Hi, Bye

I just got a text from my dear friend Riquesha. Has it really been 21 days since the last blog post?! I'd like to have some really good excuse (like spending the last 21 days petting 50 different species of penguins in the wild), but alas, we've just been tackling school, walking everywhere, Brazil week activities, and spending nights feeding our Tudors obsession on Netflix. Sorry, not sorry.

Anyway, Audrey's little birthday gathering at the Kiln in Henley was lots of fun. She's a big 6 year-old now, losing a tooth soon and saying things like "mummy" and "haych" (for the letter "h"). Oh, how time flies! Here's a picture of her at the Kiln painting ceramic plates and mugs with her buddies.

One of the kids didn't show up so we had all of the kids make a plate together!

Shortly after Audrey's birthday, the kids at school celebrated the end of the first half of the school term with a Brazilian Carnival. Believe it or not, this is the ENTIRE school in one room!

On the last day of the half-term (there are 3 in a school year and they're split with 2-week breaks and a 1-week break at each half), Audrey had her very first disco. I'd like to say that the highlight of my night was getting down with Audrey to "What Does the Fox Say", but something else makes the night even more significant: not only did I drive home safely, our friend Anette trusted me to drive her son home too! Score!

Aside from Brazilian festivities and discos, I spent a little time getting to know the NHS (National Health Service) and when I say "a little", I mean "very little"!! I made an appointment with the surgery (really, it's just a medical centre) to get some tests done (mainly to rule out a possible thyroid issue). Because everyone has access to health insurance, all of the surgery centres are over-subscribed. You're lucky if you call for an appointment and get one within the month. Somehow, I got one the week after I called in! Back home, I could easily get an appointment, wait for 35-40 minutes to be called, wait another 15 minutes for a nurse to come and take my weight and blood pressure, wait another 10 minutes for my doctor to make an appearance, then spend 10 minutes catching up and discussing problems before leaving with a pat on the back and instructions to go home, rest, and take Tylenol (and sometimes get a lollipop!). Needless to say, what happened on the day of my appointment in Henley blew my mind! I checked in, settled in for a wait, got called within 3 minutes by the doctor herself (who didn't bother waiting for me to gather my things!), ran after her before she disappeared into her office, sat down at her desk, answered three questions, and was sent away with instructions for a huge panel of blood tests. Literally "hi" and "bye" in one breath without even laying a finger on me! They may lack some bedside manners, but I think I might be digging their no frills approach to medicine!

Well, the Thames is still flooded and the train sensors between Twyford and Maidenhead are under water. They've started using buses to shuttle people around on that leg of their commute, but as you can imagine, the queue is horrendous. Stegen's been working from home more and took the car to work a couple times as well. We hitched a ride with him yesterday and spent the day at the indoor water park by his office. I feel awful for the people with their beautiful homes right on the river, but I can't help loving how amazing the river looks right now. Here's a picture of Audrey with her buddy Harrison on one of our walks to check out the water levels. The river normally stops at the brick wall.

Here are Audrey and her girlfriends putting their Wellies to work:

If I haven't mentioned it yet, it's half-term so the kids are out of school for the week (lord help me). Our house has become the hangout spot and we've had kids here all day everyday (!). Harrison spent the day with us on Tuesday and taught me how to properly pronounce things here because apparently, I'm doing it all wrong. Here's what I learned:

- it's not "learned", it's "learnt"

- "Cornwall" is pronounced "Cor-wor" (that makes no sense at all)

- it's not "YO-gurt", it's "yawgurt"

- it may be "tomAHto, but it's not potAHto

- I say things "weird" 

Well, I hope it's not another 21 days before the next post! We'll be getting away this weekend, so I'll be sure to update on our excursions. If you're planning on dropping in for a visit anytime while we're here, bring your Wellies (rainboots) or some good hiking shoes--there are some fabulous, muddy hikes all around!