visit to Kate in England

I arrived in England Wednesday AM.  The trip over wasn't bad, except for the woman sitting near me who had a 6 week old baby and a 2 year old!  The baby cried much of the time and when he was quiet, the other child was talking loudly.  Those of us sitting near them got very little sleep, but then I hardly ever sleep on planes anyway.  The flight was half empty, so we had plenty of space to spread out.  I should have just moved to another seat, but it seemed like too much trouble.  I was able to use the Underground (subway) to get from the airport to Wimbledon, where a friend of Kate's met me.  I was lucky to encounter an English gentleman who carried my heavy bag up the escalator and then up the stairs when I had to change lines.  There was supposed to be a lift (elevator), but I never found it.  I did find the one at Wimbledon, but then I have used it before.

Wednesday, I pretty much relaxed around the house, but Thursday I walked Kate and 2 kids over to the primary school, where Kate works.  I then went on to Worcester Park and spent the morning in the many charity shops (thrift stores) on the main street.  I had a very successful shopping expedition, finding two pullover sweaters (known here as jumpers), a nice glass fish, a silly bird, and a little watering can to add to my collection that go on the trellis outside in the summer. The sweaters will be particularly useful here as I brought very little in the way of clothes this visit.  My suitcase was filled with the quilt I'm making (with Kate's help) and all the American snack food requested by Kate and kids.

My granddaughters are getting so grown-up!  Sarah is taller than I now (of course I have shrunk a couple of inches in height from what I once was) and Olivia isn't far behind.  Olivia is going to be taller than Sarah, we're sure.  Sarah is very busy with the new friends she has made in secondary school and seldom comes home after school.  Her best friend lives just down the street, so at least we know where she is.  Olivia has her own busy social life as well.  The girls seem to be getting along better now that they spend less time together.  Alex still talks non-stop and very loudly.  He gets the volume from his father, who also has a loud voice.  Very often there are at least 3 people talking at once in this household.  I can't follow the conversations at all when that happens and am tempted to take my hearing aids OUT to decrease the noise!

Next week is the school holiday and we will be going shopping for Christmas presents with money from Grandpa Andy and me.  That will be fun, although Olivia is very particular about what she buys.  She knows exactly what she likes and will keep on looking until she finds it. It can make for a very long day of shopping.  Sarah and Alex seem to make decisions faster or maybe they are just not as particular.

  We will also be meeting some of Kate's friends and their children at the London Wetlands Centre.  I haven't seem these gals in almost a year, so it will be nice to get a chance to chat with them and see how much their kids have grown.  The Wetlands Centre is a good place to look at water birds, as you might expect.  The kids prefer the electronic games found in the pavilion, but we'll drag them around on the trails and into some of the viewing huts as well.  Hopefully, we will get a decent day (i.e. no rain) for that expedition.


This wooden dish was decoupaged for me by Olivia.  This view shows the inside.  The bottom of the dish is done in black and white.  Olivia is very artistic and loves doing crafty things.  She's careful and precise and creates very interesting things.  It will be interesting to see where her talents take her.