Kathleen and Jesse

Happy

2012-02-15T23:21:00.000-08:00

I just want to put this out there. Jesse has been working 12-15 hour days, six days a week. On Sunday he gave a beautiful sacrament talk, taught during both hours after that, then went to visit a family in our ward. Tonight he worked 10 hours, and instead of going home and catching up on his writing and sleep, he met me at our cousin's house to help me watch 5 kids. He's peacefully snoring next to me now, and I could not be prouder. Life is not perfect, but I'm sure grateful for what I have.

Little House in the Big Woods

2012-01-26T13:13:00.000-08:00

As promised, here are some pictures of our new house (just renting.)

Here is our kitchen:

Hey! A laundry room!

the office:

bathroom

living room:

More recent projects and stuff: this is what I'm working on for above the couch. It still needs tweaking.

It felt so good to unpack all my cookbook friends.

doing a little Valentine's decorating:

We had a bunch of snow through which Jud prances.

I really needed somewhere to put my earrings (other than the Ziplock bag they were in), so I attached some lace to a thrift store frame, et voila! Yes, Pinterest buddies, I know.

Until a few weeks ago, our TV was sitting on the floor. I picked up a TV cabinet on Craigslist and am having fun putting real-lady-things on it. I was feeling crafty and spray-painted a glass vase white. I like the way it turned out.

So there you are. Someday I'll post pictures of the outside and our bedroom, etc., but today is not that day. My next project is going to be making curtains for the living room. I've never sewed anything in my life, but Cousin Kelly is graciously teaching me.

Weekend in Oklahoma

2012-01-20T10:02:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Jesse and I flew down to Oklahoma to see our nephew Connor baptized. It was a real pleasure to watch this little guy make new steps in his life. We love the Singer family so much.

After a little front yard baseball, we got to go to Connor-bonnor's birthday party at Hey-Day, which is kinda like Chuck-e-Cheez, bu way better...

Jesse is such a good influence.

As Connor's starting cub scouts, Jesse thought he needed a Swiss Army Knife. Kid delight. I think his mother's quote was, "sutures in our futures."

They had a really cool ropes course above the arcade. They strapped us in and we monkeyed around.

We also got to go to Connor's basketball game, in which he was a total stud and stole the ball and scored a basket. This is not when he scored the basket. But he looks really cool.

This is when he scored the basket.

OK, the good stuff.

Jamie couldn't believe her baby's so old.

And then we all went back to the Singers' for some Kinect Michael Jackson action.

We miss these guys and so wish they lived closer.

Christmas, as promised

2012-01-20T09:39:00.000-08:00

This Christmas was our favorite so far. For the first time, we woke up in our own house and opened presents by ourselves. It was magical. Among the highlights in the gift department: superhero glasses for Jesse, a beautiful pitcher for me, nice bath towels, a gift certificate for a mani-pedi (yeah, for me), glass cannisters for our kitchen counter, and other nice stuff. Yes, this is me in the morning.

So every year, mom made a cinnamon roll braid for Christmas breakfast, and I swear, every year she'd apologize for it not rising properly (even though it was always good). Mom, turns out the secret to a light and fluffy braid is to buy the damn dough.

Jud and Molly had a nice Christmas and got a rope-duck that lasted aproximately 4 days.

I surprised Jesse with adoption papers. Planning on turning those in this spring.

Our windowsill caroler with the sunrise behind her.

We found lots of Jesse's old mission stuff in the move, so I put together a memory shadow box for him.

Then we spent the evening with family. A really nice Christmas.

Still Alive

2012-01-11T22:18:00.000-08:00

Hi friends. We're still alive. Just lost a little (lot of) sail-wind there for a while. Jesse and I had a really nice Christmas, pictures coming soon. In fact, upcoming posts include pictures of our new house (we moved!), Christmas, and our trip this coming weekend to Oklahoma for our nephew's baptism.

I have to say, it's been a tough couple months for the Thorsons. Even so, we've been made aware of some people who've had it a lot tougher. So glad to report that we have each other and our health. And our dogs--they're important. Blogging friends: thanks for all the distraction you provide. I love knowing what's going on with friends afar. Family: we miss you. English countryside: I absolutely ache to go on a walk with you.

We should play the lottery…

2011-11-27T20:48:00.000-08:00

The average couple has a 20% chance of getting pregnant in any month of trying.

With our In Vitro procedure, we had a 78% chance of being pregnant right now.

But we're not.

Once again, we have defied the odds. We will try again, but it has been hard. We are so grateful for the amazing people we have pulling for us. We're sorry that we don't get to tell you that your prayers did the trick, but we are still in this fight. We get to try again in January--until then, we get to enjoy Christmas and get into our own place.

2011-11-22T18:28:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow's the big day. To be honest, between the holiday weekend and some trouble I've had getting a hold of the lab, it might be a couple days before we know our results. Also, if we take a few days to process before we shout out "yay!" or..."nay," don't be surprised.

What is everyone doing for Thanksgiving? You know how some families have traditions on Turkey Day? Like going around the table and saying what they're thankful for or playing football in the mud? We don't really do those things in the Galbraith/Burnett family, but we have our own traditions. Although the meal is hosted by different branches of the family each year, there are some things that never change. Always the table is beautiful and tasteful. Aunt Ginny's might be a little fancier and Aunt Susie's a little more intimate, but the men wear slacks and button-down shirts and the women wear skirts or nice trousers. There are hors d'oeuvres around the coffee table, and we eat in the evening (we aren't an afternoon meal family). Everyone brings something--a pie and something else. All Burnetts make good pie. All of them. Doesn't matter who's making the apple and who's making the pumpkin and who's making the pecan. The pecan pie always has dots of whipped cream piped around the edge of the pie with a pecan stuck in the middle of each whorl. And after the meal, when the food has set in, the cousins usually go back for more pie, and the board games might come out.

Aunt Susie's

See?

Scategories

Cousin Sarah, Aunt Susie, Aunt Ginny

A previous Thanksgiving at Aunt Ginny's

Feeding Austin pie on the table. See? We know how to loosen up. (Note the pecan pies.)

Maybe this sounds stuffy to some who might miss comfy clothes and football in the background, but not me. This is my family's big get together of the year, and I wish I could see my Aunt Ginny's beautiful table and my cousin's little girl whom I've yet to meet. Maybe next year.

We are looking forward to spending time with some of our favorite extended family of Jesse's though. Grandma Thorson flew in a couple days ago, and she's always a hoot. And we can't wait to see Jen and Carston from far away in Montana. And the rest of the gang, of course.

What are your Thanksgiving traditions?

Um...what?

2011-11-20T22:56:00.000-08:00

Today I told Jesse:

"I hope I don't have skinny babies."

To which he replied:

"We won't--look at you!"

Yeah. And he didn't even try to back-pedal. Something about me not having been a skinny baby, but no back pedaling. Totally unrepentant. But it's ok, because later, when he asked if a certain shirt made him look fat, I tried to make him feel better by comparing him to Jim Balushi in Return to Me. Oops. Oh well.

Still waiting. By the way, if you do a Google image search for "chubby baby," amidst all the cherubic and obese babes, there is a picture of Hitler. ?

Waiting on the world to change

2011-11-18T01:15:00.000-08:00

Hey, is everyone as excited as we are for The Muppets? Out next week. On the 23rd. A good omen? I sure hope so.

And because it's almost this time of year:

I was raised on this Sesame Street Christmas Special, and I swear, I can still taste those typewriter buttons!

Just killin' time.

Promised Update

2011-11-15T11:37:00.000-08:00

We're camped out here at the hotel in Portland, watching Food Network and being lazy louts. And it's Thanksgiving week on Food Network! But that's not the good news. We had our transfer yesterday! Everything went as well as our doctor could have hoped. We had two beautiful (yes, beautiful) little 4AA grade embryos tucked back in all cozy. If you're curious, that means they're already at the top of their class. And and aaand, the embryologist called this morning to tell me how many they were able to freeze. Ready for this? Seven. Yeah. Seven. And they were all of the best quality! So 9 out of 10 little guys (including the ones we used this transfer) made it, and made it to the highest grade. That's amazing. This is why we picked this clinic. Now we wait until the 23rd.

And I have to say, we have felt your thoughts and prayers very directly. Thank you so much.

Back in the Rose City

2011-11-13T22:16:00.000-08:00

After church, Neil and I headed down to Portland. Poor Superman had to work. Tomorrow's the big day, and we're thinking happy thoughts. Thanks so much for all your support, guys. Keep ya updated.

Leggo My Eggo: IVF's a Blast(ocyst).

2011-11-11T11:07:00.000-08:00

I've been hesitant about writing about this on our blog, but really, anyone who reads this blog knows we've been on the infertility train for a while now. Although we're both really grateful for all the opportunities we've had while we've been trying for kids, we're sooo done with this crap. 4+ years is a long time (yeah, sometimes I throw out that number when I'm feeling sorry for myself). We started the IVF process in August, and we're down to the final push now. We chose Oregon Reproductive Medicine in Portland because their success rates are the highest in the nation, and we've been really happy with them. So our Portland vacation wasn't exactly just a vacation, even though we had a blast. I had doctor's appointments most days where they did ultrasounds and blood work. This is what I see when I close my eyes. Someday, we're going to have an ultrasound, and Jesse will hold my hand, and there will be a heartbeat in there. And I will cry.

Shots everyday the past month, you get the idea. On Wednesday, we had our extraction, and they were able to get 20 eggs. Of those, 14 were viable, and 10 fertilized. The goal is to have 2 really good-looking embryos to use and some left over to freeze, so we'll see how many make it to day 5.

Now we wait. How weird is it that any biological children we may have are sitting in a dish 6 hours away? I'm actually already attached to those embryos, strangely enough. Some of those blobs are our kids! On Monday at 2:00 is our implantation. This is a painless procedure involving a catheter. Then bed rest for a few days. Then we wait 9 more days until our blood pregnancy test.

Needless to say, Jesse and I are going a little nutso. It's all we can think about. Anyway, I'm posting this because sometimes we're the only ones in the world who have ever had trouble having kids. Which is not true. But gosh, especially when you're LDS, it can really feel true. I can't express how grateful we are to all the people who have been praying for us and sending good thoughts our way. We feel loved. I'll keep you posted.

Foxy Family

2011-11-11T10:13:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, after eating lunch and visiting with Annie's dad and step-mom, we popped over to Sav's house so Jesse could say hi (that's wife for "I want to see my bestie again"). Savannah had made killer enchiladas and apple crisp, of which I had seconds.

The best thing about being an aunt--even a pretend one--is spoiling the kids. What's this I have in my purse? A Reese's Peanut Butter Cup? Better get rid of that...

Love this girl. Can't wait until Carter's old enough to bribe with chocolate. (What's this in my purse? Pureed Peas? ...)

Good days

2011-11-07T19:50:00.000-08:00

Today, Jesse and I had a doctor's appointment today--all is well! Then we hung around downtown Portland. We ate at P.F. Chang's and walked over to Sur le Table (drool puddle) and Powell Books where we sat in the aisles reading all the Little Golden Books from our childhoods (is there anyone who doesn't love Richard Scarry?). And Jesse found his favorite Dr. Seuss book.

We also found this little number for Sarah who has a slug phobia:

We wandered around Clackamas Town Center (mall) saw The Help, which (as promised) was really good. It's been so nice to just hang out with my buddy!

Though not the most beautiful thing at Sur le Table, check out this wiener dog cookie cutter! Almost bought it. Should have bought it. Could have made Molly-shaped dog biscuits in my fictional Martha life.

After I picked up Jesse from the airport, I wanted to take him to Jam, an mmmm-delicious breakfast place Annie and I visited, but there was quite the waiting list. So, we headed next door to Hotlips Pizza (which, I'm told, is a Portland staple). Oh yum. Crispy thin crust but still yeasty, good sauce, foldinhalfable--totally Ninja Turtle Pizza. (You know how it always looked so good, and then next time your family finally ordered pizza, you wished it had cartoon pepperoni and banjo-cheese?)

We're headed back to Spokane on Wednesday, then back here on Sunday afternoon.

More Portland

2011-11-02T20:59:00.000-07:00

Portland is beautiful in the fall! Yesterday Annie and I drove around Laurelhurst, one of the old and swanky neighborhoods in the city. The trees met over the streets and the houses were all different--some Victorian, some craftsman, some Cape Cod--all lovely. We walked around a park nearby and had fun dog-watching.

Then I was introduced to New Seasons, a very Portlandy grocery store. Aaaand then we got our hands on some Thai food. Rejoice! Green curry...mmmmm. Today I got to spend the afternoon with Sav and her amazingly brilliant, beautiful, happy kids. No really, they are. It was so nice to have some time to just hang out and chat and watch the kids climb on their mama.

Annie and I made a trip to Voodoo Doughnuts for a good shot of "Portland weird." And boy was it.

A few more days until my Jesse joins me down here. I miss that guy. For now though, Annie and I are keeping busy with the Robert Downey Jr. episodes of Ally McBeal...

