The short one over 21 who looks like a bloodshot bumblebee is Carol, Adam's mom.
2009/12/28
Some pictures from Adam's Moms "Boxing Day" meal
The short one over 21 who looks like a bloodshot bumblebee is Carol, Adam's mom.
2009/12/25
Happy Holidays - Merry Christmas - Timeout from Work YAY!
We had a lovely Christmas Day here.
There wasn't a cloud in the sky, the sun was shining and the company was exceptional!
Instead of the traditional Turkey that is cooked here at Christmas we decided to go for something a little different.
This year we had a Goose.
I was really apprehensive about how the Goose would turn out because I've never cooked one before, but as it happens it turned out (Edited by Andrea) "Delicious".
In addition, I also made an experimental gravy using the juice of the goose, a finely chopped onion, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, sherry and chicken stock.
We both agree that it was one of my better attempts at Gravy. Andrea thinks it was the best.
For the side we had Potato and Parsnip mashed with cream and wholegrain mustard alongside Andrea's homemade stuffing.
Wonderful!!! It's ironic that its our first Christmas together and that it went so well.
I am going to pass the keyboard to Andrea now so she can add in her part.
Love you all XXX Adam
Hello! Adam is way too modest, he is a terrific cook and today was no different. I made Louise's stuffing, it turned out much better than on Thanksgiving, mostly due to using the food processor for the onion, sage, and bread. The consistency was perfect and it cooked evenly.
Thank you for all the great presents, the utensils and crock are already in use and I am looking forward to reading the book. Adam also is very happy with his Blackberry holder, just what he needed and it looks sharp.
Adam gave me a new camera! You can see the first photos here. For Dad: It's a Panasonic Lumix FS15 12.1MP, 5X optical zoom, wide angle 29mm, mega OIS, with face detction, digital red eye correction, and AF tracking. And a ton of other stuff but that's what's on the outside of the box! The quality is amazing! And it's very small and lightweight and has litium ion battery, all very important features for me.
Oh and it also has 2 baby modes, I haven't found what that means in the manual yet, but the icon is of crawling, I'm sure that will come in handy later.
So you can see for yourself! Hope you're all enjoying your 70F holidays, it is cold here for sure but the sun was out and made for a beautiful day (it's setting now damn latitude).
Take care, Love you all!
There wasn't a cloud in the sky, the sun was shining and the company was exceptional!
Instead of the traditional Turkey that is cooked here at Christmas we decided to go for something a little different.
This year we had a Goose.
I was really apprehensive about how the Goose would turn out because I've never cooked one before, but as it happens it turned out (Edited by Andrea) "Delicious".
In addition, I also made an experimental gravy using the juice of the goose, a finely chopped onion, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, sherry and chicken stock.
We both agree that it was one of my better attempts at Gravy. Andrea thinks it was the best.
For the side we had Potato and Parsnip mashed with cream and wholegrain mustard alongside Andrea's homemade stuffing.
Wonderful!!! It's ironic that its our first Christmas together and that it went so well.
I am going to pass the keyboard to Andrea now so she can add in her part.
Love you all XXX Adam
Hello! Adam is way too modest, he is a terrific cook and today was no different. I made Louise's stuffing, it turned out much better than on Thanksgiving, mostly due to using the food processor for the onion, sage, and bread. The consistency was perfect and it cooked evenly.
Thank you for all the great presents, the utensils and crock are already in use and I am looking forward to reading the book. Adam also is very happy with his Blackberry holder, just what he needed and it looks sharp.
Adam gave me a new camera! You can see the first photos here. For Dad: It's a Panasonic Lumix FS15 12.1MP, 5X optical zoom, wide angle 29mm, mega OIS, with face detction, digital red eye correction, and AF tracking. And a ton of other stuff but that's what's on the outside of the box! The quality is amazing! And it's very small and lightweight and has litium ion battery, all very important features for me.
Oh and it also has 2 baby modes, I haven't found what that means in the manual yet, but the icon is of crawling, I'm sure that will come in handy later.
So you can see for yourself! Hope you're all enjoying your 70F holidays, it is cold here for sure but the sun was out and made for a beautiful day (it's setting now damn latitude).
Take care, Love you all!
2009/12/16
2009/12/14
AT&T Christmas Party
The theme was Las Vegas night.
We had a Casino, show girls and Dame Shirley Bassey (Sang Diamonds are Forever) as our Cabaret Singer.
The full set of pictures can be found here http://prazzi.com/attspirit09/index.html however there are a few select pictures below
We had a Casino, show girls and Dame Shirley Bassey (Sang Diamonds are Forever) as our Cabaret Singer.
The full set of pictures can be found here http://prazzi.com/attspirit09/index.html however there are a few select pictures below
2009/12/07
2009/10/28
A day at the races and then some!
Here are a few more pictures that I took on my camera phone.
Stuart has a whole raft of them which I am sure he will share in due course.
We had a day at Stratford on Avon Races, followed by a Trip to Wales for an overnight stay to catch the Stena HSS Ferry to Ireland.
There we had a great day out shopping for a new Tweed Hat and some good cigars.
I am somewhat dissapointed that on this trip I only managed to clock up 1204 miles falling somewhat short of Debbie's trip over here, but I'm sure we can rectify that with a future trip :)
All in all we had a wonderful time and I sincerely hope that Andrea's parents had as much fun as we did.
As always to view the full size images.. Click the small window, then go to the slideshow in Picasa :)
Love A&A
Stuart has a whole raft of them which I am sure he will share in due course.
