Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Crazily, the 4th anniversary of our being abroad passed quietly last weekend... and not one of us even noticed.

It might be because we've become so accustomed to our expat bubble that we don't even note these little milestones anymore.

Or it could be because we're already laser-focused on Le Retour scheduled (actually, not scheduled) for sometime in 2013.

Another anniversary, another Election, and now another Thanksgiving. 

Boy, I'm thankful today.

I'm thankful for my wonderful and hard-working husband, who took us on this wild ride through Old Europe.

I'm thankful for my two delicious children who surprise me every single day. I'm thankful that in the wake of Hurricane Sandy's devastation we still have a home in Nyack to return to. I'm thankful to have wonderful friends to celebrate with tonight.




I'm thankful to have two zany siblings and two wonderful parents - and a whole mishbucah of great in-laws. I'm thankful to have Saint Claire, who makes my life work from day to day. 

And sorry to drop a political note in here, but I'm thankful that after the hours slaving over my computer and away from my children, that Barack Obama is still president and that he will be joined by the highest number of women to ever serve in the United States Congress. Boo-yah!

I'll touch on each of these briefly in this quick update.

Crazy Josie turned five in early October, flanked by both sets of adoring grandparents and an increasingly bothersome younger sibling. We celebrated with a little Hello Kitty Dance Party at home and a trip to London with both grannies to see Matilda the Musical. I think she was appropriately dazzled by all.

 

Hello Kitty birthday!

Make a wish!

Train to London with Hannah to see Matilda!

Jeff and I also threw a joint 40th birthday with heaps of great friends old and new -- my dear friend Pat, with whom I've been friends for nearly (urp) 20 years, trekked over from London, and all our Bathian friends gathered as well. We sipped cocktails made by our "mixologist", swayed to coffeehouse jams from our acoustic guitarist, and generally threw down at Jika Jika, the cafe where everybody knows our names.

Me and my Bath girls, and great old friend Patrick 

Granny Nom ended up staying for a couple extra weeks, and she and I took a girls' road trip to London to eat Fancy French Food and hit the Portobello Road Antiques Market, which was apparently a major Bucket List item for her. It was my first night away from Hugo, and everyone survived! It was terrific.

 

 Mostly liquid lunch at my fave Notting Hill cafe, Bumpkin

We spent a day at beautiful Westonbirt, seeing the fall foliage, enjoying a picnic and getting as wet and muddy as we possibly could (sigh).

We also took a great day trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, so that the former English teacher could see Shakespeare's birthplace. I highly recommend a visit - the "Visitor's Center" has been recently renovated with an audio-visual presentation, clips from all the recent Shakespeare films, etc.

We also visited Shakespeare's house AND his daughter's farm. From petting goats to watching falconry to toothbrushing archeological remains, Josie loved the whole day -- and we've spent the weeks since reading, play by play, an entire children's Shakespeare collection.

Not that much happened otherwise, or at least not that I can remember, because I was glued to my computer for the six weeks prior to Election Day. I'm really lucky Granny Nom stuck around, because she was a real trooper with the kids. While I wasn't looking she even taught Josie how to read!

After Nom left, we tried to celebrate the soggiest Halloween in history. Wonder Woman suited up in mackintosh and umbrella and we waded up and down the street to the approximately four houses open for business. I tossed in enough of our own candy that she appeared satisfied with her haul, so we returned to our (dry) home for a Thriller/Ghosbusters dance party with the new social-smiling Nemo, er -- Hugo.

Happy Halloween, Wonder Woman and Nemo!

Election Day this year was a surreal one. After staying up all night watching the returns on the couch, I decided to go to London on November 7th to see my Parisian friend C and her gorgeous custom bikes at the Country Living Christmas Fair.

I suffered through a train ride full of election-mad Brits and ended up scrambling around Northeast London, bleary-eyed, barely knowing my own name, for a WiFi connection to write post-election emails! Found myself in a smelly pub, banging away at my laptop and wondering when my life got so wonderfully, stressfully bizarre.

 But I did have time to spend a small fortune

on this dress for Josie!

Of course, we're all thinking this year of the thousands who remain without homes, possessions, belongings, and sadly some without loved ones in the wake of last month's devastating hurricane. I think we were all surprised by our chief reaction to the storm which was: homesickness.  We were acutely missing friends and family, missing our house, wanting to pitch in and help in some way. I have a feeling that those opportunities will exist for some time.

Today I'm just thankful for everything I have, for all the wonderful places and events we've been lucky to experience, for the friends I've made and even more for the ones I've kept.  As I burn my second pecan pie in my authentically British ^%$#*&!@ AGA oven, I'm taking a moment to appreciate all that's good in my life. And there's a dang lot.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Next year in Nyack!