The New Forest

This weekend was a long weekend off from school. Not because of the US holiday, but because of teacher conferences (kids don't attend school on conference days). We decided we would drive over to South Wales - 1) because we haven't been there yet and 2) because L is doing a family history project and we believe both sides of his heritage originated from Wales.
As you would expect, when driving out of London on a Friday afternoon, you encounter bad traffic - but yesterday was HORRIBLE. There was traffic everywhere. It was "choc-a-block"!!! SO, knowing that our whole journey should have taken 2.5 hr to drive - imagine our frustration that we were only 45 miles away after 4.5 hours. There was wreck after wreck and since they don't have frontage roads in this lovely country, there is no where to go except to wait on the road for them to clear the wreck. UGH!!! We bailed on South Wales and came back home for the night.
Anyway, this morning we tried a new destination and went down to "The New Forest" for the day. We'd heard really nice things about it and decided to give it a shot. It's about 1 hr drive away and I'm so pleased we went.
Out for a walk in the New Forest. (really a clearing in the forest!) The New Forest is actually very old. Established (and named) around the time of William the Conqueror about 1,000 years ago. It was protected land that the king could hunt on. They established laws several centuries ago that allowed the commoners to have access to open pastures and those laws still apply today. These are some types horses we came across beside the road today.

Mainly there are wild horses roaming free - over roads, through back yards, in the parking lots, etc. It is kinda crazy to see. The cars just have to wait for the horses to get out of the road. We came across at least 50 horses or so on the roads in just one afternoon. It really backs up the traffic and the horses are in no hurry to get out of the way. Even though the horses are wild, they are all owned "by a commoner" whatever that means.
B, being giddy over horses, had a ball. We toured in the car for a while and then got out and walked. You're not allowed to touch or feed the horses, but B wanted to get closer to them than we could in the car. We were standing by the fence when 2 feisty, wild horses came running full blast around the corner. Scared me to death. We watched them and realized they were the bullies of the neighborhood, charging at the other grazing horses and making them all run off.
These are the bully horses. As I was jumping on the fence, DA was snapping a photo.
We saw lots of deer in one area. A huge buck and about 15 others in his herd.Bonus that we choose a sunny, autumn day enjoy the fall color of the leaves.
So, the weekend wasn't a total bust - no Wales to check off, but the New Forest was a good substitute.
We laughed at this slug and beetle having a war over some droppings. The slug was huge - at least 3" long and that little beetle was not intimidated at all. No wonder all my flowers get eaten by the slugs, they're like monsters!

school run in the Fall

Here's a snapshot of my path to school. The sun was out and the trees and toadstools were looking so cute and colorful. Dont the mushrooms look just like a little figurine you'd see in a gift shop. Never come across real, red topped, spotted mushrooms before.

I know, slow day on the news front!

Westminster Abbey

Disclaimer: yesterday was not sunny. I took this photo in June.
My Tuesday outing this week was to Westminster Abbey. I cant believe I've lived here this long and haven't toured through there yet, but the cost is 12 GBP per person and it's just expensive to take the kids in when they don't even really want to go in. Well, my friend and I toured the whole thing, listened to the audio guide and just took it all in. I think it held my interest much more now that I've read so much about British history. Knowing who the monarchs are - who the Tudors are - why it's controversial that Elizabeth I and Mary are buried in the same tomb. Why it's important that Mary Queen of Scots is buried where she is, etc.

I even saw 3 different references and photos of the Bayeux tapestry which is what I toured with my parents in Normandy, France. I've seen the actual tapestry and know why it's important to Westminster Abbey and how the stories intertwine. I am just a nerd that I love making all those connections and having "a-ha" moments.

I always get a kick out of the green, green grass here in England.

The mid day of a Tuesday in the Fall is a great time to go to Westminster Abbey in case you're wondering. Light crowd and you could get up close to see anything you wanted to study.

I was so impressed with the sheer amount of memorials, cripts, etc. in the Abbey. It's like a storehouse of all the famous people of Britain. More of a indoor cemetary than church. No disrespect, but almost like stuffing your garage full of stuff - important stuff, but hardly spaced out so you can appreciate it. PACKED full of statues. An overwhelming mass of history.

