ME BEING HAPPY

Or am I biting my tongue?   Snap the picture already!

MA UNG URS

Translation . . .  My tongue hurts.  From biting it.  It is bitten down to a bloody nub.
Reason . . .  RULE # 1
Rule #1 . . .   BITE YOUR TONGUE !

That's Rule #1 for grandparents, mother's, wives, mother-in-laws.  And probably a thousand other instances.   The old "shut up and mind your own business" is usually excellent advice but you do take the risk of never being able to speak properly again because your tongue is destroyed.

I have the most trouble as a wife. The grand kids are great, the kids are great and even when you see or hear some thing that you have trouble accepting you can always vent to your fellow grand ma's and friends. We all think that our kids are too strict or not strict enough. We all agree that our grand kids need more/less; food/sleep/play/discipline/clothes and toys. It's just a given that when you see your grand kids you have the need to raise them your way. The fact that you screwed up ROYALLY when raising your own children does not deter you from thinking you can do a better job than your children. It just comes with the territory of being a grand parent.
So if you are smart . . . YOU BITE YOUR TONGUE.

But this whole wife thing sucks big time.  After ALL these years you would think nothing would bother me when in fact EVERY THING bothers me.  Soooooooooooooooooooooooo  I bite my tongue. Because I know that I AM the problem.  H is who he is and ain't never gonna change. I have complained about this fact for 43 years. But my tongue has NEVER been as sore as it is now. Why? It's beyond me as to why now I am REALLY REALLY annoyed by this man.  Could it be all this togetherness?
3 weeks in England together really did nothing to ease the annoyance.
A road trip to NY, MD and NC will do nothing to ease the annoyance.
Living together 24/7 does nothing to ease the annoyance.

My tongue hurts!

HE'S POSITIVE I'M NEGATIVE

But I'm positive I'm positive, except when it comes to H and then I'm usually negative.

H has informed me, yet again, that I am negative. Is that true?  I always thought that even though I DO have a negative attitude to H I do look at things in a more positive way. Like I do believe that there IS a Heaven and we all have the opportunity to get there.
I DO believe in "love at first sight" and "Soul mates",  although neither has ever been part of my life I do believe it happens.
I DO believe that things ALWAYS happen for a reason and then when "the shit hits the fan" the fan will also blow the shit away and you can start fresh. I DO believe that "When one door closes another door opens". And so on and so on . . .
I ALWAYS try to see the best in people, even H, although I don't usually write about that because it isn't as entertaining.

So how come H thinks I am NEGATIVE?  Any one?  Please let me know because if I REALLY AM the Grinch in drag I want to know so I can try to change.  I hate negative people.  They really drag you down and I would hate to think I am doing that to you.

JACK DANIELS ?

Our air conditioner died today.  It is 86 degrees at 11 PM  tonight, my house is 87 degrees and I don't care.  The AC dude was here at 10:15 this evening and did not have a new fan for the AC unit so we must wait until tomorrow and keep our fingers crossed that he can get into the office to get a new fan for us.  He will call at 8:30 in the morning to let us know what is going on.  Naturally the AC died on Friday afternoon of a holiday weekend.  Just like my kids ALWAYS got sick on Sunday morning of a holiday weekend when the doctor was going to be away for a week.  It is just a fact of nature or perhaps it is Murphy's Law.  What ever the reason it sucks but I DON'T CARE!

THANK YOU house guest Lynne who arrived this afternoon with a bottle of Jack Daniels with honey and some Crystal light lemonade.  This is apparently a new drink Lynne has discovered and wanted to share with us. We swam this afternoon and then went to church and dinner.  Once we came home to the HOT HOUSE we put our bathing suits back on and mixed us up a couple of glasses of some really yummy drinks.  The JD is sneaky stuff and it wasn't until I sat down to write this blog that I realized I didn't care how hot the house was . . . I'm GOING to SLEEP!  I may wake up at 3 AM and be dieing from either heat or headache but either way it doesn't matter right now.

As you can tell we are home from England.  Good flight - great visit.   The week has been spent fighting Jet Lag, (not too bad at all) and unpacking and cleaning up a house that we haven't been in for 3 weeks  . . . . so how come it is such a mess?  Things returned to normal pretty quickly and we are enjoying our holiday weekend.  It may be spent in the pool but as long as the booze holds out we are good to go!

THE LAST BLOG FROM ENGLAND

I was going to title this "THE LAST BLOG" but thought that sounded a bit dooms day-ish.  Sort of like the "BIG SLEEP HOTEL" we stayed in in Cardiff.

The kids are still in school but will be arriving home soon. Our bags are on the beds and are  almost packed. There isn't much free space in them either. I had thought that once I had unpacked all the things we brought to England I would have tons of space for the return trip. OOPS . . . guess I shopped a bit more than I thought. There will be at least one carry on filled with "stuff" and possibly a second bag filled with dirty laundry of the clothes we're wearing today and can't fit into the suitcase tomorrow morning. I  thought I might have some room to squeeze Abby into my bag so I could bring her home with me but it doesn't look that way.  I guess I will just have to wait to see her in August in Florida.

