Singing in Church

Here is a church that is not the one we go to, but isn't it beautiful. Well the church that my in-laws go to was having a united service with a bunch of churches around the area, and at the last minute the singer who was supposed to sing at the service got sick and I was asked on Sunday morning to sing at the Sunday night united service with the team. They had heard from somewhere that I was a singer and decided to ask me to do it. So last night I sang with them after a short rehearsal right before the service (learned a few new songs). It was a fun time, and turned out to be a very nice service. Hopefully I will get the chance to do it again soon. We had such a nice time singing some hymns (which I had never heard before) as well as some more contemporary Christian worship songs. The best part was that all of the songs were in a nice key where I got to sing up high where my voice sounds the best! I had a blast, and people seemed to enjoy the music and worship time, and I got a lot of compliments too which was nice.

Haircut

Here is my new look! After thinking about it for a while, since before we moved over here, I decided now would be a good time to get a nice short haircut. The short hair look is pretty popular around here, so I should fit right in. But the reasons for cutting my hair were basically a couple of big ones. I love growing my hair long and then cutting it short and then growing it and cutting it and so on because it is fun. Plus I thought about cutting in the summer, but then thought that is would be silly to cut my hair before winter, but after I got here I started thinking that short hair would make it look cool when I wear all those scarves that people wear anyway around their neck because it is cool and damp in the winter. With long, hair and wearing scarves, the hair often gets tangled more easily, but not with short hair. Plus the really kicker was the water here! We have hard water that absolutely does not rinse anything out of my hair, and with it so long and thick, it was pretty impossible to get my hair clean. The other real issue with the water is that the shower we have is sort of a light sprinkle of water and does not have any water pressure whatsoever, so that doesn't help to rinse out my hair at all. I have been washing it at the gym every day because they have good water pressure, but thought it might be nice to wash my hair at home once in a while. So long story short (literally long hair to short hair get it?) Here is my new look.

R.I.P. Jack Paveley

Today we went to a funeral for Neville Claude David Paveley (known to all his friends as Jack)who was the long time next door neighbour of the Webb family for Tim's whole life and recently died at his home at the age of 94. Jack was a butcher and hence where his nickname Jack comes from; for some reason it was common to call butchers Jack. Phil (my brother-in-law) came up from Southampton for the funeral. We went to the ceremony at the crematorium and then to a nice old Manor hotel for lunch afterwards. It was a very nice ceremony, but a bit somber in the actual room. I think I would have much preferred it in a church. Phil and I had a long discussion following as to where we might like to be buried or cremated and sprinkled. Phil's idea was a sprinkling in all his favorite places which would take up the better part of a week most likely depending on the distance between locations, but I was thinking maybe just choose one place but most definitely feel bad about taking up space in the ground. So we shall see... By the way, this is not a picture of Jack's church and gravestone, but I forgot my camera, and the crematorium was not very picturesque to photograph.

Hanging the Washing on the Line

Well, today after going to the gym and a meeting with a bunch of ladies from Bishop's Stortford Baptist Church, I cam home to hang out the washing on the line. I had put the load in just before we went out (my mother-in-law and I), and then since it is nice and sunny now, I put it out to dry. Unfortunately the days of it being nice and sunny and warm out are numbered, and soon we will be resorting to hanging the clothes on racks and over radiators all over the house. (Note: This is not what all English people do. Some even have tumble dryers which I will buy when we get a house of our own.) This country is pretty damp in the cooler weather as you can imagine, and hanging clothes outside in damp weather often does absolutely nothing to get them dry if that makes any sense. Well anyway, some things are just not for everyone. I think I will hang things outside in the summer and use the tumble dryer in the winter that way when your clothes come out of the dryer, they can be all snuggly warm which is just what you need in the damp cold winters isn't it?

Driving on the Wrong Side of the Road!

Well, Monday was my first driving lesson in 10 years not because I don't know how to drive, but because I needed to learn how to drive on the "wrong" side of the road as well as learn how to drive stick all at the same time. The other side of the road thing would be much easier to concentrate on if it weren't for the fact that my hands and feet are both doing a bunch of different things at the same time. Other than that, it didn't go to badly. I practiced using the gears to shift up and down and the hand break to use for stopping and going for turns and hill starts etc. It was fun, but we didn't do any roundabouts yet. I am hoping to do that on my next lesson, and then I should be good to practice with Tim and learn to drive that way. I don't have to take a driving test until the end of me being here a year, but I want to take it as soon as I feel confident and while I am still adhering to the rules and not driving like a pro the way some people do around here once they get really good at it. Hopefully my day will come for that!

