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Cheer-e-thoughts Page 8 Nov. 25, 2004 - Oct. 7- 2005.
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| October 7, 2005 China-UK-U.S.A-Australia | ||
| It's been another month plus since I've written about me. Why? It's hard to stop long enough to think about what to write. I'm now in between another huge phase of my life. I had moved from the lovely Fishing cottage where I called my English home of 4+ years in August. Moving is never delightful, it is always a pain. But I managed to find a small flat, smaller than my previous 'digs' so imagine the tight fit. Then before long, I had to prepare for my trip to China on Sept. 17. The week before my previous web host decided to pull down my website without warning. I had paid for a year at the end of last year, so what their problem was I can't say. After many days of frustration trying to get their billing department to see the light, particularly since I had an email confirming my renewed fee, I gave up. I searched for another host, paid an annual fee, then had to upload the whole site. This was such bad timing as I needed to prepare for my job as tour manager for Thomas Cook taking a group of 33 passengers to China! I had a good trip - didn't lose any passengers along the way, enjoyed all the sights of China in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Chongqing, Xi'an including a 4 night cruise down the Yantgze river to view the Three Gorges, the largest dam project in the world. The Chinese people are so very polite and helpful. You must go there to witness the enormous changes in the country. The food is terrific of course, but so many smiling faces makes you appreciate their lifestyles even more. Next I return to the U.S. as my house is on the market and I haven't seen Guy since Easter. We have lots to do with all the furniture as we are sizing down now. Then if all the house plans fall into place, I expect to go to Australia to see the Crabbet horses at the convention Nov. 12-16. Hope to see you there! | ||
| August 22, 2005 No Slowing down! | ||
| My parents came over in June for my cousin Lucy's wedding. It was a lovely affair held at Sandbanks, Poole overlooking the water. The relations enjoyed meeting my father who has not been to England for over 30 years. I enjoyed having my parents here. I took my Dad to the National Rolls Royce rally held in Northampton which he thoroughly enjoyed. Prior to their visit I squeezed in a short course on being a tour manager, as this is the career direction I wish to follow. Then a month later I spent a week in France with a wheelchair bound lady staying in her motorhome. Upon my return from France, I was contacted by my tour course instructor saying she recommended me for an interview with Thomas Cook tours. I subsequently got offered to tour manage a group on their Treasures of China tour in September! Wonderful, throw me in the deep end, although I wanted to start with short weekend break tours. About a month ago I searched for a new place to live. I cannot do the work I was doing and take on tour work where I was, so I needed to find my own self sufficient flat. This took time, and was stressful, followed by the joys of moving all my belongings (how did I acquire so much?) and then settle in. I'm still in lovely Hampshire, only 10 miles from where I was but in a far more convenient location and without the restrictions I had on my life before. In the last week, another job op came up, a brief housesit position on a farm with horses, dogs, chickens, sheep, cows etc. It is all go go here! | ||
| May 19, 2005 My life is pretty BUSY (here you go Paula!) | ||
| Now that I'm in what I term as semi-retirement I've indulged in areas of interest that I could not contemplate involvement before. I've always enjoyed traveling and people, so I’m spending my time following those pursuits. As England is a very wet country, more life and activity blossoms as the temperatures improve. My social chapter seems to consist mainly of these things nowadays: Rolls Royce Enthusiasts Club (http://www.rrec.co.uk/) You might not know this but you don’t have to OWN a Rolls Royce to become a member of the Enthusiasts club. However, perhaps one day I might own one, meanwhile I am fortunate to have made a few friends who occasionally take me in their cars. I have been asked to join the committee of the Wessex RR section, which is a great honor. Because these cars are often vintage, they are used mainly in the warmer months to eliminate possible damage from rain (rust) and gravel, salt found in the winter. Of note, the people who own these cars are generally very friendly and welcoming. There is a strong parallel in personality to my friends in the Crabbet Arabian world. These RR owners are dedicated to their vehicles, care for them, talk about them, and do their best to preserve them for future generations as many of the cars are extremely rare limited editions. I am amazed at how many of the cars have been restored from near basket cases by their diligent and devoted owners at great monetary expense while taking many years of painstaking effort. Winchester U3A committee member. Our branch of the U3A organization has nearly 700 members, all retired. I have built their website and offer my input at the committee meetings. I’ve been a U3A member for 4 years, on the committee going into my third year. Within the U3A there are over 70 special interest groups. I belong to the Apple Mac group and the Rural studies group. The latter has monthly outings to explore villages in closer detail usually combining a walk and a pub lunch. The Apple Mac computer group has over 20 members meeting twice a month. I am one of the two instructors teaching senior citizens how to operate their Mac computer. This is all volunteer work, as is my time on the RR Wessex section committee. Over 50s Lunch group Travel and Exploration Travel on the roads Here in England I am pretty self-sufficient living off of various odd work I take on if it takes my fancy. Despite my tight budget my