Time for a Break

Rest in peace, dearest mother. I'll forever miss you.


On hiatus.

The Muntjac

I finally made it to one of the village pubs tonight (two more to go!). I had a bit of work to do, and thought it would be nice to sit in the pub, have dinner and a drink, and get through some of the paperwork that's been calling me.

The pub I had been wanting to try was the Muntjac, which serves Indian food (on the right in this photo, with the blue sign).














I was expecting to walk in the front door and find a nice welcoming, comfortable pub with the fireplace stoked up. There was a fire going - that was about it. No comfortable chairs, no food served in the pub (you had to go into the restaurant). A few folks were in drinking a pint, but it appeared they weren't used to having someone new walk through the door. Despite the "chill" in the air, I popped back to the restaurant for dinner and am glad I did. I had chicken muktaj with onion rice and a garlic nan. The muktaj and rice were outstanding; the nan was good. Also found out they have a take-away and delivery service - good to know.

On the dessert menu, you'll find "floater coffee", which was a mystery to me. Found out it's coffee with a layer of cream floating on top. Not for me - I drink it black!
















The restaurant also has a very unique feature - there is a well in the middle of the floor. The story is that all of the neighbouring villages used to come to this well to get their water. The pub was literally built around it. They've since filled it in partway, but there is still some water in it and the level rises and falls from time to time. There were also a few pieces of pine and some Christmas decorations in there. Must have been one wild party last year!






























By the way, if you're wondering what a Muntjac is, it's a small type of deer. I've seen one or two since I've been here - they're very odd looking.

The Fair

One of the things I did when I was back home visiting was to go to the Wayne County Fair. I hadn't done that for more years than I can remember - yet it seemed nothing had changed. I suppose that's the joy of the county fair. You can give any reason you want for going to the fair - but really, doesn't it all come down to Fair Food?

Lemon Shake-Ups



















Italian Sausages















And french fries with salt and vinegar.



















We also checked out the art barns, which showcased art pieces from local residents and schools. One young man, (Being carEful not to meNtion who), got himself in a bit of a pickle when he proclaimed that this piece of art "looks like grandma!"




















My personal favourite? It was this blue ribbon winner hand-crafted by my favourite niece!





















I'll leave you all with a few British phrases:

"over the road" is used instead of "across the road"

"over the page" replaces "turn the page"

Back to the Daily Grind

Holiday was fantastic! It was great to see everyone. We celebrated a couple of birthdays, visited friends and family, had a few nice outings, and did some "landlord duties" (many thanks to my Uncle Barry for ALL of his help!!).

I thought I'd give you a little background about my recent move. When I decided to move house, I had a few requirements I was looking for.

First - There had to be internet access with a decent connection speed. At the old place, my connection speed was a whopping 0.6mb. Requirement met! My internet connection is running a fantastic 6.5mb. I can once again stock up on iTunes without having to start a download and leave the computer for the next hour or two.

Second - I wanted to be in a nice little village, about a block off the High Street. I needed to be within walking distance of a post office, a little store, and a pub. Check, Check, Check. I am one block off the High Street and am within a 5 minute walk of all of the above, 3 pubs, and a local butcher. I have already been to the store several times, I've gone to the post office, and I've been to the butcher. Maybe I'll hit one of the pubs next weekend.

Third - I wanted a newer home. Those old homes and barn conversions have plenty of character, but they also have plenty of spiders, the occasional bat and mice. Again, requirement met. I'm in a 4 year-old house that was the former model home for the area.

Fourth - I wanted a decent size shower. Most showers here are just barely big enough for you to stand in. Check - very nice size shower, and a Jacuzzi tub.

Fifth - Mixer taps were a must - I had to put up with separate faucets for hot and cold in my temporary housing. I swore I'd never do it again.

This is a mixer tap - you get hot and cold out of one faucet.













This is one of the sinks in my new house -















Yes. I've thrown out requirement number 5. There are 6 sinks in the house, the only one with a mixer tap is in the kitchen. However, it's been a small price to pay considering my first four requirements were met beyond expectation.

Just a note, I use UK English as my spell-checker; it doesn't like the word "faucet" but offers no alternatives. They might just be called taps here.

It's Time for Holiday

A week off! I'm heading home to see my family and friends, and to celebrate a very special birthday (or two)!

See you all soon!

Harrold

The move is complete - except for a bit more unpacking and getting the satellite tv sorted. It took many hours on the phone, and a visit from BT, to get the internet up and working, but I'm finally back on-line.

So far, I'm really enjoying the new place and the new village (Harrold). I like being able to walk to the market and to a pub (although I haven't been to one yet!), and everyone is very friendly. In fact, I've already had 4 of my neighbours come say hello and introduce themselves.

Here are a few pictures from a walk around town.

Harrold

It's Time to Move

Moving weekend is finally here. The removals company will be here in the morning to pack, and then will move everything to the new house on Saturday morning.

My internet access gets disconnected tomorrow and won't be turned on again until Tuesday or Wednesday. How will I cope? Maybe I can tap into some wi-fi on the iTouch.

See you next week with photos of Harrold.

Another 'age Word

We've already had "haulage" and "scrappage". Here's another one to add to the list.
















I'm getting ready for some "movage". The removals company will be here on Friday to pack, and then again on Saturday to move everything to the new house. Yeah! I just need to get through the next three weeks (busy time at work and moving house), and then I'll get a little R&R back home with my family. Can't wait to see you all!

