I was originally going to write a blog about the ‘Ex-Pat Stigma – Here and There’, but then I thought that was a bit ‘deep’ for right now.  So I will save that for another day (maybe tomorrow, depends on how I feel hehe).

So, to keep it light, I’m going to re-visit and elaborate on the British Food topic I covered when I first started this blog (when I first arrived here 3 yrs ago) as well as how LITERAL the British are.

BTW, side note:  As of 25th September, I have been here 3 years!  Happy Immaversary to ME!!!!

Food.  When I first visited here, I was really looking forward to trying new things.  I wanted to experience true British food (minus the gross stuff ).  That carried over when I moved here as well.  It was all new and exciting, if not a little mind boggling – for instance Zucchini is not Zucchini.  It’s Courgettes.  Sure, there were some things I missed from home, but I was really eager to try the ‘native foods’.   What I didn’t bank on were some of the very weird combinations the Brits have – or the weird foods.

First of all – the national food of Britain is Cheddar cheese.  If you don’t like cheddar cheese, you’re in deep doo doo.   And cream.  EVERYTHING has cream on it, or in it, or around it.  It’s very popular on cakes or ‘sponges’ as they are called here.  The cakes are SO…….FRIGGIN……DRY!!  You NEED the cream for moisture just to be able to swallow!  I miss the moist US cakes – and buttercream frosting!  The frosting on cakes here is predominantly fondant icing – that chewy stuff that comes in one long sheet and you drape it over the cake.  Icing should not be CHEWY people!

Now to the weird stuff (with pictures even – lucky you!).

Mr Brains Faggots:

A faggot is traditionally made from pig’s heart, liver and fatty belly meat or bacon minced together, with herbs added for flavouring.

Mmmmm…….(Note the sarcasm)

Spotted Dick:

A steamed suet pudding containing fruit – usually currants.

Baked Beans – Their version: Tomato Sauce??????

And speaking of currants – anything purple here – ie. purple jelly beans, hard candy, gumdrops, juices etc….. is NOT grape!  It’s blackcurrant.  And gross!

Fast forward 3 years.  I am now really missing certain things from home.  Especially since I have been a member of a group on Facebook for Ex-Pat women.  Seems all we talk about there is food and what we do and don’t miss!  This time of year, I really miss Stove Top stuffing, however I found an awesome recipe for sausage stuffing that is so yummy!  But to get bread crumbs for it is a struggle.  I usually end up getting croutons and blitzing them in the food processor.  But one of the struggles here is that food is packaged in Hobbit sized packages.  Seriously.  There is no ‘super size’ anything!  So in order to make a batch of the sausage stuffing, I need to get about 10 teeny bags of croutons – 1 bag being 3.5 ounces.

I miss proper applesauce.  The only sauce they have here (that I’ve been able to find) is Bramley and it’s chunky.  And mildly sour.  It IS good, don’t get me wrong, but I like the ‘regular’ applesauce, with and without cinnamon.

Lipton Onion Soup Mix:   This is a staple in alot of the things I make – Lamb, meatloaf, beef roasts, dips.  I have yet to find anything close to it here, in fact I haven’t been able to find dried onion soup anywhere – though I’ve heard rumors that it exists, just not in any stores near me.

Canned Soup: My faves are chicken noodle and vegetable.  But it’s not that simple here.  You have Roast Chicken flavour.  While it is good, I can do with out the ‘roasted’ part.  Just give me plain chicken soup.  And while they’re at it, STOP putting so much dang pepper in your canned stuff!  In the US, people complain about too much salt.  Here, it’s pepper.  Everything is overwhelmed with it (canned stuff).

There does happen to be a few American food places in England, that you can order from online, which, when you are really craving something from home, is a Godsend.  However, paying £3 for a box of Liptons, or even worse, £7 for a box of cereal seems like highway robbery.  For comparison, translated into current exchange rates that is roughly $5 for the soup mix and $11 for the cereal.  However, if you are really craving it, you’ll pay.  I have used them for my soup mix, relish, bread and butter pickles, Kraft Mac and Cheese dinners, and proper honey mustard – all of which you cannot get in the supermarkets here.  That being said, some supermarkets here are starting to get more American foods, little by little.  For instance, Reese’s Peanut Butter cups have made their way to England – though they are not very popular.  The Brits bristle at the idea of chocolate and peanut butter together.  Pop Tarts have also made it here, though only 2 kinds – Chocolate Frosted and Strawberry Frosted.  At one time, they tried to ban Pop Tarts though as kids were toasting them, then burning their mouths on them (Health and Safety hazard – that’s a topic for another day.  Health and Safety here is totally ridiculous!).

There are certain things that I have adapted to, but others, I just can’t.  I need my bread and butter pickles and sweet pickle relish – there are no substitutes.  Their ‘gherkin relish’ is similar, but too tangy and just doesn’t taste right.

All in all, I’ve adjusted quite well to ‘their food’ (as evidenced by my waistline sadly), but that won’t stop me from stocking up on stuff like Lipton Onion soup mix and other stuff when I go home next month.  In fact, one whole suitcase will be just for ‘missed stuff’.

As for other home comforts, we do have BK and McDonalds – the cheese on the sandwiches is cheddar, of course. But oddly enough, I haven’t been to either of those places in I don’t know how long.    Pizza Hut and Dominos – similar, but not the same – they put CORN on their pizzas!!  Subway – cue the harps – they have AMERICAN CHEESE!!!!!!!!!!!! And they just like they are in the States – same sandwich offerings!  But the things I miss from home – Good Ribs (Famous Daves), a nice Prime Rib, and of course, LOBSTER.  I’ve already told Jon I will be OD’ing on lobster when we are there – and fried clams (Bobs Clam Hut, Kittery).  And duck sauce….you know, the dipping stuff you get with your Chinese?  They don’t have it here.  Another stock up item for our trip.

