Happy Flag Day

L is in the background, left of flag pole with Uncle Sam top hat on.
Just in case you didnt know, Saturday was Flag Day, so "happy Flag Day" - the day the American Flag flies over the kid's school. They have a little celebration around the flag pole and all the American kids and parents (and whomever else wants to join in) gather round to see the flag raising. Not a site you see often living abroad.

PS. just to clear things up, there are not as many American kids as you see in the photo. Many entire classes will come to the flag raising if only one student is from that particular country. It exposes the kids to all the cultures that are represented in their classroom. Some American kids have NEVER lived in the US, so they dont talk, act like or have any common experiences with other expat kids who just arrived from the US. There are other American kids who have lived all over the world and are really "3rd culture" kids. Then there are "foreign" kids who have lived for many years in the US and associate closely with it and seem more "American" than the American kids who have never lived there. It's all very confusing and asking some kids "where they are from" is a complicated question!

"Cause I'm Going to Strawberry Fields..."

In the land of the Beatles, I think it is only appropriate that we spent our Saturday afternoon in strawberry fields. Really, there is a "pick your own" farm nearby and the English strawberries are ripe. Boy, are they delicious. (with nod to last post, I think strawberries are the best food item in England!) The kids had a great time picking. The hardest thing is keeping them out of your mouth before you've paid for them and stopping when you've picked enough. The strawberries are so pretty, ripe and red that you just want to pick everyone you see. I stopped at the market and bought some rhubarb too to make a shortcake of sorts. I cant find any angel food cake in England (of course, add it to the list), but it goes well with lemon cake so we will be having a good desert tonight.

"Strawberry Fields, forever!"

The Beatles once lived around here, I wonder if they picked strawberries at Garson's too?? ha.

The raspberries are just coming into season. B was happy to find one almost red.
DA's 'Vanna White' display of his harvest of strawberries and raspberries.

The food situation 2.0

This is NOT a post about my weird oven or the hob, but for some strange reason, we are really missing a taste of home. Last night I said to DA, "you know some times I just really want the food I want." He just laughed and said he had been thinking the exact same thing lately!! Maybe it has something to do with the weather, or maybe it's just part of that "18months of living abroad" dip in the acclimation cycle. I want certain things to eat and they just arent available!!!! -or "similar" versions are available, but that's almost worse because then your taste buds KNOW it's not the right taste. It's very difficult to describe the feeling, but I really want to go eat on Friday night at Mi Cocina. And I really want familiar things to eat for lunch, and I really want double stuffed oreos, not the single stuff, made in Europe kind. And B really wants American A1 sauce and Jif or Skippy brand creamy peanut butter, and normal bread. there is only one type of sandwich bread she likes and they are often out of it. L really wants Kraft Mac and cheese and this certain flavor of Pop Tarts. They are about to eat through the remaining stock of Saltine crackers and I know they will be missing them too. B already had to give up her main stay of Campbell's Goldfish style chicken noodle soup (cant import the chicken), so not having the right PB &J on the right bread is a real killer.
I know all that sounds unhealthy, but I think it's why those things are apropriately called Comfort foods! There is something about the taste, smell, texture or memory that really is comforting.
DA made an out of the blue comment to me yesterday that I really "seemed settled" here now. I think that's true in a sense, but maybe my problem is that my taste buds just don't want to let go and settle completely.
I was walking through the market yesterday looking for steaks, no problem you might think, except we dont like British beef, we do like Aberdeen/Scotish beef exept Tesco didnt have any, so my choices were Irish beef and Uraguan beef. I went for Uraguan thinking it might taste like Argentine (no real logic, just thought), but it didn't. First bite of steak was met with dead silence. B decided she would only be able to eat it if we had A1, L inhaled the potatoes instead and DA and I just wanted to go to Mi Cocina!

