Back Blogging

Well it is time to play catch-up. Here are a few pictures from August when we had just arrived in England. We were staying in a temporary flat in North London not far from where we lived previously. When we left in 2008, Abby was four and Sammy was only two years old. Neither of them remembered much. The first few days, they kept asking where London was. I kept telling them that we were IN London but they didn't believe me. We finally took them down to "see London."

 changing of the guard

 It was really fun to show Abby and Sammy the sights. They loved it all. It is so different now that they are older and realize and appreciate where they are.

This is Golders Hill park near where we used to live. They have a little zoo. It was nice walking through it and remembering all the times I used to take both Abby and Sammy there.

 One day we went down to the Natural History and Science Museum. I think they liked riding the tube (subway) the most though. They thought the Natural History Museum looked like a big castle.

This is the big T-Rex at the Natural History Museum. He actually moves and makes lots of noise. Pretty cool! 

More pictures and stories of our adventures to come...

Harvest Festival

This post is from last week October 6th:

(Please see the following post to hear the girls singing the Harvest Festival songs)

Since Abby and Sammy are going to a church school, there are some different events that you would not ordinarily have if you were in a state school. This morning I went to one of them called "Harvest Festival." Harvest is where you show gratitude for all that you have. It goes back to the day when most people farmed and would gather the mature crops from the field. Each child brought non-perishable items from home and presented them in a lovely program put on in the old church (dating back to 1290AD) located across from the school in this beautiful old cemetery dotted with large headstones and covered by colorful falling leaves.

The Reverend conducted and talked about how blessed we are to have plenty of food to eat and how wonderful it is that we can share our bounty with those who are less fortunate. He gave some history about how a long time ago people would give the best part of their harvest to show their gratitude to God. The children in Year 5 baked what looked like massive amounts of bread for the occasion. It was displayed in the nave of the church. At one point in the program, each child brought up and presented their item which was then arranged around the loaves. It was quite a harvest! The children sang songs accompanied by a LIVE brass band. The songs were about the Harvest Festival and autumn and of course the acoustics in the old church were so beautiful it enhanced their singing as I gazed up at the stain glass windows with sunlight pouring in. Of course as is the norm lately, I did not really know that Harvest was today or that I was supposed to attend. So having a very rushed morning I brought Alexandra to school in her pajamas with her hair in her face and ratted up in the back from sleeping on it. I had not even changed her diaper so it sagged down to her knees. While other children her age were nicely groomed and well dressed, my child ran around in her pajamas in the back of the church as they got ever more dirty from her climbing the old steps to the fountain and running amongst the pews. Also because of my rushed morning and lack of knowledge about the event, I did not bring my camera so instead of sharing pictures, I thought I would share a few of the songs because I really appreciated the words. I hope you enjoy them as well.

Harvest Samba

Cabbages and greens

Broccoli and beans

Cauliflower and roasted potatoes

Taste so good to me!

Apricots and plums

Ripened in the sun

Oranges and yellow bananas

Good for everyone!

CHORUS: It's another Harvest Festival

When we bring our fruit and vegetables

Cause we want to share the best of all

The good things that we've been given

It's another opportunity

To be grateful for the food we eat

With a samba celebration to

Say "Thank you" to God the Father.

Cauliflowers Fluffy

Cauliflowers fluffy and cabbages green,

Strawberries sweeter than any I've seen.

Beetroot purple and onions white,

All grow steadily day and night.

CHORUS: The apples are ripe the plums are red,

Broad beans are sleeping in a blankety bed.

Blackberries juicy and rhubarb sour,

Marrows fattening hour by hour.

Gooseberries hairy and lettuces fat.

Radishes round and runner beans flat. CHORUS

Orangey carrots and turnips cream,

Reddening tomatoes that used to be green,

Brown potatoes in little heaps

Down in the darkness where the celery sleeps.

CHORUS: The apples are ripe the plums are red,

Broad beans are sleeping in a blankety bed

Shhhhhhhhh!

Autumn Days

Autumn days when the grass is jewelled

And the silk inside a chestnut shell,

Jet planes meeting in the air to be refuelled,

All these things I love so well.

CHORUS:

So I mustn't forget

No, I mustn't forget

To say thank you to God the Father

I mustn't forget.

