Monday 26 May 2014

Shocking discovery

Soooo, I found out from my aunt that alligators exist in Texas rivers and lakes. Where on Earth am I?! She was telling me about the time she went kayaking and felt her kayak rise in the water, only to look down and see the prehistoric ridges of an alligator swimming beneath her. Now, I'm not an experienced kayaker, but I'm pretty sure that old style kayaks were basically hollowed out tree branches, and easy to tip over. All I can say is, sign me up! It's on my bucket list to wrestle an alligator. (This is sarcasm.)

I would, however, love to go kayaking in a lake that has been drained and fine-tooth combed for any sign of alligators. Lake sports are big over here - I can't miss out!  



The result...

I passed my practical test!!!!

After an awful parallel park, after which the examiner and I looked at each other and laughed, I zipped (Literally. The examiner used that exact phrase. It was probably a combination of nerves and my mother-in-law's sporty little number I was driving) round a few streets and arrived back at the test centre to receive the glorious news that I had passed. 

I am now a qualified Texas driver! Stuff's getting ticked off, y'all! 

Thursday 22 May 2014

The Dreaded DMV

So, today was the day when I made a dent in my venture to get a Texas driving license. I got in line, I filled out my forms, I took my ticket. 924. They were calling 56.

Oh sweet Moses.

57.

Kill me now.

573.

Wait, what?

902.

Ok, so the numbers meant nothing. NOTHING. At least if they'd been in some kind of order I would have known if I had time to go to the loo (I still went twice, but was seized by fear every time I heard the muffled voice of the computerized lady drift under the toilet door to announce the next number. They didn't wait very long until they moved onto the next: "35"..."35?"..."Last call for 35"..."Tough nuggets 35. 415!")   

After about an hour, my number was called and I went through to pay my money and take my theory test (Only $25 dollars, people of England! And I can take it THREE TIMES. Three. Times.Oh, and that's for the theory AND the practical! For you non-Brits, in England a theory test costs around £31 pounds and a practical costs £62. And that's EACH TIME. In dollars, that's about $52 for theory and $104 for practical. Why???!!!)

The touch-screen computer I chose for my theory test wasn't synced up properly, so the arrow was about a centimetre to the right of wherever my finger was. I did not want to get a wrong answer because of  bad sync-age! 

Anyway, after number confusion, loo fear and bad sync-age, I passed and am now ready for my practical. I will be mobile in Texas in no time! Hooray for grabbing my freedom back! 

Monday 12 May 2014

Prepare to feel car sick...

Take a trip with me through an English village on the left hand-side of the road! I apologise if you suffer with car sickness, maybe this isn't the video for you, or maybe it will cure you! 


Brighton

My sister lives in sunny Brighton on the south coast, a dynamic, ice-cream selling, seagull screeching, festival having city where you can find people from all walks of life. A bit like Austin really, but with a seaside! 

I love visiting my sister and taking a stroll along the sea front,


(Brighton pier)


(Old Brighton pier, still beautiful and great for a moody picture) 


(Beloved seagulls!)


(Close-up of said beloved seagulls! I once saw one steal an entire ice-cream out of a woman's hand as she walked along a packed Brighton pier! It was pretty incredible. He had to duck and dive through loads of people to do it, so I say he deserved his prize. Bravo seagull!)

or visiting boutiques in The Lanes or, as we did this time, driving five minutes out to the beautiful Suffolk Downs:






Brighton is one of those places in England where there are lots of terraced houses painted different colours and situated on long, narrow streets that are, believe it or not, two-way. Here is my sister's street: 


Driveways are a luxury in Brighton as there is no space, so double parking it is! If you meet a car coming the other way, the only thing to do is back-up, back-up and keep backing-up. We're good at reversing in England! Well, not really, but we don't mind the odd scratch on our car. That's another fib (I'm sorry, I don't know what's gotten into me!), we do mind, but sometimes you have to either a) let the small stuff go or b) ditch your car and walk everywhere! Much healthier, and everything's on your doorstep in Brighton anyway. 

Friday 9 May 2014

The Village!

I grew up in a village called Hullbridge in the county of Essex. I went to school in the village, I broke my arm on a quad bike in the village, I got my hair cut in the village, I fished for crabs in the village, I played at the park in the village, I rode my horse in the village and later, I taught in the village. It's a happening place.   

Here are my favourite parts of the village:

The Farm Walk


  




The River Walk










The Pub (coz in every good English village there's a pub!)




Our Family House and Garden






And most importantly...

The Dining Room (where all the magic happened. Well, I suppose it actually happened in the kitchen, but the ENJOYMENT of the magic happened in the dining room)


Lincoln Cathedral


Lincoln Cathedral, as mentioned previously. The first version of it was built in 1092. This BLOWS MY MIND. Here is a link to the Cathedral's website and more fantastic pictures: http://lincolncathedral.com/building/history/