Wrapping Up

Hello, yall all the way over there! Welcome to 2010! I'm going to miss having double-0's in my years from now on.

Yes, I am still in England, but only for another 20 hours or so, sad though that is. I love being in England, cold and damp though it is, and I will miss it when I land back in the States, but at this point I am really looking forward to coming home tomorrow. It'll bring back the reality of a lot of things, like the fact that my grades last semester were a little bit less than what I'd hoped they'd be, but the new year will quite literally bring me home.

What can I say about the rest of my time here? Christmas Day was oodles of fun! The kids woke me up at 8:00 on the dot and dragged me out of bed to open stockings. They wrap the gifts in stockings here, so we sat around Neil and Anne's room opening the little presents in age order.

I spent the day lounging around in my new christmas socks (I am my mother's daughter!) and I played games with the little ones. I sat in the kitchen and I watched my Uncle Neil prepare the Christmas Dinner, and I enjoyed having a quiet day with the family.

Christmas Dinner saw us all wearing those silly paper crowns that come in crackers and digging into a meal comprised of turkey with all of the trimmings... roast potatos, brussel sprouts (I ate one), red cabbage (which was surprisingly good), and stuffing, among other things. My tummy was very happy! We brought out the Christmas Pudding (on fire, of course!) and ate that with some brandy butter and rum sauce. We opened presents (in age order again! We ranged from 10 to 89 here) and sat around drinking good wine and talking. The kids got a Wii, which they immediately handed to Duncan to have the task of setting up and have literally not stopped playing it since. I had a blissful moment of being better than them at Mario Kart, but when I got back from Helen and Paul's (more on that in a moment) three days later they had already unlocked nearly everything and are winning nearly everything. I never had the talent of gaming, though.

On Boxing Day, Duncan, Pippa, Dad and I were up early (7:30, eew!) and out the door within the hour. One of the more sneaky things that we had done with this trip was to surprise Pippa's parents by showing up for Pippa's father's birthday on the 27th. We made our way to Devon (on the other side of the country) and picked up Tom on the way and four hours later (can I just say that I find it incredible that we could drive from one side of the country to the opposite side in four hours?) we found ourselves at Helen (Pippa's sister) and Paul's house walking through the door and hoping that Pippa's parents don't have heart conditions! The look on their faces as we snuck in through the back was priceless. It was worth all of the hush-hush secrecy (they knew that Tom and I were in the country but they didn't know about the other three) and the call on Christmas when we told them that we were having a warm Christmas at home with the Stewarts, and all of those other evasions of their offers to take Tom and I for a day or two. They had no idea that we were coming and it was so wicked that I honestly look forward to the day that I may be able to trick my own mother like that. (Muah ha ha! Expect me when you least expect me, Mom!)

We ate like KINGS at Helen and Paul's place. We had another dinner the size of Christmas dinner (which was really just leftovers - but a lot of leftovers) and we watched movies on TV (Crocadile Dundee, which I've actually never seen before! And Australia the next night) and when we left on the morning of the 28th to drive the four hours back and to the wedding! The "real" reason that we came.

Our cousin Marcus (the eldest of our lot) married Rebecca in a really sweet (and traditional) ceremony. The reception was held in a beautiful hall down the road from our hotel, and so we were able to walk there and walk home at the end of the night. There was food, champagne, beer, and dancing, of course!

The following days consisted of trying to hunt down presents for everyone (we found some great ones!) and a lot of being beaten by the kids on the Wii. New Years Eve last night was actually a quiet affair - Dad and Pippa went to bed early (they're sick - poor things) and Neil retired early as well... so at midnight, we turned on the TV, popped the bubbly and welcomed the new year between Duncan, Tom, Ali, Jacqueline, Anne and me. The little kids had some champagne too, (we start them early over here...) and we all went to bed.

Today, we are all packing up and getting ready to leave bright and early in the morning. Well, it won't be bright (the sun won't have risen yet) but it will be early. A cab is picking us up at 5 tomorrow morning. So when you're going to bed? Think of me waking up.

