May 2006
Down to the Wire
May/26/06 18:23 |
Permalink
First, let me be the first to announce to the world
that Cliff has been approved for a promotion (a year
early--yeah!) and later this summer he will be a Full
Professor. Congratulations, Cliff!
We are in the throes of packing and getting ready to leave. This week has been a series of farewells, to Hannah's play group at Pantygwdr Baptist, to my Stitch-N-Bitch, to friends, neighbors and colleagues. We are so very grateful to have made so many friends here, and will miss them all. Today the UPS driver picked up 9 (yes, 9) boxes to be shipped back to NY, so whatever else we want to bring back will have to ride in a suitcase. For those of you who are keeping track, that trip will be thus:
1) Sunday train to London.
2) Monday in London.
3) Tuesday 8:00 check-in at Heathrow, 11:00 flight. To Boston. Where we will spend 2 hours wandering around, then board another flight to New York. Where we will gather up our worldly belongings and be whisked away in the West Point van (thank you, West Point!) to the Thayer Hotel, not far from Cliff's office.
4) Wednesday Cliff has to teach nearly all day. Hannah and I get to wander around post. Another night in Thayer Hotel.
5) Thursday (still with us?) we hope a kindly friend will ferry us home, where we will cross our fingers and toes and hope that at least one of our cars will start. We get to walk to the local DMV and re-register our cars, thus using up most of the rest of the day. Okay, that last bit was hyperbole. I hope. Hopefully Cliff will have time to take Hannah to the coffee shop in Peekskill. Mmmmm, bagels. If the cars start, then we will re-acquaint ourselves with driving on the right side of the road, and maybe go to the grocery store and buy flank steak, real peanut butter, Life cereal, cartons of American Diet Pepsi and Coke (it's formulated different here, not to mention way more expensive).
And then we'll be back in business.
Some new pictures up in the Photo Gallery, the Stitch-N-Bitch gang in action.
See y'all on the other side!
We are in the throes of packing and getting ready to leave. This week has been a series of farewells, to Hannah's play group at Pantygwdr Baptist, to my Stitch-N-Bitch, to friends, neighbors and colleagues. We are so very grateful to have made so many friends here, and will miss them all. Today the UPS driver picked up 9 (yes, 9) boxes to be shipped back to NY, so whatever else we want to bring back will have to ride in a suitcase. For those of you who are keeping track, that trip will be thus:
1) Sunday train to London.
2) Monday in London.
3) Tuesday 8:00 check-in at Heathrow, 11:00 flight. To Boston. Where we will spend 2 hours wandering around, then board another flight to New York. Where we will gather up our worldly belongings and be whisked away in the West Point van (thank you, West Point!) to the Thayer Hotel, not far from Cliff's office.
4) Wednesday Cliff has to teach nearly all day. Hannah and I get to wander around post. Another night in Thayer Hotel.
5) Thursday (still with us?) we hope a kindly friend will ferry us home, where we will cross our fingers and toes and hope that at least one of our cars will start. We get to walk to the local DMV and re-register our cars, thus using up most of the rest of the day. Okay, that last bit was hyperbole. I hope. Hopefully Cliff will have time to take Hannah to the coffee shop in Peekskill. Mmmmm, bagels. If the cars start, then we will re-acquaint ourselves with driving on the right side of the road, and maybe go to the grocery store and buy flank steak, real peanut butter, Life cereal, cartons of American Diet Pepsi and Coke (it's formulated different here, not to mention way more expensive).
And then we'll be back in business.
Some new pictures up in the Photo Gallery, the Stitch-N-Bitch gang in action.
See y'all on the other side!
Lists
May/14/06 19:52 |
Permalink
Things I'll miss:
1) Brynmill Park. It's at the end of our street--so close you can see it from our back garden. Any day when it's not raining and wet, you'll find us sitting in a row on the park benches, while the kids run out their excess energy.
2) Taking Hannah to school every morning. It's a 7-minute walk to school; while not all the parents are good friends, it makes you feel part of the world, just greeting everyone in the morning and chatting until the bell rings.
3) The Taliesin Centre for the Arts. Located on the University campus, a 10-minute walk from our house, the Taliesin has music, theater, and movies all season long.
4) Cliff's 10-minute walk to school. No traffic, no parking hassle, no waiting.
5) Chips!
6) Welsh accents.
7) The Indian grocer's on St. Helens. Wonderful produce at decent prices.
8) The Swansea market.
9) Cliff not having to become a hermit every 3 1/2 weeks to grade exams/papers/finals.
