Been on a bit of a hiatus as last week we had to take a trip back to the US for a funeral. My wonderful Great Grandma Sarah died 2 weeks ago today. She'd been in the nursing home for some time, and was very sick and had borderline alzheimer's, so although it is sad to see her go, we're all very happy that she can finally be at peace after so many years in pain. My company paid for Jenna and I to both go home, which was great. It was wonderful to see all of the family and to think back on the good memories of Grandma (she ALWAYS had Dr. Pepper and Push-Pops from the Schwann Man). Was also great to hear a lot of stories I'd never heard about her and her husband (who died before I was born).
The trip also gave us the great opportunity to see my brother Jason, who got back from Afghanistan the day before we left. He is home for about 2 months before going back over, so we were very fortunate to be able to see him, and of course Laura and my niece Hailey.
We were also very fortunate to be able to make it to a proper grocery store. Needless to say, there are a few differences in what you can get over here. A few of the mentionables that we put in the empty suitcase we brought with us:
-Chocolate chips (over here they come in about 1 oz bags)
-Cake Mixes (Those of you in Dallas may find this funny, as we made about 4 cakes in our last 3 weeks to empty our pantry. The selection of Duncan Hines over here is pretty spotty).
-Sugar and Flour (you can get those here no problem, so you'll have to ask Jenna why we needed those)
-Bisquick/syrup (we don't eat that many pancakes, but you can't get it here and its nice to have the option)
-Peanut Butter (Jenna thinks it tastes funny here)
We also did a little clothes shopping, as we decided there were a few things we were lacking. I ended up with a pair of shoes, a pair of jeans and 2 shirts from Steve and Barry's (love that place) and a couple dress shirts. Jenna got some sweaters and 3 pairs of shoes (all necessary, of course).
On return, I found out about a group of guys from the US that came over last year on the same program last year who play (American) football every Sunday afternoon. I took part yesterday, and what an experience. For one, I haven't played flag football since college - a fact that my thighs have not stopped reminding me of today. Also, it is London so it rains, which means wet ball. Also, I'm awful at sports. I think I caught 1 pass of about 8 thrown to me. Was an interesting game - rain for the first half, then a strong wind for the second, which made passing difficult and made it quite cold considering the wet skin. In all, was a lot of fun and (sort of) makes up for the fact that I can't really watch any NFL over here.
That's about all the news right now. Trying to plan an Anniversary (Nov 5) trip somewhere, so will hopefully have something to say about places other than London in the near future. Also, I have the pleasure of putting together a desk, a bookcase, and a dresser tonight, and from what I hear the directions here are worse than home, so that may provide some laughs for you in the next couple of days.
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