We had a day at Stratford on Avon Races, followed by a Trip to Wales for an overnight stay to catch the Stena HSS Ferry to Ireland.
There we had a great day out shopping for a new Tweed Hat and some good cigars.
I am somewhat dissapointed that on this trip I only managed to clock up 1204 miles falling somewhat short of Debbie's trip over here, but I'm sure we can rectify that with a future trip :)
All in all we had a wonderful time and I sincerely hope that Andrea's parents had as much fun as we did.
As always to view the full size images.. Click the small window, then go to the slideshow in Picasa :)
Love A&A
2009/10/16
2009/10/15
England and its weather - Yes shocker its raining!
That said, Stuart and Louise arrived safe and sound and are busy getting over the novelty item we give all our US visitors...No not Swine Flu....Jet Lag!
Anyway here are a few snaps.
More to follow.
2009/09/29
The New House
Here is part one of the video of our new house.
We totally love it and hope you will too.
We looked at a ton of others, some much bigger and some farm houses but none appealed quite like this.
The house is on a Cul-de-sac in the village of Studley, Warwickshire. We are about 15 miles from Stratford-on-Avon, the home of the Great Bard himself.
Anyway, enough waffle from me, watch part one!
Andrea was busy ironing so I was barred from filming the rest of downstairs until she was done!
Oh and as if by Magic, here's Bella!!
We totally love it and hope you will too.
We looked at a ton of others, some much bigger and some farm houses but none appealed quite like this.
The house is on a Cul-de-sac in the village of Studley, Warwickshire. We are about 15 miles from Stratford-on-Avon, the home of the Great Bard himself.
Anyway, enough waffle from me, watch part one!
Andrea was busy ironing so I was barred from filming the rest of downstairs until she was done!
 |
| From The New Place |
 |
| From The New Place |
Oh and as if by Magic, here's Bella!!
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| From The New Place |
2009/09/05
Debbie's Visit
Here's the slideshow of all the pictures we took.
Debbie forgot her camera cable so we have to wait for her pictures but having seen the previews they are worth the wait.
Anyway..
The pictures!
You will have seen some before from the earlier post but stick with it because the new ones are at the end.
As always, click to enlarge!
Debbie forgot her camera cable so we have to wait for her pictures but having seen the previews they are worth the wait.
Anyway..
The pictures!
You will have seen some before from the earlier post but stick with it because the new ones are at the end.
As always, click to enlarge!
2009/09/04
Our Holiday in Spain
Here's a compilation of photos from Adam, Luke and me. We stayed in Pineda de Mar in the Costa Brava area of Catalan.
 |
| Pineda |
2009/09/01
2009/08/08
High Time for an update!
It's been a bit since we've done any posts so here's a recap.
Two weeks ago Luke came for his usual weekend and then stayed for the rest of the week. Adam was able to work from home so each morning they dropped me off and then went back home, where Luke played Worms Mayhem while Adam attended his conf calls and incidents. On the last day, we met at the McDonald's across from my building for a lunch date. I will say that McD's here is much better than in the US, but we don't make a habit of going there often, max once a month.
Last weekend we had friends over for a dinner party, Ray and Michelle and 2 of their kids, Kirsten and Grant. Adam and I cooked one of our cooking class dishes, a side of salmon with chili and honey glaze. It was delicious, a bit spicy for everyone but me so I used the Splenda trick to tone it down some. We played some Disney Trivia (kids version) and Adam and Ray told funny stories about their Army days. Sunday we went for a wander around Arrow Valley Lake and then Adam cooked us up a perfect chicken for Sunday lunch, ending with Ray's dessert of puff pastry, creamy ricotta, orange zest and strawberries.
Last night we took the train to Birmingham and met some workmates at All Bar One, it's always nice to see people outside of work. A few of the guys who work on different teams said, I was wondering who you were, I heard you talking and noticed the accent. Ha! More likely they heard me talking and wondered if I could turn the volume down...
Today we woke up to beautiful blue skies and sunshine! So we took a drive to Rhyl in North Wales. It's a 2-hr drive up by Liverpool and then West. Rhyl is along the coast, on the Irish Sea. We arrived at low tide and had a splash around, it was great to feel the warm sand between my toes. Adam explained that all British sea-side towns are setup the same way, with a long street lined with shops to the seafront and then another long street along the seafront, making a T.
Along the seafront is just like a typical boardwalk without the boardwalk, just regular pavement. We rode the Ferris Wheel of Fear, which was the fastest turning wheel either of us had been on. It gave fantastic views of the windfarm to our left and the mountains to our right. After the ride we had some traditional fish and chips, which were very yummy. We sought out the best chippy as the first one we saw was passing out some sad looking chips. The pieces of cod were huge! I ate about half of my fish and chips, a good effort. With lunch done we walked along the non-boardwalk some more, wandered into the Sea Life Aquarium and saw some huge fish, perhaps tomorrow's lunch, and some turtles. And then we saw the mini-golf! Here it's called crazy golf BTW. We played through and I got 2 holes in one! Adam told the attendant and he gave me a Welcome to Rhyl candy stick. We left while the sun was up and I had a nice snooze on the ride home. It was a completely enjoyable day.
Tomorrow we are hoping for another day of sunshine so we can tidy up the garden. Starting the day with a car boot, although we say that nearly every Sunday and then fail to get up (Adam calls it Anal Blindness, he can't see his ass getting out of bed). Then just getting ready for our holiday to Costa Brava which is next Saturday!!
Here's some photos from Rhyl, next photos should be from Spain!!
