A Fine Welcome Home

We arrived back in State College on a very warm and sunny evening, welcomed by our friends with balloons and a stocked fridge, various staples, including Triscuits, peanut butter and Reese's peanut butter cups!

Goodbye Gifts

We've received the kindest goodbye gifts.  We received a beautiful embroidered cushion of a London scene, several English-themed books (including one of the Royal Baby, born just a couple days ago!), window clings, pressed foliage (laminated especially for Anna), and Wirral mementos.

I think this drawing of us takes the cake.  I especially like how Michael is holding his China Project and John has his Mac.  And there's their car on School Hill!

 

Closing of the Butcher Shop

I couldn't believe it when I heard that Fred was closing his butcher shop.  He and the other butchers have been a staple in our morning routine, waving as we walk by on the way to school, and often on the way home.  Before we moved here, I would not have quite "got" the importance of a shop like Fred's.  But it makes sense to me now.  The butcher shop helps make the village a real community.  He knows everyone; everyone knows him.  The children at the school cheer when they hear that Fred's sausages will be featured at a school event.  With a smile and a chat, he would give you whatever cut of meat you'd like.  I once asked for chicken drumsticks and his colleague just cut the legs off a couple whole chickens and put them back in the window.  They gave advice on meat preparation.  His meat is locally sourced, and you'd literally see it arrive in a van in front of the shop.

Going to Fred's was like going to someone's house.  It wasn't a store.  It wasn't anonymous.  You were a guest.   It was comfortable, inviting, a nice place for a chat.

Michael:  "He is very nice.  I like waving to him in the morning and I like how nice he is."
Anna:  "I like his sausages.  I like waving to him in the morning."
Jennifer:  "I loved that our Christmas turkey was hanging in the window."
Anna:  "We got the best Christmas turkey.  It was enormous."

Last Day of School

Photos from our walk to school.  We love waving to Grandma and Grandpa and the butchers every morning and seeing our friends on School Hill.  This has been a most wonderful school year.

Goodbye Lunch

One of my favorite mums from the school invited some ladies over for lunch at her house. The setting was picture perfect.  She is the ultimate hostess and I just love her home and decor.  It was a beautiful afternoon with finger sandwiches, Victoria Sponge and scones in the garden while chatting about the school, summer plans, and demystifying peanut butter, American jelly and marshmallow fluff.

I was really touched that the mums also gave me some gifts and thoughtful cards including a book of Wirral, a lovely Heswall mug and a homemade lemon drizzle cake.

Afterwards, we all went to pick up our kids, and spent part of the afternoon at the park next to the school.  The kids had ice lollies, as it was so hot.  Anna and Michael went to a friend's house where they played, watched Home Alone 4, and marveled at their cousin's heroic skills of assembling a sandwich made of garlic bread, meat sauce and noodles.

Sports Day

I like that there are lots of annual events at British schools that one can anticipate over the years.  One is sports day in the summer.  For Years 3-6, sports day was competitive--sprinting, spud and spoon, skipping rope, obstacle course and team relay--with ribbons for 1st, 2nd and 3rd.  For Reception-Year 2's sports day, the children kicked soccer balls, ran with cups of water, put rings on her head, hit cricket balls.  This was more similar to field day at Easterly Parkway in which everyone received recognition for participating.  

Michael and friends ready for the obstacle race

Anna hurdling with a cup of water

Wow, It's Hot

Off to a friend's house for a slip 'n' slide party

Okay, I'm going to have to say it.  It's hot.  It's sunny.  It's too hot and sunny.  It's been like this for days  Where are the rain and overcast skies?  You'd think that a person from San Diego, Chicago and State College would find this weather rather lovely.  But after 10 1/2 months of cool drizzle this is quite a shock.  Even our friends from Texas took off their cardigans one afternoon. And no one (except grocery stores) has A/C.  In fact, I used the term "A/C" the other day and my friend had no idea what I was talking about.

