Halloween Weekend 2009

Okay, so it just happened that Halloween fell on our first chance to take a vacation. Kinda weird being away for Halloween, since it is very much a local thing. We didn't know neighborhoods, so we just let the kids dress up for dinner, then bought them some candy and had a pig out fest in the hotel room. At least it will be something different to remember.

Other nice things to remember include; visiting Nottingham Castle. A 1200 year old castle that has been a focal point for many historical events, one of which you probably didn't know, the Robin Hood Legend. Yeah, crazy name, I know, but he was aguy who robbed the rich to protest a false leadership and helped the poor. That sorta sums it up, but you should check it out, pretty cool stuff. Also it mark sthe spot of the decree which started the English Civil War. Who knew they had one of those too? Didn't get great pictures due to some strange weather and lighting, but we can prove we were there.

Attached to the castle, or more appropriately, the castle's cave system, is the oldest Inn in England/Pub in the the world. Kinda neat. Three stories (being generous here) all in the cave openings, and a pretty cool spot to think about the guys who had a pint (more likely a tankard back then, you're right) before soldiering off to the Crusades, or some such English whim.

Then there is Sherwood Forest. A large gathering of trees some 25 miles to the North of Nottingham (think Robin Hood actually jogged down to Nottingham?) with the main focal point being Major Oak, the oldest tree in England (Scotland has one older!), estimate to be about 800-1000 years old. Also said to be a meeting point/HQ for RH and his Merry Men. Very massive. Very impressive. Got me to thinking though. If that legend is 800 years old, and the tree is thereabouts or a little older, why were they meeting at that particular tree? Wasn't very impressive back then. Crazy legends and their convenient lies.

Also, Rian is starting to understand that Disney is a liar. She was upset (again) that there were no princesses at the castle and that RH was nowhere to be found. She did have a marvelous conversation with Baylie regarding their walking stick (because you HAVE to have a walking stick in the forest) wherein she told Baylie that "potentially" her stick was bigger after Baylie told her they were basically the same size. How does a dead stick have potential? Not sure, also not sure how a three year is spouting those kinda words. She sure doesn't get that vocab from her Dad (wink, wink)

And finally, this vacation was a nice retreat from a period of the year that has come to be full of memories, good and bad, for the Butler & McCallum & Collinsworth families. It is always the time of year I dread the most, and I try to keep as busy as possible during this time. For those of you who don't know, suffice it to say there has been a fair bit of tragedy (too strong?) and loss at this time of year, and for those of you who do know and may remember, thank you for your prayers and thoughts for my family.

Love you all!
C

Robin & Marian Statue

Robin Hood

Peek-a-boo! on the castle grounds

A Royal decree

The Inn/Pub since 1189

First cool tree we found

Rian inside said tree

A deep conversation, I'm sure

Major Oak with the girls

Major Oak

One more time

Forest Walk

Leasea in all her glory, designed by Rian

Happy Halloween!

New coat, e-mailing Nonni

Are you done, Mom?

And it was dark...

As dark as night, night, night. With apologies to Mr. Joel, I had forgotten how dark and how quickly it gets that way this far North.

How dark you ask? Well, if you blink, you've missed the sunset, if a group of seniors are playing a round of golf in front of you, forget finishing, and if you can't wait to get the kids to bed at night so you can relax, lie to them, cuz they can't tell time anyhow. Well, at least the little ones, and then I just have to bribe Baylie not to blab.

On top of Daylight Savings Time hitting here a week earlier than we thought, throwing our entire weekend out of whack, Baylie is on "half-term." Basically a fall break, but I am not sure from what, because I am not seeing a whole lot of anything school work wise. So she is bored, its too cold and wet to play outside and Lace is gone, so she and I drive 50-60 minutes round trip in the mornings in traffic and the same in th eevening. If we weren't paying so dang much for the care, I would just keep the little 'uns home as well. Maybe not good idea, considering that Rian was too impatient this weekend to wait for her promised "make-up" party, so she decided to give the NEW chair a make-over. Lipstick, nail polish and concealer leave marks in case anyone is wondering.

We are heading on our first holiday--vacation for us regular English speakers--and we let the kids pick. Bright idea. Now we are headed to Nottingham and Sherwood Forest to prove to Rian that Disney lies to kids. Should be a grand time. Wonder if I can pay some local down on their luck girls to dress up and pretend to be princesses? Better not, probably get arrested for solicitation. I don't want that, I want to get deported, NOT arrested.