The Quaint Village of Stansted

The Church.

The Webbs sitting in the churchyard, Aww!

The Indian Restaurant, Yum!

The Green Grocer's Shop

The Terrace Houses

Here are just some of the sites around our little village. We are enjoying the nice scenery as well as the fresh air (did I mention the fresh air before?)

Friends

I just have to post this really quickly. I am so glad that I have friends like Vanessa. She is one of my most encouraging and faithful friends. I think God totally lets us in on the secret of true relationships when he gives us friends like this. I just got a couple of very encouraging e-mails from friends, and I wanted to say thank you to all of them, especially you who are reading my blog to be a witness to my life and the things that I am going through. Thank you all for supporting me by reading this and for all your encouragement throughout my big change in life. I hope I can still be there for you all as much as you are still here for me. I love and appreciate all of you!

Meet the Parents

Well, it is not exactly like the movie with Ben Stiller over here, but living with the in-laws is very different than say, living with your own parents after you're married. It is strange enough as it is that way, sharing your married life with your own parents, but with the in-laws (especially in another country) it is entirely another story. Without going into too much detail, let's just say it can be a trying experience mainly because you are "trying" to survive at all costs while not letting on that you are trying at all as if it is easy as pie to live with them, and they are just wonderful. But the problem with that is that, no matter what, you still would rather be in your own home doing things your own way. There is a fine line when setting any boundaries in this sort of living arrangement. Tim and I are struggling to have a balance between family cohesion and our own family time with just the two of us. I particularly do not feel very much at home in someone else's house, especially since I am home a lot during the day and don't quite know whether I should be acting more like a housekeeper and cook. The main problem is that I don't really get much joy out of cleaning someone else's house, but am happy to do it if I am asked to help out. And as for cooking, well let's just say that my type of cooking is not really in high demand around here. I don't know how to cook proper English dishes the "proper" way, and my style and recipes are just too "interesting" and unfamiliar for people to really like them. So here I am in a bit of a kerfuffle over what in the world I am supposed to be doing around the house. Help!

Injuries

Yesterday I tried to ride a bike to maybe get to the gym more quickly. But as I took it for a test ride up the street, it all went well until I came back down the hill and tried to turn into the driveway, I tipped over on the bike and fell and scraped my knee. After that I wasn't too confident on riding the bike all the way to the gym especially on the other side of the road. So I walked instead. Then today I got stung by some stinging nettles when Margaret and I went to pick blackberries down the lanes by the farm fields. The stinging nettles grow right alongside the blackberries (which also have their own thorns) so you really have to be careful as you try to gently grab the blackberries without getting caught by the thorns and nettles. The thing about stinging nettles is that they just sort of sting you and create tiny little bump and sting and itch really bad. I think it's better then poison ivy though which they do not have here. But I have recovered and it's all part of rustic country life!

Fish 'N' Chips

Last night we went to get fish and chips at our local chippy (the shop that sells fish and chips to go wrapped in brown paper). Ours is owned by Eddie Ho who has owned it for years, and the shop along with Eddie were featured in an episode of Lovejoy starring Ian McShane. For those of you who don't know, the show is about a somewhat dodgy antique dealer who loves to collect great antiques while cheating other people out of theirs. It is a very funny show and happens to be filmed all around our area. Very cool. Anyway the fish and chips is very yummy. The typical fish to eat is cod. It can be a Friday night tradition for the Webbs!

Cooking

I have been cooking a bit more these days since I have been home during most of the day when I am not at the gym. I have made soup and my own gluten free bread. The only problem with the gluten free bread was that it didn't rise. I plan on trying it again with different yeast instead of using the dry yeast that came in the package. I have never really baked bread before (except banana bread). I am working on learning more about baking without sugar and wheat which is tricky. Although speaking of dietary requirements. I have actually gone into a few coffee shops and asked for soy or non-dairy milk. and a couple of the ones in Bishop's Stortford do serve it which is great. I am looking to convert the whole of Essex to understanding the need for non-dairy alternatives for people like me.

