The Good Life

Here is a clip from The Good Life...

The Good Life - Beginning of Season One Episode 6

Ready for the weekend!

As much as I love January for new beginnings - and this January was full of excellent starts - I am ready for February. I am ready for some rest and I know this month I will be able to see the fruits of my labor from last month.

As you know, Richard made the career decision to become a full-time photographer. This is the best thing from January. I believe him to be so talented and this is something he truly loves to do. Setting up a business hardly feels like work.

It is kinda funny because we just found this old British television show from the 70's called The Good Life. It is all about a guy who quits his corporate gig and decides to live off the land with his wife - in Surbiton! And when I say live off the land - it is his front and back yards. To be honest - it's not really that funny (just like most sitcoms form the 70's)- but somehow relatable in that Richard is in a similar spot of throwing corporate structure away and following his dream. I will try to find a few clips for you.

Anyway - we are off this morning to Southbank in London. I will post some photos from our excursion. Hope everyone has a great day!

What a crazy week!

Been busy, busy, busy! I've been so busy at work, I've been getting home after 7 or 8 every night and then wolfing down dinner with some quick family time before going to bed and starting all over again. The good news is that I love being so productive at work. Bad news is that it leaves little time for blogging. Ah well.

Anyway, Richard, Amber and Alexa have vowed to take on more of the housework and stuff at home and I only have to cook when I want to cook - which is so awesome of them.

Richard is beginning his career as a Photographer and I have to say I think it is absolutely wonderful! His pictures are so amazing - check them out on his blogs:

Richard Allen McIntyre Photography

A Texan's View of the World

And you cn become a fan on Facebook too: Richard Allen McIntyre Photography

2010 is definitely looking up for the McIntyre's as we take advantage of our adventure in England!

I think this may be our mouse...

No we have not killed it yet. We have also not seen it for several days - so who knows? Anyway, this little video made me think of our mouse.

http://jezebel.com/5453660/of-mice-and-men?autoplay=true

January Adventures in Greater London

Sunday was a beautiful, cold day in London. We did not sleep in (see previous blog), but we did have a good breakfast and set out on adventure.

We took the train to Waterloo Station and then the tube to Canary Wharf. It is probably the most modern part of the city and absolutely beautiful! We walked in the park, checked out the underground mall and took lots of pictures.

After a quick bite, we headed out to Greenwich. This is a really beautiful place and we saw no less than four Mexican Restaurants while we were there. We also found the elusive Fan Museum on our way to the Royal Observatory.

The Royal Observatory was very cool, although it was not the real purpose of our journey. At the Royal Observatory is the Greenwich Meridian Line. Each of had a chance to be in two places at once with one foot in the Eastern Hemisphere and one in the Western Hemisphere.

Here's a few snaps:
The Queen's House - Queen Amber and Queen Alexa waiving to their subjects

Royal Observatory

View from The Queen's House

Greenwich Park

The Greenwich Meridian Line - Amber is in the Western Hemisphere, I am in the Eastern Hemisphere and Alexa is in both.

Also, the view of the city from the observatory is amazing!

This is a great trip for anyone who wants to see some cool history and visit some pretty good museums cheap. The parks at Canary Wharf are free. The parks, the Royal Observatory, The National Maritime Museum and The Queen's House in Greenwich are all free, as is the visit to the Greenwich Meridian Line. We had an amazing time!

Alexa's favorite part was riding all the trains. Amber's was seeing new places in the London area. Richard got some great pictures (check out his blog.) I had fun just being with everyone - but I think seeing the Greenwich Meridian Line was my favorite part.

Mouse in the House - again

Our furry little friend has returned. We woke up this morning to a child screaming, "Mommy!" I ran into her room and she swore the mouse was back. We sat very still and listened. Suddenly we heard a scurry and something being dragged and then a sound like a rolling marble - all coming from her closet. Very strange - but could only be the mouse.

