My 10 Favorite Blogs

I was touched the other day to be listed as one of Rambling Heather's favorite blogs. If you haven't read her stuff, visit her site for some amazing poetry and insights on mothering and living in the light. I love the expression that we should "never let the urgent take the place of the important." Heather gets it.

As per the rules of this blogging award, I'm supposed to share seven things my readers may not know about me. I did the "25 Things" challenge on Facebook a few years ago, so I'm going to rip off some of those and paste in here...

1. I have a scar on my left foot from when I stepped on a glass bottle as a kid and EVERY TIME Mike rubs my feet, he says, “What IS that?” and I have to tell the story all over again.

2. As long as I can remember I have been afraid of sharks – even in lakes and pools. Then, Mike and I went snorkeling in Mexico on our 10th anniversary and I was instantly over it. To this day, I’m still not sure what happened, but…I’m cured!

3. I am incapable of holding a grudge.

4. I have waaay too much fun making my kids’ Halloween costumes.

5. I cheat at board games.

6. I’m a granola at heart. I’m into composting/recycling, breastfeeding (well, not anymore, kids are big!), organic and whole foods, homeopathy, and minimizing my carbon footprint.

7. God help me, but I love gangster rap.

But enough about me...let's get on to the awards.

Here is my list of 10 award-winning blogs, chosen by me and awarded by me. :-) In no particular order...

It's Marvelous - My lovely niece is all grown up and teaching ME things. Dude. I can still remember when she was just six. You'll love her wit and big heart just as much as I do.

Simply Fit Mama - I have cooked and worked out with this savvy, stylish mom of two and I'm so glad that now the rest of the world can get the inside scoop on her healthy eating, exercise, and lifestyle tips. And, omygosh, the recipes!

DIY Home Staging Tips - Hi Mom! Yes, it's true, grandma blogger and home staging expert Pink Overalls is my very own mom. Whether you're selling your house or not, you'll find all kinds of quick, easy, and budget friendly ideas for house love.

Pink and Polka Dot - The undisputed slipcover queen, Kristi. I don't even sew and I still read this blog, that's how good it is. And she makes me laugh.

carrieloves.com - From techie gadgets to crafty stuff to Twilight to best-of-the-web type posts, you just never know what you're going to get from Carrie. Pop over and have a looksee...

You Look Fab - Okay, I'm no fashionista. But I have learned loads from reading Angie's blog and, well, I think I look cuter than I used to!

A Quick Succession of Busy Nothings - I just found this blog and keep going back for the photography. As a new expat here in the UK, I am reading with interest all of Kris's posts on being an American in England.

Cake Wrecks - Just laugh out loud funny.

Fed up with Lunch - This teacher-turned-blogger who calls herself Mrs. Q writes about the sad state of  American school lunches, and then some. This is like misadventures in the land of rib-b-que and tatertots, complete with disturbing photos. Not to worry, plenty of action items to balance out the doom and gloom.

The View from High Windy - I'm listing it so that he'll actually write his first post and go public with this thang.

My First Hellebore

I know it's a rental.

But I can't help myself.

After pruning the shrubs HARD last week, the front bed looks sad. It really needed it, and eventually all those plants will look better for it, but -- wow -- it looked so bad that I just had to go buy some plants. I had to. ;-)

I went to a shop near the house, the whole time thinking, "How am I going to bring any plants back with both kids in tow?" I figured I'd  buy one thing at a time and make multiple trips over a few days.

The shop owner was a petite woman with a big smile, dirty knees, and soil under her fingernails. As I was trying to pick her brain about what grows locally and would do well in my small garden, I kept having to call the boys down. "Ollie, get out of the fountain." "Boys, put those ceramic rabbits back right this second." And so on. She tells me she has seven kids. Ages 15 months up to high school. School had just let out and they started filtering in. Dark hair and freckles, all in their school uniforms.

When the proprietor and mom extraordinaire told me that they had free delivery, I felt a little delirious. I have been known to spend some money on plants.

