Saturday Fry Up, & Meet Up

Saturday I headed to Fiona's house to have a full English breakfast... for lunch!  I took a few busses to get there, but it was a relatively easy journey.  I got to meet her kids & husband, who were very welcoming, & lovely.  I had a fun afternoon just hanging out & chatting about British music & TV shows & movies.  We have similar tastes & it was nice to be able to talk to someone who has seen a lot of the same shows & listens to a lot of the same bands.

Later in the day I met up with Chad, & we stopped at a pub so he could have some good British Sausage & Mash.  We headed back to Geoff & Margaret's to spend the evening with them before heading back to Canada on Sunday.

We are very thankful for the blessing Geoff & Margaret have been to us.  They opened their home to us 13 years ago, when we were poor students struggling to find an affordable place to live in London, & failing miserably.  We have fond memories of walking their dog Tess, helping out when their 2 year old granddaughter Lucy was over for the day, & playing in the wading pool with the older grand-kids when the weather was hot.  We would have had a totally different experience of London if we had not lived with this generous couple.  They taught us what true hospitality was, simply by inviting us in.

Sadly, it was time to leave again, & hopefully it won't be another 7 years before we are back!

Wandering London

Friday I decided to walk around Oxford Street just to see the sights & perhaps do a little shopping.  I was amused when I stopped for a sandwich, by all the choices that I was not used to.

 

After awhile I thought I'd head to Brent Cross to a shopping centre I had heard about.  I wanted to take the Jubilee Line, but it was closed for upgrades, so I had to take the Northern Line.  When I got out at the station I decided it wouldn't take too long to walk to the shopping centre, but the area is really not set up for walking.  Every time I thought I was making headway getting closer to where I wanted to be, I'd find that the walkway ended, or there was no way to get from here to there.  At one point I was on the street below the shopping centre, & all that was between me & the shops was a brick wall of about 10 feet.  Unfortunately I could not figure out how to get from point A to point B, & at that point Fiona texted to see if I wanted to get together for dinner.  So, I wandered around for about 2 hours pointlessly, but I definitely got good exercise!

 I was glad for a rest after all that walking!

And I was happy that Fiona had thought about meeting up again!  Wandering around by myself was starting to get really old!  We spent a few hours talking about our families, & I even managed to get another invitation to hang out again Saturday!

A Visit to Ely

 A friend of mine from Washington State now lives in Ely.  Since Ely is only about an hour & 15 minutes, & I had not seen Meleah in about 10 years, & had never met her husband, & they just had a baby 10 days earlier, I decided to take a day to visit her!

 I had to take a train from King's Cross, so I decided to have a look at platform 9 3/4.  It was teeming with tourists!

Gemma & I bonded, & I got her all kitted out with some Canadian gear.

It was great to see Meleah again, & finally meet Luke & Gemma!

Meeting Up With the Old Crew

Wednesday morning I headed out to try to get my phone sorted out.  I had brought along the pay-as-you-go phone we had bought in Ireland when we visited in 2008 hoping it would work, but it said there was no service.  I took the train to Liverpool Street & stopped into a phone shop nearby.  The told me to go to a different shop where they could see if the phone was unlocked.  At that shop they told me that the phone was sadly locked & sent me to another shop to get it unlocked.  The third shop was closed dispite it being 10am.  I asked at the shop next door, where they directed me to a fourth shop to get the phone unlocked.  The fourth shop was also closed, so I gave up & headed to Tottenham Court Road to see how I'd fare.

I quickly found a phone shop & asked about getting a new pay-as-you-go phone.  They had some cheap phones I could get for around £25, but that would be about $50 Canadian.  I decided to head to the nearby Starbucks & see about adding a travel plan on my phone from home, which I discovered I could do for $5.  It was a lot of running around, but it used up some of the extra time I had.

After all that fun I headed to Covent Garden for some shopping!  I picked up some souvenirs for everyone & then it was time to meet up with my old workmates from when we lived in London.

 

As I walked to the pub where we were supposed to meet, I took a few pictures of the street signs

Apparently there were a few people I worked with who do not check their facebook very often, & they had no idea I had named my daughter after the street!