As a last HURRAH Bridget, Ger and I returned to the Prince Albert for today's lunch. That was where we ate lunch the first day we arrived and we wanted to finish up in the same way. I was even going to order the same thing that I had that first day three weeks ago but saw some one order the fish and chips and HAD to have that. How could I have been in England for 3 weeks and not had fish and chips at least once? It was FABULOUS along with a pint of Strongbow cider. I will miss the cider more than anything. It being our farewell lunch we did order a STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING to top off the meal. This too is a classic of England and as of today I have not taken the opportunity to taste this treat. OMG . . . what have I been missing?  Today's pudding began with a very moist light spice cake covered in some sort of sticky toffee crunchy stuff topped with a cream sauce. Any weight that I have managed to loose just found it's way back onto my stomach and hips.  BURP! With a capital "B".
So now I am feeling totally bloated and full and all I want to do is get myself home without a major coronary from blocked arteries thanks to all the great things I have been eating over here. We need a major over haul once we get home and get back to those healthy salads and 2 meals a day without desserts.  Between the fried food and the sticky cakes, clotted cream and bread bread bread, cookies and chocolate I am done eating at least until I get to the airport tomorrow.

I have checked in with the airlines, done the last load of laundry, packed my back pack and eaten MY LAST MEAL, in England that is. Tonight is swimming so we will pick at left overs for dinner if I can even fit anything in by then. Tomorrow we will leave for the airport around noon and catch our 2:25 flight to Atlanta. It's good to be coming home. I am ready for home and familiar beds and baths and food and drinks.

See you in a couple of days after I wake up.

BRADLY COMES TO DINNER

Meet Bradley Bear . . .

Bradley is the one on the right with the sweater on. He is sitting on a jar of trail  mix because he isn't very tall.
Bradley lives in Abby's classroom and comes home on weekends to different children's houses to spend the weekend with the child and their family. It is quite an honor to be chosen to host Bradly and this weekend was Abby's turn. (Last week Abby was chosen to sit at the "FRIDAY TABLE" where only the very best behaved children are let sit.)Bradly spent the weekend with us going to Roman's first communion, the Diamond Jubilee parade on Saturday in town, ( I was sure Bradley would wander off and get lost but he stuck with us like glue. That's more than can be said for grandpa!), and our adventures around the house. Bradley has had dinner, breakfast and lunch with us and has gotten to sleep with Abby each night. Now it is time for Bradley to return to school but not before Abby writes in Bradley's journal all that they did together for the weekend. Pictures are included!

ROMAN'S FIRST COMMUNION

All the First communicants

Roman and family

The sun came out just as we arrived at the church this morning to go to Roman's first Communion Mass. It was a grey and misty morning when we left at 9AM to walk to church but as soon as we got to the church the sun came out. The tiny church was packed to over flowing with the families of the 25 children making their first communion. The children were all decked out in their finest and were seated at the ends of the pews on the center aisle. Father William said a wonderful mass with a minimum of pomp and ceremony. His homily was addressed directly to the children and their parents. It was probably the best communion mass I have ever attended. The kids were relaxed and yet were the main focus of the mass.

CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU ROMAN!


P.P.S.S.

Last night after our return the family went to Abby's Brownie meeting to watch the Brownie Talent Contest.
Abby's Brownie leader is amazing and is doing an amazing job with these girls.
The leaders daughter, who is a college student, brought her flat mates with her and the 5 older girls were the judges for the talent contest. The leaders husband was part of the judging team and also in charge of mechanical equipment.
The girls sang, danced, did magic tricks, told jokes and Abby played the piano. They were all awarded scores from 10-15 of which  most got 14 with the exception of MISS ABIGAIL the pianist who got a 15 and won the competition!
We were so proud! 
The girls all dressed up to suit their talent and were just amazing for a bunch of 7-9 year olds. 
It was a delightful evening to see Girl Scouts alive and well on this side of the pond.
A BIG THUMBS UP to Abby's leader and her family for doing such a wonderful job in
working with these girls.    

P.S.

I forgot to tell you about the low wall surrounding the park around the castle in Cardiff. It seems that Lord whom ever wanted to create a zoo in Cardiff but the city council wouldn't give him the OK. So instead he created a zoo of stone animals all along the wall around the park. Every 12 feet or so there is a large stone animal sitting or climbing on the wall. They are beautiful statues and really make the wall look quite unique.

NO WHALES IN WALES

CARDIFF CASTLE

CARDIFF BAY

CARDIFF CITY

The wall around the Castle

C


RIVER TAFT WATER TAX

But there were lots of other good things to see and do. Cardiff is the capitol of Wales but it isn't a huge city.  It DOES have 3 arenas for different venues. The Millennium Stadium is for sporting events and is very new looking. The Millennium arena is for cultural happenings and it too is a very new building. Both of these buildings are HUGE and very modern. (If I wasn't battling with this computer I would show you pictures.)  The third arena seems to be more for things like car shows and rock concerts. Apparently the Welsh are very proud of their musical talents and take great pride in any and all talent that comes from their country. Of all the names listed of famous people who came from Wales the only one I knew was Tom Jones. Of whom I was never a fan.

As most cities in the UK, Cardiff boasts of a Castle. Compared to Windsor castle it isn't much to speak of but it was great fun to tour. The Castle in Cardiff is only about 100 years old, although it is built on the remains of a Roman fortress. You know those Romans . . .  conquer, conquer, conquer! They, like most men, could never have enough toys to play with or places to order around. And so at one time in history the Romans invaded little old Wales, took over everything and built a fortress on the River Taft which leads to the sea. The fortress fell down, was built up, fell down and was built up over and over until in the 1800's lord some body or other did it right. He built and lived in the manor house and that is what stands there today. The castle played a big part in WWII as a place for the people of Cardiff to survive the air raids that destroyed most of the city. It was a very interesting place to visit and we really enjoyed our day there on Tuesday.

