Steve and I went for dinner with Joshua and Lupe. We went for authentic Mexican food since that is the one food that I miss from Southern California. This gave Steve and I a chance to have special time with them. We had a great conversation as we had a lot of things to catch […]
Schlepping Around LA
Probably the one thing that I miss most about not living near Jonathan, Liz and Joshua is not being able to just pick up the phone and call them anytime – being in different time zones nine hours apart – and arrange to meet them for dinner that evening. We all decided that we would not […]
We’re Back – In the USA and Loving It
It was just a year ago that we began our previous visit here in Southern California and so much has happened since then. That trip was the start of a four month “visit from hell” as we watched my mom die and then my dad die, both within six weeks of each other. Two funerals to […]
History in the Making – A Big Event for a Little Town
It all started when our friend Yvonne told us her story about how her family was on the run from the Nazis in France during the Second World War. They were living in Paris and ended up in Cazaubon, every step of the way having to stay ahead of the Nazis by finding places to […]
Leaving England for France – A Long Holiday
It has only been four weeks since we left England and drove to France to stay at our new holiday home for a long visit, although it feels like months ago when we were packing up things to take to France. After the movers came to pick up our stuff, Steve and I set out […]
Packing Up for the Move to Our Holiday Home in the South of France
I have been very busy helping Steve pack for our move to our holiday home in South of France. Let me tell you this was not an easy task as we had to sift and sort through many boxes of stuff from California as well as go through our stuff in England to decide what […]
Harriet’s Visit Draws to a Close – But No Slowing Down Here!
I am finally getting around to telling you about the last part of Harriet’s visit to us in Lincoln. Been a wee bit busy lately (more of that very soon). Harriet and I saved most of our “London Experience” for the last part of the trip. Rather than try to describe all the fun we […]
Lincoln and Beyond
Before venturing outside of Lincoln, Harriet, Steve and I took advantage of the warm weather and went down to city centre to see the Brayford Wharf, the home of many beautiful swans. I’m sure I have taken hundreds of photos of the swans in all four seasons. We parked at Lucy Tower car park, recently […]
Harriet’s First Week in Lincoln
Steve and I wanted to give Harriet “The Lincoln Experience,” otherwise known as “A week in our lives in Lincoln.” Over the next several days, Harriet gladly accompanied us on our errands around town, although sometimes the errands came to us, as when our friend Dorothy delivered a dozen free-range eggs straight from the farm. […]
Harriet Comes to Town
Shortly after Steve and I returned from California in March, our friend Harriet came to visit us in Lincoln. We both agreed to keep a daily journal of her visit – her first to England – and then combine it into one, and then share with all of you. This is my first guest-authored blog. […]
CCJ Sheffield Visits Lincoln
I took on a project of contacting each of the 33 Council of Christians and Jews Branches to find out what events & happenings they were having and to encourage them to put them on the National CCJ Website. It turned out to be a serendipity for me as I got to know many of […]
Meeting in France and in the Yorkshire Dales
While in France last month, we stayed at the De Fleurus Bed & Breakfast in Pezenas. We met a wonderful couple Jo & Ken. We had breakfast together each day and as we talked about our move to South of France, we realized how much we had in common with them, as they are also […]
Finishing Touches
I am writing from the South of France, where we are meeting with the builder to decide on the finishing touches on our new house. We flew from Luton near London to Beziers, about 25 minutes from our new little village, Lézignan La Cèbe. How exciting a time it is to begin a new life […]
My Mom
It has been just over three weeks since my MOM passed away. It still feels so surreal ~ even though I have been back and forth from England to Southern California every three months for 3-4 weeks for the past two years. I have spent an enormous amount of quality time with her and have […]
My Dad’s Birthday – Christmas Day
Sorry for the gap in writing. I had planned on keeping all of you up to date on our trip to Southern California, however once we arrived at my parents’ house, I saw my mom and how her condition had declined so much over the past six weeks, that I knew I would need to […]
Giving Thanks on Thanksgiving
