UTAH CHRISTMAS

We enjoyed a beautiful white Christmas!

I was able to get in two days of skiing (Eric only had one because he was the designated baby-sitter, enjoying a day with a granddaughter!)

Over the holidays, our oldest granddaughter (Jane) enjoyed sledding.

Jane also enjoyed dressing up and time with extended family, including her cousin Claire.

Our granddaughter Claire also enjoyed time with family and her Christmas presents too!

Home to the states for Christmas!

I spent a whole month in the states, enjoying family time! Eric had to stay to work an extra week in England and then he spent another week in Colorado (working, of course) before he joined us in Utah. First, I was able to enjoy some time with Casey, Emily, and of course, cute little Claire.

Then, I spent time in Logan with my parents.

We had a wonderful Christmas in Utah. I loved having all three of our children with us ...

along with our son-in-law Casey and both of our granddaughters!

We, of course, missed our daughter-in-law Rachel who was unable to fly to Utah this year. I was glad to be able to visit her (and Jane) in South Dakota in January.

ISLE OF WIGHT

In early December, we took a ferry to the Isle of Wight where Queen Victoria had a vacation home called the Osborne House. The day we went, they were having a "Victorian Christmas" celebration.

The grounds and the views were lovely.

STONEHENGE

We are finding that we live in a great centralized location to travel to major sites of southern England. For example, it took us an hour and a half to drive to Stonehenge. I have heard about Stonehenge for so long, and it was fascinating to see this unique place.

It was a clear, chilly day. We were pleased that they had an online audio guide that we could use on our phones.

I loved the views as the sun started to go down.

Eric finally had to drag me away, but I had to take one more picture before we left:

As we drove home with the last of the setting sun, we enjoyed the beautiful fall colors of the English countryside. Actually, I should say that I enjoyed those views. Eric mostly had to concentrate on getting us back to our flat while driving our French car (like the U.S., with the steering wheel on the left) on the English side of the road (NOT on our usual right-side). Also, the roads were mostly narrow English country roads. We made it home intact.

In January, I am going to start my driving lessons (with Eric) to see if I can wrap my mind around driving on the other side of the road.

ENGLAND

This could also be titled: Be careful what you wish for.

I was looking forward to a break from being in a country where I don't understand most of the language, but now we are in a country where I (usually) understand the language, and it rains most of the time. I now know that it would be difficult for me to voluntarily live somewhere without a lot of sunshine. Oh, how I miss my California weather!

On the plus side, we are enjoying the wonderful history and beauties of England. After we made it across the English Channel on a ferry (car and all!), we found some interesting views from our "flat." On one side, we have a view of a castle:

On the other side, we have a view of a marina. It also has a lock, and it is fascinating to watch ships go through the lock.

As I was walking recently, I found some swans in the marina. They were obviously disappointed when I didn't have any food for them.

Eric and I just signed up at a "Leisure Center" nearby where we will be able to get some exercise, no matter what the weather is like! It also has tennis courts available. We recently went to a drop-in tennis night and had a good game of doubles. I was so happy to get back to doubles -- I have really missed it!

For Thanksgiving, we went to a restaurant and tried to get some traditional U.S. food. We were not very successful with that, but we both had decadent desserts:

A few days later, an American (married to a man from the UK) invited us to a more traditional Thanksgiving meal, so we didn't miss out at all. Eric had his pumpkin pie, and I surprised myself with how much I enjoyed some chocolate pie (not usually my favorite). Since it is apparently impossible to find typical graham crackers, she made the pie crust with English biscuits, and it was very tasty!