Blogger Bum Speaking!

Sorry, I've been such a blogger bum. My heart just hasn't been in it recently. I am now in SLC and we are working hard on the wedding preparations. It's crazy and fun and quite stressful but I'm sure it will all be worth it in the end. I will try to jump start my blogging brain and get back on the wagon!

GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE, GONE! But not to me.

It was Friday, I was bored, hadn't seen my husband in days and so I decided to go for a little 'retail therapy.' Lot's Road here I come. The local auction house calls my name on occasion and I listen. I've decided that it is a blessing in disguise that I can't actually attend the auctions and instead I submit an absentee bid. I know that I would have a lot more of these little gems than I would really know what to do with if I was actually there in the throws of excitement and getting caught up in the moment. As it is I can leave my bid after thoughtful reflection (hmmmm) and if it goes for more - so be it. Interestingly enough, even after thoughtful reflection, upon more thoughtful reflection I realize that I don't need it, I don't want it and I have NO space for it. So this is how the story goes:



I love this table and others like it. My problem is that I'm not really sure what I would do if I really got one. It won't fit anywhere around here so I must be planning on taking it to the 'other' house - which when I think about it doesn't have space for it either. So it's probably a good thing that I didn't get this one.


I spent a moment or two in front of this wondering where it would fit. Again, no place for it here - and who knows what my kitchen will look like after the redo - whoooooh, glad I didn't get this one.


I've been thinking about getting some different furniture for Andrea's room. I thought this was cute - but it just didn't raise the blood pressure enough to actually motivate me to put in a bid.


I did put in a bid on this. I can just see Andrea's perfume collection sitting nicely on top of that. And I know she would love to look at herself as she is singing to her ipod!! (Better not tell her I said that.)


There were four of these - Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Dean Sinatra and Elizabeth Taylor. I thought they would be great in the theater room. What theater room you ask? Good question!


This is what I really wanted. Our desk here is on it's last leg - literally. I'm going to have to be a little more aggressive it seems if I want to pick up one of these. This is probably my 5th attempt so far and no luck.



Did I mention that this is my one and only success story from this weekend? Yes - we got Andrea's dressing table. Now, she has to choose between her bed or the mirrors - which one will go that is the question...






Speaking of Andrea, this is my little ducky on our fateful 'can't find a place to spend our money for lunch' day.

She balked at wearing this little rain coat but I think in the end she was glad to have it - thank goodness she didn't see anyone she knew on our trek that day. She assured me she would have been humiliated - deeply, profoundly humiliated.

DRAMA UNDER THE WINDOW

THE SCENE OF THE CRIME


I'm going to start a new regular entry entitled: Drama Under the Window. And let me tell you why...

If you recall I have mentioned in past entries about the excitement outside our window. Living in the city can be pretty interesting at times and last night was no exception.

Let me back up just a little to explain that my last day of Early Morning Seminary was on Tuesday and I was really looking forward to being able to lie in (as they call it around here). So far no luck but I'm hoping things start going my way pretty soon. So to get back to my story...

At exactly 4:37 this morning I could hear some yelling outside my window. I was a little groggy because it did after all wake me from a deep sleep. So I laid there for a few minutes and the sound didn't seem to be moving along. Sometimes when the pubsters get through for the evening they can end up right under my window and make a real raucous. But this woman was screaming at the top of her lungs and making some kind of tribal war hoop sound. Hard to explain. Finally, I get up to see what is going on. Across the street (you know - where Royalty lives) there is this barefoot woman, skimpily dressed and yelling her head off in arabic.

Finally someone came to the door and he was pointing his finger at her and I think he was telling her to be quiet - at least I hope he was telling her that - because by now I'm sure the whole neighborhood is awake. She continues her war cry and is making a really weird sound. The man seemed a little desperate but clearly didn't know what to do so he went back into his house and shut the door. That did nothing to calm this woman down.

Now, neighbor enters from side, obviously angry and still in his cute little silk pajamas (sans robe). He walks right up to the lady, sticks his finger in her face and tells her, "shut up or I'm calling the police." The woman just kept up her screaming and that other weird sound and then she pulled out a cell phone and made a call and started doing that noise into the cell phone. The man was yelling for her to be quiet or he was going to call the police. She didn't stop and he grabbed the phone from her hand and started to make good on his threat with HER phone. I got a little chuckle out of that. She started whacking at him a little bit but he walked away - with her phone. At that point she started to scream some words we would ALL recognize, if you know what I mean.

