R.I.P. Good coffee

You are reading the post of a broken hearted man. After being assured that my Keurig machine would work here with a converter, I now have no coffee machine. It ran one cycle, and much to my delight, I had a wonderful cup of Kona in just seconds. While attempting to refill itself, it shut down. Completely. I am hoping to have it fixed upon return to the U.S. because as I just found out, it would cost approximately 140 pounds to fix. That is about $235. And it still wouldn't work here, because I also found out, that it is more powerful than my TV, Computer, Printer and Xbox 360 combined.

So I gone from this

to this

And was hoping to go back to the prettier picture, but alas, I am stuck for awhile with the ol soluble yuck.

Keurig isn't even available here or for UK power. Oh, how the day has turned.

Also, our box spring doesn't fit up the stairs to our bedroom, so...its the air mattress for us tonight. Which would be ok...if I had a good cup of coffee to awake to.

Good tip +

Let me just mention quickly to anyone who cares that if you ever get your music and itunes and storage all screwed up and the listings, names, albums become jumbled...just buy all new music, it would be worth it. Something from the 3G to 3Gs took all my music, collected and compiled neatly and orderly over the last 7 years and threw a hand grenade into it. It as taken me nearly a week and I don't want to think about the hours to re-list and re-group everything.
It looks like we are reaching what the locals call "full Autumn" over here. It is what us Americans envision when we picture England. Gray, windy, drizzly, and cold. The thermostat says 61, (actually it says 16, but they do things funny here) but I don't trust it one bit.
Did a little more exploring today. Gotta say, driving is my favorite thing here so far. I should've listed it on the first post, but I forgot. I don't like the roads much, they are one lane and two-way; the bigger car doesn't move and the smaller car has two wheels in a field. Nonetheless, smaller cars, winding roads, manual transmission, and having everything reversed from the norm has really made driving fun again. Leasea's boss (a Brit) says, "in America you steer, in England, you drive." I gotta agree. Super fun and sure to scare any of you who comes to visit as leaves and branches smack off your window at 50 miles an hour.

Clacton-on-Sea

Well weekends with no toys for kids, makes for long weekends for parents. (AMIRITE?!?) So, we have been taking short day trips to keep things interesting. So far, this has worked well. Yesterday, however, Miss Rian Grace was in RARE form. So much so that she actually lost the right to walk in the sand--AT THE BEACH!
The pier in Clacton was exactly what you would imagine. We could've been in NJ or CA if it weren't for the accents and weather. Cheesy rides, cheap toys to "win", and lots of people. I actually for once didn't mind. I really kinda liked it to be honest. Probably a place we will visit many more times, and if anybody comes over, you'll probably see it too. Only 30 minutes away, too. There was plenty to do, the fish & chips were amazing, and there were some decent photo ops.
After the pier we did a little shopping to round the day out and Leasea actually got something! Shocker. In the middle of the shopping center was a random Tunisian Market. Why? No clue. Even stranger? Halfway through, a Brazilian drum band and three scantily clad dancers paraded through the place. I gotta say, it felt very surreal.
So, after we'd all made it back home--Rian almost didn't, I thought of dropping her off and making her hitchhike, but that would have left a sour taste in some Brits mouth about the "Ugly American" kid--we settled in for the evening. Lamb Chops, steamed broccoli and fresh baked bread dinner. Football (European) and the football (NCAA) rounded out the night, with U o M beating the Flailin' Irish (which I watched in its entirety) and then USC beating Ohio State (did not watch).

All in all, not too bad a day.

Number one!

Okay, well I guess I am off and running now with this whole "blog" thing.
Thanks you Bre for your help and for not laughing at me (too much) whilst (see I am picking up the local lingo) I asked many rudimentary questions.
So, I am not sure who will read this, if anyone, but that is okay. It at least lets me talk, vent, ramble, etc. I have been Facebook chronicling our adventures here to this point, but here is a quick run down of the nonsense we have encountered.

• Banks. 2 weeks to get any money. 9 days to get an acct number, but even then our cashiers check wasn't good, so it had to be mailed back stateside and deposited and wired back. Just got our bankcards this week. Brutal.
• One car. Now, I admit, this wasn't that big of a deal, but when you are used to two and the independence that comes with that, having only one is frustrating. Our second car is on order, due in November, and we have a temp car until then.
• Phone/Cell phone/Internet/TV. Actually, minus the Cell phone (which I had to have a bankcard for), these guys were more efficient than the banks. Still took 8 days for TV, 6 for phone, and 10 for internet.
• Our stuff. Originally we were told 4-6 weeks. By the time it gets thorugh customs and gets delivered it will be closer to 10. The girls are driving us mad, but who can blame them really?
• Mail. Letters seem to get here ok, but boxes? Geez, what a mess.
• The house. What a quirky place we live in. Some real adjustments to be made.

Ok. So that has been rough. There have been good things too, however.

• The family time. Been to the zoo (very nice), exploring, on picnics, to parks, and generally just spending more time together than we did back home with our crazy schedules.
• The people. Can't think of a bad thing to say about one person we've met. Even the bank people with all their crazy rules were nice while telling us they couldn't help us.
• The scenery. Its very pretty here.
• The house. Quirky, but suitable. (And, yes, I know its on the good and bad side.)
• The pub. Good food, great Landlord, wonderful drink selection, friendly customers. A very picturesque village Pub.
• The Country Club. Very nice facility. Gym is top notch, course is long and fairly difficult, people are friendly.
• The schools. The girls are settling in well. Rian loves that her school has not one, but two, sandpits. She comes home daily with sand in her pockets and waistband. Kelsie is Kelsie and she just gets along no matter what, although the teeth NEED to come through! And Baylie seems to like her school, although she hasn't made many friends yet. Thats just her though really. Gets along with eveyone, not super close to many people.
• The church. We are going to a C of E church where the Vicar went to a Baptist College. Outgoing people and lots of kids.

I think things will continue to settle down, especially once we get our stuff here. Just doesn't feel like a "home" yet. We miss everybody back home, and that I think will be the toughest for me. Having just gotten to where I had my good friends and a good schedule in Siloam, and then having to leave is rough.
Okay, I am off to explore, then work out, then pick up kiddos!
Till next time...