Driving

Sorry this is a bit of a picture barf...but this gives you a little bit of an idea of what it is like driving in England. It is not so much the other side of the road, but the narrowness of the road, that makes it difficult. And the speed...even the narrowest lanes had speed limits of 60 mph. And, oddly, they measure in miles there...but gas is sold in liters.

Driving on the motorway (freeway).
This was the best kind of road to drive on, because it had wide lanes, and was divided in the center (on the right). 

A police vehicle. Thankfully we were never pulled over, though I'm sure we broke at least a couple traffic laws (ignorantly, of course!)

Another motorway pic...with a beautiful hill in the background.

Some of the scenery. Usually there were hedgerows planted, so it was hard to see the countryside. Every now and then we would come around a curve or crest a hill and a gorgeous scene would open up before us.

Our little rental Kia, in the "car park" at the temple.

Driving through a village...gas station on the right.

There weren't as many trucks as you see in the US, but there were enough!

Great picture of me, clutching the steering wheel and sitting forward in a very nervous way!

This road is a bit narrower. It is still a divided motorway, but notice the shoulder is shrinking.

I love the look of concentration in this picture. You forget how many things there are to think about when driving!

Here's a trio you don't want to pass!

Driving in construction in England is about as frustrating as driving in construction in the US.

Lane is getting narrower...and now you have oncoming traffic in the other lane. Double yellow lines do not divide oncoming traffic for you, they mean "no parking" and are painted on the side of the road. You want to see double yellow lines. Legally people can park on this road. Notice there is not much of a "side" of the road. They park IN the road. Which leaves you stopping to check if there is oncoming traffic before cautiously proceeding around the line of parked cars.

Another narrow lane, although this one is not nearly as narrow as they get!

Field of hay baled up and covered in what looked like black plastic...I guess to keep the rain off?

Rolling hills

This road is getting narrow. Speed limit would be 60. And, it is almost impossible to see around curves with those hedgerows on either side. I don't know how they don't kill each other on those roads, doing those speeds.

Coming upon a roundabout in a village.

We were grateful not to be a part of this. This is what can happen in a roundabout if you're looking the wrong way.
P. S. The right way to look is RIGHT!

A little village. Again, cars could be parked here...in the road, beside the curb.

Gorgeous!

A speed limit sign at the top.

More rolling hills...called Cotswolds

We drove past this house. I had to pull the car over and run across the street to take this pic. Beautiful.

An old church we found. The lady there told us it wasn't an old church...only dating back to the Victorian (or Georgian) era. Um, that's OLD to us!

The cemetery outside the church

Church's tower

England Food

I am back from my 8 day trip to England and I have tons to share! Here are some pics of the different foods I ate during my visit to England. A trip is (nearly) always about the food, isn't it? Interestingly, I think we ate more French food than English. At least, we had a lot of baguettes!

Fettuccine Bolognese at an Italian restaurant around the corner from our hotel in Paddington, London.
It wasn't my favorite meal, even though it was my first.

BLT and salad in London, near Kensington Palace and the Queen's Ice and Bowl
(which is an ice rink and bowling alley).

Fish and Chips at another restaurant near Rose Park Hotel in London. Restaurant was called Garfunkel's.

Treacle sponge pudding with ice cream. It was delicious!!

Bread and Butter pudding with custard. It was also delicious!

Steak and chips, with pepper sauce (which cost extra and was made with some sort of booze).
This was at Cafe Rouge in Canterbury.

I couldn't visit England without trying a pasty. This was a beef pasty at Stonehenge. It was interesting.

Fettuccini with smoked salmon, tiger prawns and garlic bread. We ate this at Riverside Inn (I think) in Saltford (outside of Bath).
Our Bed and Breakfast was within walking distance to this restaurant on the river Avon.

In Stratford we had (yet more) baguettes. This one was cheese, bacon, and mushroom; with crisps, a salad, and coleslaw. It was good, but I've never been a fan of coleslaw. 

In honor of Harry Potter, we had a treacle tart with custard for dessert in Stratford upon Avon.

This is my pub food--chicken sandwich and chips.

Butterbeer at the WB Harry Potter Studios.

Crisps (or chips, as we call them...notice they look just like Lay's).

Classic "full English" breakfast
I was told the "full English" includes beans, stewed tomatoes, toast, and sausage. I chose not to eat these parts of the breakfast, and not have my daily caloric limit all in one meal! Although, this comes pretty close!

Beef and Yorkshire Pudding. It was very good!

More pictures to come! I am trying to find a way of organizing them without making it seem like a "picture belch" on the blog!

