More Pictures From Woodbridge

We had a little roam around Woodbridge on Sunday and everything was very photo worthy. Everytime you turn a corner there is a statue of Queen Victoria 

still looking over everyone

or a broom straight out of Harry Potter stuck in with the others very non-chalantly.

will you go for the classical twig version or the modern broom?

 I love taking pictures but got left behind by my family more often than not whilst stopping to snap a shot.

2 pink doors???

Alex was in a hurry to get to the pub and Eric was just embarrassed that I was making us look like tourists, which we kind of are and will be for awhile.

Woodbridge Council Hall, I think

 I told them about my adoring fans who want pictures for the blog but they were not impressed.

the tombstones remind me of Scooby-Doo

so we'll definitely have to go back for more pictures next weekend, it is such a quaint little town.

First Week

It is hard to believe that the first week has gone by so quickly.  We've unpacked all the boxes except for about a dozen and have even started hanging some pictures on the walls. Eric's room is all set up except for new curtains (as soon as I can make a space in my sewing room I'll get busy on those) and the kitchen is complete. We are waiting on our new bed frame to get our room ready and after that we will concentrate on the living room. We really did get rid of a lot of things, so for the most part everything is finding a place.  Except for my sewing room which  is the biggest challenge, it will take me quite awhile to figure out if I will actually have room to sew in there!

This weekend we went to Woodbridge on Saturday after multiple errands so we could attend the Marina party. We were invited to sit with the group of people we met last weekend, which was very nice of them, they squeezed us in. I chatted with the ladies the entire time about schools,  gardening and vacationing in Turkey and France (of which  I had no knowledge to add to the conversation) and Alex chatted with the guys about engines and whatever else they are always talking about. I've come to a conclusion  that Yacht Clubs and Marina parties are the same everywhere: kind of like a 7th grade boy- girl party. Everyone at Woodbridge has been  very nice and welcoming but I did miss the ease and comfort of socializing on Lake Lanier where we knew just about everyone and didn't have to try to make friends, we just had friends. It reminded me of the first SSC Lobster Bake I attended where I didn't know anyone and Trena McCarthy came over to talk with me because I must have looked a little lonely. It is encouraging to know that it really only does take one person to make you feel welcome and then it can expand from there. The ladies all gave me their phone numbers and told me to call them if I have any questions about adjusting to British life. That was nice and I do have a lot of questions, but I'm wondering if I really should call them to ask how the thermostat works, or which ones are weeds in my garden or should I walk on the left side of the sidewalk or the right?

Sunday we went for a walk around Woodbridge (I'll post those pictures tomorrow) and on the footpath that goes all the way around the river. It was a beautiful day  and we happened upon 4 gentlemen having a race in the little pool reserved for sailboat racing.

the start

blue is catching up

marina cafe

low tide

unwilling subjects

unsuspecting subjects....... we aren't sure what they were observing, we think they were looking at a large house across the river

the Deben's smallest Yacht Club?

don't leave your boat out in the rain forever

Small Progress

Unpacking is the worst, but we are making small progress. I've gotten everything unpacked from the boxes in the sewing room, now just to figure out how to organize it all and how to dispose of the boxes. 

The recycling system here is amazing but you have to follow the directions exactly or they won't pick it up. There is  a very efficient bin system for all houses, the only problem is that the boxes and paper won't fit in the bins. We'll need to drive the boxes to a recycling station, so that will be one of our tasks this weekend. If we can find the place, we'll have to play the "count the round-about" game to get there and it will probably take a couple of trips considering we have a lot of boxes and our car is kind of small! It is amazing what they recycle here and they do try to make it easy by accepting all the items in one central location: cooking oil, printer cartridges, books, cd's, tapes, textiles, spectacles, wood, plasterboard, appliances, phones and TV's plus all the standards such as glass, batteries and aluminum.

This weekend we are going to the Marina Fete which is the equivalent to our Marina Appreciation day I think. We are to bring our own meat to grill and  they will provide the grill, onions and drink which sounds kind of interesting to me.  I'll get back to you on what  the deal is with the onions!

We Got Our Stuff

The container full of our belongings arrived yesterday and the move in went very smoothly. 

