Merry Christmas from England

Home with the Henrys

The whole group, together again

Even though if feels like a long time ago now, I am finally getting around to writing about our time at home with my family.  Like Katie, home has always carried a number of meanings (and locations) for me.  After being away for as long as we were, it was great to have such an unusually long length of time to spend with family.  As much as we have changed in the first year living abroad, it didn’t take long for us to feel like we never left Wisconsin.

As most Henry family gathering begin, we started our weekend meeting at Piggy’s in La Crosse on Friday afternoon for lunch.  It’s become sort of a tradition over the years and the only thing that seems to change is how many chairs, highchairs and booster seats we need.  It had been well over a year since I had seen my brother and sister, both who have had a new baby in the year that we were away.  As a result, we spent the majority of our time catching up, meeting new babies and enjoying the entertainment that comes with having 5 kids under the age of 3 under one roof for the weekend.  We spent the entire weekend doing what we love doing the most—going for walks, eating amazing food, and watching the Badgers and Packers both win. 

Henry's Baptism

Katie and I were both honored to be our new nephew Henry’s Godparents, so we were thrilled that it worked out to have his Baptism on the Sunday that we were all together in West Salem.  To top things off, my Grandma Henry even made the trip and it was so great to see her any my uncle Rick and spend time catching up with both of them. 

Our last week in the States was spent making the rounds to see more family and friends.  We had a great few days in Madison spending time with Kevin and KJ and meeting the lovely Sophia as well as seeing Kelly Mohr (& Lucas) and spending some time with Emily and Adam and meeting little Turner.  It was brilliant seeing so many great people in such a short amount of time, but we could have easily spent a week catching up with each person.

Our last day in the States was spent in Minneapolis, the city that we called home for 5 years before moving over here.   Katie was able to spend the day catching up with a good friend and colleague and I was able to spend the day with my third set of Grandparents (Marlene & Terry) as well as meet up with a group of my friends from work.  Again, we could have spent weeks catching up with all of them. 

One of many amazing meals around that table

As we prepared to come back to the UK, we were sad to say goodbye to family, friends and some of the American comforts that we have grown up with.  Some of this was made easier by the suitcase filled with American food that was loaded onto the plane with us.  It was bittersweet saying goodbye this time, but somehow it felt different.  It was amazing spending as much time as we did together, but knowing that we would all see each other again in the spring made it much easier.

I know that I have said this before, but this trip was a reminder of how precious time is.  The weeks leading up to our trip back home felt like they dragged on forever, but once it finally arrived we wished we could have slowed down each moment to take it all in.   Yet, even as I sit here writing this now, we remind ourselves, almost every day, that this experience for us will soon come to an end and all we can do is wake up each morning and be thankful for what we are doing right now, while remembering how lucky we are to have such an amazing life waiting for us back home. 

Go Badgers !!!

I Feel Home.....

Dinner with the fam at Dad and Rhonda's

I have been fortunate enough to live a life where home has always been a safe and welcoming word.  It is something I’ve known over the years, but never put a lot of thought into.  And through this year of being in another country and away from home, I have found an invaluable (and unexpected) opportunity to have time to gain further perspective on what home means to me.  Through my trip back to the States, I have realized that home is not necessarily a physical structure of a specific house or even a specific town.  But it is a feeling.  It is comfort in people you know and love, familiarity of places and doing.  It is the general day-to-day, being 100% yourself, connection to others and most of all, love.  So I was humbled and beyond excited to be able to have an entire week devoted to these things.  So in that week of being back with my family in Wisconsin, here are some highlights of what makes home truly home to me:

Making bread at Grandpa's with Aunt Jane

-  First and foremost, seeing my family

- Spending a day at Grandpa’s Skroch’s house cleaning hats, eating comfort food and getting a 93 year old man set up on skype

- The cabin, a physical structure that represents home. Waking up to the most beautiful colors over Sand Lake in the early morning.  Standing on the dock looking out over the lake.  Heaven.