lifestyle is quite pleasant, non-structured and based around my personal interests. Sightseeing here Other Interests Drawing and painting. I wish to take up drawing again as I used to be good but its been ages since I’ve practiced. I have the inspiration all about me it’s just sitting myself down to do this – always a struggle for me to sit still. Academic. Believe it or not my interests do include technical studies. I buy computer magazines with the intention to read and learn without getting around to reading them and learning from the free CD they include. I also enjoy cooking and want to learn more about food and preparation. I’ve not spent time cooking new dishes either! Internet and Music. I have broadband now which allows me to surf faster however I have not had the time to surf, shop, chat, etc. In fact, since I retired the magazine I spend a lot less time on the computer these days than ever. Guy writes “I haven’t had an email from you in two days….” I have an iSight camera so I can webcam with my Dad in Florida but until Guy gets one, he and I use Skype to voice chat. Horses. I am still very interested in the Crabbet Arabian horse, that will never change. I’d love to have a horse here in England although I don’t have the funds for keeping a horse here (yet). I try and help people who need guidance and am I'm happy to assist when I can. I miss having a horse and I miss having my dog however I have filled my life here with more friends and activities that I didn’t have in the U.S. Losing my stallion Sammy last year still makes it difficult for me to think too much about horses. Well now you know more about what I am doing these days. Guy works very hard in his job. He is just as busy as me. If you plan to come to England, please let me know as I would love to see you. Contact me if you need any help along those lines. |
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| March 20, 2005 Active in many areas | ||
| Many directions, and spreading too thin! The weather the last few days has been SO springlike in the 70s. Yesterday I went to Cheltenham for a day on an errand. I walked the streets to my favorite restaurant there called That Mexican Place. It is the only Mexican place I know of in this country, except for one in Kent, which is too far to go to, and I have not eaten there, just inspected the menu. The town had just finished hosting the annual Cheltenham Gold Cup races, only this time it was extended a further day, 4 in all. The Irish invade Cheltenham at this time, leaving their mark as well as much of their money. Not me though! Just a look around, then back home. | ||
| February 7, 2005 A Breather in Barcelona | ||
In the last few weeks I've been distracted by obtaining my car registration renewal due at the end of January. This requires a 'physical exam' known as an MOT that one's car must pass. It is for safety and road worthiness. If the mechanics find a problem, you are required to fix it or your car will not get the MOT certification, therefore you cannot get your road license renewed. All this costs money of course. Luckily my car passed with only a minor light bulb needing replacing. Next I had to renew the insurance which is handled very differently in this country to ours in the U.S. I won't go into it just know that as your renewal date approaches you are besiged with insurance companies flyers all vying for your business. Calling them up for a quote takes substantial time from a productive day because they each have to get so many details from you to give you a quote. So after I got through all this, sent out reminder renewals of my own, it was time for a little escape.
My friend Andrew and I go to Spain. How do you like a fare for flying to Barcelona of .49pence one way, with .99pence return?
Well that was the price we got, however when the airport taxes were added on, the total airfare ballooned to this side of £22.00 ($40). Still very reasonable so away we went, with me only having a day to bone up on the sights via late night internet searches and practice my very rusty Spanish, which didn't prove very useful since Barcelonians speak Catalan. Anyway, the sun shined each day, the food was priced less than in England, the city was clean and very attractive with many sights to see. We managed to cover lots of ground, on foot and on the bus, and here I managed to drink coffee (since tea wasn't as available) without getting a headache. The pastries are very good I might add. I'd like to go back but next I have to plan a trip to France for Guy will be here soon and we will take the car to France to retrace a bit of the route I experienced last September on the Rolls Royce rally. I feel more confident driving now in France and as usual Guy will ride shotgun enjoying the views without a care for understanding the road signs. Hope we have good weather for the visit so have a bit of time to revise on my (lousy) French. |
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| January 17, 2005 Happy New Year | ||
| Happy New Year and I wish everyone the best 2005 year! I need a good year as some of you know I had some very bad events in 2004. Luckily my health is fine, (new root canal been crowned so that's fine) and my parents are doing well after experiencing 4 hurricanes this past year in Florida. They moved there in May, 2004 which was difficult for our entire family as moves tend to be, and to move to the other side of the U.S. from their children probably wasn't easy for them. As for a new year's resolution, I do have one (or two) and am already working on one of them. I have secured broadband connection AT LAST and have reserved a new domain name for another website coming soon to promote artistic pieces from sculpture to photography. If you are an artist, or know someone who needs publicity, I would be open to know about them. If you know of any photo or art websites that you like, pass them along. I would like to see how people feature their artwork. Meanwhile, I'm putting together a few new pages for this site, and updating pages that need small changes.
