New Shoes!

Saw these yesterday when Katie was looking for sandals. Had to go back today and get them! So comfy.

Moderator side note, Doctor Who starts Saturday. Our household is very excited, not just for show, but for the Doctor! Yummy!

Equestrian Update

For those of you unaware (or for those not remembering for one reason or another), I have been taking English riding lessons since February. I figured - hey, I'm in England, why not learn to ride English?

I usually get in about one lesson a week, unless I am at school. So far I have had three horses: Coco (slow and fat), Xando (a show horse), and today was Lysander (a temperamental boy). So far I've been able to canter and today we went over rails ... on the ground. Sighs of relief I'm sure for you safety-checkers!! Don't worry we wear helmets too!

All in all I am thoroughly enjoying getting out of town and into the stables. Plus I've got great new riding boots and a sign-up sheet for side-saddle lesson looming. One step closer to becoming a Lady!!

Curious side note from the moderator, no one commented on me going to a punk engagement party!!! Geez - what does it take to get a comment around here!!

Currently on our Sky planner

Thanks to Sky (our friendly cable box), we have the following shows marked for our viewing:

• CSI .
• Ugly Betty
• Bones
• House
• Shark
• ER
• Boston Legal
• Ghost Hunters
• Kidnapped
• Doctor Who (new season starts Saturday!!)
• Saturday Night Live (showing in the UK for the first time!)
• Top Chef
• Persuasion (Jane Austen movie of the week)

Unfortunately for us, some shows (like House and Bones) run at the same time on different channels. Thank you VCR!

In other entertainment news, quite the uproar was made last week when Terry Wogan announced a different winner than his co-host for UK spot for Eurovision. Scooch officially won and will be representing the UK in Finland in May. Katie and I saw the song they will be performing - no comment as it is completely horrendous. That being said, they will probably win with it. If you have never heard of Eurovision, read up on it through Wikipedia. Scary, yet entertaining.

Finally, go basketball Buckeyes!

Fantastic Extras!

Season 2 Extras is already over with in the UK, but they are going to start showing repeats soon. I'd thought I'd post up on my mine and Katie's favorites involving Sir Ian McKellen. Hilarious!

Tonight ...

Tonight I went to a punk engagement party. You read that correctly - a punk engagement party. Very interesting.

On the menu this evening ...

While Leslie is away house-sitting, Katie and I (ok, mostly Katie) pulled together the following menu for dinner this evening.

• Moroccan Chicken (bought on sale from the butcher today for 2 pounds!)
• Butternut Squash in the oven
• Green beans
• Plum tart (with some very old plums)

Everything was around the house, except the chicken, and we couldn't help remarking how gourmet we are for just a quiet night in. Bon appetit!

Mini-Break to London

So I am finally recapping our long weekend (including pictures!) to London for our housemates Leslie's 40th birthday. We took the train down on Saturday and munched on my homemade scones and mimosas the way down. Highlights to the weekend were:

• Going back to the swanky hotel I stayed at in November, that due to an issue gave me an extreme upgrade and free drinks. Yes!
  
• Going to Portabello Road to visit the infamous pashmina lady and on the way, seeing the BBC production of "Bargain Hunt" being filmed (I think it also makes an appearance on BBC America). Oh, and Katie's phone was stolen ... we think ... luckily she recovered a new SIM card and is back in business.
  
• Expertly navigating the London Underground since they decided to do work on three (!) routes, including the two main tourist routes. What a mess!


• Going to see "The Dumbwaiter" with Jason Isaacs (pictured above and of Harry Potter fame - read about him on IMBD.com) and Lee Evans and meeting them afterwards - so very nice - and then eating at a fantastic Thai restaurant.


• Sunday, we saw the Hogarth exhibit at the Tate Museum and Becoming Jane at the Odeon. V. good. Had dinner in Chinatown - yummy!


• Monday, we rode the slides at the Tate Modern (whee! and seen in a previous post), visited the original Twinings Tea Shop, Temple Church, the Knight Templar church, the Banqueting House, and saw the Horse Guard. Then Katie and Leslie went shopping for Doc Martins, while I met up with Lisa and Jon (my first Ohio visitors!) at the Founders Arms to drinks.

Then it was back home Monday night so I could leave Tuesday for school in Scotland. Ah, the life. Photos are posted to Yahoo! - Enjoy!

Leave it to Stephen Colbert ...

