1940s

So, for this 1940s Christmas at Ancient House I need to look the part. I didn't bring my full wardrobe with me to England, so even if I own something 1940ish, its not here. I looked in a few thrift shops and even regular clothing stores and haven't found anything to my liking.







It occurs to me that dressing like Rosie the Riveter might be the easiest way to go, but maybe she's too American? I'm open to suggestions...or clothing donations.

In Case You Were Wondering

Sometimes I make cooking experiments so that no one else has to.

Falafel is not a good covering for chicken. If you buy some, you should probably make it into balls like the box suggests.

People

John told me some people from school were going to eat at the bar where Christine (of Ashby and Christine, the people who let us live with them when we were homeless) works after class today. It took some strategic planning on my part to get there. It starts getting dark at 4pm here and John's class was getting out at 7pm. So, I left the flat at 4 and walked down town. I stayed in the Forum (first the library, then the coffee shop) until John came to meet me. (I took my lap top and got lots of work done, but unfortunately couldn't get internet.) Then we went to Frank's Bar.

I had such a great time talking to people. Real people. Not an interview. Not people I'm volunteering for. College kid people. People like me. Except from lots of different countries. Drinking and talking about the problem with translating jokes into another language people. Oh man, I miss college. No, I just miss people. I need to get out more.

Upcoming Performances

Friday December 5th: Christmas Under Fire!
Ancient House is celebrating Christmas 1940s style. I will be bringing my guitar to Thetford where I will try to get visitors to the museum to sing Christmas carols with me.

Friday January 2nd: Toys and Tales!
This is another Ancient House event. There will be stories and toys from the past. I'll be doing some Roman storytelling.

Saturday January 17th: So You Want to be President
I am doing an American themed story time for the children's library to celebrate the inauguration of our new president.

Memorial Trust Meeting

Libby, the librarian with the Second Air Division Memorial Library, invited me to come to the Annual General Meeting of the Trust this morning. The library is a living memorial and so funding and memorial related events are run by the Trust. She told me several times that I was by no means expected to come, especially since I had been given rather short notice. But I'm sure, thanks to my rather lack-luster blog posts of late, my faithful readers are painfully aware that on the average day I certainly have nothing better to do.

I met with Libby and the library director at the Millennium Library (where the Memorial Library is housed) and traveled with them to County Hall for the meeting.

Parts of the actual meeting I enjoyed:

Learning about the group that makes this library possible.

The stockbroker's report. I know this sounds boring, but he explained the reasons for the recession really well. I've never been much good with economics and I think I actually get it now.

The summary of their recent trip to Dallas for a convention with the American Second Air Division group.

Listening to the memories of one of the Trust Governors who was retiring. He was ten years old when Americans starting coming to East Anglia to fight in World War II. He and his family befriended many of them only to hear about their deaths weeks or even days later. It is truly amazing to hear about the impact that Americans had on this area and on the individuals who lived here. Those pilots were every little boy's heroes.

And lets not forget the fact that both the Chairman and Libby mentioned me and spoke highly of my volunteer work for the library. (Although thus far, I haven't done that much. But I have big plans!)

Parts of after-the-meeting I enjoyed:

Free lunch.

Pretty much every person there came up to talk to me during the informal lunch. I talked to at least two British lawyers, and two American World War II veterans. One of the vets started talking politics and I just smiled at him until he was finished.
Finally he looked at me and said, "But you probably voted for Obama."
"I did."
Then he said to me, "Well, now he's our president and I will support him."
This man (who was, by the way, wearing a tie with small outlines of the state of Texas all over it) was the most polite person I have ever disagreed with.

Date Night

When John took me shopping recently I bought this dress. Then when I put it on at home I realized that it was a little dressier than I thought it was. My solution was to tell John that we needed to go on a date. Yeah, there are things that look like shoelaces attached to the sleeves. Makes me look like an asylum escapee. Crazy British fashion.

Here's what John wore on the date.






















We walked into town and ate at the Waffle House because most places close really early on Sunday. But, we like the Waffle House, so it was a good date.


In other news, the lolcats know about the pigeon mafia.


more animals

Chaturanga Dandasana

I have gotten to really like running, to the point where I am kind of sad on the days when I can't run. The problem is that because of my flat feet, I get shin splints. I haven't been able to totally prevent them, but I avoid doing serious damage by taking days off when my shins hurt more than a little.

Yesterday was one of those days when I couldn't run. I did yoga instead. This turned out pretty well. My legs (which get stiff and sore in all kinds of places) felt amazingly good after my workout. I discovered some tight places that probably don't get stretched enough during running warm ups and cool downs. I even spent some time upside down, which is always fun.

But perhaps the funniest thing about my yoga routine is that I tend to try to do the same poses even when I haven't done yoga in a while. Chaturanga dandasana gets me every time. During my workout I may or may not actually be able to do it depending on how out of shape I am. Either way, I can hardly lift my arms over my head the next day. Running this morning was a pleasure. Washing my hair, not so much.