Website building is VERY time consuming, and sitting for long lengths of time in front of the computer is not good for me. I like action and my tendonitis right arm can only take so much computer work. Guy says send him the year end expense accounts so this boring accounting is also part of my days recently. Here at Fishing cottage the snowdrops are bursting through the topsoil, the robin is singing his song outside my window early in the morning and just when the sun fades away. The cock pheasants we named Mr. Greenhead and The Vicker come to my door each day for their seed feedings and life seems good, as long as you can appreciate what God gives to you. I try to, as there is much I'm thankful for. Good friends of course top the list, so do take a moment to breathe in fresh air and listen to the birds. Spring will be here soon, and each day passes too quickly! |
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| December 20, 2004 Christmas cards are on their way | ||
| Christmas is just around the corner and I have not sent one Xmas card yet! I've been back from the States for less than 2 weeks, however, I have been playing catch up and also processing last minute orders for the 20th Anniversary issue. Then its been clearing, cleaning, shopping all while I've been getting back to U.K. time. Today I plan on getting some cards mailed out and apologize for my lateness. Thank you for the wonderful birthday and Christmas cards sent by several of you. I appreciate your thoughts and good wishes for the New Year VERY much! | ||
| November 25, 2004 Thanksgiving Day | ||
| I am at last at my home in Washington State to spend Thanksgiving with Guy and relatives. My journey back on the Monday before Thanksgiving nearly didn’t happen as the traffic into Winchester made me late for the bus to Heathrow. I made it with one minute to spare as I saw the bus approaching while I crossed the road to the bus stop! The flight from London to Chicago was good, however I began to suffer sinus pressure, which made me feel unwell, and therefore, I needed the sick bag. Oh dear, a grown woman using the throw-up bag. Never mind, the English say, I needed to get back home no matter the cost! The flight from Chicago to Portland allowed me much needed sleep. I knew I would feel better at the end of my journey would be a warm greeting from Guy and comfort in my own bed. Kona (my dog) was so happy to see me. It’s nice to know that our pets have memories, and they aren’t short term. I was last home in February for a most unfortunate labor to heal my stallion Sammy from his colic surgeries. Also I was in the thick of producing the 20th Anniversary issue, another labor of love! Now after a couple nights in my home and tackling much overdue office spring-cleaning, I am waking at 3 am in the morning to start my workday. Here I sit with my laptop on my lap watching the early morning news report while I type. I have to catch up on the U.S. news, mainly to find out the price of gasoline has climbed, but recently come down slightly as so has the value of the dollar. Not good news for me living in the U.K. with dollars going far less than I need to survive. Besides that, the news reports that the U.S. Postal service is contemplating another price hike. You might think, what is Georgia doing these days and why am I still living in England? I am enjoying my (semi) retirement. On the work front: I am still working, well I was working weekends at a local estate agent, until just a week ago when I was let go due to the shut down of the office on Sundays, and the slowness of the residential sales in the winter months. I figured this was in the cards, but I now have some weekends free to Christmas shop and visit friends and family. I’m continually working behind the scenes helping Crabbet people with as their pedigree questions, sales of their horses, advice on breeding and history questions. These mainly come to me via my website, however, just recently I met a nice lady walking her bay Crabbet gelding who asked me to research her horse’s pedigree. It appears he is about 97% Crabbet! I also am active in the U3A Winchester branch. I am on the Committee producing their website and offering my input. Our membership has grown to nearly 700 members and partly due to the increased awareness of the organization via the website. Within the U3A I attend walking groups and the Mac computer group I attend is now preparing to have training classes as we now have use of a data projector. The Mac group has also grown in numbers. I enjoy the social aspect of these groups and my expertise benefits those that are new to Apple Macs. On the personal front: I am still researching family connections. I am still looking towards the future for our retirement in the U.K. House prices have gone down lately, a good sign, as the prices were so far over-inflated. However, they haven’t gone down enough in my mind! Soon I will have broadband established which will help condense my time online researching and who knows, get the web camera so I can see my family in the U.S. I like living in England. I have more interesting things to do and see there, and life is more stimulating because of my many social contacts. However, the English think very differently from we Americans. They are not as open and friendly as we are. They live in a far smaller country and this forced compacted environment combined with the dull weather makes people less ‘bright’ in outlook I find . It is frustrating to try and drive someplace in England. Small roads, heavy congestion, road works tend to hamper you getting anywhere fast, or easily. Road rage is far worse in the U.K. Yet I enjoy the English traditions, their culture and history and that many of them travel far and wide. Americans don’t’ tend to travel as much or as far. Therefore English people seem more worldly and so conversation involving their experiences I find most interesting. My ancestry is in England, so I am not a stranger to life there. Although I feel as an outsider and am surely perceived as such. This can sometimes get me down when I come across the ‘coldness’ of some English people (except for my RREC friends - S.B!!!). However, this is to be expected no matter where you go when you are seen as a ‘foreigner.’ To end this on a happy note, today Guy and I travel to the Oregon coast to see his brother and family. I will see my mare Phoebe there who has been in their care for nearly 2 years. My stallion Sammy is buried on their property and I do wish to say my goodbyes to him. It will be emotional, you readers who own horses understand, however, he had a wonderful life and enriched my life immensely. For that I thank God. And this is Thanksgiving. I thank God for my family, for my friends, for my wonderful hard working husband and for giving me a life to appreciate all the good things I have. Happy Thanksgiving to you all. |
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