Two weeks ago Luke came for his usual weekend and then stayed for the rest of the week. Adam was able to work from home so each morning they dropped me off and then went back home, where Luke played Worms Mayhem while Adam attended his conf calls and incidents. On the last day, we met at the McDonald's across from my building for a lunch date. I will say that McD's here is much better than in the US, but we don't make a habit of going there often, max once a month.
Last weekend we had friends over for a dinner party, Ray and Michelle and 2 of their kids, Kirsten and Grant. Adam and I cooked one of our cooking class dishes, a side of salmon with chili and honey glaze. It was delicious, a bit spicy for everyone but me so I used the Splenda trick to tone it down some. We played some Disney Trivia (kids version) and Adam and Ray told funny stories about their Army days. Sunday we went for a wander around Arrow Valley Lake and then Adam cooked us up a perfect chicken for Sunday lunch, ending with Ray's dessert of puff pastry, creamy ricotta, orange zest and strawberries.
Last night we took the train to Birmingham and met some workmates at All Bar One, it's always nice to see people outside of work. A few of the guys who work on different teams said, I was wondering who you were, I heard you talking and noticed the accent. Ha! More likely they heard me talking and wondered if I could turn the volume down...
Today we woke up to beautiful blue skies and sunshine! So we took a drive to Rhyl in North Wales. It's a 2-hr drive up by Liverpool and then West. Rhyl is along the coast, on the Irish Sea. We arrived at low tide and had a splash around, it was great to feel the warm sand between my toes. Adam explained that all British sea-side towns are setup the same way, with a long street lined with shops to the seafront and then another long street along the seafront, making a T.
Along the seafront is just like a typical boardwalk without the boardwalk, just regular pavement. We rode the Ferris Wheel of Fear, which was the fastest turning wheel either of us had been on. It gave fantastic views of the windfarm to our left and the mountains to our right. After the ride we had some traditional fish and chips, which were very yummy. We sought out the best chippy as the first one we saw was passing out some sad looking chips. The pieces of cod were huge! I ate about half of my fish and chips, a good effort. With lunch done we walked along the non-boardwalk some more, wandered into the Sea Life Aquarium and saw some huge fish, perhaps tomorrow's lunch, and some turtles. And then we saw the mini-golf! Here it's called crazy golf BTW. We played through and I got 2 holes in one! Adam told the attendant and he gave me a Welcome to Rhyl candy stick. We left while the sun was up and I had a nice snooze on the ride home. It was a completely enjoyable day.
Tomorrow we are hoping for another day of sunshine so we can tidy up the garden. Starting the day with a car boot, although we say that nearly every Sunday and then fail to get up (Adam calls it Anal Blindness, he can't see his ass getting out of bed). Then just getting ready for our holiday to Costa Brava which is next Saturday!!
Here's some photos from Rhyl, next photos should be from Spain!!
2009/07/07
Cancer Research Relay for Life --- Update
Our little team of Super heros managed to raise a grand total of £9,675.72 for Cancer Research. Thats $15,660.29 USD!!!
The Grand Total for the Redditch event was £116,041
2009/07/06
AT&T Team Spirit Event - Fun Fair
Here are some pictures from the Team Spirit event that was organised by AT&T for families to come and have fun.
All the rides were free and the food was excellent.
We had a fabulous time.
All the rides were free and the food was excellent.
We had a fabulous time.
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| Team Spirit |
2009/06/28
Some pictures of our antics of late
Last weekend Andrea found this fantasic place called "Thinktank" http://www.thinktank.ac/ which is a child orientated museum. It was a real education and Luke loved it.
We all loved it!
We traversed several thousand years of history and got to stand next to and touch everything from mummified remains of 5000 year old Kings to the first APPLE MAC!
Luke really loved driving the digger.
We walked around and got to go on Steam trains and play with exhibits from The Industrial Revolution. The site has a fantastic planetarium and we took a journey to a distant world to see what life might be like before returning back to Earth to become film producers.
Steven Spielberg eat your heart out! Luke's Lego animatronic movie was fantastic!
I wish I had my memory stick with me to download his completed product, but you will just have to take our word for it that it was very good.
Just when we thought it couldn't get any better we entered the BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs exhibition that was also there at Thinktank.
It was incredible to watch and learn how they put this stuff together.
We returned from that wonderful day out (Thankyou for finding it sweetheart) to do some well earned gardening and as you can see, its not looking too shabby.
Love to all..
We all loved it!
We traversed several thousand years of history and got to stand next to and touch everything from mummified remains of 5000 year old Kings to the first APPLE MAC!
Luke really loved driving the digger.
We walked around and got to go on Steam trains and play with exhibits from The Industrial Revolution. The site has a fantastic planetarium and we took a journey to a distant world to see what life might be like before returning back to Earth to become film producers.
Steven Spielberg eat your heart out! Luke's Lego animatronic movie was fantastic!
I wish I had my memory stick with me to download his completed product, but you will just have to take our word for it that it was very good.
Just when we thought it couldn't get any better we entered the BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs exhibition that was also there at Thinktank.
It was incredible to watch and learn how they put this stuff together.
We returned from that wonderful day out (Thankyou for finding it sweetheart) to do some well earned gardening and as you can see, its not looking too shabby.
Love to all..
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| Garden |
2009/06/07
Cancer Research - Relay for Life
It should have been called Race for an Umbrella!
The weather was shockingly bad. I'm not kidding! I have camped out in some bad weather before and being Ex Army was kinda used to it, but to wake up and see the tent next to us floating was a bit much.
Andrea was an absolute trooper! Deb's you would have been proud :) She took it all in her stride, got over her phobia's and was still smiling.
