This was one of those days....

We've been told that if you wait for a sunny day to explore England, you'll never see anything. Today was one of those days. We decided to head over to Portsmouth for the Victorian Christmas at the historic dockyards. It was worth the cold and drizzle and we really should have left the house much earlier. But it was still a good time. Here are some photos of our adventure.
They had snow machines and it was almost cold enough for real snow anyway. But it was very charming.All through the dockyards were people performing skits in Victorian costume. It was greatThere were two historic ships for us to tour. We only had time to see the HMS Warrior.

I think Victor is thinking he joined the wrong military branch!

Photo updates

This is the Weld and Down Museum near Chichester. It was a cloudy day but still fun. There was a Christmas Fayre the day we went and it was pretty cool.

Musicians playing Christmas songs. A little early in the season (it's not even Advent yet) but still nice to hear.
This was the Christmas Fayre at my church on Nov 22. I helped out at the Arts and Crafts booth. It was fun to be a part of a community.
Father Christmas was at our church and these were his little helpers. It's too bad I didn't get a photo of his grotto. It was almost scary.
Our church, St. Mary's, has it's own brew and held a contest to name it. A 17 year old won with "Ale Mary".
This is Blenheim Palace where Winston Churchill was born and sort of raised. He spent most of his life away at boarding schools but none the less, this is the family home. We learned quite a lot here!
And finally, me and Vic at the back of the palace. I was a chilly day but at least the sun was out. It only began to pour on our walk back to our car in the muddy field!! Good times.

All things new

Two new things today:
1) I got a JOB! I'll start in January at the Tile Barn Center in Brockenhurst as an instructor on the Aim High program. I'll be working with students who need a little extra help with becoming themselves. Of course we all could use a little help in that department but these students just need a little extra help. It's been such a success that they needed to hire more instructors: hense, I have a job. YEAH!! However, I think this means no more spinning on Wed mornings with my friends...boooo!

2) I started a new blog. It's sort of my spiritual side where I'll be reflecting on the weekly text. Of course now that I'll be starting a job in the new year, I'm not sure how long it will last. Plus, we'll be out of town for Christmas so I'm not sure if I'll be posting then either. Well, it's something to but on Google Reader. And if you haven't set up a Google Reader account you should. The new blog is: Lady in Waiting. So check it out and feel free to use it as a place to put your thoughts as well.

Tonight we're having tacos. I love tacos.

I haven't blogged all week!

What have I been doing? Well, lots of stuff. But maybe it has to do with the weather. It's been really weird all week and I'm not sure how I feel about it.

My sister and I were talking about Christmas presents this year and she told me the kids might enjoy knitted hats if they are Ohio State or Cleveland Browns colors. So today I whipped up some yarn and dyed it red with Kool-Aid. (sorry no photos yet) and it looks great!! I can't wait to make it into something the kids will love. But you never know with kids and hand made stuff. Hopefully they'll cherish these gifts when they are older.

This is one of the coolest things I have ever seen

Seriously Cool!

What do you think?

After playing Guitar Hero for a few weeks now, Victor and I have decided that we really don't know many of the songs and it's getting annoying. We've come to the conclusion that they need to come out with a new version of Guitar Hero. Let's call it the lighter side of Guitar Hero. Let's call it Guitar Hero: John Denver. Who's with us?

I have a job interview!

How cool is that? Next Friday I'll travel over to Brockenhurst to interview at Tile Barn Centre for the instructor position. I'll be pulling on all my past endevors for this job. I'm not sure if I'm what they're looking for but I have so much random experience that hopefully I can be flexible enough to fit in.

It's fun to think that I'll be working outside again and helping people with group building, wilderness survival and outdoor activity. I always loved the jobs I had that involved these activites. Plus, it will be a chance to get out of the house and be in the fresh air, rather than a office, or some sort of store. Of course, I will have to get through the interview first!

Working has been a strange journey since I've moved here. On one hand I've really been doing some creative stuff at home (spinning, knittig, quilting...) and work just means more time away from those things. But on the other hand I NEED TO GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE!! So there you go.

Of course I cen get out of the house when ever I like but I think it's more the idea that I have such little purpose outside of my self. The things that I do center all around me and Victor. It would be nice to get away from working for myself, and back to working for others. I was reading about servant leadership today and it started my thinking wheels. I frequently find myself in jobs where I posess the role of the servant leader and when I'm not in one of those positions, I feel a bit empty. It's not that I need to be needed but I need to be in a position to help and guide.

