Things I Miss

(Mike, Eric, family & friends not withstanding, and in no particular order):

-The Food Network (except for Ina as they occasionally show the Barefoot Contessa here)
-My pot filler (not drug related)
-My car
-My shower
-Having houseplants
-My food processor
-My kitchen sink
-My other kitchen sink
-My kitchen
-Stacey & Clinton
-Property Ladder on Saturday mornings
-My fabulous Whirlpool Duet washer & dryer that are less than 1-year old, have a huge capacity, and can wash & dry a load in considerably less than 3 hours
-Watching the last season of LOST with Eric
-Being in the same time zone with practically everyone else I know
-80 degrees. Make that 70 degrees.
-Grocery shopping at the Medford Shoprite. That's right - the Medford Shoprite; NOT the Johnson City Wegman's
-Having a garden

Things Chris misses:
-His car
-the grill
-the basement
-fire pit
-Bo Flex
-Sam the Beer Man
-Knife sharpener (The fact that it's sitting idle on the shelf in our kitchen pantry is killing Liz as well.)
-the Butchers in NJ. That's right - NOT NY, but NJ.

In Scotland

"Excuse me, can you tell us how to get to room 109?" "One ooo naine? Yeh. Ya goo oop one flooor, then keep gooin down the cahridooor oontil ya get to the soofa. When ya see the soowfa, tern right, then git on the left, and tek the left oop to the therd flooor, to rooom one ooo naine."

And thus began our Scutland advinture. It was a great time. The biggest surprise was the wonderful weather. We left a grey, cool London Wednesday morning, and got off the train in a mostly sunny Glasgow. We were bussed to our hotel, the Cameron House, which was spectacular. Just walking into the lobby was everything I expected: dark paneling, hunting trophies on the walls, and a roaring fire. Chris and I had a chance to take a nice walk around the property, which sits right on Loch Lomond, Wednesday afternoon before a really nice dinner at the hotel.

Thursday, while Chris & colleagues went to work, the spouses were treated to a cruise on the Loch. Ironically, this was the period of the stay which had the worst weather (cold, cloudy, and then rain) but still the views were breathtaking. And we were offered blankets and champagne, so really, how could one complain? Thursday evening our entire group was bussed to the Glengoyne Distillery in Dumgoyne for a tour and dinner. They've been making whisky there for 175 years so I think they've got it right. We had the opportunity to taste 10, 14 (cask strength), 17, and 21-year old bottles; it's not really my drink, but Chris hit the shop before we left and bought a 17-year old bottle as a souvenir. The drive to the distillery alone was beautiful. On the way back, it was nearly 11 pm and you could still see light on the horizon - one of the benefits of being at such a high latitude at this time of year.

(Side note: This dinner provided me my first experience to try haggis, the Scottish "delicacy" [heh heh]. It's sheep organs mixed with oatmeal, spices and other stuff and it's traditionally simmered in the sheep's stomach lining as its preparation. You don't actually eat the stomach, but I really don't know what difference that makes since you're eating all the other parts, plus things you probably would rather not know about. Our version was sort of the "gourmet" version and wasn't bad, but I don't think I'll be ordering it off of the local pub menu anytime soon. Chris liked it.)

Friday, the spouses again had all the fun and were lucky enough to go to Inveraray Castle on Loch Fyne, the ancestral home of the Dukes of Argyll, currently inhabited by the 13th Duke of Argyll, Torquhil Campbell and his family. Many of these ancestral homes have had to be opened to the public over the years to help cover the enormous cost of taxes & upkeep, and Inveraray has had a portion opened for tours since the 1950's. Recently, they've decided to open up parts of the private side of the home for "special" tour groups (yes - things must be getting somewhat desperate) of which we were the very first one. As a very special perk, we were greeted at the house by the Duke himself, who was most friendly and gracious and shook all our hands! It was pretty neat. And the house of course was spectacular, with gifts from Queen Victoria and photos of Princess Diana scattered around. Really something.