Things I won't miss:
1) Living in a rented house. We were very, very fortunate to find the house we did, which is quite nice, in this location, which is ideal. But, living in someone else's house means living with choices which are not your own. Our kitchen is really a multipurpose room, serving also as Hannah's crafts room and my office, which means we have piles of stuff and a rat's nest of computer cords. How I long to get back to having a place to put everything away.
2) Bathroom sinks--public and in homes--with a separate cold- and hot-water taps. Public restrooms here almost always post a warning sign that the hot water is scalding hot, and it is. You would think someone would figure out a way to lower the temperature.
3) TV commercials.
4) Not having a car. While we absolutely love the fact that we can walk to school, the uni, and downtown, we've missed out on some things because they're just really inconvenient, or even impossible, by bus.
Things I look forward to in NY:
1) Washer/Dryer, dishwasher, vacuum cleaner, sewing machines. An American-sized, self-cleaning oven. Woo hoo!
2) TiVo. Double woo hoo!
3) Cheap diet soda. Pancake syrup. Life Cereal.
4) Our family doctors.
1) Brynmill Park. It's at the end of our street--so close you can see it from our back garden. Any day when it's not raining and wet, you'll find us sitting in a row on the park benches, while the kids run out their excess energy.
2) Taking Hannah to school every morning. It's a 7-minute walk to school; while not all the parents are good friends, it makes you feel part of the world, just greeting everyone in the morning and chatting until the bell rings.
3) The Taliesin Centre for the Arts. Located on the University campus, a 10-minute walk from our house, the Taliesin has music, theater, and movies all season long.
4) Cliff's 10-minute walk to school. No traffic, no parking hassle, no waiting.
5) Chips!
6) Welsh accents.
7) The Indian grocer's on St. Helens. Wonderful produce at decent prices.
8) The Swansea market.
9) Cliff not having to become a hermit every 3 1/2 weeks to grade exams/papers/finals.
Things I won't miss:
1) Living in a rented house. We were very, very fortunate to find the house we did, which is quite nice, in this location, which is ideal. But, living in someone else's house means living with choices which are not your own. Our kitchen is really a multipurpose room, serving also as Hannah's crafts room and my office, which means we have piles of stuff and a rat's nest of computer cords. How I long to get back to having a place to put everything away.
2) Bathroom sinks--public and in homes--with a separate cold- and hot-water taps. Public restrooms here almost always post a warning sign that the hot water is scalding hot, and it is. You would think someone would figure out a way to lower the temperature.
3) TV commercials.
4) Not having a car. While we absolutely love the fact that we can walk to school, the uni, and downtown, we've missed out on some things because they're just really inconvenient, or even impossible, by bus.
Things I look forward to in NY:
1) Washer/Dryer, dishwasher, vacuum cleaner, sewing machines. An American-sized, self-cleaning oven. Woo hoo!
2) TiVo. Double woo hoo!
3) Cheap diet soda. Pancake syrup. Life Cereal.
4) Our family doctors.
More photos
May/13/06 20:34 |
Permalink
I've added new photos to the photo gallery.
It's down to the last two weeks, and we're trying to tie up loose ends and pack. It's around £75 (that's around $135) to ship the average box, so I think we're going to leave a lot of things behind. Yikes.
Several movies to recommend:
1) Kinky Boots. The owner of a shoe factory in Northampton wants to save his family business, turns to manufacturing boots for transvestites. Really. It's heartwarming. Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, of Serenity.
2) Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. I'm probably late to jump on the train, but laughed so very hard in the first half of this movie. The second half gets a little heavy and gory.
3) Mrs. Henderson Presents. Widowed shortly before WWII, Mrs. Henderson (Dame Judi Dench) decides to buy a theatre. Nekkid girls. Bob Hoskins.
It's down to the last two weeks, and we're trying to tie up loose ends and pack. It's around £75 (that's around $135) to ship the average box, so I think we're going to leave a lot of things behind. Yikes.
Several movies to recommend:
1) Kinky Boots. The owner of a shoe factory in Northampton wants to save his family business, turns to manufacturing boots for transvestites. Really. It's heartwarming. Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, of Serenity.
2) Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. I'm probably late to jump on the train, but laughed so very hard in the first half of this movie. The second half gets a little heavy and gory.
3) Mrs. Henderson Presents. Widowed shortly before WWII, Mrs. Henderson (Dame Judi Dench) decides to buy a theatre. Nekkid girls. Bob Hoskins.
A Trip to Cardiff, and Other Stuff
May/04/06 18:42 |
Permalink
Last Friday Cliff and Hannah went to Cardiff for the day. They toured Cardiff Castle and then returned to Techniquest, a children's museum on Cardiff Bay. There's video footage up, over in the Movies page.