Meeting Fake George Michael

He's our man.  (Photo by Fake Elton John)

Doors in England

A little door leading to a house on Village Road

There are more doors in England than in the US, that I am certain.  Whereas the open plan house is quite common in the US, most houses here have individual rooms divided by doors along a hallway, even downstairs.  In our Heswall house, there are separate doors for the kitchen, living room, dining room and hall to the stairs.  At the school and in most public bathrooms, there are two doors (one after another) to get in.  I  spend a lot of time working my arm muscles while living here.

I imagine there may be fire safety reasons for having so many doors in smaller spaces.  Greater privacy may be another reason.

On the latter point, I've noticed that a lot of bedroom doors swing into the center of a room rather than toward a wall as they would in the US.  In the US, there is a desire for openness in a room.  In the UK, I think privacy may be more valued.  With the door swung open in our bedroom here in Heswall, you cannot see our bed from the hallway.  In the US, it is front and center as you walk up the stairs.  I quite like the idea of moving our State College door hinges.  Making the bed everyday can be a drag.

Michael's Favorite Things about School

What do you want to remember about St. Peter's?
"I want to remember that they had an ICT suite... I liked Pivot Stick Figure Animator.  You can animate a stick man that does stuff and I also liked all the other animations like Scratch and Kerpoof.  And I like free time so I could watch Minecraft videos in the ICT suite."

Friends
"I liked being friends with A and M because we play hide and seek everyday and it's very very fun.  I liked playing Minecraft with B."


Lunch
"We have to eat most of our food."
"The dinner ladies are fun because they open up your Froob.  Yeah, and they open up your granola bars when you can't open them yourself."

Miss C.
"She's nice.  And fun.  And nice and stuff.  We learned about World War II and China and Ancient Egypt."

"I liked doing my China project because I worked so hard on it and my mommy was being so nice and bossing me around to do it while I was playing Minecraft.

"I liked today because they are selling food ad I ate toast on the playground.  I used my own money that I have in my backpack."

Anna:  "On Fridays, we have toast and golden time we can choose something to do like draw."

Next time someone tries to sell me a rocket launcher at the door, I'll be ready.

Anna's Favorite Things about School

What did you like most at school?
"Old toys and new toys.  I just liked sorting them out."

"I quite like being register monitor because I got to go down to bring the register."

A hamster story

Liked
Meeting and petting the guide dog visitor.  "I just like him."
The challah bread when studying Judiasm.
Toast on Fridays.
Her friends, doing arts and crafts together.

Miss B 
"She is a great teacher.  She is nice because she let us have biscuits that were tasty.  She's a new teacher.  I like her because she let us do show and tell.  I will remember this teacher."

Favorite School Event
"I liked the Christmas Gift Afternoon because I liked how we could go down to the hall and buy our presents."

Lunch
"I liked the Quavers."

That about sums it up

Red Rocks

The Wirral is full of scenic places.  One is Red Rocks, one of the local beaches.  The kids enjoy climbing on the red rocks on the shore.  When it's warm and the tide comes in, the kids paddle around in the water.  When the tide is out, you walk for a mile to get to the water.  The resulting sand is amazingly rippled as far as the eye can see.

We walked for a long time in the sand, making our way to the distant water.  We saw jelly fish, lots of worm casts, piles of razor clam shells, regular shells, and crabs.  We thought we'd never reach the sea, and there was great excitement when we did.

And we're walking... Can you see the water?

We MADE IT to the water!!  I like how Michael is doing his "stirring the soup" happy dance.

Refrigerator Tetris

My childhood friend and her daughter are coming to visit (yay!).  It's always a tradeoff in the  supermarket, wanting to buy more and yet realizing our space limits.  I managed to squeeze it all into our little fridge along with the kids' lunch boxes.  It's a good thing that eggs and bread need no refrigeration here or we'd be doomed (or having french toast for dinner!).

By the way, interesting article today in the newspaper about no more 2-for-1's on junk food, a new government mandate to encourage healthier eating.  What a good idea.