Catching you all up on the last three weeks.

High school status: Completed
College status: Sophomore in the fall
Summer plans: Being a nanny for my two wonderful godsisters Jackie and Nicole. Jackie's ten and Nikki is seven
Objective: To have as much fun in London as a single seventeen year old, who’s still in love with her ex, can--within reason

Mood today: Energetic but absolutely exhausted

Day one: I Arrived in Heathrow Airport at around 10 am on Saturday May 22. The sun was stunning and the temperature about 21 degrees Celsius: Approximately 76 degrees, though it felt even warmer without the cool Alaskan breezes blowing in to town and bringing the wild chill with it. The girls and Uncle Bill met me at the airport, and I couldn’t believe how much they’d grown. Uncle Bill looked as handsome as ever. After driving home in their 1988 BMW (with the roof up.  haha) I was greeted by a very happy Aunt Michele. It was nearing lunch, and thus began my adventure of trying new food. A beautiful green salad with feta, yellow and red cherry tomatoes, and vinaigrette that I ACTUALLY liked: talk about a miracle.

Day two: A quick tour of places I’d need to know around Chelsea, London followed by Paddle (or Petal as they refer to it here) Boating in Hyde park. It was another GORGEOUS day. Then we went over to the Diana Memorial and the girls and I splashed around in the water for about fourty five minutes while Uncle Bill and Aunt Michele sat and enjoyed the sunshine. Because it was still the weekend, the girls joined us for dinner again. Normally the girls only eat with Uncle Bill aunt Michele and I on the weekends. Dinner for them during the week is up to me to figure out.

Day three: Monday. This began my wonderful adventure around London. I woke up at seven am to wake up the girls, make breakfast, gather school stuff together, do hair, and get out the door. Uncle Bill took them to school, so I didn’t have to do anything until 3:30, and then began my wonderful journey to get to their school. And oh my word is London complicated. But I managed to get to the bus stop and use my wonderful Oyster card to get on and travel the seven minutes to their school and not get lost. Wooooo!! Nikki had stayed late for chess club and Jackie had cricket so Nikki and I spent an hour and a half in the park before getting Jackie from school.

Day four: Again, same routine for the morning, and Uncle Bill once more took the girls to school. I went to the White Horse, a pub, and ordered a pint of beer and sat on one of the couches to read my latest book. I didn’t end up finishing the beer, but it was fun to have some. Technically you aren’t allowed to purchase beer until you’re eighteen here, but since I look more like I’m twenty to twenty-three depending on my outfit, no one has questioned me once. :p Then it was off to pick up Nikki at three, since she had no clubs, and Jackie at three thirty and race off to Jackie’s tutor. Thankfully the girls knew the way. Now, I was wearing really cute shoes and a skirt and t-shirt, but I was in excruciating pain. I had blisters on the back of my feet from travelling to London, blisters in between my toes from wearing flip flops, and then with these shoes, I managed to get giant blisters on the sides of my feet. I was in living hell. So after I dropped Jackie off, Nikki and I went to a different park to keep me from walking any further and rupturing every single one of the blisters. So we sat in the sunshine and Nikki pulled out her guitar and started slowly plucking out the latest song she was learning. And along came Bill. Tall and redheaded with glasses, he asked if he could play her miniature guitar. Though it had us all covering our ears with how out of tune it was. So he tried to tune the lovely untuneable dying guitar. Words of advice, don’t buy the aps on itunes that are supposed to help you tune your guitar. They don’t work very well. Haha. So since I was feeling rather cute and brave I asked his friend, Kyle where the best pubs and places were in London as we were leaving, and got a hilarious response. His hair was brown and wild and he was definitely a bit crazy, but he made me laugh so hard. According to him, he told me in one of the strongest british accents I have ever heard, that he was the newest face in London, and I had come to exactly the right place and to avoid what he called a cheesy come on-which it very much was-he gave me his number. I told him I’d be in touch and he told me he was very much looking forward to it. End scene.


Days four and five and six: I can’t recall anything particularly special about these days. I got insanely lost trying to find different stores, but I managed to get everything for dinner that night. I actually began to figure out my way around London. I finally began to take the girls to school in the morning, and I was finally put in dinner and bedtime duty for the girls. Full nanny mode. 