Pub Lunch

Today, Tim had a day off from class, and we did a little exploring and hanging out around. We went to a charity shop (thrift shop where the money goes to charity), and we got some bargain movies and books. Then we went out for a pub lunch at the Coach and Horses pub in Thorley. I had a lamb curry, and Tim had a beef and bacon burger with chips. Tim was excited by the enormous tray of sauces that were brought out for us to use, so he almost took a spoonful of each making the waitress stand there for ages while he dropped each sauce onto his plate. Apparently they all tasted "very nice". My meal was great, and as tradition has it, we didn't even have to tip. I love pubs!

Getting Acquainted

Getting acquainted with a new location is very important! It is also very important that you find things that are familiar to you so that you can experience the old with the new which is much more comforting than being thrown into an entirely new situation without any familiar aspects to cling on to for reassurance. For example, the simple act of going to Starbucks makes me feel like I am still a coffee drinking, book reading, smart, fun and intelligent person like I used to be when I used to sit at Starbucks back in NJ. Without this, I am liable to end up feeling completely stupid because I can barely even cross the street without fear of getting run over. I am doing better with that anyway little by little. Pictured above is my Starbucks coffee mug (the very eco-conscious British tradition) alongside my book from the charity shop about someone who moves from Scotland to Mallorca, Spain and experiences various interesting circumstances with culture shock, a new language and of course the weather! On top of the book is my new English mobile which is a very basic model, and I mainly use for texts as is the custom here. So needless to say, I am trying my best to fit in and remain as I was simultaneously!

The Milkman

Tuesday is Milk Day! Every Tuesday morning, Mark the Milkman delivers 2 bottles of milk to our door. In between we may actually buy some from the store, but this is something that still goes on in this part of the world. They take the washed empty bottles from the week before and replace them with new bottles of milk. How quaint! Well, I actually don't drink milk, so I have to buy my own almond milk from the store. I have been having some trouble getting food that I can eat in places. I have had to go to different grocery stores to get different things and do a lot of exploring. The problem mainly is that there is a small section of things that are dairy or gluten free, but even those things all contain cane sugar, so that doesn't help. So I am in the process of organizing a bank of good recipes for sweets and breads that I can make at home that I can actually eat. Most likely they will taste just as good, but make me feel much better.

Walking

This is a scenic route that I take in as I walk to and from the gym. It takes me about 25 minutes to walk each way, so that is adding onto my fitness regimen as well. So I went to the gym to work out and take a class. I was given a workout program by a trainer there which was great and the best part was that I spent the entire morning there. I started my day with my introductory visit to my new doctor at the surgery (office) which I walked to first thing in the morning and then spent the rest of the morning at the gym. The good thing is that the showers at the gym have great water pressure which is more than can be said for the shower at our house which gives out a lovely light warm mist which absolutely does not work for washing my hair. So at the gym, despite the 20 second shower you get for each push of the nob, the pressure is great and I just keep hitting the nob every 20 seconds until I have thoroughly enjoyed my shower. Besides, I am the only one showering in there so everyone else must have better water pressure at home.

Outing to Saffron Walden

We went to Saffron Walden which is a very nice old market town. Here are some pictures of my travels. We went to walk around to the nice outdoor market yesterday which is apparently on Tuesdays and Saturdays. There is a very quaint and peaceful atmosphere that feels like you are back a hundred years. I bought a very very old register book for £2 that would have originally been used for registering births, deaths etc. I plan to use it for a scrapbook of some sort. I also bought some olives from the market and had coffee in the cafe with my mother-in-law. Today, Tim and I went to Audley End on a little mini train ride which is mainly for kids on a teeny tiny almost toy size train that goes on a little track around and through the woods. As you are going through the woods, there are loads of stuffed animals for the children to spot hiding in trees and hanging around on the grass. The kids love it, and so do the big kids like Tim and I. We even went around a very old maze that really is just a pattern you can follow from beginning to end without getting lost. it is a bit Alice in Wonderland without the hedges. All the shops are shut on Sundays so really the towns are very quiet in general. It was very nice and relaxing. Hope you enjoy the pictures. The rest are on Tim's facebook.