My self-talk as I walked around the store and sidewalk displays: Just a few plants. Don't go crazy. It's a small garden. Settle... LOL

For 35 pounds, I bought a four-pack of primroses in white, pink, and purple to go along the walkway, glenchoma to fill up and trail out of a potted rose bush in the front garden, a dwarf azalea of 'hiroko' variety with bright pink flowers to go near where I pruned a leggy, woody lavender plant all the way back to the ground, a pot of an ornamental grass called gramineus variegatus, an evergreen shrub that I've been admiring in other gardens called skimmia (japonica reevesiana) which looks sort of like a viburnum. And I also splurged just a little and bought a potted red amaryllis for my kitchen and a potted white geranium for my desk.

And...as the title of the post suggests...I bought a hellebore. Sigh. Happy day. I don't know why I love the look of these plants so much. I used to regularly eat lunch in the Raulston Arboretum when I worked near there and the arboretum had a small hellebore garden. I have always been partial to the hellebores with the pale green flowers especially. I love the melancholy look of the plant, the macabre flowers, the polite posture. They are like little drama queens in the garden. Back in NC, I always had too much sun to grow them, but that's not a problem in England! :-)

My first hellebore. Yay!

Expectations

This weekend I said to Ollie, "C'mon, buddy, let's go get in the car."

And he said, "Goin' Castle?"

Love it.

Nope, buddy, just going to the grocery store.

From the Coal Era to the Information Age

The coal era and the information age were like bookends at our visit to the Woodhorn Museum today.

Northeast England, like a lot of industrial areas--I'm thinking of North Carolina's textile mills--suffered when its primary industry, in this case coal, went away. Newcastle has spent the last 15 to 20 years trying to reinvent itself as a high-tech and media city. Video games have played a pretty significant part in reviving the area's economy. There's an exhibit on now at the Woodhorn Museum called Videogame Nation--and today we went to go see it.

Billed as "a fun-filled exhibition charting the meteoric rise of videogaming--from the geek-tastic realm of the bedroom programmer to the multi-billion pound industry it is today," the Videogame Nation exhibit was fascinating.

It was strange and nostalgic--even for me, not a big gamer--to see old video game console systems like the Atari on display as artifacts in a museum. The exhibit was a retrospective of the last 35 years of game development, told mostly from the perspective of Britain's contributions to the industry.

After the video game exhibit, we toured the rest of the museum, housed in a collection of old brick buildings that used to be the Woodburn Colliery. The coal mine opened in 1894 and was in operation until the mid 1980s. We all learned a lot about coal mining, the role that unions played in the mining industry here in the UK, and about the hard life that miners and their families lived.

After we saw it all, we had lunch in the cafe.

Then a short kiddie train ride along the old narrow gauge railway through the scenic Queen Elizabeth II Country Park.

Then a sleepy 20-minute drive home.

Then the boys all napped and I went for a run. I've entered a 10K that I'll be running in a couple of weeks; I need to keep training so that I don't end up barfing in the bushes on race day! Actually, today I ran the full 6.2 miles and felt great. I didn't run the actual course, just the correct distance. What a gorgeous day! I ran along the seafront, 3.1 miles down to Tynemouth and 3.1 miles back. Right by the Tynemouth Priory and Castle.

People were out in serious numbers today. It was 14 degrees Celsius (57 degrees Fahrenheit) and you would have thought it was the middle of summer! Shorts and flip-flops. Surfers in the water (in wet suits of course). Joggers. Bikers. People playing rugby on the beaches. Dog walkers. Kids eating ice cream. Even the main drag had bumper to bumper traffic, like Myrtle Beach in June.

Makes me wonder what summer will be like when it rolls around. I am excited to live in a beachside community. A first for me. I can't wait!

The Courteous Brits

You may have already heard the story of how, when Mike was here in December, he left his new wool gloves in the cab on his way to work the first day. It was snowy and bitterly cold and he immediately realized he'd lost his gloves when he stepped outside to have a cigarette with co-workers later that morning. One guy he was standing with said, "Is that them?" and pointed to a pair of gloves hanging on the handrail by the office steps. The cabbie had brought back his gloves!