It seems that whilst we were warm dry and snug in our Superhero's Supertent, the mere mortals suffered the wrath of what is known in Britain as "A severe weather warning".
In the US the National Guard usually dispatches, but here they just issued out T-shirts, pumped the porta potties and cranked up the music!
Despite the unbelievably bad weather (Trust me, when an Englishman says its bad, it is :) ) we had a great time and managed to stay snug in our dome tent.
There was a fancy dress theme to this but given how bad it was out there, we opted for Superhero disguises, commonly known as waterproofs!
I went as Indiana Jones in the Puddle of Doom, and Andrea went as Wonder Weather Woman.
Anyway we raised a lot of cash for cancer research and took on the Virtual Baton from our American counterparts in Missouri at 11am on Saturday Morning.
The event was closed early on Sunday morning because most of our competitors had drowned.
The weather was shockingly bad. I'm not kidding! I have camped out in some bad weather before and being Ex Army was kinda used to it, but to wake up and see the tent next to us floating was a bit much.
Andrea was an absolute trooper! Deb's you would have been proud :) She took it all in her stride, got over her phobia's and was still smiling.
It seems that whilst we were warm dry and snug in our Superhero's Supertent, the mere mortals suffered the wrath of what is known in Britain as "A severe weather warning".
In the US the National Guard usually dispatches, but here they just issued out T-shirts, pumped the porta potties and cranked up the music!
Despite the unbelievably bad weather (Trust me, when an Englishman says its bad, it is :) ) we had a great time and managed to stay snug in our dome tent.
There was a fancy dress theme to this but given how bad it was out there, we opted for Superhero disguises, commonly known as waterproofs!
I went as Indiana Jones in the Puddle of Doom, and Andrea went as Wonder Weather Woman.
Anyway we raised a lot of cash for cancer research and took on the Virtual Baton from our American counterparts in Missouri at 11am on Saturday Morning.
The event was closed early on Sunday morning because most of our competitors had drowned.
2009/06/02
The Latest
I have abandoned my life of leisure and rejoined the working world!
Everything is going well and I've caught up with some old collegues who were surprised to see me on our corporate IM.
The only problem, and those of you who know me will understand...the closest bathroom is across the room and downstairs!
RTT is approximately 10minutes!
My coffee mug might have to serve a dual-purpose if I get stuck on a call...
Hope all is well
Everything is going well and I've caught up with some old collegues who were surprised to see me on our corporate IM.
The only problem, and those of you who know me will understand...the closest bathroom is across the room and downstairs!
RTT is approximately 10minutes!
My coffee mug might have to serve a dual-purpose if I get stuck on a call...
Hope all is well
2009/05/30
A Trip to Worcester - The capital of the Shire in which we live
We had a wonderful day out today. The sun was beaming down, not a cloud in the sky. To that end we decided to take ourselves off to Worcester. Its about 30 mins drive from where we live. We are so lucky here in Redditch. We are only a short journey away from some of the most beautiful spots in England. Take a look! Click the first picture to take you to the Picasa Slideshow.
Here's the video..
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| Worcester |
2009/05/25
A Visit to the Great Bard's Home Town **** Stratford-Upon-Avon
This is a place holder for Andrea to describe the day out in Stratford.
***Andrea's description of the day out in Stratford***
My posts are starting to sound the same...a short drive to a beautiful hamlet...all puns intended!
We drove to Stratford and got the park-n-ride bus to town, which is a great way to do it, the bus drops off and picks up on both ends of the main road every 15min and you don't have to worry about parking in town.
First we walked down to the River Avon, stopping along the way at a small festival outside the Royal Shakespeare Company as well as popping onto a moored narrow boat-turned-art gallery. At the river we got on a river cruiser boat but quickly decided to grab a row boat for ourselves.
Adam row, row, rowed our boat. There were others with motorboats, one filled with some students--a blanket term used for anyone of "uni" age who demonstrate a particular type of behavior--who shouted at us, their motorboat was better because it was faster. We beg to differ, there's just something about being in a hurry on this little bit of river that seems idiosyncratic.
After boating we wandered to the Pen and Parchment pub for lunch, which was fabulous. We shared a smoked meats platter with the best horseraddish sauce either of us ever had and a smoked salmon and creme fraiche tarte on a bed of rocket with cranberry garnish. If you're like me and have to Google creme fraiche, it's similar to sour cream but not as soured.
After lunch we walked around the town streets, into the Guild chapel, Shakespeare's gardens, his birthplace.
Stratford is one of the towns that guidebooks describe as quintessentially English, with charming buildings steeped in history. With this I agree but there's so much more, we will need several return trips to take it all in, the least of which is theatre!
****Back to Adam***
Here is a slideshow.. As always it's actually best viewed in Picasa's own slideshow viewer as it plays full screen.
To view in picasa, just click an image then select Slideshow from the top left corner of the screen.
***Andrea's description of the day out in Stratford***
My posts are starting to sound the same...a short drive to a beautiful hamlet...all puns intended!
We drove to Stratford and got the park-n-ride bus to town, which is a great way to do it, the bus drops off and picks up on both ends of the main road every 15min and you don't have to worry about parking in town.
First we walked down to the River Avon, stopping along the way at a small festival outside the Royal Shakespeare Company as well as popping onto a moored narrow boat-turned-art gallery. At the river we got on a river cruiser boat but quickly decided to grab a row boat for ourselves.
Adam row, row, rowed our boat. There were others with motorboats, one filled with some students--a blanket term used for anyone of "uni" age who demonstrate a particular type of behavior--who shouted at us, their motorboat was better because it was faster. We beg to differ, there's just something about being in a hurry on this little bit of river that seems idiosyncratic.