As for the rest of Cardiff, there really isn't much to see. They are restoring the water front with shops and restaurants, there are 2 really GREAT places for kids to spend a day. Techni quest was an awesome hands on science center that Ger and I paid the 5 pounds to get into. I would still be there but G was getting hungry and bored. (The puzzles were getting the best of him!) There is also a "DOCTOR WHO experience", where kids can go to get their fill of this TV science star. Doctor Who travels in time in a Police telephone booth. It is a much loved show here in the UK but since my grand kids never get to watch TV they don't know anything about the good doctor and so neither do we.

G and I had a nice time in Cardiff and can now say we have been there. The people were WONDERFUL and oh so much more friendly than in England. The folks in England are lovely once YOU break the silence. In Wales the people were just so out going and friendly although they were harder to understand than the English as their accents are about as thick as the Scots.

I think I need to put Wales on my list of places to explore even more because the northern part of Wales is filled with mountains and beautiful scenery. The more I research this the more I want to return.

I guess I better start saving those dollars and hope that the exchange rate of dollars to pounds improves.

And so our trip to Wales came to an end on Thursday when we walked back to the train station to catch a train back to Windsor. Our hotel was great in spite of the misgivings I had about staying in a place called, "THE BIG SLEEP". That was a bit worrisome to me but the place was great and our corner room on the 10th floor had a spectacular view of the city. (There really was nothing to see except other buildings.) The room was comfy and cheap and that is all we needed. There was one pecular thing that had Ger and I puzzled for a bit. We settled into the room and I went to turn the bath room lights on but they wouldn't work. None of the lights worked. The TV didn't work. HUM! Before I got on the phone to call the desk I walked to the door to see if there were and insturctions and there on the wall beside the door was a small box with a metal plate it in. Instruction said, "Place card here". Card? What card?

I got the room key card, slid it in the slot and sure enough all the lights came on!

Kyle says many hotel have this sort of thing that is a master switch for the electric in your room . It was a first to us but now I know should we ever encounter it again.

GO FIGURE!

ESENTIAL TO WHOM ?

Damn this little computer!  Here I was ready to write this smart ass blog and I am fighting the computer every step of the way trying to down load and    TURN  pictures. Needless to say, the computer is winning!

I was cleaning up my breakfast (lunch) dishes when I stopped to read the detergent bottle. It just struck me funny that it is called "ESSENTIAL Waitrose (that's the name of the grocery store) washing up liquid". Seems like a lot of words for DISH DETERGENT. But that's the British for you.

We found while in Wales that the Welsh folks really don't like being part of England. Some where back in time the English decided that this little country of Wales wasn't to be left on their own and needed to be part of the British Empire. Wales didn't quite see it that way but the English being who they are took over any way.

So following true to form the English are telling us that this dish washing detergent is ESSENTIAL to you if you want clean dishes.  Go Figure!

WE'RE BBBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAACCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKK

We are returned to Windsor safe and sound from our adventure in Wales.
We left on Tuesday morning taking a taxi into town to the small station that runs a train to Slough where you can transfer to all sorts of places.  The little train takes all of 6 minutes so you just about get your baggage settled when you are getting up to get off. Once at the Slough station it is up the stairs across the tracks and down to another one of the 3 platforms to catch the next train. Train 2 took us to Reading which was about 20 minutes away so there was a bit more time to settle. The day was overcast and quite windy so when we got to Reading and had to stand out on the platform to wait for our train to Cardiff we were freezing!  We had about a 15 minute wait and that was quite long enough. As I have mentioned in the past the English rail system is FANTASTIC ! You can go anywhere by train and it doesn't cost a fortune.
Our train to Cardiff arrived right on time and off we went on the last leg of our journey. The car we sat in had TV screens on the backs of the seats in front of you. We could watch the train traveling across the country side along with the speed and the elevation. At one point we were 450 feet above sea level going 110 MPH, only to arrive in Cardiff at sea level. The train was comfy and fast and a great ride. 
It was cold in Cardiff so when we came out of the train station not knowing which way to go we ducked into a Burger King to warm up and get our bearings. (And to have a burger since we were there.) Turns out our hotel was just 4 blocks away and very easy to find. Kyle did good in finding us our hotel that only cost us 29 pound a night. We walked to the hotel but couldn't get into our room because it was too early so we left our bags and headed off to see what Cardiff had to offer.
And for that story you'll have to wait till tomorrow. If you are really lucky there might even be pictures.

ROYAL WINDSOR FARM

After the weekend of waking up at dawn with Abby I got to sleep in today. It was a rainy Monday and the kids went off to school tired after their weekend with us. Bridget got the kids off to school and then went for a BIG shopping run to the grocery store. She had us laughing explaining how she doesn't let Kyle do the grocery shopping because he is always looking for a bargain. Kyle will come home with $20 worth of groceries, so proud that he did such good bargain shopping but Bridget won't have enough food to get through the week. That's my boy! Kyle sure as heck doesn't take after me.
After the groceries were put away and the soup for tonight's dinner was started in the crock pot Bridget, Ger and I piled into the car and took off for a lovely lunch at the Royal Farm. The food is wonderful, the ingredients are fresh fresh fresh and the setting is charming. They also have a gift shop that sells fresh produce, meats and breads among other things but after the lamb and mint pasty that we had for lunch there wasn't any room for extras.
Bridget dropped Ger and I in town so we could get some more "funny money" for our trip to Wales tomorrow. We then did a little shopping and picked up an English soccer shirt for all the grand kids back in the US. By the time we got home it was time for the kids to come home, eat an early dinner and get their home work done before swim lessons. Ger and I went with Bridget and the kids over to Ascot where there is a private school with a huge indoor pool. The lessons took a half hour and we were amazed at what good swimmers both the kids are. Abby is working on the back stroke in the deep end of the pool while Roman is swimming laps using a variety of strokes. It was quite lovely to sit in the HOT pool area for the half hour and feel like we were back in Florida.
We are wondering what the weather will be like in Wales over the next 2 days. Ger and I have packed our back packs and are ready to get the train from Windsor tomorrow morning. I am leaving my computer home because it is too much of a bother to carry and I don't know if the hotel we're staying at will have WIFI so I will be out of touch for the next 2 nights.
Stay tuned for Thursday nights return . . .