Belly Ring

So I went to the gym for the first time today, and as I was walking in to class trying not to be noticed really, the top part of my belly ring fell off which looks like a ball bearing. So someone else in the class picked it up and we all wondered where it had come from. I had no idea at that time that it was from my belly ring. Then I got my weights and headed to a spot on the other side of the room, and my entire belly ring fell off because it had no ball holding it in. Someone else picked that up and looked around, and it was at that moment that I realized that the "ball bearing" from earlier was really mine and this ring was now out of my belly for the rest of the class. Afterwards, I went to the other side of the room again to see if the ball was still on the floor. It was, so I nonchalantly picked it up and dropped it into my bag with the belly ring itself. The reason I posted this picture of my piercing hole is to signify that I have decided to honor the fateful experience with permanently removing my belly ring and getting a natural belly back, something I always said I would do to get ready to have a baby belly. So I guess it will close up within a day or few and that will be that. On to a new stage of my life! If anyone wants a small collection of belly rings, let me know.

Herb Garden

I had the day with my mother-in-law since she did not have work today. So we went to the market for some meat and veggies for tea (dinner) tonight which I made. It was a lovely meal according to everyone who ate it. I have to thank my friend Vanessa for the recipe. It was sweet potato and fennel with turkey breast cooked in olive oil and fresh herbs from my new herb garden! After our market trip, we went to the garden center for some herbs to start our herb garden. I took some chives, caraway, oregano and spearmint for the herb garden outside and then a chocolate mint plant to keep in the conservatory. I might use the chocolate mint for dessert or something. So here is my herb garden pronounced with the "H" in herb the British way. We put it in an old sink which was very heavy and had to be carried by 3 of us. But doesn't it look lovely in the back garden?

Banksy in Bishop's Stortford?

Is Banksy in Bishop's Stortford? Probably not, but that is the first thing I thought while walking through a street in B.S. which is our main town nearby. For those of you who don't know, Banksy is a British stencil graffiti artist and has lots of work in London as well as other international locations. You can check out his website http://www.banksy.co.uk/ for more fun stuff including videos. Well, the one on the left is Banksy for sure, and it is one I actually saw in London (not this actual photo) last time I was here. I do have my picture somewhere, but this was easier. The one on the left is the stencil I found in B.S. and has a Banksy feel to it in that it involves someone wearing a gas mask and carrying a gun. If you know Banksy's work, you will understand. He is very much a political activist from behind the scenes, or in his case, the mask or hoodie.

House Call

There is a British tradition of stopping by for a visit with your neighbor which is pretty much a foreign concept for Americans as we do not think it is polite to visit people without calling first to schedule it. Today I went (on recommendation, suggestion and strong urging, in that order, from my mother-in-law) to pay a call to Mrs. Jones who lives in this house named Tudor House. Many of the houses here have names as well as numbers. For example our house is called, Myrtle Cottage. The neighbors across the street are in a house called, The Stoop. It is a lovely tradition I think we should all do. I wonder what we should call our future house! Well, in fact it may already come with a name. The Tudor House is in fact and original tudor house well over 400 years old! The top picture is Mrs. Jones's part of the house and the bottom picture is of the rest of the row of tudor houses called Savages. I am not sure how many houses are in that row, but it appears that it used to include a stable area as well. So the house call is when you stop by (call in at) someone's house completely unannounced entirely because you were walking past or wanted to say hello and have a chat. So I called in at the Jones's Tudor House at around 14:30 this afternoon after running some errands in the town. I was welcomed and invited in for tea and had a nice chat for about 15 minutes until I left to walk back home. This lady is from the church so that's where the connection is, but still I had only met her twice so it felt completely awkward for me, although she seemed to think it was fine. I may go with her next week to help with the mums and Toddlers group in Bishop's Stortford (the nearby town).

Making Coffee

Here is what I do to make my own coffee that is more European/American style than English. I just boil water in the electric kettle and then pour it into the french press over 3 scoops of ground coffee and let it brew for a couple minutes. I like my new coffee maker! The English style is basically instant coffee (you know that comes in a jar and you spoon a little bit into boiling water and you have instant coffee). It is freeze dried, and to me it tastes that way. So that is why when I go to people's house and they offer me tea or coffee, I generally go with the tea because it is better than instant coffee. I did ask for honey with my tea at a cafe the other day, and they did not have any because apparently that is not what people do. I guess they just put sugar in everything. That doesn't work for me because I don't eat sugar. I actually am having a hard time getting used to the food here and trying to stick to what I know works for my body mainly because I can't eat: wheat, sugar, dairy, eggs, corn, peanuts and cashews. That is a long and annoying list if you are trying to order food somewhere in the US, but it is even worse around here I think mainly because bread is part of every meal it seems as well as milk. So I am looking into my cooking options to get myself prepared for what is out there. It is hard not living in my own house in my own kitchen too, so that is not making things any better.

