Good Bye Great Britain

Well, we've finally made the big move back across the pond.  We decided it was time to be closer to friends and family.  We'll miss tea and scones, early springs and days out at the National Trust as well as all our British friends, but we're glad to be home and starting a new chapter in our lives.  

Food and Friends

Sunday 3 March - As part of our farewell to England we wanted to visit the Barleywood walled garden one more time and eat at the Ethicurean.  We invited Nat and Tom to join us there for Lunch.  We had a lovely meal and a nice time enjoying the scenery and catching up on all the gossip with Nat and Tom.

Sunday among the Snowdrops

 

Sunday 17 February - We had a car for the weekend and decided to get out of Bristol and have a relaxed and impromptu day. We wanted to go to The Ethicurean for lunch and take a drive around the Chew Valley but unfortunately the restaurant was all booked up. So we decided to take a drive to the Cotswolds. We thought it would be a pleasant and scenic drive however most of the trip we were steeped in fog. However, on arriving in Painswick the fog had mostly lifted so we decided to visit the Rococo garden, famed for its snowdrops as this is prime snowdrop season in the Southwest. We had a lovely time wandering through the woods and seeing the swathes of crisp white snowdrops. After meandering through the gardens we drove into Painswick proper and had a lovely pub lunch at the Falcon. Then it was a quick walk through the churchyard (famed for its yew trees) and around the town before heading back to Bristol.

West Country Wandering

Sunday 27 January - Today we drove to Lacock. We walked through the town and out into the fields. The nearby river and fields were flooded from recent rain and snowfall so we didn't do our usual long loop through the fields. Which was good since despite the sunny weather there was lots of chilly wind. We went back to the village to poke around the shops. We ran into some friends of Sam and Jez and had a chat before trying to find a place for lunch. Our Usual haunt was closed and everywhere else was full. So we drove to Bradford on Avon and had lunch at one of our regular restaurants there. Afterwards we drove down to the canal and went for a walk along the footpath, unfortunately we got caught in a hail storm and headed home wet and a bit battered.

Bumbling around Bath

Saturday 26 January - We took a family trip to Bath. Luckily the sun was out and we were able to meander around and visit some of our favorite shops. Despite the chilly winter weather and some recent snow there were some nice floral planting,as always, around the city. After some leisurely strolling around we made an effort to visit Sally Lunn's for tea but were put off be the queue. We fed Mathis at a Starbucks then tried the tea shop again with no luck, so we tried Brown's but struck out again when they took over 30 minutes to get our food and we had to leave without eating as Mathis was getting fussy for his nap.

Snowy Seaside

Sunday 20 January - With a rental car for the weekend we drove over to Clevedon, to eat at our new favorite restaurant, Tiffins. The food was excellent as expected and the the establishment is very baby friendly which helps. After lunch we went for a walk along the seaside. The town looked very picturesque covered in snow tapering down to the pier.

Bristol under Snow

Friday 18 January - We had a snow storm Thursday night and so woke up to a winter wonderland. Of course the city came grinding to a halt, the roads weren't plowed and half the shops were closed. I took Mathis for a few walks out and about so he could enjoy the snow. He really liked it but I'm not sure if he liked the lovely scenery or the fact that it was a bumpy ride.

Turkey Time

Friday 4 January - We were hanging out around the house enjoying our last full day in New Hampshire when the turkeys, traveling in a little parade entered the yard. We watched them for awhile and took photos while Tony hammed it up on the porch until he realized we were looking at the Turkeys and not him at which point he decided to chase them out of the yard.

Slow Snow Driving

Saturday 29 December - After a family lunch with Ian's parents and his sister's family we braved a major snowstorm to get back to New Hampshire. The drive took us 9 hours, we lost a windshield wiper 30 minutes into the drive and battled through many unplowed roads. We passed lots of cars that had gone off the road and even saw some spinout in front of us. However, with cautious and vigilant driving we made it, exhausted back to my parent's house by about 2:30 am.

New York City Christmas

Thursday 27 December - We took the train into the city to visit Ian's sister Katie. While we were there we visited Rockefeller Center to see the skating rink and big Christmas tree, we took some photos with TZ there and saw lots of cute little sparrows among the xmas decorations. We walked around a bit and showed TZ some of the sites before heading back to NJ.

First Christmas with Baby

Tuesday 25 December- Merry Christmas. We spent Christmas in Clifton NJ with Ian's Parents. In the Afternoon his sister's family came out and we had presents and dinner. Mathis really seemed to enjoy presents, at least he liked the boxes and paper.

