I'm no George Eliot!

I feel like I've been neglecting my readers. Well, the truth of the matter is that I HAVE been neglecting you. All this stuff goes on and I'm just not inspired enough to write about it. You would think I was some famous author that gets a highly inflated salary for putting thoughts to paper. But no... I'm just sitting here accumulating more stuff to write about and not writing. I would be a terrible writer, well at the very least, I'd be a poor one.

So my trip to England was Fantastic! But realy my trip started two day before I left for the UK. Monday we met friends and toured the Heritage Village, took a ride across the creek on the Abra (water taxi) and savored the aromas of the spice souk. Then we sauntered down to the gold souk, where we were wooed by all the BLING! By this time we were all ready for a meal, so we made it to Festival City for a little Zyng! Over dinner we made plans for Tuesday. Now, my flight to the UK was at 8am on Wednesday... and the gang was proposing a reprise of our first visit to the new water park at Atlantis... and knowing I couldn't bare to miss the fun, I agreed... not having done any packing or preperation for this much anticipated trip.

Tuesday arrives, we 6 meet at the entrance and a full day of sun and fun ensue. We rode slide after slide, wave after wave. We chained up to about 10 people and had loads of good clean fun... and the bonus would be arriving in England with a nice fresh tan. After the water park, we went home, wrote a list and went back out to pick up some things and meet the gang for dinner. Unfortunately, one of our party couldn't make it out to dinner... she fell victim to the ever despised 'sun burn'. We had an absolutely scrumptious meal at the Butcher Shop and parted ways so that I could get some packing done. I crawled into bed to steal two hours rest before my alarm went off... and before I knew it I was on a flight bound for Birminham.

Customs/Passport control took longer then I anticipated.. and I learned a lesson. ALWAYS use the lav before de-planing... just in case customs takes longer then usual. Anyhow, I was THRILLED to see some familair faces when I came out of the baggage claim. It was a georgeous day, BLUE sky with PUFFY WHITE clouds and oh! it was cool out.. I dare to say that it was a tiny bit nippy and I was loving life! Auntie and Uncle D were so gracious, I saw plenty of nice green coutry side and I got to taste the goodness of the land. Between real bacon, (which as I said in my previous blog.. is the only real bacon in the world)and clotted cream, I was in heaven. Unfortunately, almost everyone was suffering with a cold when I arrived, but none so severely as Auntie. I felt so bad that she was ill, but even with her cold, we had some really great laughs. I'd venture to say we spent a good 1/3 of our time around the kitchen table, and that was probably the most precious part of my time there. Yeah, I saw London.... Big Ben and all that. But I'll need pictures to remember that. The kitchen table was just, well, it felt like being home. So that is what I remember most about being in England.

On Saturday, we attended Emma's wedding. What and experience! The church was a thousand years old I took lots of pictures outside and I may have even recorded the bells ringing after the wedding... something you don't hear often back home. Anyhow, we made our way to the Manor Hotel, where the 'wedding breakfast' would take place. English weddings are certainly very different then what I'm used to, but I like it. All except the singing. The Vicker kept cutting out in the middle and therefore it sounded funny. Anyhow, we had mimosas... which are called something else in England. Then the receiving line, and then the breakfast... which is more like dinner, since by then the time was closer to 3. Fantastic speeches were given and then they cut the cake. This was curious to me, because they cut the cake and it was almost silent.. then the servers came out with dessert, which wasn't cake! It didn't matter, becasue the 3 cream puffs (which they also call something else) dolloped with a nice lot of creme fresh was so good, I could've eaten mine and the plate of the girl sitting next to me, who didn't like cream puffs.

After the 'breakfast' we went to our rooms, where I was able to get on Skype and make some calls back home. It was great to catch up and talk to people back home. Auntie, and Uncle D had fallen asleep and afer a few hours they rang me to say we should join the rest of the party in the reception hall...more food and now DANCING! I didn't dance, but I did eat. We met some really great people and had a few laughs. I was mostly amused by the DJ's selection of music.. so interesting. The next day we spent in recovery, Auntie had reached the climax of her ill health in the night and she gladly took residence under the blanket for the rest of the day. So we left the Manor Hotel (which is a REAL manor... and a very old one at that!)

Two things should be noted. Uncle D is quite a good cook and he is a cheeriest person to listen to, he was always singing or whistling. On top of the fact that he is like a walking history book. I felt like I had gotten a full education while I was there. While Auntie rested, we joined Uncle D's daughter and for a meal the their house just around the corner. It was soooo good!