Bible Study

Today, Tim and I went to our first Bible Study group at a friend's house from Tim's parents' church which we joined on Sunday. Everyone was very nice and chatty and we enjoyed our tea and biscuits before starting our study on 40 Days of Community by Rick Warren. As we were watching the video, I offered to translate for the British English speakers as a fluent American English speaker myself. They were very nice and had a few jokes about American stuff which was funny. We just got back from the small group meeting now, and are heading off to bed soon. Today was another day of me and the cats in the house trying to get something productive done. I worked on my application for transferring my speech therapist certification and took a trip to the green grocer's again and the local library. Tomorrow I will probably join the gym. Here is a picture of my view from the conservatory window where I spent most of the day with the cats watching the birds.

Getting Settled

Today I watched as everyone but me went off to work in a school, and I was left to figure out how to use the stove and the french press to make my breakfast. Since my in-laws only drink instant decaf coffee, I bought some coffee to brew in the french press they gave me because they don't use it. I brewed my coffee and boiled some quinoa that I had bought to make as hot breakfast cereal. Then I think I slept off the last of my jet lag and spent the afternoon registering at the doctor's and registering the cats at the vet. I also walked down to the green grocer for some fruit and veg and picked up a scrapbook that I am going to begin to use to chronicle my English life. Here is my set of house keys that I got done today. Notice the great old fashion style Yale lock key which goes in an old fashion keyhole like the ones you can look straight through to the other side.

Blackberry Picking

Well I am on day 3 I guess, of my new life in England. Today being Sunday, we went to church and met some people and chatted afterwards during the lunch we all ate together to celebrate the harvest. (This is something like what we might do around Halloween or Thanksgiving at church.) Then, since Tim starts his program tomorrow, he went to take a nap with the cat in the conservatory and I went with my mother-in-law to pick blackberries in Hatfield Forest. Also, there was a wood festival going on where we saw people making all sorts of things out of wood including chairs, tables, baskets, bowls etc. So we walked around and checked everything out and then headed off to find the blackberry bushes. We picked a couple of boxes full to take home and freeze some and eat the rest. These are wild blackberries just all over the forest where people come and pick them around this time of year and put them in pies, pastries and other yummy English puddings (desserts).

Homesick!

Hello again,
Well it is true that people get homesick when they move to another country I suppose, but I did not think that for me it would involve having the jump out of my mother-in-law's car just after entering a multi-story parking garage and to literally "be sick" over a metal grating in the floor. It was sort of my first official act of the day. Up until that point I had really only eaten my muesli and taken my vitamins and had a shower. I guess the stress of the big move really hit me hard. I guess you could say that I had a "gut feeling" that I would miss home, but I didn't think it would hit me so soon and physically too. Well, anyway after the homesick experience I was able to get some fresh air and walk around the shops (like you do on a Saturday) and then later chat to my parents and my favorite sister (Punkie) on the phone for a bit. I also got a call from some friends from the States to check up and see how we all were settling in. So it has been a stressful week, but I am looking forward to some more relaxation and time to unpack my suitcases at some point in the near future when I am done relaxing with my cup of tea.

Bon Voyage!

Welcomed by drizzle! Well, I have arrived in Stansted, England with my husband and we are awaiting the arrival of our two kitties. They are being driven by the pet chauffeurs, but unfortunately although they were coming to the same place at the same time, they were booked on a flight to Heathrow instead of Gatwick airport. So the entire time that we thought the cats were on our flight we could have just checked their information and noted that their flight was slightly different. So needless to say that when the pilot came on saying they had to check on the 2 live animals on our flight after a slight delay on the ground, we were very worried about someone else's animals and not really our own pussycats! Other than that, the flight was fine, food good, movie choices not so bad and I slept a lot and had odd dreams whether from the stress of leaving my homeland or from the Dramamine. We also sat next to an English woman who had been living in the US for 50 years but thought I might still enjoy England. All in all it was a good journey especially because we were flown over by my friend who is a flight attendant for Continental Airlines who made sure we were comfortable. So I haven't done much yet except have a little nap and a little nibble on some Ryvita (rye crisp bread) and had a cup of tea of course! Well, hoping the boys arrive soon! That's all for now.