So wish me luck on Firday the 28th and I'll keep you updated on the progress.

I finally finished this quilt I started in 2005! It's made out of scraps from skirts I made while in seminary and I pieced it together on the sewing machine but decided to hand quilt all the layers together. This is why it took me so long...well, that and I moved three times since I started it and didn't really unpack it each time.
Rather than the quick and easy method of quilt making I decided to go for the hand method to honor my great grandma Gladys. Of course, she would have made the whole thing by hand but who's going to tell her?
And while I was finishing the boarder I noticed that I forgot to quilt one corner. So rather than the old method I decided to quilt in the names of my mom's family as sort of a family tree also in honor of Gladys. I hope none of them read this because I'm sending it to them for Thanksgiving to celebrate my grandparents move to their new home. I'm sure I'll get it back some day but for now it will be like a reminder of the kids living in England.

It is such a relief to be done with it because I have so many other projects I would love to work on now that I have so much time on my hands. I'm really trying to get the creative juices flowing whilst I have some down time.

This is for all of my Bay Area friends

How cool is that?

Double Dipping

We'll see how this turns out! I think I'll even add some more colors just for fun:)

Another blog to be born soon

I've made the decision to start another blog that will hopefully fill some what of an empty space in my daily life.
Start date? Not sure yet. If I can get it up this week then that will be fantastic.
New Name? Well, I checked and Lady in Waiting is taken. But I think that Katie in Waiting is just as good.
I'll let you know what to look for.

In other news, I made a new friend down the street...well, not literally, but pretty damn close. Yay for cool people, seriously. I've been in need to someone to chat with and of course I met her through Ravelry: the best website on the face of the earth. Plus, I've been going to knit with a group in Southampton for the past two weeks on Thursday nights. I get to take the train and everything:) I love public transportation.

iCan'tbelieveit

This is the first photo I took with my iPhone. I'm not sure why I have one but I do and they are quite a bit cheaper in the UK than in the States. I think Victor sort of convinced me that I will get a lot of use out of an iPhone because it really does a TON of stuff. I like the idea of being in any city and having sat nav at my finger tips. Gone are the days when I wore a compass on my watch. That's how I found my way around the last time I lived in Europe. Oh how times have changed.

I think I'm going to start a new blog.

This video has nothing to do with the new blog I am thinking of starting but it does have something to do with new. You might think that these guys are old time dancers and dancing a dance that has been around for ages but you are wrong. Men dressed up in weird outfits with bells on their legs is not as old as you would think. So what does this have to do with new? Well, I think I'm going to start a new blog. And for clarification sake I should mention that I'm not closing down the one I have now, just adding another.

Back when I was questioning my spirituality (yesterday) I had a few friends suggest we get together on the internet for some lively discussion of theological topics. Now as much as that sounds like a good time to everyone out there, I must say that it got some wheels turning. I think I'm going to start a blog where I study the weekly lectionary and give a short reflection on the text. This might sound a bit boring to most of you out there but I promise for the ones who think this could be interesting, I promise not to be too far off the wall.

Not sure how this will all pan out, I'm thinking about having a different theme every week. Or for the month of December, try to relate every week to a theme in Harry Potter. On top of this I hope to start reading more books but staying away from websites (other than text week because I love it).

So, how does that sound?

And I'm thinking of calling it: Lady in Waiting

Kids need a mom and a dad?

I check in to my friend Kellen's blog on a regular basis and he always has something interesting to think about. To understand the rest of this post, check out this video he posted.

So, our country is coming to a point where gay marriage is becoming legal in various states (finally). Tony Perkins says that gay marriage would basically destroy the American family because all kids need a mom and a dad; not a mom and a mom or a dad and a dad. Ok, so if this is the case then shouldn't the courts outlaw divorce? If a mom and a dad are so important then don't you think that the courts should to everything in their power so kids get two parents of different genders?

It is just ridiculous to argue against gay marriage because it destroys the model family life. Why don't they just come out and say what they really think about the issue rather than hide behind the legal talk of the court system? Why are people so dumb?

I've been wondering lately about my own spirituality. Since moving to England I've been attending an Anglican church on Sundays and at least twice a week, morning prayer. It's a lovely church and I really like the people there but there is just something different about how this effects what I consider my spirituality. I've never considered my self to be "spiritual" but there are things that I miss from my past life as being directly involved with churches. I think that working for congregations has always helped me keep up with reading the Bible, studying theology and thinking about how this is working in my life. Now that I'm not responsible for Bible studies and the like, I feel the hole. And this is now my life. So what am I going to do about it? No idea.