I've noticed that when Brits see something on the ground that someone's dropped, I think it must be customary to pick it up and set it out somewhere visible in case the person who lost it comes back to look for it. I've seen a hat draped on a brick wall, a silver bracelet hanging on a wrought iron fence, a baby's rattle on a fence post.

Mike's been driving to and from work for a few weeks now and he says drivers in England use church-parking-lot etiquette on the roads--even during rush hour. "Oh no, after you. I insist." Smile. Wave.

[Spoiler Alert] Yesterday, Merrit wrote postcards to each of his grandparents. As we were waiting at a crosswalk for the light to change, I asked a woman where the nearest postbox was. She said, "Oh dear, I'm afraid there isn't one nearby at all. But I've got a letter to mail myself and I'll gladly drop your letters in the box for you."

I took her up on it. :-)

Ollie's Eye View

Today Ollie and I rode into Newcastle with Mike in the morning, picked up a few things we needed, and rode the Metro home for lunch. As we walked around the city centre, I decided to document the things that caught Ollie's eye.

How fun to run around the monument!

Worn-out boots on a teenager with spiky hair. 

Double decker city bus!

Bikes!

Circles on the ground.

A yellow truck!

Star Wars underwear. Cool!

Can we build it?
Yes we can!

Puzzling...

This music is irresistible.

An iPhone just like Dad's. Only bigger!

In the Hallmark shop. Grabby, grabby.

Faces on plates? That's interesting.
(Commemorative royal wedding dishes.)

What's down there?

Anything with wheels must be studied.

Seahorses like at the aquarium last week.
(The Newcastle symbol: seahorses flanking a castle.)

It's a thrill to chase the pigeons.

Street art.

Pressing buttons is a favorite activity.

Sparkly.

Guitar!

The street sweepers go back and forth.

Getting Mommy's Metro ticket.

The turnstile. How does it work?

Graphic-style poster on the Metro train.
Captivating.

Lingo

"Mom, would you put my shirt in the laundry so it'll be clean straightaway?"

Straightaway?

Merrit may be the first one of us to start really picking up the accent and verbiage. Since he's spending time away from home every day from 9:00 to half-three, as they say (a.k.a. 3:30) with schoolmates and teachers, he's already pronouncing certain things differently, mostly a's, t's, and r's. I can hear it in words like:

hands (hahnds)
arms (ahms)
sandwich (sahndwich)
scooter (scoo-ah)

Today after school, he wanted to know if I'd make him a cheese toastie. Luckily, I knew what that was!

Grilled cheese. :-)

I Picked Up a Stomach Bug...in Scotland!

Sorry, Tina, I had to steal your joke! It was just too funny not to!

Yes, it's true. I spent all day yesterday curled over the potty. Feeling better today. Thank God!

Can You Please Pass the Butter?...in Scotland!

This is the story of how you end up in Scotland on a Sunday morning. 


We set out after breakfast on Saturday for Bamburgh Castle. Up the coastline. Drop-dead gorgeous drive. Got there at about 11:00. Paid our way in, found the potty, went to the tea room on site for a light lunch, made another trip to the potty. Isn't this the way it is when you travel with kids? It isn't until like an hour after you arrive that you actually begin the tour.

Here we are, driving up to the castle.

More about the castle later...

After we toured the entire castle, from awesome overlooks to the dungeon far below ground, we just could not call it a day. Physically impossible. Mike said, "Where are we going?"

I said, "Let's go to Scotland."

I was kidding. But we looked at each other, shrugged, and grinned. I was still half-kidding when I typed "Edinburgh" into the GPS, but when the computerized lady on the GPS said, "Turn right," Mike turned right.

Omygosh, we are going to Scotland. 

Sorry about the crummy pictures! We only had the iPhone to take pics with!

Can I put into words the beauty of the Scottish countryside? About 45 minutes or so north of Bamburgh, we crossed into Scotland and the land got much more hilly, almost mountainous. Always to the right: The North Sea stretching out forever.

