Monday, January 7, 2008

England, November 2007; Chapitre un: Marlow

Well, this is over a month overdue. Good things are worth waiting for though!

Richard had to go to England just after Thanksgiving so I tagged along and we went a few days earlier than he had to be there. Our first stay was in a city called Marlow. It's located right on the Thames River and is quite picturesque.

We stayed at a b&b called Glade End
Guest
House located just at the edge of the town.

We had a room just off the dining room that you see here through the window. The breakfast was pretty good although Richard and I cannot get used to English 'bacon.' It isn't bacon as we know it; it's Canadian bacon. The staff was very attentive during breakfast.





We walked through the quaint downtown on our way to the Thames, just at the end of this road.














We got lucky getting into this little cafe, Pips, for lunch just as they were going to quit serving. As in all of Europe, it seems, there are definite times to eat; it isn't like here in the States where you can find something to eat at any hour. Restaurants in Europe usually quit serving lunch at 2 or 3 pm and then don't reopen for dinner until 6 or 7 pm.





















This was a facade to an old building along the walk from our b&b to the town. The texture of the wall was an interesting combination of brick and stone, if I remember correctly. From what we could tell, the doors are entrances to apartments.




Here is an alley that Richard is walking through en route to our walk along the Thames.


















Typical townhouses along a typical street in Marlow, outside of the downtown area.













A lot of the homes and townhouses have names that are passed on from owner to owner. A new owner can change the name if he/she doesn't like the original one. Also, you will see signs such as this one posted on houses to mark the history of the building. Sorry this one is out of focus. It says, "Here lived Sir Evelyn Wrench, 1882 - 1966 Founder of the Royal Overseas League And English Speaking Union." Cool!









Richard walking to the Thames.










A lovely picture of a wonderful tree draping over the Thames.






I'm on the phone making dinner plans with someone who lives in the area that Richard worked with at Webroot.












So lovely, even with it being overcast.









There is a dam and lock system in Marlow.















The Marlow lock house.














The Marlow lock.








This is the bridge that crosses the Thames and leads into Marlow. We did get to catch a glimpse of the sun as it set. Bonsoir, sun!










Downtown Marlow at night. We're on our way to meet our friends for dinner...






...at Chez Gerard. It was a great little place.
















Here they are! Nick, his wife Debra, and Richard sitting at our table in Chez Gerard.










The bridge to Marlow at night all lit up and pretty!









"Marlow Suspension Bridge
by William Tierney Clark FRS MICE 1783 - 1852
Opened in September 1832
This bridge and the Szechenyi Chain Bridge linking Buda and Pest across the River Danube are the only surviving suspension bridges by William Tierney Clark"






Flood mark, March 1947
















Richard on our walk after dinner.

















A typical old building in downtown Marlow, established 1661, rebuilt 1877.










A street vendor, a Kebab man! Note the 'thank you' at the bottom of the sign. And they're not French fries, they're CHIPS!














Decisions, decisions!












Our second night we ate at a cool restaurant called Zizzi.
















We were especially interested in their pizza oven. In the background you can see the stack of wood making up the wall. We couldn't tell if that was the wood used for the oven or not.




Inside Zizzi. You can see Richard's refection in the mirror ahead. He's standing with a white shirt on.









After dinner we walked through the town and found this monster tree.















Here and there we would see these mile markers. Just in case you want to know how far things are! All I know is that I'm about 3,700 miles from home and digging it!
























Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Happy new year EVERYONE!

Let's hope this year brings health, happiness, and prosperity to all of you. Cheers!

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

merry merry, everyone

This Christmas day is coming to a close. We've had enough to eat for a week, I swear! Everything was tasty and delicious but I forgot to make some mashed potatoes with margarine instead of butter so Jonah couldn't enjoy my famous-with-the-kids dish. Sorry, Jonah. I wasn't thinking.

Everyone was happy with the presents they received. The kids were mega-spoiled, of course. It's a tradition. Richard spoiled me big-time, too. Somehow he managed to purchase a framed giclee of an oil painting that I fell in love with about 2 years ago at a gallery in Orlando. I had been keeping in contact with the gallery until they emailed to tell me that it had sold. Richard returned to the gallery while he was there for work and arranged to buy one of the 50 giclees. I was so shocked when I came downstairs and saw it hanging on the wall! What a sweetheart he is and so thoughtful. I forgot all about the painting, thinking it was unattainable. Here is a picture of the painting; it is called 'Timeless' and is by the artist Edson Campos. You can view his web page here.


















Richard was surprised to see that I covertly purchased a very nice sport jacket from a store that we visited while we were in Niagara By The Lake. It is an Irish store where everything is made in Ireland. This jacket is hand woven and is so incredibly soft. He looks so dapper in it!

From what I'm reading on my friends' blogs this hasn't been a very pleasurable Christmas for some. One of my friends, Donna, was supposed to fly to Michigan from California and got bumped from her over-booked flight so she was unable to come. What a disappointment. And from the sounds of 2 other friends' blogs, a friend's shoulder is what they could use most.

