Visiting the German Christmas Market

After being stuck at home for several day because of snow I finally was able to get us out of the house and off to Birmingham to visit the Frankfurt Christmas Market. It was a cold day 30º (22º with the windchill). We stayed as long as we could tough it out and in the end it was our Hannah who could no longer take the cold. We or should I be saying "I" bought a few things that were different and very unique.

Apparently this Christmas market happens every year in the city of Birmingham. parking garages are quite close and I highly recommend parking in one as the prices for parking on the street and twice as much! This Christmas market IS something that "I" would come back to see and shop at year after year.




Our son Andrew is home for the holiday and he brought his girlfriend Tamora. It's nice to see them together and better yet, to see him happy. They enjoyed the Christmas market but they too became chilled to the bone. Apparently I was the only one that wasn't freezing - I have no idea how that occurred as it's usually me that complains about becoming a Popsicle.
There were many wonderful things available at the market- from beautiful table linens, hand knitted woollen hats, scarves and mittens, wooden toys, Christmas ornaments, ceramics, clothing,German wines and foods and well there's more than I can recall right now. It's really worth taking your family to see and experience this event.

American Football

My husband and daughter LOVE Halloween but this year they were torn to be here OR to go to an American Football game that was being held at Wembley Stadium. You can all guess where they were, yup they went to the see the San Francisco 49ers (my home team) play against the Denver Bronco's. I handed out candy to the scads of kids and parents that came to my front door and they watched men running around in the cold with a pigskin. They both had a terrific time and said they'd do it all over again!

WOW! What a weekend!

You know how some weekends can go by so quickly it all seems like a blur? Not for me, not this one! I can recall and savor each and every sweet moment!

Saturday's trip took us to London where we saw Buckingham Palace, The Royal Mews and Westminster Cathedral. The weather was a little on the brisk side but not so cold that one needed a heavy jacket, for me a blazer and a silk scarf was enough.

The Royal Mews- what a neat place! This is the livery area, where the horses, carriages and cars are kept (in plain terms, the transportation area). The carriages were really something to see- my favorite being the glass coach as it wasn't too ornate (like something out of Cinderella). Each carriage was lovely to look at and I took pictures of all of them! This is the glass carriage below.

There was a 2 hour or so break between our tour of The Royal Mews and Buckingham Palace so we went walking around for a bit. It's a short walk over to Westminster Cathedral. I loved the pedestrian signs, here's a picture of one of them.

Westminster Cathedral- it's the most beautiful church I've been in to date! The tile mosaics were amazing! I didn't take any pictures in the inside as my husband misread the no photography signs. No photography while Mass is in session, not NO Photography. So again I bought a tourist type guide books that tells about about the history of the place AND a book on the mosaic tile work. We went to the top of the bell tower and took photos of the surrounding area- the view from up there absolutely breath taking!

While walking Through Buckingham Palace all I could think of was "wow, it must have been something for the royal children to have grown up in a house this size" - talk about not having a real perspective on how everyone else around you lives. Of course "NO PHOTO'S signs were everywhere and obviously I didn't take any pictures indoors. There were many rooms that I wished to take snapshots and learn the history of, so I did the next best thing- I bought the tourist guide!

We walked through a park that was near the Palace and saw some interesting things...

Love the monogrammed gates!

These gates are quite impressive!

A view from the park of the palace

This water feature is a Canadian memorial, I especially love the leaf design in the concrete.

above- Princess Diana Memorial walk

below-an extra circle added for the Canadian Memorial

There were so many lovely things to see and experience that day. What ever you do, make sure to wear comfortable shoes and dress in layers!

London Theater

Last night we went to see The Lion King-talk about fantastic! The costumes were great, the music was awesome and a wonderful evening spent in the company of friends...Priceless! We took our daughter Hannah with us, it was her first theatrical production in London and she loved it! I can't begin to tell you what a treat it was to see this...but let me give you warning- it's not cheap, not by any means! It was $270 for the 3 of us to see the production and then add on the cost of dinner and well the evening out for 2 adults and 1 teenager was into $300 range! It's was what it was supposed to be- a special night out with our daughter and friends. It was a night to remember that was especially nice because our friends also brought their children.

All things Jane

Yesterday was spent reminiscing of the great time I had with my husband visiting the historic country estates. I talked with friends about the trip and have sent e-mails to friends with the post codes of the places we visited so they can plan their own trips. I think that I found the hidden romantic in many of my girlfriends here in the UK and back in America.

