The Virginia Experience

2007-03-02T10:07:00.000-05:00

Friday 2 March 2007 - My blog is re-starting but is now at

http://virginia49.vox.com

See you there!

2006-11-30T09:35:00.001-05:00

Thursday 30 November - The last day of November and we leave Virginia today, sadly. We had a fabulous meal with friends at our house group last night and a lovely, lovely evening. It always upsets me to say goodbye.

The washing machine is on and we have nearly finished packing - looks like it WILL all go in. Carolyn and Dan pick us up at 2.30 pm to take us to the airport and before then we will probably have lunch at the Polo Club. We have to do a few errands before we finally leave but I think we are fairly organised!

It is going to be about 74 degrees today but we have to wear sweaters in preparation for Gatwick.

I have just been Skyping with Laura to give her the flight details. We are looking forward to seeing everyone again but sad to leave our friends here too. We plan to be back in March if we can find a new home in UK and complete the legal stuff in time. This is going to be a busy week, clearing the house and cleaning it. It's hard to believe that we are finally at this point after 18 months. By December 8 it will all be finished and we will be officially homeless. Watch out all friends and family for some visitors!

TTFN

2006-11-29T09:49:00.000-05:00

Wednesday 29 November - This is our last full day. Greg is showing the builder around the house because we are due the 11 month inspection although there is nothing really to worry about. Greg is also getting to be known around here and suddenly he being asked to fix people's computers. Sadly he cannot charge them because it is against the rules of our visa to earn money in America! I need to start some serious cleaning so that I don't have too much to do in the morning. We will probably leave here just after lunch. I am afraid to start packing in case I can't get everything in the suitcases - I will do it later . .. .

2006-11-28T09:51:00.000-05:00

Tuesday 28 November - Greg went off to Real Early at church, the last one for a while. He came back with the news that one of the men in the group, who is a historic interpreter had to go off to a reahearal of 'Tar and Feathering'. He said the tar is actually molasses mixed with something else to deter insects - still sounds horrible to me.

Went for a walk in CW because it is so warm. Watched some of the performances which vary every time. It is so quiet there now after the Thanksgiving holiday but the Christmas lights go on next week so the holiday season will start in earnest.

This poor pig was formerly an inhabitant of Jamestown Settlement.

2006-11-28T09:23:00.000-05:00

Monday 27 November - I went to K Mart quicky to get the final Christmas present. I just hope we are not overweight with our bags. After lunch Greg went to a friend's at the edge of town to install her new computer and to help her with one or two things. He was gone a long time and got home only just in time to change to go to our friends in Ford's Colony for dinner. We had a lovely evening which ended with us watching a DVD of the Last Night of the Proms from the Albert Hall in London. It was the last one conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. We really enjoyed a good dose of patriotism and were pleased that they enjoy the Proms too. Maybe we will go to the Proms one day.

We got lost leaving the gated community but with help of the SatNav, finally got back to the right road. PJ will be amused, as we were. I said to Greg, 'we will go past Zoom soon' (a gas station) which is where I always end up when I'm lost. The car always seems to home in on it. So of course when we saw Zoom, we had to giggle - PJ and I had been through the same things a few weeks ago. The lighting is poor along the side of the roads so when it gets dark you really have to know where you are.

2006-11-27T09:40:00.000-05:00

Sunday 26 November - A beautiful day. Church this morning and there were a lot of 'goodbyes' because we won't see some people until we return in the spring. We will say our farewells to our house group on Wednesday evening when we go to friends for dinner and a get-together. Had lunch at the Red Lobster with four other people and then came home to change.

We decided to go onto Jamestown Island again for a trip around the circular path, we actually hadn't done it all up until now. It was absolutely glorious and I took pictures of wildlife, lakes, ponds and of course the River James which was calm and looked like glass.

Came home via CW and the Cheese Shop which was very quiet and no one sitting outside. A few Christmas trees have appeared in Merchant Square and it looks like the decorations will be up soon, I wish we could be here to see it. It seems people buy and decorate their Christmas trees in their homes immediately after Thanksgiving which seems very early here. A 7' tree costs about £15 here which is a similar price to home but there is more variety of tree types and they look fuller. If we took our trees indoors at this time at home, they would be bare by Dec 25. It does look nice though when we drive around and see the trees in the windows. It is so mild here that it is hard to believe that Christmas is less than a month away. It is forecast to be 74 degrees on Thursday when we fly from Newport News, what on earth do we wear, it will be so much colder at Gatwick! I must say, I am looking forward to the next stage of our plans being over, ie clearing out the house, finding a new home etc. We have not been really settled for 18 months now.

2006-11-25T09:26:00.000-05:00

Saturday 25 November - Woke up to a frost on the ground and a small herd of deer outside the bedroom window. I suppose we will see them more now that the leaves are off the trees. It is a very bright day but it must be very cold at the moment, the forecast is for the temperature to peak at 65 degrees F later on. We plan to go to the Jamestown Settlement new museum exhibit again. We took the family a few weeks ago but it is the sort of place you need to go to several times to take it all in.

I have booked the removals/storage people to take our things out of our house in UK on December 5, and we complete (close) on the 8th/ We will stay with friends nearby during that week and gradually clean the house (again) and tidy the garden. Autumn has happened since we left so it must be in a mess.

This lady is making chocolate in the Palace kitchen. The children will remember that, we spent quite a long time in there. Sadly there were no samples and we failed to buy any in the Wythe Candy Store in Colonial Williamsburg - every other sort of chocolate but not the one that closely resembles the local one.

We spent most of the day at the Settlement, it is a special occasion concentrating on food ie what the Powhatan Indians would have eaten and how they prepared it. What the settlers would have eaten etc. Almost everything the English ate came from England to start with because it was a military fort so they did not spend their time farming at all. The food was being prepared at the fort and the interpreters (actors) ate it for their lunch. Some of the dishes are popular today at home eg pork sausage, bread pudding, sweet pies, bread and soups or stews. It was busy because it is a holiday and because of the special food theme. Every building in the fort had interpreters in them so we took our time every place we visited. One of our friends, Dick is starting as an interpreter by the ships next week and we saw him there on his final training day.

I had to smile, because the poor lady who was by the canoes when the children were here was cooking up some spices. She said to us 'you look familiar' so I explained about the grandchildren and their love of canoes. I wonder if she remembered Evie's remark about the Teletubbies! I wish there had been so much going on when the family were here but we have taken lots of pictures to send to the children in case they are still working on that project.

To Callum, Issy, Ewan and Evie - they have finally finished the canoe you were working on and it is ready to launch.

NB To our grandchildren - General Washington sends his regards!

2006-11-24T09:53:00.000-05:00

Friday 24 November - We had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. Apart from the turkey we had a sweet potato casserole (a kind of sweet pudding because it has eggs in it), a cornbread dressing (stuffing), a broccoli and blue cheese casserole, cranberries, and several other things. It is all eaten on one plate. Carolyn told us that it was a southern Thanksgiving because she is from the deep south. Apparently it is different in other parts of the USA which makes sense. For dessert we had my pumpkin pies which were OK, and another cake and a date pudding with lots of nuts. We were telling them about clotted cream and how it is made. I will try to get some for them if I can. There was lots of talk of politics and even after several hours we still failed to put the world to rights. It is so interesting to hear these discussions. We came home with a plate full of left-overs and one of my pies which is in the freezer now, I will take it to Nancy and Genes' on Wednesday when we go over there for dinner.

This shows how the level of the lake has gone down since the leaking of the dam.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK!!!

It is what they call Black Friday here. It's when everyone goes off to the sales - we did not hit the shops because we have heard so many horror stories.

2006-11-23T10:10:00.000-05:00

Thursday 23 November - HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY! We are going to Carolyn and Dan's later on so I am making pumpkin pies this morning. It is raining and pretty miserable weather although still 50 degrees, which was what was forecast, it will be in the 60s tomorrow.It is going to be cold in the UK by all reports.

2006-11-22T09:53:00.000-05:00

Wednesday 22 November - It is very stormy today and I don't want to have to go out. I am a little worried that we may lose electricity if it get much worse, it certainly would have gone now at home. I am making the pumpkin pies in the morning. Most of the schools on the peninsular are closed today because of the weather and of course the main bridges are only open to cars, not trucks etc. I am thinking of Philippa's friend Donna who lives across the Gloucester bridge with water on three sides!

We are having a lovely quiet day, we won't have many of them when we get home - only just over a week now!

2006-11-21T09:48:00.000-05:00

Tuesday 22 November - Yesterday afternoon we had the Exterminator come to get rid of our mice. It is not really a big problem but since we won't be here for a couple of months over the winter, we don't want them to have free access to our house. Also our friend who looks after the house while we are away had to clear up after the mice the last time. So here's hoping it has done the trick. We caught one in a trap a few days ago but it was still alive so Greg put it in the forest somewhere where it is probably recouperating and will soon be fit to fight another day!

It is colder and windy today but I need to do a little more Christmas shopping. Tuesday is discount day around here if you are over 55!

2006-11-20T14:58:00.000-05:00

Monday 20 November - Having a lazy day. Greg is starting to contact all the authorities at home to let them know when we will be leaving our house so that we do not pay any more bills than is necessary. Still can't believe we will be leaving the house after 20 years.

2006-11-19T10:05:00.000-05:00

Sunday 19 November - A lovely day in Virginia, it is forecast 57 degrees which is great.

I should explain that this was on a soft-top car. The driver was perfectly respectably dressed!

Church as usual this morning but there was no group lunch, everyone is starting to disperse to their families in readiness for Thanksgiving on Thursday. Greg and I went to Ruby Tuesday on our own which was nice, we actually came home with a box full of food! (a doggy bag). It is bright sunshine so we ought to go out for a walk but we feel like a lazy afternoon. I have emailed the removal firm and we wait to see which day will suit them, after that we will plan our first week in UK.

2006-11-18T10:20:00.000-05:00

Saturday 18 November - It was all a bit of a rush yesterday evening to sort out the food for the wine tasting. I had a headache which made it all too much of an effort but we did go and of course we had a wonderful time amongst our neighbours. It was German wines which are not really my favourite but the food was good. I brought home a lot of what I took because I had made far too much - I did not know how many people were going to be there so I over catered. As always you prefer the food that other people have brought. One of our fairly near neighbours and his wife are very involved with CW and Jamestown settlement and they are very knowledgeable about the history, it was very interesting. Walked home (with our food) through this sub-division on a beautiful clear evening. It was a lovely way to celebrate our good news.

Had to visit Belk's sale of course and got a couple more Christmas presents and another suitcase! Lunch at Ukrops and back home for a quiet night in and left overs from last night.

2006-11-17T12:17:00.000-05:00

Friday 17 November - WE HAVE EXCHANGED CONTRACTS ON OUR HOUSE!!! The solicitor called at about 10 am. Obviously we are extremely relieved. Greg had just gone out to work on a friend's computer so I called him straight away and then emailed everyone at home and called our friends here. Got mostly answerphones but did speak to Carolyn. Now we can start making plans. I will call the remover/storage people and make a date for that sometime during the week before completion which is 8 December.