I know there are things I’m missing, but those are the biggies, the ones that I just HAVE to get when I’m home.

BEING LITERAL:

I really should do 2 separate blog posts, but can’t be ‘arsed’ LOL

The Brits are a very literal people.  They don’t have elevators or parking lots.  They have lifts and car parks.   Answering machines are called answer phones (because they answer your phone for you when you aren’t home…isn’t that clever??).   Their version is a spot on description of what certain things actually do.  Though not sure how ‘torch’ (flashlight) fits in there.

Car boot sale – The British version of a yard sale or garage sale – because such sales used to take place out of the trunk of the car.  Which leads me to ‘boot’ and ‘bonnet’…..hood and trunk.  Your windshield is……can you guess?  Your windscreen.

An ATM is a cash machine – or in slang –  ’hole in the wall’

Cling film – you should know what this is, because it clings to EVERYTHING except the one thing you want it to.   It’s Saran wrap (plastic wrap).   And as for that other kitchen storage wrapping staple – don’t forget to add the extra ‘I’ – Aluminium foil (pronounced Aloo-min-ee-um).  To avoid a spat with my beloved husband, I say Tin Foil.

My cell phone is my mobile…..Mo-bile.

BandAids – Plasters

QTips – Cotton Buds

Crisps – Potato Chips

Chips – French Fries

Fizzy Drink – Soda

I could go on, but my point is that the British English is very descriptive, very literal, on alot of things.  The word describes what the item or action is.  And as easy as this may sound to learn, it’s kinda tough.  I’ve been here for 3 years, and more and more I find I am adapting almost 100% the British way of saying things, and when someone from home asks me what the heck I’m talking about, it really does take me a minute or two to try to remember the ‘American way’ of saying it.

Either I’m totally becoming ‘Brit-itized’ or I’m just getting old.

 Addiction is a topic I feel very strongly about, and I have alluded to my ‘shady past’ in previous posts on this blog, and I figured that I may as well put this here as well, as it describes who I was, where I was, and why I am so happy and very, very grateful to be where I am today.  

So here is my backstory – there’s more to it, but that will have to wait for another time.

I am getting really sick of reading all the comments about how Amy Winehouse deserved to die, how she knew what she was doing, killed herself, could have stopped anytime she wanted….blah, blah, blah. 

Obviously, the people making these insensitive statements have never battled an addiction, never knew anyone that battled an addiction, have never lost anyone to an addiction.  Count yourselves lucky.  I’ve done all 3.

When you are addicted to something, whether it be alcohol, drugs, food, sex, gambling…anything…it takes over your life in a way that ‘regular’ people cannot imagine.  You know nothing, care about nothing, except where your next fix is going to come from and when.  And you will do anything to get it – lie, cheat, steal from anywhere and anyone. Probably safe to say this is not something you would do were you not in the throes of an addiction.

Addicts are not smart – intelligent, maybe, but not smart.  Their drug of choice has rotted their brain, made it mush.  They cannot rationalize, form intelligent thoughts.  They have a disease, something beyond their control. It’s been proven that addiction is inherited.  Some people are lucky, and they escape the inheritance. 

Addicts, for the most part, are weak people who cannot handle day to day living, or stress, and they do drugs, drink etc to dull the pain that exists in their lives, to cope with depression, to hide away from reality, to escape.  The sad thing about addiction though, is that once you come down from whatever you did the night before, the pain and depression and real life crap is still there.  So you do more, and more until it’s not enough but it’s too much.

I said before that I’ve done all 3……I lost my father to alcoholism, at age 52.  He was a life long drinker, from the time he was 16 or younger.  He got kicked out of college, then the Air Force because of his drinking.  He lost visitation with his daughters because of his DUI’s.  He was too ashamed to go to AA because it was in his local church and he didn’t want anyone to know he was an alcoholic.  People knew.  But that was just his excuse.  He was very depressed, and shunned any and all help that was offered. He had his own demons that took over.  His sickness was too deeply imbedded in him, and it eventually killed him.  My mother battled the same addiction – but she won her battle.  20+ yrs sober for her.  She was determined, motivated by 2 young daughters, and overcame her demons. 

An ex boyfriend battled a heroin and cocaine addiction.  A friend battled alcoholism.  Ex boyfriend OD’d, age 45.  Friend won her battle and is 5 yrs sober.

I am a recovering drug addict, clean 11 yrs.  The ex that died?  He got me started.  It was only after I blew my $250k inheritance from my dad mostly on drugs over the course of a year and a half, after having been on a 3 day bender with no sleep and too many drugs to even fathom at this point, that I finally said ‘Enough’.  Not even losing custody of my son did that.  I was just sick and tired of it all and I didn’t want to do it anymore.   I took my last $25k, moved away from all the bad influences, back to Maine, and got myself sober.  But why did I start?  I was depressed, severely depressed and easily led by others who I thought knew better.  But being too chicken shit to kill myself, I decided to do it slowly – maybe the drugs would do it for me.  What did I get for all my ‘fun’?  A stroke.  The drugs I was doing blew a hole in my heart, and caused 3 minor strokes – 5 yrs after I stopped doing them.  And I now have to live with the threat of more strokes, or a big one, everyday.  But for now, I am alive, and enjoying every minute of it. And taking care of myself.  I escaped.

This part wasn’t on Facebook:

I alienated all of my friends, and alot of my family.  My mother, to this day, still does not trust me, even though I have not given her any reason not to over the past almost 12 yrs.  But she is like an elephant – she never forgets.  She STILL reminds me, to this day, about the time I stole a candy bar when I was SIX!  When I admitted my drug problem to her, she didn’t believe me.  The same story when I told her I was being abused by a boyfriend.  She thought it was all to get attention.  When I finally showed her the bruises, she relented, but then wondered why I was acting out, depressed etc.  I told her to read up on Battered Women’s Syndrome.  She said ‘I don’t have to’………nice, huh?  

