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USA Road Trip
02-07 A visit to the local pool - welcome to hell
Well July has arrived in a hurry here. It has come upon us most unexpectedly! Since hubs got home the time has flown and here we are with Moo at school for the last day of school before the summer holiday, most excited there is a school picnic for lunch and she is, for the first time, staying all day. It will be most strange for her not to be home at lunchtime. Strange, but nice! Although if the predicted 'grand orage' arrives it will be a rather soggy lunchtime. Yesterday we had a busy morning in the garden. I saw hubs approach the apple tree with a determined look on his face and a saw in his hand, and knew he meant business. Not that he was chopping it down you understand, just giving it a much needed 'trim'. I'm guessing its around 15 years since it was last tended as the branches were trailing on the ground all around it cutting off about half the garden and reaching out over the fence, putting passersby in grave danger of Newtonian style concussion. Much sweating and sawing occurred and after an hour or so the tree looked less like a weeping willow and more like an apple tree, and we have an 'extra' 10 metres of garden. With that done we decided to have a nice relaxing afternoon at the local swimming pool. Really Hubs and I wanted to go to the lake, but the lure of the water slides was all consuming and off we went to the 7th circle of hell. I think the entire town had decided that it would be a good day to visit the pool and it was packed to the rafters with screaming excitable children. Moo had a great time and met a school friend for a mad splash fight, but it was all we could do to endure an hour and a half before we had to get out of there or lose our sanity entirely. Next time I think I may have to use the 'parents prerogative'* and insist on the beach instead. Which is where we are hoping to head to this afternoon, weather permitting, to enjoy our last child free hours of the summer? *The parents prerogative of course being to lie blatantly to your child about the opening hours of the pool/shop/park/ice cream van - delete as necessary.
05-07 Coughs and sneezes and overnight guests
Poor Moo has the most terrible cough. She arrived home from school on Thursday, tired but happy, having greatly enjoyed the picnic which was thankfully dry as the storm did not hit until around 3ish. We were delighted by her end of year report which showed massive improvement in all areas, with lovely comments from maitress about how well she is doing, and how much she is looking forward to welcoming Moo to the ‘grand section’ next year. A celebratory dinner was had and a family snuggle on the sofa before bed was a reward for us all. Moo slept soundly till around 4am, then the coughing began. It didn’t really stop. Friday saw us all confined to base (apart from a stocking up trip to the pharmacy), as we were all rather tired and a little grumpy. We had been due to attend a soiree in the village hall in the evening to celebrate the end of term, but I attended only long enough to transmit our apologies and receive wishes of bon courage for the night ahead. By the time I got back to the house Moo was asleep in her daddy’s arms, so I took her straight up to bed, and in all honesty we soon followed in anticipation of another sleepless night. At 7am the next morning we were surprised and delighted to find we had all had a good night’s sleep, and Moo seemed full of beans again and not nearly so poorly. After the usual breakfast and tidy up I left Moo with Hubs and trooped to the local town to do the posting, banking and shopping. It was quite liberating to have the car to myself on such a beautiful morning, so down came the windows and up went the volume on the stereo. I was having a wonderful full throttle sing along when the second, rather temperamental, speaker decided to kick in and nearly shattered my eardrums. I’m sure I saw the cows in the adjacent field jump. At The supermarket I loaded up the trolley with various pizza bits crisps and chocolate, not for me you understand - we haven’t fallen off our health kick quite yet, but for the anticipated arrival of two of Moo’s school friends who were coming for an overnight stay. Moo has been high as a kite for weeks waiting for the big day and had been planning the tea menu with much precision for just as long. Back at home we played and painted and waited for the appointed hour of 4pm to arrive. Every hour Moo counted the chimes of the church clock and when they didn’t arrive at 4 on the dot she began to fret! Fortunately it was not long before they did arrive and with a flurry of overnight bags and pillows they had disappeared up to Moo’s room without so much as an Au revoir to their departing parents. Hubs and I enjoyed a relatively peaceful half hour or so, if you discount the giggling yelling and crashing from above, whilst they bedded in. Then it was time for DIY pizza. Chimney, who had been conspicuous by her absence since shortly after 4, made a timely return to profit from the toppings which were as much on the floor as on the pizzas. Cooking and consumption rapidly followed and then it was time for the kids to watch a movie and for me to arrange some beds. After the movie, which seemed to be much shorter than usual, les enfants retired to the garden for half an hour to tire then out before bed. The timing couldn’t have been better as our neighbour was tending to his garden and took great joy in watering not only his veg but 3 very excitable children. Bed time went rather smoothly considering, and all were scrubbed, into PJ’s and tucked in, in less than half an hour. As I closed the door on the giggling I went and watered my veg with nothing in my head but the large bottle of wine now chilling in the fridge. Just a couple of ‘visits’ upstairs were needed before 2 out of 3 were asleep. Sadly number 3 was Moo and her cough had decided to come back with a vengeance, so we took her in with us for the night so at least our 2 guests could get some shut-eye. Hubs decided to try and get a few hours on the sofa as I sat up with moo rubbing her back and trying to soothe her to sleep. When I woke at around 5am and found him wrapped in covers on the floor beside the bed, I’m guessing the sofa idea didn’t work too well after all. At 7.30 I was greeted at the bedroom door by 2 washed and dressed smiling children eagerly anticipating the promised homemade pain au chocolate for breakfast. I wrestled Moo into some clothes and we went down to bake, waking hubs on the way so he could at least have a little time in his bed! So here we are breakfast done and dusted, and jolly nice it was too, with Mary Poppins in French keeping the children entertained while we await the arrival of Mr et Mme W, while I mainline coffee to try and keep my eyes from falling shut and wondering when Hubs is going to appear....
