Gospel Angel

It's been quite a busy week in Henley--GG and Grandpa left on Monday after spending an awesome three and a half weeks with us. It was a sad morning for all of us, but Audrey took it the hardest. Here's a shot of the family right before the taxi whisked my in-laws off to Heathrow:

Today, Audrey had her "Hey Ewe" nativity musical at school. The kids in Reception (4 year olds), Year 1, and Year 2 have been rehearsing non-stop for the last 2 weeks--and it all paid off! I got to attend the 2pm show and Stegen made it out to the 6pm show to see Audrey perform as one of the Gospel Angels. 

One of the things I love about living here is meeting people who have relocated to England from all over the world. I've met moms from Sweden, Germany, Romania, Argentina, and even California! The little girl that Audrey is hugging was born and raised in Marin. Her mom is British, but lived in California for 13 years. They recently moved back to the UK and Audrey is excited to have a friend who "talks the same way!"

It's been extremely cold and foggy here in Henley the last few days. It's also getting lighter later and darker much earlier--exactly what Paul said would happen! The cold and the shortened hours of daylight sure won't be helping my gas and electric bills…we got our first one today and it was a whopping $500!! This obscene bill may explain why so many people choose to line dry their clothes rather than tumble dry them for 3 hours at a time. Well, that settles it--I'll be spending my days by the River Thames, doing our laundry the old-fashioned way! Speaking of the river, Dorian and I took a walk to the River and Rowing Museum on Tuesday…this view takes my breath away every time.

I'll end with a funny tidbit that I've been meaning to share here (mainly so I won't forget about it in a few years!). The currency here is GBP or £ (pounds) and cents are called "pence". Just as we sometimes say "bucks" (as in "that costs 5 bucks"), the Brits use "quid" as slang for "pounds" (as in "what the…my energy bill was 500 quid!!!"). Anyway, while playing "store" with Audrey one day, I went to check out at the "till" and was told that my total was 98 "squid".  First of all, what in the world did I buy?! And second of all, what in the world is a "squid"?! You say quid, I say squid…tomato, tomahto!