I said that my mother won her battle with alcoholism, however this also makes her an expert on the topic apparently (said sarcastically).  When I came to her, I was ready to quit.  Still, she didn’t believe me until she was cleaning out my room one day after she had kicked me out and found my paraphernalia.  

I worked very hard for almost 2 yrs to get myself clean, with only 1 relapse (lasted a day, shortly after I moved back to Maine – and it was a biggie).  That was it.  But even to this day, she tells me that I never did hit rock bottom – that I am still sick and I need to get help.  PLEASE!!!!!!  I went through therapy, I made my amends, I made restitutions, I’ve reformed friendships and repaired family rifts.  I’ve grown up.  I’ve healed, and I got better.  

I asked her once,  shortly after my recovery,  ’I've lost all my money, my friends, I have to scrimp and save now, where before I could have bought a house and still had money left, but I chose drugs instead……what exactly would rock bottom be for me?’  She just shrugged. She was good at the criticism, but not so good at backing it up.  More or less the ‘Because I said so’ thought process.   So I asked her, ‘When did you hit rock bottom?’  And her words will haunt me for the rest of my life……..she said,  ’The day I had you’………..Chances are she didn’t mean it, maybe she did.  But to this day she still has not apologized for that remark.  And to this day she still thinks I never hit rock bottom…..tell that to my stroke.

And people ask why I moved to England!  

Anyway, back to my story:

But while I was in the throes of my addiction, OMG was it fun…..for a while.  Then it became a necessity.  I had people trying to intervene, get me help, but I was having too much fun.  Besides, they didn’t know what the hell they were talking about, I was fine.  I could stop anytime I wanted to.  Yeah, right.  And if you believe that, I have a bridge I want to sell you. 

Addicts don’t know right from wrong.  They only know that what they are doing dulls the pain, whatever pain it is they are feeling.  Some are strong, and can and will overcome it.  Others can’t.  They are weak people.  They may look strong, project a strong persona, but that is a mask for the weak person they really are.  My dad was weak – my ex was weak.  They both knew what was wrong, but were powerless to stop it (or too weak, or they didn’t want to…take your pick). 

I’m not saying I am a strong person, however the person that I was before all that was very weak…..I was taken advantage of by others, used as a punching bag by partners, stepped on and degraded.  I escaped into the drugs and they made me forget, for a little while, how shitty my life had become.  And I came out on the other side with a new found respect for life, a stronger personality, more confident, and happier than I ever was before. 

Just because a person is rich, talented, beautiful – doesn’t make them immune.  They are not gods, they are not superheroes – they are normal people.  With real people fears, doubts, concerns…and addictions. They are not infallible.  Their only difference is they have money, and their ‘people’ are too scared to say anything, because they don’t want to lose their jobs, or they don’t feel as if it’s their place…placate the star and all that bullshit.  Instead of helping them.  Yeah, not the right choice.

So next time you feel like saying ‘Amy Winehouse got what she deserved’ or ‘She knew what she was doing’…..think about what you would do if it were your sister, wife, mother – anyone close to you or hell, even you-  who had the same problem and how you would feel if someone said that about them or you?  Addicts need help, not derision, not contempt…pity, maybe.  Help? Definitely.  At any cost.

Amy Winehouse just happened to die at the same time a tragedy occured in Norway.  Her death does not overshadow that, regardless of how the media decides to report either story.  Both are significant.  I don’t know about you, but I have enough room in my heart to mourn for the victims in Norway AND a talented life cut short.  And if I haven’t said it eloquently enough, read Russell Brands tribute to her…..he does it perfectly.

http://uk.omg.yahoo.com/gossip/110–pop/russell-brand-tribute-amy-winehouse-102010167.html

Note:  I apologize for the rant, I don’t normally go off like this, but this is a subject I feel VERY strongly about. 

There are quite a few words that we Americans pronounce differently (or the Brits pronounce differently, depending on how you look at it), and it took a while for me to get used to the British way of saying certain things.  And in some cases, I still haven’t gotten used to certain things.

It all started with ‘Aluminum’.   The Brits add an extra ‘I’, so it’s pronounced ‘aloo-mini-um’ here.  After much arguing back and forth with the hubs about which is correct, I now call it tin foil.  Argument solved, happy marriage again!

We all know the ‘regulars’ such as ‘Toe-MAH-toe’ etc….but they have their own ways of saying other stuff as well.  There are far too many to do all at once and I know I will forget some (because like a doofus, I don’t ever write stuff down when it comes to me, I think I can remember it – yeah, right! When will I learn?)  Oh well, I can always update hehe

**Many thanks to the ladies of the American Ex-Pats group for a lot of these!!!**

•      Nokia – Americans say No-kee-a.  Brits say Naw-kee-a.
•     Nike – Americans say the long ‘e’…Nikee.  Brits say Nike like ‘like’.
•     Addidas – (this is a strange one).  Americans say Ah – deedas.  Brits     say  Add-eh-das
•      Jaguar – they say the ‘u’ – Jag-u-ar
•      Fillet – we say ‘fillay’…..they pronounce the ‘t’ – Fill-it
•      Herbs – ‘erbs’ is how I say it – they pronounce the ‘h’ – like Herb, the   mans name.
•     Basil – we say ‘bay-sil’….they say ‘Baz-il’, as in Basil Fawlty.
•     Garage – say like marriage
•      Zebra – not zee-bra – Zeh-bra
•      Z is Zed and H is pronounced like ‘hay-ch’
•      Leisure – not lee-sure, lez-ure
•      Café – not Caf-ay, pronounced calf
•      Maryland……they actually say Mary-land.  Houston is Hoo-stun
•     Warwick – take out the second ‘w’……War-ick
•     Yogurt – Yah-gurt
•      Pants:    To us, they are what we wear to work, to them, pants are underwear.  Trousers are what we wear to work. 
•     Sweater:      To them, all sweaters are jumpers.  Or cardigans. Or pullovers.  Anything but sweater.
•       Turtleneck:     Cowl neck
•       Bathroom:      Loo
•      Eraser (as in pencil) – Rubber (this was hilarious first time someone    asked me if I had a rubber.  I may have done a spit-take, not sure.
•      Parking Lot:   Car Park
•      Highway:  Motorway