10-07 Where does the time go?
I'm finding it increasingly hard to find the time to do...well most things really! Now that Moo is on school holidays it makes me realise how much I appreciate those few hours a day. Much to Moo's initial displeasure we have undertaken a programme of 'school work' for an hour a day so she doesn't fall behind during the holidays. Also with hubs at home too, time I would normally spend pottering or blogging is spent making up for all the time we spend apart. And with the added exercise regime, which is going rather well thanks for asking, there goes another hour or so a day. I'm having a great time you understand, but 'regular' life seems to have disappeared for the moment, and my normal activities have fallen to neglect. Falling behind on the housework or gardening is not something I will ever lose sleep over, but I am greatly regretting the neglect of my imaginary friends, (more about them later in the week), and I can only apologise for my absence of late. As Moo has been getting over her lousy cough, and the weather has been rather disappointingly cloudy and rainy for the last week or so, we have been engaged in mostly close to home or indoor activities. Much painting and drawing has been done and 'the house of Moo studios' has been quite prolific in their output. We took a trip to Le Mans this week to get a few bits for our impending holiday, (10 days to go - WOOHOO!), and came back with a couple of toys for Moo and a new TV. Not exactly what was on the list, and not exactly hand luggage......We have been looking around for a new TV for a while, the old one is a little on the clunky side these days and needs the addition of a strategically placed DVD case wedged above the appropriate connectors to play certain films or games. But our 'managers special - no box' bargain has served us well for the last 10 years considering the number of moves it has survived (6 in case you are wondering plus 6 months in a damp garage with only a wrapped around duvet for protection). So we started looking on-line for a bargain and thought we had found one, but decided to wait till after the holiday to make the purchase. But Lo we arrived in the electrical shop and there it was, almost exactly the one we were looking at but at over 100E less and once it was explained and understood that this was the price as it was a 'special du magasin' and came without a box, we found ourselves in the grip of fate and decided to make the deal. Moo and Hubs disappeared for a browse while it was wrapped in an industrial amount of bubble wrap and I dealt with the formalities of the purchase, quite why they need to know my place of birth I’m not sure, but hearing the assistant struggling with 'Audinboorge', gave me a little insight as to how I must sound when groping for French pronunciation. Hubs desire to get the TV in place and picture perfect had to wait a while though, as we had been invited round to a house in the village for drinks that evening. Mr R & Mrs A are an English couple who own a holiday home in the village, and were quite delighted to discover that there was another English speaking family just up the road. They made us most welcome and plied us with fine wine while I fell deeply and profoundly in love with their 3 English setters. We stayed until Moo got too restless then bid farewell to new friends, with the promise of a steady supply of baked beans on their holiday visits! I put Moo to bed and Hubs launched himself into the job of sorting out the TV with great gusto. I must say it is a very nice TV and the picture quality, (after prolonged fiddling about with every function that could be fiddled about with over the course of 2 days), is superb, but I am beginning wondering how long I will have to marvel and show vocal appreciation at its sheer wonderfulness each time it is switched on. Perhaps it's just a boy thing.
21-07 And so it begins.
So here we are in America, doesn't time fly! The last few weeks have gone by in a blur, and I can’t quite believe we are on holiday at last. Hubs and I had planned a nice early night, but when it reached 9.30pm and I Once I had taken care of that small formality, we sat down for a little drink before bed, then another one. Kicking the end out of a big bottle of Vodka till 3 am was probably not the best preparation for a 24 hr journey, seven stage journey, but by the time our sense chimed in it was way too late. The journey began with a 6.30 taxi ride to our local station, for our connecting train to Paris. Then a supposedly 2, but what turned out to be 3, hr wait for a connecting flight to London. We were shuttled around GDG airport while easy jet found us a plane and filled it with fuel. As we flew into the UK we just happened to be flying over our old town and we saw our old house. The sight of the concrete jungle below was quite a thing. So many houses all packed together, more in one street than is in our whole village now. I haven't been back to England in just under a year and I can honestly say I have not one single regret. The grey skies and driving rain did not help I'm sure. Anyway, onwards and upwards. We caught our connecting bus to Heathrow, and despite a few 'oncoming traffic' and roundabout heebie jeebies from me the journey passed quickly. Despite all the horror stories of terminal 5, it was the best airport experience I have ever had. Self check-in, nice coffee lounge and helpful courteous staff making the whole experience actually quite pleasurable. Even when hubs was being frisked at security we had a giggle with the guards, I think that opening his case to find George , moo's beloved bear, softened their attitude considerably. And so we boarded flight 299 to Chicago, weary, but not yet broken. 8 hrs in the air passed without too much cause for complaint, a couple of meals a couple of movies, and entertaining ourselves and the cabin staff by wearing our eye masks over our mouths 'swine flu protection' style. (There were quite a few of those on our flight although most of the mask-ee's removed them for eating anyway so one wonders what the point actually was in the first place). We disembarked with our luggage and raced towards immigration. We were only 3rd in the queue and so we figured we wouldn't be too long. We figured wrong. The first lady had 2 children with US passports, but a foreign one herself, she also had somehow figured that she didn't have to fill out the immigration forms for her kids, even though it was reinforced several times on the plane. 20 minutes later it was the turn of the young single Arabic man. Now young single Arabic men who have Pakistani stamps in their passport do not get through US immigration too quickly these days, in fact I'm not sure he got through at all as he was escorted away by a very big very stern looking official. Then it was our turn, our passports were scrutinised and our fingerprints taken. With British passports and French residency he was a little suspicious of us, but then he asked Hubs what he did for a living, and was delighted to find out he worked in the business of show. His attitude changed entirely and we had a pleasant chat and he waved us through with a salutation of ' I hope you folks have a super stay, and then he resumed his stony expression and called for the next in line. We passed through one hour later and saw the face of my patiently waiting parents. A quick round of hugs then into the car for the last 2 hours, most of which passed in a dozing haze and then we at last arrived. Moo was dispatched to bed with no complaint and then 24hrs after we set out we were sitting on mom and dad’s porch with an amazingly good cup of coffee watching the fireflies chasing round the pine trees. Time for bed I think.