Home for the Holiday

Sunday 16 December - We flew from Bristol via Dublin to Boston. Mom picked us up and we drove through a snowstorm to get to Strafford. We had a few days to settle in and adjust a bit to the time change before getting in the car and driving to New Jersey to visit Ian's family.

Pop up shop

Sunday 11 November - Ian, Mathis and I piled into our rental car which was laden down with boxes and bags of stuff to make the long drive down to Bournemouth. A friends of Sam's was hosting a pop-up-shop (a rather modern term for a craft/art fair) at the Dance Pavilion. I've been in a bit of a panic over the last two weeks making and creating and collecting items to add to my stock of odds and ends to sell. I had a whole smorgasbord of items, including handmade notebooks made from old book covers and repurposed paper, fabric snakes and bibs, christmas trees made from on paperbacks as well as prints from books and calendars, teacups and notecards and all kinds of odds and ends. I shared a table with Sam which made for an even greater eclectic effect on our table. It was a long day but I sold some of my stuff (the christmas trees were a big hit followed closely by the notebooks). Made a very slight profit over the cost of the table and possible fuel and lunch costs but was overall a very interesting experience.

Blustery Bristol

Tuesday 30 October - I've been taking Mathis to buggy fit classes on the downs. Its a light workout for postnatal moms and since it is with the buggy and baby its easier to work into a new mom's schedule. Its a great excuse to get out and get some fresh air and exercise. Although its been quite cold, windy and rainy lately Mathis and I have made it regularly to class. Recently we saw this lovely kite caught in a tree on our way home from a refreshing workout on the downs.

Browsing Bradford

Saturday 27 October - Ian booked a car for the weekend so we decided to enjoy the sunny autumn weather by driving over to Bradford-on-Avon. We wandered around some of the shops and then When Mathis was ready for a feed and we were ready for lunch we stopped into a new deli/cafe, the grumpy badger for a lovely lunch followed by coffee and cake. We walked along the river and browsed at a few more shops before strolling along the canal tow path, heading towards Trowbridge. Along the way we followed a blue heron, who seemed a bit disturbed by the pram because he kept flying a few hundred feet upriver each time we approached. After a reasonable stroll in the chilly sunshine we made our way back to the car and back to Bristol.

Along the Leafy Trail

Thursday 18 October - After our visit to Donna and John's farm I was invited to come back and go for a trail ride with Donna and Katherine. I chose Thursday and couldn't have picked a better day. The sky was sunny and blue and the temperature was just right. Mid-morning I made my way over to the farm where we got the horses ready and then took off for a nice long ride through the woods, across streams and through fields. We had a most relaxing time enjoying the autumn foliage and the lovely weather. It was a wonderful way to revisit some of my childhood stomping grounds as well as some of the trails around my parent's house and to really take in an autumn in New Hampshire.

The Farm Life

Monday 15 October - Taking an opportunity to get Mathis on a horse for the first time, Randy and I took Mathis to the farm of family friend's, Donna and John. We got to show Mathis their 3 dogs, cat, chickens, chicks and rooster, turkeys and horses. We even got Mathis to sit on one of the horses, Pippin. It was refreshing to be on a farm again with all the relaxing hustle bustle of the animals and that particular farm aroma. There were 16 adorable chicks which were grey, black and silver, a lovely combination. The dogs were happy to run around and keep us company as Katherine (Donna and John's daughter) showed us around. The turkeys were quite friendly, although one was a little too interested in Randy and Mathis so we didn't hang around with them for very long.

Trails and Toadstools

Thursday 11 October - After a busy day trying to get a copy of my birth certificate, We went for a relaxing walk through the woods with Randy. We followed some of the recently finished Strafford conservation trails. On the way to the trails we saw a young fawn in the woods. Along the trail we saw woodpeckers and some vultures as well as lots of autumn flora like acorns and toadstools. Mathis really seemed to enjoy the time outside and looking at all the falling leaves. Looping around the pond we had a decent walk but Mathis was definitely getting heavy towards the end as he was getting tired.

Piles of Pumpkins

Friday 5 October - We went for a drive to Coppel Hill farm to get some gourds and pumpkins for mom's window boxes. We had a lovely time looking over all the gourds and introducing Mathis to the farm animals (horses, turkeys and goats). We forced Mathis to wear his pumpkin hats and sit among all the pumpkins so we could get some cute photos, but he wasn't too pleased about the whole process. We left loaded down with pumpkins.

Enjoying the Autumn

We arrived in the US after a surprisingly easy plane journey. Mathis was a star on the ride over, there was no screaming and he charmed all the passengers around us. It was lovely to be back home this time of year, the foliage was stunning and I really enjoyed just driving around and soaking up the autumn atmosphere.