Its Raining Again

It rained yesterday and the day before and most probably the day before that too. I got a glimpse of the sun 30 minutes ago, for about 5 minutes, it gave me hope. The wind is blowing, I can hear it whistling through the partially opened window. You would think it was December back home, instead its July 4th in England.

Happy Independence Day! Its raining on the 4th. We'll have an indoor picnic this evening. I'm cooking hamburgers, potato salad and fresh corn on the cob for dinner in celebraton of the day. Maybe I'll cook that almond pound cake that Judy sent me from the states some time back, it looks good. I'm an American living in England and I've been here for almost a year. And what a year its been! Its so different from home, even the rain is somehow different. In New Orleans it rains like the sky has broken wide open. It can pelt down one minute and then the sun is shining bright the next. Sometimes you can't drive because its coming down so hard with the wind blowing it into your windshield. People seem to stay put because they know that given a little time and patience, the rain will end and the sun will come out again. Here it rains for days, sometimes weeks. There's a constant gray sky that gives little hope for sunshine. The rain here can be so light a rain you barely feel it on your skin and other times it large cold drops. The light rain is the one that stays for days and weeks on end. People don't even pause it rains so much here. After days of rain like this I'll wish for a New Orleans rain so the clouds will empty and the sun can shine again.

Driving is different too. The roads are narrow and there are hills and curves that I'm not used to, being a flatlander. To be honest, the biggest problem I have is driving on the opposite side of the road, on the opposite side of the car, shifting using the opposite hand, having to remember when and if to stop at a Zebra, Pelican, Puffin and Toucan, and who goes next at a roundabout. Have I mentioned the flyovers yet? Thank God the pedals are the same!

My niece, Michelle, just went home a week ago, she spent 25 days with me. Her trip was her high school graduation present from her parents. It was her first experience to fly and her first experience being out of the states. I showed her the beach in Looe, the cliffs and caves in Tintagel, the caverns of Kent, The Pannier Market in Tavistock and the old church in Tamerton Foliot with the bells I love to hear everyday. We went to Morwellham Quay, Powderham Castle, the Barbican and the Hoe, the Eden Project, Buckland Abbey (Sir Francis Drake), and Buckfast Abbey. We walked to the top of Brent Tor where we explored the old church and grave sites, Scorhill Tor where we found the stone circle and the cliffs of Tintangel with the legends of King Arthur. We walked on the moors and played in the water at river Shaugh. We also shopped on the high street, and in the new mall, Tesco and Somerfields. She ate fish and chips, Steak and Kidney pie, sausage rolls, pasties, an English 'all day breakfast', digestives. caramel shortbread and drank an English ale. At the end of it all we spent two wet days in London exploring or sitting up top of a double decker open topped bus. I'm still exhausted from it all, but we had loads of fun and took hundreds of pictures.

I miss you Michelle!


Michelle and me at the gates of Buckingham Palace

Us standing in front of the Thames

Michelle and Martin at Gatwick

Michelle and me at Gatwick, nice and dry!