Moving Forward

We've become spoiled with this 'little holiday' in Great Britain. Most military assignments have us moving around on average every two years. In July, we will have been here seven glorious years. The U.K. will forever remain my home away from home. I'm heartbroken to leave it.

However, if we weren't open to new adventures, we never would have signed up for this life. Believe me, the "perks" aren't all they're cracked up to be. Free health care means long waiting times for appointments. Overseas health/dental care for dependents...  well, we're all alive.

But I digress... as usual.

We've received our next assignment and with great joy, I can tell you that beginning in August 2013, In The Gutter will be reporting from the third largest island in the 9-Island Azorean chain, Terceira.
We're going back to the the island we loved and to the local Portuguese friends we've missed these past 12 years.

It takes some of the sting out of leaving England.

Since you dropped by, let me get out my slides and bore you with some very outdated photos!

 Ok, I did mention they were poor photos, right? I don't think we had a digital camera yet (much less a DSLR). These were probably from our 8mm video camera.



The brightly coloured buildings are Holy Ghost Houses

 Our first house in Quatro Ribeiras where
we met our lovely friends, The Lopes Family.

Since the winds often get to hurricane force, the windows have metal shutters to protect the glass. We lose power several times a week which makes for great Monopoly games by candlelight.

 Villa Nova. Renowned for burgers that taste exactly like a Big Mac. May not seem like a big deal to you, but when you've gone 2-3 years with nothing that tastes like what you grew up with, they're heavenly.
We're not usually 'fast food' people, but we like a fun little family outing now and again to enjoy something so not good for us.




Twice a year, the base flies in Burger King and they open up their operation for one day in the school. People queue up around the building for a taste from home.

Oldest boy, J1 in front of a Holy Ghost house. The boy and his wife are desperate to join us and we still wait to see if he got an assignment there on this cycle...

  The island is VERY small. There's very few places you can be and not see the ocean.

The Portuguese have great respect for the ocean. We were warned never to go near it when it "is angry".

C Lopes with J2

Swimming holes are pools protected naturally by lava rock, with steps and handrails added. We swim with the fish. Sometimes we don't swim when the jellyfish take over...

 Rainbows are frequent. 

I saw my first circle rainbow from the top of the island just before we left in 2001

Our dear friends, The Lopes and baby A1. We're in N. Lopes Carpentry shop where he was custom designing our bed...

The finished product. It's African Cherry wood-gorgeous-and the movers broke it when we moved here. The repairs were expensive and shoddy, so we're looking forward to N putting it right.

N and A Lopes working on the 8-seater table our friends had made.

Wow, you're still here?

If you suffered through that, then surely you won't mind the next 7 months that I'll need to spend catching up with all of our great experiences here in England? 

Somebody pinch me. We're going back to the Azores!!

The True Debate

Put away your opinions on Obama V Romney now please, because what really needs our full attention now is the decades-long, Star Wars V Star Trek conversation.

I, not really a Trekkie but definitely a fan at the time, married a Star Wars geek. This is NOT a part-time hobby for the man, however, he does NOT dress up and go to conventions, so hypothetically there's still hope you're our only hope Obi Wan for him.I love him anyway. It does make it easy to shop for him.

Let's face it, with the recent Disney purchase of Lucasfilm, the marketing for Star Wars is about to boldly go where no man has gone before. Star Trek in our house may just die off like the dust-gathering Star Trek Phaser remote control I refuse to throw out. Star Wars toys and collectibles abound.

So, recently when contacted to review the Angry Birds Star Wars Playing Cards, how could I refuse?

Apparently I am the ONLY person left on the planet not playing Angry Birds because when I told Sexy Guy about the cards, I found out that he plays Angry Birds all of the time and had been looking forward to the new Angry Birds Star Wars app. Who'd've guessed? My unkempt garden might have been a clue. No wonder the man is always "so busy".

The cards are beautiful and my nine-year old-like husband was happily scanning through them saying, "And this bird does this, and this bird does that". He's a happy guy. I'm happy because as a family, we already play a lot of card and board games, and these colorful little gems just made those evenings that much more fun.

In my opinion, these playing cards would make an AWESOME stocking stuffer for the geek in your life- or a simple gift for Star Wars peeps that you may think a lot of, but don't necessarily have the budget to buy a big gift.

The Angry Birds™ Star Wars™ Playing Cards are available at all good toy retailers. For further information visit www.cartamundi.co.uk.

Now isn't this more fun than discussing politics?  Go. Buy. Play and may the force...

The View From Here

A bright and sparkling light faded from our view this month.
 

 I'm sure most of the blogging world knew of Moannie's passing long before I discovered it, but in case you hadn't heard, the world has lost a great writer.

Funny place, this blogging world. I have grown closer to more of you in this realm than I ever have to some family members or IRL friends.