When we take the time to think about all of the things that we have to be thankful for, it is amazing the long list that we come up with. I do my best to live each day with the attitude of gratitude. It takes practice to be consciously aware of all that we have, […]
Changing Seasons
It seems like in the blink of an eye the seasons turned from Spring to Summer to Autumn. The leaves barely had a chance to turn from green to all shades of orange, red, yellow and brown before they ended up carpeting the sidewalks, footpaths and roads. Winter is not far behind – you can […]
Remembering September 11th
Twelve years ago today, we watched those horrific scenes on our televisions of two airplanes crashing into the Twin Towers in New York City, another crash landing in Pennsylvania and a fourth into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., killing all those on the four planes and 3,000 others that were trapped in the Twin Towers. […]
A Visit from My Cousin Doreen
My cousin Doreen just spent four days with us in Lincoln. She lives with her husband Malcolm in Brighton. Doreen just celebrated her 70th birthday, but we were in Scotland and had to miss her birthday party, so she decided to come to visit us. We strolled along the streets in the Bailgate, window shopping […]
Inspiration in a Cappuccino
I had a relaxing day today as I walked down into city centre to do a few errands. The first stop was the bank to make a deposit. Did you know that you do not even have to sign the back of the cheque to endorse it here in England as you have to do […]
Scotland at its Best – Part 2
After a good night’s sleep in Edinburgh, we got up early, even though it was Sunday, to have a relaxing breakfast and pack our suitcases, ready for our three-hour drive to Lossiemouth, Scotland. We were looking forward to our first trip through the Scottish Highlands. As promised, the drive to Lossiemouth was filled with beautiful […]
Scotland at its Best – Part 1
Having just returned from Southern California a week ago (much more about that later…), and here we are on our way to Scotland. Steve has work to do at RAF Lossiemouth for the week. After a very stressful and emotional three weeks in California taking care of my parents and having some quality time with […]
CCJ Leeds Visits Lincoln
The Council of Christians and Jews is one of my favourite organisations in the UK. I am the Chairman of the Lincoln branch of CCJ. Recently the Leeds branch contacted the Lincoln branch to arrange a visit to Lincoln, to see some of the sights important to both Christians and Jews. We agreed that a […]
A Couple of Special Anniversaries
5 year Anniversary Living in the UK Steve’s 35 Year Work Anniversary at the Same Company It is hard to believe that it was 5 years ago today that Steve & I boarded an American Airlines plane in Los Angeles, California, for London, England. Steve’s work brought us here for what was meant to be […]
A Fabulous Long Weekend in London (Part 2)
It’s Saturday and the weather is beautiful – I knew it would be even though the weather forecast called for rain. The temperature was cooler but the sun was shining all day. We decided it would be a great day to go to the Borough Market – one of the biggest in England with over […]
A Fabulous Long Weekend in London
I had decided that I would like to plan a trip to London for my birthday in February, just Steve and me, and that we would do the “Tourist Things” that we had not done yet. Of course I wanted to wait until the weather got warmer and drier but had not chosen a particular […]
A Holiday Walk
Easter Sunday – A visit to my cousins in Sheffield (where my mom is from). Steve and I had not visited my cousins Brad and Maxine since I returned from Southern California a few weeks ago, and there was a holiday weekend coming up. This meant that Steve had Friday and Monday off from work, […]
Happy New Year – It’s 2013!
I am a little late in writing the third part of this story due to the fact that I was in California again taking care of my elderly parents. I am there for up to a month, every three months due to their deteriorating health. This throws me off with my writing, as I write […]
Heading North
The next leg of our European Vacation with the kids took us to Lincoln, where we live. Jonathan and Joshua visited us three and a half years ago and stayed with us in Lincoln. We took them to our favourite restaurants, the Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Castle, Jew’s Court and the High Street. We also had […]
European Vacation – The Kids Are Here!
The excitement surrounding this day had been building up for weeks. It was the boys’ second visit to our Lincoln home in the UK and Liz’s first trip to Europe. Steve and I arrived at the airport with plenty of time to find out which terminal they would be arriving at. Most international flights come […]