Friday evening, our farewell dinner was a "barbeque" at the Boathouse, complete with hamburgers, bbq'd chicken, and corn on the cob. The hotel did a pretty good job on these American faves, and we felt right at home. Unfortunately, tho' the weather stayed clear and it was a lovely evening, the cold wind drove us inside to eat. Still lots of fun.

The company was wonderful, Chris's presentation to the Board went well, and it was an all around great trip. We had just the opposite weather experience on our return: we left Glasgow in the sunshine and returned to a cool rainy London. Go figure. Even the views from the train were postcard-worthy. We are really lucky to be here.

http://picasaweb.google.com/swronsky/InScotland#

Off to Scotland

Our first "major" trip out of London starts tomorrow. The annual Board Meeting of the UK unit of Chris's company is this week in Loch Lomond, Scotland. Chris has to go and - darn it - he has to bring his spouse along. Poor Kyle has to stay behind by himself, but he'll be fine.

I'm a tad bit nervous as some of our companions on the trip have titles like "Lord" and "Sir". I am not kidding. While execs & Board members are in meetings, their spouses will be out on river cruises and touring castles so it really should be fun. Weather forecast doesn't look too promising so I think I'll have to worry more about how warm I am versus what I'm actually wearing, which somehow takes the pressure off a bit. As for conversation, I'll keep away from religion & politics and perhaps swing the chat towards the wonders of Marmite, pork pie and bank holidays - all popular items here apparently. (We've yet to try Marmite; pork pie is suspiciously similar to Spam wrapped in pastry dough, and we're lovin' the bank holidays!)

Wish me luck!

http://www.cameronhouse.co.uk/cameron-house.html

I Missed the Kentucky Derby

I still can't believe it. I don't know if I've ever missed this first Saturday in May ritual before. From the time I was around 7 or 8, and we lived in Kentucky, and our dad sat us all down to explain what "odds" were (Dad never missed an opportunity for a teaching moment, even if the subject was bookmaking and we were all under the age of 12) I don't think I've ever missed the Run for the Roses. Each year, despite Dad's lessons, I usually ignored the odds and made my choice of winner based on whichever jockey/trainer/owner/horse had the most touching backstory that year. Or if one of the horses had a name that I could somehow relate to something in my past or present life that seemed remotely connected. This year, I might have picked "American Lion" because I read the book recently. Or "Sidney's Candy" because Sidney is a dear friend of mine, and because I like candy. When the kids were young, they may have indulged me once or twice as we looked over the list of Derby contenders in the paper and we made our picks. ("...uhhh, I don't really care, Mom..." "What do you mean you don't care?! It's the Kentucky Derby! You have to make a pick!" "Well... ok... that one looks cool. Can I play Nintendo now?")

But mostly it was just my thing. Oh, I'd call to everyone when they started to play "My Old Kentucky Home"; sometimes they reluctantly shuffled in just to appease me, but I remember plenty of times watching the race by my lonesome. I loved it all. The ladies in their hats, the free flowing mint julips, listening to the NBC commentators (complete unknowns during any other NBC televised event all year, sport-related or otherwise*) talk about the track conditions and the weather conditions and the conditions of the ladies' hats. And then the horses would be paraded to the starting gate. One or two would always balk at getting shoved in to the little pen but somehow they'd always be convinced, and the announcer would yell, "Annnnnnd they're off" and there it was - the most exciting 2 minutes in sports.

Now I must add here that the recent fates of 2006 Derby winner Barbaro and 2008 filly contender, the sweet Eight Belles who had to be euthanized on the track following the race, have made me rethink my fascination with the sport of horse racing, and how humane - if at all - it is to ask these beautiful huge animals to push their hardest on these seemingly tiny little legs... but that is a commentary for another forum. My point here really started as: I missed the Kentucky Derby! Because I am here in the UK and no one was talking about it! If I'm not careful, the 4th of July might just come and go as any other summer Sunday! November 25th could just become the fourth Thursday in November! Already you've deduced that Susan & Darlene are not going to receive their usual Mother's Day cards on time because the 2nd Sunday of May is not Mother's Day here in England.