This time of year can be so hard to get through without getting caught up in the stress. Little things turn into big things and then big things explode. Trying to keep sane through it all can be very draining.

My daughter's good friend traveled to North Carolina to be with his dying mom and she passed away at 3 a.m. Christmas morning. I send him and his family my condolences. Not a very happy Christmas. My daughter traveled down to meet the mom a few years ago and her friend said that his mom kept a picture of my daughter in her room. How touching.

So here is my wish for all of my family and friends for 2008:

May you keep your head above financial waters, your mind in a peaceful state, your bodies healthier than ever, and your loves close to you forever. Above all, may you all keep things in perspective knowing what is truly important. Love you all...

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Panty lines!

Okay. I'm all for a woman's right to go topless wherever a man can. But check out this new Japanese fashion trend. It jumps over a line, I think. That line is 'class.' I'm talking about the skirts. The scarves don't even deserve comment.

http://www.snopes.com/photos/risque/skirts.asp

Friday, November 30, 2007

My knickers are not in a stitch!

I just got back from England and the time change is catching up to me. I might fall asleep as I write this...

My very good friend, Veronica (see blog here), asked me to take part in listing 8 weird things about myself as she did in her blog. I am not so sure I can contain it to 8 but I will take the best of the bunch. I'm going to stretch the definition of 'weird' to include 'anal.' Sometimes I think I am more anal than weird. But you be the judge.

1.) I prefer to sleep during the day and stay awake at night (well, maybe not tonight). I might have been a bat in my last life, or maybe an owl.

2.) Loading the dishwasher and getting the most in as possible is a fun challenge for me. I will wait and wait to run it until I think every spot that could possibly hold a dish is taken. (See! Anal!)

3.) I happen to think women's breasts should be able to see the light of day the way a man's can.

4.) I notice people's teeth. Probably because I am so self-conscious of my own smile.

5.) I love washing my hands with sand. You've never felt a clean such as this.

6.) Someone playing with or doing my hair is the ultimate for me. That's why I love George so much; he always runs his hands in my hair and shakes it to see how it will look after he has cut it. He does this a lot. It's wonderful! He will shake my head so that my boobs jiggle which is okay because George favors men so it's just funny.

7.) I hate guns, violence, and war. I know that is not weird but it is something that is deep with me.

8.) I like to sing but Hannah always says, "Hey, Mom, who sings that song?" And when I answer with the name of the artist she says, "Let's keep it that way!." (I'm thinking of 'The Baby-Rocking Medley' by Rosalie Sorrels. It is a song of finding patience with children. I tried to find a link to it to post here but came up empty. ITunes, you don't have everything!)

By the way, I'll be posting soon about my trip to England. Maybe tomorrow.
Yawn.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Bara Bröst!

This translates to 'just breasts' and 'bare breasts' in Swedish. This article in a Swedish newspaper reports on exactly what I've been ranting about for a long while now: a woman's right to be bare chested where ever a man can be without the threat of being arrested. My point has always been one of equality. From the article:

"It's a question of equality. I think it's a problem that women are sexualized in this way. If women are forced to wear a top, shouldn't men also have to?"

A lot of women that I have discussed this with think that women shouldn't be allowed to walk around shirtless. But do any of you truly (and I mean TRULY) believe that it is okay for a man to be topless without any repercussion but a woman should be thrown in jail for it? That is discrimination, cut and dry.

I know that it would take this country many, many generations to shed the stigma of women being topless in public. We are a society that views women's breasts as sexual objects, not as the life-sustaining glands they truly are.

Americans have a few too many hang-ups in my opinion. Let me share a story on this topic. It will prove my point about how breasts are viewed.

I was shopping at IKEA with my daughter and her boyfriend a few years ago. We encountered a woman sitting in the cafe nursing her child. My daughter's boyfriend was disgusted with the sight of this, "She shouldn't be doing that here!" He and I then engaged in a heated discussion. Of course I told him that I thought women should feel free to nurse their babies in public without any second thought. That's what breasts are for. And that's what I did. But he was so appalled.

Later, as we were walking around IKEA and the subject long gone, I brought up the fact that some day I wanted to visit the nude beaches in Greece. I told him and my daughter that I would like to experience being on a topless beach where it was no big deal, not like here in the States. Well, my daughter's boyfriend piped in all enthusiastic saying that, yeah, he would like to check that out, too! (Ah-ha! I got him!) I said to him "So, you think it's okay to look at a woman's breasts on a nude beach, drool over them in sexual fantasy, but to see a woman nursing her baby is disgusting?" I told him how demented that point of view was.

I don't think I will see this change in my lifetime here in the States. We need 'hippydom' to become all the rage again; you know, open minds. By the way, did you know that it is legal for women to go topless in New York? And Ontario's topless equality laws have been tested a number of times and remain on the books. There's also a social movement called 'Topfreedom' that is all about equality.

That's what it's all about: equality.






Thursday, November 8, 2007

Look what's to come....

It's in the works...I'll be posting all about it!
http://www.thegrove.co.uk/