- Making Grandma (and Mom’s) homemade bread with Aunt Jane

- Spending a day enjoying every second of being an aunt and uncle to Adrian and Amaia – that includes lunch at McDonald’s, lots of sword fighting and doing underdogs on the playset

Uncle John with Adrian and Amaia

- Being able to meet, play with, and put to bed Sophia while in Madison

- Spending a day at home while it’s snowing outside with my bestie Emily and her baby Turner

- Spending Halloween with The Mohr’s eating the most amazing chicken dumpling soup

- Dinner with the family at Dad and Rhonda’s house – always more than enough food

- A couple hours of hot chocolate and catch-up time with my fellow K. Mohr 

- Breakfast pizza at Main Street Café, lots of cheescurds and Bloomer Bakery

- Going to the Bloomer Rec Center to take a Zumba class Mary rocked at teaching

- Staying up way too late, hanging out and chatting (done multiple times throughout the trip with multiple people!)

Ahhhhh......the cabin!

After spending more than a year away from what I know as home, I was lucky enough to get the chance to go back and visit.  And to be honest, it was the best week home I’ve ever had.  

Aunt Katie putting Sophia to bed

Spending the day with Em and Turner

Can't do a home blog without cheesecurds :-)

UK Unions on Strike

Earlier in the year, Katie and I watched closely as the unions in Wisconsin fought to maintain a number of their rights.  We watched as the public sector union employees protested at the capital and the state of Wisconsin spent weeks in the national spotlight.  

Striking union workers in Truro

Well today in the UK, as millions of public sector employees (all who belong to unions) are on strike, the news headlines are eerily familiar.  The only difference here is that a large amount of NHS (National Health Service) employees are also on strike, which made today a very interesting day at the hospital.  The doctors and nurses were not allowed to strike, but almost every other employee (including Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists and some Speech Therapists) spent the day picketing throughout the hospital grounds.  Since the hospitals here are all public property, this is very different than when the nurses went on strike in Minnesota a few years ago.  Since the American hospitals are mostly private, those on strike were limited to the "public" sidewalks that surrounded the hospital.  In the UK however, the workers are allowed to physically walk up and down the hospital corridors of with picket signs.  (NOTE: Those who did this remained VERY quite so they did not disrupt the patients.)

To further complicate things, all teachers in the country and almost all airline workers were also on strike.  With an estimated 12-hour wait time for anyone going through customs at the major airports, let's just say we are thankful that we're not traveling today.  

So, what is the strike all about?  This particular strike is essentially about one thing.  The government has proposed to reform the public sector pension plans.  The government is requesting that public employees contribute more out of each paycheck into their pensions, the value of which continues to decrease each year.  To quote my friend Tim, a particular militant physiotherapist I work with, "Today is about all of us being sick of paying more, to get less."  

Similar to the protests and picketing that took place in Wisconsin earlier this year, this strike will be made up of mostly peaceful professionals exercising their right to assemble for something they believe in.  The only difference is that over here, there will likely be more breaks for tea.

First Stop.....Las Vegas!

First day seeing the fam

After a couple of crazy weeks leading up to our trip to the States, we were finally off!  We left London on the morning of Tuesday, October 25th and proceeded to have the longest travel day of our lives!  Our flight from London to New York went by quickly and smoothly as there were some great movies for us to watch and the food was delicious.  Yes, I am a little weird as I actually enjoy in-flight meals :-) 

Once we touched down in New York, we had our first taste of being back in the States.  Some things we immediately noticed:

- The American accent was everywhere and really stuck out to us

- People were so incredibly friendly and helpful in the airport

- Walking into the news store and seeing all the familiar snacks, newspapers, magazines, etc.  Noticing and missing things you didn’t think twice about while living in the States

Having a good time at Old Downtown

John and I couldn’t help but walk around the airport and take note of all the little things that we hadn’t seen in over a year.  And as our layover (and enjoyment of seeing American things) finished up in New York, we started the next leg of our journey to Las Vegas in celebration of Mary’s 21^st birthday.  We couldn’t help but smile as we looked out the window and saw the defining bright lights of Vegas.  After a long day, we finally made it.  Since we were absolutely exhausted, we went directly to our hotel a block off the strip and proceeded to fall asleep and get a great night of much-needed rest.

As we were meeting my siblings Thursday morning, Wednesday was spent trying to get on American time and get some loose ends wrapped up.  As we didn’t have a car, we decided to walk to the nearest Target and pick up a couple of things before the real Vegas experience began.  As we walked up to the Target doors, we couldn’t help but be excited.  As corny as this sounds, Target is the store I hands down miss the most being in England.  So getting to go to Target the first day back in the States was actually a pretty fun experience! 