Leave it to Stephen Colbert to perfectly describe the Irish v. English clash in less than three minutes. Enjoy the clip at Comedy Central. Also, anything that mentions the Welsh language as "looking like someone who threw down a bag of consonants" is bound to be great! I wish we got this show in the UK, but seeing as it took 9 years to get the Daily Show, I doubt it will be any time soon.

I promise pictures and an update of our London weekend soon! School work is cutting in ... and baking (currently coconut macaroons).

Yesterday in class ...

We had the possible future prime minister's brother as a lecturer. Interesting.

Back in York after completing my last week of classes. I do have a few papers to finish, but it is straight on to my dissertation. Hard to believe ....

I've been neglecting my blog - partly due in fact to the fantastic weather (which has now disappeared for artic, actual arctic, winds) and an amazing trip to London. Pictures are loaded on my computer - details to follow soon!

The Ninja Biscuits

This is one of my favorite cards by Edward Monkton ... in fact, I love everything he does. Weather in York is fantastic - upper 50s and sun! Perfect for Leslie and mine's horse riding lesson on Thursday. Riding has been going great and with the recent arrival of my riding boots, I am ready to go.

In UK fashion news (of which I know some of you will be interested), the colors have gone crazy! Bright yellow, red, blue, greens, and mustard yellow (gross!). Everything in the shops is late 60s , early 70s with horrendous prints and high, high waisted trousers. And a side note to MVHS grads, hope you saved your Jacket-wear, orange and black is in!!

Sunday Roast & A Red Moon

Last night, when the sky was clear, we were able to catch the lunar eclipse from our back garden. My tiny grainy photos are posted to Yahoo! photos.

Today Katie and I finally got to experience the Sunday Roast in a village pub. We travelled out to The Highwayman in Sheriff Hutton (yes, that is the name of the village!) for a Sunday roast. We had roast beef, pork, creamy leeks, stuffing, potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, and I got blackberry and apple crumble for dessert. It was rainy and a fire roaring - so British. Foodie photos in Yahoo!

Last night we saw Hot Fuzz, from the creators of Spaced and Shaun of the Dead (if you haven't seen those - do!). Was extremely good and had a lot of police references that we made funnier by having law enforcement knowledge (I won't give it all away - but there was a whole scene devoted to traffic accidents vs. traffic collisions! Hee hee!)

In school news, I passed all my papers and exams (with the exception of one I am still waiting on)! Only two more papers and project - then on to dissertation!

New Photos Posted ....

Tonight I finally had a chance to post photos from the Viking Festival and Pancake Day as well as a couple of photos to misc at Yahoo! This comes after my three week job placement at the Council of British Archaeology to help them with their media. Now it is back to be a grad student and homework.

Viking Festival involved battle sequences, fake scars (check out Katie's nasty scar in the photos!), and viking craftsmen.

Pancake Day was quite tasty - we had thin, British pancakes filled with creamy spinach and covered in cheese ... v. yummy. For dessert, we had American pancakes and syrup. According to previous comments, apparently I need to start Pancake Day when I come back to the U.S. (Tony!).

In two weeks, Katie, Leslie, and I are heading to London for Leslie's 40th birthday. Off to celebrate and see Jason Isaacs in the Dumb Waiter! Woo!

Pancake Day

Today is Pancake Day. It is the day before Ash Wednesday and apparently everyone in the UK eats pancakes and does very silly things, like have races with them. Check out Wikipedia for more on Pancake Day. In the meantime, we will be consuming pancakes of the British and American style.

Additionally, Lissa and crew came down from my second home (Cupar), this weekend for the Viking Festival. Three of the four silly girls in one country (ahem - Leslie!). Katie and I attempted to make toasted rolls from Miami, and although the result was tasty (and a two-day effort!) - it wasn't the same! Photos to be posted soon!

The Curse of Mediocrity

Have you ever been whapped in the face with something so profound you don't know what to do with it? I had a face-whapping moment this morning while walking to work. Perhaps I should preface this statement with the fact that I have a 40 minute walk to work, which for me is like my 20 minute drive into work at home (in which I drove without a radio - really lets you mind wander. Try it.).

During this walk this morning it realized that I am over halfway done with my master's program and I have absolutely no idea what I am going to do after I finish. Do I stay in Scotland? Do I go home? Do I go someplace else? What type of PR do I go back to? And then it whapped me in the face ... I'm not really "great" at anything, I'm just mediocre at lots of things. Sure PR is the jack-of-all-trades, but surely I should be great at something. Is someone who has done food-wholesale-government-not for profit-law enforcement-education-financial PR great? These are the things that worry me at night ... is mediocrity a great thing to be?