Halloween in Portland

2011-11-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

I'm here in Portland with Annie Face. I drove down last night and Annie made me a yummy dinner and she introduced me to one of her childhood movies, Ladyhawke. It was so nice to just hang out watching cheesy movies and eating popsicles. Today we cruised around the city and went to Mio Sushi, which lived up to the hype. We tried to buy a pumpkin at several stores, but they were all out. By the way, it's hard to tell who's in costume in a Walmart in Portland... Then we happened to drive by a pumpkin patch! The pumpkin is now carved and the candy's ready. Now we just need to decide what not-so-scary movie to watch. Happy Halloween!

Update: we watched The Rocketeer, and I'm re-in love with that flying man. Had a great night. Will post pictures.

Jagger

2011-10-29T10:19:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is my dear friend Sarah's birthday. This is a flashback on how we celebrated last year.

At the London Dungeons...

We were totally traumatized afterwards.

Pizza Express

YoSushi

Visiting Peter

Hanging out at Covent Gardens.

Sarah, we miss you and hope you have a truly legendary birthday!

Just a little update

2011-10-27T09:11:00.000-07:00

We made it to Spokane. To be honest, it's kind of pretty up here right now--lots of fall colors. Jud had a grand reunion with Molly, and we had a grand reunion with Jesse's dad, sister, and cousins (our great friends). Jesse's job is going well, and I've been keeping busy doing yard work, house-hunting, and cooking. That's right--house hunting. We're thinking of taking the grown-up plunge into homeownership. But, that's still a little ways off.

Jesse will be flying back tomorrow evening to the little town of Medford. Back to my lovely parents and the lovely valley, where he will spend the night and drive back up here on Saturday with our car and the rest of our stuffs. So tonight, he's taking me on a date! We're going to Madeleine's (my favorite restaurant here; just picture it--smokey cassoulet with grilled, buttered baguette and butternut squash bisque with crab meat) and then we thought we'd stroll over to Williams Sonoma to spend our two-year-old gift card there.

This is the park by our house.

So that's what we're up to. What's everyone doing for Halloween? Think we'll be handing out candy.

Tribute to Jim

2011-10-20T11:13:00.000-07:00

Since July, Dad and I have been going on a 5-mile loop walk. A few things usually happen on this walk. We try to avoid being hit by cars on Hwy 238. Generally, we stop to eat blackberries (and Dad has to wait around while I pick "just one more"). We pass the sunflower field and the walnut trees. And before the field of Burros or the mother and daughter Beagle team, we visit Jim.

Jim is clumsy, but loves to dance. He's small compared to some, but seems to be a born leader. And Jim is always smiling. We call him Jim, because he looks like my Uncle Jim--somewhere around the eyebrows and amused upturn of his mouth. I've gone on jogs during the day, when all the other llamas are in the shade of their barn, and there's Jim, standing sentinel at the door.

A really really really good day: probably too many exclamation marks

2011-10-18T16:25:00.000-07:00

So, while we were soaking up some California sun, Jesse was back at the ranch. Monday (yesterday), he had his last day teaching Seminary. His kids made him a HUGE card with quotes from him and bits of things they learned during the last 6 weeks. He really made an impression on the kids. We are so grateful for this new job, but we've promised each other that Jesse's still going to be a teacher someday.

Which brings me to the good stuff...

Jesse had his first day at Avista. He was the bearer of good news yesterday. He called while we were at Grandma and Grandpa's house to say...we passed our theses! We have Masters degrees! Yahoo!

Then, he texted me some more great news: we have full benefits! And three weeks paid vacation!

So when he got home, we broke out some sparkling cider and he was the toast of the town. A good day indeed.

Weekend in California

2011-10-18T16:09:00.000-07:00

This last weekend, I crashed my parents' super romantic long weekend trip to California. Really though, I wanted to see some family and friends down there, and we don't get to that neck of the woods very often (hey, they asked if I wanted to come!).

We headed down to my Aunt Maxine and Uncle Jim's house in the Bay Area and had a nice visit with them and spent the night.

Since I was little, my birthday cards have been signed "Maxine, Jim, Patches [may she rest in peace], and Marshall." Marshall is now 21 years old and walks like the Tin Man before oil. He can't weigh more than 5 pounds, and he's a little hollow around the edges, but he is one well-loved kitty. Or Cakeface, Bob, Buffy, Pooky, El Pooko...you get the picture.

Then we walked around downtown Walnut Creek and window shopped at Restoration Hardware, Williams Sonoma, and Pottery Barn. Mmmm. We had a delicious dinner at Mom's friend Julie's house. It's nice to see people you've known your whole life. The next day we headed up to Redding to Aunt Susan's house for a dinner and games. Yesterday we continued north to Ashland for lunch with my grandparents and good chat. So that's what I did this weekend. Where was Jesse, you want to know?

Head 'Em Up

2011-10-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

Jesse and I celebrated our fifth anniversary in September.

5 Years = 2 dogs, 2 bachelors' degrees, 2 masters' Degrees, 3 states, 10 countries visited, and 7 addresses.

(Between the two of us) we have been a tutor, personal trainer, roofer, logger, boutique clerk, retail worker(s), donut fryer, mortgage inspector(s), set painter, waitress, nanny, gym membership salesman, and HR specialist.

Student life.

So here's the big news. We're about to add to our jobs/addresses. Now that Jesse has made it official with work, we're moving to Spokane. Jesse got a really good job with the utilities company up there, and he starts training on Monday. Yeah, this Monday. He'll train for a week at their offices down here, and then he'll begin the next week in Spokane. This has thrown a wrench into some of our long-term plans, and we're a little dazed still, but it's a really good thing. However, we'll miss our family and the beautiful Rogue Valley so much.

But, we'll get to see more of this guy:

and this guy

and these guys.

We're excited for all the exciting things in the works, and we promise promise promise we will not spend our whole lives in Spokane. So there.

Harvest Weekend

2011-10-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, while Dad was working on his steps...

Mom and I went a-harvesting at Seven Oaks Farm in Central Point.

We saw heap-big pumpkins,

went on a hay ride,

and bought a few pretties.

We love fall!

Power Tools and Jam: 26 Things to Master While 26

2011-10-06T14:39:00.000-07:00

So my friends Carrie and Liz like to make new goals every birthday. I'm a little late on this, but here are my 26 things to do while I'm 26 (the pink ones are done, the blue are in progress):

1. Learn to can/make jam

2. Make a table/learn how to use power tools!

3. Make a wreath

4. Get published, even if it's in a teeny tiny magazine
5. Become a really good visiting teacher
6. Go camping. This seems silly--especially for Jesse and me, who love camping--but we've never been camping together.
7. Run 5 miles without stopping. I'm getting close. Or rather, I got close once...
8. Learn to hem pants
9. Go to the temple by myself
10. Sew something I can actually wear
11. Unpack all our stuff that's been in storage for 2 years
12. Surprise Jesse. With anything. I've never been sneaky enough to do this
13. Make a chocolate souffle
14. Experiment with "raw food"
15. Make a blog book of our England adventures
16. Start a family
17. Build something out of pallets
18. Make my bed everyday
19. Fly a kite
20. Visit a new state
21. Have our own Christmas tree
22. Join a Zumba class (I spy on this class in the gym and laugh at the old guy who shakes his booty and the girls who get really into the moves, but it's only because I'm jealous...)
23. Make some kind of artwork that I actually want to put in my house (painting, photograph, etc.)
24. Throw a croquet party
25. Sing in a community choir
26. Read at least 10 novels for fun (sounds strange for a girl with an English degree, but I've completely gotten out of the habit in the last few years).

Here are some of my finished goals:

Raw food's cool and stuff, and I found a few recipes I really really like (like chocolate frosting made with avacado!), but I love to cook. And that involves some heat.

This wreath is a first attempt, and yeah, it turns all funky-parallelagram on me and isn't sturdy, but I like it.

Jesse and I made this table. We picked out the wood (some of which was rescued from the sideyard) and built it from the ground up. I love it. To find the plans, visit ana-white.com. She posts tons of free plans and works with lots of salvaged wood,. I was shocked at how cheap it can be to have nice furniture, provided you're willing to invest the time. This is the "Tryde Side Table" plan. Our ambitious plans include making a matching coffee table, building Ana's "Farmhouse Dining Table" and the "Farmhouse Bed".

Flashback

2011-10-04T23:43:00.000-07:00

Today was the dreaded day. My dad drove me to the DMV and I took my driver's test. I had let my license lapse while we were in England, and apparently you have to retake the driving exam to renew after a year... Not to say I haven't been doing a little illegal driving. Anyway, I passed! I have to admit, I was nervous. How embarrassing would it have been if I had failed? To celebrate, Dad and I went out to lunch and to ice cream. Also, we had our community choir practice tonight. Mr. Reppert, my dear old director from high school, is the director.

Today, I could really have been 16 again. Only I paid for my dad's ice cream, and I passed my test on the first try.

J + K at 16 and 18.

Catch up!

2011-10-03T23:22:00.001-07:00

There have been some big changes to this old blog. For starters, I've merged My old blog with the Silly Pilgrims blog. Consequently, all the posts say they're by K + J, when a good portion of the posts for the last year are by Sarah or Annie. But I needed some continuity. Too many different blogs. So here we are.

We got home from England! ...Three months ago! Here's a tasty shot of Jesse in the Keflavik, Iceland Airport, trying out the Wii. I wasn't the only one who thought it was funny.

This picture was taken around 2 a.m. It was super duper weird that the sun never set.

We had a layover in New York, where our long-lost friends James and Jeff picked us up. We drove around Queens, trying to find a good pizza place. Because of traffic and time constraints, we only made it to Taco Bell. So we've kind of been to New York! Anyway, it was just wonderful to see these two boys. Wonderful and kind of surreal.

Shortly after arriving home, we celebrated my 26th birthday. Mom made me some lovely strawberry shortcake.

Let's see, in other news, Jesse's working for H and D in their HR department. I'm working on my writing, and we have some other projects in the works. Oooh, so cryptic. It's been great to spend time with my parents. Mom and I spent August canning peaches, blackberry jam, applesauce, strawberry jam, tomatoes, and green beans. Jesse and Dad do boy things like watch football and play the Wii (when they're not working. So they've done those things twice.) Jesse is also teaching morning seminary, which he loves. Things are good for now.

For the Love of the Thorsons

2011-07-12T11:37:00.000-07:00

It finally hit me today that Jesse and Kathleen really are gone from England. When they left yesterday Annie and I just kept saying how it felt like they were just gone on one of their little breaks. And since realizing that they have moved on, I felt the need to write a blog post all about how fantastic I think they are.

Along with that I have made a few collages of some of my favorite pictures of the two of them. They really are a photogenic lot. =)

Over a year ago we all decided to try and go to grad school in England, not really knowing what kind of adventures we were setting ourselves up for, but really it was one of the best decisions I have made.

And every step of the way has really been an adventure and loads of laughs. They really have become a part of my family, and I am sad that our Pilgrims adventure has come to an end.

There are so many things that I have learned from each of them. Kathleen has a heart that knows no bounds. She loves with her whole heart to all those she comes in contact with. She shows her love and affection to all around her. She cares, she listens, she's thoughtful, she looks for ways to serve, and she puts the needs of others ahead of her own. She is made to be a mother.

Jesse is the perfect big brother. He knows when to listen, when to support, and when to annoy. He is protective, and caring. He is the perfect Irn-Bru drinking buddy. He will give counsel when he feels it is needed. He will walk to train stations late at night to make sure you arrive home safely. He honors his priesthood, and he is a great friend. Jesse loves to learn and loves to start new hobbies. He is also one for adventures.

And I have also learned a lot from them as a couple. In my life I have been blessed to see a few couples that truly seem to be a perfect fit. Now I know that that isn't entirely possible, but Jesse and Kathleen seem to be as close as can possibly be.

They truly listen to one another, they compromise, they respect, they pray together, they read the scriptures together. They have family home evening together. They make time for one another, and most importantly they truly love one another.

I think one of the great joys in life is friendship. Real friends make all the difference in the world.

To all those who read the pilgrims blog you know what I'm talking about. Jesse and Kathleen have probably touched your life in one way or another... because they truly are that awesome.

To Jesse and Kathleen, it has been such a joy to live near you for these past months. You have taught me much, given me much, and truly made yourself a real part of my heart and my family!

I can't wait for our next adventures!

PS I hope this doesn't seem like too much of a eulogy... that was not my intention. But funnily enough it seems like one.

Adios, Bart.

2011-07-10T13:59:00.000-07:00

Our sweet landlords, the Plunketts, have been so good to us. We've had many a cozy supper at their house, including a memorable and wonderful Christmas. Tonight we were invited for one last hurrah, and it was delicious and entertaining as usual. And since we're leaving tomorrow, Annie made a beautiful carrot cake for my birthday.

Stephen stoops to get to everything.

He stoops to see under the umbrella.

Emma is just all around lovely.

And Cocoa is getting so big! Oh but what a wonderful dog she is. So laid back. Then Jesse and I went on our favorite walk to say goodbye to Chilham. What a year it's been. Jesse and I are off Medford, Oregon, where we hope to finally put down some roots. We will have a joyous reunion with Jud, our frumpy, dumpy Basset Hound, and Molly, our sneaky Dachshund. And, you know, our families, etc.