I love the Jane Austen Centre that is in located in Bath, it sells All Things Jane! I adore this shop and am on their e-mail list (yes, imagine that). There is a woman who makes up counted cross stitch kits with quotes from Jane Austen's novels- I have many of them on my wish list! The Sampler Girl You MUST go check out her stuff...I dare say it's seriously cool!

I'm filling my home with things that will remind me and my family of the wonderful years we've spent living here in England. Be it in the dining room with my lovely England dishes or the artwork and books that will be throughout my home. No matter where you look, you see bits and pieces of what makes a house a home. Things one has collected from their travels.

How could one live here for any amount of time and not have one (or more) teapots (of which are made in England of course). The most elusive teapot is of course the Brown Betty. Why on earth this is so hard to find is beyond me! I've found places on line where I can get them but no one local sells them! I'm going to look on line and see if someplace in Stoke on Trent sells them. I want to introduce my friends here to the lovely art of drinking tea and tea time.

Picture it- a Tea Party and everyone must dress up in costume from Jane Austen's time. What fun we could all have!

How to tell if you are a Janeite-

Pride and Prejudice- Hands down this is my favorite book of all time! I've read the book countless times, have more than one copy of it and have many stories/book that are spin-offs from Jane Austen's novel by various authors. I also have modern day versions of the 200 year old Classic. I've read numerous biographies of her life, my 2nd favorite of her novels is a toss up between Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion,

Those things I just listed- well those are clear indications that if I am not a Janeite, then I am well on my way to being one! Well that and the fact that I recently went on a trip with my husband to see the grand country estates that were in the film versions of Pride and Prejudice. Oh my word they were breathtakingly beautiful homes. I've got way more pictures that what I posted here...they will go in my on line photo album over at webshots. Now for me to start working on uploading to that website. Enjoy!








This is a french inspired garden , the flowers were remarkable! We actually did get closer to the garden but this was by far the best view of it! This Garden being at the house that was from the 1995 BBC versions of P&P
The back side of Pemberley- or more over where the carriages would bring you. There's a courtyard in the middle through the arch where you would actually enter the home.

Here we are on the side of Pemberley, the side that faces the lake, stream and of course the beautiful gardens. This place was AMAZING! IN the green house is a Camellia plant that is 185 years old and is still blooming like crazy!

This is where the interior scenes were filmed for the movie- this is the back side of the home- facing the lake.

Here I am...loving every minute of this tour!

Netherfield Park- okay it's not the real name of this house but it was place that was filmed as being Bigley's country estate. I was surprised to find out how close I actually live to this place. I'm not going to spill the beans about where it is because it's an actual private home with people living in it.

The Pottery Trip

Our motley crew consisted of 8 women and 1 male driver. Our trip took us up to Stoke-on-Trent home of where pretty much the majority of all of British pottery is made. Our guide took us to several of the most popular pottery outlet shops. We went to three different Portmeirion shops, and each was awesome! Besides Portmeirion, we also went to Burleigh, Emma Bridgewater and Wedgwood. There were many more labels than just Wedgwood at the Wedgwood outlet- there was Waterford, Johnson Bros., Rosenthal, Royal Albert, Royal Doulton, Coalport and Minton and that was just for dishes, there were more in the Crystal department.

I can't begin to tell you what it was like to see of all of those beautiful dishes on display. Every store was set up in such an appealing manner and there were great buys to be had at every shop! Okay I'll confess, I didn't buy any crystal- my purchases consisted of 1- Waterford item, (my token purchase for the store) which is a Bone Chine Coffee pot, of course I bought oodles of Portmeirion (my main reason for going on this trip in the first place), a couple of Emma Bridgewater chicken themed items and several Burleigh 3 piece teacup sets that I plan on using as thank you gifts in the future...that is unless I become attached to them ;-)

They give you free tea/coffee and biscuits (cookies) at the Burleigh outlet and in case your shopping has you working up an appetite, there are tea shops in the Emma Bridgewater and Wedgwood stores where you can have lunch with your girlfriends :-)

It might have been in the 30's all day long BUT I dare say that I had a very pleasant day to say the least!

Ps- We all bought so much that we were dropped off at our front doors with our purchases :-)

Shop til you Drop

Alright I'm about to go out the door- my Stoke on Trent pottery Tour leaves in about a half an hour. The pick up and drop off are right around the corner from my house :-) I'm going to see all I can see and buy pottery and other interesting things. I'll have to fill you in later on the Brackley Civic Ball- but in a nutshell- it was FABULOUS!