This is one of my favourites!

Fiona & Mora worked on the Reception desk with me, & were always fun to work with.

Ian & Pete

 I had not seen these people in over 12 years!  It was far too long & we had  a great time catching up.  We had planned to meet up at 3 in the afternoon on Wednesday, figuring that the pub would be dead & we would have the run of the place.  Strangely, there was a power cut, so all the nearby businesses had been let out & everyone had the same great idea to head to the pub!  Despite having no power, the pub carried on serving drinks.  After a few hours the lights came back on & everyone cheered.  At the end of the night you could see that the dishwasher had not been working, as the entire bar was stacked with glasses!

We're Heading Back to Blighty!

Chad has been doing an executive Master's degree which has him travelling for a week at at time to either Oxford or Paris.  I decided it wasn't fair for him to have all the fun, so I decided to 'join' him on his trip to Oxford.  I say 'join' because basically we are traveling from Canada to England together & the spending the entire week at separate places until we meet up again to fly home!  We left a LOT of snow behind at home, so I was looking forward to some warmer temperatures.

 It was really cool to see the ice on the water crossing from PEI to Nova Scotia

 We had a 6 hour layover in Halifax, so we enjoyed a leisurely dinner

 And we took a few selfies to pass the time!

 After flying all night, I traveled to Geoff & Margaret's & took it pretty easy for the afternoon.  I read a bit & got all caught up with what has been going on in their lives.

I managed to stay awake until dinner time & Margaret even had some splodge for me for dessert!

“Pulling A Sherilyn”

When PChad & I lived in London, we lived with Geoff & Margaret, an older couple that we met at church.  They invited us to live with them since they had a big house & money was tight for us.  We gratefully accepted, & became part of the family.

At the time, I was working in a Solicitor’s office & I would get home from work around 8pm.  Since I had a work uniform, I’d often go upstairs & change into my pyjamas before supper, so Geoff & Margaret became accustomed to seeing me in my PJs relatively early in the evening.

One night, as PChad & I were watching TV after supper, Geoff popped his head in the TV room, & asked if it would be ok for him to put his pyjamas on.  “Of course!” we replied.  He came downstairs a few minutes later wearing a nightshirt, nightcap, & slippers…


We still stay in contact with Geoff & Margaret, & from time to time they let us know that Geoff still likes to ‘pull a Sherilyn’, meaning he gets his PJs on early.

He Knows Me Well!

PChad just walked into the room a few minutes ago & asked, “What are you watching?”

 

Me:  “The U.K. Christmas special.”

 

PChad:  “Is that Robbie Williams singing?”

 

Me: “No, it’s Gary Barlow.”

 

PChad: “They sound the same.”

 

Me: “Well, they were both in ‘Take That’.”

 

PChad: “He sounds a lot like Robbie Williams.”

 

Me: “Robbie already performed.”

 

PChad: “I thought so!”

Traumatic Event

On this little island, there are quite a few foods that we can’t get.  I am used to it a bit, since moving from the States, & having lived in England for awhile, there are certain foods that we have grown attached to, but are simply not available in Canada.  However, there are numerous things that we have discovered which seem to be in other parts of Canada, just not on PEI.

 

My friend Natasha told me earlier in the week that she had found Golden Grahams at one of the grocery stores, so after dropping Asher off at school, Chancery & I stopped to pick up a box, since it is one of PChad’s favourite cereals.

 

I parked the car, & got out.  I opened Chancery’s door, & started to unbuckle her seatbelt when she started yelling at me, “No, I don’t want to go in there!  This is the store with the yucky food!”

 

A few months ago, I had bought a package of pitas which had a huge mouldy spot on them, & apparently Chancery remembered the incident, & thought all the food in the store was of the same quality.

 

“We are just here to get some cereal,” I told her.  “The cereal here is good!  They have Golden Grahams!”

 

“Just the bread is yucky?” she asked.

 

I don’t think she will ever be willing to buy a loaf of bread from that particular store…

Childhood Memories…

…shared across the pond.