For Now

2011-07-07T09:11:00.000-07:00

Well friends, sorry for the break the in blog (sounds like a Bones episode, huh Sarah?), but I'm afraid things are happening too fast. At the moment--and this is just an excuse--my computer with all our recent pictures is in a coma. But I promise, I will post about our adventures with Jesse's Dad and Tara wherein we traveled to France, Yorkshire, Scotland, and the Lake District. But for now, let me just describe what the last couple days have been like for Jesse and me. After Jesse's family left, I looked around in an oh-no-only-one-week-left kind of daze. Pretty sure Jesse actually found me in the bathroom clipping my fingernails and toenails down to nubs with a glazed look in my eyes mumbling something about a certain tree I haven't gotten to see yet. I just can't believe we're leaving. Jesse and I dragged out our suitcases and duffel bags, two of which were too badly mangled from the trip here to use again. Since then, we've found a replacement and are about halfway packed. And of course, we've managed to find time to watch a little Star Trek Next Gen, take a few naps, stalk pictures of friends' new babies on Facebook, apply for a couple jobs online, and are looking forward to having dinner with a couple of our good friends. That's all for now folks.

Ah, Venice.

2011-06-20T13:08:00.000-07:00

Jesse and I spent last week visiting his cousin an hour from Venice. It was one of the most memorable experiences we've had. Venice was more beautiful than I thought it could be. We enjoyed good pizza, water buses, and gelato. Lots of gelato. But I gotta say, the best part of the trip was hanging out with the Lazenbys. What a great family. We got to meet the new baby, Pamela (or Panny cakes), and get to know the older kids better (and fell in love with them). Also, stealing their scooter and driving around the hillsides was pretty dang great. Italy was balmy and the jasmine was in bloom, so the whole place smelled like flowers. Sigh.

Sigh.

Anyway. Back to reality. We also took a drive with the whole family into Slovenia and Austria. It was gorgeous country and interesting to see how the cultures all blend near the borders.

Where are they now?

2011-06-16T07:22:00.000-07:00

The past few days, Emma has been gone, so Sarah and Annie have been feeding and exercising the puppies. Basil went off to seek his fortune with his new family a couple days ago, and Mia and Cocoa are left.

Remember this face?And this one?

Here's little Mia now:

Here's little Cocoa.

The ladies of the ward...

2011-06-10T05:57:00.000-07:00

These past few weeks have provided quite a few adventures in the ward, with the Relief Society sisters.

Last Friday I went to the Stake Relief Society camp, and I am really glad I went. When we first arrived the ladies from Canterbury were working on a skit. The style was soap opera, and apparently they needed to mention Santa and something else.

Laura was pregnant by a dead beat Santa.

Amy was 'mad' that she had to play an elf. Joe was the dead beat chav Santa. Marian was (I think) Santa's wife. And I still don't know what Shelley was... although the storyline was all from her.

I really don't think the skit had any moral to it, but it was funny. I know for a fact that the Canterbury ward had the best laughs, and the best audience response. Probably because those of us from the Canterbury ward are pretty loud.

Sadly I don't really remember the other wards skits... just remember a lot of falling over.

Then we had french skipping rope, and all I learned is that I don't like jumping. Also we had some games with the hula hoop, and I learned I don't have the right moves for the hula hoop. Then we gathered around the camp fire.

Then there were songs and actions around the fire; some songs I knew and remembered from Young Women's camp from my youthful years, and some I had never heard before. The one that made me laugh till I cried was the one involving a penguin. I loved how enthusiastic everyone seemed to be. The arms motions made it even more worth it.

Now Naomi claimed to have an excuse not to participate. Apparently a child continuously kicking you in the ribs is a valid excuse. I honestly think she is drunk... I mean the camera doesn't lie.

Amy and I were reminiscing over memories, me of girls camp, and her of cheer camp. It was really fun

Then we had a wonderful testimony meeting that made me feel close to all of the women there; even those who's names I didn't know.

Now the second event was last night we had our enrichment evening. It was a murder mystery dinner. And I think it went over very well. At first everyone wasn't too sure what to do, but then as the eating started, then everyone started to get into character, and adding their own flair to it.

In the end one table found out the true murderer, and the other table condemned an innocent lady! But we were all happy eating Annie's delicious cake!

The end of the night sadly came, and ended in a bit of brawl. Naomi trying to kick Esther, Esther nearly running down Naomi. These women can be fierce. But luckily it was all in fun, and we laughed our way home. On the ride home home we were singing along to Glee... a great way to end a night.

I don't know what I'm going to do without these wonderful women.

Things I'll miss about England

2011-06-06T06:18:00.000-07:00

wonderful friends
beautiful walks
apple trees
our ward
watching Pride and Prejudice, then stepping outside into a Jane Austin Novel
our windows
getting our groceries delivered by Tesco
our bedroom
Bugsy
Tilly and her pups: Mia, Basil, and Cocoa
the stupid pheasants who live at Pilgrims
trains
a huge dairy selection
words like buggy, nappie, trolly, mince, tinned, well-good, cheers, veg, lie-in, chav, etc.
sheep
wild bunnies everywhere
suppers with our landlords
naps
almost everything else
Free health care

Things I am looking forward to in the U.S.:

Family
Having a freezer and storing ice cream!
Costco (and buying things to put in our freezer)
non NHS health care
having a car and the freedom to go where we like when we like
snuggling with our real dogs, Jud and Molly
sitting on our couch
toilets that flush properly
faucets with combined hot and cold taps
pioneer attitude
words like gosh, dang, diaper, bathroom, sidewalk, zucchini, movie theatre, round-trip, one-way, bucks, hitch-in-your-giddyup (Jesse purposefully used this on a Brit. Completely confused. He also once said to our landlady, "I hear your weedwacker is on the fritz." Utterly stumped.
our ward
other things I have forgotten about.

Guess Who???

2011-05-25T16:17:00.000-07:00

I spent the evening at the Potter home, and had a lovely time. At one point I remembered I hadn't taken a picture yet for my picture a day blog. (Which you can go to here... if you like. So I turn to Esther and ask her to make a face. This turned into a game of imitations. So lets see if you can guess who Esther is?

Here is your first picture. Now who is Esther trying to be?

If you guessed... ME then you are correct.

Now on to the next face... Now who do you think this could be?

If you guessed.... Annie... then you are correct!

I liked that Esther even made her chin a bit more prominent to be more like Annie. This little girl is good.

Now on to the next guess... who on earth could this be?

Why Kathleen of course!

(Well really it is Kathleen being Robert DeNiro. So really it is Esther being Kathleen being Robert DeNiro.)

So that leaves one last Pilgrim left. Here is Esther being...

Jesse... and man I think she has a gift for this.

Jesse is the best at the grumpy face, and at scaring the children. I think Esther captured that well.

And as I was searching for pictures I came across another similar picture that I thought of sharing.

This first picture is of Esther and Heather just messing about. But then look at how close it is to the next picture.

It seems quite similar to Annie and Kathleen messing about in front of the camera.

Just a bit of silliness really. And a great way to smile through the evening.

No+No+No=Yes

2011-05-21T05:20:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was supposed to be our day of celebration; all of us had turned in our term papers, and were done... for awhile. (Except for Annie, who had a weeks extension on her paper.)

We decided to go into London. MacBeth was being done in Middlesex Prison, and student tickets were still available, so we decided to make a day of it. We would go in earlier in the day, stop by the globe to try and see Hamlet, and then head over to see MacBeth. Well that all seemed like a great plan, and would have been, had it worked out that way.

The train ride was fairly normal for going to London. The high speed train was busy, but a short ride. Kathleen caught a picture of Jesse and Annie, that made them look like a 'Kindle' ad. The weather also seemed to shine upon us on this day of celebration. All seemed well until we got to the Globe. Hamlet was completely sold out, so we were going to need to plan what to do with the 5 hours we now had free until our evening show.

The walk from the Globe to St. Paul's Cathedral was lovely. We got some great shots of the view, and a few amusements on the way. Our favorite was the little spiny things before you cross the street. Jesse and Kathleen made a lovely cute scene for the tourists walking by. (I refuse to group myself with the tourists.)

Once in the gardens at St Paul's we received the phone call. The actor portraying MacBeth had severely injured himself during the performance the night before. He had hit is head on a low archway and then fell back and smacked his head and back on the stone floor, and now our show was cancelled. This came as a bit of a shock to us. We had prepared ourselves to possibly not catch anything at the Globe, but then to not see the show we paid for... that was disappointing.

We regrouped at the cafe 'Paul' right next to St. Paul's and tried to figure out what to do for the day. We ate our Krispy Kreme donuts, and decided to go to the largest mall in London. Jesse ended up getting free toothpaste; Kathleen bought a really cute swimsuit, and Annie bought a cute blue lightweight coat.

We then tried to call around to see if we could get inexpensive tickets for either Phantom of the Opera or... another show that seems to have escaped my brain. Sadly none of these shows had cheap seats left, or really any seats for that matter. So we ate at a yummy burger place, and had milk shakes, burgers, and fries. YUM!

And while eating I was blessed to see Jesse, Kathleen, and Annie practice their Robert DeNiro impressions for me.

So even though our day didn't go as planned AT ALL, it was still a great day out with some of my most dearest friends, and another silly adventure we can share.

And here are some puppies

2011-05-18T04:31:00.000-07:00

We have a garden now!

And here are some puppies.

Fingers and Cake

2011-05-18T03:27:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, Kathleen was doing the washing up and got an owie. Not a life-threatening sort of owie, but a lots-of-blood-from-a-broken-glass-pitcher sort of owie. She wondered where the rest of her finger was. Two of Kathleen's friends, Jesse and Sarah, were home at the time. One of these people has EMT training, and one goes kaplop at the sight of a lots-of-blood-from-a-broken-glass-pitcher sort of owie.

Kathleen crept past the bathroom where Jesse was bathrooming and hollered up to Sarah in her calmest, most nonbleeding voice,

"Sarah. Come here please. I need you."

Sarah came down and inspected the wound. Sarah wondered where the rest of the finger was. She wrapped Kathleen's hand in wet paper towels in an adeptly trained way, called Jamie Who Has A Car, and began stuffing leftover pasta shells in Kathleen's mouth. Jesse came out of the bathroom and was told to go to his room. However, some quick thinking prompted Jesse to come back out with Kathleen's trousers, as she was in her jimjams. As Sarah threw some juice in Kathleen's mouth and Kathleen held her hand over the sink, Jesse (with practiced skill) pantsed Kathleen and repantsed her.

Sarah cleaned up the glass and told Jesse the piece of finger on the glass was food.

Jamie Who Has A Car came with his car on his wedding anniversary which he was spending feeding the missionaries but it's ok because they were saving the good pudding for later when they were alone and took Kathleen and Sarah to urgent care.

"Was this your first time doing the washing up?" asked the triage nurse. The triage nurse was Filipino and Kathleen had trouble deciding if he was a sarcastic man based on his Asian vocal cadences.

He gave Kathleen a Vietnam bandage and told her not to do the dishes for a long time.

Then, a very sweet and smoky nurse with lots of blue eyeliner under her eyes scolded Kathleen for taking all the skin off, as there was nothing left to stitch. Kathleen was secretly very relieved to not be getting stitches. The nurse gave Kathleen spare dressings which looked like condoms, told her they looked like condoms, and showed her how to apply them, using the word condom once more.

Jamie W.H.A. Car came back and picked up the girls and brought them home nicely. They found upon arrival that Jesse, feeling useless, was biking to the next village to buy supplies for chocolate cake. He came home and made a beautiful chocolate cake with ganache and raspberries and cream cheese/whipped cream frosting.

And Kathleen didn't have to do the dishes, because she's not very good at it.

*Jesse wants it noted that in life threatening situations like "flaming babies" he's very calm.

New Kids on the Block

2011-05-16T11:20:00.000-07:00

Since moving to England we have made some wonderful friends, and I wanted to take this moment in blog-dom and write about some of my favorite people. They are small, they are energetic, and they are AWESOME!

We'll start with the Griggs Trio:

Samuel

He is the youngest and the most like a nugget. At the moment he loves cars, and dumping things on his head; in the past few week it has been crisps, magnetic letters, stackable blocks, and toy cars. He is also a pro at the army crawl. His only weakness seems to be fast getaways. But don't worry, he'll have that sorted soon enough.

Emiley

Next is my girl Emiley. She is quite the mastermind, and has the skill and steady hand of a surgeon. She's a champ at pick up sticks. She's also fearless when it comes to feeding horses. Bugsy thinks she is the bees knees. She is an expert draw-er, and made a wonderful portrait of yours truly. Her only kryptonite seems to be intense jumps on the trampoline. (A girl after my own heart.)

Abygail

The oldest is Abygail, and for the most part she is fearless. She is inquisitive and intelligent. She is a master in the art of hide and seek. She is also a pro at the trampoline, and loves the intense and big jumps. She can be quite patient when getting her hair curled, and the only kryptonite I've found is a fear of feeding Bugsy the horse.

Next up is the Littlewood duo. They may seem cute and cuddly, but don't be fooled!

James

James is the youngest. He has a love of all things food, and in a close second would be cars. (Anything with wheels, really.) He is a quick one, so keep an eye on him. Also he likes to surprise attack with kisses. He loves to bird watch, and is adventurous with his newly discovered legs. A word of caution: James does not have the best depth perception as of yet, and quickly needs to learn to 'mind yer head.' (Although he may just be taking after his look alike... Jack Bauer.)

