Spring!

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!" ~Robin Williams

I thought I would share how spring looks around here these days [see Portishead in Bloom slide in left margin]! For some of you, I know that it won't arrive for quite some time! The girls and I took a walk through a few new neighborhoods [new to us and new to Portishead] to see how spring is getting along. We moved our clocks ahead this weekend for Daylight Savings time, so I am back to the previous time gap: -5 hours from Eastern, -6 hours from Mid-West, -7 from Mountain.

I met a fellow North American Expat yesterday for a pint. My letting [rental] agent shared our contact information. His name is Douglas and he is here from Montreal doing his post-doctorate work for three years. He goes back in two weeks to orally defend his dissertation. We both miss our friends the most, can't believe how long you have to wait for your Internet to be connected AND how much we depend on it. He has also been introduced to bell ringing practice [it really is unbelievable, especially now that it is getting warm and I have the windows open!]. It was nice to sit and visit for a while with someone from "home" ... close enough, anyway.

On Monday night of this last week I met some fellow Katie's [as in graduates of the College of St. Catherine's in St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN] who were in town visiting a seconded Katie working for Rolls Royce. Steph Klenk and Sara Aldrich were here visiting Jessie [sorry! I didn't get her last name!]. Two social engagements in less than six days! I need to spread these out a little more!

Last week, whilst I was driving in Dartmoor, I was listening to BBC Radio 2 and the DJ's were interviewing the wife of the late Thoedor Seuss Geisel [pronounced, guy'-sel], aka Dr. Seuss! The movie, "Horton Hears a Who" [Pub. 1954] has recently opened in the UK, so Dr. Seuss is all the buzz. Horton was featured in two of Dr. Seuss's books, the aforementioned, and also "Horton Hatches The Egg" [Pub. 1940]. [It's amazing what you can find on the Internet!]. Being a huge, life-long fan [I have a LOT of the books, dating back to my kid-years, but also quite a lot from my adult years], I was very excited to find the flower pictured left at my local garden center. Looks just like the clover that the Who's live on, don't you think?

That's about it for me. I planted a few more flowers in pots. I'm going to ask my landlady if she cares that I tend to the garden in the back. It is due for some re-claiming from the weeds! I'll have to have my neighbor come over and tell me what's a weed and what worth saving!

BFN [by for now]!

Easter Holday at Dartmoor

For the long Easter weekend, the girls and I left for a two day, three night stay at a B&B in Dartmoor National Park http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/

Dartmoor was designated a National Park by statute in 1951. It is 368 square miles (954 sq km) in area, has about 33,400 people living in it, and millions of people visit it each year. It reminded me of being in the Boundary Waters in Minnesota, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boundary_Waters_Canoe_Area_Wilderness
It would be best if you had a topographical map and a compass, maybe even a GPS. I had my runner's GPS, which died 30 minutes into our first walk. Needless to say, we were not very reckless, and by that I mean, on our first day out, we stuck to the roads. After all, there are signs that tell you which direction is the next town.

Only problem is that many of them are single track. Which means one car, one way; or if you're on foot, one car and you need to get OUT OF the way on foot! We were chased off of one road by 3 tracters. They are bigger!

We saw all weather, rain, snow, sleet, sun and wind.

We saw wild ponies. You know it's going to be a blustery day when the ponies are in the valley tucked away from the wind!

Plenty of sheep [there was a stand-off on a single track road!]


We saw stone circles [think Stonehenge with overgrowth].

We saw remains of huts from the Bronze age, which were hollwed out stone circles that would have had twigs and branches for a roof over the stone walls.

We stayed in a B&B that allowed dogs, but not kids. Nice place. Great hosts. Still not that much fun to be single in a B&B. Lots of times you aren't allowed to cross-polinate or socialise, like dinner!

It's a a great venue. I'll go back with maps and somebody to talk to. At least I can have a bigger room!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Firstly, I have to share that Wales won the Six Nations Rugby Tourney on Saturday, but not only that [and more importantly] they hit the Grand Slam by beating France! It was an outstanding game! I can seriously get into this sport!