And when we get back next Monday I get to prepare for "Tuesday of Pain." Which is to say that I'll need to work out after the break and I am getting the newest tattoo. Said to take four hours, this could be trouble; probably more for Leasea, who'll be greasing and lotioning my back for several days. And we all know how much she hates touching me...

Sorry such a long lay-off, try to do better!

Tech-know

One of the strangest things in my lifetime, to me, is the rapid, almost exponential growth of technology. The amount of ground covered in the last quarter century plus is astounding, and truly, the thing of novels. Sci-fi writers of years gone by dreamed of these things, yet, I believe they too would be shocked at just how quickly things have snowballed.

I recall, as a child, sitting and listening to records with my dad, and also, him shouting at me if I walked/ran too heavily about and made them skip. (Mind you, I think he was a bit nuts expecting a kid not too make a record skip, but, whatever) Then came tapes; ones that we listened to so many times on our cross-country trips, that they wore out. The Highwaymen, The Final Countdown, Dirty Dancing Soundtrack, Thriller, Bad, etc. Then CDs came along and the massive boom they created with record sales at all time highs. Now, 15 years or so after my first CD, I don't even know anyone who buys CDs anymore, most people make their own. A long way from making mix tapes by listening to the radio all day long waiting for the DJ to announce your favorite song. A mean, really, a DJ? Local radio? Pshaw.

Or how about communications? One of my many fond childhood memories is riding up front with my dad on trips while my mom sat in back with my sister. Why? Well, I got to play on the CB. Just like the Duke Boys and The Bandit. What could be cooler? I'll tell you what, a phone, that was only the size of a child's shoe box, that you could take anywhere with you and make calls to anywhere. You're kidding you say. NO, I am not; only the size of a child's shoe box. Now, my iPhone has all the info I'll ever need in the pam of my hand. Just crazy.

Nearly two-thirds of my life ago, (For those counting, that is only twenty years give or take, but the other way of putting it makes me sound like a wise old sage.) when my family was living in Germany, we would have to set times to be at the house, and make sure the family 6 hours behind us in time (back in time??) was also at their house once a week to have a chit chat. Why did we have to be around, you might wonder. Well, who had answering machines? Not us non-rich people, that's for sure. Now, I am able to look at my family and friends (at least those of you who have been paying attention and gotten Skype, ahem) while I talk to them...for free! Its amazing.

And computers? I remember getting our first computer when we lived in KY in 1985-86. It was the coolest, I could play wonderful, pixellated games that made no sense whatsoever, and it all ran from a cool thing called DOS. Or when we moved to San Antonio and got to connect to the World Wide Web and AOL. I chat and make friends with anyone from anywhere, all after using our phone line to screech and pop onto the web. Cool, huh? Well, just yesterday I finally got all the UK components and was able to link my Xbox and computer and DVD and receiver up again.

Or how about cameras? Or Cars? Or TVs? Or TV channels? Ok, some of you older folks may just appreciate the color on TV, but good for you too. And the list goes on and on. What will we be talking about 10 years from now?

Anyway, that about does it, gonna save this, then go and play games on my Coleco Vision. Just kidding.

Just pictures really

Not a lot to say here. Went to Framlingham Castle in the town of...wait for it...Framlingham. Pretty nice, definitely a spot to return to, by ourselves or with company. Pretty well intact, good photo opportunities, but Kelsie was getting a cold, and Rian was upset that no princesses actually lived there, so the day was cut a bit short.
Anyhow, enjoy.

Nice face, Rian

They really do love their Kels!

The wind!

See? I really am in England

From one tower across the interior of the castle

Up a wall from the courtyard

A school outside the castle walls, across the mere

Through a "window" out onto the countyside

The castle poorhouse, now giftshop, with school in background

LY all!

Requests?

No, no, no, I did not get a radio show over here. I don't think my taste would go over well here for one because everything sounds the same. They don't even seem to have an appreciation for the stuff that has come out of GB that is good. I digress.