 (About these last two, one thing I’ve realized since living here is that the Brits are very literal.  I’m surprise that a football field is not called ‘Ball playing area’…..) 

And don’t get me started on the whole Purse/Pocketbook/Wallet/Handbag fiasco!  I carry a PURSE.  My money (when I have it that is) is kept in my wallet.  If I were British, I would carry a handbag and my money would be kept in my purse.  Only men carry wallets.  To this day, I still call my pocketbook my purse.  I don’t think this one will change.

•      Livingroom = Sitting room
•      Your yard (at your house for instance) =  Your garden (even if you   have a yard and a garden, it’s all the same word).
•      Stove/Oven – Hob/Cooker 
•      Rotary (traffic circle) – Roundabout (Had a weird experience with my SaNav recently.  I changed it to ‘American Accent’ and instead of saying ‘At the roundabout, go straight’ she said ‘rotary’……took me a good minute to realize what she was talking about!)

That’s about all I can think of for now.  Some of this is probably a repeat from previous posts, but it’s nice to have it all in once place, dontcha think?

I know there are a lot more, but they will have to wait for another time.

Ta Ta for now, Cheerio…….Laters!

For those that don’t know, or haven’t read the blog until now, my husband is from here, and rather than him moving away from everything he’s ever known – family and friends – I decided that I would welcome a change.  I’d grown up in New England, never travelled past New England, save for a few places (Canada numerous times, Bermuda – once, NYC – once, Philadelphia – overnight stay then back to Maine, and Washington DC on a school trip for 3 days).  That’s it.  That was the extent of my travel.  So I jumped at the chance at a new beginning in a ‘foreign country’.  And I don’t regret my decision at all.

Would I move back? That’s a resounding NO.  At least not until we become independently wealthy, then we can live 6 months here and 6 months there.  But until that happens…….. I have set up a home here, with my husband and pets, and I have a wonderful support network of friends and family and a job that I absolutely love.  I look out my window everyday at the gorgeous countryside – wide-open fields, and a sky that seems to go on forever and smile (unless it’s raining then I say ‘oh crap’).  But even the rain doesn’t dampen my all around happiness.  I’m freakin’ Susan of Sunnybrook Farm! When did this happen???

I was not truly happy living in the US for the last 10 or so years – something always felt like it was missing. I had a job, yes.  And friends.  But moving here, living here and working here, I know now what was missing.  I was stagnating in the States.  I was bored, I was restless and I felt like I was going nowhere. And then there was my ‘sordid past’ hanging over my head and judgement from others.  When I moved here, it was a new beginning.  A chance to re-live my life, the way I should have lived it all those years ago.  And that’s just what I’m doing.  Properly.

My mother recently, and persistently, told me I had to move back in order to take care of my 19 yr old son.  Not asked – told.  He has been living with her for a number of years due to my past, and although that hasn’t been an issue for me for over 10 yrs, she never allowed him to come back to live with me.  When I got married and knew I was moving here, he was 16 and I told her I wanted him to move with us.  She refused.  I asked every year after that because he would have been able to come over as my dependent, no questions asked.   Last year, when he turned 18, I get an email from my mother.  Simply said ‘It’s your turn now.  You have to take care of him from here. Move back here and do it’.  He’s now 19 – the only visa he can get is a work visa or a student visa.  He will not be discovering the cure for cancer anytime soon, so a work visa is out and to get a student visa, you have to pay tuition in full – big bucks.

Anyway, after this last order from my mother, I checked my drivers’ license and made sure that, yes, I was indeed 45 years old and no longer a child, I reminded her that I had been trying for almost 3 yrs to get him to move here but that she resisted the idea.  Now that it was no longer feasible, I wasn’t going to up stakes and move back.  End of story.  Don’t get me wrong, I am very grateful to my mother for all that she has done for my son, I never said I wasn’t. But in order for me to move back, I would need to re-do everything, all over again.  Jon would need a visa, we would need an apartment, a car, furniture, everything household related, because when I moved I sold everything except personal belongings, family heirlooms, pictures etc.  All my furniture went, my car…everything.  On top of that, we would both need jobs and we don’t know how Jon’s skills would transfer in the US, or how long it would take for him to get work – or me for that matter.  Then there is one of the biggest reasons: Medical care.  Here we get free medical care.  I get free prescriptions, because my diabetes is a qualifying condition.  If we were to move, both of our pre-existing conditions would almost guarantee high cost insurance, if we were lucky enough to be able to get it at all. 

But these aren’t the sole reasons I won’t move back.  My sole reason I won’t move back is that for once, in a long, long time – I am happy.  Well and truly happy.    I will visit though, because I do miss my friends there, and certain things – restaurants and grocery items I can’t get here.  And I do love the US, not so much the politics, but the people, the scenery, the culture.  But for now it will remain one of my places that ‘is nice to visit but wouldn’t want to live there’. 

There’s only one problem. 

I am no longer a tourist here!  I’m a resident, a taxpayer.  Ugh.

