A Few of My Favo(u)rite Things...

This afternoon as I was sipping my drink, I thought it might be fun to share some of the things that I really look forward to having whenever we come to the UK. They are mostly all food, because well, I like food. And drink. (It explains why I'm nearly always heavier when I come home than when I leave... though the last time we came it was a lot more pleasing to my ego to say that I was heavier when I left because I was pregnant. Yeah... all those pounds I put on last time were *totally* normal pregnancy weight gain pounds. Totally.)

1. All the elderflower things

Elderflower! So exotic, so beautiful, and in the summer, in so many things. My perennial favorite is BottleGreen Sparkling Presse (water), but this summer saw the addition of Gooseberry and Elderflower yoghurt. These are dessert to me, and probably the main reason for my weight gain since I tend to sneak one every night after the kids are in bed. (ha!)

2. All the rhubarb things

Speaking of yogurt... every summer I've come here I've always been able to find rhubarb yogurt. This summer it's been a bit more difficult (guess it's going out of style) but Waitrose pulled through with their rhubarb and custard flavor. Readers from the midwest might be puzzled by this rhubarb-obsession, but I'll clarify that when I visit my parents (in the midwest) I like my rhubarb there just as much. For some reason rhubarb is just not to be found in California - or when it is, it's like, $6/pound. So more often than not, it's a delicacy to be enjoyed when I travel. And here in the UK, you can find it in yogurt, juice, popsicles (they're called "lollies" over here), crumbles, jams, gins and ciders.

And sweeties!

3. Tea and scones
I would say that tea is a actually still a new-to-me thing. Coffee was my go-to drink in the morning, but when I got pregnant with E my taste buds changed and tea was put in the rotation. Now I'll enjoy both, but tea is what I drink regularly. The nice thing about that is there is no shortage of tea around here! Plus, since there's less caffeine in tea, it feels perfectly natural to come in from a blustery day outside and fix myself a cuppa. Pair it with a fruit scone and watch me do my happy dance.

I do. 1 sugar and a splash of milk. Ta.

4. British strawberries
Fresh from the farm, plump and sooo juicy. The first time I had these was when my high school choir and I toured the British isles. Our director made the tour bus pull over when he saw a roadside stand selling the little rubies, and then a bus full of (always) hungry teenagers descended upon the fruit. Mmm... so good. We're lucky that when we come back to visit, it's almost always in the summer and therefore always during strawberry season.  I think there is a reason my kids are "fruit bats"... just look at this face.

5. The scenery
The one non-edible on the list - but how could you not love these views?

I wish I was a better photographer! But I hope some of these suffice.

Have you been to the UK? What are some of your favourite things? What did I miss? I'm still here for a bit, so let me know so I can check it out myself... :D

Doin' That One Thing...

The internet seems to think that Eleanor Roosevelt said the following:
"Do one thing every day that scares you."
Despite the fact that this sounds very much like advice someone would give at a modern-day graduation ceremony, and not something that someone from late 30's/early 40's would say, it's still a sentiment that I get. We gotta stretch, we gotta grow - otherwise life looks a little bleak, floating down the stream with all the other dead quitty fish.

Well, I'm proud to say that last week I took this advice to heart and I *did* do something every day that scared me: I drove a tank van in England. I drove it on the motorways.

On the left.

I drove it on the A-roads.

On the left.

I drove it in town.

The "L" is for "learner", not left. But still!

And I drove it on crazy small country lanes, that inexplicably, are still considered two-way roads.

Photo credit: this guy. Read his post. 100% true. 100% funny.

And now my heart is prone to palpitations. BUT. I. DID. IT. With only a minor loss of paint and t-shirts due to excessive sweating.  And (unfortunately?) I will have get to do it again next week, and the week after.
But you guys, I/we are having a good time so far! We're staying at a lovely cottage (complete with No shower!)

We found a super awesome playground.

We took the train to London and saw Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace

But, alas, no Big Ben

And the weather has been 100% totally British!

Clouds for days... :)

I hope to post more soon, but I will at least drop this post here now to say, "We're here! And we're doing well!"

Except for my heart. That poor thing needs a vacation.