George Washington Birthday Celebration

Here I am, an American living in England, trying to soak up every little thing around me. Yesterday my husband and I attended a Birthday Celebration for George Washington at the Parish Church of Saint James the Less in Sulgrave. This small chapel was amazing! It's old (really old) and very well looked after. I found that a parish family bore my maiden name and that they also once owned Sulgrave Manor (George Washington's ancestral home), pretty cool stuff I dare say!



After the church service we went to Sulgrave Manor and had a tour of place. If anyone ever has the chance, I highly recommend the tour. I'm going to attempt to take the extended tour (one that includes the gardens) later on in a few months- once it's warmer and the plants have had a chance to grow back and especially when it's less muddy. I'll promote this to the spouses groups and see if any spouses from our base would like to go, we can easily make it a special event for us.

a lovely place to visit...

Stratford-upon-Avon has to be my most favorite place to visit. It's got plently of parking and the town is simply charming to walk around in. The shopping and dining are great, so are the tourist attractions. It's the kind of place that feels like home- well to me anyway.

The Weekend

Yesterday we went to Stonehenge, Bath and Uffington. Today it's London! I've got lots of pictures (I took 247 and my daughter took 84). Today I hope I get just as many. My friend Laurie planted the seed in my head (thanks Laurie) and now I want to make a coffee table book for my son's two friends. I want more than just pictures of the boys clowning around or playing X-Box, but of the sights themselves.

No time to chat right now, as I've got to have some coffee and get ready for going into London today.

Waddesdon Manor

The tour of the inside of Waddesdon Manor was wonderful. The artwork, furnishings and rooms were lovely. I loved the display of China dinnerware on display (the sign of a true pottery/china collector). Now I was a bit bummed at the fact that we were not allowed to take pictures inside, but I do understand the reasons why we weren't allowed. I wish that there were pictures of the china collections and the rooms available for purchase in the gift shop (I would have definitely bought some).

There was so much to see and the weekday tours offer so much more than the weekend tours. Plus the fact that it was raining off and on, well this time we decided not to tour the grounds. We'll come back during the week to see more of the house and the aviary and other wonderful things.

To think that this was the "weekend" house to the Rothschild family- simply facinates me.

This pond is the first thing you will come across on the long pea gravel driveway before before tunring your head to set sight on the lawn going up to the great house. I love the Merpeople sculptures.

Is this not an amazing view? The walk up to this Grand home gave me a sense of awe and delight.

As we got closer, the details of the house become more obvious.

There are several of round garden spots which are located in the lawn area.

The extensive front lawn

It's Saturday, apart from "sleeping in" and getting Hannah packed for her trip that leaves tomorrow (we thought that it leave on Monday-aren't we observant parents), we plan on touring an attraction in the local area.

Waddesdon Manor is on our list of places to see in the local area. I included a link to the place so you can check it out and see what it's about. Taking a clip from the introduction- Four generations of Rothschild family have shaped the house and gardens into the spectacular show piece that it is today. The pictures and description are drawing me in! I want us to tour this beautiful home and I can see that we need to get ourselves a membership for 4 to the National Trust!

Blenheim Palace

Since getting here we've done shopping and community service stuff but nothing truly "touristy" in any fashion. So today we toured Blenheim Palace- home to Winston Churchill. What a truly amazing place, the estate is huge, no one could possibly see everything in one day. We're planning on going back a few more times and why not...we've got passes that will last us a year!

I had no idea how large this estate is, and it's massive in scale! The Secret Garden and the Rose Garden were my favorites, simply breathtaking examples of gardening at it's finest!

Side view of onw of the "wings" of this gigantic home.

Here's the front view of the entry way into the Palace

a closer view of the entry area

Clock tower

and this is above the gateway to come into the immdiate grounds into Blenheim Palace

At the Central States Fair

The first day of the Central States Fair kicked off yesterday. Hannah and I went for a couple of hours to look at all of the exhibits.

One the neatest things I've ever seen was the huge crocheted framed piece- a picture of the Last Supper. I can only imagine the many hours of work that went into making such a lovely work of art. The next one that caught my eye was the orange and black crocheted pumpkin afghan, that was pretty cool!