After boating we wandered to the Pen and Parchment pub for lunch, which was fabulous. We shared a smoked meats platter with the best horseraddish sauce either of us ever had and a smoked salmon and creme fraiche tarte on a bed of rocket with cranberry garnish. If you're like me and have to Google creme fraiche, it's similar to sour cream but not as soured.
After lunch we walked around the town streets, into the Guild chapel, Shakespeare's gardens, his birthplace.
Stratford is one of the towns that guidebooks describe as quintessentially English, with charming buildings steeped in history. With this I agree but there's so much more, we will need several return trips to take it all in, the least of which is theatre!
****Back to Adam***
Here is a slideshow.. As always it's actually best viewed in Picasa's own slideshow viewer as it plays full screen.
To view in picasa, just click an image then select Slideshow from the top left corner of the screen.
2009/05/24
What do you do if you can't find a Loo in an English Country Garden?
Well there are two options... If you follow the nursery rhyme you "Pull down your pants and paralyse the Ants in an English Country Garden"
We however are just a little more civilised so we went for "Sit out in our Garden, relax, enjoy the Sun and smell the Roast Leg of Lamb in Rosemary, Garlic and Red Wine Vinegar cook away whilst enjoying a glass of wine and a good book!"
We however are just a little more civilised so we went for "Sit out in our Garden, relax, enjoy the Sun and smell the Roast Leg of Lamb in Rosemary, Garlic and Red Wine Vinegar cook away whilst enjoying a glass of wine and a good book!"
2009/05/22
AT&T Spirit Team Racing
Team Racing!
A really enjoyable evening :) 80 odd people in teams, racing around in 50mph electric cars! Food and drinks were laid on.
Gotta love our Spirit Team, keeping the "spirit" of AT&T alive
Andrea was included because she is alreadyt considered part of AT&T in the UK so we both went and raced.
It was a riot!
Our cars sucked..Thats my excuse.. Andrea's team came last and we came second to last.. BUT Andrea's team had the head of Public Relations so he will no doubt put a good story out! LOL
Anyway it was fun. Im sure Andrea will comment too.
A really enjoyable evening :) 80 odd people in teams, racing around in 50mph electric cars! Food and drinks were laid on.
Gotta love our Spirit Team, keeping the "spirit" of AT&T alive
Andrea was included because she is alreadyt considered part of AT&T in the UK so we both went and raced.
It was a riot!
Our cars sucked..Thats my excuse.. Andrea's team came last and we came second to last.. BUT Andrea's team had the head of Public Relations so he will no doubt put a good story out! LOL
Anyway it was fun. Im sure Andrea will comment too.
2009/05/18
2009/05/13
Cancer Research Race for Life
Ok Here is Andrea and I after a bit of Photo shopping :)
Andrea and I are partaking in this years Race for Life.
The theme this year is Superhero's.
Whilst trying to decide what Superhero to be, we stumbled on a website that offered up a Superhero Quiz.
Adam's results:
You are Spider-Man
Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz
Andrea's Results:
You are Supergirl
Click here to take the "Which Superhero am I?" quiz...
Andrea and I are partaking in this years Race for Life.
The theme this year is Superhero's.
Whilst trying to decide what Superhero to be, we stumbled on a website that offered up a Superhero Quiz.
Adam's results:
You are Spider-Man
| You are intelligent, witty, a bit geeky and have great power and responsibility.  |
Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz
Andrea's Results:
You are Supergirl
| Lean, muscular and feminine. Honest and a defender of the innocent.  |
Click here to take the "Which Superhero am I?" quiz...
2009/05/10
A quick trip into Birmingham
We decided to have a trip into our regional capital "Birmingham" today.
Here are a few pictures from our trip.
We went out on the train which is about a 30 minute ride to the second largest city in the UK.
We then wandered around doing a little shopping before visiting one of the cities Museums that blew us away.
The exhibits were fantastic and what's more entry was free!
Here are a few pictures from our trip.
We went out on the train which is about a 30 minute ride to the second largest city in the UK.
We then wandered around doing a little shopping before visiting one of the cities Museums that blew us away.
The exhibits were fantastic and what's more entry was free!
2009/05/09
Warwick Castle, in our backyard
Well close, it's only 16miles away, in Warwickshire. In Redditch we are in Worcestershire, just like the sauce. I've been meaning to do wiki search to see if there's any connection.
We toured the castle including static displays of readying for battle in the 1400's, the jail (spelled gaol in the old English) which was the real jail where prisoners were kept. Now it is lit a bit but still not anywhere I want to spend time. The dungeon exhibit has been revamped and billed as much scarier so we opted to skip it as the jail was enough for me!
Touring was also allowed in the home--living quarters and chapel. The decoration and craftsmanship displayed, in full-length hand carved wall panels, to gilded and sculpted ceilings was beyond impressive. You just can't get that at Pottery Barn, and believe me, I looked! The house was occupied as private residence until the early 1900's (wiki for details).
Here's some photos I took, Adam is working on the video to post as well as his photos later.
We toured the castle including static displays of readying for battle in the 1400's, the jail (spelled gaol in the old English) which was the real jail where prisoners were kept. Now it is lit a bit but still not anywhere I want to spend time. The dungeon exhibit has been revamped and billed as much scarier so we opted to skip it as the jail was enough for me!