Tonight we are going to a wine tasting locally in someone's house nearby. I have been busy making some food to take. I have made some pinwheels made with chicken breast, thin ham, cream cheese and spring onions (scallions). Unfortunately I could not get the chicken thin enough so I have had to cut it through the middle which is not easy or ideal. As usual, I think I have made far too many pieces.

Can you believe it, there are Christmas trees for sale outside the supermarkets already. Puts me into a panic.

It is another beautiful day in Virginia, in more ways than one.

2006-11-16T09:21:00.000-05:00

Thursday 16 November - Went to a house group at the Turners' house at the far edge of town. They live in the middle of the woods. We always give thanks for Grace Covenant church and what a wonderful family it is. The outpouring of love is so noticeable to everyone who visits. We have made some wonderful friends. This evening we are going back to the Turners (Eve and Dick) because we are going to a concert together and then having dinner. Their son Richard has just been deployed to Afganistan, he is in the army - what a worry!

This is the Colonial Williamsburg Toymaker shop where Radgety Ann is born.

The concert was fabulous, at a huge modern Roman catholic church (I would say cathedral) with a vast organ. The music consisted of pieces I had never heard before but it was awe-inspiring. Eve and Dick had been given the tickets by friends who were in the choir and we met them after the performance. It was absolutely wonderful and we are so grateful to them for thinking of us.

The weather has been awful today, strong winds and rain but 74 degrees, very strange.

2006-11-15T15:34:00.000-05:00

Wednesday 15 November - After breakfast Greg went off to the Vehicle Licence office in Williamsburg to try to get an American driving licence again. You may remember that we had to FedEx his British Licence to Washington to get it verified. We thought that was going to make it simple but of course it wasn't, he STILL needs another means of identification. He was gone most of the morning and still got nowhere. Our British licence is OK for short periods but without an American one we pay a great deal of car insurance and cannot get any store card or anything like that. For instance at the supermarket, (Lion) I don't get the discount quoted because I can't get a card. Philippa knows what a difference it would make in Belk, the clothes store!

When he returned I went off by myself to do some shopping at the outlet malls. I managed to get a couple more Christmas presents so I am pleased about that.

This is a picture of the children's Sunday school teacher, I wonder if they will recognise him?

The solicitor says we are still on track to exchange contracts on Friday.

2006-11-14T10:26:00.000-05:00

Tuesday 14 November - Greg wento off to Real Early group (for men) at church at 6.30 am and I stayed in bed and read - so quiet! Last night Greg went to a meeting at the James City County offices where they were discussing the future of the lake and the faulty dam. He intends to do a report for the Lake Powell Forest website. The dam has been continually damaged by floods and bad weather and it needs a lot of money spent on it to make it right again. The question is, of course, who should pay for it - millions of dollars! We are hoping that we are far enough from it that we will not be involved in the cost. There are about 50 people who live right on the lake who are obviously concerned that it should not become a swamp which is what will happen if the water keeps draining away. Actually I did not realise that the lake was so big.

When he got home we had a phone call from someone in our home group inviting us to go out to dinner with them on Thursday so that will be nice. On Friday we have our Wine Tasting group locally so I have to make some small eats to take - can't decide what. Most of my recipe books are at home. The Fresh Market will have something I am sure.

Most important of all - I had an email from the solicitor's office to say that we SHOULD be exchanging contracts this Friday so keep your fingers crossed. Then we can complete on 8 December. We get to the house on the 4th and I will arrange for our things to go into storage shortly after that and then we will do the final cleaning and leave. We have been offered accommodation at a friend's house so we won't have to stay in the big empty house. I think we will certainly feel the difference in temperature in the UK.

The picture is of Merchant Square in CW. The Cheese Shop is in the centre.

2006-11-13T17:44:00.000-05:00

Monday 13 November - Had a quiet morning at home and after lunch went out to Walmart (me) and Greg went to nearby Home Depot to get some more dirt. We have had plenty of rain so we're hoping this is a good time to sow grass seed.

Greg is going to a meeting of the Residents' Association at 6.30 pm. I am not going, I am going to be lazy and stay home!

2006-11-12T15:08:00.000-05:00

Sunday 12 November - The weather has really taken a nose dive only 50 degrees F and lots and lots of rain. After church we joined the crowd for lunch at Ruby Tuesday at Monticello Marketplace, the food was delicious and there were about 20 of us!! Everyone was asking about the family. Jenifer says 'thank you for giving her the opportunity of meeting the Macs'.

I think I am suffering from an 'empty nest' syndrome - I wonder how long it will last? We had taken out a DVD from the library so we watched that since it was raining so much. It was The Constant Gardener and I recommend it to anyone who has not seen it - very well done but very sad.

2006-11-11T14:52:00.000-05:00

Saturday 11 Novemer - It is Veterans' Day here (Armistice Day in UK). We received some paperwork from the solicitor and had to return it signed but the post offices are shut.They really do honour their troops and veterans here they are very grateful to them which is good to see. We got our friend Dan to countersign the form so we popped around to see him and Carolyn and they invited us to their house for Thanksgiving on the 23rd. I am taking pumpkin pie - brave I thought!

Operation Christmas Child is an organisation that sends shoe boxes full of toys to children in countries that are very poor, to bring a little joy into their lives. We went out this morning to get some stuff for the two little show boxes that Philippa left behind (Dora and Explorer and Hello Kitty) which had the girls' trainers in. It is the deadline today so we will take them too the church later. The weather is wonderful again, even hotter than yesterday. I feel a trip to the Cheese shop coming up. Greg is on the deck reading the paper at the moment, he says it is getting too hot, and it rarely gets too hot for him as you all know.

It was very busy in CW, it is obviously an important holiday weekend. Loads of groups of people milling around, a bit like the art festival that was on when Matt and Hayley were here. Came home and sat on the deck for a drink, still so warm!

2006-11-10T09:50:00.000-05:00

Friday 10 November - Philippa called this morning to say that all is well at home. They were delayed at Philadelphia which is hard when you are tired. Still, once they got going it seemed to go well, but amazingly Evie, who was tired during the afternoon, only got an hour of two of sleep. They caught up on time so were not too late at Gatwick where Stuart was waiting of course. Then they had a 2 or 3 hour journey to their new home south of Cirencester. S had been painting and getting it sorted and the children were thrilled with their new bedrooms. The girls will have to share for a while.

We took back the children's DVDs to the store and then spent the rest of the morning in the library. For lunch we went to the Green Leafe cafe which some of our previous visitors will remember - great chilli. It is hot today, 78 degrees or 28C and it is forecast to be warmer tomorrow.

As predicted we miss the constant busy-ness that is the children. We got out of the car this pm and expected to hear a little voice saying 'grandad, can we go out on the bikes?'

This afternoon we needed to go to Home Depot to get some dirt (soil) to make yet another attempt to make grass grow around our house. We have to get it done soon or it will be too late - it may already be.

2006-11-09T09:01:00.000-05:00

Thursday 9 November - Flight day and P is getting nervous. We said plenty of prayers in our group last night. The weather is lovely, the ideal flying sort. We plan to go to Newport News or the James River this morning to see the turtles again. I have some bread and they should be on the right side of the lake in the sun this morning. Loading the washing machine at the moment!

The turtles were being shy so we only saw them from a distance but the ducks appreciated the bread. Had lunch at a chinese buffet restaurant, the Red City in Newport News - everyone had a wonderful meal but of course we ate too much. Got to the airport and dropped off P and the children with their bags and I parked our car and Greg returned the hired car, then we met up with them again as they were handing in their bags and spent the next hour or two watching planes take off.

Airforce One came and went many times, Greg says it was doing circuits and bumps as they call it in the airforce. Callum is very interested in planes and cars. At about 4 pm we said our goodbyes and they went through security. P was so relieved that their suitcases were not overweight but they did go through two of them - she was not impressed! She felt a lot better by the time they were due to fly and I think the children were looking forward to the flights and of course excited that they will be seeing Daddy tomorrow.

Once we were convinced that all was well we left the airport but we had only gone a mile when P called to say that Ewan had left his new binoculars somewhere in the airport. It was obvious that we would not find them and get them to the flight before they took off so we promised to get him some more in Williamsburg if we can find some.

Had a very beautiful trip home, the various lakes were very still and the colours are still wonderful but of course we had mixed emotions. It is very sad to say goodbye to them we have all had a wonderful visit. I said to Issy, 'I hope you won't forget all this' and she said 'I won't'. Oh dear this house is horribly quiet (except for the tumble drier). After 6 weeks of visitors, I don't know what we will do with ourselves tomorrow! Everything we do will remind us of them.

We go home ourselves in exactly 3 weeks.

2006-11-08T17:21:00.000-05:00

Wednesday 8 November - The children requested that we go to the Yankee Candle shop this morning. It has a Christmas shop and a toy shop too, also it snows for a little while every 15 minutes - there is a train that goes around the top of the store which Evie loves. Greg was around at a friend's, fixing his computer so he was relieved that he did not have to go to that shop. We came home for lunch after which Greg took the kids to the cinema to see Flushed Away by Aardman - it was excellent apparently. P and I used the free time to do a little last minute shopping. She has bought a second extra suitcase!!! Home for an early dinner, we go to a church home group this evening. P is dreading the flight home tomorrow but she will not have to deal with her luggage after we have given over the bags at Newport News so it should not be too bad as long as the children sleep across the Atlantic!

The picture is of Ewan helping to make chocolate in the Palace kitchen.

2006-11-07T10:43:00.000-05:00

Tuesday 7 November - Greg went off to Real Early at church (6.30 am) and gradually the house woke up. When he returned Callum asked him to take them for a walk in the forest so they quietly went off and left P and I to have breakfast and a chat. They were gone for a long time, the forest is lovely at the moment, still full of colour.

Our estate agent called to say that we SHOULD be exchanging contracts within a week but since we have not signed any contract, we contacted the solicitor/lawyer and asked him to sent it to us and anything else that needs checking or signing. It looks like we will finally complete this sale on 5 December, a few days after we get home, all being well. Then we need to do some serious house hunting so that we have a home again before we return here next spring. We would like to get an extension to our visas next year so that we can be here to enjoy all the 400th anniversary celebration events. We need to do some research into it, but it probably involves the American Embassy, maybe we will have to go to the one in London again.

Heard from Laura who says she and Mark are going to Perth, Australia for Christmas this year! That means they will be there for their first wedding anniversary!

This picture is of Lake Powell but the autumn colours are not as bright as they are in real life. The level of the water is much lower since the floods and the crack in the dam.

Went to the Mongolian Grill for lunch because the children love the buffet so much. Afterwards we went into CW to go to the Palace kitchen where they demonstrated how they made chocolate in colonial times. We spent quite a while there and learnt that the first chocolate maker in the UK was Fry. Then they visited the wheelwright again, and because it started to rain there were very few people around so we really did get individual attention. This evening Greg and Callum went to the rental store to get a couple of DVDs - special offers on Tuesdays. So we are watching Chicken Little.