Elanor

The older of the two is Lady Elanor, or Nena as she likes to be called. Elanor loves to play bed (where you jump in a bed and pretend to be asleep) and she also loves to play hide and seek. A clue in finding her is just to follow the giggles. Nena also loves animals, and loves to spot them wherever she can. Elanor is quite adept and keeping adults in line, her new favorite past time is playing in her sticker book with Lady Kathleen, or Lady Annie. Her only weakness seems to be her little brother James, he seems to be able to keep her from her plans of world domination. It's the looks I tell you, she is too adorable, and far too intelligent for one who is only two and a half.

And finally the dearly beloved Potter clan.

Esther

This little girl is amazing, and reminds me of a younger, much more brilliant me. She is an avid collector of sea shells, who tells it like she sees it. One of my favorite comments of hers is when she walked up to Jesse and said "You're nasty today." I thought she had a point, he did seem to be in a mood that day. Esther also likes to experiment with her food; you can usually see her mixing up some of the most intriguing combinations that one wouldn't normally think to put together. She is a daredevil; especially on the jump-o-line. Her biggest weakness is dairy, and her skin. And sister friend I feel ya on those fronts!

Heather

And then we have Heather. She is the ringleader of this giant posse. She has a no nonsense dictatorship, and a clear eye on legalities. I'm still not quite sure what I did wrong, but on my last visit to her home I was quickly escorted to jail, and was then subjected to minutes of High School Musical 3 tunes. I will definitely think twice before I misbehave again. I don't want to subjected to that again. Heather is also a wiz at hide and seek, or as she calls it "hide and peak." I now think I know how she found me so quickly. Her only kryponite seems to be food... she is quite the picky eater.

Children are wonderful, and I have been truly blessed to befriend some of the best!

That will be all for now!

Much love from Lady Sarah McJagson (Butter-lite) (You'll have to ask Naomi about that last bit, I forgot when that on happened, or check the blog post here )

Being Successful. Beware--Motivational Material

2011-05-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

We MADE it!!! We have handed in our outrageously long essays and poetry! Woot woot! We are all now making fists and pulling them down in front of our bodies...with great hair. In case you don't know what success looks like, here it is.

The Temple

2011-05-02T07:12:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, a few of us from our ward (congregation) spent the day at the temple. The day was a delight.

If you'd like to learn more about what we do in temples, why we build them, or see pictures of the inside, click here.

Jesse and I spent some time in the temple then headed to the cafeteria for some much-needed vittles. We met Sarah, who rode with the Potters, after we went to the visitors center. We all joined a few of our favorite families for a picnic on the grounds. It was so nice to visit and play with the kids. The little girls couldn't get enough of being chased by Jesse.

The temple is a quiet, peaceful place, and being inside is a wonderful feeling. But that peaceful feeling extends so much further than the walls or the grounds. After I go to the temple, I feel like I've just renewed my marriage vows, pointed myself in the right direction once more, become closer to my family, and received guidance in every-day matters. My heart feels lighter, and there's a "quickening of my spirit." I feel gratitude and humility.

A really good day. Just what we needed as we head into crunch time with our papers and start on our theses.

This is a picture I took of a picture in the visitors' center (hence the glare). This is the London Temple Celestial room, which is where many people sit and ponder and pray.

We love the Griggs family. We're trying to convince them to move home with us. We're all suckers for little Samuel.

Glowy Naomi.
The guys got to catch up.

Easter

2011-04-24T15:29:00.000-07:00

It was a great day. The weather was beautiful and it was great to see everyone at church. After church, we relaxed and cooked. Then the Potters came over for Easter dinner! Let's see, we ate and then played on the "jumpoline."

This is how Esther played "crack the egg." I think she done cracked.Dinner was honey-glazed salmon, roasted vegetables, crusty bread, and scalloped potatoes. For "pudding" we had panna cotta with honey, saffron, and figs. We wanted to do a kind of new-testament dinner with loaves and fishes then milk and honey for dessert. A success! I've never made panna cotta before, and I'll do a few things differently next time, but it was yummy.

We loved playing with the kiddoes and talking to Craig and Naomi.

I'm thankful for what allows us to be carefree and happy, and that is the fact that we have a loving Heavenly Father who provided a way for all of us poor dessert-loving, trampoline-bouncing children to come back and tell him all about what a time we had. I'm grateful for our Savior and his perfect example. As I was sitting in church today, I was reminded of how I felt sitting in church as a little girl on Easter: in my pretty Sunday dress, excited to be at church, happy as a clam. Our lives are hard, and so are pews, but that doesn't mean our butts aren't right where they need to be. Yeah, you can quote that.

Guns and Cars: I am a dude...and apparently, so is Sarah.

2011-04-23T12:36:00.000-07:00

Bro Post #2 (Heh.)

It has once again become the time for the male portion of this little female-driven utopia in England to make itself heard.

There are many things that I like about England. That being said, I miss America. I like baseball games, real Mountain Dew, stores that are open past six pm, gyms with weights listed in pounds, having a freezer (I know that has nothing to do with location), and I miss guns and cars. I can't do much about most of the things on that list, but earlier this week I found something that I could do, an answer, if you will, filling the hole left by the last two.

And that answer was Fast 5.

Now I know what you're thinking, the first one was good, the second one didn't have Vin Diesel, no one saw the third one, and the fourth one killed off a main character in a crappy way in the first ten minutes of the movie--what have they got left?

More than I was expecting.

Much of this is thanks to the addition of Dwayne Johnson. Vin Diesel is a big man that makes me feel small, and I like to watch him punch people. I loved the idea of having the Rock, a bigger guy that makes Vin Diesel feel small who is better at punching people--and the mixture was like Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, just a little faster.

The second thing I liked: the rest of the cast. Paul Walker was in it, but I don't remember anything he does. Ludacris was in it and he plays, as many rappers do, a convincing geek. There were two hispanic guys who were hilarious.

The third thing: the mother of all toilet bombs. Awesome.

The fourth thing: guns. Many British and American citizens can't understand why I love guns. My educated, thought out response to that inquiry is: I just do. Leave me alone. Guns show character in movies, and they give insight.

Dirty Harry has a Super Blackhawk.

Han Solo has a low-slung holster for his blaster.

The Joker used a ridiculously long revolver.

The T-800 uses a mini-gun, and a grenade launcher, and shotgun, and a .45.

The characters in movies are sometimes mismatched to their guns, and when this happens the movie makes me sad. This movie does an excellent job of pairing weapon to character. Walker gets a little cop gun, Diesel uses a combat shotgun, and the Rock has a pistol, on a low-slung holster, that wouldn't fit in the hand of a smaller man. I like guns.

The most important thing in this movie: the cars.

Living in England is beautiful. But I miss having a car. I like to go to Albertson's at 12:30 to get ice cream and something from the redbox that I will not watch until it is three days past due. I like doing that. I like driving with no particular place to go whilst listening to Chuck Berry's "No Particular Place to Go," because I like the irony. I just love my car (this is not in reference to a specific, or as Tara would say "pacific" car, I just miss all of them). Fast 5 is not going to be an Oscar (little trademark sign) contender, it's not going to be somebody, it's going to be a bum.

And that's ok, because it has guns and pretty cars. The first Fast movie had one real car in it, and the producers must have listened to their audience for once because Fast 5 has mostly real cars. The '70 Charger, GT40, '71 (eat it Dada) Hemi 'Cuda, and the most beautiful Corvette I have ever seen.

Yes, there are boy racers, but these are easily counter-acted by the Rock's Batmobile.

This is why I liked this "not as bad as I was expecting...actually it was really good" movie.

I am an American Bro.

This is what I am.

Whitstable is full of crime and murder... and a little bit of art!

2011-04-23T10:56:00.000-07:00

A long time ago, when we were looking for a place to live near Canterbury, a wonderful drunken man said that "Whitstable is full of crime and murder..." (then he threw his alcoholic beverage to the floor, smashing it. Then he walked away from us. But, when he passed an art gallery he turned back to us and yelled "... and a little bit of art." Now I don't know if Whistable is full of those things, but I do know that it is full of tourists, and sun, and beaches, and good food. We had a bit of an adventure with the Potters yesterday, and I decided to blog about it.

We did quite a bit in one afternoon. We visited the beach, and the beach promenade (top left photo) and I fell in love with the beach huts (top right) too bad I don't have 17,000 pounds handy for that purchase. We also saw the Tea Gardens (bottom left photo) and the Whitstable Castle and grounds. (bottom right photo) I have to say, Whitstable is gorgeous.

Upon entering the promenade we were met with this warning sign. (Top left photo.) Good to know they were worried about our safety. But then there were signs every 50 feet or so... seemed a bit overkill. Then we had to scout out for the best location. (Top right) Jackpot! We found a clear section that we almost had to ourselves. (Bottom left) And the moment our stuff was down we lost Annie to the sea. (Bottom right) I wonder if she is part fish.

Later on we were on the other side of the harbor soaking in the sun. I caught a picture of my fellow pilgrims looking like they are straight out of a sunglasses ad. (picture on the left.) And we were all in love with being so close to the sea. It was beautiful, and not too cold!

To the left of the harbor was the not so pretty side of the beach, it was full of remains of fish, crabs, and oysters. Jesse turned into the claw (left picture) while Esther tried to relocate the recycled oyster shell pile, (middle picture) while Kathleen played the spine and rib bones of a fish like an accordion. (right picture) Still the view was great and the weather was perfect. Such a nice day.

One of our final stops was "Squeeze Gut Alley." (left picture) Apparently it was used by smugglers back in the day. And Naomi told a story that two smugglers were able to escape getting detailed by a police officer because they ran down Squeeze Gut Alley and got away because the officer (who was quite large) couldn't fit through. Now I don't know how true that story is... but I like it. The start of the alley is fine, and I think anyone would be quite comfortable. (second picture) But by the end it gets really squishy. I caught Jesse, Kathleen, and Annie as they were coming to the end. (third picture.) I also caught a larger man trying to squeeze his gut to get through. (last picture) It really was just perfect timing. His wife, who may or may not have had too much to drink, told me I should get documentation of this attempt. So I did. Does that make me a bad person?

We had a wonderful day, and are so grateful for the Potters showing us around their lovely town. It was an incredible day. And thank you to Esther (pictured on the left) and Heather (pictured on the right) for being awesome troopers during our long adventure. Next time we'll bring our swimsuits!

It's a girl! And another girl! And a boy!

2011-04-23T09:33:00.000-07:00

Tilly's puppies were born a few days ago, and they're getting pretty darn cute.

This is Jesse's favorite. She's the smaller of the two girls and just wanted to nestle into his shirt.

This is the little boy. He was born with a Sarah foot (aka a clubfoot) and it has to be taped in place every few days so it grows straight. They're kindred spirits.

And this one's my favorite. She the fattest, blackest puppy. Doesn't she just look like a little panther or something? I'd name her Bagira. Or Blackie. Or Lottie.

Tilly's such a good mama.

Annie doesn't have a favorite because, you know, she doesn't like dogs.

Springtime on the Farm

2011-04-21T16:24:00.000-07:00

The last two weeks have felt like something from an E.B. White book. The weather's been fantastic, and everything is having babies. I've yet to get good pictures of the lambs down the road or Tilly's puppies (3 days old!), but here are a few snips of what it looks like around here lately.

Jesse stole the little girl puppy for about three minutes. We're excited for Saturday when we're puppy sitting all day and we can spend more time with them.

Jesse and Sarah were craving chocolate chip cookies the other night, and I kinda might have told him we had everything for them. Jesse started making the cookies, only to discover we didn't have butter. So he used shortening. Then we realized we didn't have brown sugar, so in went granulated sugar and treacle. THEN we didn't have vanilla. A teaspoon of Marsala--that's about the same, right? No chocolate chips, so he found half a chocolate bar and threw it in. This, by the way, is the man who measures with precision when cooking. He wasn't happy. However, the cookies turned out to be lovely!

We've been out in the yard a lot the past few nights playing catch. It's been absolutely perfect weather for it. That and our hamburgers and watermelon tonight almost gave us enough of an America fix.

It's rhubarb time!!! England is much more pro-rhubarb than the states. It's a flavor of everything here--candy, yogurt--you name it. I'm cool with that.

I think these sheep are happy to be home. And I'm glad they aren't the mutton stew we thought they might have been.

Baby cow friend.

We said goodbye to our dear Sister Richie a few weeks ago. This was our last dinner together. This isn't us actually having dinner...this is before...

More puppy pictures to come!

Paris

2011-04-19T09:44:00.000-07:00

Ooookay. So we don't just sit around and eat sushi. We do other stuff too! Jesse's sister Tara came to visit, and we had a supercool time. We took her around Canterbury, then on a little trip to Paris. Paris is an interesting, beautiful, dirty, cool place.

On arriving, we were completely lost and very obviously tourists with our backpacks and dazed expressions. We wandered through a sort of dodgy part of town in what we hoped was the direction of the Seine. Thank goodness, Tara spotted some missionaries (one of whom was from Spokane!) who were nice enough to show us around the Metro and point us in the right direction. In the next half hour we saw 10 missionaries (about a third of the missionaries in Paris), and then we didn't see another one the rest of the trip.