22-07 Time for the chop and a "Ye-haw"
Thoughts of a lie-in were thrown out the window at 6.30 when I heard Moo up and about, but it was poor grandma that bore the brunt as Moo was actually up and about at 4.30 and ready to play. The morning was lazy as we all gradually surfaced although grandma went for a well earned nap around 9ish and dad took us for a drive around the area. It really is beautiful and we took in the locale and the surrounding countryside of their town. We got back to the house for a big American breakfast on the porch, listening to the music coming from the church tower across the lawn. Then it was time for the beauty salon. Moo and I were booked in for the big chop in preparation for our desert adventures. The local hairdressers eyes lit up as we walked in and told her we both wanted 'a lot' cut off. She participates in a programme called 'wigs for kids' which is a charity that, rather surprisingly, makes wigs for kids who have lost their hair through illness. I was delighted for us to join in this programme and actually went a bit shorter than originally intended to help the cause. In the end Moo donated 6 inches and I gave up 8. After that we headed into town for coffee and were greeted like long lost friends by people I barely recognised who had met us the last time we visited 3 ½ years ago. Then it was time to hit Wal-mart. Hubs was like a kid in a candy store and I lost him for an hour or so in the clothing section before he emerged with a cart load of bargains (of course I was completely restrained in the shoe department....). We met up with the folks and went to a fantastic Italian restaurant and filled ourselves to the brim with pasta. And then it was time for the main event of the day. The Green County Fair Rodeo. We were well equip with cowboy hats, star-spangled apparel and a bellyful of 'yeehaws'. The rodeo was an amazing spectacle with genuine cowboys wrestling and roping cattle and of course riding the broncos. We had a great tine cheering them on and marvelling at their skill. But the most absorbing sight of the evening by far was the menu of the lady who was sitting in front. As dad was warming the seats for us she consumed a burger and fries. As we arrived she was tucking into an enormous kebab, soon after that had been devoured she dispatched her mother to fetch her an 'onion blossom', or to put plainly, a deep fried sliced onion, with cheese and sauce. As we left she was contemplating a funnel cake (deep fried sweet batter with powdered sugar), or perhaps the deep fried cheese curds. It will not surprise you to learn that she was a rather large lady. Now speaking as someone who has always been on the 'rubenesque' end of the clothes rail, I don't often comment on the weight of others. However, it is often said here 'eating as much as I like is my choice', but then there are bitter complaints about discrimination when the cost of the health insurance is twice the price of someone who is not as heavy. There is no choice without consequence. And what about the 15 stone 8 year old who can barely climb the bleacher steps as he has weight related arthritis because his mother lets him get through 5 cheeseburgers in the hour we were sitting there. What choices will he have?
23-07 A full day of wonder.
Thursday dawned and today we were taking the kids to the zoo in the big city of Madison, around an hour away. I joined our good friend Mrs D with her grandson and Moo in the car and a friendship was formed faster than you could blink. Now little G has just been to visit with his other grandparents in Tennessee and by the time we reached the zoo Moo was twanging like a southern belle. Lord alone knows how she will sound by the time we get home. The zoo was amazing and free too. We strolled around looking at the bears and lions and penguins and giraffes and all the other animals you would expect to see in a zoo, but for Moo and Little G the highlight of the trip was playing in the park and watching a tiger taking a poo. 4 yr olds, what can you do! For lunch we headed to the amazing Ella's deli. Now Ella’s deli does have fantastic food, but what makes it so very amazing is the interior. It’s hard to describe what it looks like but it is a kid and 'kid-ults' paradise. To begin with there is a full size carousel in the parking lot. When you walk through the door it is an assault on the senses. The whole deli is filled to the brim with automated models of cartoon and fictional children's characters, harry potter whizzes by your head on his broomstick criss-crossed with batman and spider man, Popeye and Betty boop peek out from the corners and all of the tables are filled with toys and games. The look of wonderment on the faces of all who pass through the doors is a sight to behold. It was not only Moo and little G that were awestruck! The meal was delicious, and although we passed on the 32 scoop sundae, the slightly smaller ice-creams had the top button straining. After the meal the kids took a ride on the carousel, although the wisdom of a carousel ride after all that food may be a little shaky, they managed to retain their lunch and had an amazing time. A few tears as we had to leave and part company with her new best friend little G, but with the assurance that we would take her back to the farm to see him again, we set off for a small trip around the state capitol. To be honest by this point the jet lag was starting to hit and we were a little weary as we wandered round the beautiful Minona Terrace, and the journey back home was spent with mum and dad rather redundantly pointing out the sights to 3 sleepers in the back. After our nap and several coffee's it was time for my driving lesson. I have never driven an automatic before, so I felt it was to at least have a try before I got behind the wheel of an 8 seater for our 'road trip' tomorrow. Now mum and dad have an amazingly large car, an old 3.8 litre Buick Park avenue, (which actually has more floor space that a flat that hubs and I lived in once), so after my 1 litre Peugeot, I was a little nervous to say the least. But with a couple of instructions we were off. And although it is the size of a small tank it handles better than Verity. As I tried to stop my left foot pushing down on the non-existent clutch dad introduced me to the joy that is cruise control, and I was able to perform a small tap routine on the floor as the car drove itself and all I had to do was steer. we drove around for about an hour and performed various manoeuvres (reversing in that thing is really a matter of some guesswork as there is a 6ft bonnet and a 5 ft trunk, and you can’t actually see either end of the car), but when dad was satisfied that I was not going to kill us all we headed home. Now the plan for the evening was supposed to be that Hubs and I were to go to the local drive-in move, but I was shattered already, and with the 'big trip' commencing in the morning, it was felt that the best idea would be an early night all-round.