Ewan with his jawbreaker.

Quote of the week - 'How long do I have to suck this before I get to the chewy bit?'

2006-11-06T09:25:00.000-05:00

Monday November 6 - P spoke to Stuart (in UK) and he getting on well with the painting. He wants to finish all the bedrooms at least by the time the family get back on Friday. He picks them up from the airport and will be working from home for a couple of days I think, so they will have a little time to settle in. This morning he has emailed with a picture of the new cooker he has ordered. It has to be electric this time because they have no gas in the village. The lovely gas range cooker was sold with the last house - much too heavy to move anyway.

There are mold spores in the air, indoors and out which is causing us all some allergy problems. Philippa had to go the chemist to get some serious medication because of her sinuses.

This morning, I made a huge amount of macaroni cheese and P made 3 pumpkin pies so we had some of that for lunch and went into CW to do the few things that the children had not done yet viz the jail, the apothecary shop, the wig maker and finally the hospital (lunatic assylum). The children were really interested in it all and over meals we have some challenging questions about history which the 3 adults just manage to answer, combining the 3 brains.

On the way back from CW we dropped P and the girls off at the hairdresser for a trim. I took Greg and the boys home and then went off to the supermarket quickly before picking up the girls. The hair cuts cost $28 for the three which is so much cheaper than it would have been at home. Their hair was washed and conditioned too for that!

2006-11-05T10:06:00.000-05:00

Sunday 5 November - Remember, remember the 5th of November, gunpowder, treason and plot. In UK it is Guy Fawkes day - hope you have a good one.

Church this morning. Everyone has gone to Sunday school, Evie and I will join them for the service at 10.30 am. We came home and put some pork steaks in the oven and generally got lunch ready. Evie was no trouble, she is so funny to talk to. This afternoon we decided to have a quiet time at home and actually I think everyone enjoyed themselves, Issy doing her scrapbooking and the boys flying their model planes from the loft and the adults reading the paper and generally enjoying doing very little. The weather is glorious, temperatures in the 60s.

2006-11-04T17:02:00.000-05:00

Saturday 4 November - Maths this morning taught by granddad and P and I went to the Potteries with Evie for a girls morning out. I knew she would find it fascinating. For those who need to know - we didn't spend much! Then we went to Belk so that P could return a denim skirt and she bought another bag for her return journey on Thursday. We phoned Greg who had taken the children to the local airport for lunch (we had gone to Ukrops) and we met them at Walmart. Goodness knows how long we were in there.

2006-11-02T21:42:00.000-05:00

Friday 3 November - A girl can never have enough protection!

Philippa and 3 of the children went to Gloucester, across the bridge from Yorktown to spend the day with someone she had met at the Homeschoolers group on Tuesday. Isobel did not want to go because she was still not feeling well so she stayed with us. We did a bit of shopping with her and had lunch in Ukrops, then we took Grandad home and the two of us went into CW mainly to go to the fab toy shop that we dare not take the boys to (they would want to buy the whole shop even though they only have a few dollars). We had a good look around - it is where Evie's Radgety Ann doll was born. We also went into a couple of Christmas shops but we managed to spend no money so that was good!

P returned with the others. They had the most wonderful day with her friend and her children. They have a huge house on an island (only one other house there) right on the Atlantic. A very good time was had by all, it is such a shame that Isobel missed it because she was actually fine and would have been OK really. I wish I had seen the house it sounds wonderful. Her friend has 5 children, 2 or 3 of them the same age as our grandchildren. The little girl who is the same age as Issy was terribly upset that Issy didn't go, she had prepared a tea party for the two of them!

Issy and I stopped off to get a DVD (rented) called The Wild, a Disney new release so we all watched that after dinner. They woke up Evie when they went to bed and it was a nightmare trying to get her off to sleep again.

2006-11-02T09:33:00.000-05:00

Thursday 2 November - Went to Ford's Colony, a gated community, for our church home group. The SatNav wanted us to in the wrong gate so we had some trouble finding the way somehow. Greg was setting up some equipment so we should have got there early but didn't - oh well! Had a good evening and when we got home P was having some time to herself having put the children into bed fairly early. It has been 23 degrees today and the children were too hot in the bedroom so P had to put the air conditioning on! Surprising for November but they say it is going to get cooler from now on. Isobel ate lunch and had soup for dinner so she is on the mend.

This is the colonial way of saying 'hurrah' which those who have visited CW with us will know well.

School work this morning and it does look cooler outside, certainly overcast - no blue sky! We did some more work on the Powhatan indians but getting them to do the write up was like pulling teeth - they would rather be riding the bikes of course. Eventually we achieved something and had some of P's soup. Evie says 'thank you mummy for dinner' - thank goodness for small mercies.

Had a good time at Jamestown Settlement in the sunshine. They seem fascinated by how the indians made canoes. The lady there showed us the axes the English would have used and asked 'Who else would have used them?' One of the children answered 'the English', Callum said the Africans (right answer) and Evie said 'the Telly Tubbies'. We all laughed of course and Evie looked puzzled. The poor lady tried to continue on with the questions but Evie insisted 'but what about the Telly Tubbies?' Well, she had to admit she had not been asked that one before. More laughter poor Evie, she didn't know what she had said.

Anyway, finally the boys found wallets with indians on in the souvenir shop so they are happier. Spare ribs cooking in the slow cooker, smells really good.

2006-11-01T09:54:00.000-05:00

Wednesday 1 November - Can't believe it is November already - only a month to go until we return.

Poor Isobel had an awful night, she was sick in the bed so it obviously disturbed Evie who was sleeping in the next bed as P had to take off the bedding and take her into her own bed. Issy is feeling a lot better though so I hope the rest of us don't get it. P is feeling the lack of sleep but it is a beautiful day in Virginia -72 degrees and bright sunshine. We go out to the church house group tonight so we plan to eat out together at lunch time and P is going to put soup in the slow cooker/crockpot so we can all have that for dinner. The children are learning more about the Powhatan indians this morning which they seem to enjoy. Ewan has been out on his bike (well not really HIS), you would think you had given him a million dollars!

Spent the afternoon at Jamestown Plantation because I have been working with the children about indians and they have a wonderful new exhibition we wanted to see. It is the sort of place you need to go to several times to take it all in. I had a long chat with one of the interpreters (indian) which gave me loads of material for our indian class tomorrow. Ewan had sugar at lunchtime!

2006-10-31T10:18:00.000-05:00

Tuesday 31 October - Greg went off to another men's study and get-together at church that they call Real Early and I was still reading in bed when he returned! After breakfast Philippa went to meet some home schooling mums at church. She is hoping for some advice - and coffee no doubt. Greg is doing maths with the children and later I am going to do the Powhatan Indians with them. The children are in a good calm mood again and they seem to be working hard so I hope they are getting into a routine. I have banned anything sweet for breakfast so perhaps that is working. Yesterday Evie was bought some Dora the Explorer dominoes which she loves - she is very into 'matching' at the moment. It keeps her busy while the others are working. Isobel received a birthday card from Auntie Jane this morning, she (Issy) seems to be feeling better.

I heard from the solicitor this morning that we will not finish our house sale until the first week in December - it is beyond belief that it is taking so long - another four weeks! Because our buyers have not had to make any monetary commitment we still do not know if this will all happen. It has been 18 months so far since we put the house on the market and we have had enough!!!

Went to Yorktown beach this pm so that the children could paddle (wade). They had a wonderful time. We came home, dropped everyone off and Philippa and I went to the supermarket and petrol station and got lost in the dark on the way home. Greg was left to deal with the trick or treaters (we thought we would be home with the candies in time but failed). Anyway all they got was one lollipop and we are left with Halloween candy! Had fabulous fajitas for dinner although Evie had fallen to sleep and Isobel is feeling too ill to eat.

2006-10-30T10:07:00.000-05:00

Monday 30 October - The forecast is for really warm weather today so they are doing their school work this morning so we can go out this pm. Philippa made some of her legendary soup and eventually we went off to Jamestown Island. We have an annual ticket to get onto the island in the car so it does not cost anything. The sun shone on the river and we had a lovely walk. The children were in a mood to learn about John Smith, Pocahontas and John Rolfe so we read all the exhibits etc. Isobel has a cold starting and is feeling awful so we did not go into the museum but brought her home. On the way Callum wanted to go into Big Lots for a wallet so we did that and meanwhile Greg went to the charity shop to look at a bike he had seen there. Ewan is feeling hard done by because he doesn't have a bike to ride - actually he can ride the pink one we bought last week but for some reason he won't! So, secretly Greg put it in the boot (trunk) and we took it home where he checked it out. Ewan was in 7th heaven of course. We now have 4 bikes of varying sizes. The new one only cost $12 and the pink one $5 and they have a lot of fun on them. Between school work they can go out and let off some steam. Callum has been lovely today - we failed to get his wallet though so we will have to try again tomorrow. We can't get Isobel to eat, she is the sort of person who loses her appetite if she is ill!

2006-10-29T19:03:00.000-05:00

Sunday 29 October - The clocks went back today so we had an extra hour to get ready for church. Everyone went off at 9.30 am except Evie and I who did not go until 10.30 for the service and I brought her home half way through when the children go off to Sunday school so we prepared the roast chicken for lunch. Stuart is going home today he flies at 5 pm. We took him to Newport News and had a cup of coffee with him and said our goodbyes. I must admit I was expecting many tears but actually they were alright. They did not want him to go but seem to have come to terms with it. They adore their dad so it was hard.

We went off to Patrick Henry mall to the Borders book shop where they have a good children's section. We were there for ages - too much choice but eventually some decisions were made and we left at about 6 pm (really 7 pm). Pocket money does not go far in a book shop! Hot dogs for tea and yet another late night for them. We plan to get more into a routine, do more school work, and get the children to bed earlier - watch this space . . . .

2006-10-28T10:34:00.000-04:00

Saturday 28 October - It is Greg's birthday and we have just had breakfast and he has opened his cards and presents. The weather is better than expected because the rain that was forecast came through in the night so it looks like we will have a good day. It is windy but we went into CW so that the kids could go to the outdoor theatre because there was an indian story telling session for an hour, we went to the foundry too where they saw a man working in pewter. Took Grandad for a birthday lunch at the Olive Garden where we expected to get a pasta buffet but they had stopped that so we had to order more expensive food from the menu. It was really good though and when we got home we still had Grandad's icecream birthday cake to look forward too. Evie is asleep at last, she had had a tiring morning. Off to church at 5.30 pm for the Reformation/Luther evening. We had a wonderful buffet meal but of course we were not at all hungry. The children went off to the other end of the building for fun and games, they had a wonderful time but coloured candy had the predicted effect, still it was nice to see them enjoying themselves so much. The adults watched an old movie about Luther and Huss but we had to take turns to look after Evie who was too young for the games the others were enjoying. Eventually Philippa and I brought her home and left the men to watch the end of the movie and to bring the other kids home. I think Greg enjoyed his birthday - thanks to those who sent messages, cards etc. I will try to get a good picture of him to post here.

