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.

Oh!

Duh...
My five for Dinner:
The Apostle Paul
Bill Murray
Jack Kerouac
Thomas Jefferson
Ryne Sandberg

To have a pint with:
Oscar Wilde
Ernest Hemingway
Benjamin Franklin
George Carlin
Ryne Sandberg

The bed is yet to come...

Okay, so admittedly I am not always the best at taking a long-term view of things. One of my several-ok many-faults. The fact that I recognize this at least, I believe, is good. I am pretty decent at knowing what I am not good at, just not great at fixing it. I guess we can add that to the list of faults. Wait, don't really make a list. Surely you have something better to do.

Currently, I am less than happy about our current posting. I am trying to remind myself we are only a month into it, and perhaps 6 months or a year down the road these will all be distant memories. Yes, Mom and Dad, I remember I didn't want to go to Germany and ended up loving it. No it is not the same. I am three times as old now. (3 times!?!?) I am old and cranky. I get fussed over little things and let other bigger things go. Why? You got me. Just my make up I guess. NO, I am NOT wearing make up.

These days are long. It is gray. It is windy. And supposedly this country is pretty old or something, so I don't think anyone is going to be changing to suit me. Which means, I leave it to all of you. You must all log on to a travel site right now and book flights over here. (Please confer with each other first, so as to not all arrive at once. Thanks) Don't worry about work or school or previous commitments; I'll write you a note.

Done yet? Alright then, see you soon. I'll leave off with this. During our golf outing yesterday, the guys starting having a "who would you like to have a dinner party with?" game, which turned into a "who would you like to have a pint with?" and so on. Please leave yours on the comments section, along with your dates of arrival and departure.

Oh, and the title? The "stuff" including our bed, should be here tomorrow. See how I tied it all together?

Some random house pics for those who were unable to view the ones from this summer.

Through the Master, looking over the valley

Exposed Brick wall w/ fireplace

From the backyard

Range has 8 burners, been using them quite a bit

The "backyard"/Stour Valley from Master window

Note & some pics

Going out with the local golf society today. Gonna likely be ugly, so there certainly won't be any pictures. Probably no update with how I do either. But here are some random pictures from around the house and such.

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.