Too busy to remember...

I was on the tube the other morning and saw a man who reminded me of my father. At first I felt a warm feeling thinking of him. Then I realized that I had completely missed Labor Day this year. A huge sadness came over me. How could I forget?

I know, I know, I have a pretty major life change going on with the move and being away from my family and everything - but I cannot believe I got so caught up in it that I could forget the 20th anniversary of my own father's death. I felt guilty.

I guess the good part of this is that I do feel that he is still part of my life and that I focus more on the good memories instead of the sad ones. Still, I cannot help but feel sad. Is that weird to feel sad for not feeling sad?

Anyway, Dad, I love you and miss you - really!

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!

Aberdeen

I spent half of the week in somewhat sunny Aberdeen this week. It was actually really nice in Aberdeen as the days I was there were somewhat sunny and warm. I love the sun in Aberdeen because it makes all of the buildings sparkle a little (they are all made of granite.) What seemed weird though is that it gets dark really late at night. Even though the sun goes down, it doesn't get really dark until like 1:30 AM or 2:00 AM in the morning. And then it is light again around 3:45 AM.

Another quirky thing I found was a bakery open all night. I am sure there are places like this in New York and even Houston, but in Europe I have found very little stays open all night and I have never seen a bakery open past mid-afternoon. After arriving in Aberdeen at 9:30 PM, checking into my hotel and calling the family, I asked the front desk if there was anywhere open where I could get some dinner (since I hadn't eaten since lunch.) They told me about the bakery across the street and said it was open all night for the cabbies. Sure enough it was and I had a bacon roll - mmmm.

I also had a "buttery". I think that it how it is spelled. Say it with a Scottish accent and you will see what it sounds like anyway. It is a sweet, buttery, salty pastry. It is sorta like croissant texture, only round and more condensed. You can only find it in Aberdeen. No-one in Aberdeen will give me the recipe - but here is what I found on Google written with a Scottish accent:

Butteries are named after their high lard content. They are also known as morning rolls and rowies and are a traditional Aberdeen roll. The best way to describe their look and taste is a saltier, flatter and greasier Croissant. Which doesnae sound nice, but rowies are really delicious and filling for breakfast. Aberdeen butteries can be eaten cold and many shops, garages etc sell them pre buttered for anyone snatching an on the go breakfast.

Ingredients For Aberdeen Butteries:

250g butter
125g lard
1 tablespoon soft brown sugar
500g flour
2 teaspoons of dried yeast
450ml warm water
Pinch of salt

Baking Directions For Aberdeen Butteries:

1. Make a paste from the yeast, sugar and a wee bit of the warm water and set aside.
2. Mix the flour and the salt together. Once the yeast has bubbled up add this and mix well to a dough and leave to rise.
3. Cream the butter and lard and divide into three portions.
4. Once the dough has doubled in size give it a good knead then roll into a rectangle about 1cm thick.
5. Then spread one portion of the butter mixture over two thirds of the dough.
6. Fold the remaining third of the dough over onto the butter mixture and fold the other bit over - giving three layers. Roll this back to the original size.
7. Allow to cool for 40 minutes.
8. Repeat stages 5-7 twice more.
9. Cut the dough into 16 pieces and shape each to a rough circle and place on baking trays.
10. Set aside to rise for about 45 minutes then bake at 200c for 15 minutes.

There - now you can enjoy too of you are that ambitious.

Happy Father's Day!

I hope everyone has taken some time out to honor all of the wonderful fathers out there, both living and in heaven.

We have had a nice lazy Sunday with a big pancake and eggs breakfast. Then we sat around and reminisced, remembering Grandpa Tony and Papa and relishing the time we now have with Richard. We had a picnic in the park and played some volleyball and soccer. Now relaxing in the back garden (yard). Richard has requested Chicken Korma for dinner - yum! And then we will have family movie night.

The weather in England now is absolutely beautiful and the English roses are all in bloom. Days are about 75 degrees and nights get down in the low 60's. Lots of sunshine and fluffy clouds. It gets light somewhere around 4 AM and stays light until around 10 PM. It is hard to determine what time of day it is anymore and we have to use our blackout blinds to not be woken up too early in the morning.

I have been absolutely full tilt with work since before I was in Houston last month. I am hoping it will even out soon - at least by the time we get back to Houston for summer vacation. Instead of coming home at Christmas, we are going to visit in the summer when we can spend more time there. The girls are going to stay a full 5 weeks!

Amber and Alexa have five weeks of school left for the year. Amber has been taking the standardised testing over the last few weeks and things are starting to wind down. Amber tried out for the school talent show and made it. She is going to be singing "2 AM" with acoustic guitar back-up. Alexa is trying out for her school talent show this week with two other girls. They are doing a dance to "Parachute." Yeah - I am completely out of the loop because I had no idea what that song was. It is pretty good though.

Anyway, I will try to stay in touch a little better going forward. Happy Father's Day Dads!

Happy Anniversary Richard

Good Morning Richard,

I am so excited that today we celebrate 19 years of blessed marriage to one another! I remember that day at the altar and how even then I was relying on you with all my body and soul as I fainted at your feet. I knew as I stood on that altar that as long as I could hold onto you and look into your eyes, that everything would be alright – I would be OK – we would be OK. I feel that same way now, all these years later. You are my everything and life is always better when you are with me.

Thank you, Richard, for the last 19 years we have shared together. We have helped each other through the tough times and celebrated together all of the good times, including welcoming our beautiful daughters into our lives. I am so thankful for the love and family that we have had and will have. I am looking forward to the next 19 years with you – the love of my life!

Happy Anniversary! I love you – always!

Love,
Mary

Stairs

I came home from work today and as always, we shared the interesting parts of our day. My turn came and I said, "Guess what I did today? I fell down the stairs at work." Amber asked, "Again?"

I know, it really is crazy how often I fall down the stairs. At least it is different every time. Today, the heel of my shoe snagged in the bow on the toe of my other shoe and down I went. What are the odds? It really is almost comical now.

A few years ago, Richard and the girls dressed up and took me the the Glass Menagerie for a fancy dinner. As we walked down the main staircase to the dining room, I was reminding the girls that they need to use their manners in such a nice place. "No farting, no burping..." Yep, it was at that point that I fell down the stairs in my cocktail dress - right in front of the entire dining room. Classic.