Ok, so it was a looonnnngggg 3 weeks! Sorry!!! Since our move, I have been working on finding a job, getting the house sorted, and sundry other things and have basically neglected my blog. Again, sincerest apologies!

I did eventually find a job, working as a Customer Service Rep for an online gift company. At least 20 times a day I would have to say ‘No, I live here’ in response to the ‘Am I calling the US’ question. This was a temporary position from October to January, and I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, this now means I am back to job searching. I had one the other day, and again was second choice. I’m getting really sick of being second! I wonder if it is my ‘American-ness’ that is preventing me from getting the jobs I want. Is my personality too boisterous? Am I too outgoing? I was turned down for a job recently (last year) for just these reasons. The HR manager blamed it on my ‘culture’. I’m from the United States! I didn’t know I was a culture! It’s the same weird feeling when people compliment me on my accent. WHOA! I have an accent??!! Cool!!! (For those that don’t know me, I am from Maine, but I do not have the typical New England/Maine/Boston accent. Mine is very neutral).

We have 5 new additions to our family since our move further into the country. When we moved we found 3 guinea pig babies on FreeCycle (if you don’t know about this organization, look them up at freecycle.org. They are fantastic!). Then about a month later we acquired 2 kittens, Gabby and Lucy, from a friend. We have a menagerie now! The 3 guinea pigs were brothers and sister and unfortunately, we didn’t separate them in time and had an ‘ut oh’. Squeakers gave birth to 3 babies, 2 black and white females and an albino male. We gave the 2 females to a family friend but kept the little male and named him Oliver. He was the runt of the litter and seemed to have permanent squeakers attached to his little feet. Everytime he walked, he squeaked. Unfortunately, Oliver failed to thrive, and we took him to the vet who confirmed that he was indeed deaf and blind and born without front teeth. I made the difficult decision to have him put to sleep.

So here I am, 2 ½ years later, and I am still loving it as much as I did when I first got here. Granted, the ‘honeymoon phase’ is over, and I realize I am not a tourist anymore. I live here. I work here. But I still try ‘sightsee’ when I can.

I got my Indefinite Leave to Remain back in September 2010. I had to take the Life in the UK test in July because my visa was to run out at the end of July, but I wasn’t eligible for my ILR until September. I realized this a week before my visa was going to expire – so I had to study my ass off. I had one shot. If I didn’t pass it, I would have to pay £850 for a visa extension for 2 months. No way Jose! So I studied, and crammed, and studied some more. Some of the questions were easy, such as 14 February is what special day in the UK? Others, not so much – in fact I gave the test to friends here, and husband, and they didn’t know the answers (not to these particular questions per se, but others such as ‘What are the Queens duties’):

The voltage supplied to almost all properties in the United Kingdom is ______
110 Volts
150 Volts
240 Volts
480 Volts

or

What percentage of the population live in Wales
5%
6%
7%
11%

There are 24 questions, and you need a score of 75% to pass. I PASSED! After studying for only a week. So now I am eligible to stay in the UK indefinitely, and this coming September 2011, I will be applying for British Citizenship. I don’t HAVE to, but I want to. I made the decision when I moved here that I will be staying here. The US will be a great place to visit, but I am going to settle here.

Well, I guess that’s it for now. We are heading into Spring here, and the days are longer and the nights are shorter. The weather is getting warmer (for England anyway), and the daffodils are sprouting. And of course the bugs are now starting to come out, bees too. I think this year, I will ask Jon to get screening to put on our windows. I love fresh air in the house, but I HATE bugs!!!

Have a great Spring everyone, and I will write more soon – sooner than 9 months – I PROMISE!!

I’ve left a few things to the last minute – packing up our bedroom and the kitchen, and of course the computers. But thankfully, there is not a lot of stuff to do, it just seems like a lot. One thing I neglected to do, was an address change. Not a big deal, because we will be in and out all week cleaning and making sure the house is in tip top shape. I went online to change our address with Royal Mail this morning. Easy enough, you can do it online, it takes about 5 days to come into effect – simple. However, there is one drawback – you have to PAY FOR IT!!! Excuse me?? Maybe I’ve been spoiled by the US Postal Service and their free address change service, but Royal Mail goes above and beyond. First of all, since it’s a service you pay for you expect it to work, right? Well not exactly. Our landlady had the service, paid for it yada yada – but we were STILL getting her mail. Thankfully, she only lived down the street and we could drop it off, but what if she wasn’t? Hassle time. And the prices!? £7.64 for one month, £16.82 for 3 months, £25.96 for 6 months, £38.99 for a year. That’s per surname (THANK GOD), and not per person. /sigh I’m just waiting til Britain taxes air.

We have new babies (see photos). We found them on FreeCycle (best idea EVER for a website). They are 6 weeks old today, and so darn cute! Unfortunately, we have 3 – so we have to find out which are which and separate them, as we don’t want anymore than 3. Once we move, we will have a hutch, plus the indoor cage, so we will be all set.

Our 2 year wedding anniversary is tomorrow. I can’t believe it! It’s such a cliche, but it really does seem like yesterday. So much is going to start happening in the next few months, my head is swimming with stuff! Since I didn’t travel within 2 weeks of getting my Spousal Visa, I have to apply for an extension (June) – £megabucks. Then, in August, I have to apply for my Indefinite Leave to Remain -£more megabucks. My son is supposed to come for 6 months starting in August, but that’s not a sure thing yet either, because he is starting college (As of this writing, at Dean College in Massachusetts for Musical Theatre). However, whether he is starting in September or January is what is unclear. I wanted him here for Christmas/New Years, and possibly his birthday in January, but if he is going to start the Spring semester in January, he will have to be home for at least a month before he goes, so he can get everything ready to move there. See? Mind swimming. Not as much fun as Night swimming hehe

My next ‘Notes’ will be from the new house – YAY! Unfortunately, we will not have internet/phone until 7 June. So it will have to wait. But I guess that’s a good thing (silver lining moment here folks). I will have time to unpack, set up the house, office etc. I know me, and I am a procrastinator of the highest degree – no, really, I am. Case in point – I have a kitchen and bedroom to pack, and I’m sitting here writing this *smile*. But I’ll sign off for now, and get to work I suppose. I woke up to rain, but the sun is coming out and it looks like it might be a nice day after all.