The Tuesday of my trip, I took a train to London and rode the big red bus... around town. I saw quite a lot from that bus, and the tour guide was quite humorous. I got off the bus at the Tower of London and had lunch and then I took the river cruise down the Thames. This was the only point of the day that I was cold.. and slightly wet since it chose to 'drizzle' as it often does. After that I got back on the bus and rode around next to a guy from Mexico who was visiting his daughter in France...(strange, but true). I was dealing with a migrane at this point, but I was due to meet a friend for dinner, and I didn't want to miss. So I abandoned my city tour to get to her house early so I could try and recover from the migrane, but to no avail. By the time we got to the restaurant I had to call it a day. We hailed a cab and I was safetly back to the train station. Of course I fell asleep in the cab, and the driver had to practically yell at me to get out! I found a seat on the train, and settled in for the short trip. I was greatful I went home early, I was kind of overwhelmed with being out in the city all day. But at least now I know where I want to spend my time when I go back. I've got it all planned... but of course I actually have to really have dinner with my friend, to make up for skipping out this last time. SO minus the migrane, it was a good trip.

The next day we went to the Nuneaton market and the department stores there, and then to Sainsbury's. Fantastic! I was enjoying myself thouroughly! And of all the things to find in the Wednesday market, at a bookstall, was my brother's book. Amazing. I had to buy one, just to prove it! Sadly, it was cheap... but it was also the edition that doesn't give him enough credit for his work. At any rate, I enjoyed the day very much. We even had lunch at the George Eliot, the pub named for the famous authoress who grew up nearby.

I had made many simple but delightful purchases on this trip and I was very close to not fitting it all when I was packing. But I sat on the suit case and that helped quite a bit. Yes, I literally sat on it and Auntie can vouch for that since she was there laughing at me while I tried to get the darn thing closed! Oh the fun!

I was sad to leave England, but happy to be going home to John. The flight back was safe... but not sound. A huge family was sitting across the entire width of my cabin and they proceeded to make a ruckus the entire 7 hour flight back to Dubai, but no matter. It wasn't an overnight flight so I wasn't planning on sleeping anyhow. After getting through the terminal and passport control, and picking up my bag, I was thrown into a giant throng of people with no sign of John. Thank God for cell phones, I don't know that I would have ever found him with out it. So I made it home and the apartment wasn't as much of a mess as I expected. Thankfully.

Since I've been home...

Friday: We went to church, then lunch, then grocery shopping, then home to make a dish to take to a friend for dinner. Then to the friend's house for the aforesaid dinner.

Saturday: We had fiends over for lunch and went to the pool, and called it a night.

Sunday: We had friends over to 'work out' with. Then we met up with more friends to celebrated one of them getting their driver's license. (which is hard to get for some people)

Monday: We had our interview at the church and then we went for a walk with our friends and then dinner nearby, and then cell group at the marina.

Tuesday: John left for Birmingham, and I went to help a friend out and then for a walk, then dinner, then home, where I found that I had no hot water!

Wednesday: Women's Bible Study, Library, lunch, doctor's appointment, home to find
the repairmen fixing the hot water problem, short SHORT nap, then to hlep a friend put up a sign, coffee break, art exhibit, photo seminar, IKEA (for some swedish meatballs) and finally home and to bed... where I stayed until I couldn't stand it.

Thursday: John came home and we wen to HQ, then to Satwa for a VERY VERY VERY cheap late lunch and then shopping down the strip. CHEAP places... totally cool. Novelty for John, but not for me... I'd been there before, although, the place we ate was his discovery. We stopped at the grocery store to pick up a couple of things, and then home... where I started my basket weaving project. Yes, really.

Today: John did his usual bike ride, then church, then out to Jebel Ali Motocross track as spectators.. where I became VERY dehydrated... and grumpy. We both crashed when we came home, under the weather due to the dehydration and a little sun worn. We had to pass on the festivities at Century Village where a most of our friends are celebrating a birthday. But the good part of that, is that John made me dinner and we spent some time together. AND I finished making my first basket.

Somewhere in all this time, there's been more talk of going back to England for fours day, as well as a 7 day trip to Australia. It's surreal to finally being doing these things, seeing places and meeting people from all over the world. I will always be in awe over it I think.