2006-10-27T17:11:00.000-04:00

Friday 27 October - Stuart and Greg spent the morning with the three eldest children and Philippa and I went to Belk to get her some trousers. We took Evie with us and P managed to get some things she needed and I got a couple of Christmas presents because there is a sale on. We came home for lunch after a couple of hours and afterwards P and S went off to the outlet shops for the afternoon. They are having a meal out together tonight and I am making tacos for the children. We all went to the children's library and chose some books and got a DVD of Harry Potter which they will watch after dinner. You can borrow DVDs for a week free which is amazing. Dropped into the Food Lion on the way home and the children played in the garage for a while (Evie fell asleep).

2006-10-27T10:20:00.000-04:00

Thursday 26 October - Went into CW this morning, mainly to see the printer printing the almanac but Greg and I had to leave them to their own devices because we needed to get home as we were going to be picked up by friends for our Romeo and Juliet lunches. Greg was taken to Food For Thought by Dan in his sports car a Chrysler Sebring and Nancy G took me to a French restaurant We picked up 3 other women on the way and we had a lovely lunch but being French it took a while. There must have been about 14 of us so you can imagine the noise and chatter! Afterwards we found a 2nd hand designer clothes shop in the same little complex of shops so we spent half an hour in there. There was a young woman in the shop who was wearing stockings/hose with seams - I haven't seen that in years. Apparently the fashion is coming back (deep gloom!) and she said she bought them in Victoria's Secret which all the women reading this will know about.

Surprisingly, Greg got home before me. I changed and went off to the supermarket - 8 people eat a lot of food! The Macs had gone to the Mongolian Grill buffet again so they were stuffed with food but I had made them a pasta meal before their planned evening outing to Williamsburg to see a children's performance on the topic of Pirates - Pirates Fact and Fiction. It started at 7.30 pm and they left Evie with me. Greg went to a Neighborhood (American spelling) meeting. The Macs got back at about 8.30 pm bursting to tell me all about it - obviously they had a wonderful time. Evie was an absolute delight, she is such a sweetheart, it is such a lovely time when the little ones are learning to talk. Greg went out again to a further meeting somewhere along the street and came back very late, it was obviously just a post-meeting party.

2006-10-25T08:49:00.000-04:00

Wednesday 25 October - It is getting a lot colder but it is still bright. Yesterday the peak was 52 degrees F and it looks like it will be the same today although I have not been out yet. The forest is bright and the colours are really changing. Greg is trying to get an early morning picture.

School work this morning. We ate at home at lunch time because Greg and I are out to our church home group tonight. Philippa cooked steaks with an amazing sauce - cayenne says it all!! In bright sunshine we walked around CW, we had planned to go to the bindery to see how they bound books in the 18th century. We will visit the printer tomorrow. The blacksmith was nearly finished for the day but we saw him once more too. I bought Evie a little cap, she looks so gorgeous. Isobel had a cap too which is usually worn under her straw hat outdoors or on its own indoors. Now they all have hats to wear when we go to CW. I was walking along with angel-looking Evie in her bonnet and she pointed to something in the street and said 'Is that poo?' - 'Did the horse do it?'

Greg took Ewan to the store to rent a DVD, he chose Garfield (Ewan that is not Greg). So we were glad to go off to the Caprios for church home group. When we got back we did some planning, sadly it is only a few more days until Stuart goes home (Sunday). The weather forecast is mostly for sunny weather for a few days (except Saturday pm)and temperatures of about 60 degrees F so that is nice to know.

2006-10-24T14:57:00.000-04:00

Tuesday 24 October - It is Isobel's birthday so we all woke up very early in eager anticipation. We had promised to take her to a pancake place for breakfast so off we went to Stack 'Em High. Isobel had a chocolate chip pancake and all-in-all a lot of sugar was consumed but they could not believe their luck. The waitress asked us what we wanted to drink and Evie said 'I want a tup of tea', how British. Then we were on a mission to find a fudge shop (Issy's favourite). Just down the road from the pancake place was the Yankee Candle Shop where it snows every 15 minutes and you can get home made fudge. It is also a Christmas shop - they thought they had landed in heaven!!!

We drove to Jamestown to catch the Surry ferry to Scotland because I had seen an advertisement for a 'Pick Your Own Pumpkin' patch over there. It was too late in the season and the only ones left were rotten so we will have to get a pumpkin somewhere else (no shortage believe me). I had hoped to see the peanut harvest too but it was too late. BUT we did find some cotton fields and we brought home a top for the children to find out all about it. Sometime this week we will go on the internet and research how to make clothes from cotton. Isobel did not know that cotton came from a plant. The ferry trip is very pretty, you can see the three colonial ships at Jamestown from the river. Home for a cup of tea.

2006-10-23T09:06:00.000-04:00

Monday 23 October - Tomorrow Isobel will be 8 years old so there are some preparations going on. Philippa and I will need to find a cake. Sadly Isobel does not want an ice cream cake much to the boy's disappointment. Maybe Grandad will have one on his birthday at the end of the month.

We went out to get the party stuff, plates etc and then the men took the children (minus Evie) to CW to see someone firing bricks and Philippa and I went off to Farm Fresh for food for the great day tomorrow. The men have the task of picking up a birthday cake on the way home, it is possibly too late to order a special one.

2006-10-22T20:09:00.000-04:00

Sunday 22 October - We went to church as usual this morning and then went off to the Mongolian Grill where they have a buffet, you would not believe how much our grandchildren can eat!! They had a wonderful time, Ewan especially loves Noodles and Callum is now very keen on sushi! KMart was a couple of stores away so Philippa, Stuart and I spent quite a while in there and they bought a lot of clothes because there is a sale on items going out of season. After all that we had a nice quiet afternoon or what was left of it. The children played happily on whatever they wanted to and I even read my book for a while. They are settled in now. We had miserable weather today so I am glad that we went to Yorktown yesterday. It was actually good to have a fairly uneventful and quiet day but I must say I do love these American washers and driers!

2006-10-22T18:47:00.000-04:00

Saturday 21 October - This is the 2nd time I have written this because of trouble with my blog . .

Loads of special things are happening at Yorktown today being part of the 225th anniversary of the victory of the Americans and French over the British which pretty much finished the war of Independence. We arrived there at about 11 am, and there were hundreds of cars already parked on the battlefield. We saw enactments of battles, and watched the troops drill, fire guns etc which the children enjoyed of course. Then we walked along the beach to the town where there were all sorts of activities for families. We were all impressed that it was all FREE, the car parking, activities, children's corner etc, the only thing we paid for was our chilli at lunch time and some tee shirts for the kids.

The Macs made a square panel of their hands for a flag to be made and finally unfurled next May during the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the first landing of the colonists in Virginia. Greg and I will certainly try to be here then. They will be part of history. There was also a children's corner where they were handing out educational stuff which will be very useful for the home-schooling. Finally we sat on the beach for about an hour while the children played (and got their clothes wet) and we watched the four masted ships sailing along the York River as they would have done all that time ago. It was idyllic and we had such a lovely day.

BUT Stuart got almost back to the car park/parking lot (quite a long walk) when he realised that he had lost his Blackberry phone, probably on the beach. Philippa called his number and the Yorktown sherrif answered and was good enough to bring it up to him!! He had looked at the address book and worked out that Stuart was a Brit so they had a chat. It turns out his son's mother is English and he had a Union Jack flag tattooed on his leg!!! The Sherrif that is not his son! We do meet some interesting people.

2006-10-20T09:24:00.000-04:00

Friday 20 October - Had a really good home school session. I spent some time with Ewan doing an educational puzzle book and he and I enjoyed ourselves. He can be so lovely and today was a really good day for him. After lunch we went into CW to see a few more of the trades, this time it was the wheelwright, the cooper and the gunsmith. Issy was not keen on the guns so she and I tried to identify some trees with my 'Virginian Trees' chart. We sat under a tree but could not decide what it was, we asked one of the ladies there and she said it was a Northern Magnolia. I thought it looked like a Magnolia but it was HUGE we certainly don't have them as big at home. Issy is very interested in nature she is a delight to walk around with. I hope they see a Red Cardinal bird before they return to UK. The rest of the family were in the gunsmith for a long time and said the man in there was very interesting. Whenever we stop at one of the workshops they position themselves right at the front so they can see really well and seem to take it all in. We try to reinforce what they have learned from CW when they do some school work - I said TRY.

We happened upon Day 1 of the brewing war in Willimsburg and some poor man who tried to stay loyal to the king was tried and then they got ready to tar and feather him. Once again the children were right in the front. They looked forward with anticipation and the man was stripped to the waist but before it actually happened he recanted and apologised. He had to pay for an advertisement in the local press declaring his regrets. There were lots of questions about what it meant to be tarred and feathered of course.

The children had chilli and cheese Mexican casserole (Crock Pot/Slow cooker) and when they had gone to bed, the very tired parents and grandparents had blackened salmon, it was wonderful.

2006-10-19T10:28:00.000-04:00

Thursday 19 October - Gina left Norfolk airport on time to go back to Albuquerque but apparently she was held up at Houston because of bad weather. I suppose she had to go to work today!

Heard all about the beach, they certainly enjoyed themselves. We had the 3 youngest jumping on our bed this morning telling us all about it. Today we need to motivate them to do some schoolwork, it will not be easy.

Well it wasn't - finally gave up and had lunch and went off to Kidsburg, a park at the edge of town where a good time was had by all. We met some friends there who home-school their kids so we had a chat. The boys came home in one car and the girls came home via the haberdashery (as we would call it in UK) because Isobel needed to get some ribbon for her Colonial bonnet. The slow cooker was on all day with a tagine chicken recipe which Matt and Hayley would recognise, it was good, or as Evie would say GOOD JOB!! Auntie Gina taught her to say that, she even said it to the cashier in the store today!! Evie has new Dora the Explorer trainers so she is thrilled. Can you believe it, the men bought the boys recorders and flutes!!! We intended to have dinner early but did not manage it. Grandad is reading a story about Christopher Columbus (part 2). It has been warm and muggy today, tomorrow we feel we should go to Yorktown because they celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Americans and FRENCH whupping the British - it will never happen! We will see what the weather is like.

2006-10-18T10:22:00.000-04:00

Wednesday 18 October - Gina goes back to New Mexico this afternoon so they have all taken off down the Peninsula. The weather is warm but overcast but I think they plan to investigate Virginia Beach which is a lovely long stretch of beach so the children can run off some steam.

They came home after 10 pm!! They had a wonderful day at the beach or beaches of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake. It was about 80 degrees here so they were lucky. When they got back here, the children were asleep of course and they carried them upstairs and put them on the beds. We will hear all about it tomorrow.

