Washing

Washing. Why is this such a tedious chore in this country? Thankfully we've got a communal washer/dryer set in the entryway to our block of flats. Many people have to go to places like the laundrymat a few doors down. But the washing routine still has its oddities. The "short" cycle on the washing machine takes TWO hours! At least I've learned to time it now so I don't have to keep going out in the hall to check if it's done yet (which is no fun at all in the winter cause the non-heated entryway is FREEZING)...Of course size is an issue, as well. We've supposedly got the extra-large washer. I can't even imagine what the small must be like. I usually end up cramming as many things in as possible and quickly slamming the door shut to keep it in. That's probably about 1/2 to 3/4 a load in a normal American washer. Then there's the drying. At least we have a dryer, which many people don't have. Of course, some things I line dry and that doesn't take too long cause I leave our little heater on all the time. I think there were a couple of months in the summer last year when I could actually turn it off. It's still on the highest setting at the moment. Although I can tell the days aren't quite as cold as they have been, because it's more bearable to go into the kitchen. In the middle of winter the kitchen is as cold as it is outside. Hey, I guess I could use it like a great big fridge! I know this isn't terribly interesting, but I just thought I'd share one of those glimpses of normal, daily life here at 139.

Another fave spot

WALES! Thanks to generous friends from All Souls, we've been able to enjoy the lovely, peaceful, friendly Welsh coastline. They have a very nice home in a cute little town called Borth. The picture of the birds was taken on the shoreline in Aberstywyth, down the windy country road from Borth. If only I could capture the lyrical accent of the lovely Welshmen on this site...

Does this sell it to you?

More views of the Cornish coast. I had my first proper English walk here. You may wonder what the difference between an American walk and an English walk is. Well, I'd say you'd have about 4 or 5 hours across the rugged English countryside to each American 30 minute meander through the neighborhood. I mean, some of these English walkers are hardcore! Our walk/hike this day was about 11 miles or so. We made our way through cow-patty-filled pastures, through ancient gates, between people's homes (all made of stone and hundreds of years old), narrowly missing bulls and horses, past the ruins of an old, old church, and then along the dramatic coastline with cliffs dropping into crystal-clear blue water. All the while, we only passed a handful of people. The walk ended with a dip into the FREEZING cold ocean at a beach in St. Ives (the cutest artist town you've ever seen). I seriously thought I'd get hypothermia if I stayed more than 3 minutes, and all around me were little English kids splashing around and having a grand ole time. I'm beginning to wonder what their skin is made of...Maybe I could get some of that home-made insulation!

Land's End...

...is not just a clothes catalogue! Little did I know (showing my ignorance here) that Land's End is the most southwestern point of England. It's a bit of a cheesy tourist trap these days, but the surrounding countryside is incredibly beautiful. Adam and I visited with our friends Ali and Andy last summer on a short camping trip. I felt like I was in the middle of the Mediterranean! Travelling tip: make time for Cornwall in any visit to England! Also, to give you an idea of just how far away we are, check out the distances posted. (Wollongong is the closest city to Adam's parents.)

My Neighborhood

Here's the front door to our set of flats. Ours is on the ground floor, not first as we'd call it in the U.S. (If something here is 5 floors, don't be fooled--it's actually 6, and yes you'll probably have to climb narrow stairs all the way up.) The other pics are scenes I see on my runs around Regent's Park. The tall tower is the BT Tower and is right down the street from us. Can you see "The London Eye" beside it? It's a huge farris-wheel type thing that was built in 2000. Good touristy thing to do as it gives you a good view of the city. The picture of the big green patch is taken on top of Primrose Hill. I noticed the other day that all these people were on the hill as the sun was setting. It was a strange sight because I've been running there all winter long and it's usually been deserted. What are these people doing invading my park? It will only get worse as summer approaches...1000s of people fill the park each day in summer (when it's not raining of course). In the dead of winter you could go through the whole park and only see a handful of people. Shouldn't we handful get some kind of special park privileges for sticking it out all year long? :) Joking aside, it is nice to see people out and about and all cheery. Keeps the run a bit more interesting.

Then and Now

Cutest Animals!