We saw all the important stuff--the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, L'Arc De Triomphe, etc. We climbed the stairs up the Eiffel tower at night, which was pretty cool, and Tara only whined a little. She actually was very pleasant and good company the whole trip. We found some great chocolate creations and a food market. I think my favorite part of the trip was the night we took the train out of Paris to this little bistro on an island in the river. There was an accordion band playing and lots of dancing. It was really casual with dads dancing with their daughters and dogs under the outside tables. We sat outside under the lights and wisteria and ate chocolate mousse. It was lovely, and I wish wish wish we had an equivalent to that type of place in the states. If all my dreams came true, I'd open a pie house and serve pie and hire bands to play and have the whole neighborhood in for dancing. Sigh. Maybe I'll transform Rexburg someday...

All in all, it was a good trip. We shopped (we did, after all, have a 16-year-old in tow), we ate, we danced, we looked at priceless works of art, we got lost, we walked until our feet died. We visited the Ina-recommended Poilane Bakery and Dehillerin cooking supply store. Disappointingly, the nice man in Dehillerin didn't know what I meant as I tried to ask if they had a pastry blender. And he spoke perfect English. And OH YEAH! We went to EuroDisney! I had reservations about spending one of our Paris days in Disneyland, but I'm so glad we went. There were some great rides, and the people had to be nice to us.

Adventures with the Littlewoods

2011-04-19T08:56:00.000-07:00

Esther, James, and Elanor came to visit us yesterday, and we had a lot of fun in the sun. We walked, talked, jumped on the trampoline, fed Bugsy the horse, laughed, watched some Black Adder, and ate some brilliant food made by Annie. All in all it was a fantastic day.

Elanor still calls me "Lady Sarah" and to be honest I think that name should stick. I think it has a lovely ring to it. (Anyone reading this can feel free to call me that at any time!)

John and Esther... feel free to come and adventure with us in Chilham anytime! Thank you for the lovely day.

Family Sushi Time

2011-04-19T07:22:00.000-07:00

This post is a little late, but last Tuesday we decided to have a sushi night again, since Kathleen and Jesse weren't present for our first one. It was a smashing success. Annie demonstrated how to roll them, and then we were off.

While I can roll em like Annie can I made my share of creations, as did the rest of the table. We also had our share of laughs because we watched the whole first season of "Outnumbered." Annie and I were re watching it, because we had already seen them... the weekend before.

I think Annie missed her calling, and should be a sushi chef.

A Perfect Saturday

2011-04-09T13:36:00.000-07:00

While the cats away the mice will play... or make sushi... and watch TV shows.

Jesse, Kathleen, and Tara are busy adventuring in Paris, so Annie and I decided to have an adventure ourselves.

To make sushi! Sister Kinjo taught us the fundamentals this Wednesday, and we wanted to experiment. We also wanted to experiment with British reality TV. So we watched a few episodes of Britain's "So You Think You Can Dance."

The food: a success!

The TV show: a horrific failure! (We really have been spoiled with the American version. I think there is just a greater amount of talent. Then again this is only the second season, maybe it will be better in a few years.)

Broadstairs is closed.... until... Tomorrow

2011-03-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

This is a short of picture book of our latest adventures

Beckah, Annie, Allison, and I (all being from the west coast) were in need of seeing the ocean. So we headed towards Broadstairs, which boasted some touristy things to do.

We should have known that things were not going to go our way from the horizontal rain coming at us all day. In the morning we were still optimistic that things would turn our way. Again we should have used our misinformed train conductors as clues to our impending demise. Due to their "helpful" advice our 40 minute train journey turned into an hour and a half.

But finally we made it and were all set to tourist this place up! Too bad luck wasn't on our side. An amazing common thread followed us everywhere we went that day.

(Don't be alarmed... we still laughed our way through the day!)

The theme for the day was CLOSED

First stop on our journey was Dickens House (where he vacationed in the summer)

CLOSED (only open on Saturdays and Sundays during this time of year. We were there on a Friday.)

How about Crampton Tower?

CLOSED... opening for the season the very next day! Was the world playing an awesome joke on us?

Well how about the Crampton Tower Museum? I bet you can guess the answer to that question.

CLOSED

Even the ticket window for the Broadstairs Rail Road... closed... luckily we had already purchased our tickets.

We decided to eat away our sorrows with sweets.

Yum... French Fancies... Chocolate

But do not fret, or feel sorry for us!

We still had a blast every rainy and wet step of the adventure.

And laughed ourselves to tears. (Have I mentioned that I have awesome friends!)

In the words of Allisoni (borrowing from Casablanca)... we'll always have Broadstairs!

I can't wait to see where our next adventure takes us!

In Honor of Spring!

2011-03-10T03:28:00.000-08:00

I love flowers. Who doesn't? They're these perfect, beautiful, symbolic, fragrant things that just burst spontaneously from the ground. So here's a little post for my fellow floraphiles. My faves:

Tulips ~ The first year of our marriage, Jesse and I lived in a tiny basement under a shop. In the winter, it felt like a cave. A cave with 70s carpet and 2 rooms. But in the spring, hundreds of tulips popped up all around the yard, and we had them in the house for weeks. Then it was a sunny cave with tulips--a vast improvement.

Dapne ~ If you've ever smelled a daphne bush, you know what I mean. This flower means Spring. It's my favorite smell in the whole world, including chocolate cake, my mom's perfume, old books, fresh-cut grass, and my grandparents' garage.

Crocus ~ After long, long winters in Rexburg, these dear faces pop through the snow around the Taylor building, and sometimes you see little groups of people huddled around them, cheering them on.

Hydrangeas ~ These are my Oregon coast buddies. I can't wait to have them in my yard.

Oh Wisteria. ~ I have had a life-long love affair with Wisteria. My window faced the sideyard as a kid, with a view of the fence and the gravel. One spring, we got a wisteria plant and my parents put it in the sideyard. Love. If I had my way, my entire house would be covered in Wisteria. Don't care if it takes over everything else. Some things you just can't fight.

Stargazer lilies ~ I took a semester off one fall in undergrad and worked at a call center for one of those online florists. It was a terrible business, during a displaced time, and I used to look at these lillies during calls and imagine having my own house someday and keeping Stargazers in the kitchen.

Zinnias ~ I was not a spoiled child, except in one respect: we had a pool. My Dad, a landscape architect, designed our pool to look like a pond, with a sort of kidney bean shape, a black bottom, and planters. In the summer, these were filled with Zinnias in all the colors of a sunset.

Peonies ~ At Pike Street Market in Seattle, the stands just spill over with Peonies in the spring and early summer.

And so many more.

These Days

2011-03-07T09:50:00.000-08:00

On Friday morning, our dear Emma's father passed away. The last time we saw him was Christmas, which he spent cracking sly grandpa jokes. He was sick for only a few months, and their family was able to all be with him when he died. I can't speak for the rest of the Pilgrims, but at this stage in our lives, when sometimes it feels like we've sort of scraped together our little temporary family, it has been so nice to be a very small part of a very real family. Here's to good examples and families holding together.

Hello from Ireland!

2011-02-28T12:45:00.000-08:00

Welp, Jesse and I rode Ryanair successfully and didn't perish in the process. We arrived at Shannon airport around 2 and climbed in our rental car (yippee!). Jesse, being a highly versatile, highly talented driver, took to the left like a pro. Ok, not a pro. But he managed just fine driving on the wrong side of the road in the wrong side of the car with a manual and a nervous wife.

We drove from there to Ennis, a smallish town known for its traditional music and great food. We parked the car and walked around the city a bit. Our Ireland book recommended a little pizza place which we stopped into. The pizza was kind of meh, but the proprietor turned out to be Danny DeVito's cousin and had pictures of himself at Danny's house for Easter Sunday, etc. So that was cool.

After lunch, we set off looking for a good Irish CD to keep us company while we drive. After a lot of searching, we came to Custy's Music. We found this to be a cute small shop with a pleasant looking man sitting behind the desk plucking his violin along with the music playing overhead. We sort of screamed tourist already with our backpacks and tennis shoes (uh, trainers...), and when I asked for help picking out "something up-beat and kinda drummy" I really proved how non-Irish we are. How is it that my whole life I've felt connected to Ireland and loved Celtic music, and I don't even know what a bodhran is? Anyway, we bought a cd, and he asked where we were staying. We didn't know, and he recommended The Rowan Tree hostel, and here we are! It's very nice and new, and we're sort of cheating by getting a private room for tonight. Still, it's very nice to be in a hostel again. I forgot how relaxed the atmosphere is and how there's a homey feeling with the communal kitchen and common rooms.

We took a little nap, then headed back out around 7, hoping to find a live music session at a pub. Turns out Monday night isn't a real party day. No live music to be found, but we did have some really swell seafood at a cozy pub.

We made an early night of it, and are now in the hostel dining room catching up on computer stuff. Know what I love? I love that in the kitchenwas a couple grilling bruschetta and making pasta together, with a bottle of wine and a nice table all set up. People are cool. Anyhoo, didn't take a lot of pictures, sorry to say. Ennis is really cute and old, and we both agree that there is a big difference between Irish people and English people. While the English are polite and everything, they are very reserved and don't often smile or look up on the street (unless you're in a tiny town). Everyone here seems very nice and approachable. We were looking lost and a woman just walking by asked if needed help. Everyone seems like they have a joke up their sleeve.

Looking forward to picking up Sarah tomorrow and exploring some countryside.

"Not my fault I'm awesome."

2011-02-22T09:36:00.000-08:00

Jesse is, at this moment, attempting to write his requests for letters of recommendation for teaching positions next year. He has his headphones on and is looking very absorbed. Every few seconds, he mutters random words: "kiss." "checkers." "Laura Linney." Sometimes he shouts: "squeegee!" "brillo pad!" "Ronald Reagan." Sometimes he speaks with solemn assurance: "New Zealand." Some of these utterances are followed by a triumphant fist to the air, while others are punctuated with a head shake or chuckle.

"Hannah. Hagar! Dang it!"

Has he lost it?

"Guacamole."

No, he's just listening to--not watching--Jeopardy as he works. Have you ever heard of such a thing? I love that guy. This is silly.

Help

2011-02-15T10:39:00.000-08:00

So, remember how Liz used to make awesome mixed CDs for all the roommates as an end-of-term gesture of BFF love and premature nostalgia? CDs that somehow managed to sum up your time together with those certain songs you all found yourselves playing or singing in the shower a lot? Because she's cool and proactive and musical like that? Yeah, well. We wanted to be cool like that, too. Unfortunately, the only songs that have been popping up enough around here to warrant inclusion on the Silly Pilgrims Playlist so far are as follows:

"I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts" by Danny Kaye
"Midnight at the Oasis" by Maria Muldaur
"F(orget) You" by Cee Lo Green
"The Cheat Is Not Dead" by Strongbad
"Toxic" by Brittany Spears
and... wait for it...
The Chicken Dance.

Which is pretty much the saddest playlist EVER.

I think we need to get out more.

The effin' CHICKEN DANCE.

True Grit

2011-02-11T14:15:00.000-08:00

Today True Grit opened in England. We have all been very impatient waiting for it to finally get here. And I have to say that it lived up to my expectations and then some. I did however wonder how our British friends thought of the film. I, an American, struggled at time with the thick accents. I have no idea how much the British understood. I did notice that they didn't really laugh when we did. Then again maybe we just differ in our sense of humor.

Some of our favorite quotes were:

"I do not know that man"

"You are not Le Beef"

"Well that didn't pan out..."

"Abandoned me to a congress of louts!"

"You do not varnish your words."

among other gems.

So at home I decided we would all pose as Reuben "Rooster" Cogburn since I happened to have an eye patch in my purse. (What doesn't everyone?) These are the gorgeous shots that came form that adventure.

The only sad part on today was that we all missed America just a little bit. I mean how could we not? Horses, Cowboys, Deserts, guns... etc. Plus this movie just made me think and miss my Dad. But it was an incredible film, and had amazing performances form its stars! I would recommend this to anyone. But I do have to say that the western violence is a bit much. I'm not sure how it passed the PG-13 rating. Be warned... it still is a Coen brothers movie!

Girls Day!

2011-02-07T14:11:00.000-08:00

This term Kathleen, Annie, and I have classes on Monday and Tuesday. (I have the occasional seminar on Wednesdays, but they don't really count.) Jesse has a class on Thursday, and so we've decided that Thursdays will be our girls day out. We have started a tradition by going to the Chartham Farmers Market.

The walk to Chartham was gorgeous! It really was a beautiful fall day! (Yes I know it is winter, but it really felt like a fall day.)

And the Farmers Market was held in the community center. It was so awesome! They had cake for 50p a slice! Brilliant.

We ended up getting apples, bananas, fresh local juice, and bacon! It was quite a successful adventure!

And then we had a wonderful walk home with a gradual sunset. Truly an awesome outing!

Can't wait for next week!

Day Trippin

2011-01-29T13:43:00.000-08:00

So we finally have some time to explore this ol' county. Yesterday, I got out my England for Dummies book and we decided to go to Rye. Rye is a little town in East Sussex which used to be an island. Ya know, waaaaaaaay back. It was a major port of smuggling and defence, etc. Anyway, now it's a beautifully preserved little Tudor village.