Once Wednesday night rolled around, we kept things low-key by heading to a movie theatre and seeing the movie Moneyball.  To be honest, a huge reason we went to a movie was for the pop and popcorn.  Every time we go to a movie in England, we talk about how the popcorn just doesn’t compare to the amazing stuff in the States.  So we definitely enjoyed a night of pop, popcorn and a really great movie.

Getting ready for our first night out

Once Thursday rolled around, John and I were beyond excited to finally meet up with my family!  We ended up all seeing each other for the first time in the lobby of our hotel and it was such a surreal moment.  To be seeing all my siblings in person and in Vegas was just unbelievable!  I couldn’t have been happier. 

All dressed up for "O"

As you can probably guess, we all (Adam, Kevin, Mary, her boyfriend Bryan, myself and John) spent the majority of the day just hanging out and catching up.  Even though it had been over a year in seeing everyone, things immediately felt normal and like we were never really gone.  There was such comfort in seeing my family and really having time to be together.  The only downside was that Adam and Kevin’s wives weren’t able to join in the fun.  Maybe next time!

Superheroes!

We all spent the next three days together in Vegas having a blast and just taking it all in.  We saw the fascinating Cirque du Soleil show “O”, visited the Old Downtown, did some gambling, spent an afternoon by the pool, walked the Strip, dressed up for Halloween, enjoyed the Wynn buffet, did some dancing and so much more.  It really was a perfect weekend spent with some amazing people.  Let’s just say that it was bittersweet leaving Sunday morning.  I was sad such a fun weekend with my siblings was over but beyond excited to get to Wisconsin to see more friends and family.

Visiting America...

Well, we’ve officially been back in England for one week now and it’s like we’ve never been gone.  Our time back in the States was everything we hoped that it would be.   It’s not very often that you get to dedicate three full weeks to spending time with family.   So one has to wonder how three weeks can go by so quickly and still leave you feeling like it wasn’t enough. 

Although we knew our time in the States would be busy and packed with visits with family and friends, we were able to truly enjoy each moment because we knew that waiting for us back here in Truro, would be days like today.  As I write this, I’m sitting in our favorite Truro coffee shop on a Saturday morning, watching people fill the streets and shops (now decorated for Christmas) as I wait for Katie to join me on her lunch break from work.   It’s a great life that we’ve built here and no matter where we live Truro will always be on the list of the many great places we’ve gotten to call home. 

It feels a bit odd updating our blog with things we did back in America, but after being away for so long, reuniting with family and friends, meeting new babies and looking at places that were once so familiar with a new and different perspective, is as much a part of this experience as every other trip we’ve taken.

Like many other trips we’ve taken, it would take days to cover all the details, but instead, we will try to provide the highlights that made our time back home so amazing.  I’ll let Katie write about Halloween in Las Vegas and our first days back in Wisconsin and I will write about our time with the growing Henry family and our return the UK.  More to come soon…

U.S.A. Babies

As our time in the States is winding down, we can't help but look back on a common theme of the trip.....babies!  Here's a quick look at all of the babies we met that had been born in the year we were gone.  

Henry Borens

Sophia Mohr

Caedmon Henry

Turner Bradley

Ryley Sue

One Year...a look back.

Life Update

I have been meaning to blog for the past month or so about our future plans in the UK as John and I knew we wanted to extend our time here a bit longer.  Each time I have wanted to do an official update, life has thrown us another curveball.  Let’s just say that if I had written and posted a blog two weeks ago about our plans, it would have been completely different than what I am writing today.

As John’s year-long contract was quickly coming to an end here in Cornwall, we began looking into available options to stay in the UK until the spring.  We didn’t want to wait until the last minute so we began exploring our options a few months ago.  We have both loved Cornwall, but knew that the possibility of us being able to stay here was slim, so we began searching for opportunities throughout the entire UK. 

As John began looking for jobs throughout the country, he was aware that the hospital here in Truro had received some charitable funds for the stroke program.   As a result, he was asked by his director to write a business case to develop a FEES service for the hospital.  Since John was the only speech therapist trained in FEES here it would be a great opportunity for him to stay on with the hospital a bit longer and a great opportunity for the hospital to develop this service.  Since the economic climate of the hospital is currently very tight, he decided to put the proposal forward but continue to look for other jobs in the meantime.