That was it - she walked away - still barefooted. Then I was left with a whole family awake at 4:30 and me trying to explain a yelling, crazy woman in bare feet. On any other day I might even be described that way - but NOT at 4:30 in the morning.

So if anyone is ever laid up with a broken leg I have a great "Rear Window" for you to set yourself in front of!

Channel Surfing

I finally got the remote in my hand and I'm looking around for something to keep me interested for a few minutes and here are my choices:

Female Hoarders: Hidden Lives
21st Century Corsetry
Slinky Travel Wardrobe
My Body Hell
Celebrity Rehab
In the Bedroom
Heroes Unmasked
Two Pints of Lager and...
Gridlock and Roadrage
Only Fools and Horses
Dirty Sanchez 4:Behind the 7 Sins

and my personal favorite:

Goldenballs (it's a game show believe it or not)

I think I'll go read a book!

WE GAVE UP!

It has been raining for a few days. Yesterday was the bank holiday and I took Jeff and the kids over to the Family History Center to learn how to do indexing. We were there for a few hours and then we decided to go to lunch. We had the most incredible bad luck. First, remember it was raining like crazy, so we decide to walk (Jeff's idea) to a restaurant in Fulham. We walk and walk and can't find it so we get into a taxi and he can't find it so we get out and walk some more. Finally, we are freezing cold and wet and we decide to go back to our house and go to a restaurant there. We get all the way back, Andrea's begging to go home, and we get to the restaurant and there is a line out the door. Decide we can't wait so we go next door to a little pub and wait for a table. Finally, we get a table, sit down, take off our coats and go to order something and they said, "Sorry, we don't have enough staff to make food!" Why couldn't they tell us that in the first place? So we go to another place, go in, sit down, take off our coats, take 10 minutes to decide what to eat go to order and THEY aren't taking orders because they are closing in 20 minutes!!! I'm ready to scream. So then we go home and it is still raining and there is NOTHING in the house to eat except for this cake that I made the day before which I'm perfectly happy to eat but Jeff is getting a little irritated - HE WANTS FOOD. I DON'T want to cook. I figure I should get the day off - it was a holiday after all. We then try to order take-out and take 30 minutes to decide what, where and when and when we call we find out that they don't deliver to our area. Finally, Jeff just went to Sainsbury's and bought a couple of pizzas. AND we try a new lemon sorbet recipe which was fantastic. In the end we had to laugh - after we were dry and our stomachs were satiated that is...

I do have a cute pic of Andrea looking suspiciously like a little duck that I will post tomorrow. I have to get ready for my last seminary class today - which I am thrilled about by the way.

...ARE WE IN WIMBLEDON YET?

Today I talked Tay into going out for a little walk-a-bout. The hook was that somewhere or somehow we would stop to see the new Indiana Jones movie that just got into town. So we head on down to the tube station and I'm thinking we'll go to Wimbledon. The sun was out, my pocket was full of money - well, as full as it ever gets - and I was ready to go. For some reason, maybe it's a "Senior Moment" (that was the book Andrea got me for Mother's Day) but we ended up on the tube to Richmond. So I decide it was karma and we stayed on the tube all the way to Richmond.

Richmond is a wonderful little village, I've always known that, so we walk around a little, go to the movie (we liked it) and then we ask for directions to get back to the tube. The woman sends us via the waterfront because "it's a beautiful day." It was a great day and I thought we might as well go for a little boat ride on the Thames. That was only a 45 minute diversion but well worth the time it took. It was an amazing little ride with awesome scenery. Then we continued on our way and I just instinctively knew, I don't know how but I just did, when to get off the walk and head to the tube station. We decided to get off one stop early and buy three portions of crispy pork and rice from the little Canteen on the way.

IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE...

I guess we'll save Wimbledon for another day...

GO WILD IN THE GARDEN

CHELSEA GARDEN SHOW 2008

ENGLAND arguably has some of the most beautiful gardens I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Today at the World Renowned Chelsea Garden Show I (and about 30,000 other people) saw some beautiful sites. I liked almost everything. This year things were a little more subdued and definitely had a 'green' theme.