SURVIVED !

We did survive the weekend with Abby and Roman and even lived to tell about it. It was a great weekend for us all. K & B had a good time in Belfast, Northern Ireland and were back here this morning in time for 11 AM mass.  They spent yesterday taking a bike tour of the country side and enjoying some good Irish cooking. They caught up on some sleep and came back refreshed. Until this evening when they sat down with the kids to do home work. It took 3 hours for Roman to do 9 math problems and for Abby to practice her penmanship on 10 words. Ger and I left for the pub!

After our day at the horse show yesterday the kids and I watched "Puss in Boots" last night and had lights out by 9. Both kids slept great last night but Abby was awake at 7 standing at the side of my bed staring at me. (The night before she did that at 4 AM and scared the bejebbers out of me.) WE snuggled for a bit and then got up to make some breakfast. We didn't see Roman till 9 just before Kyle and Bridget returned from their weekend get-a-way. Both kids were dragging their butts today but managed to hang in there through mass and lunch at a great Italian restaurant in town. After lunch we stopped in Daniels department store so Roman could shop for a remote controlled air plane with the money he got for his birthday. Daniels didn't have planes but they did have a helicopter. We came home and Kyle and Roman went into the kitchen to see what this helicopter involved. Some where along the way Roman jammed a screw into the works of the remote and that was the end of the remote. The two had to return to Daniels with the broken remote and exchange it for another one. That was about the point when Abby started her home work and Ger and I decided to escape to the local pub.
We are back now, the kids are in bed, K & B have retired to their room to bang their heads against the wall and wonder why they ever decided to have children and why they came back from Ireland so quickly. The home works are done, the out of control helicopter that took off in the kitchen (thank heavens for 20 foot ceilings in this house) is now back in the box until Roman and his dad can go fly it OUTSIDE, grandma and grandpa are ready to call it a day and Bridget and I are actually 2 very proud mother's this Mother's Day.

WINDSOR ROYAL HORSE SHOW

Neigh!  That's how I feel about horses but these beauties that we saw today were just beautiful. Wednesday opened the annual horse show in Windsor and there are folks and horses from all over the world. With Kyle and Bridget away this weekend Grand da and I took the kids to the show. Having gone the past year or so the kids knew more about the workings of this than we did. They knew there would be plenty of places for us to spend our money on them and Grandpa was fully prepared to thwart their efforts to get "things". Grand Pa is basically on my shit list after today because he was just a nasty old fart for the entire day. G seems to feel that he alone will "correct" and transform these 2 perfect children into clones of himself. GOD HELP US ALL!  My 3 kids and myself all need or have had therapy thanks to G and now he wants to "fix" Abby and Roman.

Returning to the point at hand, the horse show was quite an experience. The day was perfect, cool and SUNNY! Yes, the sun was actually out for a good part of the day and made it beautiful in the sunshine. When the clouds came it go chilly so we spent a lot of time taking off and putting on jackets. Luckily it had not rained in the past 3 days so the  muddy ground was at a minimum and we really didn't need to wear our boots.

We took a cab into town because knowing we would be walking around the entire day there was no reason to start the day with a 45 minute walk. The first things we encountered upon entering the grounds were 3 "rides", (a Ferris wheel, a carousel and a huge slide) Heaven forbid the rides should be included in the expensive tickets for the show . . .  rather they cost 2.50 pounds or nearly $5 each. You can guess what the kids wanted to do but we put them off to the end of the day. But just in case you actually got past the rides without spending money the next booths contained carnival games. Also at 2.5 pounds a play.  I thought we came here to see horses?   We also managed to avoid the games only to come around the next turn in the road and find the FOOD COURT!  By now I am beginning to wonder if they even have a horse at this event but sure enough we did find the horses and spent a great day watching parades and jumping of both large and small horses. At one point we were watching the children's competition on small ponies. There was one little guy about 7 years old who just swept the crowd away.

It was a good time and once we stopped for lunch, cotton candy, ice cream, a carousel ride and a game the kids were ready to head home. G and I were pretty much DONE at that point but it was an experience we will remember.

SUN SHINE AND FANCY HATS

                                                                                                                          



This is our view from the parlor in Kyle's house. I woke up this morning and opened the blinds to see beautiful blue skies and SUN!  It's a lovely day and we are enjoying it.

