Goodies From America.

We got a package today! It was a long road to get it though. My aunt Kim and my Nanny (my grandmother) put this package together for us and mailed it on November 19th. We did our usual, anticipating when it might arrive, wanting to be home for delivery, as it was over 25 pounds, and we were trying to make it easy for ourselves. Well, it didn't come. And it didn't come. Only on the last package that took so long did we learn that you can track these things through their customs forms. But Kim had gone on vacation right after it was sent, so I wasn't able to contact her to get the tracking number. I waited (impatiently, I'll admit). Well, Kim got back into town the other day and had a message from me waiting for her. Ironically, she didn't mail it, Nanny did, so I could've called her for the number. But anyway, lesson learned. I plugged in the tracking number this morning and.... they showed attempted delivery twice on November 27th. A day that we were home most of, at least for one of the attempts, and probably for both. We made a quick last minute run to the grocery store for Thanksgiving supplies, but we were not gone long.

So we started making calls at 7:45am this morning. We called Royal Mail, but when we finally got through, she said I had to call Parcel Force, because they do international packages. So I called them. And they confirmed attempted delivery on the 27th, and said it had been left at a local post office. This is not common for packages to get left at a post office. There is a sorting office a few miles away where packages usually get taken if you are not home. You get a little card saying they missed you and how many hours/days you need to wait before going to pick it up. Well we never got a card. The post office isn't exactly in our neighborhood, but we were making the hike to the kid's school for Review Day today, and coming back we were able to detour there. The line was pretty long (as they usually are) but moving pretty fast (compared to usual). When I say post office here, I mean a small corner shop/general store. The post office counter handles postage/mail ans well as money. You can pay your bills, send wire transfers, get cash, etc. And you never know what the person in front of you is going to ask for. Thankfully the regular shop purchases go to the front counter so there is not just one line for everything.

Anyway, I digress. We got to the counter and I said I tracked a package and it was suppose to be there, but we did not get a card saying delivery had been attempted. He looked a little... baffled? by this lack of protocol. He asked when it was suppose to have been left there, and I told him. I also told him it was about 25 pounds, if that helped to locate the box (it had to be a decent size at that weight) since they don't keep a lot of packages there. He asked someone something and I heard him say, I wonder if that's the one out there? I didn't have time to wonder what that meant because he comes to the window and says, "Can you check that package there (behind us on the floor of the general store) to see if it's for you?" I looked around and was surprised to see it sitting right there in the middle of the room, basically. I checked, yes it was ours. He came out and got a sticker and my passport for ID and scanned some stuff. He suggested I complain to the company, as it had been there so long and no one had contacted us. We've been happy with our deliveries up until this point, but I think someone does need to address the issue that they never knocked on our door, and if by some tiny, teeny weenie chance they did, they did not leave us a ticket telling us to collect it.

I had brought backpacks with me, so we opened the package, transfered all the goodies, and headed home. I spent the afternoon sorting through things. A lot of it is American foods, and I documented everything so it will be easier to do my weekly meal plans. All the sweets I divied up and wrapped since it's so close to Christmas. Nid and I may have sampled a few of the sweets before repackaging them. But shhh, don't tell the children, as they don't know what's in the packages :)

 

Thank you again, Kim and Nanny!

Nestor, The Long Eared Christmas Donkey.

I'm not big on the religious side of Christmas. If you are one of those who believe that there is no non-religious Christmas, I do not aim to offend, nor discuss my beliefs at this time. I am merely prefacing this blog post (advertisement, really) because people who know me personally would probably not expect me to appreciate this Christmas cartoon.

Nestor, The Long Eared Christmas Donkey. I just watched it for the first time, and I cried like a baby. I remember seeing an advertisement for it on TV... years ago, it must have been. But I never got around to watching it. This year, being so far away from friends and family, I wanted to have something homey around me. I started a list of shows and movies that are always on American television at the holidays. It's A Wonderful Life, Rudolf and the Island of Misfit Toys... things I would watch every year just because. This year, while writing this list, I remembered Nestor, and looked it up on YouTube.

I just had the opportunity to watch, and I really am glad that I did. It does have Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus in it, but it's not about that. It is very much like Rudolf, in that poor little Nestor is born with really long ears, and he gets teased his whole little life. He loses his mother and wanders aimlessly until an angel leads him to the stable where Mary and Joseph come to buy a donkey to take them to Bethlehem. Like Rudolf's nose, that guides Santa and saves the day, Nestor's ears shield Mary during a storm, and he guides them to a stable because he knows how warm they can be. In the end, everyone loves him and celebrates him. It is a really touching story, one that I think most people will enjoy.

Screencaps are from the above link, video by donkeylongears

Everyone knows about Rudolph
Our fleet-footed friend from the north
Who light sent his way through the darkness
As he drives his sleigh back and forth
But there's someone else we should mention
If we want the whole story told
He carried the first gift of Christmas
More precious than diamonds or gold
Nestor was a donkey who seldom laughed or played
'Cause no one ever used him in the stable where he stayed,
All the camels teased him, and the other donkeys too;
They said, look at little Nestor, there's nothing he can do.

Look at little Nestor, his ears hang to his feet,
when he looks at his reflection, ears are all he sees.
Nestor's heart was broken and his eyes were full of tears,
If only there was something he could do about his ears.