We began to see more and more coniferous trees and steeper hillsides. No wonder Scottish people came to the Western North Carolina mountains and found it familiar. We were transported back home--to the soft, lush mountains southeast of the Boone and Linville areas. Rolling green fields with Christmas tree farms dotted about. It was just like that. Wth the North Sea. Can you just imagine being in the Western North Carolina mountains and having the ocean, too?! It was just stunning.

We drove alongside a huge body of water--didn't know what body of water it was--for a long time as we saw the city of Edinburgh coming closer and closer in the distance. Now we know that the body of water is the Firth of Forth. Funny name, right? It is a huge estuary, 55 miles long and up to 19 miles wide in places. And Edinburgh is right there along the firth, with its port-side factories and smokestacks and barges, with its silhouettes of cathedral steeples and peaked rooflines--and overlooking all of it, a fortress like no other: Edinburgh Castle built on top of an extinct volcano. Unbelievable.

We circled the city once or twice, not really with a destination in mind, just taking it in, able to see the castle on the hillside at all times, like a magnet keeping us on course. We ended up in a parking deck built right in the shadow of the castle and set off to find a place for dinner.

Castle in the distance...

Stopping for a break.

Walk, walk, walk. Down busy roads that made me think of NYC. Then down a pedestrians-only street that reminded me of St. Augustine. And we were getting hungry. There was a rugby match on, which meant every pub we passed was clearly not a place for kids.

How can I describe it?

Shouting matches going on. Beer sloshing in mugs. Men wearing either the Scottish flag or the Italian flag like superhero capes. Loud sing-song chanting. Women in short skirts, tall boots, and technicolor wigs. And of course blasting TV screens. It was mad.

So, pubs having been ruled out, we said no to Mexican, Sushi, and Chinese because, well, we are in Scotland! Then we saw it: Mussel Inn.

Oh my, the feast that awaited. Mike had a smoked salmon and cream cheese starter and I had oysters on the half shell for a starter. The boys ate thick slices of farmhouse bread with butter while we waited for our main courses.

And that's where the inside joke of the day began. I said, "Mike, can you please pass the butter?...in Scotland." We were really there! It was too funny. Everything from then on was "...in Scotland!" Even Merrit got in on the fun.

Do you remember where you parked the car?...in Scotland!
Did you have a good night's sleep?...in Scotland!
Can you help me zip up my coat?...in Scotland!
Ollie smells like seafood...in Scotland!

We had fun with that.

We ate steamed mussels, bay scallops, and seafood chowder for dinner. The menu described how all their fish is line-caught in Scottish waters and all the shellfish are hand-harvested from sustainable coastal farms. Everything was just so fresh, so delicious, and so perfectly cooked.

 

 

 

We drove looking for a hotel. And taking in the city.

We did find a hotel. Finally. Nothing fancy, just a chain a little on the outskirts of town, but clean and affordable. Ollie had to shower because, as I said, he smelled like seafood...in Scotland! We popped them in the bed but they stayed up past their bedtimes, doing what kids in hotels do. Switching beds. Wanting the bathroom light on. Looking out the window. Fidgeting with the heating unit.

We finally all slept. And slept well. Until..

Since this was a spontaneous trip, no one had packed a thing. We snagged toothbrushes from the reception desk but otherwise, nada. No PJs. No toiletries. No change of clothes. And, importantly, no overnight diaper for Ollie.

You guessed it.

He wet the bed.

By morning, underwear were clean and hot off the radiator and we were ready to get back out into the city. We had breakfast and checked out of the hotel.

And just started driving.

We ended up at Craigmillar Castle.

How crazy is it to just drive up on a castle? We must have passed six or so on our two-day trip. You can't see them all. But Craigmillar just lured us in. On a hilltop with rambling grassy fields and ancient orchards below, it was so beautiful and so romantic and so picturesque. The sky was something to see, too. Bright blue with big white clouds strung out side to side. The boys got out more energy sword fighting (yes, we were suckered in and bought plastic swords for each of them at the Bramburgh gift shop).