There are around 600 exhibitors at the show. This includes: 22 show gardens; 22 small gardens, including courtyard gardens and urban gardens; 100 floral exhibitors in the Great Pavilion; approximately 300 garden product exhibitors.
International exhibitors come from countries as far away as the Sweden, Barbados, Sri Lanka, France, Holland, Germany, Australia, Jamaica, South Africa, Trinidad & Tobago and Zimbabwe.



The show is held annually for five days in May.
It has been held at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea since 1913.
This will be the 85th show to be held at this site.
Originally known as the Great Spring Show, it was first held in Kensington in 1862.


RHS staff, exhibitors and contractors start planning for the show 18 months in advance.
Work is already underway for the show in 2009.
It takes 800 people three and a half weeks to build the show.
Construction of the show includes 5km of piping, 185 toilets and enough canvas to cover six football pitches.
The Great Pavilion covers nearly 12,000 sq m.
Around 250 new plants have been launched at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show over the past four years.
17,000 sq m of turf is re-laid after the show.
The showground covers 11 acres.


My favorite garden was a 'school garden' that was made up with raised beds and had lots of herbs and vegetables. It was something I think would be great at my house some day.

It was a beautiful day to wander the gardens.

p.s. That lady had PINK hair!

BUSY WEEK AT THE B & B

We ushered out our great friends from Texas on Saturday, hurried and washed the sheets, vacuumed and cleaned (kind of) the bathroom and welcomed the newlyweds later on that day. They have been married for 1 1/2 weeks now and spent the first week in Spain. Had a great time and we are excited to have them here.



They didn't waste any time. After a quick bite to eat we all set out on the 'night walk'. Starting at Trafalgar Square and ending at the Westminister Bridge. It's a great way to see some of the most famous sites of London in the night all lit up. It's a great walk.
Jeff was there as was a friend of Andrea's.



We had as many visitors in church yesterday as we had members. It's getting to be that time of year. Wait a few more weeks and I think the majority swings toward the visitor side.



Tomorrow I'm heading off to the Chelsea Flower Show. I'll take some pictures. It should be good!

Backfire

On Sunday morning I was getting ready for church and Taylore ran into the room and said, "Mom, hurry you have to come downstairs there is a big rat in the kitchen." Now, I have heard in the past that you are never more than two feet away from a rat in London. So, I wasn't terribly surprised - but what DID surprise me was that Taylore actually thought that would get me down to the kitchen in a hurry. Looking back on the whole situation now kind of makes me laugh. We have this big, bruisin' Texan staying with us this week and I told Taylore to get Monte and have him take care of it - I mean that's the least you can do for a weeks room and board in London, right? But Tay would have none of that - "No, Mom, you have to come right now." So I put myself together, going slower than was necessary and finally got down to the kitchen ready to do battle with a big, hairy rat! When, what to my surprise, I see that my sweet daughters had prepared a big breakfast for me and put it on this plate - they wanted me to get there before everything got cold! Tay finally decided that she should have said, "Mom, hurry downstairs, Andrea has been bitten by a big rat!" She thinks that would have gotten me moving a little faster. So her plot kind of backfired! She'll learn... I still find myself saying to the kids, "You better get good grades or you will be working at McDonald's your whole life." It's about as effective as the rat thing.

Interesting side note - today after my walk I was sitting in the rose garden in Hyde Park just meditating on the next couple of months and what did I see scurrying in front of me - BUT A BIG HAIRY RAT!



Here is my window box after picture. It does look better but I'm still not sure about those scraggly lavender trees in the back. But I have used the rosemary in a dish or two.



This is the before pic.

PICTURES

I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN A PICTURE- I KNOW, I KNOW. NEXT TIME I'LL TRY TO REMEMBER.

MY LITTLE SECRET

Let me just preface this whole conversation with - I CAN WAIT! But last night I watched a little 10-month old baby while his parents went to a play. Mom and Dad made it clear that they haven't left him with many people over the last 10 months and you could tell they were a little nervous - but he didn't seem at all nervous. His mother did call me twice from the taxi on her way to the theatre. But this darling kid was a delight in every sense of the word. He came to me smiling. Giggled and played until way after bedtime - we were all having so much fun that we didn't want him to go to bed - and then when it was time for bed I put him in the porta-crib, put a blankie over him and gave him a little kiss - and he cooed himself to sleep. SO MUCH FUN!