I need to start paying better attention. And congratulations to Super Saver.

*except for Bob Costas

In the Country

I realize that the horrible volcanic ash from Iceland caused really bad experiences for many international travelers, but for us it was a blessing in disguise. Our friend Andrew was scheduled to leave for his new job in Australia a week ago, but due to the ash, his trip was postponed until yesterday. He generously invited us up to his parents' house in Rutland (the house where he grew up from age 9) to spend his last weekend and we're so grateful he did. We had a great time.

We took the train from Kings Cross station up to Grantham (about an hour's ride) where Andrew picked us up, then took us to a place called Belvoir Castle to meet up with his parents, Catherine & Les. Unfortunately, it was closed, but the Wilsons had a wonderful plan B, and we all went to Burghley House in Stamford instead. Burghley House was the home of William Cecil, who was Elizabeth I's Lord High Treasurer and Chief Minister. Quite an impressive place, outside and in. http://www.burghley.co.uk

Then we drove back to Andrew's parents' house in Wissendine, which is lovely - their garden backs to a pasture where loads of sheep leisurely graze. We recouped a bit then went out to an absolutely wonderful dinner, start to finish; unfortunately I can't remember the name of the restaurant! It also happened to be Andrew's mum's birthday, which made it all the more special. We then went back to the house (after stopping for a pint at the pub of course) and stayed up talking (and the guys drank scotch) until the wee hours.

Sunday started out rainy, and we took our time getting up and around. We had a nice breakfast, then Andrew took Chris, Kyle & I for a walk around the community just as the weather cleared up. Really, really lovely. I observed to Andrew that people pay money to go on vacations to spots like that. Then the group of us (minus Catherine unfortunately) went to a spot in Linconshire called "Chequers" for a terrific Sunday lunch, after which we were able to sit out in the garden and watch a local cricket match. Great fun!

We then were reluctantly driven back to the Grantham train station where we said our really, truly final goodbye to Andrew and were on our way. The Wilsons were the most gracious of hosts and we had such a nice time. And it was nice to get out of the city environment for a bit of a break as well. Link to photos below.

http://picasaweb.google.com/swronsky/WeekendInTheCountry#

1st London Haircut..

... and it was 12 pounds! 12 pounds! And I look presentable! That equates to $19.20. Which is $50.80 less than what Anoush of Binghamton NY charged.

London is a bargain. :-)

Tres Bien!

http://www.la-cage-imaginaire.co.uk/

Except I am stuffed! We decided that we are going to go out to dinner at least once a week; I think we could eat out every single night here in London and never go to the same place twice. So far we've been to a wonderful Italian place (2 weeks in a row!) and tonight we went for French. Ooh la la. Lovely place, lovely server, working all by himself and doing a magnifique job. They offered a 3-course meal for 19.95 (pounds of course, but still a good price if it was $.)

Kyle went for the traditional coq au vin, Chris had halibut, and I arc de triumphed with the choice of rabbit - it was amazing! Think it's the first time I've had it, and it wasn't hard to not think about Bugs and Thumper, tho' Kyle did try to make me. Kyle had the foie gras (or as Chris attempted, "fwah gwah") as a starter and it was a winner.

The nice thing is that these places are within an easy walk from home. And there are plenty of spots to try right near by before we even have to stray out of Hampstead.

Grocery update: I've now ordered online twice and I think I can get used to it! You need to order a minimum of 40 pounds worth for them to deliver (that's monetary value, not weight), but we all know how easily that can be accomplished. There is a delivery fee, but get this - on both of my orders I've gotten a voucher that gets me a free bottle of wine with my next order! Cancels out any delivery fee as far as I am concerned. I am definitely putting this on the list of things that I really really like about London.

Bonsoir, mes amis.