More about Craigmillar Castle later, too.

This is turning into a post about our spontaneous trip to Scotland. I will write about the two castles later.

What we saw in Scotland! Hillsides that felt like home.
What we ate...in Scotland! Seafood that was, in Merrit's words, "off the hook."
What we learned...in Scotland! Keep an overnight bag in the trunk.

On the way back to England, we stumbled upon a coastal park where people were walking, beachcombing, and windsurfing on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. We pulled over and parked.The boys grabbed their scooters out of the trunk and rode around the paved drives. We all walked out into the rocky tidal pools. We spent about an hour there until we were windswept and cold and ready to get back in the car and turn on the heat full-blast.

 

 

We took the scenic coastal road all the way home on Sunday afternoon, stopping in a little town called North Berwick to eat lunch. Tried a little restaurant on High Street called The Grange; the waiter's accent was so strong when he recommended the "cheddar burger" for the boys to split, we seriously did not know what he was saying. Chaadaah Borgaahh. We said, "Oh, okay, that sounds good" and then when he brought out a cheeseburger, we were like, "Oooooohhhh."

We're home now. Showered. In our PJs. Ready for the regular week of work and school and cooking and cleaning to start. THAT is how you spend a weekend, though.

Red Nose Day

Today was Red Nose Day in the UK. I knew nothing about this holiday, other than seeing some T-shirts for sale at the stores in the city centre -- like a black-and-white Shakespeare with a red nose. I was like, "Huh?"

Merrit came home with a note in his book bag yesterday that said that since it was Red Nose Day, he could wear something funny and non-uniform to school, that he could prepare a joke to tell in front of the class, and that he could bring in a donation.

Merrit wore a pirate eye patch and had two pounds in his pocket to donate. Quite understated, we realized once we got to the school yard and saw some of the other get-ups. Merrit's teacher was wearing a Marge Simpson wig. There were lots of wigs and funny hats. Kids with mismatched shoes, crazy hair, shirts on backwards. One boy had bright green underwear on his head. And there were lots of red noses.

What's it all for?

Money raised on Red Nose Day all goes to Comic Relief, an organization that raises money to help people in the UK and in Africa. I found out that the first Red Nose Day was in 1988, and I think Comic Relief just sold red noses to raise money. Since then it's become a huge national holiday of sorts, culminating in a big telethon with UK comics and performers. Maybe we'll watch. Here's more about Red Nose Day, if you're interested.

Daffodils

I needed a pick-me-up today and three small bunches of still-closed daffodils for just 99 pence fit the bill.

Why the pick-me-up? I don't know. Three days of foggy weather plus Merrit cried when I dropped him off at school this morning plus Ollie pulled keys off my laptop keyboard plus I've been missing friends.

Not to worry, I'll be right as rain again soon no doubt. We've been in trip-planning mode around here and it has been a great perk to think about seeing family and friends soon. Looks like we'll back in the states in late July/early Aug. Jer and Kara will be coming out for two weeks in late Aug/early Sept. And (three? two? not sure yet) friends of mine are coming out in September. Lots to look forward to.

But for now, daffodils will have to do! Can't wait till they begin to open up.

Athenians vs. Spartans

This morning, Merrit's class presented a play to the entire school and the class parents. Mike, who's fighting off a cold, was able to attend since he wasn't at work. Of course, he came right home and climbed under the covers. The play was great, though, with all kids in togas (sheets) and with different parts to recite and act out.

I suspect that the class has been practicing the play for a while. Merrit had a bit part because he is a latecomer, but he delivered his two lines with gusto.

The class has been doing a unit on Ancient Greece and mythology. The play was about how the Spartans and the Athenians were enemies, always fighting each other (the two groups turned to each other and blew raspberries) until the Persians entered the fray and became the common enemy (insert sword fights and dramatic death acts).

When that was over, one student pretended to be blind Homer, and told about the Trojan horse.