I can wait, as I said before, but last night that little niggle started and I think I will be ready when it's time TO BE A GRANDMA!

OLD FRIENDS

On Saturday we met up with some old friends from Jeff's high school years. His daughter was here on a semester abroad and his other daughter lives here in one of the wards in the Stake. I'll never forget when Jeff found out that one of the girls in the semester abroad program was his friend's daughter. He was shocked, surprised, and even incredulous. It was so funny. I think he was thinking how can he be that 'OLD.' Of course, we have a daughter that could be in that program and we started very late by Utah standards. I guess the point is that you never feel your age. When you are 13, 14, and 15 you always feel older and then when you are 50, 51, and beyond you always feel younger. What funny tricks mother nature plays on us.

Phil brought his whole family and we talked and talked and talked. Jeff had a great time and could have gone on all night. Unfortunately, he had a meeting to go to so that curtailed his reminiscing and merrymaking. But it was sure fun.

Success Story

Every Saturday or Sunday I sit down and make up a menu for the coming week and order the groceries so that they will arrive either Monday or Tuesday. I always pick out several recipes that are new or that I've been wanting to try and I slip in several old favorites so I don't have a mutiny on my hands.

I don't know why but my kids are very particular about what they will eat - even at the advanced ages of 14 and 17. (My 21-year old does not even figure in this story as she will try anything and is a lot more fun to eat with and cook for than her sisters.) So I still have to insist, well I try to insist, that they at least try something before they decide it is inedible. I love to try new things and just can't figure out where their persnicketiness comes from - probably their father...

Anyway, this week's menu went something like this:

Monday: pasta salad and chicken steaks
Tuesday: pork,rice and bean burritos with carrot sticks
Wednesday: SALSA CHICKEN, CORN BREAD AND RICE - MORE CARROT STICKS
Thursday: Salmon Burgers, oven fries, salad
Friday: Rosemary Ranch Chicken Kabobs, veggies
Saturday - Fend for yourself, I'm going to a restaurant!

You will notice I have capitalized Salsa Chicken, etc., because it was a resounding success and in my world that is worth capitalizing! So I thought I would pass along this new, easy recipe and you can try it out on your own unsuspecting bunch.

Salsa Chicken (From Allrecipes.com)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 pkg of taco seasoning
1 cup salsa - any kind
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

Put chicken in 9 x 13 baking dish. Sprinkle with taco seasoning. Pour salsa over all. Bake at 375 for about 25-30 minutes then sprinkle cheese over evenly and put back in the oven for about 5 more minutes or until melted. You can top with sour cream if desired. (We left out the sour cream and they still loved it!)

It was easy and fast and we mixed up the leftover saucy stuff with the rice and it was great. The cornbread was an old favorite standby so they were happy indeed.

Finally, a dinner success. I don't think we will be as lucky with Salmon Burgers but that's okay because I'm still basking in the glow of my Salsa Chicken success story.

FREE TO BE YOU AND ME

I think Marlo Thomas wrote a book with this title, I remember the title but not the book. I don't think it was that good - sorry Marlo. Last night I spent a couple of hours with a woman that made me remember the title of that book and all the freedoms that I am allowed in my life.

Keti is a 50 something woman who grew up in Communist Georgia. She's probably about my age but her life has taken its toll on her mind and body. She related her experiences matter-of-factly and without self pity but as I listened to her I added her story to the many that I have seen and heard over the years and that helped me realize in a very real way what an incredible blessing it is to have been born in a country where people expect and enjoy the freedoms that we do.

In conversations with my family sometimes I am accused of being unpatriotic but I would venture to say that I am as patriotic as they come. I think experiences like these have helped me become more empathetic to the hardships and injustice that exists in so many parts of the world but it also reminds me daily of how fortunate I am for the privilege of being born in the country that I call home. I don't always agree with the decisions that the leaders of my country make but the realization that I can say that aloud without fear of repercussion is one that I hold dear.

I expect I will be spending a lot more time with Keti and I hope my heart can take it.

I AM AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY BLOG READER

The more I get into blogging the more I learn about blogging and the people that blog. I look forward to that time in the morning when I've finished my class, seen the kids off to school and walked Jeff to work. This is the time that I read my blogs. I should really put exercise before reading, but, what can I say? I'll get to that when I get to it!