2006-10-17T10:00:00.000-04:00

Tuesday 17 October - Heard from the agent this morning who says our house buyer wants to move in at the beginning of DECEMBER which make it 3 months since the offer. It seems excessive to me considering it should be a very quick procedure. I have told him that we are ready to move at any time but the sooner the better. The buyers are in rented accommodation and need to get out so it must be the solicitor/lawyer who is holding things up.

The weather is gloomy this morning, I hope it cheers up for Gina's sake, she goes home tomorrow pm.

Well it has rained all day so we had lunch at the Golden Corral - the children thought it was great and ate loads, I won't have to cook tonight! Then we went to Hampton to the Virginia Air and Space Museum. It was brilliant and we were there for 2 1/2 hours. Grandad and Callum flew/crashed a DC9 many times but Callum has been bitten by the flying bug! It is a wonderful hands-on place, even Evie was able to put luggage on a conveyor belt endlessly and was thrilled when it popped out somewhere else, she was there for ages. It was not busy so we were all free to go around and do whatever appealed to us. Travelled with Evie singing nursery rhymes - very cute!!!

2006-10-16T14:50:00.000-04:00

Monday 16 October - Homeschooling this morning. The men stayed in and did maths with the kids and Philippa, Gina and I went shopping. Lunch at Ukrops - Philippa was very impressed.

Ewan is not a nice person today!!! We tried to get him to have a nap but after a while in his room he still was not asleep so mid-afternoon we went into CW for a walk.

They put Auntie Gina into the stocks which was a great laugh and plenty of photos were taken!! I thought it was a good idea to take the children to the fabulous ice cream shop - it was incredible and of course it was a huge injection of sugar which we suffered from. We, the adults wanted to go to the cheese shop for a drink and the kids had a sugary drink which was like rocket fuel. I have personally learnt my lesson. Ewan was bouncing off the walls and did not calm down until he had pasta at dinner. Why does sugar not have that effect on me and why is he so thin and I am NOT?

2006-10-15T08:59:00.000-04:00

Sunday 15 October - Evie was up in the night as usual and Greg lept out of bed but no doubt she woke Gina who was sleeping on the loft (landing). Chaos this morning as we prepare for church.

It was lovely to see all our friends, we had such a welcome. Philippa and Stuart were so impressed with the welcome we all got. Greg went to Sunday school as usual and we met him at church at 10ish. The children (not Evie who stayed at home with Auntie Gina) stayed in the service for a while and then went out to catecism. Callum was very impressed because his Sunday School teacher was George Washington (whom he saw on his horse at Colonial Williamsburg the day before!) We then went to Jamestown Settlement for a quick snack and then onto the settlement. We had seen it all so recently with Matt and Hayley but we always learn something new, and of course it was great to see it through the eyes of the children. We had roast chicken for dinner and Greg read the children a story at bedtime. Oh my - we are tired!!

2006-10-14T09:14:00.000-04:00

Saturday 14 October - A very special day. Our friend's son is getting married today in Ottawa, I hope the weather is as good as it is here. I can't wait for the pictures to arrive.

Had a quick lunch and went to CW to see the pipes and drums and then we went off to Newport News to the Biggin Park to find the turtles in the lake. It was bright but cooler and we had trouble finding them at first because the sun was on the far side of the lake and they were sunbathing on logs there. We had taken some bread so they finally decided to show themselves under the jetty.

We had a secret visitor arriving at Norfolk airport. Stuart's sister Gina flew from New Mexico to spend a few days with us but we tried to keep it from the children as a surprise. They said they wanted something to drink after the park so we said we would drive under the tunnel, going under the James River because there would be a cafe at the airport. Gina actually arrived a little early and we arrived only just on time so she was standing there and they could hardly believe their eyes. She had not seen the Macs since January 05 so Evie did not remember her but the others were thrilled to see her. We had our drink and drove back. We had intended to have dinner at the Olive Garden in Newport News but there was a queue (line) and we would have had to wait for up to an hour so we drove straight home and I cooked some burgers for the children and when they had finished and gone to bed we had chinese takeaway and lots of chat and catching up.

The children want me to say HELLO UNCLE JOHN!!!!!!!

2006-10-13T14:46:00.000-04:00

Friday 13 October - Unlucky for some!

Greg jumped out of bed very early this morning as soon as he heard the children moving because he did not want P and S to wake up too soon. He gave the children breakfast and then they came into our bed for a story about the early Virginians. After breakfast (for adults) we took a quick trip to Walmart and then home for lunch.

This pm we went to the Information Centre at Colonial Williamsburg to get the Macs their annual entry tickets. It was a lovely walk but a little chillier than we are used to. We had time to go to the blacksmith before the war started. Today General Washington was in town on his horse. He talked to the citizens about our friends the French and how they could not win the war against the British without them. It all went over the children's heads I'm afraid but then I suppose Greg and I felt the same on our first day. We will have to talk to them a lot more about this history. The boys now have tricorn hats and wooden pistols (pistols were a mistake). Isobel did not want a hat so we will wait until she is in the mood. Evie did not get one because she was not feeling too happy either having fallen flat on her face in the gravel. Now she has a grazed nose, swollen lips and grazed chin!!! Somehow we got home much later than we intended but the children are still going strong I can't believe it. Evie went to sleep in the car on the way home and went straight to bed but the rest of us had our dinner and probably went to bed too late - V. tired!!!

2006-10-12T11:59:00.000-04:00

Thursday 12 October - Woke up to bright sunshine thank goodness (75 degrees already) because a lot of our family will be in the air today. Matt and Hayley fly out from Richmond at 5.05 pm (will have to be there by 3 pm), then we come home briefly before we drive in the other direction to Newport News to pick up Philippa, Stuart, Callum, Isobel, Ewan and Evelyn at 7.24 pm. They are flying to Philadelphia first and then down to this penninsula. Laura had a text earlier to say that all was going to plan so that is good. They should be in the air at his moment.

We took M and H to Richmond and left them to wait for the plane. They sent us a text later to say they did not fly until about 7 pm. Luckily the connecting plane was delayed too so they caught the transatlantic flight and arrived in UK on time. They picked up the cat and I suppose they are back to normal. We really enjoyed having them, I certainly hope they return asap, I think they will.

We went home briefly and then drove to Hampton to pick up Greg's camera from the restaurant where he left it yesterday and then onto Newport News airport. The flight was due in at 7.24 pm but was about 45 minutes late. To their English bodies it was after 1 am, but surprisingly the children skipped off the plane, full of beans (expect Evie who was asleep in the pushchair/stroller). We picked up their hired car and drove home. The children went straight to bed and sleep and we had pizza and a chat. Phlippa and Stuart are relieved to have finally moved house and now they have four weeks' holiday with us (Stuart two weeks) so that is wonderful.

2006-10-11T09:00:00.000-04:00

Wednesday 11 October - It is Matt and Hayley's last full day today. The forecast is for rain this afternoon so we took off to a beach near Hampton this morning called Buckroe. It is a lovely beach with fine clean sand but it looks like a typical beach out of season - deserted and the buildings a little run-down. We enjoyed walking along the sand. It was overcast but very warm, but we could see the rain clouds in the distance. It started to drizzle which is unusual here so we found a little restaurant in Hampton. Matt was not feeling too good so we came home but as soon as we came in the house Greg realised that he had left his camera in the restaurant. He phoned them and they are keeping it till tomorrow when we will be nearby when we go to the Newport News airport to pick up the Macs. He is kicking himself at the moment.

2006-10-10T09:04:00.000-04:00

Tuesday 10 October - Back to the usual Virginian skies but it is not as hot. It must be chaos in Basingstoke with the 'completion date' here at last and the final move to Ashton Keynes - a sad day in lots of ways but as Isobel (aged 7) says, 'it is just a new phase of their lives'. Wise beyond her years that one! A couple of days ago Eveline (aged 2) had an attack of croup so I hope that has cleared up before they leave Basingstoke poor thing. No one got a lot of sleep for at least one night - they spent most of the time in the bathroom with the hot shower running to ease her breathing. Just when you think things are sorting themselves out at last . . .

We went to Jamestown Island and walked around in the sunshine, 83 degrees or 28 C. Visited the new museum. Lunch at the Thai restaurant and then we went to Walmart to look for car seats for the children. It is cheaper to buy them than rent them for 28 days. Did a bit of food shopping. Greg and visitors are going down to the lake to check on the dam, I am writing my blog.

2006-10-09T19:07:00.000-04:00

Monday 9 October - The forecast was good so we decided today would be a Colonial Williamsburg day. M and H bought a one day ticket so we spent all day there, having lunch in the Kings Tavern - slow service but interesting food. We finished just in time to get to the war - we all learned a lot. George Washington was good as usual. Took Hayley to the Apothecary and it was very interesting. On the way home we bought a DVD player for $20 which is amazing.

Today the Macs had their day 1 of removals. I believe that most of their things are being put in the lorry (truck) today and the last few things tomorrow - then it will be taken to Ashton Keynes which is in Wiltshire but just south of Cirencester. Difficult times for them but they are looking forward to flying out here on Thursday. That means they will spend 2 nights in their new home before their holiday!!! We have been thinking of them all day.

2006-10-08T10:38:00.000-04:00

Sunday 8 October - Yesterday we had 10 inches of rain! We are watching the local news to see where is approachable. Greg has just come back from Sunday School and says it looks as if most roads are open again. We plan to go to Yorktown.

The water has gone down but as we drove along the parkway the river was very high - both the James and York river. Had lunch at the Yorktown pub and walked around town. Nice temperature but only in the late 60s I estimate.

Above is a picture of the dam going into our lake. There is some worry that it is not very strong.

2006-10-07T09:47:00.000-04:00

Saturday 7 October - Just when you think it can't rain any more - it does. Hayley says she has never seen rain like it, and I agree. It has been raining heavily for 36 hours so far and the forecast says it is going to continue all today. It should be better tomorrow. The storm is not close but we are still getting the rain. George Bush is in the area today to name the new aircraft carrier after his dad. It is called a ship christening which sounds odd to me!

Decided to drive along the Jamestown parkway to see how high the River James had got. Well, we drove about a mile along the road and had to turn back because the water on the road was so high. One car was actually stranded so I pursuaded Greg to turn around. We went to the bookshop down the road and then had dinner in the Polo Club. A few days ago we had seen a house in Williamsburg that had been put on a huge trailer to move it to another location. I wondered if they had moved it yet so we went into town and found that it was still on the trailer but a piece of land had been made ready to receive it at some time. I would love to see it being moved - it is an amazing idea. I wonder why they want to do it. It is literally only about 100 yards away. Parts of Williamsburg are impassable with the police turning people back. I am so grateful that none of the family are flying today, we have had thunder and lightening continuously for 2 days now. We came home for a quiet afternoon with our books but it is a shame to lose a day to this rain. We think it will be a little better tomorrow and Monday should be OK so perhaps we will do CW then. It should be over 70 degrees by Thursday when the Macs arrive.