Then they each stood up one at a time, passing the microphone down the line, and each told one thing that they learned about Ancient Greece that they hadn't known before. Merrit said, "I didn't know that the Athenians and the Spartans were enemies." Other great answers: "I didn't know the Grecians made pottery." "I didn't know Ancient Greece was a democracy." "I didn't know who Homer was."

Then they all stood up and did a line dance to Greek music, gripping each other's elbows, stepping side to side and kicking up feet in unison. Really fun to watch all the smiles.

The final act was a rendition of "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley (or maybe more commonly known by its first line, "Don't Worry, 'Bout a Thing"). I couldn't tell you the relevance of that, but it did sound lovely. :-)

Meet-Up with Area Running Club

I went out tonight to run with an area running club. First of all, it was a great workout. We ran to nearby Cullercoats (about a mile there, a mile back). When we got to the Cullercoats sea front, the leader had us split into groups of five to ten and run intervals.

Interval 1: Jog down battery--walk down ramp--run up steps--jog back

Interval 2: Jog down battery--walk down ramp--sprint across sand--run up steps--jog back

Interval 3: Jog down battery--walk down ramp--sprint up ramp--jog back

By the third interval, I was sucking air! The whole workout took a little over an hour.

I found this picture online of the Cullercoats steps
down to the beach . Running these steps was no joke.

Cool: I met a few people. Everyone was really friendly and welcoming.

I was really blown away at the turnout at the track, when people met up at the start of the night. The group is huge. There are people at all levels. Marathoners to beginners.

My workout gear and cute exercise clothes are still being shipped. I did buy new running shoes last week, but of course that made me look like a total nube. I had the whitest sneaks in the room. How embarrassing. And I was wearing Merrit's socks. And Ollie's hat. I looked so ghetto. But, whatever. As my mom used to say, "It's not a fashion show, Mirsy." LOL

There are a lot of people in the group. From what I can tell, they are divided by interest (track and field, cross country, road running) and skill level (let's just say I am ranked as an amateur, and that's putting it nicely). I was totally impressed at the breadth of skill level and the overall size of the group.

I'll be hooking up with them again on Thursday. They're doing five 1K timed runs. I'm new to all of this, but I'm excited to have connected with a group of people. I just like being with people, even if I don't know them...it's good to get out (away from the kids), be with people, and do something healthy and active.

All in all, a good night. Feels great.

Foggy, Cold Visit to the Blue Reef Aquarium

This is Science Week for local schools (I sure hope they do science every other week of the year...LOL) so I had to stop by a charity shop for a white button down men's shirt, a.k.a. Merrit's lab coat for the week. Yesterday they asked if I could send him in with one.

Uh, no. We don't have any clothes that we don't need and wear since we only have about five outfits each until our stuff gets here. So, I dropped Merrit off at school at 9:00; Ollie and I were waiting outside the charity shop when they opened at 9:30. Men's shirt. Three pounds. Done. We walked it down to the school and left it at the front desk for Merrit.

First educational hurdle of the day, hurdled. 

The next educational hurdle: Find the bus to Tynemouth. Get on it. Go to the aquarium.

Easier said than done. Ollie and I stood in the foggy, cold weather for at least a half an hour before I realized we were at the wrong bus stop. By this time, I was holding him (biceps burning) and he'd fallen asleep.

I was talking to this sweet couple in their 70s (I would have sworn they were in their 50s); they were self-proclaimed Geordies (locals, with a very strong accent that I sometimes can't understand at all) and they were so friendly and funny. He said, "We met here in Whitley Bay. Isn't that right, dear?" [She nods and smiles, knowing the punchline] He goes on, "She was a nurse at the insane asylum and I was an inmate." And they both laugh like it's the first time he's told the joke.

The Geordie couple pointed me to the right bus stop. And finally we were on a heated bus on our way to Tynemouth and the aquarium.