Kyle and Bridget are leaving for a weekend in Belfast. The kids are going to friends houses for play dates and dinner right from school today so grand da and I have the afternoon off.                                          

 This morning after the kids went to school Ger and I joined Bridget and her friend Susan on and adventure to the next town over. Dachet is a small town that is very quaint and lovely. It houses the HAT LADY.  Margaret has been selling hats for over 27 years and her shop is PACKED with hats, hats and more hats. Because Bridget, Kyle and Susan are going to the Royal Ascot races next month the ladies must have lovely dresses and extremely fancy hats. Because these hats cost a small fortune to buy the girls decided to rent their hats for about a quarter of the cost. Today was hat shopping day so off we went. Ger chose to sit in the car and read his book but being as nosey as I am I was not about to miss this. When we opened the door to the shop there was barely space to turn around.  There were 3 sisters trying on hats for a wedding and they were quite entertaining.  It was beyond my self control to remain silent so I got into the discussion of color and style with them and the "Mother of the Groom" made and excellent choice. 

Then it was Bridget and Susan's turn.  They had brought their dresses with them and with the help of Mistress Margaret and her over worked and harried assistant, Shirley, the girls found the perfect hats for their dresses and personalities.  Within an hour the next appointment was arriving, Mistress Margaret was so many pounds richer and the girls were set for their day at Ascot in June.

I would have stayed all day just watching all the different hats being tried on. I can't tell you how many thousands of hats were in this small space but it surely had one for every body and every occasion.

EARLY BIRD DAY

Roman had a dentist appointment this morning so Ger and I got up early (8 AM) to take Abby to school at 8:45. I have been sleeping in these past few days so it was a surprise for the kids to see me before they went to school. Once Abby was dropped off Ger and I stopped at home, picked up our back packs and walked into town. We were actually in town by 10 AM. WE stopped at a cafe and had a BIG English breakfast. Ger chose to fore go the beans, pudding and brown bread so he just had eggs, ham, sausage, mushrooms and toast. (He gave me the mushrooms which were delish) I had eggs Benedict with smoked salmon. FANTASTIC!  A capichino to drink and I am full for the day.
The day is  milder than it has been but it is still cloudy. The sun was trying to break through every so often but at the moment, (3PM) it is pouring. It was good we walked into town early because that was the best part of the day. Also by going in early we got to see the Queens Guard marching out of the castle after the changing of the guard. Isn't that just amazing that you can see a parade any day of the week! The soldiers are dressed in their finest red uniforms and huge hats. Guess who didn't bring their cameras with them today?!
Ger and I wandered in and out of the thrift shops today. They have thrift shops on every street for all sorts of causes. Many are for children's health care, cancer and other needy charities. There were even 3 or 4 people standing on the street with Shetland ponies that are "Hospital Ponies". They were collecting for LOCAL HANDICAPPED CHILDREN. It took us about a half hour to figure out what they were saying. To us it sounded like "OCRA ANDY CROPPED CHILDREN".  We did donate a pound and got to pet the pony. As for the rest of the purchases, I found 2 books for one pound each and a wonderful scarf that is perfect for Florida with bright toucans and leaves on it. This Palm Beach Diva can never have enough pashmina's or scarves. We made a stop at Mac Donalds for a potty break and a soda, did some grocery shopping for the weekend and took a taxi home.  We have been trying to figure out just how far it is to walk into town but really can't figure it out. We will have to get Kyle to measure the distance for us.
Now that we are home for the day I have made dinner for tonight. Bridget is  working at Abby's school for the afternoon. She works there on Thursday working on their WEB site for them. Abby will come home with Bridget, eat a quick "dinner" and then she goes off to piano lessons and then Brownies right after that. Ger has gone to pick up Roman and I am sitting here hoping Abby's dinner will be done by the time she and her mum come home. These English appliances leave me scratching my head. There is no such thing as OFF and ON. Instead there are pictures that I haven't a clue what they mean. Fans, 2 squiggly lines, wavy lines and straight lines. And then the temperature goes from 175-190.  HUH?  I did manage to get the oven to get hot so I just hope it is hot enough to be cooking the dinner. As for the microwave, that's also a crap shoot.
I see Abby and mum dodging the rain drops on their race to get home.  No stop at the play ground today!

P.S.  Roman went to the dentist to see if he was brushing his teeth well enough to get braces must be doing good because when he gets back from the trip to the US in August he will be getting braces on his bottom teeth.  Horray for English health care!

HELL OF A TRIP JUST FOR LUNCH

Today we had lunch with Abby at her school. It just worked out that we are here and it was "BRING YOUR GRANDPARENTS TO LUNCH" day. The timing of this trip is working out great; Roman's birthday, Roman's first communion and lunch with Abby.
Grand da and I walked over to Abby's school at noon and were greeted at the door by the staff. Every one seems to know Abby and they all ask how long we are here on holiday. We waited in the old lunch room with the other grand parents until Abby came through with her class. Looking around at the other grand parents was quite interesting.  There were a few who looked like they were in the same age group as the queen and a bunch that looked like they weren't old enough to have kids, no less grand kids.
Once Abby took us in hand we went to the new lunch room where we were served roast chicken, potatoes, peas and carrots and more carrots. We sat at the lunch tables with Abby and other school kids and grand parents and had water to drink. Naturally we got talking with 2 other grand mums who immediately started questioning us about our president and our country's politics. One woman hoped Obama wouldn't win the election and the other, older grand mum, who had studied politics and history in University, told us she thought Obama would win again because Mitt just isn't a strong candidate. It was a very interesting lunch as Abby and the other little girls stuffed in their lunch and made a break for the play ground. Abby did take time to give us a hug and tell us she would see us at the end of the day.
All in all it was great fun and now we are back home resting our full tummies and tired feet.   Bridget is out dress shopping with a friend. All the Royal Ascot race preparations for the ladies are in full swing. Bridget has a dress that she wore to some wedding so she just needs a hat. Her friend Susan is the one dress shopping today and then on Friday they will let me join them as they search for hats.  How shocking would it be if grand mum got a BIG HAT FILLED WITH FEATHERS to wear to church on Sundays?  Anything is possible!