See you all in 3 weeks or so!!!!!!!!!!

We are in the process of packing up and moving house. This doesn’t mean we are physically moving the house, though that’s what it sounds like. My brother in law got a new job that comes with a house, so we are taking over the lease in their old place. The move date is tentative, but I want to move NOW! You know me, once I get a thought in my head or know something is going to happen, I want to make it happen NOW! But we have to wait until their new house is renovated before we can move. So we sit. And wait. Meanwhile, our landlady here is getting ready to sell this house, so it will be total chaos here over the next few weeks. Yay.

I’m looking for another job. The social care thing didn’t work out. I LOVED the work, the clients, the other workers but it just wasn’t for me.  So I’m back to job hunting. I have a few prospects so I am keeping optimistic.

Ok, I had THE BIGGEST BEE in my house the other day (wasp, hornet whatever it was. It STINGS, therefore its a BEE). I HATE BEES!!!!! Jon, bless him, rescues them and throws them outside. This is an interesting process to watch involving a piece of paper and a glass or jar (which, afterwards, gets thrown out because lets face it, who wants to be reminded of bee goo everytime you take a drink of water). My tactic? Unleash a can of Raid on the suckers! Don’t smush, because seriously, bumbles here are HUGE – like hummingbird size – and the mess would be……..ICK! Anyway, I had this bee. It must have been hibernating in the house somewhere because we haven’t had any windows open yet – it hasn’t been that warm. He flew right in front of me as I’m sitting at the comp and promptly hit the window next to me. I’m surprised he didn’t shatter the glass! After jumping up, and running like a little girl from the room screaming ‘No, no NOOOOOOOOOO’…….I looked back into the room and he was still there, though a little dazed (pretty sure he hit his noggin pretty hard on the window). So, being the brave soul that I am (LOL), I snuck in, very quietly, and reached for the latch on the window, all the while begging Mr Bee not to sting me. (These windows open out, not up). I opened the window slowly – didn’t want to piss off Mr Bee – and swung the window open. And he just sits there. Doesn’t move. And I’m actually talking to the damn thing, telling him that its ok to fly out, that his friends are out there. (Yes, I really did that). Then I start blowing gently in his direction, hoping that would light a fire under him. He did what looked like a little shiver, but didn’t move. Then I gave a good old hard blow, and he left. (There is a joke in here somewhere but this is a family column so I’m leaving it alone hehe). I promptly slammed the window shut and collapsed on the chair – my ordeal over. I had survived the seasons first BEE.

This leads me to the subject of window screens. This country doesn’t have any. Anywhere. When you buy a house in the States, your house comes with these wonderful things that keep all the creepy crawlies out (and bees). Not here. Your house, when your windows are open, is fair game for every type of living creature out there. And boy do we get some interesting ones. Last summer, while my windows were open, I kept all the lights off in the house so as not to attract anything that may scare me. You know June Bugs? We got ‘em here, but they are called May Bugs because apparently they come out in May. Go figure. But again, they are HUGE! And to hear them hitting a wall somewhere in your house is enough to make you go mad! But my animal, bug, slimy thing loving husband won’t let me kill any of them! He wants to rescue them! /sigh So he gets the panicked call day or night – I don’t care if he’s sleeping LOL He is my bug rescuer. Bless him.

One thing we DON’T get alot of are mosquitos – thank GOD! I mean we have some, but I think last year I saw maybe a dozen over the course of the summer. Not like Maine where the mosquito is the state bird. And Daddy Longlegs here, are not the same as they are there. The ones here are the flying big skinny things that look like big mosquitos – not spiders.

Ok, I have to stop writing about creepy crawlies because literally I am starting to itch LMAO

So we are moving towards Spring here. The weather people are promising another ‘barbecue summer’ this year. They said that last year, but they lied. So we will see. Thankfully, if they ARE right, we have a pool at the new house so all will be good. POOL PARTIES!!!!!

I guess that’s it for now. I have to get ready to go get my hair cut and coloured. I know. When am I going to accept Fate? NEVER! I’m only 43, I’m not ready for a full head of grey yet! It looks great on Jon, who has been silver since he was in his early 20′s. Thing is, I am curious to see what I would look like grey, but in the meantime, I would look horrible, skunk-like, while my colour grows out. So I will just keep on coloring!

OH! Speaking of skunks – thats one more thing they don’t have here. NO SKUNKS!!! Its great!!! I think I have actually forgotten what a skunk spray smells like, but I know I don’t miss it! The nocturnal animals here are fox and badgers, and oh boy are the badgers HUGE! I wouldn’t want to have a run in with one of these suckers hehe

One more thing. I know I said before that I was going to get a chipmunk as a pet. I’ve since changed my mind. The pet store near us has 4 for sale, and I was so excited! Then I went in to look at them, and almost cried. They were running around their cage, very manic like, like bouncing off the walls. And I realized that they should not be pets, should not be kept in cages. I grew up with them running wild around our camp, free and easy. And to see them caged up broke my heart. So I will not be getting a chipmunk.

That’s it for now. Thanks for reading!!!