Dorigo National Park, Australia

And I thought Australia would look dry and scruffy...This park is full of beautiful rain forests!

View from the bottom...

Adam, Mum, Dad, and I walked across the bridge on the "ground" level before hiking to the top. It really is an impressive structure. I thought we were high enough over the water at that point!

The top!

Mum and Dad gave Adam and me an awesome combined birthday present--a trip to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge! We went on a perfect warm, sunny day. The climb was a bit unnerving at first as we started out by walking across grates with cars flying by far below us. The further on we went the easier it got and I was able to really enjoy the amazing views across the city and water. Sydney is a beautiful city--very clean, with the bluest water in the harbour and striking beaches.

Our church, All Souls

This picture was taken outside at the back of the house--on our way to Coffs Harbour, Australia. Family road trip!

Meet the Rushtons

(left to right): Rose, Adam, Helen Clare, John, Kelly, and Heather

Here is my other half of the family! I feel so incredibly blessed by the Lord to have such loving in-laws. Mum and Dad Rushton (Rose and John) generously provided air tickets to Australia as their wedding gift to us. Wow. What an amazing trip Adam and I had this past fall when we went to visit them! It was perfect timing because Heather and Kelly (my new sisters-in-law) were staying at the house, too. We all had 3 1/2 weeks of quality family time together--Mum and Dad even took off of work for our whole visit. Although I had only spent a few days with them right before our wedding, I immediately felt at home and a true part of my new family. Every single member of Adam's family treated me with such love and acceptance that I was truly overwhelmed. When I came back to London raving about how wonderful they are, I got some funny reactions--probably because those individuals have rather more, uh, challenging relationships with their in-laws! We had so much fun checking out the unusual Australian wildlife (even touching kangaroos, koalas, and dolphins), going for drives in the lush, green countryside, walking along trails into the srubby bush, gazing out across the crystal blue ocean, eating fish and chips on Bondi Beach (Sydney), trying the "World's Best" pies (savoury, not sweet, in this country) outside Kangaroo Valley (yes, a real town! and one of the cutest you'll ever see), eating banana splits at none other than...the Big Banana, and to top it all off: climbing to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge! It's fun even now to think back over our trip and all the fun things we did...There are so many more but I better not get too carried away.

Home Sweet Flat

Now I am officially back into my role as a "Southerner in London." It is Sunday evening and we arrived back Friday afternoon. Adam has been fast asleep for hours. We're still working on the jet lag. I think it's worse coming back this way because there's no adrenaline rush to keep you going. It's cold here, but milder than when I left. (Oh how I long for those hot, humid Mississippi days...) Little green buds are popping up in various places and daffodils are starting to cover the ground in the parks. The days are significantly longer as they had the time change while we were away. Walking home from church at 8pm tonight I could still see light in the sky! (This is very exciting because in the winter it gets dark around 3:30!) It was very hard leaving Mississippi. I think it will be good for me to get back into a busy routine. That way hopefully I won't think about it too much--and also the time will pass more quickly to the time I can go back!

A cultural difference for the day: We had dinner at a friend's home on Friday (the day we returned). Her name is Mary Currie and she's one of Adam's "English mom's" (though they would say "mum"). During the evening Adam was recounting our engagement story (there were some other friends there also who hadn't heard it). Right before he proposed he acted like he'd stubbed his toe and then got down on one knee, etc. Well, I turned around thinking I had stepped on his toe and in Adam's interpretation he said I turned around and kept asking, "Oh no! Did I trod on your toe? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to trod on your toe!" Ok, trod? Does anyone in Mississippi talk about trodding on anything? Another language difference--two of the friends there were Scottish. Listening to them talk, I realized that Scottish people really do say things like "I dinnie or I winnie or I canny"--remind you of any novels, Mama? (dinnie=did not; winnie=will not; and canny or is it canna?=cannot) Adam also said, "Enough already" and the friends immediately told him he was picking up American sayings now...I didn't know that was "American." Sometimes I feel like I need to walk around with an interpreter!

p.s. about the picture: this is an old one taken (I think maybe for a V-day dinner, hence the candles and balloons) of our living/dining room. I'll try to take some more pics some time so you all can see the other parts of our little flat.