An American in Wales

  • adventures,  An American in Wales

    The Great Noodle Rescue

    It’s a terrible thing to lose a dear friend. It’s even harder to bear when you are completely responsible. Of course, I’m speaking of the untimely “loss” of Pea’s favorite stuffy, Noodles. The original post can be found here. I’ll wait while you go read it…. You’re back? Excellent. Fast forward two years where we find ourselves at Brookfield Zoo, Noodles’ first home. Boo reminded Pea of this, and sadly she responded “I loved Noodles – is he still down the hole?” “Yes, my lovely, he is.” This exchange slipped from my overburdened mind until the other evening, when Pea sighed quietly and whispered “I miss Noodles”. Now to backtrack…

  • adventures,  An American in Wales

    I’m Leaving On A Jet Plane…and I’m Looking Back

    Today is the day. Today, we leave. Possibly, as you read this, we are far overhead already. Today is a tough day. This post is for all my lovely, wonderful friends here in the UK. Thank you. Thank you for taking us into your homes, into your hearts. You are well part of ours. There are no words to express how I feel right now, not really. And I can’t say goodbye, because this is not goodbye. We have been blessed. Blessed to have this experience. Blessed to have had so many adventures, blessed to have made such lovely friends. So today, I wilJl not be sad. Today, I will…

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    A Letter to My Friends and Family Back “Home”

    To my dearest family and friends in America, In a few short days, we will be making the second most difficult flight we, as a family, have ever made. The first was in August 2009, when we left all of you behind to start this amazing adventure. The second is the return flight back. We are looking forward to seeing everyone again and re-establishing our life in B’ton. But. This is not an easy transition for us. We are leaving the friends and “family” we have created in Wales over the past 3-1/2 years. For Pea, who was only three when we arrived, THIS is her life – the one…

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    You’re Not ALL That (aka the “things I won’t miss” list)

    Yesterday, I wrote about all the things I will miss when I move back to the U.S. In the interest of fair disclosure, there are a FEW things that I won’t be so sad to leave behind. Head lice. The lack of mesh window screens. If I had a pound for every bee/wasp/fly/dragonfly I have killed in the past few years… People snickering when I “mispronounce” words ” ”      “”  when I say “pants”. Rain Spiders. everywhere. Spider webs. EVERYWHERE. Hard water Not having a shower in my house. (A bath is nice every now and again, but not first thing in the morning.) Cool summers/summers without sunshine…

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    Things I Will Miss

    The first question on anyone’s lips to me, lately, is “are you excited to be leaving?”. The second most asked question is “what will you miss?” The first is an easy question to answer, as the answer is “no”. Of course, if you had asked me if I was excited to be going back, the answer might be “yes”. (If I was moving back into my own house, it would be a slightly more confident “yes”. But for now… think I am. And yet not.) As for the second, well, it is a silly question. First and foremost, I will miss my friends. I will miss my hairdresser (see, Nadine,…

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    In Which I Make A Big Announcement. And Try Not To Cry.

    I have BIG news.   And, OMG – NO – I’m not pregnant. (Hell to the NO, those of you who thought it….) It is with a conflicted heart that I share this: We are moving back to the US. At Christmastime. That’s 12 weeks away. While we figured this would be our last year here, we thought we had until mid-July, or at the minimum, June. However, with management changes back in the US, the Hubs has been offered a new position which will have the majority of his responsibility based in the US. It was a tough decision to make, but if he was to be in the…

  • adventures,  An American in Wales,  Travel

    Playing Tourist

    A few weeks ago we attended a friend’s wedding. In the course of a conversation with some acquaintances, they asked what we had planned for that weekend. I don’t recall what in particular we were hoping to do if the weather held out, but the fellow we were talking to said “I don’t know why we’ve never been there ourselves!” He went on to comment how too often people take places/things for granted and never get around to seeing what is right in their own backyard. How true. Yesterday I was having a post-football bite of lunch with my son at HIS favorite sandwich shop. A friend, walking past, asked…

  • adventures,  An American in Wales,  Travel

    So I’m Not Actually Silent on Sunday….

    I’m not so good at being silent on Sunday. (Or any other day, really, but I digress….) Some days I post a photo, but really, I want to tell the WHOLE story. This is the post-script to today’s “Silent Sunday” post. Weekends are for exploring. Quite possibly my favorite place in all of this lovely town is the Warren. I walk our mad spaniel there several days a week, exhausting us both throwing sticks into the river for her to fetch. And mostly return. (Some get eaten. Bad dog.) It has an ethereal quality, particularly on days that are a bit overcast. Sunny days are stunning, but there seems to…

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    The Summer To Do List

    Wednesday was officially the first day of summer (peers out the window), at least according to my calendar. While I’ve sorted out most of our summer holiday plans, which officially starts July 18, I hadn’t actually compiled the to-do list I’ve been working on with the kidlings. This summer may be the start of our last year here in the UK  – the beauty of the open-ended assignment – so I don’t want to take a single minute for granted…. Play at Cusop playing field Play at the “wooden” playing field Have a picnic Go for a hike Fly a kite Go for a boat ride on Brecon canal Have…

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    An American in Wales

    On Clumsiness And Being Careful What You Wish For…

    The universe has a way of warning you to be careful what you wish for. My clumsiness is something to behold. When the former and the latter meet, it’s not pretty. This is my story. Earlier this week, I was mad blogging about the Hay Festival, books, authors and the rain. I could only wish for enough free time to read all the books I have lined up on my coffee table and Kindle app. Today, the sun is shining, and while I should be sitting at the How The Light Gets In Festival just up the road from me, listening to live music or at the Hay Festival with…