In the back of the pack, again...

So, I have one non-Shopatron, non-imported from the States friend here. She's great, but that's a lot of pressure for one person. I have been to multiple playgroups but I have yet to really connect with anyone else. So, one of the teachers at Evan's school noticed that I run in the mornings and mentioned that one of the other moms had a running group. She connected us up and last Thursday I went running with them.

The running group does 7-8 miles every Thursday. I don't think I've mentioned that some of them run sprints on Mondays in an effort to increase their speed or that they also swim, do pilates, badminton, cycling, and pump (a weight lifting type class). Only 1 of them has a young child and none of them work full time if they work at all.

I run maybe 2 or 3 days a week for 30-45 minutes at a rather sad pace. I mentioned this to the running mom but she said, "Oh, you will do fine."

She stands corrected.

While I was able to keep them in sight, thanks to a stop they made for some racehorses (they run on a trail where local racehorses train), and a stop they made so I didn't get lost, it was rather depressing.

I will be going out again this Thursday because I am obviously a glutton for punishment, and they were very nice people. But it may take a while to actually catch them (if ever).

I did really enjoy the tea we shared afterward, though...

A Little Bit of California

Saturday, the family ventured to Brownsea Island. This is a small island in Poole Harbour and the location where the Boy Scout movement began.

Sean, being a Boy Scout alumnus was interested in seeing the island during our time here and we couldn't have picked a better place or day to go.

We had forgotten how wonderful it was to smell the ocean and feel the sun and the 70 degree temperatures. As we hiked around the island (only about 3miles) through the pine trees it really made us feel like we were back in California!

It was also enjoyable eating lunch at there cafe since they seemed to have quite a population of tourist-fed ducks and peacocks. If you don't watch them closely they're likely to take your cracker out of your hand. In fact, Evan lost half a cracker that way. Of course, when he watched the duck push the cracker around the ground trying to eat it he thought it was so funny he threw the duck the other half as well. Then the challenge was keeping him from feeding the birds the rest of his lunch.

The place where you catch the boat to Brownsea is called Sandbanks. Strangely, this has become one of the most expensive places in the world to live (yes, it's oceanfront but it's still England and cold a lot). Recently, a home sold there for 10 million pounds. Sean's cousin's wife, Christine, told me that she rented there about 10 years ago and it used to be a really inexpensive place to live but there was a Cabaret nearby. The retired showgirls started buying property there, then word got out to the footballers, and now the house prices are astronomical. I wonder if the footballer's wives knew where they were getting their real estate tips.

This is the real football!

Sorry, American football fans. Saturday we attended a Swindon Town football game and it was so much fun! I can understand why football/soccer way outranks American football in popularity here.

Swindon Town is by no means in the league of Liverpool or Manchester United. They're probably what would be considered a minor league team in our terms but they still put on a good show.

I think that the most beautiful thing about the game is that it was only 2 hours. It was fast-paced. There were not 20 time outs. There were no prolonged arguments with referees. It was a beautiful thing. I also loved the fans who yelled things like, "Take a seat ya moppet!" But don't be late. Shortly after kick-off they shut the doors, whether you have your tickets or not.

Unfortunately the football season is at an end here so we won't be able to attend another game but I'm very glad we were able to make this game.

Dragonfruit

I was shopping in Waitrose the other day and spotted a beautiful piece of fruit. The dragonfruit, as I understand it is a flower from a cactus. It tastes kind of like kiwi but a little more bland. I have to admit that I was wooed by it's exotic appearance. Just had to share. Sorry the pictures don't do it justice.

Blenheim Palace

While Sean was in the States for the weekend. Ben and Meike were brave enough to come hang out with Evan and I again. They even drove us! We went to see Blenheim Palace, Winston Churchill's birthplace. We met Rachel there.

Blenheim Palace consists of a main "house," multiple types of gardens, a small waterfall, a train, a hedge maze, a butterfly house, and a small but enjoyable "adventure" playground. We started by touring the house. It is an amazing place, of course, with ceilings and halls like Versailles but not quite so loud or ornate. Evan was in my "baby" pack throughout the house but I knew he could only tolerate a certain amount of confined "don't touch anything!" time. So, while Rachel, Meike, and Ben read about the house and Churchill's life, Evan and I searched the house for horses and examined mounted animal heads on the walls. We also tried very hard to avoid the guided tour groups but he was very quiet the few times we got trapped in them. So, we had the express tour, then made our way to the grounds where he threw rocks in the fountains and I worked very hard to keep him off the areas with the "Please stay off grass" signs. Overall, I would not recommend visiting the house or immediate grounds with a toddler.

The train and Adventure Area were a different story. The butterfly house was amazing (except that Evan kept trying to touch the all-too-friendly butterflies and we eventually left for fear that he would squish one). And I think the whole group enjoyed the hedge maze. Thanks to the group for having us along!

Home for a week

This has been a busy week for me and infinitely tiring. I flew back to Cali on Monday to be in the office for the Shopatron shareholders and board of directors meetings as well as our 2nd annual client conference. It was really great to be back and see everyone in the office. I was really proud of all the work that had been done to prepare the office and to prepare for the conference. I noticed 2 main things about being home this week.

1. I really missed sleeping in my own bed. Damn it is going to be hard to leave that again
2. Living in California is really quite comfortable.

I have been in pretty much a perpetual state of tiredness all this week between the long hours and timezone differential. But I did love seeing all my compatriots and customers in SLO.

The other great crowning achievement this week was the release of the global Shopatron platform! A tremendous amount of final effort went in by the engineering team in conjunction with testing and support from others. My hats go off to Dave D, Nelson, Meike, Tony, Ben, Dave M, and Dave C. I know it wasnt fun but I do hope they feel a strong sense of accomplishment for getting this code out the door. I know I feel good about it.