The quilting division was something to behold- I am in awe at all of the beautiful quilts on display. All I can say is that I aspire to be :-) I had entered 2 items in the quilting division- my chocolate dreams quilt that came in 3rd place in the medium sized quilts and my orange and pink cone-flower quilted table runner that came in 3rd place in table runners. I feel honored to have been awarded a ribbon, especially so with some many wonderful quilted items on display.

On to the Scrapbooking division- it's hard to say what goes through the mind of someone judging the work of another. I know that it must be a very hard job to try and decide who gets top choice and who doesn't. Then there's awarding the Judges Choice awards and the Best in Show awards. I entered several layouts in the various categories, 15 in all. I didn't know what to expect when I walked into the building that held the scrapbooking entries and was surprised to find a small crowd gathered around in that area. Hannah and I wondered and said to one another "what are they all looking at?" we went over to check it out and someone said to me "that's you in that picture, isn't it?". Okay that felt weird, so I replied "excuse me? I'm not sure what you mean"... then I was show what everyone was gathered around- the layout of me and my Dad. It had won the judges choice award. Since it's hidden journaling I had printed it out and had it available for everyone to read in a separate page protector. Needless to say I was quite surprised with the reactions to my layout. It also made my heart soar that I could honor my dad in such a wonderful way!

Olympics- have you been watching?

I've been watching the Olympics every night with my children. It's amazing to watch these athletes from every country in the world who are the best of the best in their sport. We ooh and aah, cheer on our favorites and applaud for the winner. We're cheering for Michael Phelps and hope to see him win a 7th Gold medal in swimming- wouldn't that really be something?!!!

Gymnastics last night all I can say is WOW! Way to Go Nastia Liukin! WooHoo!!! We were on the edge of our seats last night watching the athletes perform their routines. Here's the Summer Games medal stats- USA is in the lead (for now) with 44 medals with China hot on our tails!

What a storm!

We certainly had one heck of a storm system blow through her last night! Our rain gauge measured 2 inches! We experienced major lightening strikes in the area had 60+ mph winds and of course our evening wouldn't be complete without a power failure.

Okay, so we were a little freaked out by the storm that blew in from nowhere and we were in a nice safe house... I can only imagine how freaked out those folks that are camping in tents and pop up trailers here in the Black Hills area were last night. My husband had heard on the radio that someone was struck by lightening- I've yet to read anything confirming that it really happened but the news here is rather slow, LOL!

This morning I could hear the hum of motorcycles all going off to tour the Black Hills area... places such as Custer National Park, Wall Drug, The Black Hills National Park or any one of a dozen scenic destinations.

Hill City, South Dakota

After our drive through the hills, we stopped off in Hill City to have lunch. We've heard so much about the Alpine Inn that we figured that we were way past due to dine there. It was a wonderful meal, the service is top notch and they kept the place deliciously cool! Heads up- they don't take credit cards, but they do have an ATM in the lobby which is quite convenient☺

Upon exiting we saw this...

The street had begun to fill with motorcycles on both sides of the street plus down the middle of the road was one lane of bikes. Main street is "bikes only", no cars period!

I'm not one for riding motorcycles really, but I sure can appreciate the art and design work that goes into making custom bikes and the custom leather saddle bags. I like to think of it as an art show on wheels.

And to think, this is just a "little" example of how this week will be because today is the kick of of Sturgis Bike Week 2009.

Pigtail Bridges

Of course Wilson the Travel Pig HAD to pose with this sign☺

This past Saturday my husband and I took the Corvette out on a scenic drive in the Back Hills. My husband had heard about and wanted to see the Pigtail Bridges- which are a series of curved wooden bridges. We printed out a map of the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway- I highly recommend this to everyone! Great scenery, fun twisty curves and take a "skinny" car as you do go through some pretty narrow one way underpasses cut into rock laden hills. I fear if your car is too wide that it could end up getting it's side mirrors scraped off- eek! The views from the various points of interest and along the road in general are breathtakingly beautiful! Vast fields of purple wildflowers were set amongst the tall grasses. It was pretty remarkable how you could catch many different views of Mount Rushmore while on our scenic drive- there are a vast many picture taking opportunities on this trip so be sure to bring your camera!

Here's a picture of one of the many fields of purple wildflowers that we saw




Some wildlife
Just one of the many fantastic views of Mount Rushmore
This natural rock formation is one of the many wonders you will see on this little drive through the Black Hills.
This is the small lake that you saw in the movie National Treasure 2, isn't it lovely?




Last but certainly not least, here's the car we took on this scenic trip through the Black Hills.