2006-10-06T09:58:00.000-04:00

Friday 6 October - We had an amazing amount of rain last night, it made so much noise we could not sleep for a while. Greg got up to shut the window and we finally got some rest, even though there was thunder in the distance. M and H come back from the mountains this evening so I hope they had better weather!

We picked them up at about 3 pm. Unfortunately they had a day of fog in the mountains so lost the views. They had wonderful views from their log cabin (for 2 days) and they seem to have really enjoyed it before the storms started. We came home via the Jamestown Pie Shop to buy a pumpkin pie - it was wonderful and not as sweet as we expected so that is good.

2006-10-05T10:15:00.000-04:00

Thursday 5 October - This is a picture of one of the incredibly painted houses on the Isle of Wight at Smithfield.

Last night we went to our church home group as usual, I think there were about 10 of us. This morning Greg took off early on his bike to ride around the lake. He took some wonderful pictures. I stayed at home and had breakfast and read my book - but I will go with him one day. I just feel, if he is finding it a challenge, it will kill me at the moment. We are going to have a quiet day today but although it is nice now weather-wise, they predict rain storms for the next few days. It is seldom as bad as they say but you never know. Greg was going to get some dirt and sow some seeds but he is now thinking twice.

We are thinking of our friends Richard and Libby who fly to Canada tomorrow for their son's wedding. Happy days!!!!!!

2006-10-04T14:32:00.000-04:00

Wednesday 4 October - Quiet here today (but v. hot) because M and H are off to the Shanandoah. We took them to Hertz this morning and then went to friends because Greg was sorting out Dan's computer again. I took Greg home and went off to the outlet mall to look for some clothes in giant size! It was a depressing exercise but I did get one or two things. I soon came home for lunch though.

2006-10-03T09:56:00.000-04:00

Tuesday 3 October - Another beautiful day in Virginia. Suffering from bites received yesterday. They promise temperatures of 83 ish today so we plan to go to the James River at Newport News in the hope of seeing some turtles. M & H want to buy a CD that comes out today called Sam's House by the Killers (never heard of them but they seem to be playing it in the shops). I still only listen to Katie Mellua, it is lovely. Going for a walk around the forest/sub division before it gets too hot.

Biggins Park was full of turtles today, they are fascinating. There are plenty of birds by the river and we found Fort Fun which we will visit again in a couple of weeks. The lift bridge opened for a ship while we were there - great excitement (apparently). There is a little beach on the edge of the James River by the bridge but I wonder how safe it is for swimming. Drove from there to Smithfield on the Isle of Wight and stopped for ice cream and to show M and H the strange old fashioned buildings. Smithfield is the big centre for ham production - it seems to cure most of the pork from around the country.

Took another route home via Surry (American spelling) to Scotland which is where the ferry goes across to Jamestown just down the road from us but M and H wanted to go to Target again to get their CD so we did that and bought a few bits and pieces for breakfast at Ukrops. They go off to the Shenandoah national park tomorrow. The forecast is good. We will take them to Hertz to pick up the hire car at 10 am and they return on Friday evening.

2006-10-02T19:07:00.000-04:00

Monday 2 October - This was a shopping day. Those who have been out here know where I mean. Lunch at the Mongolian Grill for $6.99, all you can eat argh!!! Ended up in the Willimsburg book shop because Hayley is a keen reader. We were in there for ages and then sat in Merchant's Square for a while. It is a lovely temperature, about 25 degrees C. Came home to sit on the deck to watch the sun go down. Very tired for some reason and we certainly don't need any dinner thankfully. I feel an early night coming on!

2006-10-01T09:50:00.000-04:00

Sunday 1 October - Matt and Hayley arrived on time, if not a couple of minutes early at Richmond last night and we got there as they were getting their luggage. It takes an hour to get home. They had already eaten so we just talked for a couple of hours by which time it was 2 am for them but only 7 pm for us. This morning I took Greg to his Sunday school class and then took M and H to Jamestown Settlement to look around while we were at church. We met them again at noon, had a quick bite to eat and then all went around the settlement again. The weather by that time was lovely, getting quite hot. It is in such a pretty spot. We drove around Jamestown Island to our favourite little beach along the James River and then went into Colonial Williamsburg where there was an art festival on. Impossible to park so we had to walk down from the Information Centre, but it was a pleasant walk and not very far. The war was on in town but we did not attend, instead we went into one or two shops and generally looked around, ending up in the Cheese Shop for a coke. The Art Festival was interesting and much bigger than we expected. These things are always very well attended which is good. We showed our visitors the Peanut Shop and Wythe's Candy Store, as well as going into the Cheese Shop which is a deli really. On the way home I needed to get some milk so we stopped at the Fresh Market, my favourite but expensive supermarket. I wanted Hayley and Matt to see it. It is of course pumpkin time of year. Apparently we can cross the river and go to a place where you can pick your own pumpkin - we will leave that until the children arrive after the 12th.

2006-09-30T08:46:00.000-04:00

This is Williamsburg airport.

Saturday 30 September - Today is my sister's birthday - Happy Birthday Jane! Last night we went to the local Indian restaurant for a meal with friends. They are the friends who look after this house when we are away so we owe them a lot. We ate early which a good idea with curry and then went back to their place for dessert and coffee. This morning Greg is off with Gene to get some dirt (soil) to spread on our yard to encourage the grass to grow. Apparently it is the very best time to sow seed and the front sod needs patching with some more seed. We leave for Richmond in the middle of the afternoon to meet Matt and Hayley.

Greg still can't get the pump for the bikes to work so has taken it back to the shop (see Friday's blog). I tried cycling down this street but it is very hard work with very little air in the tyres. He has great plans for long bike rides around Jamestown island which is very flat but still a bit worrying for me since I have not been on a bike for years. The weather is about 73 degrees which is a nice temperature for me. I hope M and H notice a great difference in temperature. At this moment they are at Newark New York waiting for the connecting flight to Richmond. We got a text message from them when they landed, just a little late. I hope they are not held up on the next leg of the journey.

2006-09-29T10:01:00.000-04:00

Friday 29 September - At about 8 am this morning our estate agent called to say that the people who made an offer for our house a couple of days ago have come back with a better offer which matches the one we had from Mrs J, who was the person we almost sold to but it fell through at the very last moment. She still wants to buy our house but the people interested in her house are not likely to be able to complete the sale so Mr D is our best bet. We have accepted his offer and will contact our solicitor (lawyer) today and the legal stuff should start on Monday. Mr D is in rented accommodation so he is anxious to move quickly, as of course are we. We are cautiously excited!!! We are taking friends out to dinner tonight so we will celebrate then. Now we keep our fingers crossed for the Macs who MAY exchange contracts today. Then they can book flights. Matt and Hayley arrive tomorrow, I can't believe it.

Went out food shopping and came back to an email from the Macs to say they have EXCHANGED CONTRACTS and are moving out on October 10 so we hope to see them here soon afterwards. This has been an eventful day!

Oh and did I mention that Greg bought bikes for us!!! They were very inexpensive but of course you have to buy helmets, pumps, bags etc. He is having trouble getting air in the tyres so I am enjoying a short reprieve.

2006-09-28T09:34:00.000-04:00

Thursday 28 September - We have had news of a friend's son who was involved in an accident and he is now left paralyed from the chest down. It is so sad, he has just finished his degree and got a first in maths, our hearts go out to his parents too of course.

I met up with my friends in the JULIET group (Just Us Ladies Into Eating and Talking) and we had lunch at a Thai restaurant. It was excellent and reasonably priced.

2006-09-27T09:04:00.000-04:00

Wednesday 27 September - This morning our estate agent (realtor) called to say we have had an offer on our house but for £20k less (about $35k) than we want. Given that the previous offer was 15k more than that, and that they hope to come back to us if their house sells, it does not make sense to accept it. The person who made this new offer is living in rented accommodation and could move quickly, but we do not know who to believe any more.

I don't know if I mentioned previously the problem we are having in getting American driving licences. We need two forms of photo ID so we thought that if we had our passports and British licences that would be sufficient, but apparently you cannot use a driving licence from Britain to verify who you are. They require that we go to the British Embassy in Washington DC to get it 'translated', or verified. It sounds really daft but they insist on it. We would not bother, but our car insurance is very high because we are aliens!!! Anyway, trying to avoid the 6 hour round trip to DC, we decided to FedEx Greg's licence to the embassy first, which is still cheaper than driving up. It is due back today which is very quick, although not quick enough for Greg who is having to suffer my driving. He is a nervous passenger, which makes me a nervous driver. Anyway we have survived and when his licence comes back, he will be driving again and MY licence goes off to DC and I won't be driving for a couple of days. The British Embassy charges $41 and FedEx $36 which we have to do twice.

Some good news though - the cost of petrol has gone down a lot since we were last here. When we left it had peaked at $3 but when we were in Newport News the other day it was $1.99. Greg filled up the car for $20 - it costs us about £50 to fill up the car at home (although that is with diesel)!

This is the workmen cutting down some of the trees.

Went to a new house for our church home group. It was a lovely house at the edge of town in the woods. It is so interesting to see people's houses, the floor plans are always so much more interesting than at home. Nancy and Gene were there. They are back from Illinois, so it was good to see them.

2006-09-26T09:42:00.000-04:00

Tuesday 26 September - This has appeared in the front yard of a house down the road. They must have had a new baby and all the details are on the stork for all to see. I think it is a lovely idea. Went to the Wren Chapel for a talk on 'God Hath Made us Free' which was good but the Q & A session afterwards was even better. As usual we got into conversation with an American couple afterwards. These folks were from Miami, Ohio - it is a confusing country! Then we went to the library and came home for lunch.

They are cutting down some of the trees on this estate because they have been weakened by beetles so Greg took some pictures for the estate website.

2006-09-25T09:23:00.000-04:00

Monday 25 September - We had a lot of rain last night but it dried out during the morning and gradually the temperature rose to over 80 again. We have positive evidence that we have mice again which is pretty disgusting so we have bought a gadget (electronic) that deters mice so we will see what happens. We went out to get some serious disinfectant to clean out the drawers!!! Had lunch at the local deli - I had a great salad. Matt called while we were there and we talked over the final details of his trip. He plans to spend a few days in the mountains of Western Virginia taking a trip along the Skyline Drive of the Shenandoah National Park. We got some details from the Information Office locally and the park looks very beautiful and of course the Fall has started so the leaves will be turning.

2006-09-24T16:44:00.000-04:00

Sunday 24 September - Greg has joined up to a new course at church so he walked off this morning and I joined him when the service started. So many people saying 'you are back!' We had lunch with about 10 others at a place called Food for Thought which is a new place. At 3 pm we went to another lecture at Jamestown called African Americans in 17th century Virginia. It ties in with a book I have been reading about slavery called Rough Crossings by Simon Schama so I was very interested. It is very hot indeed today but a dry heat. It must be in the late 80s temperature-wise but when you go into buildings it is arctic with the air conditioning so Greg always takes his sweater of course.