We caught a train and a bus, and walked around the shops while Jesse tried to de-carsick. We stopped into this FABULOUS hat shop. I mean amazing. Hat sculpture pretty much. We looked around, then read their little brochure and found out that they're this famous big deal, and they only have this little store in Rye. They made the hats for lots of movies, stuff like that. Look at this stuff!

Sigh. Allison, these reminded me of you. Sorry for that loooong tangent. No, I didn't drop the 250 quid to buy one.

After a few more shops, we walked up the hill to St. Mary's church. Have you heard that song The Bells of St. Mary's? This is that St. Mary's. In the 13oos, some French guys (ghees?) ransacked the town and stole the bells, and the next year some men from Rye went to France and stole them right back. This was a beautiful place. We climbed the bell tower and saw some great views. And the bells, of course.

We also saw the Lamb House, a.k.a. Henry James' house.

It was freezing, and I don't have a hat, so Jesse bought me one. I love it!

We had lunch at the Mermaid Inn, a gorgeous old building which was rebuilt in the 1400s after the French burned down the city. On the walls were lots of autographed pictures of famous people who have stayed there. People like Johnny Depp, Pierce Brosnan, Dame Judy Dench, Michael Cane, Andy Garcia, and the Queen Mother. Just to name a few! We decided our table was probably where Johnny Depp tore a pheasant with the Queen Mother.

The only building which was not destroyed by the French in the Fire was the Ypres tower, which we visited last. Over the years, this castle has been a prison, a mortuary, and a defensive fortress. Now it's a museum. We got to see what life was like for those poor prisoners--

made a trip to the loo,

and played dress up.

I walked out and realized I was still wearing my damsel ribbons... Oops. I guess I still had hats on the brain.

After returning the ribbons, we made our way back home. A really nice date, I think.

Birthday Girl

2011-01-28T11:31:00.000-08:00

Our awesome Annieface turned 26 and we had to celebrate! Our first step was to decorate the house. Kathleen bought animal shaped balloons... I still don't think they look like any animals I have ever seen. But they were still awesome.

Jesse wrapped the present. And what a fabulous job he did.

Then he had to be the annoying older brother and keep her present from her.

Finally she got her present.

She opened it and loved it. It is such an Annie apron.

After dinner, dessert, and general good merriment the Thorsons decided to be a little crazy. They were like a performing act from the circus. The best idea they had was to try and get a tic tac from Jesse's mouth into Kathleen's nose and out her mouth. Unfortunately they failed; but it was hilarious.

And the best way to end the birthday evening was with a rousing game of wordtwist. The Pilgrims household is obsessed with that facebook game. Annie, Kathleen, and I were trying to play, but were being distracted by Jesse. Annie and Kathleen were not too pleased by the distraction.

Birthdays are awesome!

The end!

we aren't quite dead

2011-01-14T12:31:00.000-08:00

--just mostly. So our "adventures" lately have gotten a little less silly, and more studly. Studily. Studious. Our final essays/poetry portfolios are due next week, and school starts up then too. Our dear Sarah has fallen ill and is feverishly trying to finish her essays on European theater.

Annie has now come down with the bug as well, and the two sickos stay up in their room writing and sleeping. Jesse and I have decided they're the grandparents from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Poor old Grandpa Joe.

Jesse is healthy so far, and has the most writing to do out of all of us. When he finishes his Shakespeare and Material Culture essay, he has vowed to never teach or read Shakespeare again. Unless he wants to.

I am taking a break for a moment from the oft-deflating process of poetry writing and translation. Aside from my own work, I'm currently translating the poetry of former Elle editor Denise Jallais. It's fascinating stuff, and as far as I've been able to find, hasn't been translated into English. In fact, although she has five books of poetry published in French, I haven't been able to find almost any biographical information on her. I'm not even sure if she's still alive. If any of you poetry peeps have any information, please let me know. Anyway, we're not dead yet, just actually doing schoolwork.

2011-01-08T08:44:00.000-08:00

Warning: this post may offend your sensibilities.

Annie and I thought we'd get a birdfeeder. Like ya do. So when I was ordering my groceries online at Tesco, I looked them up. My options were a little surprising: I could purchase either a "Peanut Pecker" or "Fat Balls." That's right. Fat Balls are made up of seeds and beef fat (cuz cows are birds' natural prey) and are available in packages of two. I know. So I thought what the hay, and ordered both.

I was still asleep when the Tesco delivery man came this morning. Do you know what it's like to wake up to someone informing your husband (in a loud Conckney voice) that they were out of Peanut Peckers and had just given him two packages of Fat Balls? I think we got shortchanged.

Winter Break: We've Got Cabin FevER! ya ta ta ta da da DA!

2011-01-03T07:13:00.000-08:00

...

You know four people have been in a house together without getting out for too long when, over breakfast, you debate whether Pauly Shore could be Dinah Shore's son. Or looking up Dinah Shore, finding that she once dated Jimmy Stewart, and wondering if Pauly Shore was their love child. Then laughing because Dinah Shore sounds like dinasaur.

Or start saying things like, "If we ever get a fish together, let's name it Mitsy."

stuff we've been up to...

2010-12-30T05:16:00.000-08:00

Welp, no parents this Christmas due to bad weather. Below is the duck cassoulet that was supposed to be their welcome dinner. However, we ended up having a really nice holiday. On Christmas Eve, Santa brought us all some awesomely comfy sweat pants--so soft we forgave him for instructing his elves to make us men's large through men's extra extra large sizes. No really though, if you're going to wear Paul Bunyan britches, they really should be this cozy.

Christmas Morning we found wonderful treasures under the tree. A few examples: the entire X-Men cartoon series for Jesse, a mortar and pestle for Annie, a beautiful handmade apron from Belgium for me (Kathleen), and some cute flats and a Wolverine hoodie for Sarah. Sarah had fun putting on each one of her new gifts (clothing or not) all at once.

After presents, we relaxed and breakfasted on candy--like ya do. Then, armed with a plate of cookies and our turkey breast, we headed to the Plunketts (our lovely landlords) for "lunch." Emma's parents and sister, Lottie from 'Inja', were visiting, and we sat around the crackling fire with our heavy tumblers full of Shloer (sounds alcoholic doesn't it? It's sparkling apple cider). We watched the Queen's Christmas message, in which she praised sport and its ability to bring nations together. There was footage of her standing on the sidelines at athletic events in her violet queensuit with matching cake-on-your-head-with-ribbon violet hat. There she stood, ever so demurely, amidst the whistles and cheering fans. To clarify, people were not whistling at the queen, but at the game. Or heck, maybe they were. Anyway, it was a very nice message during which Emma's mother ("Mum's quite the Royalist") wept only a few tears.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Steven was working his magic, roasting the goose and red cabbage, frying potatoes in goose fat and semolina, and making bread sauce (a yummy steamed milk and bread concoction with clove). The formal dining room was lit by candles and yet another fireplace and the table was beautiful. We feasted and chatted and laughed. I was seated between Emma's mother, who favoured me with stories of India when Emma was a girl, and Emma's son Adam who is 15 and quite cheeky. Then it was time for Christmas crackers! Until a few months ago, this phrase to me referred perhaps to hors d'oeuvres, maybe with a cheese log or something. It's different here. Crackers are these cardboard tubes containing a toy, a joke, and a paper crown. The picture behind our blog title is a very fancy Christmas cracker. We looped arms and sang Old Lang Syne--who knew there are like 7 verses?--, and at the end of the song, we pulled on our ends of the crackers and out popped our goodies! We all put on our paper crowns and read our jokes. These are the equivalent of Laffy Taffy jokes. Apparently there was an attempt made a few years ago to improve the quality of the jokes, and the people revolted. Hey, in case you didn't know how Good King Wenceslas likes his pizza, we learned that he likes it deep and crisp and even.

After some carols and Christmas Pudding, we retired to the living room to play charades and watch Emma light the candles--real candles--on the tree. Everyone was very merry at this point (their tumblers were not filled with Shloer), and we had a jolly old time. After hugs and kisses on our cheeks (not so easy with a 6'7'' merry Irishman), we walked the 3 steps to our little house and enjoyed the rest of our quiet Christmas evening.

Yes, Virginia...

2010-12-16T11:20:00.000-08:00

Jesse is a man of many faces. To illustrate my point:

Let's add one more to the stack, shall we? Guess who was Santa at the ward Christmas party last week? Yeah! I am married to SANTA (usually I feel bloggers use the exclamation point too liberally, but in this case, I feel it's appropriate)!!!

And let me tell you, he was a hit. "The best Father Christmas we've ever had." And even after watching, horrified, as Jesse ran around (not in the presence of little ones) wearing his wig and no beard, as I hugged his bowl full of jelly at the end of the evening, there was a small moment when I really felt I was hugging Santa Claus. There is still something magical about the man in the big red suit, no matter who's wearing it. Mrs. Claus is a lucky woman.

And just because I think we should all read it once in a while...

Eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York'sSun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies, and other editorials, and on posters and stamps.

"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old.
"Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
"Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.'
"Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

"VIRGINIA O'HANLON.
"115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET."

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Addiction Shmadiction

2010-12-14T14:22:00.000-08:00

So my friend Jesse Thorson and his drinking buddy Sarah love Dr. Pepper. LOVE. Jesse's tried to quite numerous times to quit, but to no avail. So this time when he announced he'd be hoppin' back on the wagon, I decided I'd give him some moral support and stop eating sweets for a week (come on, Christmas is coming, that's all I can do). I have to say, I pride myself on having a non-addictive personality. I consider myself to be a very sensible and moderate person. That said, this has been the most agonizing 3 days EVER! I take back everything I said about not understanding cravings. I just ate 5 tangerines. For crying out loud.

The Road Home: Mud is Thicker than Water

2010-12-06T08:53:00.000-08:00

Saturday:

I was on High Street doing a little Christmas shopping. The bus depot is on one end of High Street, and Canterbury West is on the other. As I was closer to the train station, I thought I'd try to catch the 2:05 train home. I booked it to the station with my bags and a backpack loaded with 2 jugs of milk and a 2-litre of Shandy (like sweet, nonalcoholic beer--it's actually good, I promise). I got to the station, asked for a ticket to Chilham, only to find that the train wasn't coming until 3:35. I didn't feel like walking all the way back to the bus, so I waited. A 3:35, the train to Ashford came, which doesn't stop at Chilham. The worker sort of shooed me onto the train with a quick "change at Ashford!"

I waved to Chilham as I passed, then got off in Ashford. I asked when the next train to Chilham would be. No one knew!!! I asked 5 workers! I thought those bright yellow vests somehow endowed the wearer with train knowledge. Apparently not. Since our big snow storm, the trains have all been wonky. Anyway, after waiting in the cold (pity me!) I finally got a train home 3 hours after I started. That was the longest 9-minute train ride ever.

Today:

Again, by myself. At 1:30, I left school, hoping to catch the 2:10 bus to Chilham (had enough of trains). I got to the bus station around 2:00 and walked straight into the Chilham line. On the bus I went, and I climbed up to my favorite spot in the front of the second deck. I pulled out my notebook and began to work on some writing. An hour later, we pulled into the bus depot. The Canterbury bus depot. That's right, on the wrong bus. So I ran into Marks and Spencer's, warmed up, then headed back to try again. At the 652 Chilham bus, I asked the driver if he was going to Chilham. Yup. And I believed him. In Chartham, the village next to us, I was suddenly the only one on the bus. Dear Reader, can you guess where this is going? Driverman informs me that this bus doesn't go to Chilham--he's going back to Canterbury. I guess he thought I said Chartham. I didn't. So I decided to just get off in Chartham and walk home. I took a footpath I had seen from the bus (and by footpath I mean a sign saying footpath pointing to a boundless field of mud. By this time it was getting dark and foggy withall. And cold. So I trekked through the fields in the direction of home, finally meeting up with a footpath I know. This footpath goes through the woods. In the dark. If you know me, or have ever been told a fairy tale, or are a sane person, you know that dark woods are scary. And because I was being chased by a pack of wolves (ok, it was a pack of foxes. and it was just one fox.) I decided to leave the path and head back to the field o' mud. It was very Jane Eyre, I feel. Wandering and slogging through the sticky mud in the fog. Long story long, I finally got home around 5:00. Longest 30-minute bus ride ever.

...I really did see a fox.

Shot in the Arm

2010-12-02T02:25:00.000-08:00

Fun fact: I didn't even like poetry until my junior year of college. I went from not-liking-it, to loving-it, to wanting-to-write-it, to writing-it-a-lot, to majoring-in-it, to paying-money-to-get-a-Master's-in-it. Oh, the practicality of me. So it was nice to get an email last week informing me that New Millennium magazine wants to publish my poem 'Proper Procedure' in their January issue. Okay, so not so much 'nice' as 'totally rad and life-affirming and very very silly'. My first-ever publication! Whee! I'm grateful.

Christmas season in Chilham

2010-12-01T13:30:00.000-08:00

The weather in the past few days has kept us all home. The trains and buses have stopped and on the off chance that they are running they are extremely delayed. So... to keep ourselves entertained and in the Christmas spirit we have been watching all sorts of Christmas specials!