Days six, seven, eight, and nine (Saturday through Tuesday): Lucknam park. An idyllic country side resort. Equipted with miles of Beautiful grounds, wonderful food, a swimming pool, a hot tub that, when a small door was opened continued outside, steam rooms, sauna rooms, a spa, horses and tennis. It was an incredible place for photography and I spent an afternoon armed with my camera taking pictures. Upon arrival Uncle Bill and Aunt Michele were shown their room and across the entryway from them the girls and I took up residence. Then it was off to the tennis courts for an hour or so. During this time I managed to get wonderfully stung by a patch of stinging nettle while I had adventured off to the huge area where the horses were kept. The incredible thing about stinging nettle is that the antidote grows right next to the poison. As I sat with a Doc leaf on my knee, I realized that the same is true with God. When we sin, and spread poison, the antidote, God’s grace, is right there just waiting to be given. A happy thought.  I ate wonderful food, went horseback riding, and then sprained my ankle and got bit by a horse, and I had a damn good time in the pool and drinking with the adults. I daresay that by the end of a gin and tonic, and three glasses of wine (which are very little at a fancy place. Like an inch and a half of wine) I was quite relaxed. :P And a little dizzy. But now I’m used to one or two glasses of wine a day. And I’ve had beers at the local pubs, but decided my “poison of choice” is gin and tonic. Delicious.

Weeks two and three: Honestly, I’ve realized that the longer I wait the more I have to write, so basically I’m just going to give you a majorly quick overview of what has gone on the last few weeks. Lots of time with the kids, lots of long evenings with Aunt&Uncle. I’ve made two costumes for Jackie for school, one was for her to dress up as Anne Boleyn which required lots of makeup to make her look like her head was cut off, and me cutting up and pulling in the top of the dress I had found so that it actually fit her. And I painted a fire eater costume. Four and a half hours of work, but darn it she looked good.  I find that I’m really enjoying doing all this artwork. The kids have crazy busy schedules so it’s been fun and exhausting keeping up with it. Nikki’s done horseback riding, and just had her seventh birthday party on Friday. Then there are after-school clubs and hanging out at home. I’ve discovered that I’m not allergic to their wonderful cat, Poppy, so she curls up in bed with me some nights when I’m feeling lonely and missing everyone, especially Travis, and can’t sleep. Turns out that even though I thought I was allergic, I’ve actually just had raging hay fever all weekend, and I had a major fever last night and slept from 8:30 pm to 8:30ish this morning.
Kyle and I have gone on several dates: to view London at night on a bridge and along the beach, and to the natural history museum. Seriously, touring London so isn’t as much fun when you’re alone. But London IS incredible at night. The sun begins to set and the lights of the city start to come on. The boats pull into harbor at night, and the air cools and fills with the scent of laughter (though that part depends on where you are). We were near Parliament and Big Ben and the London Eye and it was incredible. The museum was fun, especially the dinosaur exhibit. :P Though I can see them anywhere, it was a blast with Kyle. Though I’ve decided I still need to make it to Trafalgar square, the crowned jewels, the tower of London, and definitely some art museums along with whatever else I can drag the girls or a date to. Hahaha.
I saw my first cricket game today and have definitely decided that baseball is much more fun. And that the English really need to loosen up. I think we’re very lucky in America to be full of such energy and emotion and colour. Here it seems like you either have your nose in the air or you’re drunk. Definitely not always, but its hard to imagine living so…properly and constricted. Every girl may dream of being a princess, but a princess in London would pretty much suck. No matter how much my Gram tells me that Prince Harry and have him fall in love with me. After all, he’s only eight years older than me. And Kyle is seven. Shhhh. :P But I think I’d pretty much suck at being a prim and proper princess. I’d probably be one of those ones who everyone thinks is weird because they go out and have fun.
I’ve been reading a lot here and I love it. I’m also missing my friends like crazy and don’t know what I’d ever do without them. This especially applies to Erica, Andrea, Travis and Cydney. Zeus, I need a girlfriend over here who I can gab with. The weather has been pretty beautiful and I’ve had a lot of time to myself which I’m enjoying devoting to artwork. The girls are wonderful, and we definitely have a big sister, little sister relationship. But I’m also the boss. Haha. Dinners are spent with Uncle Bill and Aunt Michele late into the evening after I’ve made dinner for the cuties and sent them off to bed. Wine, new foods, and conversation keep us at the table for a while. Usually we laugh a lot.  They’re still teenagers trapped in Adult bodies. Though its funny to see them begin to freak out about the kids when they’re older after living with me. Uncle Bill wants to meet mr Kyle and pull out his pheasant gun. :P And if I go to a club, I’ve been told I get to wear his pajamas. Aunt Michele has just decided that when the girls get older her answer to everything will be no. Especially because she can’t tell me no. She just advises me, which I usually listen to. But I’ve been having a blast over here and I love you all.

X’s and O’s from London.
Barbra