Clouds that look like familiar faces,

And a winter's moon with frosted rings,

Smell of bacon as I fasten up my laces,

And the song the milkman sings. CHORUS

Whipped-up spray that is rainbow-scattered,

And a swallow curving in the sky,

Shoes so comfy though they're worn out and they're battered,

And the taste of apple pie.

Harvest Festival Songs at OneTrueMedia.com

Here is a video of Abby and Sammy singing the songs from the school's Harvest Festival Concert. Please excuse Abby for having no skirt on.

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Our Lovely New Life

We are finally feeling settled in enough that I have found a bit of time to update my blog for anyone who cares. I still plan on making it private but have not figure it all out yet. Anyway, we are LOVING our new life here and are so glad to be back in England. The above picture is of a car we saw in the grocery store parking lot. The girls loved the headlight-eyelashes and wanted a pair for our car - somehow I don't think Charles would be real keen on driving such a girlie car.  P.S. the following pictures are a bit out of order because I am too lazy to figure out how to rearrange them. Sorry!

This is the greenhouse in our backyard. The girls play in it and pretend it is a store. They also keep their "collection of stuff" (i.e. various items found around the yard that they deem to be beautiful or somehow important enough to keep) in there.

Our house came with a trampoline. As you can see, we don't need a fence we have hedges to do the job. They surround our entire yard and are much nicer to look at than a fence.

Alex's favorite spot to take a rest is on the ledge of the conservatory.

Abby and Sammy in their school uniforms. I believe children everywhere should wear uniforms. No more wasted time in the mornings trying to figure out what to wear and no more spending gobbs of money on clothes. The children all look the same at school and no one is judged on their clothing. I love it! The girls got accepted to a Church of England school. It has very high ratings. There are only 200 students total in the school of 4-11 year olds. Abby is in Year 3 and Sammy is in Year 1. They both feel special because they feel like they skipped a grade (Abby would have been in 2nd grade in the US and Sammy would have been in kindergarten.)

This is the view from my bedroom window. We have nothing behind us but a pasture and beautiful English countryside. I liked living in the city of London previously but I LOVE living in the country far more. I can't get over the beauty of everything every time I go out for a drive or even just look out my window. These horses graze on the grass behind our hedge all day long. We throw the apples from our trees over to them to eat as well. Abby is now determined to take horseback riding lessons. I think that is a good possibility.  

This is another shot of the backyard. Gorgeous! This is the little patio as you come out of the conservatory. Our BBQ is on the right.

Beyond this gate where Charles is mowing the lawn is a little garden plot and compost area - it is all part of our yard. Don't get me started about composting. I am a believer and may even do a separate post all together on it.

The house has these lovely vines in the back growing all over it. I came out one day and realized the leaves on the vines had all turned red. It was so beautiful. This picture doesn't do it justice.

My lovely rosemary bush. Herbs make me so happy. I also discovered we have a large sage bush as well. I am also growing basil and parsley in the kitchen window.

This is the shed. We need to take down the old satellite dish in the middle. But isn't it gorgeous just covered with greenery?

This is looking back toward the greenhouse from the garden (where Charles was pictured mowing). The trees are apple trees. We also have a pear tree and cherry tree. The girls loved picking apples off the trees right in our own backyard and then taking them into the house and....

...juicing them to make apple juice! It was delicious too! Notice my lovely stove (or cooker as they call it here) in the background. Double oven - It rocks!

Posing for a picture with the sunflowers in the garden.

Sammy wanted another posed picture.

This is our bowl of apples freshly picked from OUR trees. Can I just say, that I was excited to move to England when we first found out but since moving here it has been better than I ever expect. I am so happy to be back in this country. It sounds odd but I feel like it is a magical place. I want to go looking for fairies and read Harry Potter for the first time in my life. I love driving fast down narrow country roads with high walls of greenery that hang over making tunnels, only to slam on my brakes upon spotting an oncoming car and then barely inching our way past each other as slow as possible so as not to scrape each other's car.  Other interesting facts about our new place: apparently the red-headed guy from Harry Potter (Ron Weasley - I just looked up his name) lives in the area and drives an orange hummer or range rover. Also, Victoria Beckham's sister lives here so David and Victoria have been spotted here on occasion. Perhaps I am still in the honeymoon phase of the move but I am loving it. I feel like I am back in my element. I especially look forward to winter because I know it doesn't get anywhere close to being as cold as Chicago and that makes me happy!