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/16/sports/rugby.php

Most importantly, today is St. Patrick's Day, my personal favorite! I learned a few facts:

#1 St. Patrick was born in Wales, the son of a Christian Deacon. When he was sixteen he was captured and taken as a slave to Ireland. For six years, Patrick wandered the hillsides as a shepard, alone with his flock of sheep. It was during these lonely days that Patrick embraced religion wholeheartedly, and when he eventually escaped the island he began to dedicate his life to his faith, spending years studying within the Church.
See the Video
History holds that Patrick heard the voice of God, commanding him to return to Ireland and spread Christianity. Many stories claim that St. Patrick performed incredible feats, such as banishing all snakes from Ireland. While these stories may not be true, the priest's influence has affected the island to this day, where now the majority of the population are Christian followers.

#2 Not such a big deal in England where I had to tell to proprietor of one pub that is WAS St. Patrick's Day. Most of today's festivities, honestly, were overshadowed by Wales victory in Six Nations.

#3 Next year, I'm going to the Emerald Isle. The motherland. Where celebrations would be propper! Imagine if they also won Six Nations at the same time!

Six Nations Rugby

Today is the final weekend of play for Six Nations rugby. The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides:

England

France

Ireland

Italy

Scotland

Wales.

The winner of the RBS 6 Nations is sometimes seen as being the European Champions. France are the current champions, having won the competition in 2007.

The Six Nations Championship is the premier international rugby union tournament in the Northern Hemisphere. There is also a Women's Six Nations Championship which historically featured Spain instead of Italy, but since 2007 has included Italy at Spain's expense.

This year, no Grand Slam was been won, but Wales won the Triple Crown. A Grand Slam occurs when one team manages to beat all the others during one year's competition or when a touring side from one of the Southern Hemisphere nations plays and defeats all four Home Nations sides in a single tour. The last team to have won the Grand Slam was Wales, in 2005

The Triple Crown is contested annually by England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. If any one team manages to win all their games against the other three then they win the Triple Crown.

Today, Italy will play Scotland, trying to avoid the 'wooden spoon' given to the team which has come last in a competition. They have lost every game. England will play Ireland. And Wales will be playing France to win. The 2008 Six Nations Championship began on 2 February 2008.

http://www.rbs6nations.com/en/home.php

I will be watching Wales agains France this afternoon, and as my neighbor pointed out, she doesn't really understand the game, but she enjoys the guys wearing shorts! Check out the link above. I think I could like this game!

Walking the Coast

Hiya. The girls and I have been out walking, and walking, and walking. This morning we did seven miles. We started by going to top of the hill, then down the road a piece, then down the hill to the coast, back to the lake [a park along side the coast] and then home. Seven miles!

This weekend was daylight savings time in the U.S., but we don't switch in the U.K. until the end of the month. So for the rest of March, I am one-hour closer to your time zone:
Eastern -4 hours
Mid-West -5 hours

Mountain -6 hours

West Coast -7 hours

Last week, Sunday, was Mothering Sunday here in the U.K. It is the equivalent of Mother's Day in the U.S. It has been celebrated in the U.K. on the fourth Sunday in Lent since at least the 16th century. It is the day for giving thanks for all the things our mothers do for us. Mothering Sunday was also known as 'Refreshment Sunday' or 'Mid-Lent Sunday'; fasting rules for Lent are relaxed. On this day about four hundred years ago, people who lived in villages made a point of going to the nearest big church, or Mother Church. People who visited would say they had gone "a mothering". Young English girls and boys 'in service' were only allowed one day to visit their family each year, usually Mothering Sunday. Gifts of flowers were traditional, as the young girls and boys would have to walk home to their village, and could gather them on their way through the meadows. Happy Mothering Day!

Happy Birthday, Brian!

On Tuesday, it was my nephew's, Brian, birthday. He turned 11. He has always been big into puzzles and games. Sad thing is I haven't been able to beat him since he was nine. This fact is usually followed by a taunting statement, "Aren't you ashamed that you've been beaten by a 9/10/11 year-old, Aunt Teri?" We share a love of the St. Louis Cardinals [what Looney doesn't] and we are definitely NOT happy about the Cardinals trading our favorite player, David Eckstein. Happy Birthday, Brian. Good to talk to you the other night. Stay warm in the snow!

Vegas Baby, yeah!

Alright, here is the skinny on my trip to Vegas ... it took me 49 hours to get there. I saw some friends. Dad had a good birthday. I lost a little money. 'Nough said [what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas]. Yeah, right! I forgot my camera! All should be happy. This will be a narrative account to summarize our Vegas adventure. I'll pull some old photos so you know who I am talking about.
It really did take me 49 hours to get there. I'm counting from when I left London. I did get to sleep at my folks house for about 5 hours. That does help. Five hours horizontal has to be worth 10 hours vertical [keep it clean; this is a G-rated blog!].