GROUNDED !

It has happened to all of us at one time or another. Just another case of "Holy crap, did I just say that out loud?"
Our 12 year old Roman had trouble yesterday keeping THOSE words in his head and not letting them slip out.  Last year when the "F" word poured out after school we chalked it up to either not knowing what he was saying, just trying to fit in with the guys or getting set up by his buddies. 
But when THAT word slipped out in school yesterday there was no excuse. It seems some girl was bugging him and he told her to "F" OFF.  Teacher heard him or the girl told on him and he was nailed.  When mom read the note from the teacher it was not good. Naturally Roman could not remember what he had said and so was sent to his room to try to get his memory back. When he finally crept down the stairs to tell mom what he had said he knew he was in DEEP DO DO.
As a result grandma and grandpa will be spending the next 3 afternoons with Abby while Roman sits in his room contemplating better words to use when some one is bugging him.
Do you remember the first time you let the bomb drop in front of your parents?  I was in college and "only" said shit in front of my mother. The reflexes of a 58 year old mother are not to be taken lightly. My head is still ringing from the shot she gave me. I didn't start using the "F" bomb until I was married.
I get it how THE word can sneak out but not from my 12 year old grandson. Who knows what his past had him saying and doing in order to survive but times have changed my boy and so must your language.
K & B are doing an amazing job with this boy.  I know they are constantly questioning their parenting skills but as far as I can see they are RIGHT ON! It isn't easy and there are no right or wrong answers. It all changes with each child and each situation. Considering the circumstances mom and dad are doing GREAT!
Enjoy the peace and quiet Roman, we'll see you on Friday.

ONLY 4 PM

Roman hasn't come home from school yet and Abby is on the play ground with some other kids before she has to come home and start homework. Ger and I are here at the house resting our weary bones after walking into town for the day. I have no idea just how far it is to walk into town.  It feels like miles but is probably only about 3/4 of a mile. It's a pleasant walk and we get to see all the gardens as we go. Every garden is filled with flowers, even though it is still quite chilly.  Today it is warming up a bit so by the time we arrived in town we were quite warm and wound up taking our coats off. H had prepared for WINTER and had on 4 layers of shirts so by the time we were in and out of a few shops he was on the verge of melting.
Our first stop in town was for lunch. (I had slept till 10:15 today so we didn't get going till nearly 11) K&B have a loyalty card of sorts that they gave us for 4 different pubs in town. We chose the first one we came to, "51" was the name of it, and it was an excellent choice. Lovely atmosphere, some place we had never been to and the food was wonderful. Ger had sausage and mash and I had a "hot pot", which was basically a small lamb stew. YUMMY ! We do have a complaint to lodge with the British Pubs though. If you order an ale or cider you get served in a HUGE pint glass filled to the  brim.  But should you order a soda (cola) you get a tiny little glass with a bunch of ice cubes and very little liquid. It pays to DRINK when eating out. Ger is going through withdrawal not having his usual 3 liters of Pepsi or Coke for lunch. We had to have a pot of tea when we came home we were so thirsty.
After we ate we wandered in and out of some of the shops. There are tons of thrift shops in Windsor, each one sponsoring a different organization.  I love going in and out of them but H had different plans for the day. He is in search of Olympic Pins for friends back home so today we cased out all the shops that might sell the pins. For a country who is hosting the Summer Olympics in 3 months the Olympic souvenirs are few and far between. One of our usual go-to shops did have a nice selection so we will return to town at the end of the trip if we don't see any in any of the other places we visit.
After a stop for an ice cream cone we returned to the house to await the arrival of the kids from school. The sun has come out so the 2 of them are taking advantage of some nice sunshine to prolong the attack on home work. Tonight Bridget has a meeting so G and I will be in charge of getting the kids to bed at a reasonable time. I bought a book for myself to read to them tonight so hopefully we will get an early enough start for bed so I don't get us into trouble. Kyle is in Italy tonight so it is just Grandma and Grandpa in charge when mom is out. That could be dangerous!
Tomorrow Bridget and I were supposed to go to a flower arranging class in the library so Bridget stopped and got 2 beautiful bunches of flowers for us to work with. But then she got a call cancelling the class due to lack of interest. That's probably a good thing because G and I are going to GRAND PARENTS LUNCH with Abby tomorrow. 

