Ya' All Right?

Happy Mother's Day to the best mom anyone could ever hope for.  You're missed more than words can say.    Your oldest grandson is kind of creeped out by your baby doll.  He thinks it looks as though she's been shot in the head.  I have to agree!    Love from your daughters!  We miss you!

Just couldn't resist the photo opportunity.  Taken in my sister's back garden.

It's always nice to visit friends and family when I come back to the States.  It's been a busy week and has gone by so quickly!  Hard to believe it's Thursday already.Today was spent visiting friends in Columbus.  It appears someone felt I needed a reminder that there are traffic jams in countries other than the UK.  Here's proof positive, taken from I-70 East, heading into downtown Columbus.  Yes, there was a bit of logjam, but it was a beautiful day!  After...

Part two of an afternoon at Rutland Water.  Many thanks again to my guest photographer, Valerie, for capturing some great photos and allowing me to share them on the blog.PheasantI'm not sure what this is; am guessing female mallard.  Drop me a note if you know.Nesting Mute SwanCootA pair of Mallard ducksI saved the best for last - here are two great photos of Oystercatchers.  Fabulous shots, Valerie!

When I was young, my sister and I used to stay the night at my grandma's house every Saturday, followed by church on Sunday.  Those Saturdays consisted of playing outside all day, walking to a nearby farm to go swimming in their pond, playing records in the den, and "stealing" green onions from the garden.  Saturday nights were spent watching television, usually Hee Haw, Lawrence Welk, and Petticoat Junction.  If we were lucky, this was followed by a movie that appealed to...

A friend and I were recently looking for a good walk to take in the Northamptonshire area.  Among the choices was a walk that went through the Summer Leys Nature Reserve, just 10 miles from my house.  As I'm a big fan of the satellite view on Google maps, I looked at the reserve before heading out.  It actually looked as though the walk wouldn't be very interesting - lots of open fields and very few trees.  I couldn't have been more wrong; it was great.  The reserve is...

A bit of a warning - I've ranted about taxes before (quite a few times, I believe) and I'm about to do it again.  It's tax time, and that stinks doubly bad when you're an expat.  Thank goodness for KPMG, as I would never be able to do my taxes on my own.  Not only are they long and complicated, but because I'm an expat, I'm unable to file Federal taxes on-line.  That means a trip to the post-office, one of my least favourite things to do.  How long is the return' ...

I've managed to log some more miles on the trails and take in some stunning scenery. A few photos from Torside Reservoir in the Peak DistrictAlthough I'm not a milk drinker, I love that milk is still delivered in glass bottles by the milkman.  This particular photo was taken with the camera phone in Glossop.  Very picturesque.

The sun and warm weather were fairly short lived, as winter returned with a vengeance yesterday.  I headed up to the Peak District again (see post from 25 March, 2012) to visit with a friend and had to take an alternate route, as the roads over the peaks were closed due to snow and high winds.  Had the weather been nicer, we may have taken a hike to the summit of Bleaklow.  The link I've included is worth checking out, as Wikipedia has pictures of a US Air Force bomber which...