Touring was also allowed in the home--living quarters and chapel. The decoration and craftsmanship displayed, in full-length hand carved wall panels, to gilded and sculpted ceilings was beyond impressive. You just can't get that at Pottery Barn, and believe me, I looked! The house was occupied as private residence until the early 1900's (wiki for details).
Here's some photos I took, Adam is working on the video to post as well as his photos later.
Filling in the Blanks
Boy am I glad to be back online! I am glad we had the BB but the speed reminded me of my old Mac Classic and 96K modem.
As you've seen, we've easily settled into the house and I can't believe it's been nearly a month! I love having a backyard again and yesterday happily did some weeding and planting. We also have a bit of a herb garden in the kitchen window with our hardy basil and newcomers parsley and chives.
Our trip to Cornwall was fantastic as you can see from the photos. We stayed at Park Farm B&B which we both highly recommend. The location was perfect, easy drives to the towns and tourist spots but removed enough for peace at night. Adam enjoyed his Full English breakfast each morning and one night we had the 3-course dinner of smoked duck loin, sea bass in a creamy lemony heavenly sauce and green beans and blueberry crumble tart-pie with homemade Cornish ice cream. YUM! We also enjoyed wine from the local winery, Camel Valley. They do a red, a white, and a sparkling wine; we tried both the red and white; the red was our favorite.
It's not that I don't know the type of wine, that's how they are labeled. The red was smoother than the usual red and didn't burn like I usually find them. The white we didn't really care for, it was described to us as dry.
There are tastings and tours available at the vineyard, we planned to stop by but didn't make it. Next time!
With the sunny weather, we opted to skip Eden Project, since it's mostly in-sphere and take advantage of the coastal/beach areas. The first night we took the water taxi to Padstow, where May Day is a huge celebration/party. The streets were packed, the pubs overflowing. We walked around best we could and ate at an Italian-ish restaurant overlooking the bay. We wanted to eat local seafood as much as possible and we did!
Saturday we went to Port Quin and Port Isaac. We got to Port Quin early and were the only souls up and around, we walked along the coast and into the water a bit as the tide was out. The water was a deep turquoise and with the clear blue sky and green rolling hills was utterly impressive. Seems in England, you're never far from the farmland. Although I have heard tell of this London town that is surrounded by concrete :)
Now I've been to both sides of the Atlantic! Didn't see any jellyfish here, or medical waste for that matter...
Port Isaac is a few miles further along from Port Quin, it's a fishing village and we walked down to the town, a few galleries and harbor, then walked up, up, up to the top, built-in steps as well, and enjoyed the panoramic views. That's where the video that includes "avoid the poo" was shot.
Sunday we returned to Padstow for our boatrip. We booked for a sightseeing tour along the coast so were a bit surprised when it was a fishing trip but nevermind that, it was a great ride. The water was choppy and the boat was tossing around, the photos were taken with the camera held straight, the boat was rocking! Adam caught some mackerel and we gave them to our B&B owners before heading down to visit a friend in Hale.
After Hale we took the train to St Ives, walked along the sandy beach and had dinner, more seafood!
Monday we headed home after breakfast, it's a 4hr drive total, most on the M5, and we wanted to avoid the return holiday caravan traffic. Think I-17 southbound on Memorial Day. We returned home safely without event.
We definitely will return, I am looking forward to laying on the warm sandy beach in summer. Plus the B&B owners want to expand to offer cooking classes to which we both said YES!
Here's the link if you're looking for a great place to stay.
Well Adam just put out a delicious looking dinner so I will catch you all up on our trip to Warwick Castle today in a bit.
Hope everyone is well.
As you've seen, we've easily settled into the house and I can't believe it's been nearly a month! I love having a backyard again and yesterday happily did some weeding and planting. We also have a bit of a herb garden in the kitchen window with our hardy basil and newcomers parsley and chives.
Our trip to Cornwall was fantastic as you can see from the photos. We stayed at Park Farm B&B which we both highly recommend. The location was perfect, easy drives to the towns and tourist spots but removed enough for peace at night. Adam enjoyed his Full English breakfast each morning and one night we had the 3-course dinner of smoked duck loin, sea bass in a creamy lemony heavenly sauce and green beans and blueberry crumble tart-pie with homemade Cornish ice cream. YUM! We also enjoyed wine from the local winery, Camel Valley. They do a red, a white, and a sparkling wine; we tried both the red and white; the red was our favorite.
It's not that I don't know the type of wine, that's how they are labeled. The red was smoother than the usual red and didn't burn like I usually find them. The white we didn't really care for, it was described to us as dry.
There are tastings and tours available at the vineyard, we planned to stop by but didn't make it. Next time!
With the sunny weather, we opted to skip Eden Project, since it's mostly in-sphere and take advantage of the coastal/beach areas. The first night we took the water taxi to Padstow, where May Day is a huge celebration/party. The streets were packed, the pubs overflowing. We walked around best we could and ate at an Italian-ish restaurant overlooking the bay. We wanted to eat local seafood as much as possible and we did!
Saturday we went to Port Quin and Port Isaac. We got to Port Quin early and were the only souls up and around, we walked along the coast and into the water a bit as the tide was out. The water was a deep turquoise and with the clear blue sky and green rolling hills was utterly impressive. Seems in England, you're never far from the farmland. Although I have heard tell of this London town that is surrounded by concrete :)
Now I've been to both sides of the Atlantic! Didn't see any jellyfish here, or medical waste for that matter...
Port Isaac is a few miles further along from Port Quin, it's a fishing village and we walked down to the town, a few galleries and harbor, then walked up, up, up to the top, built-in steps as well, and enjoyed the panoramic views. That's where the video that includes "avoid the poo" was shot.
