I like it . . . or do I?

Cyberspace seems full of "My Top Five" lists. I refer mainly to those on Facebook. I quite frequently complete them, the most recent being "movies" "TV shows", "beer", etc. It all seems harmless enough and quite a fun thing to waste five or ten minutes on, deciding your favorite (if you didn't already know).

I'm not altogether sure whether I like FB or not. I do enjoy regaining contact with former school chums (that's a good old English phrase), former work colleagues or neighbors, but even though I comment on what I'm doing, just have done or about to do, does anyone really care? Possibly not, but I do think they are interested. Before the likes of FB, MySpace and blogging, many were I suspect, like me when opening a newspaper or magazine, interested in the opinions of other readers and enjoyed the "Letters to the Editor" page.

Whilst I love finding out what my FB friends are doing, I wonder why we don't disclose these thoughts more in person. I frequently email my daughter, who unfortunately lives 4000 miles away, and follow her "exploits" on FB, but there's nothing like chatting to her on the phone, even if much of the chat is of everyday things. Of course, it would be better still to chat to her face to face and give her a real hug rather than a virtual one.

Shortly after starting this blog, my son mentioned that he learned a lot about my earlier life from reading some of my postings - and he lives not 4,000 miles away, but only ten minutes! I wonder how much more I would have learned of my father's earlier life if blogs and FB were available when he was alive.

A personal journal? A lot of blogs are. Whether we agree with the views of members of FB and other social networking sites, forums or blogs, the fact that we take an interest in them must contribute to our realization that (a) we are not alone in our views or (b) not everyone thinks the same way as us. Respecting that is the key to a world of more understanding.

Those who have known me for many years would jump to agree that tolerance has never been my strong point. Tolerance is something I am working on and recognize as being one of the most important aspects of a happy life. Facebook and the like can, I hope, help achieve this.

Oh, and my favorite beers? In no particular order . . . .

Adnams Broadside
Yuengling Premium
Stella Artois
Woodforde's Wherry
Sam Adam's Summer Ale

Sadly Broadside (draught) and Wherry are unavailable here in NC . . . unless you know different!

Crafty business

Yesterday, after our regular visit to the public library, Gail and I visited one of her favorite craft stores, A.C. Moore. I have to admit that even though I always leave there with a lighter wallet, I do enjoy browsing this great store. I enjoy even more watching Gail's face as she discovers another skein of yarn, a new color of DLC floss, or a new design of scrap booking paper. Talk about a child in a toy store.

We decided to go there just to buy a frame and mat to mount her latest cross-stitch project, a souvenir from last year's visit to Williamsburg, VA. Of course, we didn't get away with just these two items. I should have realized that as she picked up a cart at the entrance! A beautiful artificial flower display, another scented candle and two more Beanie Baby bears to add to her collection soon joined the frame in the cart!


Her dedication to her crafts is a blessing. One evening, not long after we arrived here, we were relaxing in front of the TV. I was very conscious that there was something wrong. It took a few minutes to sink in and then I realized what it was - Gail wasn't knitting! "What's the matter, don't you feel well?" "I haven't any wool left", she replied (we still called yarn wool back then). Of course, we had to remedy that situation the following morning and now she always has an enormous stock of yarn available.

Her prayer shawls have brought comfort to so many people - some we know, many she has never met. However, although knitting countless shawls, it wasn't until she was sick a month back that our dear friend Courtney (who had been a recipient of a shawl) asked me how Gail was feeling. I replied that she was still poorly, getting better, but still wasn't knitting (which was a worry to me) and we both suddenly realized that Gail had no prayer shawl of her own. Courtney had soon bought Gail some yarn, the shawl was knitted within a few days and was blessed by our vicar at church on Easter Sunday. A very moving and touching moment for Gail, Courtney and me. Afterwards, at fellowship hour, she received requests for another three shawls!

Food, glorious food

Okay, it's Holy Week at last, so my fasting of chocolate, candy and desserts is nearly at an end. I think that I've done okay, as well as finding out who my true friends are (I still love you Lyn)! Part of being tempted by anything is thinking about it and this has given me cause to think of food I miss, food I like and food I dislike.

What food do I miss from England? Not as much as I would have first thought but here is a list:
Meat pies (they are not readily obtainable here, the Americans think of a pie as being mainly dessert), especially Cornish Pasties (the genuine article, not the normal supermarket imitations), pork pies (Melton Mowbray of course), and steak and kidney pies - Mmmmm! On the sweeter side I also miss Battenberg cake (although a friend did bring me some on her return from a visit to London, thanks Hannah). Jacobs custard creams - now there's a real biscuit (not a cookie). McVites digestives you can get here, at a horrendous price though and good old Bird's Custard powder is available too. Cadbury's chocolate is missed terribly. Again, I'm talking about the real stuff, not the poor imitation made under license by Hershey's. Finally, I never thought I would say this, but I do miss the occasional British Banger. I do enjoy American sausage, but wouldn't mind savoring a tasty Cumberland sausage.

What American food do I like? Nearly all Southern foods for sure. Most of it isn't good for me I know, but all things in moderation. I love grits, fried chicken, okra, clam chowder, chicken dumplings and barbecue (the dish, not the grille). I enjoy waffles and/or pancakes for breakfast, biscuits and gravy, glazed donuts and horror of horrors to the average English, iced tea. The latter took some getting used to believe me.

And what don't I like? Hardly anything really, in fact probably the same foods I didn't like in Europe. The one which springs to mind (and I still won't eat) are Brussels sprouts - Ugh?

Can I hear lunch being prepared? Oh yes, I've worked up quite an appetite writing this.

It's a Matter of Time

A discussion with an American friend regarding our experiences since living here turned to time. No, not the time difference between here and Europe which is not a problem for us, but the different attitude to time.

Let me explain. In England (and please bear in mind, it is nearly nine years since we lived there), the day certainly runs later than here. For example, most non-clerical jobs would have an 8am to 4pm (or 5pm depending on lunch breaks) day, whilst clerical/office jobs would run from 9am to 5 or 5.30pm.

In Spain (in Andalusia at least) they were and presumably still enjoying the siesta with most stores and offices closing between 2 and 5pm and then reopening until 7 or 8pm.

Here the working day for most starts earlier and finishes earlier. I was amazed that in our experience an appointment at the doctor's office can be had at 7am, but usually not after 3pm or at the latest 4pm. In Spain our wonderful doctor took a siesta (good for him) and in England there was almost always an evening surgery.

School hours for kids are very different too, with school buses picking up on our street as early as 6.30am with them returning by 2.30pm in some cases. In addition, "year-round" schools are becoming more popular here in the triangle, although the reason for this is, I think, to utilize school buildings more efficiently.

Perhaps the best example of the changes we made is evening meal time. In England we usually sat down to eat at 7pm, in Spain 9pm, whilst here the norm seems to be 5.30-6pm, although we more often than not sit down at 6.30pm depending on whether we are attending evening events.