Well July has arrived in a hurry here. It has come upon us most unexpectedly! Since hubs got home the time has flown and here we are with Moo at school for the last day of school before the summer holiday, most excited there is a school picnic for lunch and she is, for the first time, staying all day. It will be most strange for her not to be home at lunchtime. Strange, but nice! Although if the predicted 'grand orage' arrives it will be a rather soggy lunchtime. Yesterday we had a busy morning in the garden. I saw hubs approach the apple tree with a determined look on his face and a saw in his hand, and knew he meant business. Not that he was chopping it down you understand, just giving it a much needed 'trim'. I'm guessing its around 15 years since it was last tended as the branches were trailing on the ground all around it cutting off about half the garden and reaching out over the fence, putting passersby in grave danger of Newtonian style concussion. Much sweating and sawing occurred and after an hour or so the tree looked less like a weeping willow and more like an apple tree, and we have an 'extra' 10 metres of garden. With that done we decided to have a nice relaxing afternoon at the local swimming pool. Really Hubs and I wanted to go to the lake, but the lure of the water slides was all consuming and off we went to the 7th circle of hell. I think the entire town had decided that it would be a good day to visit the pool and it was packed to the rafters with screaming excitable children. Moo had a great time and met a school friend for a mad splash fight, but it was all we could do to endure an hour and a half before we had to get out of there or lose our sanity entirely. Next time I think I may have to use the 'parents prerogative'* and insist on the beach instead. Which is where we are hoping to head to this afternoon, weather permitting, to enjoy our last child free hours of the summer? *The parents prerogative of course being to lie blatantly to your child about the opening hours of the pool/shop/park/ice cream van - delete as necessary.
05-07 Coughs and sneezes and overnight guests
Poor Moo has the most terrible cough. She arrived home from school on Thursday, tired but happy, having greatly enjoyed the picnic which was thankfully dry as the storm did not hit until around 3ish. We were delighted by her end of year report which showed massive improvement in all areas, with lovely comments from maitress about how well she is doing, and how much she is looking forward to welcoming Moo to the ‘grand section’ next year. A celebratory dinner was had and a family snuggle on the sofa before bed was a reward for us all. Moo slept soundly till around 4am, then the coughing began. It didn’t really stop. Friday saw us all confined to base (apart from a stocking up trip to the pharmacy), as we were all rather tired and a little grumpy. We had been due to attend a soiree in the village hall in the evening to celebrate the end of term, but I attended only long enough to transmit our apologies and receive wishes of bon courage for the night ahead. By the time I got back to the house Moo was asleep in her daddy’s arms, so I took her straight up to bed, and in all honesty we soon followed in anticipation of another sleepless night. At 7am the next morning we were surprised and delighted to find we had all had a good night’s sleep, and Moo seemed full of beans again and not nearly so poorly. After the usual breakfast and tidy up I left Moo with Hubs and trooped to the local town to do the posting, banking and shopping. It was quite liberating to have the car to myself on such a beautiful morning, so down came the windows and up went the volume on the stereo. I was having a wonderful full throttle sing along when the second, rather temperamental, speaker decided to kick in and nearly shattered my eardrums. I’m sure I saw the cows in the adjacent field jump. At The supermarket I loaded up the trolley with various pizza bits crisps and chocolate, not for me you understand - we haven’t fallen off our health kick quite yet, but for the anticipated arrival of two of Moo’s school friends who were coming for an overnight stay. Moo has been high as a kite for weeks waiting for the big day and had been planning the tea menu with much precision for just as long. Back at home we played and painted and waited for the appointed hour of 4pm to arrive. Every hour Moo counted the chimes of the church clock and when they didn’t arrive at 4 on the dot she began to fret! Fortunately it was not long before they did arrive and with a flurry of overnight bags and pillows they had disappeared up to Moo’s room without so much as an Au revoir to their departing parents. Hubs and I enjoyed a relatively peaceful half hour or so, if you discount the giggling yelling and crashing from above, whilst they bedded in. Then it was time for DIY pizza. Chimney, who had been conspicuous by her absence since shortly after 4, made a timely return to profit from the toppings which were as much on the floor as on the pizzas. Cooking and consumption rapidly followed and then it was time for the kids to watch a movie and for me to arrange some beds. After the movie, which seemed to be much shorter than usual, les enfants retired to the garden for half an hour to tire then out before bed. The timing couldn’t have been better as our neighbour was tending to his garden and took great joy in watering not only his veg but 3 very excitable children. Bed time went rather smoothly considering, and all were scrubbed, into PJ’s and tucked in, in less than half an hour. As I closed the door on the giggling I went and watered my veg with nothing in my head but the large bottle of wine now chilling in the fridge. Just a couple of ‘visits’ upstairs were needed before 2 out of 3 were asleep. Sadly number 3 was Moo and her cough had decided to come back with a vengeance, so we took her in with us for the night so at least our 2 guests could get some shut-eye. Hubs decided to try and get a few hours on the sofa as I sat up with moo rubbing her back and trying to soothe her to sleep. When I woke at around 5am and found him wrapped in covers on the floor beside the bed, I’m guessing the sofa idea didn’t work too well after all. At 7.30 I was greeted at the bedroom door by 2 washed and dressed smiling children eagerly anticipating the promised homemade pain au chocolate for breakfast. I wrestled Moo into some clothes and we went down to bake, waking hubs on the way so he could at least have a little time in his bed! So here we are breakfast done and dusted, and jolly nice it was too, with Mary Poppins in French keeping the children entertained while we await the arrival of Mr et Mme W, while I mainline coffee to try and keep my eyes from falling shut and wondering when Hubs is going to appear....
