Murphy's Law In Force

My computer monitor broke. Then the internet connection broke. NTL is supposed to fix our defective set-top box on Monday. We've hooked up an old monitor with poor image quality. Been getting ready for the big move. Ginger's been sick off and on this week (diarrhea and vomiting) and so I'm worried sick about him being able to travel back to the states. we only have one more week in this house. Can't believe we are leaving so soon. We will really really miss England.

Pack Rat

We had breakfast at Bettys this morning. It's Brad's very favorite place for breakfast in the entire world, I believe. He warned me we'd be back there an inordinate amount of time before we leave the UK. After breakfast we did a bit of shopping in town. I'm looking for a horsehair hound glove (for dog grooming) that a friend asked about. It is made and available only in the UK. No luck in the city centre stores but I think I found a place in Otley that has them. After our stroll through Harrogate Brad went in to the office for a few hours and I went home and began cleaning out our kitchen cabinets. What fun! I found some coffee left over from when we were in Japan, some Horlicks that was so old it had solidified and an old salad cruet that I put in the charity shop bin, then retrieved it when I made salad dressing for our dinner tonight. I am such a pack rat.

Yay! He's Back!!

Brad returned this morning at 10 a.m. Oh, what a relief and joy it is to have him back here. This is the very longest we have been separated since we were married and I hope we are never separated from each other this long again. He is quite weary from his travels, but has been good and did not take a nap. We strolled into town, did a bit of window shopping, had coffee and scones at the Catwalk Cafe and have just been hanging out at home. Tomorrow we will prepare in earnest for our move back home.

Traveling Italian Deli

Today I went to Donna's house in Ilkley to play Mah Jongg. As I was chatting with Donna inside, Carolyn came in and announced that the Italian man was outside. I didn't know what this was all about so stepped outside with the others to see. The Italian man drives a truck that is stocked with Italian groceries. He comes to Donna's neighborhood periodically because, Donna says, there are a couple of Italians that live on her street. I met one of her Italian neighbors and hearing her talk made me feel like I was back in Baltimore's Little Italy. When you step inside the Italian grocery truck it as if you are walking down a single aisle in a grocery store. There are shelves on either side of the truck, all stocked with Italian groceries. These are goods straight from Italy, not imported by a British company. The labels and ingredients are in Italian only. I was thrilled and yet disappointed at the same time. I picked up a few items but was disappointed that I only have about two more weeks in our house. How many Italian groceries can I use in two weeks?

The Longest Hike

Today we hiked across Embsay and Barden moors. Again we were instructed to bring a packed lunch. I didn't forget mine this time. Listening to the weather forecast and considering we would be hiking up on the moors I thought it would be a cool cloud-covered day. Turned out to be surprisingly warm and sunny. I made sure I slathered on plenty of sunscreen, especially on my sunburned neck. The hike seemed to go on forever and ever and we still hadn't even gotten to the Cracoe memorial where we were to stop for lunch. I was exhausted by then and hoped for a short hike back to the car but it took about two more hours of hiking after our lunch. We had begun at 10:30 and didn't finish until 4 p.m. According to Mary Ann's GPS we had hiked 9 miles but Sheri's pedometer had clocked it at 12. I tend to agree with Sheri's pedometer. Whether it was 9 or 12, though, it was definitely my longest hike.

Catching Up

Oh, I've been trying to keep up with my blog and document the days running up to our packout in July but I haven't done a very good job of it. Guess I've just been too busy getting ready for the move.

I've finally gotten everything sorted for Ginger's departure. We will see him off at the air cargo terminal at Manchester Airport on Sunday, July 9. He'll fly from there to Heathrow where he will stay overnight in the Heathrow kennel. He will depart London on Monday for BWI where he will be picked up by my sister JoAnn. She'll take him to the boarding facility at my vet in Maryland. I know he'll be in good hands for his journey to Maryland but I will be worried to death about our little purr boy. Of course the flight reservation is "provisional" -- I can't make a firm booking until two weeks before he is due to depart.

I've got the Volvo scheduled for a detailing on July 6 and to ship on July 10. Right now the Volvo is at the garage, though. A second brand new battery drained entirely flat after a few days sitting in front of the house. We are trying to determine whether it is just a faulty battery or if there is something else causing an electrical drain. Sure hope we get this figured out soon.

I've toured several potential guest houses and B&Bs for our stay in Harrogate while we are being packed out and have settled on a furnished apartment within walking distance of the city centre.

I've been going through every closet, nook and cranny of this house, sorting and organizing, making piles of stuff to go to charity, throwing away other stuff. I've removed almost everything from the garage into the house. Wanted to make sure all the original boxes for our electronic equipment have a chance to dry out. So far, everything looks in pretty good shape.

I think I've taken care of all the paperwork needed from the base. Everything else is to be done about 10-15 days before we depart.

Malham, Once More With Feeling

THE TRAIL ABOVE WATLOWES VALLEY IN MALHAMDALE


To my delight, I hiked to Malham Cove with my hiking group today. Malhamdale is one of my very favorite spots in Yorkshire...possibly in the world. We were supposed to bring a packed lunch so we could dine al fresco at Gordale Scar. I'd made a nice sandwich the night before and gathered some fruit and biscuits but walked out the door without my lunch. No matter, my fellow hikers offered me portions from their own lunches and I do believe I had a better lunch than the one I had packed for myself. Desert was really interesting: black bean brownies. They are made by adding a pureed can of black beans to brownie mix. They were dense and dry but all in all, not too bad. The scenery is stunning in any weather but today we were treated to bright blue skies and puffy white clouds. I hiked in shorts and tank top and ended up with a severe sunburn on my upper back just above my tank top. It was the one spot I had forgotten to cover with sun screen. It is terribly blistered and painful right now. I look forward to when I can peel it away.