Twenty-two years ago today I was ready to meet my first daughter.  I was excited, I had a flashy brooch that spelled out her name pinned to the lapel of any jacket or shirt I was wearing.  The fake diamonds announced PARIS, I still have it on a popular lapel. Hubby and I had fallen…

I didn’t learn to drive until I was 24.  Why should I?  I’d lived in London all through my late teens and early twenties and it was crazy to maintain a car in the city with all the public transportation going on.  My father had put his car on blocks outside our London house years…

My children and friends and life are home on the range but my roots are still embedded here on “England’s green and pleasant land,” prophetic words written by William Blake. As my fearless cowboy and I walked this evening we explored the hidden streets of Beckenham a mere stone’s throw away from where we live….

It hardly seems possible that although we are sharing the same season in the Western hemisphere our temperatures are vastly different.  Hubsie and I were out walking this evening and the leaves were lovely and green, the earth was damp and the bushes had lilac and white flowers emitting soft summer fragrances, I could see…

There is a shelf in Malia’s cupboard that I hadn’t got to yet. Today I conquered it.  She was at work so I just pulled up a chair and unloaded everything onto her bed and sorted most of it in situ.  It went into three easy piles, keep, throw away, or leave for Vincent to…

Hubby keeps forgetting that chips are fries in England.  He especially draws disappointed comments from the boys, Samuel and Nathaniel, when he make this vocabulary faux pas.  He teases them that he’ll steal one of their chips when they’re so obviously eating a bag of crisps, and their eyes light up as they picture the…

Our church at the bottom of the road is my latest rave!  Hubby and I are using it as the medieval townsfolk did, as the focal point of our lives. St. George’s has the most amazing choir who sing twice on Sundays and every feast day.  When we first arrived there were three feast days…

Everyone who has a job in England needs a National Insurance Number.  This is so taxes can be deducted and benefits can be determined, it is also linked to national pensions.  No-one can get one before getting a job.  Malia had been working for a week and it was time! She had to go to…

Several times I have been out with my brother and he has had to explain my presence.  Let me begin by saying this, my brother is a handsome man, tall slim and usually well dressed. He took me to mass one evening and the priest was all long silences and meaningful pauses.  He strung the…

I promised I’d let you know why we were so tired on Saturday night when we went out clubbing. I love saying that.  It is not an accurate description of what we did, but it sounds a bit wild doesn’t it?  What we did was go to a club and listen to loud music and…