10-07 Where does the time go?
I'm finding it increasingly hard to find the time to do...well most things really! Now that Moo is on school holidays it makes me realise how much I appreciate those few hours a day. Much to Moo's initial displeasure we have undertaken a programme of 'school work' for an hour a day so she doesn't fall behind during the holidays. Also with hubs at home too, time I would normally spend pottering or blogging is spent making up for all the time we spend apart. And with the added exercise regime, which is going rather well thanks for asking, there goes another hour or so a day. I'm having a great time you understand, but 'regular' life seems to have disappeared for the moment, and my normal activities have fallen to neglect. Falling behind on the housework or gardening is not something I will ever lose sleep over, but I am greatly regretting the neglect of my imaginary friends, (more about them later in the week), and I can only apologise for my absence of late. As Moo has been getting over her lousy cough, and the weather has been rather disappointingly cloudy and rainy for the last week or so, we have been engaged in mostly close to home or indoor activities. Much painting and drawing has been done and 'the house of Moo studios' has been quite prolific in their output. We took a trip to Le Mans this week to get a few bits for our impending holiday, (10 days to go - WOOHOO!), and came back with a couple of toys for Moo and a new TV. Not exactly what was on the list, and not exactly hand luggage......We have been looking around for a new TV for a while, the old one is a little on the clunky side these days and needs the addition of a strategically placed DVD case wedged above the appropriate connectors to play certain films or games. But our 'managers special - no box' bargain has served us well for the last 10 years considering the number of moves it has survived (6 in case you are wondering plus 6 months in a damp garage with only a wrapped around duvet for protection). So we started looking on-line for a bargain and thought we had found one, but decided to wait till after the holiday to make the purchase. But Lo we arrived in the electrical shop and there it was, almost exactly the one we were looking at but at over 100E less and once it was explained and understood that this was the price as it was a 'special du magasin' and came without a box, we found ourselves in the grip of fate and decided to make the deal. Moo and Hubs disappeared for a browse while it was wrapped in an industrial amount of bubble wrap and I dealt with the formalities of the purchase, quite why they need to know my place of birth I’m not sure, but hearing the assistant struggling with 'Audinboorge', gave me a little insight as to how I must sound when groping for French pronunciation. Hubs desire to get the TV in place and picture perfect had to wait a while though, as we had been invited round to a house in the village for drinks that evening. Mr R & Mrs A are an English couple who own a holiday home in the village, and were quite delighted to discover that there was another English speaking family just up the road. They made us most welcome and plied us with fine wine while I fell deeply and profoundly in love with their 3 English setters. We stayed until Moo got too restless then bid farewell to new friends, with the promise of a steady supply of baked beans on their holiday visits! I put Moo to bed and Hubs launched himself into the job of sorting out the TV with great gusto. I must say it is a very nice TV and the picture quality, (after prolonged fiddling about with every function that could be fiddled about with over the course of 2 days), is superb, but I am beginning wondering how long I will have to marvel and show vocal appreciation at its sheer wonderfulness each time it is switched on. Perhaps it's just a boy thing.
21-07 And so it begins.