The Snowman

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Sesame Street Christmas Eve Special

Fraggle Rock Christmas Episode "The Bells of Fraggle"

Smurf's Christmas Special

I know we are just starting December, and that we will watch several more Christmas specials and movies; but I was wondering if any of you (our amazing friends and family) had any suggestions on ones you enjoy that we may not know of. Or have forgotten.

Sneak Peak at the Littlewoods...

2010-12-01T03:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday our friends Esther and John came over with their cutie-pies to play in the snow and take some family pictures. It was a very cozy way to spend the afternoon. Esther, I'm assuming Nanny and Grandma aren't avid followers of our blog, so here's a little teaser (hopefully without ruining any suprises).

aw.

2010-11-26T03:25:00.000-08:00

Scarfing

2010-11-24T14:52:00.000-08:00

We're in love. With scarves. I remember the days when my family had a cardboard box of warm-weather accoutrements on the top shelf of the coat closet. This box was only tugged down on occasions such as Christmas tree hunting or the even more occasional sledding excursion. It contained a few mismatched pairs of snow gloves, a couple of my dad's knit walking caps (almost wrote "nit"), and one old scarf with 49ers-colored stripes.

Well, here in the Pilgrims Annexe, the collection is a bit more extensive. Scarves in England are beautiful, cheap, and everywhere. So here it is. The long-anticipated Scarf Post.

This is silly.

London is Wicked

2010-11-21T13:26:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged about school, so I thought I would share about this excursion to England. The drama department was invited by the English department to take a tour of the Globe Theatre, and participate in an acting workshop from one of the resident actors.

First off I have to say that the Globe is awesome, and I cannot wait to see a production in that space. I would love to perform in a space like that! Jesse and I were like kids in a candy store! Giggling the whole time. I mean can you imagine creating, and performing here! So inspiring.

Yeah, this is a random mural on the walls of one of the side booths.
Platter of limbs.... anyone?

Jesse and I were pretty annoyed with the immaturity of the rest of the group, so we decided to skip out on the acting workshop, and go see a show instead. On our way to Leicester Square we made a detour to the cafe "Paul" near St. Paul's Cathedral to have their infamous hot chocolate.

Let's just say it lives up to it's hype! Holy cow everyone needs to try it.

So we decided to see "Wicked" at the Apollo theatre. It had been so long since I had seen a good ol' Musical. I was so excited for the safety of it. I have seen enough shock and vulgarity for a lifetime.

We had amazing seats! But right near our armrests there were binoculars that you could get for a pound. We did it just for the experience, not that we necessarily needed them.

The show was beautiful, and so enjoyable. There were a few moments where we giggled because all of the characters were British, so it changed the sound of some of the songs, and some of the words didn't play as well as if it were an American dialect being used. (For instance the song Popular, it didn't quite make the audience laugh as much at the Populer... lar moment.) But all in all it was fantastic, and a wonderful night out at the theatre!

And our evening wouldn't be complete without running at full speed towards our train, and barely making it as the doors closed. And also being held in a tunnel for a half an our because of trouble on another line. I do have to say that I am grateful for the tube, and a good sense of direction.

So to recap our trip to London...
Globe = good
Paul = good
Yo Sushi = good
Wicked = GREAT!
adventure = good
Silly = good

Banking is Silly

2010-11-18T09:14:00.000-08:00

I feel horrible starting such a negative post right after Kathleen’s positive light, but this is another “adventure” that has come upon us… well me mostly, but it’s also affected the rest of the pilgrims.

In the beginning of October I started my attempt to open up a UK bank account at HSBC. I went in with all the proper documentation, and thought I had completed all that was necessary. I received an email a few hours later stating that I needed to refill out one of the pages because I put a different address. So I went back and put in the proper address the documentation showed, and they supposedly scanned in, and all should be good to go.

Next I was told that within 5 business days my debit card would come in the mail. Well, my wonderful landlady Emma (and I don’t mean this sarcastically because she truly is amazing, it is just in this one issue that I was annoyed) forgot my surname so she threw away my mail for a few days. So sadly she threw away my debit card. My pin number (that came separately) was safe. I then went to the bank to have them cancel the original card, and then have them send a new card directly to the branch.

When that came 5 working days later I went into the bank to have it activated and to figure out how to transfer money between my UK bank and my US bank. The first bank representative told me I could do all of those transactions online. So I went online and found that I didn't have all the information, so I had to go back and have them give me all of those codes. Finally I thought I had everything set up and could now continue my banking all on my own like an adult.

All was safe until a week ago. I was using my debit card to do a bit of grocery shopping when I was told my card was declined. I was internally freaking out because that has all of my financial aid, I had no idea why it would decline. I then went to the bank and found out my card had been cancelled because I didn't have proof of my address. They were trying to stop this action. Turns out it was too late and they needed to order me a new debit card that would come in 5 business days. I asked if I would need to get a new pin, since I was getting a new card. They assured me that all should be fine.

My card came and I went to activate my card, and then went to ask if there would be any more problems with my account. The bank employee told me that if I couldn't prove my UK address they would cancel my account on Friday.

So it turns out they never scanned a copy of my proof of address from the school. I went in today to have that scanned and can only pray that my account won't be cancelled. But then again maybe that would be better. Maybe NatWest would treat me better.

My parting words of wisdom are: if you ever come to need a UK bank account DO NOT go with HSBC. I will keep you updated to see if any further drama unfolds.

Pre-Thanksgiving Post

2010-11-17T07:17:00.000-08:00

With Thanksgiving coming up, I've been feeling like giving some thankses. Especially as we're the only people we know celebrating, it seems especially necessary. Prepare yourself, this is going to be a long list!

I'm so grateful to be living in this beautiful country. It's just as pretty as I imagined, and really seems like home.
I grateful for Jesse. Wouldn't you be if your husband actually thought you were the most beautiful woman in the world? This guy takes care of not only me, but everyone he can. He's the big brother to most of our friends. He's very passionate about the things he's interested in. He's always there for me (though sometimes unconsciously) to snuggle with after nightmares. He loves chick-flicks and boxing, walks and weightlifting, peach-picking and laser tag. What's not to love?

I'm thankful for those weirdy roommates of mine. Annie is my tree-lovin' apple-pickin' strong-jawed dog connoisseur and salad chomper. She makes me want to be healthy, have a tree party, be a better writer, and cook all day long. It's so wonderful to have someone to share dinner cooking and kitchen cleaning duty. It's been a while since I've felt this taken care of.
Then there's Sarey. I'm grateful for this kid-in-a-can. I can be in the most foul mood, and Sarah's stupid infectious laugh always makes me feel better. Seriously, the girl could make anyone giggle. I'm grateful to have someone around to be a kid with. Sarah has been sort of a constant for the past 5 years or so, and she's someone I can always rely on.

I'm grateful to have my parents. I can say without a doubt I have been raised by goodly ones. My dad is so funny and good. He throws his head back when he laughs. He works like a madman. He taught me to work hard, too. I've never heard him talk badly about anyone but politicians and contractors. Mom taught me how to love people. She taught me how to recognise truth. She made me love fruit and growing things and cooking. She taught me to be classy.

I'm thankful for fall!

I'm thankful for cozy chairs and blankets and hot water bottles.

I'm thankful for electric tea kettles. If you don't have one, go get one. Faster than a microwave! We use it for everything. I had forgotten about these great gadgets after Scotland, but I'm re-in love.

I'm grateful for my health.

I'm thankful for my Heavenly Father and all the beautiful things he makes. Who else could think up eyelids, parents, coral reefs, electricity, heart valves, oak trees, bird migrations, or chocolate cake? (ok, ok, I know Annie invented that one) I'm grateful that I know he answers ever prayer. I've been keeping a prayer journal lately and logging the things I pray for at night. I've been amazed at all the little things I've been missing that he does just because I asked.

I'm thankful for school

I'm grateful for Frasier. We've been watching it steadily, and it's so nice to settle down all together with a cup of chamomile and some biscuits and laugh and laugh.

I'm thankful for our house.

and for my sister

and my grandparents

and Skype

I'm thankful for people who care about the things I don't, like math, science, medicine, engineering, accounting, manufacturing, etc.
I'm thankful for food.

I'm especially thankful for our ward right now. We've been housed, fed, called, taught, hugged, rescued, driven, bonfired, loved, and befriended by the members of our ward. I'm grateful for Esther and John, Jamie and Emma, Craig and Naomi, Jeffrey, Kasia, and the rest.

There are many more things, but I'm probably boring everyone. Needless to say, I have a lot to be grateful for. I've been very blessed in my life.

Chilham is Awesome

2010-11-14T09:59:00.000-08:00

This post is a bit late in the making. Sunday, October 24th Jesse, Kathleen, and I stumbled upon a WWII event at the antique shop right next to the train station. Jesse was like a kid in the candy store.

Chilham really is a magical place!

Look at all the cool shots!

Also... this post was for Neil, for him to see all the cool stuff.

(I was really hoping that it would be a re-enactment so that I could participate.)

Education Is Not Silly

2010-11-11T04:35:00.000-08:00

Canterbury Cathedral, where our graduation ceremony will take place this summer.

This term, Kathleen and I are taking the same two academic modules: Poetry One and Revisioning: Translation in the 21st Century. Both are creative writing classes. We particularly enjoy our translation class; there are only six students (three of whom are proper grown-ups), we sit around a big round conference table in a nice windowy room, and the two professors (a reserved Englishman who translates Catullus and an exuberant American woman who favors Chinese poetry) offer a nice balance of perspective and experience. Translation theory itself has a long history of complex, fascinating debates over the proper juggling of accuracy, artistry, mechanics, and ethical concerns.

For my term project, I have chosen to translate some of the poems of Elvia Ardelani. Here's the poem that got me hooked (it's untitled, as far as I can tell; her book, hasn't arrived yet so I'm relying on random internet sources):

compañero
amor
multiplica los panes del deseo en la penumbra
y pártelos
con tus dedos lavados en la blanda herida
del migajón multiplicado en el milagro

y como al mar ve abriéndome a tu paso
ve escindiendo las aguas ve dividiendo peces
y ese fondo implacable que sólo tú conoces
ese mundo de origen que guardo imperturbable

hasta que tú me encuentres
hasta que tú te inclines a este calor de mesa
a esta oscuridad habitada del vientre
y comerás del pan sentado junto al fuego
y vencerás las sombras con la hogaza que tiembla
y habrás cerrado el mar
compañero
amor

And here's my translation-in-progress of it:

The Spanish word for bread is pan

companion

love

multiply the loaves of desire in the dim light

and cut them

with your fingers washed in the tender gash

of bread loam to be miracle-multiplied

and like the sea see me opening up to your step

see splitting waters see dividing fish

and that implacable source that only you know

that original world that I keep imperturbable

until you find me

until you incline to the heat of this table

to the darkness lodged in this belly

and you will eat of the bread sitting by the fire

and withstand the shadows with a big round bread that trembles

until you have closed the sea

companion

love

Silly Moment of the Week

2010-11-05T13:11:00.000-07:00

Just a warning... what you are about to see is silly.

Kathleen, Annie, and I were going to dinner at friends on Wednesday night. (Jesse was invited but wasn't feeling very well, so he didn't join us.)

After getting off the bus and walking to John and Esthers as we were entering the house Annie noticed something... and promptly told Kathleen.

"Kathleen do you know that you have on two different shoes?"

She was unaware. She put her shoes on in the dark, so she didn't disturb a sleeping Jesse.

This moment made my day! I had been stressed all day since I had a paper due that day. This got me to laugh and enjoy myself. It was a great moment.

At least they were the same shoes, only in a different color. That could have been a fashion choice.

WARNING: Disturbing Images to Follow

2010-11-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

Nobody told me about the spiders.

Having left behind Rexburg's old basement apartments with bad weather stripping, I was looking forward to an autumn free from arachnoparanoia (scanning the the ceiling and corners, shaking out my shoes before putting them on, lifting piles of laundry with caution -- i.e., CONSTANT VIGILANCE). Sure, I figured a vile little eight-legged beast might put in an occasional appearance, but after six years of Idaho's monster hobos and catfaces, I didn't think tame, temperate, jolly old England would have anything I couldn't handle.

Au contraire. From day one, we were shocked by the number of thick, sticky, placemat-sized webs we saw stretched in shrubs, under trees, on street signs, inside phone booths, behind park benches... we were surrounded. These "garden spiders" are fat (about quarter-sized) and hideous, but fortunately they have that awkward, stripey look that makes them tolerable -- from a safe distance.

Our first day on campus, we spotted the mangled corpse of what appeared to be a small rodent in the middle of a busy sidewalk. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be what is known as a "wolf spider," so named for its propensity to scavenge dead mice and birds, and for their preference of stalking and attacking prey over web-building. Grateful though I am to know that they will, in fact, die if stepped on, Kathleen raised good points: Why would a spider presume to stroll down a human sidewalk as if he owned it? And what prey would such a predatory animal be hunting on said sidewalk? Perhaps we're better off not knowing.