I have been trying to work on my prayer life, and I would like to start praying for specific things. As of right now, I am praying for all my loved ones in generalitites, with the exception of a few. So, I have a request. If you don't mind, I would like some prayer requests. Praises are more than welcome too,but since I already take time out of my day to pray for you, (and if you are reading this, there is a 95% chance this includes you!) so why not allow me to pray for something that you truly need prayer for, or thanks for? If these are too personal, feel free to e-mail/facebook mail me. If they ae REALLY personal, just mention an unspoken request, and I will know to pray harder.

In a sense, you'd be doing me a favor as well; for several reasons. First, it helps me in my spiritual life. How awesome is it to be able to say that you have helped someone spiritually? ... That's what I thought. Second, and selfishly, it allows me to be close to you across the great distances between us. Time to reflect about our friendship and memories, and hopes and dreams.

This past week alone, I found out that two of my closest friends, two men who stood with me at my wedding, and their wives are pregnant. One couple for the second time, and one for the first time after years of practice. ;-) I can't begin to tell you how happy these two pieces of news made me. I am quite the little girl, so I obviously cried, but they were absolutely tears of joy!

So, if you happen to read this, even if I don't know you and you simply stumble across it, take a second and share something; you'll be helping us both!

Love you all!

US in Italy

My trip to Italy last week was actual a little more eventful than looking at chickens.  I had a very early flight to Venice that took us over the Swiss Alps.
The grandure of mountains that seems to pop out of the skies above the clouds.  Barren peaks licked with white snow on one side, harsh stone on the other.  Small villages filling the valleys below filled with a foggy mist.  It was a nice way to begin the morning.  I would love to someday see it from looking up.
The first evening that we were there we went for a late dinner in a small town.  The streets were made of cobble stone.  People were strolling along, riding bikes and pushing strollers (buggies).  Very few cars were out.  It felt like stepping back 100's of years.  The 900 year old church with a clock tower stood at the end of the main street over looking a timeless picture.  It's what you would imagine seeing in Italy.  A lazy river running thru town.  Window shopping for Italian shoes and clothes. 
We ate at an outdoor resturant that had homemade pasta and pizzas along the cobble stone plaza.  As I was setting in this relaxed ancient town a F-16 flies overhead and brings me to a realization of todays times.  These people live among a war that is being fought a lot closer to them than the ones that are there to fight it.  The roaring sound didn't seem to affect them a US base is very close, but to me?  I can't explain the feelings that rushed over me.  It was a mixture of pride, fear and confussion.  It's different than having a F-16 fly over your head in the US.  I think it came from an understanding that it wasn't there just for manuvers.  It was there to protect.

Time?

I was wondering how much time, or more precisely, how long do I have to be here, before I can start telling rude Britains off?

Doug and Kathy, you'll probably be the best to answer this. Or maybe not, because I can't actually see you doing that, and  really want to.

What is bothering me is how opinionated these people are about our country. Obviously, my Southern U.S. accent gives me away, but I am not walking around with my nose up or speaking of their politics or economy, so why must everyone I meet tell me how great and wonderful and historical our new great* and wonderful* and historical President is?
It wouldn't even be that bad if they left it there, but it continues to:

• What are your thoughts?

"Yes it is historical, and some such other oblique nonsense to avoid the discussion."

• Where are you from?

"Texas. Moved from Arkansas. In America, short, terse replies indicate the end of a discssion"

• Oh, Texas? Where Bush is from? That why you moved to Arkansas/over here? He is horrible...blah, blah, blah

"Can I please have a pint? And keep 'em coming, because if my mouth isn't full, I am going to start talking too much."

Get my drift? All I am trying to do is not be the sterotypical "Ugly American" and just blend into society and try my hardest to avoid the next three years, not get into verbal battles between countries. Besides, I am pretty sure most of the people talking are unarmed anyhow.

The worst one yet, which made me excuse myself for a pretend phone call and step outside, was this gem:

"You Americans have no history, most of you just don't know you've only gone on a long holiday."

"WHAT?!? Look here, old-timer, you didn't fight--or did you, you're pretty old--and neither did I, but you guys lost, and we're not coming back." Of course, I said this into my phone, to myself, outside. Then came back into the clubhouse and changed the subject. To sports, which of course led down the of how wussy NFL players are vs. rugby and so on.

So...when? Probably the week before we leave, I reckon.

**green is for sarcasm