TTFN

For the most part, things are status quo. Job is going nicely, and though stressful at times, its a great job and I love it and the people I work with. Jon is still enjoying his job, monotonous as it is, but I am extremely proud of him! He gets up every morning – Monday thru Friday – at 5am, and works a full day (45 hrs a week). This is quite a change from sleeping in everyday until noon but he does it and without complaint (most of the time).

I got my first parking ticket last week. 70 GBP. But if I pay it within 14 days, it gets halved. I’ve appealed it. I was working, and the client I was working with is legally disabled, and I put a note in my window stating this. She has applied for a blue badge (handicap sticker), but has yet to receive it. Wish me luck on my appeal! On the other hand, I am trying VERY hard not to get a speeding ticket. Even though I have a full British driving license, for the first 2 yrs I am considered a new driver, and as such, cannot get more than 6 points against my license, otherwise I will have to do the whole thing all over again – and I do NOT want to go through that again! I find that my driving on the ‘wrong’ side now is getting much better, and I am less nervous about the other drivers hitting me, though I still have my moments LOL

We are in February, and I hope the last of the cold is behind us. It was 5 C this morning but nice and warm this afternoon. REMINDER: To get F, just double that, add 30 and subtract 4. So, above freezing, and while still cold, mild compared to what it has been. I can’t say that I miss the Maine winters. We had one week of snow this year, same as last year, and that was it. It’s funny though – apparently, the past 2 winters were the worst in 20+ years here. These were my first 2 winters here. Coincidence? Ok, I’ll admit it. I AM Mother Nature and I brought the snow with me. Pfft.

I joined a group on Facebook and Yahoo Groups for Ex-Pat US women in the UK, and I’m glad I did! First of all, it’s great hearing others experiences in the UK, with new stuff etc. But just yesterday, someone posted that a local supermarket has added – drumroll please – Kraft Mac and Cheese!!!!!!! Yep, the box with the powdered cheese, much loved from my childhood. According to this woman, this local supermarket is stocking quite a few “American” items (in the “ethnic section” maybe?). So I went and took a look, and lo and behold, they have Stove Top Stuffing too!!!!! I think I died and went back home LOL. While I like the stuffing I’ve had here, there is just something about Stove Top that can’t be beat. They also sell Fluff, of the Fluffernutter Sandwiches. Another childhood ‘comfort food’. Only problem I have now is, I joined Weight Watchers this morning and I have to watch what I eat now – go figure. I wonder how many points a Peanut Butter and Fluff sandwich is? Still can’t find bread and butter pickles, but another member of the group sent me a recipe for homemade ones, so that will be something I try this summer.

Ok – crazy laws time. There was a news story last week about a man who got a fine for blowing his nose in his car. Traffic was gridlocked, his handbrake was on, and he was dripping. He blew. Cop gave him a ticket. Are you flabbergasted yet? Wait, it gets better. He appealed it, they denied it, and its going to court. The argument was that he was not in control of the vehicle. I’m still shaking my head on this one. But the even funnier thing is this – the cop that gave this ticket was also the same cop that gave a man a ticket for littering a while back. The man was coming out of a shop, went to get his wallet out of his back pocket, and accidentally dropped a 10 quid note (lets face it, who PURPOSELY drops 10 quid unless it’s into the g-string of a stripper). The cop saw this, pointed out to the man that he had dropped it. The man thanked him, picked up his money, and the cop handed him a ticket for littering. So this brought up more “are you kidding me” items from the world of the absurd – and the same paper reported that a woman was pulled over for laughing in her car. So now, on top of having to worry about the other drivers hitting me and not speeding, I have to drive with a drippy nose, runny eyes, no talking, no singing, no laughing (can I still breathe? Cough?). Maybe Ill start walking everywhere. Better not skip though – I may get accused of not being in control of my body. Sheesh.

Summer is approaching, and so is the time limit on my Settlement Visa. I can’t believe 2 yrs have just FLOWN by! So in order for me to stay in the country, I need to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (and pay 900 GBP for the privilege). This will allow me to stay here forever if I want to, or until they get sick of me and kick me out. I’m not sure all that is involved, but I know its more paperwork – yay. Ill be applying for that in June.

I am going to try to make a trip back to the States this summer – money willing. I was looking forward to my son graduating from HS in June, but right now, that is up in the air. I’ll still go visit though. I DO miss home, but as I’ve said before, I consider here my home now.

That’s it for now. I’ll try to write these more frequently. Everyday is an adventure, no matter how small or insignificant, and I am very much enjoying the ride!!!

TTFN!

As of this past Friday, I have been here a year! I really can’t believe it – the time has flown by SO fast! As I’ve said, I’m really glad I have my FB statuses and notes to refer back to, because honestly, so much has happened in this last year that I have trouble remembering it all!

A few things have changed since my last ‘Note’. I have a new job starting on Monday October 5th for a local charity that supports disabled adults in their homes, or group homes. My role as a Support Worker is going to be a challenging one I think. But, Ill get to travel all over the county, get to know more new places, and again, meet new and interesting people! A definite deviation from my normal work roles: Administrative Assistant, Customer Service, secretarial. But since I’ve been working with the kids in my job, I have found that I really enjoy working with special needs kids, and want to pursue this area more. They will pay for all my training and the qualifications that I need, and I’ll be able to take these with me when/if I decide to change companies. Invaluable!

My son came to spend 6 weeks with us this summer, and though it was a short visit (in my eyes anyway), we managed to pack a TON of stuff into such a short time. I made my first trip to London – did all the ‘touristy’ things: Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park (it really IS just a park – trees, grass, a gazebo – thats about it – but its HUGE, and very pretty!), Piccadilly Circus (no, its not a circus, its a roundabout – rotary for you ‘yanks’ hehe). Its like a very mini Times Square – very neon and busy. Also went to Trafalgar Square. We did a TON of walking, and according to my pedometer, I walked something like 12,000 steps. I calculated that to be between 3 and 4 miles. I must be a total WIMP because that much walking was BRUTAL on my feet! LOL (Ive since ordered a new pair of trainers (sneakers), since the ones I have now, Ive had for years! I don’t think I could ever live there though – its one of those places that is ‘nice to visit but wouldn’t want to live there’. He really liked it here I think, and I would love to have him move over here.