Sunday we returned to Padstow for our boatrip. We booked for a sightseeing tour along the coast so were a bit surprised when it was a fishing trip but nevermind that, it was a great ride. The water was choppy and the boat was tossing around, the photos were taken with the camera held straight, the boat was rocking! Adam caught some mackerel and we gave them to our B&B owners before heading down to visit a friend in Hale.
After Hale we took the train to St Ives, walked along the sandy beach and had dinner, more seafood!
Monday we headed home after breakfast, it's a 4hr drive total, most on the M5, and we wanted to avoid the return holiday caravan traffic. Think I-17 southbound on Memorial Day. We returned home safely without event.
We definitely will return, I am looking forward to laying on the warm sandy beach in summer. Plus the B&B owners want to expand to offer cooking classes to which we both said YES!
Here's the link if you're looking for a great place to stay.
Well Adam just put out a delicious looking dinner so I will catch you all up on our trip to Warwick Castle today in a bit.
Hope everyone is well.
2009/05/05
Some Video from Cornwall
We spent the weekend in Cornwall. It was lovely.
We are editing and sending out DVDs of it but here is the raw format.
The video is slow due to the way Picasa and Blogger convert it.
The original is so much better.
I'm sure Andrea will update this post in due course.
Love to all.
Click on the picture below to enlarge the slideshow. Then click on slideshow.
I recommend an interval of 5 seconds as opposed to the default of 3.
We are editing and sending out DVDs of it but here is the raw format.
The video is slow due to the way Picasa and Blogger convert it.
The original is so much better.
I'm sure Andrea will update this post in due course.
Love to all.
Click on the picture below to enlarge the slideshow. Then click on slideshow.
I recommend an interval of 5 seconds as opposed to the default of 3.
 |
| From Cornwall Video |
2009/04/27
The house
This is a snapshot of the front of our home.
We cant wait to welcome you!
Start planning your trips... (And let us know!)
Love to all :)
2009/04/23
Andrea is going to be joining me in the "Lets walk to work" crowd
She just got a job offer for the AT&T GCSC in Redditch.
I'm sure she will tell you all about it in due course.
The reason the blogging is a bit hit and miss is because we are waiting for the ADSL service to be turned on at home.
For a workaround we have the Blackberry as an EDGE modem but its far from ideal..
Hope you are all well stateside!
Oh PS.
The weather is improving no end!
Sunny and clear skies 4 days in a row!
Woohoo
I'm sure she will tell you all about it in due course.
The reason the blogging is a bit hit and miss is because we are waiting for the ADSL service to be turned on at home.
For a workaround we have the Blackberry as an EDGE modem but its far from ideal..
Hope you are all well stateside!
Oh PS.
The weather is improving no end!
Sunny and clear skies 4 days in a row!
Woohoo
2009/04/22
The New House
Here's a quick video of the new house. The quality is reduced because the original was over 90MB, but it will still give you an idea. I will video it from the outside later today, but at the time I did this one, it was dark. Anyway, enjoy. We love it.. The guest room is almost ready!
2009/04/08
Just a walk in the Park
Yesterday afternoon we went for a short walk up the hill to our local park for a game of frisbee in evening Sun. We had fun! Especially when we let loose on the kids playground! You are never too old to go on a see-saw.
My turn to post!
Yes folks its been quiet on the blog and seeing as right now I am anchored to my laptop with work and Andrea is out with Luke doing arts and crafts stuff, I thought I'd take the time to update the blog :)
Andrea and I went for a "jolly" at the weekend. Riding the .NET Tram from Nottingham City Centre to Hucknall which is to the North of Nottingham.
Neither of us had ever been on it so it was a bit of an adventure.
Also the great thing about it is you can buy an all day travel ticket which allows you to use all the public transport facilities including the tram, so we just thought we'd make the most of it!
£3 a day :) Not bad!!
First off we got on the wrong tram and had to change at a station further up :) oops! We eventually arrived at Hucknall after taking in the sights of Bulwell Bogs where we stopped off for Lunch.
Anyway enough of the text, here are some pictures
Andrea and I went for a "jolly" at the weekend. Riding the .NET Tram from Nottingham City Centre to Hucknall which is to the North of Nottingham.
Neither of us had ever been on it so it was a bit of an adventure.
Also the great thing about it is you can buy an all day travel ticket which allows you to use all the public transport facilities including the tram, so we just thought we'd make the most of it!
£3 a day :) Not bad!!
First off we got on the wrong tram and had to change at a station further up :) oops! We eventually arrived at Hucknall after taking in the sights of Bulwell Bogs where we stopped off for Lunch.
Anyway enough of the text, here are some pictures
2009/03/24
Return to the Motherland
We've just returned from long weekend in the States--New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and a very brief stint in New York (long enough to pay $8 toll to cross a bridge into NY then Oh Crap! Wrong rental car drop-off lot! and back over to NJ).
We arrived Thursday night, had a yummy dinner of chicken wings, BBQ chicken pizza, and more wings at UNO's then crashed out at the hotel. Adam loves chicken wings in the US as do I, the hotter the better!
Friday we took Grandma to New Hope, Pennsylvania, where sadly the mules had gone south for the winter so no barge ride. While we woke to snow (I'm noticing a trend whenever I travel) it melted off quickly and we had sun and blue skies most of the afternoon. There's a nice blend of museums, tchotchke shops, cafes and such. We stopped for a cuppa (2xEarl Grey, 1 almond for me) and Grandma educated Adam on local history, including Washington's crossing. Oh and I had my first attempt at parallel parking--although I've been corrected that my method does not meet the definition. MY definition is 'I parked parallel to the curb.' I also say why bother, anywhere worth going has valet!