So Friday. A lot of sleep and little coffee and a pedicure later, we were ready to go. The pedis we got [Mom and I] was a first for Mom. It was a great way to melt away the travel stress from the day before. I had to go right out and buy Vegas flip-flops. Zebra striped with sparkles. My nieces would love them. Later that afternoon, I had the opportunity to catch up with some Semeter at Sea friends, Debbie [see picture], Marvel, Jill and Lee. It was great to see them all. Last January, I sailed in the Bahamas with Debbie, Marvel and Jill. It's great that we can find time to catch up. It was the first time I had seen Lee since we walked off of the ship in May of 1995. Everyone looks awesome, of course, and before I knew it, it was time for Bette Midler on stage. My folks and I were about 6 rows from the stage. I have one word for you: Go! http://bette.aeglive.com/
Oh wait! I forgot that we had dinner at Spago in Ceasars Form [shops], a Wolfgang Puck restaurant. About the time for coffee, THE Chef [do I call him Mr. Wolfgang or Chef Puck-?] came out to greet the tables! We were there to celebrate my Dad's birthday. It was a great meal and a nice way to get ready for the concert. http://lasvegas.citysearch.com/profile/7023123/las_vegas_nv/spago_at_caesars_palace.html
Of course, we went back for dessert after the concert. I was very lucky to have my friend Kristin join, who has recently moved to Las Vegas from Chicago. Kristin could be Trisha Yearwood's sister. I'll have to insert photos so that you can decide! The desserts were great [all highly recommended], and I also recommend Margaritaville, across from Ceasar's. Kristin and I headed over there after dessert to catch up. Great band playing! Did you know that bars close on the Vegas strip?

Saturday's good weather meant it was time for a walk-about. We went from Ceasar's to New York, New York [okay, further than I thought] to the Venetian, then tried to see the show at TI [Treasure Island], and back to the hotel. Everyone was ready to pack their feet in ice by the time we got back! Quite the walk-about. We had a nice dinner at Joe's Crabs [not Joe's Crab Shack]. A great Chicago staple.

Sunday was an "iffy" weather day, which meant a good day for going to the outlet mall. Just a few bargains found as my suitcase was already full [when did I become a high-maintenance traveler?]. Then back to my room for Oscar night. Thanks to Kristin for providing all of the snacks. A few pizzas and we were good to go on the awards. What a treat to watch them on the West Coast time zone, finishing at 9 pm when it's still an early night, versus Midnight from the Eastern time zone.
On Monday, there were a few slot machines that took my money [but I did earn enough credits to get a Ceasars Las Vegas sweatshirt!] and then it was time to start the journey back to St. Louis, and then the U.K. Getting to St. Louis was uneventful. My flight to U.K. was delayed due to snow. My only anxiety was getting here before the dogs, which you can already assume that I did!

Puppy Update

Alright, the girls are here! What you cannot probably see in the photo in the margin is that Misty has a bloody ear and Allie is covered in mud. We went for a walk in the neighboring fields which have resident cows. On our way in, Misty came nose-to-nose with one. Seemed okay, though I did notice that these cows have horns about 5-6" long. We continued through fields and found an English wood to wander in. Misty and Allie ran like freed inmates. There was no stopping them!

Their trip over the pond was relatively uneventful. Their flight landed 30 minutes early on Thursday, so I started my journey from downtown London to pick them up about the time they landed. I took the tube to the train station, then made a half-mile walk to where I left my car, then started off for the airport. My journey took four hours and technically, I was in London the whole time!

When I picked them up, it took a few minutes for them to realize it was me, but as soon as they did, they were howling and running circles in their carriers. As soon as I was finished signing paperwork, the dock workers disappeared. I was left to disassemble the carriers, load the car and the dogs, and head out on my own. Misty got the queen's spot [of course]. I unlatched the carriers, stacked all four tops/bottoms, and lined the bottom with both beds from the carriers. Allie sat in the front seat with me.

Our trip back to Portishead was 3 hours long. They did great. We arrived and I walked them around the house and yard. And then the fell asleep. We all slept 10 hours on Thursday. Misty and Allie continued to sleep off their jet lag throughout Friday.

As I said above we did a big walk this morning. On the way out, Misty discovered that the cows will run if taunted. Luckily, there was no incident with the horns!

That's it for now. I'll post a Vegas update later. Take care!