We also took him to Cornwall. Its the very bottom of the country, on the south western tip. It was very pretty, and hilly, and had the most narrow streets I’ve ever seen! The narrow roads here at home are a highway compared to some of the roads I saw down there! I got to see the English Channel – it was bigger than I expected it to be. I was thinking “Channel = narrow body of water you can see across”, and I had always wondered why anyone would make a big deal about swimming across it. Well, its an ocean! LOL You can’t really see across it, it hits the horizon first before it hits any land on the other side (at least the part that we were on. Having not seen every inch of it, I can’t say for certain).

Side Note/Sad Note: Spotted Dick is being renamed. Well sort of. This is a traditional English pudding (dessert). It is a steamed suet pudding, with dried fruit (currants usually), and served with custard. There was a big hoopla in the news a few weeks back, that because of the giggles and guffaws caused by its name. So some places are now calling it Spotted Richard……….more on this story as it develops! (No, I’ve never tried it – not a big currant fan. And I also don’t think I could order it without turning 50 different shades of red and giggling).

Speaking of food – Im finally getting used to the differences, though still won’t try the stomach churning stuff – Black Pudding for instance. We were at breakfast out not too long ago, and I saw it on someones plate. Looked innocuous enough – like a small round sausage patty, in fact thats what I thought it was, until my husband told me……and I couldn’t even look at it after that. And if I had seen the guy cut it, or heaven forbid eat it?? ………yeah, not gonna go there. For those that read my last blog, Prawn Crackers and I have had a falling out. They’ve lost their appeal to me. Sure I have them once in a while, but its been a few months since my last prawn cracker. Cheese and Onion crisps are where its happening at the moment. Though, like the crackers, I need to watch my intake of these as well. But SO tasty. Wonder what my next ‘phase’ will be (wondering why my ‘phases’ cant be veggies – something healthy – maybe because they are BORING! LOL).

I’ve been taking driving lessons. These are fun (note the sarcasm Im trying to relay). I feel like I’m 16 again, and learning everything all over again. I have been allowed to drive for a year on my US license, but that year is coming to an end soon (November 10th to be exact). Since this year has flown by, I really didn’t realize that it was coming so soon. So I have to get my British driving license and so I had to apply for a Learners License first. This looks just like a real license but it has a huge red “L” on it. Yes, thats for learner, not loser Although I have found since taking my lessons that things I THOUGHT I knew – I dont. I thought I was an excellent driver here (for having never driven on the ‘wrong’ side of the road before, I think I did quite well). Then I sat with my instructor for the first time, and she saw me drive. Humbling. I think if she had a ruler, she would have tapped my knuckles and broken my knee caps on my left leg for riding my clutch and keeping my hand on the gearshift. She is super nice though, and very patient, and I am learning quite alot. I have my driving test scheduled for November 3rd, and I am cramming in as many lessons as she will give me!

One funny note about the driving tests: If you take the test in an Automatic, you are only licensed to drive an Automatic. If you take your test in a manual (standard), you will get licensed for both.

The weather.

I have found, and its been written about in the news, that one of the main topics of conversations amongst people you meet – in a pub, on the street, waiting in line at the grocery store – is the weather. It hasn’t rained here in almost 2 weeks – or is it 3? – though we did have a sprinkle the other day, it wasn’t really classified as ‘rain’. This is unheard of for this country apparently, and very newsworthy too! If it’s a nice day, they are wondering when the rain is going to come. If it’s raining, they wonder when its going to stop. I suppose thats normal throughout the world, I know that when I lived at home, it was. But the weather is a major newsmaker here. I don’t remember THAT from home – unless it was a hurricane or tornado etc.

Fall hit here about a month back. The leaves started to change, the nights and mornings are chilly, the days mild for the most part, though we did have a few ‘hot’ days. Hot to the British is anything over 70 apparently, 90 is ‘sweltering’. Though here they use celsius, and Im forever doubling, then adding 30 and subtracting 4 to figure out what it would roughly be in F. Since I hate math with a passion, this is always fun.

I have found that the weather here is what it used to be like in New England when I was a kid – definite separation of Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer. From what I remember from living there in recent years, we really didn’t have a pronounced Fall and Spring – it just went straight to Winter and Summer (though more so Summer).

I’ve started my Christmas shopping already. Not going to get caught out this year. Last year, I sent home gifts for the family, one box, less than 4 kilograms (about 8ish pounds), and it cost me 66 GBP! I almost died! So Im going to do a few things differently this year. Ill still send stuff, but will mail it from Mailboxes Etc, not my local post office, and I will mail earlier (hence the shopping now). I don’t have Thanksgiving to rely on anymore to tell me when to start shopping so I’ve got to depend on myself…….ut oh!

Speaking of kilograms – cooking here is fun! Its the metric system! Remember in school they tried to teach this to us? If I had known then, that I was going to live here years later, I would have paid more attention! There are no cups, half cups, etc. There are grams. 250 grams. 75 grams. I need a computer in my kitchen to constantly look up the conversions. Because I have measuring cups. They do say 1 cup, 1/2 cup etc…..but they also say ML (milliliters). 240 ML is approximately 1 cup, or 8 Ounces. However, the recipe calls for 200 ML of milk say…..so then I have to AGAIN, add, approximate, subtract……..ARGH!!!!!!