 

And if you don’t know who Graham Norton, or Gary Barlow are, time to do some research, folks!

 

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

Turn Around…

This is a routine performed by Katie & Matt, 2 of the final 4 dancers on SYTYCD UK.  I just thought it was an amazing routine & they performed it so well.

Jump ahead to 1:55 to skip all the practice shots & view the actual routine…

 

No Stopping Him!

“Fast & Loose” is a sketch comedy show in England, similar to “Whose Line Is It Anyway”.  They have  a segment called “Interpretive Dance” where an actor has to mime a pop song.  This is one of the best ones.  Enjoy!

 

 

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Mmmmilk!

A humourous British milk advert…

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!

Welcome Home!

Once again, T-Mobile has come up with another creative ad…

 

HAPPY FRIDAY!

A Little Fun For Your Friday

The UK's first season of So You Think You Can Dance is quickly wrapping up. They are down to their top four. I just watched the top 6 group routine & thought it was quite entertaining. Enjoy!

They're At It Again!

Just in case you missed Ant & Dec's Christmas special this year..... What's Christmas without a panto?



And of course, Robbie sang a Christmas song

Dreaming Of A White Christmas?

What do you get when you mix Ant & Dec with Robbie Williams? An awesome show!

This is from Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Take-Away, a few years ago. Enjoy & have a Merry Christmas!

Almost Famous?

Seems that naming Chancery after a Tube Station in London, was a rarity. We have since been mentioned in a Telegraph Article, on a Radio Programme on the BBC (start listening at 49 min), and we've been Twittered.

All for taking this name & bestowing it upon this sweet girl

Forward Thinking

I think that whoever it was that decided the States should switch from metric measurements to the "American System" really was thinking about the future generations. I think I can imagine what they were thinking. It really was genius.

If you've grown up in the States, learning the "American system" & maybe dabbling in the metric from time to time in math or science classes, you become accustomed to the "American System" for almost everything. If you know metric at all, it's most likely a separate thing, & almost no one knows how to do conversions between the two.

Occasionally an American might take it upon themselves to move out of the country & this is where the genius of the plan lies. You go to the grocery store to buy 2 pounds of beef. However, meat is sold by the kilogram. Perhaps you'd like to buy a gallon of milk, no dice, all liquids are sold by the litre. How about an 8 ounce can of tomato sauce? Sorry, millilitres only. If you're unfortunate enough to have a recipe box full of recipes from the States, you might as well throw them out b/c you'll never be able to figure out how much of anything you need to buy at the store. It might even be easier to just move back to the States. If you're a US citizen, they're making you file taxes there anyways, might as well move back & simplify things.

The plan was actually twofold. There's another side of it. Not only does it keep Americans IN the country, all the other countries use metric, so immigrants not only have a language barrier, they also have a metric barrier. Good luck finding your 250 grams of shrimp for your salad. Need a pint of milk for something? Better make sure you know if that's an American pint or a metric pint, because they are different!

It's enough to drive a person batty!

Robbie's Back!

Robbie Williams is one of my favourite British singers & after a long hiatus (almost 4 years) he's back with a new album coming out out next month. Here's his new video "Bodies"



And it sounds like he's getting spiritual....

God gave me the sunshine,
Then showed me my lifeline
I was told it was all mine,
Then I got laid on a ley line
What a day, what a day,
And your Jesus really died for me
Then Jesus really tried for me

UK and entropy,
I feel like its ****in’ me
Wanna feed off the energy,
Love living like a deity
What a day, one day,
And your Jesus really died for me
I guess Jesus really tried for me

Bodies in the Bodhi tree,
Bodies making chemistry
Bodies on my family,
Bodies in the way of me
Bodies in the cemetery,
And that’s the way it’s gonna be

All we’ve ever wanted
Is to look good naked
Hope that someone can take it
God save me rejection
From my reflection,
I want perfection

Praying for the rapture,
‘Cause it’s stranger getting stranger
And everything’s contagious
It’s the modern middle ages
All day every day
And if Jesus really died for me
Then Jesus really tried for me

