Driving Miss Llygad y Dydd

I am becoming such a little old lady. I don't like driving anymore. I sit in the passenger's seat with my handbag on my lap, my hands folded on top, and I tell my driver to slow down, for goodness sakes! I swat him with my fan for good measure.

Of course, it's partly because I'm used to driving on the right side of the road, and I moved to a country where they drive on the WRONG side.

But what really makes me cringe is how narrow the roads are! When I learned to drive, I was taught to leave about a foot between my car and other cars. When I mentioned that to a British woman, she said they generally just left room 'for a piece of paper' between cars! And people drive faster here, on those narrow roads. It's enough to make your sphincter both tighten and loosen when a looming lorry is speeding towards you on a two-lane road that is enclosed by hedges or stone walls.

Then there are the single-lane secondary roads, especially here in Wales where it's not very busy.

You hope you're near a wide spot when you meet a tractor whizzing between fields.

I've been letting Mr. S do most of the driving, but I also force myself to keep in practice. I mean, what is wrong with me? When I lived in the UK before, I drove all the time. I could squeeze through traffic, and I only knocked a mirror off once. Now I am such an old woman.

Speaking of old women, we went to a car boot sale (swap meet/tailgate sale/whatever you want to call it) at a little local church. There were several mature women selling baked goods. Look what we got.

That's right - Apricot Whisky Cake. It was delicious!

Old ladies rock!!

Val

All the Languages I Know

Sounds like I'm a polylinguist, huh? I'm not really, but I do enjoy learning about languages and words, and I like having more than one version of English at my disposal.

 

Although our move back to Great Britain is months away, I'm already immersing myself in all things British. I've been watching "The Great British Baking Show" (called "The Great British Bake Off" in Britain, and two seasons ahead of us in the US) and I can't miss a single episode. It's lovely, and they do bake some absolutely scrummy treats!

Source - PBS

Speaking of lovely, I've been following a British florist on Instagram, Swallows and Damsons. Check out their website, it's simply stunning.

Source - Swallows and Damsons

 Swoon, n'est-ce pas?

From the sublime to the ridiculous, we're also watching the original British "The Office" on DVD, which is so much more raw and cringe-making than the American version (I love it, especially Gareth!).

Thanks to a link Patti posted on Facebook to a British newspaper article, I've been able to brush up on my Danish. (Joking - my dad's parents spoke Danish at home in Nebraska, but I only know a few words.) And now everyone is learning about hygge, that esoteric state of happiness in comfort. I must reclaim my Danish roots!

Saturday morning hygge

I would like to learn Danish, although it isn't the prettiest of languages. The word for "beautiful" is smuk, after all.

If only I had a chance to use Italian or French, the languages of art and food and love, but my recall of those mellifluous tongues is fast disappearing. And I'll let you in on a little secret - the next language I'm going to learn is Welsh. Ni fydd yn cael hwyl?

Val

Garage Sale

I started writing this post in various ways because I didn't know if I could make a garage sale sound interesting. So I decided if I told you a big secret - and the reason for the garage sale - it might keep your interest for a little while. Here it is:

Next spring Mr. S and I will move back to Britain. Yup, that's right. The Queen needs us.

I lived there for ten years, and now my British husband has lived in the US for almost ten years - we're so balanced! This time it'll be for the duration. We'd been planning to go back at retirement because of my stepkids and three beautiful granddaughters. Since I no longer have a permanent job here with benefits, there's another reason to go - free healthcare not dependent on having an employer. I can work freelance!

I sense the Canadians and Aussies and Europeans reading this are tut-tutting at our primitive system in the States. There have been positive changes in the last few years, but healthcare will probably never be free here in the "land of the free."

So we're going to bugger off back to Blighty, watch the kids grow up, visit stately homes, read the Telegraph and brush our teeth with tea. A major change like that is pretty, well, major, so there's a lot to do and a lot of crap to jettison.

That's why we had a garage sale last weekend.

the night before

It was actually a lot of fun, and hard work. We talked to so many nice people, many who live nearby. The first day I think we sold about 50% of what we had. The second day was not as successful - and the people were odder - but I did sell a necklace I made, and I sold Cafe Tout Petit.

gratuitous photo of altered tin

I sold these three dessert plates and the matching coffee pot, which I bought at an antique store ages ago. These will be used at two separate weddings!

Although I also had these out, I didn't sell these beautiful plates that I bought even more ages ago at a thrift shop. I just love the big tulip with the cabbage roses, and the little gilded mock handles on the side. Swoon. Maybe I'll keep them.

And nobody wanted this little jug - it's the bees knees!

I'll keep you posted on our progress. Hang on for a wild ride!

Val