2006-09-23T09:37:00.000-04:00

Saturday 23 September - We are getting over our colds but it left us feeling tired all the time. The forecast was for very hot weather, 85 degrees so we went to Newport News and Portsmouth. Had lunch at the Crab Shack by the James River which was choppy today because there is a wind, but it is still hot. Greg is cutting the grass/sod, trying to encourage it to repair itself and spread. The seed is being cooked by the sun, we don't water it, just wait for rain, but the usual thunderstorms have stopped.

Spoke to the grandchildren on the phone (and daughter). It was lovely to hear their voices. They can't book flights until they exchange contracts on their house which seems to be a problem at the moment. They had hoped to fly on 9 October but it will be at least a week later. It is a week today that Matt and Hayley arrive at Portland. We are obviously looking forward to that.

2006-09-22T09:09:00.000-04:00

Friday 22 September - What a lazy day we had but at 5 pm we went off to Williamsburg Winery for a tour and dinner. It was organised by the Lake Powell Forest committee because they are starting up a Wine Tasting group here. It was good to get to know our neighbours. The tour was short and we only tasted wines from that vineyard so it did not take long. It was thankfully very cool in the caves. The meal was good. For the main course (entree) I had a casserole of beef with Brie melted on the top - yummy!! We were home by 8.30 pm.

2006-09-21T09:31:00.000-04:00

Thursday 21 September - It is only in the 60s so far today which is much cooler, it certainly varies in temperature here. The sky is bright blue and clear. The man has arrived to finish off the Colditz fencing. Greg has booked us in for the meal and wine tasting at the Williamsburg Winery on Friday night so that should be good.

Left Greg waiting for the Cox TV cable people and I went out to the Potteries, it is such a fascinating place. It has really warmed up, far too hot on the deck.

2006-09-21T09:20:00.000-04:00

Wednesday 20 September - A cooler day. We needed to go to the post office at CW and then we sat in the square for a while. I am still feeling tired all the time but each day is a little better. The poor man employed to dig the holes for the fence next door is having a terrible time trying to get through the earth it is very very hard. He says he has never had so much trouble. Anyway he finally got the upright posts concreted in. Tomorrow I suppose he will return to finish the job. It is no wonder we can't get grass to grow. This was probably the bed of the lake many many years ago so it is solid. We went to our church home group for the first time this trip. It was wonderful to see everyone, they are such warm and caring people. We watched a DVD about John Huss, in case anyone knows who he was.

2006-09-19T19:00:00.000-04:00

Tuesday 19 September - Went to the Mongolian restaurant for lunch, it is actually cheaper than having a sandwich in some places. Mr and Mrs F will remember eating there. We needed to get some grass seed because we have been promised plenty of rain tonight. The neighbour who moved in while we were at home the last time has had a satellite dish put on a pole in the middle of their garden which is a bit disappointing because it kind of interrupts the vista of the forest. Perhaps we will plant a small tree to disguise it. This morning we were awoken early by a delivery of 6 foot fencing for next door. They have dogs so I suppose they want to keep them confined but 6 foot tall!! Tomorrow it is going to be put up, it is such a shame it has been so open up until now. It has been about 83 degrees again today but it has started raining now, it is about 7 pm.

Does anyone know what the plant is that I posted here yesterday? It has ENORMOUS blooms.

2006-09-18T11:49:00.000-04:00

Monday 18 September - Feeling a little better this morning. The weather is lovely, 80 degrees already. We have had a quiet morning, just doing some washing and sitting on the deck reading. This afternoon we went to CW to join in a history walk talking about the life of Thomas Jefferson in Williamsburg. It was very very hot and I was over-dressed, I didn't expect it to get that hot!85 degrees F, 32 C. We always manage to get into conversation with some interesting people. How the historical interpreters cope in those costumes in the heat I do not know!

2006-09-17T11:19:00.000-04:00

Sunday 17 September - Greg is off to Sunday school, I am still feeling too bad. I had a lie-in but still feel awful. Surely I am past the worst? Bright blue skies and temperatures of late 70s so that cheers me up. I want to go to Jamestown this afternoon because there is a lecture about John Smith, the leader of the first colonists to arrive here. I just hope I will feel better if I keep taking the tablets.

We had a 'wrap' at the Polo Club and went off to the Jamestown Settlement for the lecture which was very good. On the way home we went into Colonial Williamsburg (CW) to sit outside the Cheese Shop in the sunshine. It is very hot now, mid 80s. We met some neighbours at Jamestown who invited us to the Williamsburg Winery on Friday for a wine tasting. They are starting up a group in our little sub-division (estate) who will meet from time to time in various people's houses. Sounds like fun. We will have dinner at the vineyard on Friday with them.

2006-09-16T08:37:00.000-04:00

Saturday 16 September - Last night I went to bed at about 8.30 pm - feeling so awful. Greg is starting to get a little better, now it is my turn. Obviously I woke up very early this morning and took some tablets but they don't seem to make much difference. We went out briefly but I was not in the mood for doing anything really. What a boring blog this is turning out to be! I'm sure I will be better in a day or two and then I will have something more interesting to report.

2006-09-15T09:40:00.000-04:00

Friday 15 September - Woke up with a sore throat so it looks as though I have the same cold as Greg which could have been predicted. Dosing myself up. Everything looks bright after the rain (77 degrees at the moment) - we need to get some grass seed today. We are both feeling so bad that we just went to the library and came home for lunch. We want to start a file about early Virginia for the children when they come over so that they have some idea of the history.

2006-09-14T09:40:00.000-04:00

Thursday 14 September - Greg has his usual American cold. He catches it on the plane every time, it is very odd. Last night we planned to go to our church house group but Greg felt too bad and was worried that he is contageous. It is a pity to miss it because it is the first one of the season, it had stopped for the summer. We were looking forward to seeing everyone. Still we will see them on Sunday. Greg is feeling better this morning after 4-hourly cold tablets and a long night's sleep. Had lunch at Ukrops and then did a little shopping. The weather cheered up a bit in the afternoon but then we had a LOT of rain early evening - still warm though 79 degrees.

2006-09-13T11:16:00.000-04:00

Wednesday 13 September - Our internal clocks are not quite into Virginian time yet. I was wide awake at 5 am. After breakfast we went into colonial Williamsburg because Thomas Jefferson was in the palace garden talking about horticulture. Greg took some pictures so I hope the one of the Spider Lily came out so I can show it here. Had to rush home in case the dishwasher man turns up. How can a dishwasher go wrong even though it has not been used? It worked perfectly well when we left in May. Luckily it is under guarantee. 24 degrees at the moment but a little overcase - it would have been too hot in the palace gardens otherwise.

This is a pomegranate tree, I have never seen one before.

Wow, we have just had a nuclear warning siren go off. I turned on the TV which eventually told us that it is just a test - I wonder why they feel the need to test it at this time!!

2006-09-12T11:52:00.000-04:00

Tuesday 12 September - Woke up at about 6 am which is 11 am in UK so we had enough sleep I suppose, although I feel a little slow!!! Cleared up the kitchen after the mice, but Greg saw a mouse in the garage last night so they are not going to leave just because we have moved in. Now we are unpacked and I think we have everything we intended to bring and probably much more. I seem to have forgotten my computer mouse - there seems to be a mouse theme going on. It is 76 degrees F which I think is about 24 degrees C so that is pleasant. No humidity problems either. Went to the Food Lion for a big food shop and returned home for lunch. Later we went into the historic area of Williamsburg for a drink and sat and watched the world go by. It was 81 degrees by then, 28C so it was lovely. Dinner was in the slow cooker so we sat on the deck for a while. It is easy to forget your problems here.

2006-09-12T11:32:00.000-04:00

Monday 11 September - We are BACK IN VIRGINIA after many months of trying to sell the house and failing at the last hurdle, so before we finally went nuts we have returned. On Sunday we had a happy time with Greg's sister Theresa and caught up on news and went to bed later than we should have. At 8 am (ish) we left for Gatwick airport, leaving our car in Guildford with sister-in-law which is a great blessing. Theresa took us to the airport for 9.30 am and we flew out on time at 12.30 pm. Somehow we managed to stay within the weight limits, I don't know how. The restrictions meant that we could only carry on a small bad each and no liquids. It was a US airways flight and we were very impressed and the good weather meant that it was a smooth trip thank goodness. Going through Philadelphia airport was very quick and easy, hardly any queue at immigration but we had to catch a bus to another terminal but we had plenty of time. The next leg of the journey to Newport News was delayed by about 50 minutes so although we made up a little time we were still late there. The weather was overcast so we did not see much of the land and it was surprisingly cool, in the 60s when we arrived, I was expecting 80 degrees so I was under-dressed and shivering. Friends came to pick us up and we caught up on all the news. They prepared us for the news that mice had taken up residence in the kitchen. Gene had cleared a lot of it up including flour which they had transported to under the stove! At closer inspection they had been in other cupboards and drawers. It is not difficult to find out where mice have been! So mouse traps are on the shopping list for tomorrow. We watched a programme on the TV about 9/11 and what led up to it. I don't know how we kept awake but eventually we fell into bed at 11 ish or 4 am in British time.

2006-05-18T08:20:00.000-04:00

Thursday 18 May - Last night we had a wonderful Pot Luck party at the church. Did I mention, the people here are wonderful? They are a loving, caring community, just how a Christian body of people should be. They prayed for us once more and it was all quite an emotional experience.

So today we go home for a while and we are really looking forward to seeing the family this weekend and friends later. It has been a long time.

We woke up this morning to an offer on our house!!!! but for £20,000 less than we need. The people have not even sold their home in Isleworth, but as the agent says, 'this is just a starting point'. Apparently another couple are looking around for the 2nd time too and they are aware that there is an offer on the table so there is hope there too. The house is being advertised in the local paper this weekend too so that may bring more interest??

I am starting the running-down process, changing and washing sheets, towels etc and the last minute vacuuming, cleaning the kitchen and fun things like that. It is forecast to be about 80 degrees today but thunderstorms in the afternoon, we fly at 5 pm to La Guardia New York. Then we catch a bus across NY to JFK airport where we fly out of the country at 10.30 pm local time. We should arrive in UK at about 10.30 am where Darling Daughter is picking us up.

Hope to be back in September if the house legal stuff has gone through. We have had the most wonderful time here, lots of lovely memories, we will miss everyone.

By for now.

2006-05-17T11:55:00.000-04:00

Wednesday 17 May - This evening we are getting together with another house group in the church - it is pot luck, so I am making a casserole to take. I have started cleaning again so that I only have the last minute stuff to do tomorrow. Greg went to the Civil War course at church as usual but I wanted to do some packing etc. Out of desperation, I cut my own hair this morning and can't do anything with it now!!

2006-05-17T08:58:00.000-04:00

Tuesday 16 May - Greg went off to Langley airforce base this morning. Gene took him to see some planes. I did some last minute shopping which took far too long because I met a friend in Marshalls. We went to the Whaling Company for dinner, being the last chance to eat out before we go home. It was good but expensive! We got home early enough to sit on the deck for a while until it got too cool.

