Sunday on a Bank Holiday weekend

Things I experienced today:

Slept in until 11:45 AM! Almost a record.

Ate breakfast at 1 PM - I think that is a record.

Went into London mid-day and the trains were almost empty - had my pick of seats.

Found out that Waterloo Station pipes in classical music on Sundays.

Felt like a rock star on the down escalators in the tube station. When no one is in front of you, wind blows up from the tunnels and blows your hair back from your face.

Found all of the annoying horns and whistles from the World Cup in South Africa had moved to Nottting Hill for the weekend for Carnival.

Found Harrow Cemetery and walked uneasily along the 20 foot high brick wall surrounding it that is about to topple over(a part of the wall has already fallen.) The cemetery was quite beautiful even if it is run down a bit.

(this is how they are propping the wall up) Even scarier as it is not even 21st Century Scaffolding.

Saw the Kensington Fire Brigade outside their station taking pictures with Carnival revelers.

Felt my whole body vibrate to the deep bass thump thump of the amplifiers at Carnival. It was like moving from concert to concert as you walk down the street with people stopping to dance spontaneously in the the middle of it all.

Got on the wrong train for the first time ever and ended up in Wembley. Nothing was there on a random Sunday - so I just got on another train to get me home.

One more thing - it felt like fall today - wind blowing wildly at times, a few leaves falling from the trees, a brief afternoon shower and cool but comfortable temperatures. Probably still felt like summer to Londoners, but felt like fall to a Texan.

In transition

While I promised to blog more, our lives got just a bit crazier. The girls finished school on July 23rd and the next day we all hopped on a plane to Houston for the summer. I could only stay 3 weeks, but Richard and the girls were going to stay the whole summer.

First few weeks in we spent dealing with our house as our renters had just moved out. This is definitely the part I do NOT like about being a landlord. So much work and fixing of things that were not approved. Takes up lots of time and money!


We had some great family time with both sides of the family and it was so wonderful to see everyone. Also, we ate so much wonderful food - barbecue, Mexican, burgers, etc. I think food is what we miss most - as simple as muffins from HEB, precooked microwave sausage, flavored coffee and creamer and Diet Dr Pepper.

Then week three came along and my company asked me to come back to Houston out of the blue. It is definitely a great opportunity and one that is good for my career and for the company. It just threw us for a loop at first. While we are very excited to return to Texas, we are very sad to leave England so soon. I feel like half of my heart is in Texas and half is in London. The hardest parts are leaving our friends and leaving the plans we had made for the next few years (school, travel, etc.)

Now we are in "future planning" mode while we are also in "treasure every moment" mode. I am back in Surbiton for a few days before Richard and the girls get back. I am cleaning and preparing for the move while I am also trying to take advantage of being here - exploring the city and appreciating all of the little things I will miss about this place. So you may begin to see random England photos of things as simple as a flower to big pieces of architecture to our wonderful friends. Somehow, I am going to try to capture as much as I can.

Amber says these words from a song sum it up best and I agree: "It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right. I hope you had the time of your life."

I think we have all had the time of our lives!