So here we are in America, doesn't time fly! The last few weeks have gone by in a blur, and I can’t quite believe we are on holiday at last. Hubs and I had planned a nice early night, but when it reached 9.30pm and I Once I had taken care of that small formality, we sat down for a little drink before bed, then another one. Kicking the end out of a big bottle of Vodka till 3 am was probably not the best preparation for a 24 hr journey, seven stage journey, but by the time our sense chimed in it was way too late. The journey began with a 6.30 taxi ride to our local station, for our connecting train to Paris. Then a supposedly 2, but what turned out to be 3, hr wait for a connecting flight to London. We were shuttled around GDG airport while easy jet found us a plane and filled it with fuel. As we flew into the UK we just happened to be flying over our old town and we saw our old house. The sight of the concrete jungle below was quite a thing. So many houses all packed together, more in one street than is in our whole village now. I haven't been back to England in just under a year and I can honestly say I have not one single regret. The grey skies and driving rain did not help I'm sure. Anyway, onwards and upwards. We caught our connecting bus to Heathrow, and despite a few 'oncoming traffic' and roundabout heebie jeebies from me the journey passed quickly. Despite all the horror stories of terminal 5, it was the best airport experience I have ever had. Self check-in, nice coffee lounge and helpful courteous staff making the whole experience actually quite pleasurable. Even when hubs was being frisked at security we had a giggle with the guards, I think that opening his case to find George , moo's beloved bear, softened their attitude considerably. And so we boarded flight 299 to Chicago, weary, but not yet broken. 8 hrs in the air passed without too much cause for complaint, a couple of meals a couple of movies, and entertaining ourselves and the cabin staff by wearing our eye masks over our mouths 'swine flu protection' style. (There were quite a few of those on our flight although most of the mask-ee's removed them for eating anyway so one wonders what the point actually was in the first place). We disembarked with our luggage and raced towards immigration. We were only 3rd in the queue and so we figured we wouldn't be too long. We figured wrong. The first lady had 2 children with US passports, but a foreign one herself, she also had somehow figured that she didn't have to fill out the immigration forms for her kids, even though it was reinforced several times on the plane. 20 minutes later it was the turn of the young single Arabic man. Now young single Arabic men who have Pakistani stamps in their passport do not get through US immigration too quickly these days, in fact I'm not sure he got through at all as he was escorted away by a very big very stern looking official. Then it was our turn, our passports were scrutinised and our fingerprints taken. With British passports and French residency he was a little suspicious of us, but then he asked Hubs what he did for a living, and was delighted to find out he worked in the business of show. His attitude changed entirely and we had a pleasant chat and he waved us through with a salutation of ' I hope you folks have a super stay, and then he resumed his stony expression and called for the next in line. We passed through one hour later and saw the face of my patiently waiting parents. A quick round of hugs then into the car for the last 2 hours, most of which passed in a dozing haze and then we at last arrived. Moo was dispatched to bed with no complaint and then 24hrs after we set out we were sitting on mom and dad’s porch with an amazingly good cup of coffee watching the fireflies chasing round the pine trees. Time for bed I think.
22-07 Time for the chop and a "Ye-haw"
Thoughts of a lie-in were thrown out the window at 6.30 when I heard Moo up and about, but it was poor grandma that bore the brunt as Moo was actually up and about at 4.30 and ready to play. The morning was lazy as we all gradually surfaced although grandma went for a well earned nap around 9ish and dad took us for a drive around the area. It really is beautiful and we took in the locale and the surrounding countryside of their town. We got back to the house for a big American breakfast on the porch, listening to the music coming from the church tower across the lawn. Then it was time for the beauty salon. Moo and I were booked in for the big chop in preparation for our desert adventures. The local hairdressers eyes lit up as we walked in and told her we both wanted 'a lot' cut off. She participates in a programme called 'wigs for kids' which is a charity that, rather surprisingly, makes wigs for kids who have lost their hair through illness. I was delighted for us to join in this programme and actually went a bit shorter than originally intended to help the cause. In the end Moo donated 6 inches and I gave up 8. After that we headed into town for coffee and were greeted like long lost friends by people I barely recognised who had met us the last time we visited 3 ½ years ago. Then it was time to hit Wal-mart. Hubs was like a kid in a candy store and I lost him for an hour or so in the clothing section before he emerged with a cart load of bargains (of course I was completely restrained in the shoe department....). We met up with the folks and went to a fantastic Italian restaurant and filled ourselves to the brim with pasta. And then it was time for the main event of the day. The Green County Fair Rodeo. We were well equip with cowboy hats, star-spangled apparel and a bellyful of 'yeehaws'. The rodeo was an amazing spectacle with genuine cowboys wrestling and roping cattle and of course riding the broncos. We had a great tine cheering them on and marvelling at their skill. But the most absorbing sight of the evening by far was the menu of the lady who was sitting in front. As dad was warming the seats for us she consumed a burger and fries. As we arrived she was tucking into an enormous kebab, soon after that had been devoured she dispatched her mother to fetch her an 'onion blossom', or to put plainly, a deep fried sliced onion, with cheese and sauce. As we left she was contemplating a funnel cake (deep fried sweet batter with powdered sugar), or perhaps the deep fried cheese curds. It will not surprise you to learn that she was a rather large lady. Now speaking as someone who has always been on the 'rubenesque' end of the clothes rail, I don't often comment on the weight of others. However, it is often said here 'eating as much as I like is my choice', but then there are bitter complaints about discrimination when the cost of the health insurance is twice the price of someone who is not as heavy. There is no choice without consequence. And what about the 15 stone 8 year old who can barely climb the bleacher steps as he has weight related arthritis because his mother lets him get through 5 cheeseburgers in the hour we were sitting there. What choices will he have?
23-07 A full day of wonder.