Bodies in the Bodhi tree,
Bodies making chemistry
Bodies on my family,
Bodies in the way of me
Bodies in the cemetery,
And that’s the way it’s gonna be

All we’ve ever wanted
Is to look good naked
Hope that someone can take it
God save me rejection
From my reflection,
I want perfection

Bodies in the Bodhi tree,
Bodies making chemistry
Bodies on my family,
Bodies in the way of me
Bodies in the cemetery,
Bodies in the bodhi tree,
Bodies making chemistry
Bodies on my family,
Bodies in the way of me
Bodies in the cemetery,
And that’s the way it’s gonna be

All we’ve ever wanted
Is to look good naked
Hope that someone can take it
So God save me rejection
From my reflection,
I want perfection

Jesus didn’t die for you, what do you want?
(I want perfection)
Jesus didn’t die for you, what are you on?
Oh Lord
(Jesus really died for you) Ohh
(Jesus really died for you)
(Jesus really died for you) Ohh

NINE Years!

It's hard to believe, but Chad & I have been married nine years today. Neither one of us would have been able to predict what has happened in the last nine years. Chad was going to be a farmer, & I his farmin' wife. He had 3 years of University to finish when we got married, we actually moved out onto the farm after a year of living in town, & life was good. We thought we'd wait until he was finished school before we started having kids b/c it was easier that way & I wasn't allowed to work for the first year & 1/2 b/c of immigration laws.

After he finished his Bachelor's degree, we felt that God was calling us to something different for awhile, but figured we'd still eventually come back to the farm. Chad's interests were in Economics & Philosophy, so we kind of put God to the test & applied to the only 2 schools in the world that had combined Master degree programs, figuring Chad wouldn't make it into them..... He got into both. One at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Netherlands, & the other at the London School of Economics in London, England. After much deliberation, we decided to go to London & spent the next 14 months in England.

Without having many connections over there, we quickly learned to rely on God. We had no place to live after the first 6 weeks, housing was expensive, & I was only able to get a part-time job b/c of the working culture over there. One night after a church service, Chad happened to speak to a visitor from just outside of the city, who was enamoured w/ Canada & they got to chatting about out housing situation. Without even checking w/ his wife, he invited us to come & live w/ them!

We took them up on the offer b/c we didn't really have any other viable options at that time & we quickly became part of their family. They made us feel very welcomed & really showed us God's love during the next year.

At the end of Chad's Master's program we had two options for our future:
1. Chad was offered a PhD position in Logic at King's University College, London, which would basically take 2-3 years & lead to him becoming a professor.
2. We could go back to the farm in Alberta as we had planned.

Neither option really seemed to be what we were supposed to do, so one night, Chad asked God to tell him where we were supposed to go & God laid it on his heart to go into the ministry. Not exactly what we had in mind, but God had really been working in our lives through the family we were living with & made it possible for us to see it as a possibility (but it was still totally out of the blue). At this point we had been married 4 years & Chad had changed his major at least 4 times, so I don't think I really thought he'd end up as a minister. I still figured it would lead to something else, since that seemed to be the pattern.

Now, here we are, married 9 years, expecting our 2nd child next month & Chad's taking his first call as a minister! We figured we'd have 3-4 kids by now, live at the farm/feedlot, & we'd be established in life, but instead we are just starting out! Ten years after Chad's highschool graduation, he's taking his first job w/ benefits!

It has really taught us that you can't foresee the future, only God knows where He's going to take you & you have to trust Him at every turn. That year we spent in England was one of the best we've had b/c it taught us to depend on eachother & rely on God. For the first 6 weeks we were there I earned £198/week, & our rent was £200/week. We were using money we had saved from home in Canada for our food, but the exchange rate was C$2.50 = £1.00, so to conserve our resources we were sharing a can of frank&beans for dinner, or Spaghetti-Os, or a package of Raman Noodles.... Times were lean, but we had the best time walking around together exploring the big city in our cowboy boots & God brought us to a great place b/c we trusted Him.