Saturday we went to Princeton for lunch and the afternoon with the extended fam and Sunday we went into Philadelphia to meet my parents, in town for a conference. We did a quick historical walk including the Liberty Bell which I was just telling Luke about before we left.
I remember the bell being outside on Indepedence Mall when I was little, and oh yeah, you could touch it then too. Must be something Homeland Security-related, so glad they all searched my purse at each monument. I was impressed how they were able to pause in their conversations with each other long enough to rifle through my bag. I feel so much better knowing they, and the overweight, post-middle age guard in front of Independence Hall, are on the case. I guess it's a matter of doing something, no matter how useless and wasteful of taxpayer dollars, than doing nothing.
Ok enough this is not a political blog :)
Hope everyone is warm and well and has a Snuggie like me! Keep an eye out, I'm still working on editing the photos from the West Midlands Safari Park trip and will post soon.
XX
2009/03/12
Quick Catch-Up
I have been remiss and falling behind on my blogging! We found a house, in Redditch, 5min walk to office for Adam. It's a 4 double-bed detached with en-suite (full master bath), family bathroom (full bath) and cloakroom (1/2 bath). 2 of the bedrooms have built-in wardrobes (reach-in closet with sliding doors) and we're getting it part-furnished. Earlier this week I went into work with Adam to meet with the owner and agent and pick what furniture we wanted. All white goods (appliances, regardless of color-in this case stainless), light fixtures, mirrors (yes all of those things are not standard here), gorgeous dining table and 6 leather chairs...few other pieces.
I may even get a job out of it, the next day the engineering manager asked after me and for my resume so hopefully we will chat soon. On the work front-have had several calls from recruiters, only interested in 1 so far but it requires security clearance and I'm not eligible but he said if I was a UK/EU citizen I'd be recommended to hiring manager. It's nice being able to pick and chose the right job, my preference is The Global Telcom Company unnamed here to avoid any copyright infringement; it is a great company and I could walk to work, to either building. Adam's is about 5min away and the other is just over a mile away.
It's warming up here, and by that I mean 10C and no snow...had some sun each day, and not just at sunrise :)
Hope everyone is well I'm going to put on dinner now (spaghetti and meatballs with corn on the cob and garlic cheese bread for Adam).
Oh forgot to mention, my boxes all arrived, everything intact! And I just finished a great book at I got on my first big library adventure, called "Sepulchre" by Kate Mosse (not the model though the author is British). She wrote "Labyrinth" a few years ago, it's in a similar vein and very, very, good. 2 thumbs and both big toes up!
I may even get a job out of it, the next day the engineering manager asked after me and for my resume so hopefully we will chat soon. On the work front-have had several calls from recruiters, only interested in 1 so far but it requires security clearance and I'm not eligible but he said if I was a UK/EU citizen I'd be recommended to hiring manager. It's nice being able to pick and chose the right job, my preference is The Global Telcom Company unnamed here to avoid any copyright infringement; it is a great company and I could walk to work, to either building. Adam's is about 5min away and the other is just over a mile away.
It's warming up here, and by that I mean 10C and no snow...had some sun each day, and not just at sunrise :)
Hope everyone is well I'm going to put on dinner now (spaghetti and meatballs with corn on the cob and garlic cheese bread for Adam).
Oh forgot to mention, my boxes all arrived, everything intact! And I just finished a great book at I got on my first big library adventure, called "Sepulchre" by Kate Mosse (not the model though the author is British). She wrote "Labyrinth" a few years ago, it's in a similar vein and very, very, good. 2 thumbs and both big toes up!
2009/03/07
Adam's Mum's 60th Birthday
Here are a few pics from Carol (Adam's mom) belated 60th Birthday get together.
Where to start the celebrations?
YATES WINE BAR OF COURSE!
Andrea and Mom dancing the night away on the dance floor!
We then headed over to The Red Hot Buffet Shack where we sat down to a wonderful selection of cuisine from the four corners of the world.
When you come to visit we will definitely take you! The food was soooo good!
This is Melissa, Adam's sister.
This is Dave (Adam's Stepdad) and Scott (Melissa's partner)
Andrea baked Mom a lovely Chocolate and Strawberry Sponge Birthday cake with a Cream center.
It was really nice and reminiscent of a Black Forest Gateau which went down a storm!
Where to start the celebrations?
YATES WINE BAR OF COURSE!
Andrea and Mom dancing the night away on the dance floor!
We then headed over to The Red Hot Buffet Shack where we sat down to a wonderful selection of cuisine from the four corners of the world.
When you come to visit we will definitely take you! The food was soooo good!
This is Melissa, Adam's sister.
This is Dave (Adam's Stepdad) and Scott (Melissa's partner)
Andrea baked Mom a lovely Chocolate and Strawberry Sponge Birthday cake with a Cream center.
It was really nice and reminiscent of a Black Forest Gateau which went down a storm!
2009/03/04
A quick stroll around Sherwood Forest
We took a drive up to Sherwood for a walk around the forest and then headed off to a nearby pub for lunch.
I snapped a few pictures along the way.
The "MAJOR OAK" is approx 1200yrs old.
We will no doubt take plenty more when the Robin Hood Festival kicks off.
Anyway... heres the pics.
I snapped a few pictures along the way.
The "MAJOR OAK" is approx 1200yrs old.
We will no doubt take plenty more when the Robin Hood Festival kicks off.
Anyway... heres the pics.
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