Willowsflight Cottage

Oh my gosh! I can't believe I haven't written anything since December! But then again I haven't done any genealogy since then either. Well, not much.

It has been a Happy New Year so far! We spent two weeks in England visiting Nigel's family and taking care of personal and family business. It rained most nearly every day but I had a lovely time anyway. I finally got to spend a day in London with Karen, my sister-in-law. But you really need two or three to do the place justice. Because of the weather we really couldn't do much sight-seeing. We drove down to Christchurch (near the coast) one day but it was very windy.

Coming home we stopped in Germany and spent a few Euros. We hope to go back for a holiday one day.

Once we got back we went full steam ahead on buying the house. And as of yesterday it is ours. I love the way people in England (and on the Carolina coast) name their homes. Mum's is called "Dellside". Nigel and I came up with our name two years ago. "Willow" for my favorite tree and "Flight" for his love of aviation. In England, I teased Mum that it seemed a cottage had no real dimentions. I had seen huge a manor house called Elm Cottage and a flat called Rose Cottage and a small home called Ivy Cottage (or the like). "Well then," she told me, "you must name your new home 'cottage' as well. And so we have added the word and our home is "Willowsflight Cottage." We hope it is a welcoming name and we'll have many visitors.

The house is a three bedroom/two bath with a huge yard (or garden as Nigel says). I want to plant the willow tree in the back, with others. I want to have some roses and a labrynth meditation walk eventually. I have planned and drawn it all out (subject to change of course)and cannot wait to start. But the first DIY project is to screen in the back porch for Lysander.

No other plans for the future just now. Setting into the house will keep us busy for a little while.

Anticipation

Well. We've had a productive December. Nigel's had root canal and bridge work done. And we are getting our own place.

We have been half-heartedly house hunting. One morning on the way to the plane for a day's flying we passed a sign for a new subdivision. We created a radius in which to search that would give us equal driving distances to work. This new place, Hidden Creek, is in the magic circle. So, we went and looked. We spent the next week discussing and on the next weekend put down a deposit to hold the house and began the process of "dickering" with the builder and paperwork for the mortgage company.

We came to an agreement with said builder and have been approved for the mortgage. Hopefully 5 Hidden Creek Drive will be ours on February 29, 2008. This, by the way, is Nigel's birthday.


Our Christmas presents to each other are the house and airfare to England. Yep, we're going to England. On 9 Jan for two weeks. Yes, I know it's the dead of winter and we'll freeze our whoo-haas off but Nigel needs to do some transferring of funds and address changes and stuff like that which must be done in person. Fine by me... I'm going traveling!

Sister-in-law Karen has scheduled me for two days with her for sightseeing and Mum has promised to teach me to knit. Not to mention I need to do some interviewing for genealogy purposes.

We have alot to look forward to in the new year. I hope all my loved ones have a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year!

Welcome to the United States of America

The seven most anticipated words in our lives. Well, after "I do" of course.

These seven words begin the paragraph which told us that Nigel's application had been approved and he is indeed now a permanent resident of the US. Yes, Nigel is now the proud owner of the Green Card.

This is just one more thing to be thankful for this year. We have had a year of changes and are thus far very happy with each one.

I hope everyone has had as wonderful a Thanksgiving as we have had.

Happy Birthday Lysander!

Happy Birthday to Lysander.

My feline companion of four years is 6 years old this month. I adopted him while I was living in Mississippi. He had been abused and abandoned in his early years. Lysander was skinny and very fearful, a real "scairdy cat." He has kept company with me, consoled me, and entertained me in four states now. He has accepted Nigel as part of our family (thankfully, as I'd like to keep my husband) and consents to being picked up and cuddled by the new man. Every time we go on a trip and leave Ly with his "grandparents" he gets spoiled worse that what I can do. I am just now getting him used to his normal feeding routine again. When I first got him he wouldn't talk to me; now he is as mouthy as they come. He hid from me in the beginning as well. Now, he won't let one of us out of his sight. He's always under foot, in lap or watching just within reach. When I first found him at the shelter, I was told his name was Fudge. Not good enough. He needed a new name for a new life. A noble name. Lysander is named for three favorites: an ancestor with a name I love (William Lysander Jackson Reid), a lover from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (a favorite play from a favorite playwright), and an ancient Greek naval hero (a favorite subject-history). And with a nod to Nigel's hobby of aviation, add the Westland Lysander (a WWII spy plane). So in this month of black cats, here's to my favorite furry friend. Happy Birthday dear pussy cat!

Party Time!

The weekend I was on my honeymoon was also the weekend of my 30th high school reunion. I hated to miss that. I so wanted to see old friends and reconnect. I found out about it too late and we had already made our travel plans. Maybe the next one. But the upside is that a couple of friends have emailed me and I have reconnected to special people.

But back to parties...
I was thinking this morning about parties, the one I missed and the ones I've attended. I remembered a mediation I wrote a couple of years ago about parties and thought I'd share it here. Hope to see you at the next party!

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I like parties. I love old-fashioned parties where people are singing and dancing, telling stories and jokes, hugging on each other and slapping backs. Parties with an abundance of refreshment and laughter. Parties where all ages are welcome. Not many people have parties like this anymore, well, except for the occasional wedding reception and family reunion.