The only casualty  was our headboard, which would not fit up the stairs and into the master bedroom. It is now living in the garage along with about half of my sewing room. 

sewing room before

sewing room in between

sewing room after

As you can see from the before and after pics of my sewing room, it is a little full right now and until I can get the shelves assembled, nothing else will fit, the door barely opens. 

moving day lunch

We had a little debacle with the garage door, which refused to shut and took Alex about 2 hours of swearing to fix in the afternoon just when we were all starving and wanted to eat dinner, but he finally swore at it enough to fix it much to my and Eric's dismay being that the neighbors all their windows open and it was a little embarrassing. At one point he was shut in the garage (swearing) and Eric and I realized we didn't know the UK equivalent of 911 in case we needed to call. Luckily, we didn't need to.

In other news, Eric got a new bike and is really tickled with it. Ours arrived yesterday in the container so we are looking forward to going on some really great bike rides in the area.
So, everything is here now, I just need to get it unpacked. Speaking of that, I better go and get to it!

First Rainstorm

Yesterday we were caught in our first rainstorm and got soaking wet walking home from downtown.  I was aggravated with Alex because he suggested to stop for a pint before heading home from the bicycle shop which delayed us enough to get caught in the rain, and he was aggravated with me because I didn't want to buy an umbrella since we have 4 or 5 arriving with our container tomorrow. As you can tell, we are full on in the midst of wedded bliss again!

After coming home to change and draping our clothes over chairs as best as possible (we don't have a dryer or a clothes line yet) we made our first trip to the grocery store. It is always fun exploring new grocery stores and comparing products and prices. It seems that food prices are similar to what we have in the US, with some things being considerably cheaper like basic supplies such as flour, sugar, salt, tea etc. Eric was intrigued with the large variety of pre-packaged cupcakes. There will be lots of new things for us to try and explore, the grocery store was great.

In and around our house the parks and walkways are full of huge blackberry bushes growing wild. They are everywhere, we have some sprigs popping up in our backyard too. I'm not sure if they are considered a weed here, or if people plant them on purpose. 

And when I was picking out some jam yesterday, I saw one that was called "Bramble", so I think wild blackberries are called bramble. Or is the full name blackerry bramble and  bramble is just a nick name for blackberry? Learning new things everyday.......anyways, I now have bramble jam on toast in the morning. It's lovely!

First Excursion

Alex had to go back to work today, so  Eric and I took our first "unguided" excursion to Bury St. Edmunds. Since Sunday we weren't able to get groceries due to the fact that the  "Open 24 Hours" Tesco closes at 4:00 on Sundays, (go figure) we thought we would try to find the Tesco Express which is only a 10 minute walk from the house.
We found it just fine even without the walking directions from Eric's phone (which he informed me are "just in beta anyways") and we also found the chipper on the way. During her visit to the cottage this summer, my niece Kiera had been raving about how good the chips are from he chipper in Ireland during her visit there earlier in the summer, so Eric and I thought we should try. We had our first dumb foreigner moments.
We ordered a large, and found out the portion was huge even by American standards.

We walked out balancing the huge order of chips only to find out that you can't sit at a table in the chipper if you order take away.
 OK.
 We looked for a bench, they were all taken in front of the chipper, so we crossed the street and found a corner of a bench free and we sat down to eat our chips and people watch.

the perfect people watching spot

 The chips were good and the people watching was even better. The people next to us seemed nice, but were kind of staring at us too. Finally the man said "that is the most gigantic tray of chips I have ever seen!" I laughed and Eric held them out and asked if he wanted some, they politely declined.
We only ate about a third of them, and then we had the challenge of finding the proper trash can (I mean rubbish bin) to throw them away in. We found one, but then had  more exploring to do because we had a plastic water bottle to throw away also which requires a different receptacle.
We've already learned a lot.

First Impressions

Our flight to England was very uneventful and we made it to Bury St. Edmunds just fine. After a 90 minute wait to clear immigration (if you think America is a melting pot, try London!) Alex was waiting for us and  brought us home in the Smurf to our new diggs.

I don't have much time to blog because Alex is impatiently coaxing  our jet lagged selves out on countless walks since yesterday to show us everything he has discovered since April, but I wanted to post a few of my first impressions.

The house is perfect, just a tad miniature. 

These are the best chips (I mean crisps) that you will ever eat, the perfect blend of Cape Cod and Lay's potato chips. they go quite well with a pint.

You can use your wellies for more than just walking in the rain.

You can have a washing machine on your boat. 

The signs are kind of funny.

Nani looks happy tucked away in her new home.

The swans have a full time job keeping their white feathers looking good and mud free.

There are thrift stores (I mean charity shops) on just about every corner even in the swanky tourist shopping section of town.

I think things are going to work out just fine here!