The aquarium is on the sea front just above the cliffs that lead down to Longsands Beach, the most popular place to surf around here. It was so foggy, it would blow your mind if I tried to tell you. And cold. The max temp for today is 6 degrees C (or about 42 degrees F). From the bus stop, I could hardly see the aquarium across the street. 

We walked over, I pulled out my credit card to pay the admission. Uh oh, third educational hurdle of the day. They don't take swipe cards.

Tangent: All cards here are what they call chip-and-PIN. We don't have this in the US, at least not as far as I know. It's supposedly more secure because you have to use a PIN instead of a signature to complete your purchase, but our cards don't have chips and don't work that way. What I'm getting at is that not all merchants have a card reader that can even read swipe cards. Ah, and the aquarium is one of them. I didn't have enough cash on me for the admission. No ATM nearby. 

I was like, "We ARE going to the aquarium today. I did NOT stand in the fog and cold for half an hour waiting for a bus to turn back now." As I stood there weighing my options, the teenage girl behind the counter says in her lilting accent, "Ahhh, just go in...Shhhh!" and shooed us through the door.

Yes!

The aquarium was great. Not too big, which I'm always thankful for when you have a kid under age five. Sometimes the big museums are just too much for the littler ones to take in.

We saw lots of great fish. The lobster, crab, and crayfish tank was probably my favorite. (Okay, they're not fish, they're crustaceans. And they're delicious.) Ollie liked the vivid blue-and-yellow and "Nemo" fish in the tropical tank best. There was someone vacuuming out the rocks in that tank, and that was interesting to watch, too.

And now I know why the River Otter exhibits are usually outdoors. Oh my gosh, they are so smelly! Cute, but smelly. The sign on the wall read:

We Hope You Don't Find the River Otters' Musk Offensive
Territorial Marking Is Natural Otter Behavior

Outside now into the fresh air (cold!) to see the seals. We happened to catch the 12:00 feeding and exercise exhibition. The seals shimmied through hula hoops, popped out of the water to wave, jumped up to touch balls with their noses--all for fish that they greedily snapped up and swallowed whole. They were really beautiful, and seemed happy as clams (get it? we're at the aquarium? okay, that was a groaner) to be outside in the freezing cold water.

We ate lunch in the cafe. With no other food options nearby, I feared the worst...microwaved, processed junk food that costs an arm and a leg...but was pleasantly surprised when two bowls of homemade carrot and coriander soup and crusty rolls set us back by only 5 pounds.

Back to the cold, foggy bus stop. As we waited, we listened to the surf (though we couldn't see the water below) and the fog horns in the distance. 

We've been home over an hour but I still can't feel my toes. It's been this cold before, but not as damp. It's 99.7% humidity, according to the BBC Weather website. Just about the time I warm up, it'll be time to go pick up my little scientist from school.

It Was Bound to Happen...

...The camera battery in our Canon Rebel finally died. And the battery charger? Packed in a box, somewhere crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Oops.

I may buy another battery charger at the camera shop here, if they have what I'm looking for. Or order one over the Internet.

In the meantime, it'll just be iPhone pics on the blog.

Today was a gorgeous day; we spent it driving around the area. No pictures (too bad), so let me just give you the recap.

We ate brunch at Sugarloaf, a cafe near our house. Espresso and Americano for Mike and I. OJ for the kids. Eggs benedict. Cheesy bacon and eggs with toast.

In the rental BMW and up the coast to Blythe. Not much to see there except some windmills and what looks like a popular area for pier fishing.

South and then west to the town of Morpeth. Pretty quiet for a Sunday afternoon. We parked and wandered around. Beautiful old clock tower. Lots of puddles for Ollie to stomp. Merrit chattering our ears off.

Back in the car for the gorgeous drive through the countryside to the coast again. Through our town of Whitley Bay. We weren't really ready to head home; the kids had caught a brief nap in the car and were revved up for more!

We drove down through the towns of Cullercoats and Tynemouth and North Shields. Finally found the Fish Quay. The fishmongers were closed, but most of the restaurants were open. Having not eaten since brunch, we were getting hungry so we went to Irvin's, which we'd heard was one of the best places to eat.