I once read a book by Tony Campolo called “The Kingdom of God is a Party.” I think it must be. In the Gospel of Luke chapter 15 there are three parties that occur. In this chapter are the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. Not party material? Read on.

In the parable of the lost sheep some poor lamb goes missing. Sheep are not the smartest animals on the farm. They will wander away. That is why a shepherd is needed. But in this story the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine to go after the one. When he finds the lost sheep he gathers all his friends and neighbors together for a party. “Rejoice with me: I have found my lost sheep” (Luke 15:1).

The parable of the lost coin shows us a woman with ten silver coins. But she has mislaid one. Ever lost money? I have and like the woman of the parable I put on all the lights, move furniture, and go through dressers and pockets and books and cabinets. When the woman finds her lost coin she calls her friends and neighbors, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin” (v.9).

And finally in the story of the lost, or prodigal son, a father frantic with grief and worry sees the son who ran away coming down the road. He runs to his child, throws his arms around him and with tears of joy streaming down his face kisses him and holds on tight. Loath to let go of his returned child he calls to the servants with orders, “Bring the fatted calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate” (v.23).

We are God’s children. We all have been or are the lost sheep, coin, and son. Can you imagine the party thrown in Heaven when one of God’s lost is found, when a child finds his or her way home? I have been to some great parties, but the parties Jesus and the angels throw over “the found” must be fantastic indeed. These are parties I cannot wait to attend. And can you imagine how wonderful it will be when you are the guest of honor?
It is our call to help the lost to be found and in a way have a reason to give Jesus a cause to say, “Look! Come and rejoice with me for he who was lost is found! Let’s have a party!”

Honeymooners

Six months and three weeks later, we finally go on a honeymoon. We both needed this break, honeymoon or not. The difference between a holiday trip and a honeymoon? Staying in an expensive hotel (The Renaissance) eating out, doing touristy stuff and taking silly pictures of each other and together. Oh and doing honeymooner stuff in said hotel room. The weather was perfect, clear, sunny, and only mid 70s to 80 temps. Nearly everything went according to plan. And we are well rested and still very much in love. I think we shall have a honeymoon every year.

The downside is coming home with a head/chest cold that surely came from one of the many hacking airplane companions going up to Philly. We got home on Tuesday and before Wednesday morning I was miserable. At this writing, I am on the mend but still feeling a bit yucky.

Where did we go? Oh yeah... Philadelphia. We toured the PA countryside and ventured into Delaware and New Jersey.

My least favorite part of the trip was breakfast at a Denny's in Vineland, NJ. At the table next to us was a Hispanic family. Mama, Papa, and two daughters (about 8 and 13). Their waitress was also our waitress. While we got fairly good service, they got none. It seemed she was going out of her way to avoid this little family. They were seated before us but we had given our order first and was served before the "waitress" had even acknowledged them. They could not get refills on their coffee and by the time I was nearly finished they still had not received their breakfast! As you can imagine I was fuming, I was outraged!! I, too, began to look for someone to help this family. I could not see a manager of any description and the "waitress" (who did no waiting) ran past their table. Finally, the father managed to get a different server and ask about their orders. I saw the woman talking with the "waitress" and the other servers, but no one came to the family's aid. By this time I had lost my appetite and just wanted to leave. The family also began to leave but no one would take their money for even the coffee and hot chocolate they had managed to obtain. Out came my pen and pad and I began to write a scathing letter to the manager (knowing full well he/she might not read much less do anything or care). Nigel had pity on me and finished so we could leave. By this time I was struggling to hold back the tears of anger. No. We did not leave a tip for our so-called-waitress. I handed my letter to the cashier asking her to see that management got it. I'll never know if that happened. What I do know is that I am ashamed to know that racism is alive and well in America. And it ain't only in the South folks. Yankees are just as heartless and rude. This little family is just like millions of families across America. They deserved the same respect and service we all desire. Just because they were Hispanic (and just like the Blacks in the past) they received disdain. I had hoped that one day bigotry would die. It won't. And I am left with a really bad perception of a small town in New Jersey.

Early Thanksgiving

An update on Nigel's residency status:

We went to Atlanta... and this week the term HOTlanta applies... for our appointment with immigration. We got there an hour early because we were tired of trying to kill time and I had hoped that by showing up early we could be seen earlier. Nope. At 10 minutes past our appointed time we were called back. We knew the last name would be mispronounced... it often is... as so were listening carefully for the oh-so-English name of "Nigel". I guess USCIS sees an awful lot of Hispanic people, the name was pronounces like Miguel with an N. "Nee-guel Alley-mer." Oh Lord. It could only be us and it was. We sat with the young lady, after being sworn in and answering her questions, for a grand total of 15 minutes and then we were free to go. What? Four hours of driving while I suffered a server allergy attack and neither of us having any sleep for two days for just 15 minutes? Yep. The good news is that she was ready to sign off our case as approved then and there and the green card would come in two weeks. No more appointments, no more waiting. The bad news is there was a background check missing and until that came she couldn't approve the file. So the card would probably come in 6 weeks. But still no more appointments and only a little waiting. With the extra 6 weeks the process, from the time USCIS got it to receiving the card was only about 5 months. Not bad I think. We don't mind waiting a little longer... we received the travel permit and the work permit last week. So when Thanksgiving comes around we will A LOT to be thankful for this year.