After work, I was in need of solitude and thankfully have a very large Minster to run to. And luckily at 5:15 p.m. everyday is choral evensong which fills the Minster with voices and organ music. The Minster is one place I will never tire of - and I very glad to have it in my city. And now I am worn out - off to bed ... goodnight to my readers (wherever you may be)!

Computer Photo Share

Today our house engaged in a photo swap through MSN Messenger. New photos are posted to Yahoo! in a new folder. Contents include: new Thorp Perrow pictures, new Swinton pictures, photos from last week's wig party (don't ask!), and from 2005 a picture of four of the silliest girls in England (in Bath - above). Enjoy.

In sporting news, England defeated Italy today in Six Nations Rugby. Match was very entertaining.

Finally!!! York Residents Weekend

Ok, so I am a little late, but I had school and this week just started my job placement. I'm working at the Council for British Archaeology - now I fit in with the rest of house. Photos from Residents Weekend, where most York tourist activities were free to resident, are posted to Yahoo! Activities for Katie and I were a trip to the Lord Mayor's house (in non-tourist areas!), to the top of the York Minster and the undercroft, getting coffee at McDonald's while waiting for the Mansion House tour (they only let 10 people in), touring the York Minster stone masons, and eating hot homemade fudge. Enjoy!

Sung by Leslie This Evening ...

"Chicken pot pie and I don't care," referring to "Jimmy cracked corn and I don't care." Oh the things that happen after dinner in the sitting room.

The White Death Approaches ...

We are in the midst of a weather disaster ... the south of England has 3-4 cm of snow! For you non-metrics out there, that's a little under 1/5 inches. Gatwick was closed for a short time and last night Manchester Airport was calling in extra staff to handle ploughing. And we thought Columbus was bad.

In other news, I've started a three week job placement with the Council for British Archaeology in York, working on a media strategy and press contact list. It's nice to be in archaeology for a little bit, as I tend to be around lots of archaeology people (especially since my two housemates are getting PhDs in the subject). In general though, UK office life is interesting. It's definitely more laid back than US organizations. The hours are 9 to 5 with an hour for lunch, but most people leave around 4:20 - 4:40 and there are lots of breaks for tea. All in all, very nice, even it is only for three weeks.

Two things I've found humorously difficult are 1) the European computer keyboard - for example if you push [shift] and 2 you will get ", rather than @ ... it makes writing emails hilarious! and 2) Microsoft Office documents are measured in cm. Grrrr... What does it mean when my paper is 21.59 cm by 27.94 cm? Is that 8.5 x 11 or A4? I don't know!

Is That Roast Beef?

This is probably a sure sign that I am going crazy. When I am in Edinburgh for school, I swear there is a roast beef smell near Haymarket train station. Tonight when I brought this up, Lissa claims it is the brewery nearby. Having lived near the Budweiser plant in Worthington, I know what beer smells like, and this is not it. It's not fowl and it does remind me of the meat smell on the Jorvik viking tour in York ... if you do not know what this is, come and visit me for pete's sake!

In school news, my political communication/public affairs lecturer claims I need to return to this sector. I didn't realize how much I missed it until we got into the subjects and lobbying today. Hello Washington (or London ... somebody please - hire me!).

Finally, on the 1810 (or the 6:10 p.m. train for the US) train home, I was cornered in my seat by two American girls. They were so loud and well, American. During one of the coversations I heard (it wasn't so much hearing as not being able to avoid), it was made apparent they went to the University of St. Andrews. When I told Lissa about their behavior she said this was just their behavior at St. Andrews. Sometimes when I sit on the train I wonder if I ever sounded like that. Frightening. I will just keep to books and/or newspaper or nap like the general population. Ta.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't listening. I have general malaise."

Just a quick post before I start classes today. The tiredness due to steroids has fully set in this week. In addition to going to bed supremely early last night, I slept on the train this morning (the late train t 10:19 a.m.)! I have no idea how I am going to handle the next three days of the 7:30 a.m. train. Blah.

Otherwise, Lissa proclaims that I should stick with the term "general malaise" to describe my side effects because it sounds so old-fashioned and high class (and, as we are all aware, I am destined to be a Lady at some point in my life). So thank you FDA for your general description of the side effects of Endocort ... and the general malaise.