Yes, it’s Earth Day. I didn’t know that til 6:31 HST in the evening but I was just thinking about one of my favorite places on Earth–the Lake District and how much I miss it. I guess it didn’t help that I read Susan Branch’s A Fine Romance: Falling in Love with the English Countryside . Susan chronicles a journey of her and her husband all over the UK seeing things such as Beatrix Potter’s home (which I sadly missed), The house of Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, and many other lovely places I have never been too and yet long to see. All the amazingly beautiful, enchanting gardens. And of course there is my dream job in Cambridge…
So as we’re sitting in the car and I’m telling Chad about my hanai sister, Lindsay’s adventure driving in New Zealand (she was on the wrong side of the road), he looks at me and remarks, “You know if we move to England you will have to drive on the left side of the road.”
Ahem.
Oh yes, I guess I hadn’t really considered that. That does sound scary. Like I-might-need driving-school scary. We would actually have to live between Cambridge and Harlow so he’s right. I couldn’t ride my bike that far and he won’t have a spouse who doesn’t drive. So we may end up summering in England when we move closer to it. I’m not saying I could never learn to drive on the left side of the road. It’s not the road that bothers me, it’s the traffic circles and there are plenty of them! But rents are very high in Cambridge and so if it ever comes to be, I will have to cross that hurdle. For the mean time, there’s no sense worrying about it. I mean it’s not like I could practice driving on the opposite side of the road over here. Well I could, but I don’t think it would end well.
One does crazy things when one is in love and I do feel a connection–a desire to spend all my free time hiking the fells and collecting wildflowers. It’s not Hawaii. There are no green sea turtles, which is not a little disappointing. It’s still expensive and the weather is horrendous compared to the islands. But I’m not a newbie. I’ve lived in Europe, I know what to expect. We spent many years in Germany and I’ve had my shares of grey skies and rain that will not cease. We’ll see what God has in store for us. It is looking like Virginia but I’m trying to just live one day at a time.
In the meantime, dear Laura and I will be watching more of the BBC Pride and Prejudice series–again! We have our “M&L” nights on Thursdays. Right after dinner we go to Long’s which is now CVS over here but they’ve kept the name, get our “snacks” and watch our movie. I have to remember to eat a very light dinner tonight which will be a challenge since we are having pork steak wrapped in bacon. Oh I know, pork on pork does sound a bit redundant but on the other hand, everything’s better with bacon!
Celebrating Passover tomorrow evening at One Love! And what am I bringing to the potluck… wait for it… Spasagna! It’s a spaghetti casserole with alfredo and spaghetti sauce topped with copious amounts of Mozzarella. Very Italian–not a bit Jewish but koser! Well I’d better go check on dinner. Happy Pesach to all and to all a good night!
Oh and Happy Earth Day. The One who made the Earth loves you more than you will ever know. Now that indeed has the potential for A Fine Romance.
Decidedly Different 