the 10 Commandments. Apparently, the original meaning had to do with using God's name outside of the temple/church and trivializing it. The narrator pointed out that invoking God's name at every sporting event is probably much more a violation than saying, "G*dd*ammit" when you stub your toe.

It was also pointed out that the Sabbath was intended to be Saturday, too, but was changed to honor the Ressurection, which means that every Sunday is sort of a mini-Easter celebration in theory. But anyway, it was very interesting and Easter-appropriate.

So, I'm off today after having worked Saturday (I had to work on the actual Sabbath...oh my!). I have a long list of things to accomplish, so I pretty much ought to get started. There are errands to run, things to do.....but at least its a beautiful spring day, so I am going to try and enjoy it. It looks like it turns quite a bit colder during the rest of the week, like the weather just can't make up its mind. But still, I will take it. Anything that doesn't involve 100 degree temps and 100 percent humidity and I will gladly deal with it any day of of the week.

So I hope everybody has a lovely week ahead. We are in a countdown until we get to see Erica. Less than 2 weeks away and I can barely contain my excitement. Oh, and do you like the cute little spring owls theme I found? I moved the blog specifically so I could change the template frequently, so I am trying to take advantage of that. Hannia has a thing for owls, and really, they are so cute!

I hope everybody has a wonderful Easter. Ours is going to be low-key, but thats fine. Its been a long week, and its not quite over for me, as I am working tomorrow. But I wanted to check in, if only briefly, to say things are fine here. Just busy. Happy Easter!

I haven't gotten around to decorating my house for Easter. I meant to, but we have been busy lately. But I did find a blog template to decorate my blog!
Yay! I don't know what our Easter plans will be this year. Will I cook? Will I invite Stephen and Hannia and go to the beach for seafood? I'm not sure because I will be working next weekend. My sub's daughter just had her first baby, and she lives somewhere around Savannah. My sub is taking off to see her first grandchild and that, my friends, is pretty freaking important, so I said I would work for her. Anyway, we will figure something out. We can head down to the beach Sunday morning, its just not that far away. I want to check out the weather first though. If its cold or raining then forget it.

I miss Easter with little kids. The egg dying. The egg hunts and baskets.
The Easter dresses and suits. It was all so much fun. Bruce's Mom and Dad were usually here and we would head down to Morehead City for seafood and a day at the beach (after the early morning search for Easter baskets and the egg hunt). Sometimes, we went to River Forest Manor in Bath, NC for their seafood buffet. It was such a beautiful old house, but I don't think its open anymore. Even if it is open, the management changed and the last time we went, it wasn't nearly as good.

Anyway, it looks like another busy week ahead. Why are weekends so short???
I will just keep my trip to visit Erica in mind and know that I can get through anything knowing I will be in York soon. I hope you all have a good week, and an awesome holiday next weekend. Dye some eggs for me, won't you? I don't think I will have time to get around to that.