In England's defense, there are several American products you can get here, even more readily available than previous years. I know we have it easier than Expats living abroad in other areas. We even have US Costco that has several US items, but just like at home, you drive 1 hour to get there and never know if they'll have in stock the one item you really want. When you want x flavor of Pop Tarts, after so long, the not-so-good y flavor just doesnt cut it anymore.

Now please, this is absolutely NOT a call for a goodie package. Please dont. It costs way, way too much to ship things here, I'm just saying.... We still miss home.

PS. we have eaten some fabulous English strawberries, rhubarb and artichokes. All is not lost!

Another interesting blog

Ok, on a more upbeat note than the last post...
Here is a blog I found and thought any of you outdoor explorers out there might want to look at too.

http://www.travelingwithandrewandjen.blogspot.com/

(I'm having trouble with the link, you may need to copy and paste in your browser)

I don't know these guys from Adam and Eve, but DA and I talk all the time about how will we feel when we move back to the States. What things will we want to do, will we want to travel, where should we go, what sights to we want to share with the kids before they grow up and all of that. This blog is written by a couple who are hiking across parts of the US. (not that hiking across the US is on my to do list at the moment!) They post on their blog from the trail and you can also track on a special trail map. pretty cool. That's how I found the site, looking for new widgets to use on my blog.
I have enjoyed reading about their adventures and thought you might too.

Check it out.

The cost of Living!!!

I've been reading on my Dallas news page that gasoline has hit $4 per gallon. Ouch. I'm sure that's going to keep a few people around the house this summer. As I was filling up with diesel this morning, the sign looks pretty nice - reading "1.28" but then you remember that it's PER LITRE. ouch again. that works out to $9.80 per gallon after conversion. Believe me, we feel your pain over the gas/diesel price. I try to ride my bike as much as possible and DA drives his scooter every day, which gets great gas mileage, so we try to do our part saving money on gas.
After living here for 1.5 years, I feel like I am over the sticker shock, but as I left the petrol station I drove to one little store where they stock a few US groceries to pick up 2 items we are out of and my kids really want. A1 sauce - B's favorite - 7 GBP per bottle. choke. that coverts to $14 FOR A1 sauce. And even if you didnt convert, 7 GBP is just too much for glorified ketchup! Similar scene with the smooth peanut butter. $4 for the size of jar that's barely larger than a baby food jar. Needless to say, my kids are going without for right now. Left the store empty handed.
I know the cost of traveling here is crazy, but so is living here. Sometimes I just want to shake the people who price these things. Take the train tickets. Another of my major beefs. They want you to use public transportation because it helps with over crowded roads, better environmental choice, possibly arrive quicker and dont have to mess with finding a car park you can afford, but train ticket prices aren't cheap.
Pretty soon no one is going to be able to afford living in England. It's just crazy.
There are so many US expats leaving the country right now. I bet there will be almost a 40% turnover in our school population. It will be interesting to see how things work out. I think the job market in the States must be affecting the jobs of people here and they are being called home. I know the gas price is just one indication of the rising cost of living, but I really hope things will improve for both England and the US.

ok, I'll get off my soap box for now. (PS. I think that phrase originated in England with Speakers standing on their soap boxes on Speaker's corner in London. Maybe I should just take my soap box up there to give my speech this weekend and spare you!)

A "unique" European experience

DA came home today to relate his interesting experience on the train - his train was delayed because they found an "un-detonated WWII bomb" beside the train tracks. Now that is something we've NEVER come across at home!!! An undetonated WWII bomb. Those words have never even crossed my mind in my little Texas home. I didn't hear how they resolved the bomb problem, but he made it home safe and sound, so I guess the bomb squad was able to dismantle it safely.

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day in London. We've had almost 2 weeks straight of grey skies, but a blue sky in England is hard to beat. I had a chuckle though - it got up to 23 degrees Celsius (which I think is around 78 F) and I was HOT. Can you Texas friends imagine that? I'm sure there have been 40+ summers where I would have given anything to have a 78 degree, sunny day in the summer and here I was "too hot". I am going to be in big, big trouble when we move back home.

