a n g i e

Friday, 28 November 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope everybody is having a lovely Thanksgiving and I am really looking forward to seeing the pictures! We are having ours on Sunday because Thanksgiving doesn't exist here in England. :( We have invited our good friends, Daisy & Garry.

Daisy and I usually start cooking really early in the morning while the boys play Wii with the kids. Daisy and I are going shopping tonight to buy all the food (apart from the turkey which is in the fridge defrosting). I tried to buy an organic turkey direct from a local farm and they were about £70 and up! So we are making due with a frozen one.

On the menu is turkey, home-made stuffing (the American kind - no hard English balls!), home-made cranberry sauce, brussel sprouts, garlic mash potatoes, sweet potato, green beans, carrots and cauliflower and cheese. For dessert we are having a pumpkin pie, an apple pie, a chocolate pie and mince pies. We are also making home-made apple cider and for the adults we are adding buttered rum!

I got the kids a few books about Thanksgiving a few months back so they would understand it isn't only us that are celebrating. Jack is still expecting presents I think. We have tried to tell him it is all about the food and the company but I don't think he gets it yet. We will take lots of pictures and post them so you can see a Thanksgiving with an English twist!

Eat drink and be merry...

Saturday, 22 November 2008

Remind me why I live here again???

Freezing weather blasts Britain

Up to 10cm of snow is likely to settle in places, the Met Office said
Freezing winds from the Arctic are blasting Britain, with much of the country braced for snow showers.

Several roads have been closed in northern Scotland after heavy snow made driving conditions treacherous.

Snow showers are spreading down eastern England, affecting north Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Snow could hit more areas on Sunday.

Drivers are being warned of black ice on roads, with snow and rain due to fall on frozen surfaces overnight.

Temperatures could fall as low as -6C overnight in Scotland and eastern England.

In Scotland, several centimetres of snow has fallen, with 5cm (2in) recorded in Aberdeen.

The showers are due to become more widespread overnight and into Sunday, affecting eastern England, the Midlands and the south east.

Peter Gibbs from the BBC Weather Centre said: "People in the Midlands and eastern England could well wake up to a covering of snow in the morning."

The Met Office issued a weather advisory for northern Scotland, Suffolk and Norfolk on Saturday and for much of the UK on Sunday.

On Sunday the weather is due to become milder with the snow set to gradually melt throughout the day.

The AA has advised motorists to be aware of the greater stopping distances required in ice and snow.

Councils across the country are preparing gritter lorries to clear roads of any snow and ice.

And older people are being warned by charity Age Concern to take extra care to stay warm in the freezing weather.

Bookmakers William Hill have slashed the odds on snow falling on Christmas Day in London from 8/1 to 6/1 and in Glasgow the odds are 7/2.

Saturday, 8 November 2008

Bonfire Night!!

What a bonfire night to remember!! Are you sitting comfortably? This may take a while! Before I begin you must know that there is a severe weather warning tonight for heavy rain and strong gale force winds. What a great night to drive out into the countryside, park in a field and watch fireworks!

When we left the house it was very dry and sunny so we thought the weather warning didn't apply to us. Boy were we wrong!! As soon as we paid our money at the gate and started to drive into the field we got stuck and some very strong men had to push us. Most normal people would recognize the problem for what it is and leave swiftly. We, however, decided to carry on. The kids were excited in the back of the car and we were followed by our close friends and their children in the car behind. Just as we got out of the car it started to pour with rain but we thought, what the heck, lets get in line to buy the kids a flashy neon toy!

When we got all the toys turned on and flashing away it really started belting down rain so we all huddled under my golf umbrella right near the bonfire. The bonfire really started to warm us up and it should've because it was the size of my house, literally! Cerys then decides she needs to go pee. There was no way in hell we were getting out of our circle under the umbrella to find a portaloo in the massive crowds of people so we just pulled her pants down and had her pee in the grass. Finally, they started to count down the fireworks and everybody was happy until the big ones started really getting going. Cerys, Maia and Lilly all burst into hysterics and it lasted a good 10 minutes. At least Cerys' wellies were staying on!

Everybody was starting to get into the fireworks and we were ooohing and ahhhing and then the wind shifted and the bonfire started moving towards us. Everybody started running forward, including us, and we were lucky there wasn't a stampede! After the fireworks about 2000 people started running for their cars but we thought there was no way we were going to get out of the carpark as we were one of the first in so we decided to take the kids on the teacups and get some food. Just as Jack took the first bite of his hotdog the heavens opened up and my umbrella turned inside out and ripped. We ran to the car and got inside.

As we were sitting in the car we started to notice that there were a lot of hazard lights on and then we noticed a jeep with a rather thick rope tied to another car. Everybody was stuck in the field. John thought, yes, here is our chance to get out of the field whilst every other car is stuck and somehow drove right into a big ditch. We were well and truly stuck for about an hour! The kids were sooo good though. Finally a group of about 10 people pushed us in reverse for a while and then they pushed us forward across a field for about 2 minutes. We were a foot from the actual road and we got stuck in another ditch! We had to have a jeep hook up a tow cable to our hood and pull us out. Finally we got out, however during all this pushing and pulling mud has splattered all over the car and inside the car, including my face and hair!

Finally we drove home at about 9:30pm through all the hedge-lined country lanes in the pouring rain. Just as we pulled up in the driveway and started to get out of the car we heard (and felt) a crash! John forgot to put the handbrake on in all the excitement and we crashed into our garage door!

Moral of the story: Listen to weather warnings! Happy Bonfire Night!!!

Tagged by Linds so here goes...

1. I love silence and long for it regularly!

2. I eagerly seek out the sun and have been known to stand in the
window with my eyes shut in winter to feel the sun warm on my face.

3. My life revolves around food and my motto is 'quality not
quantity'.

4. I absolutely love to travel, hence my career choice, and the next
place on the list is India.

5. I love my garden and will not plant anything that isn't
scented.

6. I have a weakness for shoes, bags and accessories at the
moment!