It's about time...

It's definitely about time I wrote a new blog, especially since it's 6 months since I left Australia and over 5 months since I arrived to live and work in the UK!

My life has altered dramatically since I last wrote in here, and that wasn't even up to date! I was still trying to fill in the blanks about my trip to the USA last year, and now I have made 3 more trips to that country and am planning another one!
I have been living in Kent, England for the last 5 months, have enjoyed another summer, and am planning to visit Boston for Christmas with my wonderful man, and then head to Nevada for the marriage of two very dear friends of mine, and act as maid of honour for my precious friend, Lila.
I enjoy cooking! This is a surprise to me, as I have never had many peopel to cook for, and when I have had more folk around it's usually been in my mother's kitchen, so I never felt comfortable. Don't get me wrong, my Mother is an amazing cook, and her kitchen is well appointed, but I always felt like she was there, looking over my shoulder, or at the very least like I was in her way! I really like cooking risottos and pastas, but my Dad doesn't enjoy those things, so I rarely cooked when staying with my parents!

I used to cook for young children, but as I was always pushed for time, and never had the option of purchasing the ingredients for dinner, I was always managing with what I had, and what I had was usually limited. Alternatively I would have the choice of meal made for me, and worse still, if I varied it in any way I would be criticised for it! I have never felt truly able to select, plan, shop for and prepare a meal, except when I lived with Natalie... and let's face it, she and I both worked such long hours that cooking was a means to an end... eating!

I live in a beautiful part of England, about an hour from London, and in the countryside! We have lots of apple trees on the farm I live on, and I have just spent 3 hours picking blackberries this morning! Of course this leaves my hands cut and scratched, covered in nettle stings and even some insect bites, but I have 6 lbs of black berries altogether so I am happy and looking forward to making jam later in the week!

I miss my family, friends and especially 'my kids' a lot! The children in my life are very precious to me, and I have been involved with many of them since their infancy! I miss the little things we used to do, and I hope they know that I am thinking of them every day, even if I am not in touch as often as I'd like!
I miss my Frank in Boston! We met at Dragon*Con last year, and kept in touch by email, then by phone and finally, on my way to the UK, I visitied him in the USA. We spent 3 1/2 weeks together which was wonderful, and since then I have visited him for 10 days in late June. Unfortunately he was unable to join me at Dragon*Con this year, but I am looking forward to Christmas with him in just 3 months time! He is wonderful, talented, sweet, caring and generally awesome! His girls, Lucy & Maggie, two gorgeous dogs, have taken me to their hearts as well and I miss taking them for walks almost as much as I miss snuggling up with Frank in the evenings!
I love the pubs here in England, I love London with all it's rich and varied history as well as imaginative modern architecture. I love the green countryside and the wildlife. I love the people, who are generally very friendly, courteous, warm and polite! I love the supermarket I go to, Waitrose, where they have the friendliest, most helpful staff I have ever come across, and the food is fresh and in many cases, organic. The way it's laid out is spacious and light and yet it's much more environmentallly friendly than any supermarket I've visited in Australia! I love the little Fiat Punto I drive, and I love being so close to so many amazingly historical places including castles, houses, parks and manors! I love the tiny little villages so close to where I live, and I love the laneways I get to drive along every day!

I love the kids who are intelligent, imaginative, bright and talented. Both of them have skill at performance, especially acting, and I have a lot of interests in common with both of them! Their pets are cats, something I haven't lived with much in the past, but I am loving them as well as the half a dozen kittens which arrived a few weeks ago, thanks to Poppy!

I adore my employer, who is warm, caring, sensitive, generous, calm, organised, incredibly intelligent and a wonderful woman all round! She and the kids have made me feel right at home since the moment I stepped out of the cab from the airport!

I am going crazy about taking photographs of my daily adventures and uploading them to my flickr account. My flickr photostream is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/magdalena67/
and there are always new photos popping up there with sets of pictures along the side. These sets usually have some explaination of when and where they were taken and why I have decided to put them in a set, so if you want to take a look it's a good idea to click on a set, read the blurb and then set it to slideshow!

Here's a set just about Pear Tree Farm: http://www.flickr.com/photos/magdalena67/sets/72157605172527636/

I will update my blog with information about my life and my photos more often as a way of keeping in touch with my friends around the world, and I welcome any new friends who read my blog to pop in and take a look too!

Hope you enjoy my renewed interest in blogging!