I like all kinds of blogs and my eyes are opened to different kinds of blogs every day. I have to say that my favorite blogs are family blogs. They are the people that I'm most interested in. I want to know what is going on in their lives. I don't care if they write the best grammatically, or if their sentence structure is on target. I just want to hear what's going on in their lives that are so far away from mine. Unfortunately, my family is not the best at updating their blogs, with one notable exception and we all know who that is... Before someone bites my head off I want you to know that I count myself among those inconsistent bloggers.

So because I'm just not getting what I need from family I've turned to reading other blogs - sometimes of people that I don't even know or that have no obvious connection to me. At first I felt a little voyeuristic doing this but then I realized that if you have a blog that is really popular and has a big following you probably are counting on frustrated blog readers to puff up your stats a little bit. I have my favorite genres that I like to read but I am expanding my interests and will read about any type of blog that catches my eye or that someone else recommends - at least once.

Next to family my favorite blogs are those of friends and old acquaintances. It's great to see where they are and what they are doing. It's funny how we come across each other and how we can stay feeling connected just by reading a little bit of what's going on in their lives.

I also like foodie blogs and I have some favorites depending on my mood: comfort food, healthy food, eating out food, etc.

I like special interest blogs: Politics, crafts, parenting, movie reviews, book blogs, etc.

Lately I've found some blogs that are just downright entertaining to read. They just have personal insights from their own little world and it's so interesting to see what other people are thinking.

I am a devoted blog reader, I admit it. I sometimes get after my kids for their 'Facebook' obsession but is this really so different? I think not. So I'll enjoy my 30 minutes every morning and let them enjoy theirs - guilt free!

P.S.

It's ten minutes later than my last blog - remember the one about how beautiful the day is? - and it is hailing, yes HAILING! Only in London.

LEFT OR RIGHT - WHICH SHALL IT BE?

I am having a heck of a time uploading pictures today so I'll just settle for the ones that are on here now but I had a fantastic video of the calvary practicing a charge or something in the park this morning. I will still try to find a way to put that on but I am out of time for this little project today. I have a two foot stack of filing waiting for me and a stack of bills. What am I thinking!? So anyway...

My blog for the day is on how different the scenery is if I take a left as I come out of my house or if I take a right as I come out of the house. If I take a left I am usually met with bustling city life. Lots of traffic, lots of people, loud noises and lot of shops.





But today I opted for a right turn. This is what I saw:


The trees are flowering. This happens to be Tay's favorite tree here. When we are in the U.S. (east coast) her favorite tree is the Cherry Blossom tree. This is a close second. But it doesn't stay in bloom long so we enjoy it while we can. Usually sitting on that little bench right there.






The tulips are out! I love the tulips here. I can find tulips here all year long and usually have a vase of them on the table in the front hall. But they looked especially beautiful in the park today. I walked through the rose garden but apparently it isn't quite time for those yet.



As I mentioned I captured a great video of the calvary working on a charge today. I'll keep trying to get that on - If anyone has a hint or two let me know. But I also saw a lot of people just 'riding' through the park today.



This is my window box this year. Now I expect it to get better as time goes on - I will have an update in the next few weeks. But it is filled with rosemary, lavender, white geraniums and purple pansies. Can't wait to see it when it fills out a little bit. Have a great day!

Random Thoughts for April

First, it was a beautiful day yesterday. Surprisingly so, it started out with the same conversation I have with Jeff most mornings at the front door:

Jeff: Should I take my umbrella today?
Suz: It looks a little overcast - maybe you should take it.
Jeff: Maybe I'll just live dangerously.

OR

Jeff: Should I take my umbrella today?
Suz: No, it looks beautiful outside.
Jeff: Maybe I'll take it anyway - just in case.

Why do I have this crazy conversation with him everyday? I think we are in a conversation rut and the next time we are saying goodbye at the front door and this umbrella thing comes up (tomorrow) I'm going to say "you decide!" That ought to stir things up a little bit.