Maybe it's because there are no facades (or limits in personal sharing in my case) to hide behind like we do in real life.  Maybe it's because we have this vast number of gems in which to connect with and the ones we don't? They wander away. It's the real jewels who are left behind to glitter and shine.

I don't know what makes us tick as a community because in reality, the anonymous factor in most chat/discussion areas usually leads to nastiness and bully-like behaviour. We do have those here, but in ratio to the greatness? Just a blip.

I hope I have told you this before, this deep fondness I hold for friendships I've made here.
I hope I told Moannie (and that she knew that even when I stopped reading blogs with any kind of regularity). But what I hope for most of all, is that you will stop by and get to know her through the incredible stories she told, through her wit and love for her family. 

We might all benefit from a little introspection in her honor, and perhaps, dust the cobwebs off of our keyboards and renew this fantastic opportunity we have to come together in friendship.

The View From This End


RIP Moannie, you will be missed.

UK Peeps, This One's For You!

When I was a young and incredibly impressionable young child, my poor mother was a worn out, unappreciated 35 year-old mother who would try to sneak an afternoon nap in when she could. To do so with what I suspect now was an ADHD child a busy child, she had to find a television show that could ensnare me for the the hour.
Together, we would curl up on the sofa and as her breathing slowed to a restful state, I would watch Dark Shadows.

Yes, my mother had me watching a vampire soap opera.
I loved it.
She's also the one that got me hooked on The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits and Night Gallery, but that's for another post.

You can probably deduce that when Johnny Depp recently signed on as the charismatic Barnabas Collins,  I could hardly contain my excitement. I was eager to see how my beloved Dark Shadows would be interpreted by the fantastically creative Tim Burton.

The result is a giant bat leap from the original, but we all expected that from Burton, right?

Did anyone see it in the theaters/cinema?  Can you believe, I missed it! I was going to have to wait until it was available to rent online or for the dvd to be released. I hate waiting. Am I alone in this?

Luckily, the wait is over...

AND...

Warner Bros. and PartnersHub generously want to give away a Blue-ray of Dark Shadows to one lucky UK RESIDENT (sorry everyone else, my lovely UK readers usually miss out on the giveaways).

"From the incredible mind of Tim Burton comes the hit film Dark Shadows, based on the classic US television series!  Barnabas Collins has been trapped for two centuries by an evil witch (Eva Green) who just happens to be an ex lover.  Barnabas now has to struggle with the ever changing 1970s and save his family’s business!  With an all star cast that includes Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jonny Lee Miller and more, Dark Shadows will be sure to whet your appetite for fun."


Here's the catch....

Take the Are You Creepy Enough quiz and then post your results in the comments section.

Everyone can play, but since I will be picking randomly on October 25th, please indicate in your comment if you are a UK resident. That's all it takes.

Will you be cuddling up with a family member to watch this?

What great things did your Mom (Dad) introduce you to?

Back to Where We Began

Like the menstrual cycle that comes bearing mood swings and disjointed thoughts, how appropos that this blog has become a once-monthly gift of sorts...

I've been a little busy. Oh yes, traveling, entertaining, traveling (yes, more), but mostly...

ugh. See the previous post if you really want to know what I've been up to. To encourage more frequent posting, I could rename this blog to:

"We'll be Back if We Ever Get Containment On The Flipping Lice"

or

"How to Wash Everything You Own Every Other Week"

or

"Don't Try Leaving Town, The Lice Will Only Wait For You"

I know, amazing. I have actually hit bottom with these blood suckers. I don't understand how people around us say, "Oh, yeah, we had them last month, but haven't seen anything since". And they are the ones who don't turn their households inside out.
I've gotten grumpy at the husband and demanded that my children never hug anyone again for the rest of their lives. We get clear heads- no bugs, no eggs, but then some child brings home a little gift (or a thousand) and we start all over again. Another cycle I won't mind seeing the back side of.

Nevermind. I'll look back and laugh one day.

I'm not laughing today though, in fact, I'm a bit meloncholy. After posting this photo on Facecrack,

I found myself stumbling down that slippery memory lane. Six years ago, I moved to England with a very round belly and we began very new lives. Where did the time go? I can't believe how quickly those six years have gone. My squishy, bouncy cherub is an independent (translation: stubborn), dynamic, sometimes silly little girl now. What a character she has become! She is the darling of the family, the ruler of the house. How she has enriched our lives.... sniff.


I started blogging six years ago as well and that too feels like only yesterday.  I wish I could say the blog has grown and developed in content, but I think I'm quite happy for it to have become a public journal rather than a testament to my creativity.

And speaking of creativity....

Nah, let's not, unless you want to compare notes on everything creative to be found on Pinterest but now have no time to do because of being on Pinterest....


What really great thing did you start in 2006?