Well, we have been here for a month. Actually, a tad bit longer. But really does it matter? The time has flown by!
I have gotten a house, we are picking up one car today and hopefully the second car by tomorrow, but most likely Monday. I have learned to drive on the opposite side of the road for the most part and we are all still adjusting to the cultural differences. This post is really intended to be a highlight of some of those experiences.
Driving has been interesting. I need to thank Super Handsome for letting me drive the little BMW 1 series from the rental company. If I would have had a big car like what I drove in the US I would have been in trouble. Even the car that he drives would have caused me problems. Sometimes I have problems with the small car that I get to drive now!
When I first started driving on the wrong side of the road, it was a crazy for me. I would have anxiety attacks wondering what side of the road I was suppose to be on. Then, I would have convinced myself that I was on the right side of the road and I would look at the cars parked on the side of the road and panic because some of the cars would be facing me and some would be facing the other direction. Talk about making someone crazy! I learned from the security guards at Super Handsome's work that the cars parked opposing traffic probably meant that they got home late from the pubs! I learned quickly that when I drive, I am closest to the center line, just like I was in the US. It completely stopped my panic attacks!
We love our house. It is a great house and the space is fantastic. Sunday night, we had a complete panic moment when the Kid 2’s bathroom leaked while he was taking a shower. He had moved the shower head up to prevent the water from going on the floor and the wall, instead water leaked down into the sitting room. The next morning, with a heavy heart I called Jan to tell her. Thankfully, they had had it happen before, and they could not figure out where they leak was coming from. Super Handsome thinks that he may have it figured out where the leak came from, so he is going to caulk the spot up and hopefully between the caulk and knowing what causes the leak we won't have it happen again. Jan was thrilled that he maybe able to stop the leak.
TV and radio is different here and we are slowly finding things that we enjoy as well as ways to keep up with some of things that we watched in the US. So far, we listen to Absolute Radio, you can stream it if you are interested. They do repeat some songs, but they are certainly not like some of the US stations that repeat songs every hour. I like the blend of music that they play, it is a nice blend of old and new. Most importantly I like the 80's punk influence and some of the 90's music that it seems to have. The DJ's are fairly entertaining as well. I have been watching Downton Abby in iTV. We also really enjoy Top Gear and Dr. Who. I am sure that there are others that we may find as time goes on as well.
We are in the midst of fall here. The trees seem to be near peak, the colors are not as vibrant as what I am used to in the US, but they are still pretty. It has been a marvelously mild fall. We have been blessed with some rain, but it always seem to clear off and we still see some sun,which is totally delightful. There are days that the rain and or clouds do not clear off, but it is manageable because the temperature is not so bitter. I have noticed that the end of the days are much cooler here then they were in Indiana. The high temperature peaks earlier in the day, probably more around noon, unlike Indiana when the temps peaks around 15:00 (3pm). When I am picking up the boys, I am finding that the warm coats that other mums wear are more comfortable then my lighter weight coats. The climate is damp here, yesterday started out foggy and then cleared. I hung blankets out on the clothes line around 13:00 (1pm) and I noticed that the grass was still damp. I think part of the reason is that the grass may only receive morning sun. When it rains to also seems to take awhile for all the pavement to dry, especially if the sun is not shining.
The weather in the UK is milder then what I am used to in the US. They don't have deep freezes like we do and I noticed that many fields have broccoli planted. Also, the rhododendrons are 9 feet tall here! I could never get one to grow that tall back home! I am looking forward to a milder winter. Last year the UK had one of the worst winters ever. They are saying this one is suppose to be bad as well. We were suppose to get snow here by the end of October, but for now we seemed to have missed it, apparently the US east coast got it instead! Last year, the UK was not prepared for the winter and they quickly ran out of the grit to put on the road, this year the counties have all said that they are much better prepared. The radio DJ just pronounced the whole thing a "hysterical mess".
I love the expressions and different phrases that they use in the UK. Some examples are: tidy, brilliant, lovely, smashing, happy day, cheers (Thanks and or good-bye), nicked (stolen), boot (back of the car), cloudy (referring to lemonade that is not clear), still (no fizz in the drink), biscuit (cookie), crisps (chip or cracker), cracker (little gift given at Christmas), bird or birds (refers to a woman or a group of them) and the list could go on. One day I will devote a post just to the language difference. One of my favorite's is when someone calls me darling. Today, I was talking to the car dealer, and as we were ending our conversation he called me darling. I will always remember the first time I was called m'lady. I was in a restaurant looking for the WC (aka restrooms) and an older gentleman standing near the bar noticed that I seemed a bit lost. He simply said "M'Lady" and gestured gently to where I needed to go. As I followed his instructions, I thought to myself, I need to remember this, I was delighted! I don't expect to be called that term often. I think that it has probably fallen out of vogue with the younger generation.
We are slowly adjusting and moving into the routine of everyday life. I know that we will have more adjustments to deal with and we have a great deal more to learn. There are days that it is harder then others, for sure. Just this week, I had one of the boys saying that he wanted to go home. Somedays are more overwhelming then others. But together we can do this and I hope that by making it an adventure we can have a good time with it.