Richard investigated and found a sucker on the floor in the closet with gnaw marks all over it. He found a few mouse droppings as well - but the mouse was gone.

After our outing today, Amber investigated her own room and found mouse droppings all over the floor of her room and a few old plastic bags full of holes. The bags were from her old lunches and had contained some bread crumbs. Apparently the girls are giving the mouse plenty of incentive to return.

What irritates me the most ios that the darn thing does not seem to mind the numbing electromagnetic signal in the walls or the screeching sound that eminates from our No-kill solution. Obviously not a solution. Time to bring out the big guns I guess. Yuck!

Rainy Day Saturday

It was a rainy day in London Saturday. We finished putting away our Christmas decorations :(. Now the house is back in order and we have a little more space.

This week has been a bit hectic - but really good. The girls made it back to school. Amber got another snow day on Wednesday. It was really cool to wake up to a blanket of new snow. It is all melted now and the temperature has risen to around 40 degrees F. We WALKED to Kingston market and purchased our weekly supply of fresh vegetables and fruit. Then we spent some time brainstorming all of the places we want to visit in the UK in 2010. Hopefully we can get to a lot of them via the trains.

Here are a few destinations we already have on the radar:
The White Cliffs of Dover
Canterbury
Portsmouth
Brighton - again
Needles Park
The Lake District
Highgate

Back in the UK

We made it back home on Wednesday morning and were welcomed with a good deal of snow. We were lucky to get a car to pick us up from the airport and drive us home. The schools were closed already - many not to re-open for the week. When we got home, I immediately turned up the heat - but the radiators would not get warm. We called a heating specialist and sent e-mails - but had no luck in reaching anyone. I finally figured out how to reset the boiler on my own and the temperature slowly began to rise from the icy 49 degrees (Fahrenheit) it sat at all day. We were bundled up in layer upon layer of sweaters and blankets.
Here are a few pictures from my ride into work on the train Thursday morning around sunrise.


Alexa had school on Friday - so Amber took her to and from school on the icy sidewalks. Alexa slipped once on the way home and bruised her hip pretty good - but it has not slowed her down a bit. The girls built a tiny snowman in the front yard - but I was unable to get a picture of it before it toppled over. Here is Alexa navigating the sidewalk close to our house.

We slept in until noon today - we could not quite believe it, but we awoke to more snow and wind. We went to the grocery store to do our regular shopping and it took us 20 minutes to navigate the icy walkways to get there. The place was packed and reminded us of hurricane shopping in Texas. It was snowing even harder when we left laden with our several bags of groceries. To avoid any major falls on the way home, we took a taxi home.
Here are the girls trying to catch snowflakes on thier tongues. It is really snowing even though you can't see it in the picture.

Most of the sidewalks look like this - covered in iced-over footprints.

Now we are cozied in for the night and looking forward to Richard's arrival tomorrow morning. We are hopeful that his plane will make it here safely and he will be able to get home from the airport easily.

Bob and Florence

This is for Aunt Donna and anyone else who may be interested. This book contains the poetry my grandfather wrote while he was in the Army. Some of it is whimsical, some is serious stuff from WWII, but most is about his love for my grandmother.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Ode to my Mother

Mom is having surgery today so I am thinking about her. I hope it all goes well and she can come visit us in England as soon as it warms up here.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Happy New Year

I am so happy 2010 is here!

2009 was an amazing year full of huge changes and challenges. Things I have loved in 2009:
Learning to live in a new country and experiencing a new culture
Expanding my professional network and skill set
My family joining me in London and our new adventures by the River Thames
Visiting my family in Houston at Easter and Christmas
Staying in touch with old friends and making new friends

Now time for some settling in and focus in 2010. Things I want to do in 2010:
Spend time traveling with Richard, Amber and Alexa
Have family and friends visit us in London
Take up running again
Spend more time in London parks at lunchtime
Learn to cook Chicken Tikka Masala
Blog more often

I hope you all get to do what you want in 2010. Happy New Year!