Next, we regularly make book orders at our house. There are libraries around here but they are not convenient and my daughter (Tay) tells me that they don't have the things that she needs - which I assume she is talking about one of her favorite reading genres - Manga. So we bite the bullet and make a fairly regular book order. Sometimes I get a little concerned about how much time Tay spends reading her Manga. But yesterday our book order came in and along with the two new Manga's that came in for Tay she ordered Paradise Lost by Milton and Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Her reading tastes are certainly eclectic and I'm going to just relax and just be glad that she likes to read.

And last, but not least, I promise (and I don't make promises lightly) that I will put some pictures on my blog of some of the gardens in Hyde Park and my new window boxes that are filled with Rosemary, Lavendar, pansies and geraniums.

Have a wonderful day - and by the way did M & D go golfing yesterday?

Removal Day

She's been waiting a long time (and we've paid a LOT of money) in anticipation of "REMOVAL DAY." Today was the day. Andrea got to stay home from school for the whole day as it takes two visits to the orthodontist for 'removals'. She couldn't sleep last night she was so excited. Our appointment was for 9:30. We tried to find a cab but couldn't so we jumped on the bus and ran the rest of the way - to make sure we didn't lose our place in line or something like that. We took before and after pictures - some with friends and some without. We memorialized the stairs up to the office - hopefully we won't be going back there much after this. And we headed straight to Starbucks after for a hot chocolate to celebrate. What more could a 14 year old ask for. She has mentioned that she is pretty happy several times today...

Congratulations Anny - you look Sensational!

By the way - Happy Birthday Auntie Julia! What a great day all around. Hope your day is as good as A's.

Still Making Soup

I usually herald the arrival of Spring with a change in cuisine. Instead of soup, stews, and meaty casseroles I turn to a lighter menu - salads and more vegetarian options. But this year I find that I'm still making soups. That may have something to do with the frigid air outside or the feeling that spring just has not sprung! Last night we ate split pea soup. Definitely a winter menu item. When is it going to be Spring!!?? I'm going to the park today to see if I can conjure up some spring feelings. Adios...

p.s. I'm making apple crisp as we speak - can it get any more Fallish?

It's Snowing

It's snowing here in London...



I thought that curse... er um blessing was reserved for SLC on conference weekend.

Eat the Seasons

I have a few favorite websites that I check out every week and one of them is ' Eat the Seasons'. This week is crab! I'm on the hunt... They also have a US version. Give it a look if you are in the mood - eattheseasons.co.uk

Buying the Graduation Dress

Andrea announced that she needed the 'Graduation Dress' for Tuesday pictures. She told me on Wednesday and I thought "no problem - we have almost a week." Andrea, on the other hand, was stressed. So we started on Thursday. Now there is no shortage of places to look around here - we are in the middle of retail heaven. So we begin, unfortunately A is in that middle ground, not quite in adult sizes but doesn't want to have anything to do with children's sizes (or should I say styles). I'm of the opinion that you should try on pretty much anything and everything. I can't tell you how many times I've said to my kids "how 'bout this?" And they say - "eeeeewwwww, never!" Then they put it on and what do you know they love it. So it's my policy to try on anything you can find in your size. Too big, too little, too womany, too kiddy, too LOW, too not there - I could see that Andrea was right to be stressed. Nothing happened on Thursday except the one dress that we found that we both found acceptable cost 360 pounds - that's over 700 dollars folks. I said how can THAT cost 360 pounds and Andrea pointed to a little insignia on the collar made of cubic zirconia. Apparently Armani can charge 360 pounds for a little dress. Unbelievable!

Friday was the last day to look considering the rest of the weekend was packed so we decided to take along reinforcements. Our reinforcement was also looking for a dress. Now we had two young ladies who had stayed up all night long talking and giggling looking for dresses. They got tired quick but I was desperate - keep looking.

We went home empty handed.

Today, I sent out super shopper (Jeff) he plans his minutes, making sure he is in the store for the least possible time. He had exactly two hours to spend with her and in 1 1/2 hours they came home with a dress! How does he do that?

Next time Andrea tells me that it won't be that easy I'm sending Jeff in the first reconnaissance mission and I'll follow-up.

I'll put on a picture as soon as she tries it on for me...

Where To Start...

