Wellies

As of yesterday I have purchased my very first pair of Wellies known originally as Wellington boots. That is because these were made popular by the Duke of Wellington. Basically they are the American version of galoshes. Now I don't know about you, but I never actually owned a pair of galoshes. I just had snow boots but nothing rubbery like this. Well, over here absolutely everyone owns at least one pair. They are generally an olive green color or even black which are the traditional colors. But of course with the fashion trends always changing and updating, these days you can get them to suit your own fashion style. I have seen ones with chocolate candies all over them or polka dots or butterflies or camouflage, but since I was at the store with just a couple of varieties, this was what I chose. Mine are actually (and this is actually pretty amazing really) made by Laura Ashley. Now I know what you're thinking, Laura Ashley? Doesn't that usually mean very conservative and classic clothing for ladies. Well yes it does, but apparently in England, wellies are so popular that every brand feels compelled to come out with their own. I just thought it would be cool to get the fashionable ones. Fortunately they did actually fit me, because in the past I have had considerable trouble getting knee boots for myself due to my rather annoying foot to calf size ratio. basically my feet are much smaller than my calves, so that if a boot fits my foot, my calf will not make it in the boot, and if my calf fits in the boot, my foot will be swimming. The great thing about these wellies that did fit, was they were a bit larger for the calf area than other ones I tried and with their design, you need some room for your feet anyway while at the same time wearing nice thick socks to help keep you warm. So I lucked out! Now the next time I go walking in Hatfield Forest or looking for shells on the beach, I will have my wellies to wear!

Garden Centers

Apparently garden centers are very popular in this country. I have been to a few so far (with my mother-in-law), and they all seem to have a little cafe and are very touristy I guess. The truth is that all the little old ladies and gentlemen like to go there to have a little walk around the garden centers and buy some plants and have a little lunch or cup of tea. It is thus very popular with the older generation of this country. So this particular picture was taken on Thursday at Van Hage's which is a Dutch garden center (which can be guessed by the name). We love the Dutch. Well, along with the garden center and very nice shop, they also had a tiny little wildlife sanctuary. They had some birds, rabbits, goats, and even some meercats. It was very nice. This is a naturally occurring shape of this type of shrub I am told. I think they call it the bronto-shrub or something. Anyway along with the garden center that day I also went to Hertford as in "In Hertford, Hereford and Hampshire, hurricanes hardly ever happen." to meet with a director of speech and language therapy about the field and possible employment opportunities. That was very good, and hopefully we will be able to work something out as soon as my paperwork arrives.

Merry, The Outdoor Puss

This is Merry Puss. He desperately wants to be an outdoor puss. He loves the smell of fresh air, loves looking at the birds and trying to catch and play with bugs and also, sniffing and tasting the grass. He spends most of the day watchin out the windows in the conservatory at all the exciting things that go on out there. He loves having the windows open and has actually tried to climb out of the windows in the bathroom and my in-laws' bedroom (into which he is forbidden, so I don't know how he got in there). Tim and I have been struggling to parent him correctly by either forcing him to stay in or allowing him a bit of outside time once in a while. The trouble is his attitude. Well, Merry has been out on occasion to help me hang out the washing, but as soon as he gets back in the house, he meows and meows saying things like, "Please let me go back out. I want to be an outdoor puss!" Just like that I swear! So what are we going to do? Any suggestions? We have already thought of an outdoor playpen, a collar with a leash (which he doesn't really like at all) or just never letting him out, but the problem is now that he knows what it is like out there and meows even when he hasn't been outside recently. He certainly is much different that Pippin, The Closet Puss.

The Post

I have been recently sending out lots of post(mail). The word is used in exactly all the instances we Americans would say mail i.e. I will post the letter. Put it in the post. The postman dropped it off. etc. Well I have been recently posting my certification paperwork (with lots of money) as well as my application for membership in the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists RCLST (British professional organization for SLP/SLTs like the American Speech Language and Hearing Organization ASHA) also with lots of money. That was sad to see the money go, and I am hoping the paperwork comes back with my valid registration to work as a speech therapist here. I have also posted letters home which is nice. I have only really gotten 2 letters in the post so far, one from my mom and one from my grandmother. I would love to get some more post from home because it makes me feel like I am still in connection with home. I think the computer is great, but honestly a real letter of "snail mail" as you could call it definitely means a lot to a transplant like me. So if you are free to write a short note or anything, please don't hesitate to put it in the post. I will definitely respond with some post of my own since I am not short of time these days. By the way this photo is the postbox literally outside our front door. It is set into the stone wall that also holds a notice board where people pin up things like "Lost Dog" or some event flyer. other post boxes look like this.......

Audley End House

Here is where Tim and I went on Saturday for our outing that we try to do every other week when Tim is not at a Barnet game. So this week, we went to Audley End House and Gardens. There is a huge estate there, but this is the actual house. The location of the house is where there used to be an old monastery which was then torn down and a huge palace built in its place that was about 3 times the size that it is now. But the very expensive house is named after Sir Audley who was very good friends with King Henry XIII and as a lawyer was actually the person responsible for the legal cases of the annulments, divorces and executions of all of King Henry XIII's wives. Very interesting fact! The house on the inside is gorgeous with some very nice architecture and style etc. The kitchen and gardens were also nice, but the grounds are so vast that we will have to go back and walk around the rest of the area. Next time!

The Conservatory

Here are some pictures of the conservatory where Tim and I spend a lot of our time because we have our own couch and tv and can relax in there in the evenings. Merry spends most of his time there during the day meowing and asking to be let outside (which we have indulged a few times). But, Pippin does not go in there much at all because he spends most of his day sleeping in the closet (wardrobe) in our room. It is way to bright for him in the conservatory so he usually waits until night time to go in. We are currently teaching the boys to use the cat flap from the kitchen to the conservatory so they can come in out as they please.

Virtual Tour

Hello from The Webbs! This is where I live. I have had some requests for a sort of virtual tour of the Webb household. So here it is.

Here is the bedroom which is pretty small for two people and the stuff that comes with two people one of them being a woman!

Here is how you get up to the bedroom!

Here is the kitchen!

This is the front area after the foyer which is sort of a sitting room hallway.