BEST MORNING EVER

No pictures with this blog, it's been a quiet day and not much going on. Except for our morning.
After yesterdays trip into London everyone was pooped.  We all got to bed late after having dinner at 8:30 so the kids slept in until almost 8 this morning.  Ger and I are sleeping on the wonderfully comfortable blow up beds in the parlor and we don't hear a thing. We woke up at 9:30 to find the house quiet rest with the kids doing their chores and homework. By the time G and I pulled ourselves together the kids were ready to do something.  Then Roman realized he had more work to do so Abby and I dug out a book I had brought to her. It is called "GRANDMA AND ME" and is filled with activities and quizzes for the 2 of us to do together. On Saturday Abby and I sat and did a page that was a list of questons about her dad. WE had to answer questions like, "What is dad's favorite ice cream flavor?", or "What song does dad like to sing?". (Would you believe "Who let the Dogs Out"?  Then we gave dad the same blank page of questions and dad had to fill in his answers. Abby and I were RIGHT ON all the way!
Today while we were waiting for Roman we sat down again and continued through the book. It was full of giggles and laughs and it was the best time we have had in a long time.  Just the 2 girls being silly and having fun together. At one point I started thinking how special this was and I  could have broken into full out sobbing but contained myself so as to not scare poor Abby.
Once Roman finished his chores we left Bridget home and the rest of us went to Slough to get Roman a tennis racket so he can play tennis with his dad. The boy does well at sports that have constant movement. He is like Kyle so if you put him in the outfield at a baseball game he will end up sitting on the grass and filling his baseball glove with weeds. Tennis is a great game for him so hopefully he can now go play when ever he wants.

And thus ends the birthday weekend!  It was a bank holiday so Kyle was off and the kids schools were closed. Tomorrow it is back to normal for everyone. Kyle will be flying to Italy for 2 days and then on to Ireland for an overnight.  We will see him again on Thursday night. I wonder what trouble we can get into while he is gone.

PICTURES . . . MAYBE

Yesterday we all went into London to see Lion King . . ..  All part of the celebration for Roman's and grandma's birthday.

No pictures today

Grandmas back is aching so I am not going to sit too long to blog tonight.
We just skyped with Keri and Finn and got to see Finn's new hair cut. He looks adorable even though all those wonderful curls are gone. I don't know where the Cavanaugh kids get their beautiful curls but they look great on Kaelin.
We got to tell Aunt Keri all about our day today and the celebration of Roman's birthday, even though his birthday is actually until tomorrow.  Roman had to get up and go to church lessons for getting ready for his first communion in 2 weeks. Bridget went with him and Abby, Kyle and us went into town to get Abby a new pair of school shoes. While we were shopping grandpa and I were entertained by a street show. Then we walked down to a street market and home for some lunch.  This afternoon Roman and his parents and 2 of his friends went to drive go carts for his birthday party. The boys had to watch a video about the rules of go carts and then they got to drive for 30 minutes. It was apparently a huge track full of twists and turns and the boys had a ball. Everyone  came back to the house for pizza and cake. It was a good birthday and we all had lots of fun. Now it's time for bed so we can be up early tomorrow for church and a trip into London to see the show  LION KING  !  Hopefully after the weekend I'll find some time to put some pictures on this blog but for now this is all you get for today.

HATS HATS HATS

Today we took a walk into Windsor to revisit our favorite little city. Bridget walked in with us and we stayed nice and warm with the brisk pace Ger set for us. (The man has never been able to slow down. His NYC up bringing always comes through. Rush rush rush)
We got into town and Grandma needed to sit! I talked the group into a lovely hot chocolate at the train station coffee shop and we sat for a few and watched the people go by. Windsor isn't very crowded yet but with the Queen' diamond Jubilee coming up in June and the Olympics in August I'm sure sure the crowds are not far away.
After the hot chocolate we wandered into a few of the department stores so grandma could look for some warm HIGH socks. These little Florida socks that I brought just aren't keeping my toes warm enough. (I really did a lousy job of packing. I guess I will just have to shop and leave a winter wardrobe here.) As we entered Daniels, one of the biggest and nicest department stores in Windsor the entire front of the store is filled with hats. I am talking H*A*T*S.  HUGE HATS, the sort that you see the ladies wearing at the Kentucky Derby or to the races at Ascot. And that is why the hat selection is so extensive.

This is only one small display in the store. There were at least 5 different displays like this plus all the ones lining the walls. The hats are in EVERY color of the rainbow and range from little to gigantic.  I was in my glory and would have tried on every one until I checked out the price tags. 200 pounds (That is like $400) for a HAT?  I was afraid to even breathe on them no less touch them. Luckily we went into TK Max where there were some much less expensive hats that I could try on.

Bridget and Kyle are going to the races at Ascot this June so next Friday Bridget, a friend and I are going shopping for hats for the girls to wear to the races. If you think I look silly today just wait till next week.

As for the rest of the day, we had a delish lunch in town and then got home in time for the kids to come home from school. Abby had a friend over and they spent the time up stairs playing with the American girl doll. Roman and I played with his mini skate boards until it was time for a birthday party for me. How well these guys know me . . . I received a box of chocolates AND a commemorative box of shortbread cookies with the Queens Jubilee decorations on it. Included in my BD card were tickets for the whole family to go see Lion King in London on Sunday! FANTASTIC!

Dinner was fabulous, dessert was OUTSTANDING, the movie "Puss In Boots" is a riot and now it is time for bed.

P.S.

It was a nice relaxing day in Windsor. After Abby came home she had a snack and off Bridget, Abby and I went to piano lessons. Abby rode her scooter and Bridget and  I walked . . . BRISKLY !  Piano lessons are held in an OLD church just around the corner.

I hadn't heard Abby play the piano since last October and boy has she improved! She plays with 2 hands and is actually making music. I was even serenaded with a rendition of Happy Birthday. After piano we returned home to do homework. Abby had to do reading which she also excels at. She is reading like a 5th grader.
Roman had stayed home with Ger to do his reading. As good as Abby reads Roman has taken off with his English. He knows the English alphabet now which makes reading so much easier. (Have you ever seen the Russian alphabet?) Roman reads on a second grade level which is a HUGE jump from 6 months ago. These 2 kids are doing great!
After homework and dinner Roman had scouts to go to. He ran up to his room to put on his uniform and off he went for 2 hours. Bridget has gone out to pick him up and then we will all head for bed.