We shared four appetizers (small portions): grilled scallops, muscles in white wine/cream sauce, tuna tartare with wasabi, and a cheese board. Mike had a glass of merlot and the boys and I shared a large bottle of water. The sun was setting when we came out.

The golden hour was upon us. That brief moment of golden light that just makes everything look so vivid. We drove up and down the Tyne on small winding streets, just trying to capture glimpses of the light on the river, the fishing boats, and the riverside buildings and warehouses. It was stunning. Oh, to have had my camera. But as Merrit likes to say, "I took a picture of it with my eyes."

Day Trip to County Durham and Durham Cathedral

After finding a car park, we unloaded the kids and
headed into the city centre. It's more hilly here than
it is where we live.

The kids had fun on this little ride in the city centre. Best 80 pence we spent
all day!

Every flower stand I pass is a photo op. Seriously. I could have a blog
of just flower stand photos!

Mike struck up a conversation with the fishmonger. They had all kinds of
wonderful seafood, fresh from the North Sea. All kinds of shrimp, in all sizes.
Crayfish. Lobster. Winkles. Cockles. Whelk. Sole. Salmon. Kipper. Herring.
I haven't even scratched the surface! I can't remember it all.

Merrit and I each tried a sample of winkles. They are tiny little snail-looking
shells with a little muscle inside, steamed in salt water. You pull the meat out with
a toothpick. We wondered how you'd eat this. As an appetizer? In soup? The
fishmonger told us that people buy a small bag of winkles, and eat them while they
walk around town. Hmm, can't quite picture that...

We ate lunch at a second-story Italian restaurant.

Can you see the man playing guitar, standing between the red and black stores
down on the street? He was really, really good. The boys each put a pound in
his guitar bag. A few times later that afternoon, Ollie said, "Guitar Man Money."

My individual pizza. Delizioso.

Merrit and Ollie split an order of lasagna.

After lunch we were pulled into the Durham Town Hall by a woman giving out
stickers to kids. They were hosting a Fair Trade event, with free coffee and
tea (fair trade of course), pastries, a chorale group singing music from around
the world, and informational tables and materials about fair trade and why
it's important.

The Town Hall was a beautiful building, full of paintings, carved wood doors,
and stained glass windows. The acoustics were perfect for the informal concert
that we enjoyed.

We were invited to decorate banners with markers
to contribute our own voices and artwork to the
fair trade movement. Of course Mike, ever the artist,
had fun with that.

The smell coming from this vendor's booth was irresistible! We asked him
how to get to the cathedral and he was kind enough to point us in the right
direction.

Mmm, hot donuts. Notice Merrit in upper, left corner. "Ooh, ooh, I want one!"

We found the cathedral. It's directly across from a castle (what I'm pointing  at),
though we didn't have time to see it. We'll go back to do that another day.

The cathedral's tower (directly above my head)
is one of the later additions to the cathedral. Amazingly,
you can still climb all the way to the top up spiral, stone
steps but both boys were too short to go. 

The cathedral is about 1000 years old. It was begun
in 1093 and most of it was completed in about 40 years.

As impressive as it is from a distance, the closer you get,
the more you're blown away by the details.

When we first walked in, I actually got choked up.
The scale of the building. The natural light flooding
in. The fact that there was a small symphony and
choir practicing in the center of the main hall. I just
couldn't get my breath. It was so overwhelming.
And I think that that was the first time I really
felt like, "I am actually in Europe."

Here are the singers and musicians. They were just
teenagers, or maybe college students, but they were
outstanding! It's wasn't really a performance; they
were just doing drills and warm-ups, but the sound
was just unbelievable.

One cool thing about the cathedral is that they had
a lot of contemporary art on display. These sculptures
(Mary and Christ) were completed in the 1980s.

Ollie looking out over the internal courtyard.

John Washington was the great-grandfather of American president George
Washington. The Washington family crest (upper right) influenced the
early design of the American flag.

Out of the cathedral, and off to...

...the candy shop.