Happy Birthday to me...

With a few bucks for my birthday I decided to go for a new spinning wheel. I have appreciated the loner I have now but I think that this is going to be a long term love enough to make the purchase. Plus, I found a used on online at a local dealer that is about $250 cheaper than anything I can get in the USA. This photo is just something I found online. The one I'm getting is a double treadle. I'm a total geek.

Ok, I had to add this one too

I had to add this one for all the math geeks out there who need to use their heart instead of their heads to find love. You know who you are.

PS- I married one so I know there is hope.

xkcd

I found this comic randomly on the internet while searching for guitar hero images. Most of the comics are funny but this one is a little on the funny-serious side. A new distraction...I always need more.

Just for fun

Kellen just posted a video that I love and it reminded me of OK Go. So if you've never watched this you should. They are great!

Salisbury

I totally forgot about photos on my camera from when my dad and step mom came to visit! Here are some great photos of Salisbury Cathedral. I would love to go back there!

You can see Dad, Martha and Victor standing in front of the door in the center...you might need to put your face up against the computer screen.

They installed this baptismal font last year. It is one of the most amazing fonts I have ever seen.

There are shrines all over the cathedral for people from the town who have died. This is one of the more colorful ones. Also buried in this cathedral are many knights from the crusades. Ah, history.

The steeple on this cathedral is very famous. It weighs so much that when it was finished, the stone supports on the inside of the church actually bowed. I have a photo of that and it's freaky but they reinforced it so it's safe...sort of.

And of course, where would we be without Starbucks. My sister Meghan said that she has photos of her mom in front of Starbucks all over the world. I guess we all think alike.

The best birthday present ever!

Last night I went to Southampton to meet up with a knitting group and left before Victor got home from work. I was gone about four hours and left him instructions on how to put together the pizza I prepared earlier that day for dinner. Victor does not really like to cook so I figured this was a really good idea. On my walk back from the train station he calls the cell phone wondering when I'll be home because he just put the pizza in the oven. I thought it was nice of him to wait for me to get home for dinner.

We ate dinner and watched back episodes of Heroes: good times. Then Vic clears the plates and asks if I want dessert. Well, I wasn't very hungry, but who says no to dessert? So he dims the lights and brings out a beautiful cake with candles! I just started to laugh because it was such a surprise. On closer inspection I notice that it's homemade...by Victor! He decided, since I was gone for the evening, he would have time to bake my favorite cake: red velvet. You have to understand that this cake is quite difficult to make and usually takes much time and effort. He had to go to the store after work and buy specific ingredients and even cake pans! It was wonderful and also tasted yummy. I was so proud of him for tackling such a feat of baking. And for someone who has most likely never baked anything from scratch in his life, he did a wonderful job. The only thing he got wrong was that he didn't add the right amount of food coloring and the cake turned out a little brown...but then again, I've been known to make my red cakes brown as well. I have the best husband in the whole world.

Post Election WHAT?

Last night we went over to Cosham for bonfire night and it was pretty fun. Fireworks, HUGE bonfire, trees almost going up in flames...you know, the usual. We met up with one of Vic's US coworkers and his local girlfriend. We had a pretty good time hanging out but what I thought was funny was our small conversation with the local about the election. She was wondering why the new president elect waits until January to take office. You know, I wonder the same thing? Why does it take so long for the USA to install it's political leaders? This is the short story of how they do it in England (explained to me my the spinners):

Step 1: People not happy with government/Prime minister term is up
Step 2: Hold election the next week
Step 3: New person (or same person) takes office the next week

Doesn't that sound so lovely? I vote we do it that way next time. They don't have political commercials like we do. Now that is a country I want to live in!! HA HA HA!!

My dad, the inventor

If there is one thing my dad has taught me it's never say "it can't be done". I have featured his invention in a previous post but this time it's the big time. It seems that telling my dad "it can't be done" has lead to something big. Way to go DAD!

Click here for the full story

The ancient city of Winchester

This Starbucks is in one of the oldest, if not the oldest, cities in England: Winchester. It was the original capital city of England. This street was the main shopping area of town but I just had to take a photo of this one! HA! Although, I will have to say that Starbucks in England is very eco friendly and socially conscious. I love living here.