Tonight we're hosting an Indian food dinner, and inviting some people over. The smells wafting up here into Anne's office are amazing! I will post some pictures when I get home (and all of them onto Facebook as well). See you on the other side!

(I will write my New Year's resolution blog when I am home! But I do have resolutions for you!)

England!!

Merry Christmas from England!

Well, Merry almost Christmas from England, in any case.

I'm sorry I haven't blogged - at my Uncle's house there is absolutely no cell phone service (not that I'd blog from my phone, Mom!) and there is no wifi service with which I could blog late at night, as I usually do... and during the day I would rather be spending time with my family.

I've just played a series of board games with my little cousin Alistair, who beat me at four out of the five games! And last night, when we played Phase 10, I was stuck on phase 1 for a good four or five rounds. I am beginning to suspect that a great deal of cheating goes on here, as well as in America. It seems that we at least have that much in common! (Duncan won Phase 10 last night, although Jacqueline always gives him a run for his money.)

So far, the weather has stayed rather consistently cold, with temperatures ranging from 25-35 degrees (fahrenheit) and snow through Monday night, though last night it rained a great deal and temperatures for tomorrow and Boxing Day are a little bit warmer (7-9 degrees Celsius, according to the TV.) It's been a lot of tun to play around in the snow (or, at least, watch it fall from my "warm" spot inside.) I've pretty much given up all hope of ever feeling my toes again until I depart England, but for the most part, I'm okay with that.

My Uncle cooks delicious meals every night around 8:30 or 9pm, which is quite late to a college student who is used to feeding herself whenever she is hungry. We've had lamb, pheasant, ham... I may never leave! We tend to sit around the table and talk until eleven or so at night. There is always good conversation, good wine, and a good deal of laughter here.

The first few days I was here, I did a lot of reading (as well as knitting - finishing up those damned socks I started for Tom in June) and hanging around the room off of the kitchen that has a furnace thingy in it. Grandad always keeps it lit and it just throws off massive amounts of heat when it's going.

Last Saturday, I took the train to North Harrow to visit my friend Siobhan. To summarize (and do no justice to) my visit with her, we spent a lot of time in cafes talking about writing. She persuaded me to begin writing a story which I've had sitting in the back of my brain for a good few months now, and I hope that I write it as well as it seems to be in my brain. We went to the pub on Sunday and Tuesday night and I enjoyed my legal-ness with perhaps a few too many drinks, and I met a lot of her friends. I loved staying with her and miss her already!

Tomorrow is Christmas, and my uncle Neil has already started the preparations. He says he doesn't want to spend all tomorrow cooking! I agree with him - I wouldn't either. Jacqueline and Alistair are just beside themselves waiting for it to be Christmas (perhaps because they might have sneaked a peek at a certain present they're getting from their parents. But ssshhh. Don't say I said anything.) and Duncan and I have (reluctantly) given them permission to wake us up in the morning. We've defaulting to our Mother's rule: The first number on the clock must read 8. I expect that they'll come bounding in at about 8:00:01.

Well, I believe that's all for now! I hope you all have a very merry (or, happy, since I'm in England) Christmas and if I don't blog before then, a very happy New Year!

Packing procrastination

In the middle of packing... I get bored and I filmed this vlog.

To Do and To Pack

Two lists up on my mirror right now: To do and To Pack (before going to England)

So far, I've made a small dent in my To Do list. If you want to, click to embiggen and read through the lists... the small print are my little quips to myself. (This is what I did yesterday while I didn't feel like studying...)

Took my exam this morning - think I did well enough. :) Officially on Christmas break now!! Yay!

Le Blog sur Le Decembre

Hey readers. So a few times over the last week I've filmed vlogs and written blogs and then decided not to post them... and that (for some reason) has tricked me into thinking that I've actually kept you informed. As you can tell, this is not the case.

My other excuse is that I have been busy... procrastinating studying for my finals.