We had a sense-sational time in Mexico. After living there for a decade and returning after 6 long years our senses were accosted with memories. Moments after stepping off the plane we smelled that salty ocean air and felt that steamy humidity soaking into our bones and our memories came flooding back. Some things had changed a lot and some not at all. It's bigger, that was immediately noticeable. But had our favorite restaurants survived the encroachment of tourism? Was our little school still there? Were the people that we worked with, our friends and neighbors - were they still around? We would soon find out.























Friday - Went to hotel and met up with Meg... had a great suite with an adjoining room with an incredible view of that amazingly blue ocean. Caught up with Meg - checked out new swimming suits and went to bed. It had been a long flight.

Saturday - Had chilequiles for breakfast. Been looking forward to that for a long time. Spent the day at the beach. The girls filled up on strawberry pina coladas and limonada. Andrea wanted to get her tan back??? Read a good book. Laid in the sun, worked on that jet lag.

Saturday night we took the bus to town to check on our favorite taco place. It took forever to get there and we were shocked at how many hotels had gone up and how much traffic there was in the city. All the restaurants were packed - but when we got to our little taqueria it was just us and a few locals. Sigh of relief...

Sunday - First stop - church. Great to see old friends. Some of our favorites were on vacation and were not there but we got to see the Garrido family who has grown up over the years. I guess that happens. All I heard was - WOW - Andrea was just "this big" last time I saw here. They remembered my brownies and they all remembered Jeff and all the great things that he brought to this little part of the world. They welcomed us 'home' and it truly felt like we had come home.

Monday - Went to the beach - again... I decided to give the kids ample warning that my beach laying days were coming to an end so beware! They were still working on their tans and having fun by the pool and, last but not least, diving head first into the cool blue waves. Beach was destroyed - hurricane troubles but there was a way to get to the water.

Tuesday - Last hotel beach day. I was being patient and to be honest I was having a great time. We all needed a little R & R and this was just the ticket.

Wednesday - I warned them... Left early for Valladolid, Ek Balam and Rio Lagartos. Found a great little palapa to eat lunch under and then we went to the ruins. Zipped through, around, up and down and then headed further north to Rio Lagartos. A lazy little town that has a flamingo reserve situated close by. Hired a boat and went to check out the birds, alligators, birds and more birds. It was beautiful. The flamingos will start nesting this month.

We went back through Valladolid to eat dinner and pick up a hamaca and some mexican candy.

Thursday - We were going to spend the last day on the beach but I decided to rent the car for one more day. We started out our journey by scouting out all of our old houses and the school that the kids went to - Communidad Educativa del Sol. Still there - bigger and better. We stopped off at the local Commercial Mexicana and bought some fresh, hot off the griddle, tortillas and pan dulce. En route, I was stopped by a policeman for 'speeding.' Although I wasn't thrilled about the whole thing it did bring back funny memories. I used to get stopped every week when I lived in Cancun. I knew the policemen then and we would just chat and he would eventually let me go. Sometimes he would ask for favors and I would always say "give me the ticket." After a while it was just what we did. This day I didn't get off so easy and 200 pesos later we set off to what is now affectionately know as the Riviera Maya, the beach south of Cancun and North of Tulum. It was a bittersweet day and we all agreed that we were glad that we had seen it in it's more pristine state 16 years ago. Things were not the same. But we did scout out a proper beach and spent enough time there to bury Tay in the sand and walk along the beach.

Fridiay we had time to spend out by the water before we caught our flight to Mexico City.

Flew on to Mexico City later that afternoon and took a taxi to Polanco. Checked into the hotel and once again had a great room. So many familiar faces - so many great memories.

Saturday - we went to Bazaar Sabado where we found some of our favorite artists. Meghan bought another painting. Later that evening we met up with some friends at our favorite taco place Lago de los Cisnes. Filled up on tacos and great conversation. Couldn't miss our other fav place - Churros. That was dessert.

Sunday - went to church. Great people! So kind, generous and warm. Delivered Cadbury Easter Eggs to the kids - made a big mess. What was I thinking? Went to dinner again with friends. Closed the restaurant and headed back to the hotel. When we got back to the hotel we were surprised and delighted to find an old friend - Alex - staying at the hotel also. We spent the rest of the evening talking to him - a great end to a great day.

Monday - caught that long flight back to London with enough great memories to keep us company and hold us over until our next visit to one of our favorite countries. We will be back and hopefully it won't take us six years.

p.s. Double click on that boat picture - freaky!