Funny Face Boy Scout

CHILLY AND DAMP IS A RELATIVE TERM

For this Florida girl it is a tough description of the weather to translate. H took this to mean that it would be like going to the Antarctic in winter and he should pack his parka and boots. I took it to mean that it would be as cold as the grocery store produce department and a little drier than Florida in the rainy season. Turns out we are both wrong. Chilly and Damp English style is exactly that. The sky is grey on grey on grey. You can't see the planes that are flying over head even though they are only about 800 feet above us. (or at least it sounds that way) The air is as damp as the Florida air in August but it is not being heated up by that HOT Florida sun. It has not rained since we arrived but if you go out you get wet. In other words, it is EXACTLY what you picture when you picture England.
SO WHAT THE HECK ARE WE DOING HERE?
Last night at dinner answered that question . . . laughing with the family and having Abby and Roman sitting next to me at dinner was what it is all about.  Even with the spilled milk. The kids are getting so tall and BOTH of them are really sounding British. The accents are there and coming out more and more. Kyle and Bridget are staying true American but the kids are English.
Yesterday we walked over to pick Abby up from her sewing class. She and a dozen little girls were sitting sewing their pencil cases and acting like silly little 7 year olds. Abby has  a great group of friends this year and her school class is a wonderful mix of nice little girls. No one is being bossy and they all seem to get along great.  Roman came out of school yesterday with a bunch of boys that all seemed to be great. As we were walking home Roman walked with me a chatted up a storm.  His English is fantastic and he has a lot to talk about. Both kids are outgoing and personable and full of fun.
Even the chilly and damp wouldn't keep me away.

Last night Ger and I actually stayed away an HOUR after the kids went to bed at 8. Then it was time to crash and crash we did!!  This trip Ger and I are camping out in the parlor down stairs so that Roman doesn't have to give up his room. K&B went out and bought HUGE blow up beds. I'm talking BEDS, not just mattresses. These beauties stand as tall as a regular bed and are entirely inflated. They have got to be queen size at least and are so freaking comfy that I didn't want to get up! (I know that is nothing new but I'm talking COMFORT!) Bridget bought beautiful new comforters in a very pretty pink rose design. The comforters are so thick and warm that I just snuggled under like a bear going into hibernation. So by 9:30 last night the house was quiet and we were snoring. Except for a pee break in the middle of the night the next thing we knew it was 10 AM! Ger was dead on his feet last night. The trip seemed to be harder on him that usual and at the moment he is snuggled up under an afghan on the couch taking a nap.  Bridget is out at Abby's school until 3:30 so I think I will take Ger's lead and also take a nap.
Chilly and Damp can be good for something.

READY TO GO !

The bags (one medium sized bag for each of us) are packed and sitting by the front door.  The bagels are wrapped in their plastic bags and stored in one of the carry-ons. (They don't have bagels in England) My back pack is loaded to the top with my new fuschia pashmina from Jeanne that I will throw over me on the plane if it gets cold, jacket, meds, snacks and puzzles. All of this will be stowed under my seat on the plane and never used because I plan on snuggling down and watching a movie and falling asleep. (That's where the meds come in!)

Husband is also ready to go.  He is showered and dressed in his finest crappy jeans and a yellow tee shirt that makes him look like he just crawled out of his refrigerator box in the woods. He had on a blue tee shirt that had stains all down the front. I asked him if he had a collared shirt he could wear. H got very snippy and asked what was wrong with the shirt he had on. I pointed out the stains so he changed into a crappy YELLOW tee.  I on the other hand look like a fool with my new hair but I am going to England where anything goes so WHAT THE HELL!

Do I look like a 67 year old trying to look like a 27 year old?  Hope so! That's the look I'm going for.
The other day I went for a pedi to make my feet happy for the trip and the girl doing my toes told me I have great feet for a tattoo. (She meant that they were FAT!) I REALLY REALLY want a tattoo before I die and I think I have found the spot . . . fat foot instep. Now I need to decide on WHAT sort of tattoo.   I should get my D-I-L Kristen to put a survey out on her blog to see what grandma should get tattooed on her foot.
I came home from the nail place after the pedi and told H about my conversation about tattoos. H looked at me with such a look of disgust or disdain, (hard to tell the difference with H) and then told me I should "GROW UP".
CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?  That is like telling Peter Pan he has to grow up. It just AIN'T gonna happen. Lately I have been seeing the quote "You have to grow OLD but you don't have to grow UP". This quote has popped up in a couple of different places over the past week so I am taking it as a direct word from God. Just about a week ago I was talking with God and telling him that I am having trouble hearing him. I know he talks to me all the time but I am just not hearing what he is telling me. Should I be doing more for my fellow man (and H)? Should I be more involved in charitable work?  What does HE want me to do with my remaining years, (months? days? whatever)? So far the only message I have taken to be from God is the previous quote about not growing up. SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN TO ME!

And so here we are waiting for Uncle Tommy to pick us up and take us to the airport to catch our flight to Atlanta and then London. I wonder if security at the airport will pull H or me aside for a security check. I'll keep you posted. And I sure do hope my bag is weighing in under 50 lbs. I'd hate to be one of those idiots who have their bag open on the sidewalk while they pull things out to try to get the bag to weigh less. Good thing they won't be weighing me!

SEE YOU IN WINDSOR !