And then there was the still-unidentified black spider behind the rubbish bin. I spotted it winding a fly in its lugubrious coils, and couldn't help but watch for a few seconds in mute horror. The thing was twice the size of a hobo, jet black, with shiny, muscular limbs. I won't even try to find a photo of it online. As Kathleen said, it's just plain wrong when spiders have biceps.

Canterbury Tales

2010-11-05T09:22:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday we were able to go on a historical tour of Canterbury with our ward. Our Bishop used to be a tour guide of some kind and decided that he would do this for us. (Originally it was for just the new students, but then it became a whole ward thing... which I like better.)

So this was our first stop. This is St. Dunstan's, one of the oldest church in England. It was built in the late 1100's; and the "new" wing of the church was built in the 1500's. Thomas Moore's head is buried on the grounds. (Cool random fact.)

Next on our tour was sadly just an old door. (It was too big for me to take a good picture of it, unless I wanted to get hit by fast moving cars.) Apparently the family used to own most of the land in Canterbury. Sir Thomas Moore's daughter married into the family.

The door was cool, and at some point I will get a good picture of it.

This house was pretty cool because it was mentioned by Charles Dickens in his book David Copperfield. This was the school that David went to. (I've been told I should read this book.)

Then we saw the oldest hotel in Canterbury, "The Falstaff Hotel" established in 1403. (All of these numbers just blow my mind!) I just can't imagine things being that old.

Then our next stop was the West Gate. I tried to get a cool picture of a double decker bus going through it, but none went by whilst we were there. But honestly they fit... by a few centimeters. It's awesome, and kinda stressful to be in bus when they are squeezing through. It reminds me of Harry Potter when he rode the "Knight Bus" and got all squished.

This is where (back in the day) the poorer travelers would stay that couldn't afford a hotel. It was a hospital. But a hospital in the hospitality sort of way and not the I'm sick and need care kind of way.

This was an old pub that was special for some reason that I can't remember. I do remember that Kathleen, Jesse, Annie and I ate there about a month ago and the chips were amazing... as were the mushy peas.

This was an old inn that one of the Queens named Elizabeth entertained her gentleman friends. I'm sorry, I am like a child; my attention span is really short, so the details start to get fuzzy about half way through the tour.

And finally we arrive at the square before the Canterbury Cathedral. (That was the main event.)

Really pictures won't do it any justice. It's just beautiful, and something you should see for yourself. So hop on a plan and get over here! =)

Update

2010-11-05T06:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the looong absences of blogging, but we've all been keeping ourselves quite occupied. Last weekend was quite busy. We spent Friday on a looong walk, then got a lift to the London temple from some friends in our ward. It was so nice to spend the evening in the temple, away from bustling cities and cigarette smoke and crass teenagers (we love Canterbury, but we're so glad we live in quiet Chilham). It was also nice to have some time to chat with our new ward friends. We've felt so welcomed by them, and there are some really sweet young families. Our driver for the evening was, in fact, the wonderful guy who let us sleep in his garden way back when. Remember those days?
The next day was Sarah's birthday! The big 2-7! We caught a morning train to London and headed for the London Dungeons (only fitting the day before Halloween). The beginning of the tour was a little more historical, then they gave us the option of leaving if we were scared, or continuing on to the Tombs portion. This portion was, well, HORRIFYING! I had flash-backs of the haunted house put on in the Lone Pine Elementary library, when Mom had to tell everyone to go easy on me. Let's just say, there were limbs hanging from the ceiling and wacking us in the face and zombies screaming in our ears (we're back to London now, not the school library) and clowns with automatic guns. Horrible. Disgusting. I closed my eyes the whole time. We had a blast. But it was horrible. But we had fun. No really, it was horrible.

What better way to celebrate surviving the chainsaw room than by eating some raw meat? We had worked up our appetites, so it was off to YoSushi for some lunch. Yummy.

We "chube"d it to Covent Gardens then, and wandered through the markets. We all bought too many scarves (except J-man who bought a Superman belt buckle). How could we resist when they were only 3 pounds per? And soooo pretty... Scarf post to come.

After eating some killer waffles--really, and I don't like bought waffles--we strolled the streets to Kensington Gardens. On the way we found the London Chapel. We went in and looked around. It was very cool to wander off the streets of London and right into a ward activity replete with laughing children running everywhere and nursing mothers--so, Mormons.

After paying homage to Peter, we made our way back to the Charing Cross station, where we ate dinner at Pizza Express, which was excellent. Then it was home to Chilham and our wonderful beds.

Sunday we went to church, then our Bishop (who used to be a tour guide in Canterbury) led some of us on a little walk through the city ending at the cathedral. We hadn't even walked on the cathedral grounds up to this point if you can believe it. It was so beautiful inside. We stayed for an Evensong service. Great boys' choir and lovely acoustics.

Then home. Hard to believe it was Halloween. Apart from a few people dressed up on the train, we would never have noticed. But a great weekend.

To complete Sarah's birthday festivities, Annie made the cake to kill all cakes on Tuesday night (in between boxing lesson). We all had a piece and nearly died it was so rich. Some friends invited us for dinner the next day and we brought the other half of the cake. Everyone had a piece. When we got home, somehow we still had in our possession a quarter of the dang thing. Lest you think it wasn't a good cake, let me assure you--it was fantastic. Just richer than Bill Gates in a butter bath. It was a blooody battle, but Sarah and I finally finished it off today.

I Like to Punch. I am a Bro.

2010-10-23T15:01:00.000-07:00

So far this blog has been the thoughts and words of the three remarkable women with whom I happen to share this adventure. The posts have been about trees and seasons, walks and pies.

I live with my beautiful wife, and two of the most upstanding women I have had the pleasure of knowing. Sarah and Annie live upstairs and Kathleen and I live downstairs. It is a wonderful alternative to the lottery-style rooming situation that off-campus housing generally requires. We love it. And although I certainly enjoy the benefit of living with women who love to cook and put up flowers and bring fresh apples home, I am not going to write about these things. Or about the costumed, period-piece dramas they watch.

I am a Bro. And as a duly-elected representative of 25% of the population of the residents of Pilgrims, I want to talk about boy stuff.

And boys like to punch things.

I am a proud, card-carrying member(we don't have cards...) of the Kent Boxing Club. Can't you see the manliness in my typing? I have been training three days a week for the past three weeks, and I love it.

There are about forty of us and we are trained by a bulldog-faced Cockney. I don't know his name--I call him "coach." He yells quaint, coach-like things at us. "If you don lyke runnin, try the chess club. I fink dey might take you." Or "It'sa simpless fing in the world. 'It dem wif ou' gettin 'it. Simple."

Now believe it or not, despite the obvious wave of overpowering masculinity that you may experience upon seeing me, I am a relative newcomer to organized sports. I played little league. I was on the "we never cut anyone" types of teams. I played Madden video games. That's it. My athletically-minded best friend moved away the year I started high school, and with him moved my chance for a Stanley Cup belt.

I mention this because I am expecting a good-sized reaction when I say that I am a fairly good boxer, for a novice. I am one of the biggest guys in the club, if not the biggest, and I am strong. After getting kicked off a church basketball team(this is a lie), I finally turned to weight-lifting as a solo sport and I have been doing that for five or six years(this is true). And I made a lot of progress. I started at 125 lbs. Now I weigh 185 lbs, and I have a lot of power in my right, even if I get winded faster than I should. Weightlifting has prepared me decently, and I felt really confident in my progress within the boxing club.

Then the club President asked me if I wanted to spar with one of the more seasoned guys.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit hesitant. I mean, after all, what if I was awful? What if I decided that it was impossible to get better, which I've used as an excuse before, and quit? What if I hit a guy and his whole head came off?

It could happen.

After a really long half-second, I said sure and ran over to the ring.

Out of the many things I was nervous about getting into the ring, the biggest was this--I didn't want to be gun-shy. I didn't want to be the kid that drops everything he has learned and covers his head, or is afraid to get anywhere near the other guy. My fears, it turns out, were not needed. I found out that I'm the kind of guy that drops everything he's learned and tries to kill the other guy. After three weeks of learning to defend myself, first and foremost, I forget everything when I see his head in front of me, and I try and hit him into the ground like a whack-a-mole.

Unfortunately, Manos, the Greek gentleman I was sparring with, had really long arms. That meant that every time I tried to get near him he whacked me in the head three times before I could hit him once.

Now I did hit him, really well a couple of times, but he definitely got me many more times. I didn't really notice at the time, due to my primal, destroy-gene activation. But right now I am typing with a black eye, slightly swollen nose, and bruises all over my right arm from some wild right hooks Manos was very efficient at blocking.

Needless to say, I have a lot to learn about boxing before I can properly remove someone's head. But I love boxing.

It's for boys.

Yay for seasons!

2010-10-20T13:44:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite things right now. The changing of the season, and the fact that it is taking place slow enough for us to enjoy it!

I took these pictures on Sunday when Kathleen went apple picking on the grounds. We also stopped by to see Bugsy. Then Kathleeny made an amazing apple pie. Best one yet!

Have I mentioned I have the best friends ever!

Ode to Animals

2010-10-19T07:34:00.000-07:00

Well, it's Tuesday afternoon. After a really inspiring translations class, we are all home and puttering around. Annie's busy making soup for our sick bunnies (remember that book Mom?), Sarah is catching up on her blogs, Jesse is reading. Unfortunately, I brought a cold home from London, and we've all taken turns entertaining it--luckily, there's always been someone healthy to play nurse. It's just so nice to have a relaxing afternoon.

Anyway, I thought I would pay tribute to the many animal friends we have met here. I know, you wouldn't expect the English countryside to be so full of wildlife, right? Well it is. Today as Annie and I were walking home from the little Chilham market, I nearly stepped on a little field mouse! He was about the size of a bouncy ball (I didn't check to se if he bounced) and so cute! After he scampered away, we started walking again and ten feet later, another little mouse friend! Just sitting on the sidewalk looking at our big shoes! So cute. Among our other friends are:

The famous pigs down the road at the cidery~

and their friends the donkeys (whose back fence backs up to Bugsy's)~

Our old pal Bugsy~

Miss Tillie (who stopped by yesterday to show me she'd had been to the hairdresser)~

The sheepies we pass on the way to the bus stop~

Quarantined!

2010-10-19T07:33:00.000-07:00

DISCLAIMER: This post was written whilst heavily medicated.

It is official. The first wave of the sickness has hit Pilgrims. Kathleen was the first one struck down, followed swiftly by Annie and Sarah. Now it seems Jesse is not safe.

On a good note Kathleen is better, and Sarah and Annie are on the mend with the help of "Night Nurse" and "Mucus Cough Menthol;" and Jesse doesn't seem too badly stricken.

So for the time being visits should be kept to a minimum, until further notice!

After Apple-Picking

2010-10-17T03:46:00.000-07:00

...Get it? Cuz I'm studying poetry, and that's, like, a famous poem!

I'm sure one of us will someday blog about, you know, school. But for now, I'd like to talk about the fact that there is a small orchard of apple trees here on the Pilgrims grounds, six of which are presently bearing, four of which are presently bearing well -- crisp, juicy, tart-enough-for-baking, sweet-enough-for-snacking, big, rosy, beautiful apples.

So every few days, Kathleen or I take a shopping bag down to the orchard. Sometimes we bring a camera. Sometimes we bring a friend with a camera. Click to enlarge.

We eat them in sandwiches...

(mayo, horseradish, ham, apple, Brie, sauteed leek)

...in salads...

(spinach, honey-mustard vinaigrette, chickpeas, apple,
boiled egg, smoked mackerel, crumbled Blacksticks bleu
and cranberry-Wendsleydale cheeses)

...and, of course, in pastry.

(pie.)

I love picking apples (and peaches, and pumpkins, and berries, and corn, and rosemary, and and and, ad infinitum [NON ad nauseam]). I wrote the following poem a couple months ago; it gets all philosophical or whatever on the subject of trees and fruit. But deep down I'm just flat-out awed by the fact that green leafy things grow up out of the dirt and make flowers that turn into tasty, nourishing food.

Reparation

If you wake
(or dream) to find
your house harboring
a tree trunk
—like a rough sticky pillar
placed by a drunken architect
smack-in-front of the fridge door,
perhaps, or snugged in the crook
of the Steinway, ruining

the high notes
or precisely between the sitting room sofas,
necessitating awkward
tilts of the head
when company calls to converse—

do not cut it down

(or out or away). Instead enjoy

the scent, the texture,

the surprise of still life.

Maybe if you’re lucky

the creaks you hear in the night

will be the tree
beginning

to bear the dead wood weight

of floorboards and beams,

gathering and lifting them up onto tiptoe

until at last the whole house

leaves earth

for that slow green ride

toward the sun.
More likely,

the results will be just

disastrous: black roots cracking

your foundation while branches
tangle in rafters
and the widening trunk drips

a slow rain of broken plaster into your hair—

all as leaves press their broad faces

against your window panes

like a gang of laughing children.
Because trees don’t know how

(or when or why)

to stop.
They grow and grow and grow until
they die. But
it’s the least you can do
to let it so grow—that old stolen apple

left more than human
skin naked. When the first chill
dropped, what must the robbed

tree have thought

when its bark split

its sap sludged
and before their final fall
its leaves stiffened one by one—
it not having eyes
to see the rainbow glow
the feather flight

of their death?