2006-05-16T09:33:00.000-04:00

Monday 15 May - We leave here on Thursday so this morning I started the cleaning upstairs. I had enquired about a company who I hoped would clean the house and make beds and launder the sheets etc for holiday makers. They don't do laundry so without someone to do that we can't let the house for vacations. Maybe we will just let it to friends who would be prepared to clean the house and change the beds before they leave? I must admit that I would be happier knowing that the house is in the hands of friends/family and that they will look after it, everything is so new it would be awful if anything was damaged. We had a quick lunch and went out for a while, ending up in the cheese shop. It is very quiet in CW now because the students have left. The population must have halved. It started to rain so we came home to see how the stock pot was getting on. Eventually it rained REALLY hard and the thunder was amazing. I thought the house was going to be cracked in two!

PS This is not our house. It is in downtown Williamsburg.

2006-05-14T08:44:00.000-04:00

Sunday 14 May - Yesterday I forgot to mention that we went to Endview Plantation for a Civil War Fair. People dressed up, demonstrations of weapons, that sort of thing. There were stalls too with fabulous furniture, beautifully made but very expensive of course. The best part was the various small shows, mostly for the chldren but very funny. The people are so enthusiastic about what they do and love to talk to other people about it, especially the children.

After church, only 6 of us went out to lunch because it is Mothers' Day here and most people were busy elsewhere. Actually it was nicer, more intimate, and we could have a proper chat. Nancy and Gene may come over to UK at some time if they can get some free tickets with United which Gene can often get with his job (he works part time for them). Later we went into CW where there are still lots of students and parents around because of graduation. We had some rain yesterday at times which is good. The temperature is nice, not too hot.

2006-05-13T18:36:00.000-04:00

Saturday 13 May - Greg is trying to get an American driving licence and they are not making it easy. He was told that Virginia require us to go to the British Embassy in Washington, who of course charge lots of money, to get document verification so that we can use it as proof of identity to get an American licence. Because we are asking something that is fairly/very usual here it has taken a while before they could decide what to do. Mainly we want this licence so that our car insurance will be cheaper. At the moment we are aliens as far as the Commonwealth of Virginia is concerned and they charge us a lot of money for insurance!

On a more interesting front, this morning we went to a few 'yard' sales but saw nothing worth buying, we saw some lovely houses though. Here you buy a 'lot' of land and build a house and as long as it is within the 'code' then no one complains. It means that usually, no two houses are the same. Today, 13 May is the 399th anniversary of the first settlers coming to Jamestown VA. We live a few minutes from the settlement and Jamestown island so of course we went to see what was going on. The ship Godspeed (built in the 1980s which replaced one that had been built in 1957) has been replaced by a new one from Rockport Maine which arrived today. We saw her sailing along the James River in beautiful weather this morning and took a guided walk with some historical interpreters describing the trials and tribulations of the first settlers. They went through what is called the Starving Time and many of them died of course. Initially it was only men but eventually a ship full of women arrived - how brave were they? I should mention at this time that it was all FREE, the park and ride, the interpretation, the new archaearium and everything. (That means a museum of archeological stuff).

On the way home we stopped in at Colonial Williamsburg for a drink. It seems it was graduation ceremony day. Lots of well dressed parents and students. They usually spend 4 years to get their degree. What a lovely campus they have!

Another beautiful day in Virginia!

2006-05-12T09:24:00.000-04:00

Friday 12 May - The AC man did come yesterday but he waited until we had gone out. He left a note to say he had called but we were out. Air conditioning is becoming necessary and we certainly need to have it sorted by the time we leave next Thursday. Anyway he has just called to say he is on his way, watch this space . . . .

Can you spot the heron?

The AC man finally come and sorted out the problem thank goodness. We went to Colonial Williamsburg to the Govenor's Palace again. It has been changed somehow in the winter to we wanted to see what they had done. The queue was much better than at Easter so we go in right away. The only change I detected was, they had taken some of the weapons away! It was good though. Then we went to the book binder again. You may be able to tell by now that we never get fed up with history. It is a lovely evening we sat on the deck with a drink and put the world to rights again.

2006-05-11T17:14:00.000-04:00

Thursday 11 May - We expected the air conditioning engineer from 8 am this morning so we could not go out. He never did come, they sent the heating engineer instead who does hot not cold, anyway he came out to adjust the heating last week. SO we stayed in this morning and we will have to do the same on Monday when he promises to come at 8am. The painter did give us a touch-up kit which will be useful in the future. Just did a little shopping, actually we went to the Candle Factory which is huge. In the Christmas room it snows every 15 minutes!

2006-05-10T10:05:00.000-04:00

Wednesday 10 May - Had an email from our estate agent/realtor this morning to say they have a couple who LIKED THE HOUSE and that they want to see it again next Tuesday! We are afraid to hope!

The Civil War is still going on at church but not for much longer, it will stop for the summer. I am finding it very hard to follow now. The number of men who were killed is just beyond belief - such carnage.

During our house group this evening, one of our friends had a call to say her son-in-law and 2 grandsons were involved in an accident up state. The car was totalled but it looks as though her family are only slightly hurt. I will call her in the morning.

2006-05-10T09:42:00.000-04:00

Tuesday 9 May - The planned trip to Monticello happened today. We left home soon after 8 am but first went into church where they were having a sale of school books for the children. We spent more time there (and spent more money) than we intended of course, mainly because people are so friendly and helpful. The trip to Charlottesville takes over 2 hours, it is about 130 miles. It is a lovely day and an easy trip, the road takes you via dual carriageway around Richmond and through western Virginia. It is a pretty little town and Monticello is on the top of a hill with fabulous views. We took a shuttle bus up the small mountain and took the guided tour of the house. It was so interesting because I have been reading so much about Jefferson lately and it was amazing to be in his home. What struck us both was that the rooms where actually quite small, I suppose we are used to stately homes in UK with vast rooms. It was more homely for that reason. When he took his bride there, there was only one room (and a kitchen for the slaves), and his wife Martha died 10 years later when the house was still not finished. Considering everything had to be brought up the mountain by horse and cart it is not surprising. They bored a well for water, imagine that, down through the mountain. We saw the family graves in the graveyard still owned by the Jefferson family. Actually members of the family were arriving for a family funeral in stretch limos. Greg seems to have developed hay fever since we have been in USA, and mine seems to be much better. We walked under loads of trees today and are still trying to work out which ones affect us. The trip home in brilliant sunshine was easy but we arrived home pretty tired.

2006-05-08T13:21:00.000-04:00

Monday 8 May - It rained all night and so we decided not to go to Monticello in Charlottesville as planned. It is the house that Jefferson built but it is on a mountain so it will probably be colder and more cloudy. Tomorrow the weather should be better so we will go then. It takes about 2 1/2 hours to get there and is west of Richmond. We are going to see the film United 93 instead about one of the planes involved in the 9/11 nightmare. I am a bit concerned that it will be too harrowing.

WOW that was something else! I could not help thinking of when we flew over the World Trade Centre area when we flew from La Guardia, New York to Virginia. We had a wonderful view of Manhattan and just thought of those people in the planes. The ones on United 93 did so well, if only they had started the mutiny earlier when they were higher they may have made it, since one of the passengers was a pilot. In less than 2 weeks we have to fly back across that area!

2006-05-07T16:37:00.000-04:00

Sunday 7 May - After church we had lunch with friends (12 of us) in the Polo Club and came home for a quiet afternoon. We planned to go and watch the new Godspeed ship arrive in Jamestown but it started to rain so we stayed at home for the rest of the day.

Firing a musket at the fort at Jamestown.

2006-05-06T18:30:00.000-04:00

Saturday 6 May - Greg went off to church this morning to plant grass. It comes in little plugs and a team plant them over a very large area. It is very resistant to drought apparently. Went to CW to the Farmers' Market. The weather is hot with blue skies so it was lovely. We had a Pepsi at the Cheese shop and watched the world go by. Somehow I managed to come away without buying any fish, seafood, plants, honey, cookies, pies etc, but I did buy coriander (fresh) which they call cilantro here. I will make coriander chicken tonight. In the Williamsburg book shop I bought a crock pot recipe book that was on sale. I hope to get as proficient as my darling daughter. Had lunch at home then went off to Newport News again. Greg went off to take photographs (as you can see) and I was left at the Dump which is a furniture shop with cut-price furniture. Sadly they did not cut the price enough for me. I need a book case (small.) I am writing this at 6.30 pm and it is 87 degrees F, the hottest it has been all day.

2006-05-05T10:27:00.000-04:00

Friday 5 May - We are thrilled with the photos we took yesterday at Newport News (must find out where that name came from). The picture is of a group of turtles sunbathing on a log. They were so lovely, apparently turtles come out of the lake here in the summer and bury their eggs in the forest but then Racoons come along at night and dig them up and eat them.

2006-05-04T17:38:00.000-04:00

Thursday 4 May - Up extra early this morning because we had to take the car to a garage in Newport News for a service. It is a wonderful day and the garage is by the James River so we walked along the banks of the river and saw some turtles in a small lake. The birds are quite different here and we are enjoying them. Had an early lunch at the Crab Shack until the garage called to say the car was ready - nothing really wrong with it but it did not have a filter to keep pollen etc out so perhaps we won't sneeze so much now! Looked around the shops for a while but soon lost the will to shop and came home but not before going to our first yard sale - I bought 3 china ducks (I can hear Libby laughing). Very hot on the deck now, 92 degrees F or 36 degrees C so we will wait for the sun to go down a little before sitting out. For some reason I decided to cook chilli tonight, probably a mistake?

2006-05-04T07:42:00.000-04:00

We go home, two weeks today. The time has flown by and it is so disappointing that the agent has not sold the house. It looks as though only one couple has looked around since we left home! So it is back to the beginning, if we don't find a buyer by the school holidays in August, the market will become dormant until September. It just goes on and on.

2006-05-03T14:21:00.000-04:00

Wednesday 3 May - The day started very warm but then a thunderstorm arrived. It never seems to last long. We went to the Civil War lecture with our lunch, I have to admit I am getting a little left behind now. Thank goodness for some knowledgeable people amongst us. Next week will be the last one until the end of the summer probably, since lots of people are away during that time.

The picture is of a harpsicord being made by the cabinetmaker in Colonial Williamsburg.

2006-05-03T10:55:00.003-04:00

Tuesday 2 May - We had a lovely day, the weather was good and friends picked us up and we went to Newport News to a fish restaurant by the James River. It was great, such a lovely spot. They they took us to a nursery because they needed to get a few things for their yard. They live nearer to the lake than us and they seem to suffer more from critters (wild animals). The deer certainly seem to eat anything newly planted. I really want to put some colourful shrubs on our lot but what with the deer and lack of water over the summer (when we won't be here) it is probably a waste of time. We all came back here for a cup of tea and more chat. It is a beautiful evening, a little too hot to sit on the deck until later.