some of the best news i have heard in a long time + tardis socks

I have been really absent from this blog for a while for a few reasons which aren't even that real. It has been nagging at me for several days and then I told myself, "Self, you can't edit 5,000 pictures and knit a sweater and write blog posts and make dinner and move across an ocean all at the same time."

And so I haven't.

But I have knitted a sweater and made dinner. And I finally finished all the seasons of Grey's Anatomy so now I'm caught up to where the normal world is. I have a really hard time watching weekly shows and that is why I was nine years behind. And I finished Parenthood. And now I have nothing to watch anymore when I knit.

I also finally loaded all of my pictures from our week long camping trip in August to my computer. Don't even get me started on the fact that I've barely even looked at any of the pictures I took in June when we went to Scotland and saw some of the coolest things I have ever seen in real life.

Then we went to London again and I took another million photos. So expect to see those in like a year.

ALSO BIG NEWS RIGHT HERE

(did you catch my sneaky hint in the first paragraph?--wink)

We know when we're leaving! (more or less). So expect to see us again back in America in about six weeks! And we can't wait to see YOU. This is big news, people. It's only the question that I get asked any time I see anybody these days. And I finally have a real answer! So, pending a longer government shutdown/any unforeseen complications that may or may not arise (pleaaaaaase, let nothing else arise), we'll be Americans again so soon (like the mid-late November in case you're really bad at adding weeks) And we can't wait!

Also, Forrest will be retired! This is a huge deal and a big blessing to us because of the extra benefits he (and I!) will receive rather than if he had just been medically discharged. So now he will be retired at 24 and that's probably the youngest retirement I've ever heard of. I also really love saying it because it makes me giggle a little bit. I mean really, who retires that young? It's a tiny bit hilarious (probably just to me).

Probably more on these thoughts at some later date when I have some sort of existential breakdown. Leaving the UK gives me sad feelings sometimes. But going back to the states gives me even bigger happy feelings and I'm twirling around inside right now!

Thank you to everyone who has been there for us, prayed for us, encouraged us, and helped us to be patient. I knew they couldn't make us stay here forever but sometimes it really didn't feel that way. It seems like all of our prayers have been answered in the best possible way that they could be and doesn't that just feel wonderful? I just have this huge weight off of me now that I didn't even know I was carrying around.

So for now we are just waiting out this government shutdown (hoping we get paid after the 15th) and thanking our lucky stars that we're leaving in November and not October because there are some really stressful things going on right now for people who are trying to leave. The countdown is on!

*****

Another reason, well the main reason until I started typing too much, for this post is to show off some socks that I made for my friend Rachel for her birthday. Her birthday is in April aaand I finished these in August. But I think that these socks maybe made up for it because she's the biggest Dr. Who geek that I know. I even started watching Dr. Who because of her. For those non-Whovians out there, the TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension in Space) or police box is the space ship that The Doctor uses to travel through time and space.

Here is  where I got the the pattern. You have to know how to knit a sock already to follow it so it's more of a chart. I did an afterthought heel and a pretty standard toe in case you were wondering. I used a really soft cotton yarn and I thought they came out pretty great. The TARDIS kind of looks 3D in real life.

Stitching the letters was a lot harder than I thought it would be. 

Happy (late)  birthday, Rach! I hope your feet enjoy time-traveling.

Valencia + the Holy Grail

 

 

On day three of our cruise, we arrived in Valencia, Spain. Once again we had almost no plans. Except that I really wanted some ice cream. So we wandered around for a while in a park and saw a few churches. 

One of these churches, the Valencia Cathedral (which, in fact, has a ridiculously much longer proper name), just happens to house the most sought-after Christian relic of all time. I know. I can't believe we saw the Holy Grail either but there you have it. I mean it's obviously the real thing or the church wouldn't have it set up in its own chapel, right? Right.

Who knows, is what I have to say about that. If it's real (I'm suuuch a skeptic) then awesome, we saw it. And if it's not then we saw a still really old gold chalice. I'm going to go with the bragging rights option just for fun. This also happens to be my attitude concerning the St. Peter-in-Chains church in Rome but more on that some other time.

The cathedral itself was impressive and beautiful, not to mention old and we got a free audio guide included in our ticket price which was a nice surprise considering that audio guides are almost always extra in Western Europe at least. I don't remember anything about the tour but I think there is something important about the six-panel painting in the photo above maybe?

We also climbed up the tower of the Valencia Cathedral and were rewarded with a lovely view of the whole city. 

 

 

 

We stopped by the huge indoor market to pick up a few things for lunch such as cherries, bread, and fresh juice. I looove buying fresh things for a cheap lunch. We ate on the steps of a building across from the old silk exchange. The entire neighborhood with the market and silk exchange is gorgeous. Also, I didn't realize that you aren't supposed to take pictures of the market inside until I was editing the photos and noticed the big no cameras sign. Whoops.

 

 

  

 

The main thing that Forrest really wanted to see in Valencia was the bullfighting arena because bullfighting = macho, obviously. I still can't get over how cheap Spain is as far as sightseeing goes because if I recall correctly, we spent 2 euro each to see the museum (although it was pretty tiny) and we got to go into the middle of the arena! Pretty good deal, I would say. And I do!

Goodbye Spain! Next up: Rome and the extremely high humidity!

Lackford Lakes

 

  

 

  

  

 This weekend we decided to spend some time at a local nature reserve. We spent a little bit strolling on the pathways and watching a couple of baby birds swim around and chirp. They weren't ducks but they were some type of waterbird (waterfowl?) and they were adorable.

Most of the people one encounters at Lackford Lakes seem to be extremely avid bird watchers. You can usually tell that sort of thing from the binoculars and gigantic telephoto lenses they carry around. If I were a bird watcher I probably would have known what type of baby birds we were watching. Or if I had taken the time to read the sign maybe. I can see it in my mind's eye " please be quiet, [insert bird name here] nesting."

We sat ourselves in a hide to watch these cute little guys and I'm sorry, I took pictures of them but they're pretty blurry and you can't really tell how cute the birdlings were nor can you hear the adorable chirping so what's the point is what I figure.

It started to get pretty cold toward the end of our excursion and that little cardigan/scarf combo were just not cutting it anymore. So I guess what I'm trying to say is I have finally accepted fall into my life but I'm none too pleased with it. The pumpkin things that have taken over the internet are still not welcome into this house. I think I'm just bitter because I packed up all my boots and sweaters three months ago anticipating them to be shipped in July and now I have to get them all out again. But I really love wearing boots so bitterness be gone!

One last note: Forrest and I both really get an unearthly sense of joy from stomping around in our rain boots (but probably more me than him). I walk in puddles on purpose. Sometimes I turn around and walk through them again. I was lagging behind on our walk (taking nature photos, you know) when I looked up to see that Forrest standing in a puddle. He then declared that he was using his rain boots more than I was and ha ha.
'
Boy, did I show him.