I haven't done this in a long time. I've been working full time for the last year after being part time for a long time. I still have trouble adjusting to not having a free day for errands, housework and fun activities. Also, we're down to one computer so I have to share with the spouse in our limited free time.

We had a wild winter for the first time in all the years we've been living here. We had more snow in one week in February than in all of our winters here put together. We're finally getting sunshine and warm days again and I find my spirits and energy rising.

The exchange rate has gone more in our favor so we feel we can do more on the economy now. Last weekend found us going to a movie and dinner with another couple. We saw "Marley and Me". Both of us ladies are real dog lovers and found we didn't bring enough tissues by the end of the movie. It brought up lots of memories of dogs I have had and loved, grateful none were quite the level of behavior of Marley but loved them just as much. I long for a furry body to greet me when I get home but our situation really isn't appropriate for a dog. Turtles are a great pet for us at this point. They can go for a long weekend being left alone and a number of people here love the opportunity to watch over our unusual pets if we go for longer.

Our one and only offspring will be arriving in a couple of months for a visit. What started as a long weekend in Vienna has turned into an 8 day trip to Austria. We've rented a car so we'll be able to get around on our own. We rented a car on a trip to Germany so I think we'll be able to handle this. We're still cowards when it comes to travel. We like to have everything booked ahead of time and have a pretty solid plan, but, we're widening our comfort zones.

My one activity that remains constant is quilting. Still the amateur, but I love being able to make gifts for people that no one else can give them. I have a wall hanging with sheep that's really popular for people going back to the states. I've made several quilts for wedding presents and it soon seems to follow with baby quilts. Fabric here is expensive and the stores aren't conveniently located. I've ordered online but it's hard to tell colors sometimes. I'm grateful for a daughter who has a wonderful sense of color. I send her the pattern with color suggestions and she sends me back the most wonderful combination of fabric. I get complements from our sewing group on my combinations but I have to give credit to my daughter for that. She's currently on a mission for fabric for a wedding quilt. Today, I've been out looking for fabric for a class I'm taking. One of our group is a professional quilter and gives us cut rate classes every month. We're currently doing a block of the month but she's designed it so every quarter, we end up with a table runner appropriate for the season. This month finishes the spring runner with eggs, a basket and tulips. Next month starts the summer runner with a Hawaiian shirt, a sun and a piece of pie. Sounds like a picnic to me!

We'll see how long I stay with this again. I know my friends have been missing hearing what we've been up to.

Cheers!

We went to the Great Yorkshire (GYS) Show in July.  We've always enjoyed state fairs and even managed to catch a few outside of our home state while on travels.  The GYS is the British version of a state fair.  People come from all over the greater Yorkshire area to show their animals, vegetables, flowers, honey, cheese, etc.  There's the rings where horses are shown, raced, and jumped, bands play, cows are paraded and big farm machines dance (We missed this but hope to catch it next year).  There's the hawkers, showing all their products that you can't live without.  We bought a frother that I can't get to work quite like the demo guy and some of the chamois cloths.  Mine that I'd bought at state fairs have outlived their usefulness so I was glad to find replacements.  We roamed the big farm machinery on display.  Not so unusal now that we live in a farming area and find ourselves following them down the road at 20 mph.  Cooking shows, fashion shows and all else that goes on at a fair.

 

Except rides.  Well, there were a couple of bungy things but not the amusement type rides.

 

And the food is, well, different.  There's burgers but how about jacket potatoes (baked potatoes) with curry or tuna and sweetcorn or coleslaw or baked beans?  Savory or sweet crepes - we tried a savory one of ham and pineapple and a sweet one of Nutela spread.  Sandwiches were long, baguette type bread with fillings like ham, chicken or tuna salad with cucumbers stuffed along the sides.  It was strawberry season here so there were several strawberry and cream booths.  And, of course, fish and chips.  There was also a food hall with many local companies showing off their goods.  Common threads were cheese (a lot of Wensleydale), crisps (potato chips), sausages, jams, marmalades and wines.  This was a favorite area and we soon felt we could hardly move and decided we've tasted enough.

 

A friend of ours who is a veteran show goer, told us to stop in the International centre.  The sweet ladies there gave us a badge to wear that gave us some special privilages such as allowing us to into a special seating area of the main ring, a place to store our purchases and junk gathered through the day, the use of their toilets and something we couldn't take advantage of is free admitance for the next day.  With tickets at 15 pounds ($28), that's worth stopping in for.

 

Some things that made you feel you weren't in the states were:

 

- The judges.  The men in their dark suits and bowler hats and the women in their Sunday best down to the hat.  I don't remember seeing gloves but it wouldn't surprise me. 
- Ribbons were awarded and it took awhile to remember here that red is 1st place and blue is 2nd place.

- It was held Tuesday through Thursday.  Most British schools were still in session so you had to pull your children out of school to go.

- Hours of the events were about 9am - 5:30, no late night happening here.  Roll up the sidewalks about 6pm.

 

I also went to a local village show.  Much, much smaller but a lot of fun.  The adults have their veg or flowers or other handiwork to show but the local schools also have the children enter  things like penmanship papers, photos they'd taken, rockets made from thowaway things, or edible necklaces.  There's just one ring and it has an opening ceremony with the local village princess (not real royalty but sort of like a homecoming queen) and her 2 younger ladies in waiting.  They come in in an old Rolls Royce automobile and are the ones to cut the ribbon on the marquee (big tent) doorway to open the show.

 

Booths circle the one grassy ring.  Local companies display their honey, sweets, plants or other wares for sale.  Churches and charities have a tombola (a type of raffle - prizes are displayed with numbers ending in zero attached to them.  Tickets with numbers from 1 on up are folded and placed in a drum or bowl.  You draw however many tickets you have paid for and if your number ends in a zero, you win the prize with the matching number.  Zephaniah had a magic touch with these raffles.).  In the center ring, different types of entertainment are running.  This year we had an amazing stuntman on a mountain bike.  There was also a magician and a dog show.  One year we saw a dog herd geese.

 

For food, the local Women's Institute (like in the movie -  Calendar Girls.  Which, by the way, is based on a chapter not to far from here and some of the filming was done in our area.) have a tea room with drinks, sweets and sandwiches.  Some of the local restaurants or catering companies have booths too.  The ice cream truck was also a big hit. 

 

For both shows, the weather was beautiful.  All in all, British shows are a good time out.

Here's a few photos of the GYS before our camera battery died.

A judge in his suit and bowler

Huge blocks of cheese

A tractor made of flowers with veg around it

  One of our favorite riders  

 

We were rooting for the above little lady and she won 1st place!.  She was alot younger than most of the riders but we were taken with her concentration and she was just so cute!  She also reminded us of our own daughter.

We love to watch them jump

 

I really enjoy living in Herriot country. Our little stone bungalow is next door to our farmer landlord. He leases out his fields to other farmers who use them for sheep in the spring and cows in the summer and fall. There's a herd of cows I call my cows. There are several fields they roam in and I get jealous when they choose to use a field I can't see. I love it when they use the small field behind our house as then they are only about 20 feet away. I also love to watch them drink from the run-off from the barn roof when it's raining. It's their own private hose pipe.

The last couple of days have had one of the downfalls of living in the country. The farmers have been slurrying their fields. Ummm, using liquid fertilizer. I almost want to hold my nose when I'm outdoors. Fortunately, it doesn't last more than a few days and I wouldn't give up living here anyway.