I have gotten a house, we are picking up one car today and hopefully the second car by tomorrow, but most likely Monday. I have learned to drive on the opposite side of the road for the most part and we are all still adjusting to the cultural differences. This post is really intended to be a highlight of some of those experiences.
Driving has been interesting. I need to thank Super Handsome for letting me drive the little BMW 1 series from the rental company. If I would have had a big car like what I drove in the US I would have been in trouble. Even the car that he drives would have caused me problems. Sometimes I have problems with the small car that I get to drive now!
When I first started driving on the wrong side of the road, it was a crazy for me. I would have anxiety attacks wondering what side of the road I was suppose to be on. Then, I would have convinced myself that I was on the right side of the road and I would look at the cars parked on the side of the road and panic because some of the cars would be facing me and some would be facing the other direction. Talk about making someone crazy! I learned from the security guards at Super Handsome's work that the cars parked opposing traffic probably meant that they got home late from the pubs! I learned quickly that when I drive, I am closest to the center line, just like I was in the US. It completely stopped my panic attacks!
We love our house. It is a great house and the space is fantastic. Sunday night, we had a complete panic moment when the Kid 2’s bathroom leaked while he was taking a shower. He had moved the shower head up to prevent the water from going on the floor and the wall, instead water leaked down into the sitting room. The next morning, with a heavy heart I called Jan to tell her. Thankfully, they had had it happen before, and they could not figure out where they leak was coming from. Super Handsome thinks that he may have it figured out where the leak came from, so he is going to caulk the spot up and hopefully between the caulk and knowing what causes the leak we won't have it happen again. Jan was thrilled that he maybe able to stop the leak.
TV and radio is different here and we are slowly finding things that we enjoy as well as ways to keep up with some of things that we watched in the US. So far, we listen to Absolute Radio, you can stream it if you are interested. They do repeat some songs, but they are certainly not like some of the US stations that repeat songs every hour. I like the blend of music that they play, it is a nice blend of old and new. Most importantly I like the 80's punk influence and some of the 90's music that it seems to have. The DJ's are fairly entertaining as well. I have been watching Downton Abby in iTV. We also really enjoy Top Gear and Dr. Who. I am sure that there are others that we may find as time goes on as well.
We are in the midst of fall here. The trees seem to be near peak, the colors are not as vibrant as what I am used to in the US, but they are still pretty. It has been a marvelously mild fall. We have been blessed with some rain, but it always seem to clear off and we still see some sun,which is totally delightful. There are days that the rain and or clouds do not clear off, but it is manageable because the temperature is not so bitter. I have noticed that the end of the days are much cooler here then they were in Indiana. The high temperature peaks earlier in the day, probably more around noon, unlike Indiana when the temps peaks around 15:00 (3pm). When I am picking up the boys, I am finding that the warm coats that other mums wear are more comfortable then my lighter weight coats. The climate is damp here, yesterday started out foggy and then cleared. I hung blankets out on the clothes line around 13:00 (1pm) and I noticed that the grass was still damp. I think part of the reason is that the grass may only receive morning sun. When it rains to also seems to take awhile for all the pavement to dry, especially if the sun is not shining.
The weather in the UK is milder then what I am used to in the US. They don't have deep freezes like we do and I noticed that many fields have broccoli planted. Also, the rhododendrons are 9 feet tall here! I could never get one to grow that tall back home! I am looking forward to a milder winter. Last year the UK had one of the worst winters ever. They are saying this one is suppose to be bad as well. We were suppose to get snow here by the end of October, but for now we seemed to have missed it, apparently the US east coast got it instead! Last year, the UK was not prepared for the winter and they quickly ran out of the grit to put on the road, this year the counties have all said that they are much better prepared. The radio DJ just pronounced the whole thing a "hysterical mess".
I love the expressions and different phrases that they use in the UK. Some examples are: tidy, brilliant, lovely, smashing, happy day, cheers (Thanks and or good-bye), nicked (stolen), boot (back of the car), cloudy (referring to lemonade that is not clear), still (no fizz in the drink), biscuit (cookie), crisps (chip or cracker), cracker (little gift given at Christmas), bird or birds (refers to a woman or a group of them) and the list could go on. One day I will devote a post just to the language difference. One of my favorite's is when someone calls me darling. Today, I was talking to the car dealer, and as we were ending our conversation he called me darling. I will always remember the first time I was called m'lady. I was in a restaurant looking for the WC (aka restrooms) and an older gentleman standing near the bar noticed that I seemed a bit lost. He simply said "M'Lady" and gestured gently to where I needed to go. As I followed his instructions, I thought to myself, I need to remember this, I was delighted! I don't expect to be called that term often. I think that it has probably fallen out of vogue with the younger generation.
We are slowly adjusting and moving into the routine of everyday life. I know that we will have more adjustments to deal with and we have a great deal more to learn. There are days that it is harder then others, for sure. Just this week, I had one of the boys saying that he wanted to go home. Somedays are more overwhelming then others. But together we can do this and I hope that by making it an adventure we can have a good time with it.
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