Now its time to tighten all the loose ends up and get to the operations side of the EU launch.

I head back to my other home tomorrow with a bit of sadness. I will miss SLO and my friends and coworkers. I will miss the sunshine and warm weather which has been beautiful today. But I cant wait to see Evan and Tracey and I am totally stoked that we can finally push out some international catalogs like Hercules Stands and Ernie Ball.

You have to take the good with the bad and just keep moving forward so off I go again.

Dining With a 2-Year-Old

Our friends/Sean's co-workers Meike and Ben took pity on Evan and I being alone here for the week while Sean was back in the states and invited us out to dinner. We went to one of the few kid-friendly places in town. A nice italian place. They have crayons, kids menus, and changing tables (surprisingly, I have only found changing tables in a handful of places and not even all kid-friendly places have them).

It was getting a little late for Evan since he didn't nap today and we had had a playdate in the afternoon. He has been on a Cheerio/milk/fruit bar diet lately refusing even Mac and Cheese and not even finishing his pancakes so I was doubtful that he would eat any of their standard kid pasta fare. He'd just finished a cup of Cheerios so when he pointed to the banana split on the menu, I said, "Okay!" (If that would keep him quiet and from escaping from the tables: this is a restaurant without booths to trap the children in).

He managed to stay pretty content until we got the banana split. Then he was excited! There were sauces on the side to dip his fork into. In fact, he enjoyed taking my fork, dipping it, and giving it back to me in between my bites of calzone. (So much so I got another fork to supplement while he was dipping mine.) Everything was going fine, truly messy with chocolate sauce dripping on the table and down his shirt, but he was quiet and content.

Then, for some reason he started shaking the banana he had on his fork. A banana covered in lumps of ice cream. I was just thinking I might have to intervene when a rather large glob of ice cream flies into the air and lands squarely on top of his head. Luckily, he was the only victim of the flying ice cream. He then puts his hand on top of his head and starts smearing it about. I am laughing so hard (along with everyone else at the table, fortunately) that I'm having a hard time concentrating enough to wipe it off his head.

Soon after that he decided he was done, whether the rest of the table was or not. So, after covering my leg with chocolate from his shirt we went to the bathroom to clean up. (Very difficult in a country with no paper towels.) I would wash his hands and he kept wiping them on his shirt to dry them and they would end up covered in chocolate again. I finally carried him like a wet dog to the table telling him the whole time, "Don't touch your shirt, don't touch your shirt..." We then took off his shirt and threw on his sweatshirt (the beauty of being in a country that requires layering.) We got some strange looks from the other diners but nothing more.

The sugar kicked in and he started to run out of the restaurant. We all made a rushed exit and Evan jogged most of the way home until he tripped and fell flat on his face, then I got to carry him up the hill, crying.

It just took a bath after that and he was out for the night.

Beating a Dead Horse...

I hate to talk weather again but just a week ago it was too warm to wear a jacket. Last Friday it started snowing on Evan and I as we came home from the store and Sunday we woke up to the sights I've included below. I just can't figure this out...

The Bells of St. Mary's

I used to believe that I loved the sound of church bells. I would like to think that I still do but the feeling is starting to diminish. I understand them ringing on a Sunday, for a wedding, even a regular "bong" for the hours of the day but what I don't understand is why you would need to play approximately 6 songs (I'm not talking a single ding-dong but an entire bell song) at 7:30pm on a Tuesday night with random intervals of quiet (making you think they're finished). I understand if they were calling the congregation to service but don't you think they would hear the first song and think, "I'd better get to church!"

I guess I'll have to find a more devout person to explain the logic behind this...

Longleat

Last weekend we made it to one of the best places we've been since our arrival here: Longleat house and Safari Park.

The beautiful thing about this place is that it has everything for everyone. Drive through safari park, hedge mazes, teacups, trains, boats, art, and history. It's only an hour away and it has so much stuff that we weren't actually able to get through everything. Luckily, you can buy a pass for the year and keep going until you check off everything.

I think everyone's favorite attraction was what we called the "cheeky monkey" area where you can watch bored monkeys steal gas caps and do a celebration dance with them on their head and nose and pull bits and pieces off of cars until there are actually strips of metal hanging off the vehicles in awkward branch-like formations. We can laugh at this because our car completed the tour unscathed. (There was a warning sign and alternate route for those who love their cars more than the monkeys.)

Running in the UK

I've been trying to get back into running. I'm not doing this just so I can continue to eat bread and cheese and drink wine but also because in a few weeks I have agreed to join a moms running group from Evan's school. They run 7-8 miles every Thursday.

This was a little intimidating, for sure, since my mileage has definitely been pretty weak lately and I've only been running 2 days a week or so.

But I want to make friends and I like to meet people who keep me challenged (and don't allow me to get lazy). So, I've started running regularly again and I've noticed a few things.

Running with a stroller around here is a bit of a challenge due to the cobblestone sidewalks, regular foot traffic, and a "cars have the right of way" culture whether you are in the street or not (I truly believe you would get run down if you weren't paying attention because cars don't even slow down for pedestrians).

However, the off-road trails are fabulous!!! There are pedestrian trails all over this country and the crazy thing is that they cross over private property! They are clearly marked footpaths and they go through fields and towns and even through church yards hundreds of years old. It is truly breathtaking!

I can't help but wonder if these were the paths travelled from town to town before the motorways were put in. The signs, which can be out in the middle of a field will actually point the direction to the town you are headed to. Pretty cool...definitely makes my runs a little more interesting.