What's Black, Red and a little bit Boring??

What's black, red and a little bit boring? The "trooping of the color". Hate to say it, but it's true! Impressive, but boring.


A little back story - in January, I got one of the American Expat "English Experience" reminders that told me it was time to submit my name for the lottery for the Trooping of the Color tickets. This basically means they have a lottery to select names for the "opportunity to buy the tickets". Not really knowing all about the Trooping... ceremony, I submitted my name and received the great honor of being able to buy tickets. I received the tickets some time ago and on Thursday of this week, pulled them out to check out the details. The ceremony is basically a 3 Saturday-in-a-row parade of all the Queen's troops. A military parade that has it's origins in the field battles of yore when the troops needed to be inspired and realigned after a battle. It is in honor of their troop flag. The first 2 Saturdays are really types of dress rehearsals before the 3rd Saturday when the Queen is present and is able to observe her troops gathered together. We attended the first Saturday which is also known as "Major General's Review" because the Major General is in attendance and sits astride a horse for the entire parade receiving the salute of the troops.

The Major General on the white horse arriving with other dignitaries:



What I learned when I studied the tickets on Thursday was that dress code is "strictly followed" and that on the "review" days, men must be in "lounge suits" and on the Queens day, they must be in morning suits. Lounge suit??? what on earth is that??? I quickly Googled lounge suit. I pulled up all sorts of rental sights but no clear definition. I was not about to pay to rent a tux for DA and L. Fortunately, after attending the event, I think a lounge suit refers to a business suit, SOOOO on Saturday morning at 7 am I tried to rouse my family to get dressed up for a trip into the city to watch a parade. DA never complained a moment even though wearing a suit on a Saturday morning is more than he was even required to do for his own wedding. L had to wear a dress shirt and a tie. He figured out on our drive that his dress shoes, which he hadn't worn in months, were of course, 2 sizes too small. Oh well, he crammed those feet in and had to walk a couple of miles and keep them on for a few hours. I was extremely grateful that he didn't give me the evil eye the whole time. B and I were in our dresses. As we drove into the city all I can say is, "THAT drive" - so stressful!!! Driving into London is so crazy - even with a TomTom. We couldn't find a place to park and my sweet hubby and I were getting frustrated with each other before 9:00 had struck. Finally found some place to park and got into our seats before the 10:00 deadline. The parade didn't start until 10:30 and it lasted until noon. B actually fell asleep during the parade.

Troops were doing the slow walk around the grounds in formation

It is cool to see all the troops in their finest dress, marching, hearing the bands play and all, but when you don't really understand the pomp and circumstance, it is a little strange to watch hundreds of troops walk around and around in formation. Oh, one funny thing is that the stern, bear hat wearing guards will talk to you on this day. While they are not on guard duty, they were being the ushers directing people to their seats. I pictured the "I Love Lucy" show where she tried and tried to get the guards attention and here they were talking to us. Their uniforms are really so detailed and fancy up close. I don't know how they stand wearing all that in the heat. L enjoyed studying all the different uniforms to tell the differences between all the troops. Even the spacing on their buttons distinguishes between the troops.
All in all we are glad we went (at least DA and I are) but I don't think I'd ever go back. Next year, I would just watch them walking down the parade route from the road and then go see something else in London instead of watching from the spectator stands. That said, I would like to go back on June 14th to see the Queen in her coach though, haven't seen her yet.
B's take on the day..."those guys look like a caterpillar walking down the road". ha.. they did. little black fuzzy hats, red body and hundreds of legs walking in unison. I'm sure those troops would love to hear that take on all their formation practice.

THE CATERPILLAR shot.

Here's DA in his "lounge suit". This guard was on duty and would not speak to anyone. I'm surprised they let DA and L get so close to the horse and the door he was guarding.

This is definitely a "been there, done that, mark it off the list" type of event. So I'll mark it off our English Experience list. check.