Thursday dawned and today we were taking the kids to the zoo in the big city of Madison, around an hour away. I joined our good friend Mrs D with her grandson and Moo in the car and a friendship was formed faster than you could blink. Now little G has just been to visit with his other grandparents in Tennessee and by the time we reached the zoo Moo was twanging like a southern belle. Lord alone knows how she will sound by the time we get home. The zoo was amazing and free too. We strolled around looking at the bears and lions and penguins and giraffes and all the other animals you would expect to see in a zoo, but for Moo and Little G the highlight of the trip was playing in the park and watching a tiger taking a poo. 4 yr olds, what can you do! For lunch we headed to the amazing Ella's deli. Now Ella’s deli does have fantastic food, but what makes it so very amazing is the interior. It’s hard to describe what it looks like but it is a kid and 'kid-ults' paradise. To begin with there is a full size carousel in the parking lot. When you walk through the door it is an assault on the senses. The whole deli is filled to the brim with automated models of cartoon and fictional children's characters, harry potter whizzes by your head on his broomstick criss-crossed with batman and spider man, Popeye and Betty boop peek out from the corners and all of the tables are filled with toys and games. The look of wonderment on the faces of all who pass through the doors is a sight to behold. It was not only Moo and little G that were awestruck! The meal was delicious, and although we passed on the 32 scoop sundae, the slightly smaller ice-creams had the top button straining. After the meal the kids took a ride on the carousel, although the wisdom of a carousel ride after all that food may be a little shaky, they managed to retain their lunch and had an amazing time. A few tears as we had to leave and part company with her new best friend little G, but with the assurance that we would take her back to the farm to see him again, we set off for a small trip around the state capitol. To be honest by this point the jet lag was starting to hit and we were a little weary as we wandered round the beautiful Minona Terrace, and the journey back home was spent with mum and dad rather redundantly pointing out the sights to 3 sleepers in the back. After our nap and several coffee's it was time for my driving lesson. I have never driven an automatic before, so I felt it was to at least have a try before I got behind the wheel of an 8 seater for our 'road trip' tomorrow. Now mum and dad have an amazingly large car, an old 3.8 litre Buick Park avenue, (which actually has more floor space that a flat that hubs and I lived in once), so after my 1 litre Peugeot, I was a little nervous to say the least. But with a couple of instructions we were off. And although it is the size of a small tank it handles better than Verity. As I tried to stop my left foot pushing down on the non-existent clutch dad introduced me to the joy that is cruise control, and I was able to perform a small tap routine on the floor as the car drove itself and all I had to do was steer. we drove around for about an hour and performed various manoeuvres (reversing in that thing is really a matter of some guesswork as there is a 6ft bonnet and a 5 ft trunk, and you can’t actually see either end of the car), but when dad was satisfied that I was not going to kill us all we headed home. Now the plan for the evening was supposed to be that Hubs and I were to go to the local drive-in move, but I was shattered already, and with the 'big trip' commencing in the morning, it was felt that the best idea would be an early night all-round.
JULY/AUGUST/SEPTEMBER
Misadventures in Mayenne
If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to contact me at hillywillyworld@gmail.com
So I guess if you are at this point, you are expecting to read all about August and September, well, they didn't happen. Of course thy did 'actually' happen, I'm not so magical that I can erase time. That would be quite handy at times I'm sure. To be able to get rid of those 'moments' we all have that we'd rather we hadn't, to get rid of days when we were ill and feeling grotty. Hmmm. But I digress. There are no weekly updates for the next 2 months, the last proper entry you will find is for our big road trip in July (and it's a jolly good one, even if I do say so myself). After that, Hillywilly (that would be me), re-designed the site and then kind of lost track for a while. I've been struggling ever since to get back up to date and have decided to give up on that and I've gone with a monthly summary instead.
So here goes;
AUGUST
August began with my birthday and I was spoiled to bits, discovered 'real' Mexican food and had a party, jointly celebrating with my mum. We then went out to a farm and shot up some old TV's, some evidence of which can be found on the gallery page. Yee-haw indeed. Another brief few days in the states culminating in a day trip to the magnificent city of Chicago. On reflection it may not have been wise to have packed a full day's sight-seeing in directly before a torturously long trip back to France, including an hour long stop in our former place of residence for a 'catch up coffee' with some wonderful friends, but you live and learn. A big thank-you here to Mr. W for picking us up at a rather ungodly hour at the train station and putting up with my incoherent jet-lagged babble all the way home. So 5 days to recover then it's off to Disneyland, via Charles De Gaulle airport to collect AJ, on the busiest (and hottest) weekend in the French summer calendar, to meet up with various members of Hubs family who were over for a week with their assorted offspring. It was busy, hot, expensive and quite breathtakingly magical. Even the hardened Disney cynic that I am, (having worked for them in my former theatrical career and since becoming a parent, wept at the price of their DVD's and merchandise), was utterly enchanted. Watching Moo's face as she met Belle, her favourite princess, hugged Balloo and watched daddy getting a 'monster hug' from Sully was worth every last cent. Holding her hand as she braved the mightily scary 'Tower of Terror' ride was something I will never forget, although I'm not sure if it was her or me gripping hardest. After Disneyland we all had a day together in Paris and enjoyed a wonderfully relaxing cruise on the Seine courtesy of Mother-In-Law and her 'club card' points. Then it was goodbyes all round as we headed off back home for a couple of weeks with AJ. Chilling on the beach was high on the agenda. All too soon our time was up and AJ had to go home. Hubs took her to the airport, I took Moo to a sleepover, and we met up in Paris to go to the 'Rock-en-Seine' Music festival. A grown up night with too much alcohol and frantic dancing. A perfect end to a perfect summer.