England

This week I've been spending a lot of time on this site. But first, let me back up a bit. Last August, I had two of my favorite people over for dinner--2 roomies from my first year of college. One had just been to England the year before and was getting the itch to go back. So, I told her if she went, she'd better take me along with her. A couple weeks ago, I got a text from her concerning cheap airline tickets for this September, and was I in? Heck, yes! We started looking into it, half-heartedly. Well, ticket prices went back up, so we thought we'd just keep an eye out for a great rate again. On Monday, I was just messing around with the airfare app I downloaded, trying different dates and looking at prices. For the heck of it, I popped in some dates at the end of May, and what do I find? Great prices to London! I hurriedly texted and emailed my friend, and she worked some of her charm at work (to get deadlines re-arranged, etc), and by Monday afternoon we had two tickets to London purchased. This means we have about three weeks to plan our trip. I bought a guide-book and already feel overwhelmed--I need 2 months to see and do everything that I would love to see and do! We are definitely going to pack in as much as possible in the 8 1/2 days we have, though. Stay tuned for more!

Here's to you, A. A. Milne!

I love when I find an author that I gain a fond appreciation of. Yes, I'm speaking of A. A. Milne--author of the original Winnie-the-Pooh books.

This book came free with iBooks on my iPad, so a few nights ago I started reading it aloud to Liam and Dallin at bedtime. I had never read the original books before, so I was quite pleasantly surprised at A.A. Milne's wit and humor. Even Kaden started stalling his bedtime routine, in order to sit and listen. I love that my 12-year-old isn't too old for a little Winnie-the-Pooh. And I love that my 7-year-olds are still confused about why he is called Winnie-the-Pooh...when in the first chapter it clearly  says that his name is Edward Bear. And I have no clear answer for them on this matter, either.

If you have never read these books--and I suggest reading them aloud, doing the voices of the characters as you go--I definitely recommend it! I even bought the next one (A House at Pooh Corner), since the kids keep asking when Tigger appears...and it isn't in the first one. 

I just can't believe it has taken me so long to appreciate these books!

Pinterest

There is a new internet sensation, perhaps you've heard of it? I, too, have been sucked into the obsession that is Pinterest. If you've never heard of Pinterest, it is an online pin board. Basically you sign-up to join. However, for some strange reason (that I don't quite understand), you have to be on a waiting list...unless you receive an invitation from someone already on it. (Odd social networking angle, but whatever. By the way, if anyone wants an invitation, leave your email addy and I'll let you into this exclusive club.) You can link it to your Facebook and follow friends to follow from there, lest you are afraid you will not know anyone to follow.

Pinterest (like Facebook) is, largely, a waste of time. However, it can be useful, too. (Like this gift wrap organizing idea--I actually went to IKEA and bought some of these.) If you see anything you like on the web--from quotes to pictures to music to whatever--you can "pin" it to your board and then your friends who "follow" you can also see it and re-pin it, or comment on it, or "like" it. So, it is a great way to get inspiration and ideas. But, it is also a time-sucking trap. Sure, it's one thing to look at something and say, "Neat!" and pin it; and it's another to look at something, say "Neat!", pin it, and actually MAKE IT or DO IT.

And, for this reason, I am not a very exciting person to "follow" on Pinterest. I could count on 2 hands the number of things I have pinned. I only pin things that I have made, am making, or have plans to make. This is why you probably won't see things like those little bite-size S'mores and homemade Samoa girl-scout cookies on my boards. Sure, it's interesting to know how to do it at home...but really, are you going to make them? I can barely get a dessert made from a box, let alone a 25-step process of making homemade cookies.

This is more my speed: Easy Banana Muffins. Nearly as easy as a muffin mix, it uses the over-ripe bananas that I often have sitting on my counter, and my kids LOVE them. Easy to change up, too, by adding cinnamon and cloves, or chocolate chips, or nuts. I will be honest, I have not tried them...but only because I have been doing a no-sugar/no-white-flour challenge. I am counting the days until I can try one, guilt-free.

Until then, the food porn that people keep pinning on Pinterest will have to do.

Baptism Binders

I've been serving as the Beehive counselor in my ward for three years now. It is the best calling ever. I love it. At the beginning of every year, as a class activity we make Baptism Binders for the Primary children who are getting baptized during that year. Then the Bishop presents it to the child with his/her certificate after they are baptized. We really only make a cover-sheet where they can put a picture of themselves, and then there are copied pages that they can fill in--with things like their testimony and who attended, etc. My adviser always headed up this project, but she was taken away from me last month, so I have had to come up with what, exactly, we will be doing. And to try to establish more order out of what is usually a chaotic young women's activity. Especially because this year we have 14 of these to make. Yes, 14. Two of them are mine.

So, this is what I have created. I am hoping the design will be not too paper-hungry, and will be something I will be able to get all cut out, so the girls just have to assemble them. I plan on using a CriCut to cut out the child's name to go across the top. I will post pics of the final products, if they turn out well. It is a great service project for young women, and they love doing it.