One dark night two strangers gave Nestor a surprise
They chose him from all others for they loved his gentle eyes.
A man was called by Joseph, and Mary was his bride
She needed help to Bethlehem and Nestor's back to ride.

They travelled through the desert but hadn't gone too far
When winter clouds no longer let them see their guiding star.
But Nestor heard a secret as he listened to the sound,
And the angels gave directions to the ears that touched his knees.

Look at little Nestor, his ears hang to his feet, when he looks at hire reflection, ears are all he sees.
Nestor's heart was broken and his eyes were full of tears
If only there was something he could do about his ears

And so it was that Nestor found the manger where they stayed
Where kings and wise men bowed before the baby where he lay
Mary bore our Saviour and Nestor brought them there
A gift of love from God above for all the world to share.

Though, Rudolph, I just love you, I know you'd want it said
Nestor's ears are lovely as a reindeer's nose is red
So children, if you're happy when you trim your Christmas trees
You might thank a little donkey whose ears hung to his knees

Look at little Nestor, his ears hang to his feet
They shouted as they praised him and his friends were all so pleased.
Nestor was so happy and his eyes held no more tears
Now all the world knows Nestor for his laughter and his ears.

Click Here To Watch Part 1 

Click Here To Watch Part 2

Click Here To Watch Part 3

Twinkies.

I have a friend back in Virginia who I am doing a favor for, enabling her to give someone a Christmas gift that you can only buy in England. Well, this week she returned the favor with a goodie box!
She sent Twinkies, because Nid had never had one and we had seen a few references to Twinkies in movies/tv lately. She also sent a number of Hershey's products (can't get any of them here) and GRAPE JELLY!
This is what he had to say after having his very first Twinkie: "I could eat these all day."

Famous.

I'm famous. Just a little bit. Country Music Tattle Tale is a blog that Nid follows. They are supporters of Taylor Swift, standing up for her against those who do not think she deserves the recognition and success that she has gotten. After our trip to London, Nid emailed them a link to the review I put on on my blog, and they've published that link in their most recent post about the London show. CLICK HERE to read their latest blog post, with excerpts from both Nid's and my reviews as well two photos that I took. At the bottom is a link to my blog. I've already had a few visitors come by from that link. How exciting, I'm even more famous than I was! Famous in my own mind that is... Thank you Country Music Tattle Tale!

Thanksgiving : The Meal

Yesterday we had our first Thanksgiving together. I started cooking Friday, mixing up the watergate salad (minus the whipped cream), and making the pumpkin pie. From scratch. They don't have graham crackers in the UK, and finding canned pumpkin is a challenge. So I had to buy a pumpkin (the last one Sainsbury's had weeks ago) and keep it in the fridge to stay fresh. Friday I cut it up, boiled it, and made myself a pie. The crust didn't turn out the way it was suppose to (oh, how I miss you store bought graham cracker pie crusts) but it was manageable. I left it to chill overnight in the fridge.

Saturday morning first thing I made cornbread and biscuits. American biscuits! I have missed them. I may have to find a recipe for biscuits from scratch and make them occasionally. These ones were from a packet mix my mom sent me. I mixed all/most of  the ingredients for the green bean casserole and the sweet potato casserole and stored them in the fridge for cooking later.

Nid started the turkey, which we cooked in a roasting bag with a half a bottle of sparkling wine. Then Nid made us each a Buck's Fizz which those of you in the US will know as a Mimosa with the left over sparkling wine and the orange juice from the sweet potato casserole. An hour before dinner was to be served I put the casseroles in the oven, baked for 35 minutes, put the bread back in the oven for a quick heat up with the turkey and we served. There was so much food it didn't hardly fit on our table, which thankfully has pull out extensions on both ends.

I suppose it is worth mentioning that Friday night I went to bed with a little bitty clogged nose, and Saturday  morning woke up with a cough and runny nose. I couldn't believe it! I took some Dayquil right away and that helped, so I was at least not miserable while doing the cooking. And the cooking did go smoother than I thought it would. I had a slight mishap with the whipping cream. Because of course here they don't have Cool Whip, I had to buy whipping cream (which Nid and Jacqui helped whip before dinner), but that was after I dropped the container on the floor and spilled half. Which ironically left me with exactly the amount I needed for the watergate salad and the topping for the pumpkin pie.

Anyway, the meal went great, and everybody loved everything (at least they said they did). Here is a list of everything we had.

TURKEY BREAST CROWN
SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE
GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE
STOVE TOP STUFFING
BUTTERMILK BISCUITS
CORNBREAD
COUNTRY GRAVY
WATERGATE SALAD
PUMPKIN PIE

I remember as I cooked that I kept thinking, I need to put this in my blog and I need to put that in my blog... but whether it just wasn't that important or whether the cold and/or cold medicine is jumbling my brain, I can't remember any of the funny anecdotes I was going to include. Oh well. The meal was a success, everyone was stuffed and happy, and we've got yummy left overs for dinner tonight, so I am well satisfied with how the day went. Thank you again, Matt and Jacqui for coming over. Thank you Briony and Cale for being so wonderful and helping with the cleaning up without complaining. And thank you Nid for putting up with me while I was sick and stressed about the cooking. I am a lucky girl.

Oh! And Virginia Tech beat the University of Virginia 42 to 13 at UVA. Go HOKIES!