Farm Girl

Blogging seems to have taken second fiddle to my new occupation - farming. I'm blaming it on some friends back in Columbus who somehow, against all odds, convinced me to join the Facebook world. I'll be the first to say I was hesitant to sign up, but I'm finding I actually enjoy it. I've got to catch up with friends and family. I even found my "bf" from 1st grade - how amazing is that? After all these years, we were still looking each other up - and finally connected.

Back to farming... I was on Facebook one night and found Farm Town; it didn't take long to get addicted. Most nights now consist of a few minutes set aside to harvest, plow, and plant crops. I've earned enough money to buy a house, a cabin, a barn, some animals, and a river, among other things. My sister's got a farm as well - occasionally we pop on over and visit each other, keeping one another company whilst planting a new crop of peppers or cabbage.













Go ahead and give it a try, and if you need a new Farm Town neighbour, drop me a line.


I've come across a few new British words. They don't have hot flashes in the UK, they have hot flushes. And they're not "boy toy's" on this side of the Atlantic, they're "toy boy's".

You might remember a short time back I had a little rant about men's fashion in the UK, including the fact that belts aren't always worn. Not today. Saw a man with a belt on. Funny thing is, he was also wearing braces (suspenders). Belts and Braces - because you can't be too sure.

Random Shots

Random photos from today (click on photos for larger view).

Who says marketing doesn't work? Stores now sell their burnt loaves of bread by calling them "well-fired", and apparently there is a market for it. I'll pass.















Send me to bed early if you have to, but there is no way I'm touching these!















I'm not even going to touch this one.......















Enough said.

Scrappage

Well, I hear the "Cash for Clunkers" program is a resounding success in the US. The UK beat you to the punch though, and we've got a way cooler name for our programme - it's the "Scrappage Scheme". Scrappage. That's just one of those words that's fun to say. That and "haulage". We've got all kinds of "haulage" companies toting their goods up and down the motorways. That could lead me to wander off-topic and start talking about lorries and traffic, but I'll resist the urge. Back to the Scrappage Scheme; it too is considered to be a success. That's good news for everyone, as it will hopefully give a much needed boost to the auto industry.














Photo from The Telegraph

Big news - I'm moving house! Although I'll be leaving my beautiful house and little village behind, I'm excited. It will definitely be different. Population of current village - about 500. Population of new village - about 1,300 (whew - that's almost 3 times as large!). I'm moving out of a big stone barn that's well over 200 years old to a 4 year old model home. I'll be within a 2-5 minute walk of shops, a post office, and several pubs instead of driving 10-20 minutes to run errands. And what am I really excited about? The house has closets in every bedroom AND a coat closet in the entryway. This is totally unheard of in the UK.

If all goes well, I'll be in and settled before mid-September. Wish me luck.

Medium

From Webster's dictionary: medium (noun) - 1 a: something in a middle position; b: a middle condition or degree. medium (adjective) - intermediate in quantity, quality, size, or degree.



I did about 7 hours worth of driving yesterday, heading up to the Northeast and back for work. On the way home, I stopped at a services area for a cup of coffee. I was totally knackered from working 15 hours the day before and was close to pushing 12 for the day as I started my drive home. I needed a little caffeine to keep me going. Anyway, I went to the counter at Costa Coffee and ordered a small black Americano, which is nothing more than hot water and a couple shots of Espresso. I was politely told they didn't have a small coffee, my only choices were "medium" or "large". See the above definition if you can't immediately understand that this isn't possible. You'd think I would have just said, "fine, give me a medium". But no... I had to question whether or not the "medium" drink was the "smallest" one they offered. Of course it was! So I proceeded to order, "I'll have your smallest sized coffee, a medium". Sadly, I don't think she had a clue. She then went on to ask if I wanted milk and sugar in my black coffee! As a side note, I've given up on finding a good cup of coffee in the UK. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know!

This morning I went to town centre to get my hair cut and thought I'd pop round the corner to the bakery to get a loaf of bread. I asked them to slice it for me - my options were to have it sliced "medium" or "thick". Again, two options, one of which is medium. There is no intermediate state when you have two options, so how can "medium" be a possibility?

Doesn't McDonald's also do this with their fries (medium, large, and extra large)? What kind of marketing ploy is this? And is anyone falling for it?

A Few Hits and Misses

I worked in Liverpool yesterday, and along the way I had a few photo ops. Some I captured, some I missed.

Miss number one - A lorry hauling a load for "Bargain Booze". The slogan - "Bargain Booze - Making life richer.... For the pourer."

Miss number two - On the other side of the motorway, a small car had been pulling a good sized caravan. Not quite sure what happened, but the caravan was on it's side blocking two lanes of traffic. It was still hitched to the car, which now had the back two wheels up in the air at least 5 feet. It was one of the funniest things I've seen in awhile - looked like something you'd only see in a cartoon.


On to the hits..

A few months ago, just off the M62 near Liverpool, I started noticing this huge face coming up over the trees. It's a very cool sculpture. The picture isn't that great - I was driving and it's off the motorway a bit - but it gives you an idea. I'm including a link if you'd like to see some more pictures and learn about "Dream".

















I couldn't help but think of a young man named Ben when I saw this car.
















And finally, after a 4 hour journey (yes - the motorway was closed again!), this is the sight that welcomed me home. The picture doesn't capture it all - but it was beautiful. It had just rained, there was steam coming up off the road, and the sun was setting.

Destinations Known

I can't claim credit for this idea - it was given to me by an old friend. Since the council hasn't put directions on the sign-post yet, I did it myself.