Nonono, it's totally legit. Like, on Wednesday night, I went to the All Star dinner for Mom and Mike, who are both All Stars at Whole Foods. They're like the dynamic duo... and, according to the guy who was announcing everyone, the "second most fun couple at Whole Foods".

(Congrats, yall!)

And on Thursday I had to go to the eye doctor's (who wants to see a picture of the back of my eye?


I have two healthy eyes in my head! And okay, who wants to see a really cool picture of my eye?


Thanks, Karynna for the nifty camera trick! She calls it her "vampire eye" trick.)

But also on Thursday I had to go shopping, right? So I went with Pippa (Stepmother extraordinaire) and we found me a nice cream sweater, lacy camy, and my new favorite pants ever to wear to the wedding in England. And then I had dinner with them.

And then Friday... well, Friday I actually studied.

Saturday morning, I took my Chemistry exam, which took me about an hour to complete (I'm a fast test taker) and then I took a nap. But then I went to play a duet with one of the students at my old piano... school, I guess? It went well - we played Ode to Joy. And then after that, I went and babysat Emma, who is just SO CUTE with her little teeth!


And on Sunday, I went to brunch at Maudie's with Mom, Leslie, Duncan, and Mike to celebrate Mom's birthday on Saturday (Happy birthday, Mom!) and then I went shoe shopping at the mall to wear to the wedding in England. I bought black leather boots that are just so comfortable! I never want to take them off.

And today I went and had lunch with my friend Susanne (who has gone off to college in Denver) and that took a while... and here I am now, studying. My last exam is tomorrow, and I'm not too worried. I've been paying attention all semester - I got this. ;)

Tonight is Knit Night. I think I'm going to pick up some yarn for my trip... I need more cotton yarn. (For purposes you all will understand later.)

OH. OH. OH. I almost forgot! Pippa made me the most beautiful and gorgeous curtains! They're amazing and I love them. :D


And look! They make my room glow a pretty turquoise in the mornings.


And that's all for now! Hopefully I will blog again before Wednesday (when I leave for England) but you never know. Until then, ciao!

A blog about nothing in particular

I don't have much to say in this blog, except that my first exam is in nine hours, and I've just finished what I need to get done. (Which, in large part, was damage control on my procrastination efforts of the weekend.)

I want all of my blog readers to venture out to your local bookstore and buy (and read) The Passion, by Jeanette Winterson... because seriously? I think I could read that about six more times tonight and still not tire of it. Do it now, because this blog will still be here when you come back.

Tomorrow, after my English exam (which will feature eight essays in three hours - if my hand drops off, who wants to help me reattach it?) I'm going to go indulge in Kerbey Queso (which is ambrosia from the gods - or something of similar ilk) with my friends and then return to my apartment to bury myself in notes for my Chemistry exam on Saturday morning.

That's all for me tonight! I'm going to go to bed now... and maybe my dreams won't be so weird again that I'll wake up and still remember everything in the morning!

I'm Cleaning! (Ahem, studying)

At the moment, I am totally cleaning my room. Because later today, Pippa and Dad are delivering my curtains! Can't wait! Pictures when that happens....

I thought that while I was procrastinating studying and doing what I am supposed to do I'd share with you my semiannual study plans, as well as a few other pictures.


And look! My scarf! (It is super, super warm! And so worth knitting.)


And look! I made marmalade! (Albeit, it is a little runny. But it's delicious. I know - I've tried it.)

Also in this picture (in the smaller jars) is the orange syrup that is the result of the candied orange peels. I made these last year, and this year they're even better!


I can't help but keep snacking, because these are seriously addicting!

I do need more sugar... because between the orange peels and the marmalade I used two entire bags of it! I am baking cookies sometime today or Tuesday (probably tuesday) because I'm going to a cookie exchange at a friends.

Wonder what I'll be baking? I am thinking gingerbread cookies, but I also kind of want to make yummy peanut butter cookies. Suggestions?