SEPTEMBER
September started with Moo returning to school, and whilst she wasn't too thrilled at the prospect of not being on holiday any more, it wasn't nearly as bad as we feared. The first couple of weeks were spent trying to get back into the routine of early starts and an organised bed-time (as it's now late October and I still haven't managed it, I'll leave you to be the judge of how that went). We enjoyed a marvellous evening in Le Mans with the W family watching the spectacle of the 'Nuit de Chimres', when the architecture of the old town is transformed by the power of projection, and comes to life in astonishing and beautiful ways. If you ever happen to be in the Le Mans area during the summer it is an absolute must see. And then the time we had all been dreading arrived. Time for hubs to go back to work. As fortunate as we are to have had such a long summer off together I still felt crushed when he left again, knowing it would be 5 long weeks till we saw him again. I know it's not really that long and it's not as if he is off doing anything life threatening or heroic, but that doesn't mean I don't feel like I'm missing an arm when he's not here. Fortunately for Moo and I the pill was made easier to swallow by the arrival of JJ for an open ended visit and the surprise visit of my best friend and Moo's God-mother, LD, for a week-end break. Fortunately for Hubs he was off to Macau for a week-long site visit before returning to soggy grey Belgium. Not all bad then. It was so wonderful to catch up with LD. It’s been over a year since I saw her, so a couple of VERY late night chatting sessions were most definitely in order (apologies to JJ who was kept awake by childish giggling from the next room, I told LD to keep it down a bit...). And she even managed to figure out what's wrong with my foot, a mystery pain in my heel that I thought came out of no-where but is actually connected to the time I dislocated my big toe last year, and although it's not entirely better it feels better knowing there is a reason for it. I can thoroughly recommend having a trainee osteopath as a best friend, although I would also recommend living a bit closer to gain the full benefit. So LD left and went back to school, and all of a sudden it was October.
A Bientot
So here goes;
AUGUST
August began with my birthday and I was spoiled to bits, discovered 'real' Mexican food and had a party, jointly celebrating with my mum. We then went out to a farm and shot up some old TV's, some evidence of which can be found on the gallery page. Yee-haw indeed. Another brief few days in the states culminating in a day trip to the magnificent city of Chicago. On reflection it may not have been wise to have packed a full day's sight-seeing in directly before a torturously long trip back to France, including an hour long stop in our former place of residence for a 'catch up coffee' with some wonderful friends, but you live and learn. A big thank-you here to Mr. W for picking us up at a rather ungodly hour at the train station and putting up with my incoherent jet-lagged babble all the way home. So 5 days to recover then it's off to Disneyland, via Charles De Gaulle airport to collect AJ, on the busiest (and hottest) weekend in the French summer calendar, to meet up with various members of Hubs family who were over for a week with their assorted offspring. It was busy, hot, expensive and quite breathtakingly magical. Even the hardened Disney cynic that I am, (having worked for them in my former theatrical career and since becoming a parent, wept at the price of their DVD's and merchandise), was utterly enchanted. Watching Moo's face as she met Belle, her favourite princess, hugged Balloo and watched daddy getting a 'monster hug' from Sully was worth every last cent. Holding her hand as she braved the mightily scary 'Tower of Terror' ride was something I will never forget, although I'm not sure if it was her or me gripping hardest. After Disneyland we all had a day together in Paris and enjoyed a wonderfully relaxing cruise on the Seine courtesy of Mother-In-Law and her 'club card' points. Then it was goodbyes all round as we headed off back home for a couple of weeks with AJ. Chilling on the beach was high on the agenda. All too soon our time was up and AJ had to go home. Hubs took her to the airport, I took Moo to a sleepover, and we met up in Paris to go to the 'Rock-en-Seine' Music festival. A grown up night with too much alcohol and frantic dancing. A perfect end to a perfect summer.
SEPTEMBER
September started with Moo returning to school, and whilst she wasn't too thrilled at the prospect of not being on holiday any more, it wasn't nearly as bad as we feared. The first couple of weeks were spent trying to get back into the routine of early starts and an organised bed-time (as it's now late October and I still haven't managed it, I'll leave you to be the judge of how that went). We enjoyed a marvellous evening in Le Mans with the W family watching the spectacle of the 'Nuit de Chimres', when the architecture of the old town is transformed by the power of projection, and comes to life in astonishing and beautiful ways. If you ever happen to be in the Le Mans area during the summer it is an absolute must see. And then the time we had all been dreading arrived. Time for hubs to go back to work. As fortunate as we are to have had such a long summer off together I still felt crushed when he left again, knowing it would be 5 long weeks till we saw him again. I know it's not really that long and it's not as if he is off doing anything life threatening or heroic, but that doesn't mean I don't feel like I'm missing an arm when he's not here. Fortunately for Moo and I the pill was made easier to swallow by the arrival of JJ for an open ended visit and the surprise visit of my best friend and Moo's God-mother, LD, for a week-end break. Fortunately for Hubs he was off to Macau for a week-long site visit before returning to soggy grey Belgium. Not all bad then. It was so wonderful to catch up with LD. It’s been over a year since I saw her, so a couple of VERY late night chatting sessions were most definitely in order (apologies to JJ who was kept awake by childish giggling from the next room, I told LD to keep it down a bit...). And she even managed to figure out what's wrong with my foot, a mystery pain in my heel that I thought came out of no-where but is actually connected to the time I dislocated my big toe last year, and although it's not entirely better it feels better knowing there is a reason for it. I can thoroughly recommend having a trainee osteopath as a best friend, although I would also recommend living a bit closer to gain the full benefit. So LD left and went back to school, and all of a sudden it was October.
A Bientot
October/November/December