I would have never imagined the state of disrepair of the coronation chair. Hard to believe that it is carved with graffiti all over it like it was stored at the back of the teen room in the church for centuries, but they still use it as the throne for every coronation, even now.

We ended the day with a quick swing through the Jewel Tower (not to be confused with Tower of London where the jewels are kept). It was small and only took about 15 min.

Lunch at Wagamama was a perfect ending and we headed out on the train.

check, check. Working on my list.

Global warming is affecting the milk carton now

What on earth??? look what I came across at the grocery store - milk in a bag. Not even a reclosable zip lock bag, but "a cut it open, here you go" bag of fresh milk in the dairy aisle.

What am I supposed to do with this? L has a hard enough time fixing his breakfast without making a milk mess on the counter with a milk carton. I can just see "here, have a squishy, bag full of milk - no mess please." Ha.

I guess what they indend is for you to pour it in your own milk jug and cover with plastic wrap? Has this hit the States yet? I didnt buy any, but if the economy keeps on the same track, I may be looking for ways to knock a few pence off the price of my milk.

Or, this is even better, maybe I should just consider it as another opportunity to go find some cute English pottery milk jug. Yeah, I think I might just buy into the milk in a bag concept!

B's favorite thing about living in England

This photo says it all...

B's absolute favorite thing about living in England is riding with her dad on his scooter.

It was really too cold to ride in shorts, but she had just finished a soccer game so she was given the choice to freeze on the ride home or go in the car. She chose the scooter and never complained one second. Amazing how resilient they can be when it's their choice.

Fun in London

My goal since school started (6 weeks ago) has been to get into the city every Tuesday for a London experience. The welcome coffees, hello mixers, meet a new friend teas, etc (just kidding, but seems like that) are finally complete and now I can do what I want to do. The fun started this week. 2 friends joined me for my first viewing of the changing of the guard at Buckingham. We had planned to go tour Clarence House, but it's just our luck that the last day the palace was open was the day BEFORE. Clarence is closed until next fall. Missed that opportunity. The changing of the guard, I'm sorry to say, was a little bit of a let down. I've seen all the marching guards I can take over the last year and a half and I think the Trooping of the Color just trooped me right over the bear skin hat edge! We had a spot at the fence at Buckingham, but you still cant really tell what's going on when they change the guard. I took a few photos anyway and had more fun sharing laughs with my friends. We walked to Texas Embassy for lunch - which my Seattle friend thinks is amazing. If she only knew! I told her it might taste just like Mexican food in Seattle, but I think it is mediocre at best. Although the ACU flag hanging on the ceiling makes the T.E. hold a special place in my heart. It was the first time I've heard country music in a while. Garth still sounds the same.
We added a little more culture to our day by touring the "Banqueting House" which was not for banquets at all, but it is the last remaining building that was part of Whitehall Palace from centuries ago. If you read about British history, Whitehall is mentioned over and over. I could never really figure out where it was, but now I know, it burned down and the Banqueting house is all that is left. Pretty place and fortunately, can see it all in about 30 min.

We made another trip to London today for a quick shop at Borough market.

Bought some great, gigantic artichokes and some figs. First time I've ever bought figs, but I like them. Do they sell figs in Dallas? Saw them filming the cooking show "Market Kitchen" too.

Took a leisurely stroll down the South bank from Southwark (pronounced "sutherk") to Waterloo. Very chilly along the water - coat, scarf and gloves were worn by my friends, but the sun was shining, so we were soaking up every minute of it. I cant believe we were on the beach just last Sunday. As of today, I think the autumn arrived with a date named winter! I heard a man today say it was "fresh" outside. Never heard that term before, but I guess it means "cold".

came across this man fishing in the Thames River. he was fishing for eels. That is St. Paul's in the background.

Golf.

Well my goal of hitting over 150 yards needs to be revamped. Hitting on the GRASS is much different than hitting off the turf on the practice tee. Now I know why dad prefers grass so much. Anyway, I had some really awful shots and some really nice ones. The perfect, laugh outloud moment was when I hit my pitching wedge beautifully 3 times from one side of the green to the other ...and back again... and back again. I was so frustrated. Told my instructor a lesson on the short game needs to happen next week. What a hoot. Only lost 1 ball, but that was only playing 4 holes. The woes of a beginner golfer.