While the proposal in Truro was being handed from one administrative level to another (and taking forever), he was given a fantastic job opportunity to work at a hospital right outside Liverpool.  Time was quickly going by and the hospital here in Truro still hadn’t made a decision, despite having the proposal for nine weeks.  Finally, two weeks ago, John was told that they wouldn’t make a decision on it for another month so we decided to move forward with plans and move to Liverpool.  As a result, we made the mind-shift and began preparations for a big move by the end of the month.  I gave my four-week notice at work, we told our landlords and officially gave up our home, we set-up a moving van and even put money down on an apartment in St. Helens.  As we finally had a direction and began to accept the loss of leaving Cornwall, it all changed with one phone conversation.

John received a phone call on Wednesday, October 5^th from the Director of Acute Services of Truro hospital.  She had been watching the business proposal closely over the past two months and couldn’t believe it when she heard that the proposal was delayed another month and John was planning to move.  So unknown to anyone, this woman set up meetings with the Executive Director and Financial Director of the hospital and basically told them that they had to fund this proposal and keep John here.  So that phone call on Wednesday was from a woman who John had never met, but offered him the chance to start a FEES program at the Royal Cornwall Hospital.  Yes, this was two and a half weeks before our move up to Liverpool!

So after a couple nights of intense conversations between John and I and multiple meetings about specifics with John’s work and recruitment agency, we made the decision to stay in Truro!  It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but we are happy with it.  And we are lucky as so many things fell into place once the decision was made.  Our landlords had just put our place in the paper and were more than happy when they heard we wanted to stay.  My boss at work was able to rescind my notice and is willing to work around our visit back to the States.  The difficult part in all of this was regarding the job in Liverpool.  John felt bad needing to turn them down but ultimately the opportunity in Truro was too good to pass up.

So now that a decision has finally been made, we are happy to say that we’ll be staying in Cornwall until the contract ends on March 31^st of 2012!  Having a definite plan for the next six months has been nothing short of amazing this past week, as we’ve finally been able to relax a bit and de-stress.  Now we just can’t believe that our next adventure begins in nine days as we fly out to the States and get to see friends and family.  It’s been over a year since we have touched US soil and we can’t wait to remember what it feels like!

Home...

As I sit here at my computer, I realize that it was one year ago today that John and I stepped foot into our magical year as residents of Truro.  With this realization comes a mixture of fond memories here as well as sadness that a year can pass by so quickly.  It is definitely bittersweet.

We couldn’t help but reminisce yesterday as we were sitting by the window in our favorite main street coffee shop and overlooking the Sunday buzz of people spending their day in town.  We arrived in Truro on a Sunday last year and ventured our way into town in the early evening after a day of travel from London.  By Sunday evenings, Truro becomes a bit of a ghost town as all the shops are closed and people have gone home to be with their families.  Even though the town was quiet that first time we took a walk around town, we began to fall in love with the pure charm of Truro. 

And a year later, we have nothing but amazing memories to share with one another.  Our year consisted of learning what it’s truly like to live without a car and using your two legs to get to where you want to go.  We slowly but surely learned our way around the cobblestone roads and mews throughout the downtown.  We experienced for the first time a Christmas parade of lanterns, magical Wednesday night shopping, New Year’s Eve at midnight in Lemon Quay, a spring stroll along the river, the beauty of the Cathedral lit up at night on our walk to a movie.  To top it off we were lucky enough to share this city with friends and family along the way.

So far, we have had a year we could never forget.  We have been fortunate enough to travel, meet new friends and experience work in a different country.  But what stands out more than anything is falling in a love with a charming town called Truro and being able to call it home.

As this 1-year mark quickly came upon us, John and I both knew we weren’t fully ready for our time here in England to be done.  In figuring out a way to stay but not definitely knowing what context it would be in (which city we would continue this adventure in), you can easily say this past month has been very chaotic.  We have had our ups and downs over this past month, but we both know it will be worth it.  And though we have loved every minute of our time here, we are looking forward to a visit to see friends and family in the States.  Our tickets are booked and we will be boarding a plane in 15 days to Vegas to celebrate Mary’s 21^st birthday, then proceed on to visit Wisconsin to see both my and John’s families.  There will be a lot of catching up to do and a handful of babies to meet for the first time.  It can’t be here soon enough! 

So for the next two weeks, John and I will continue to enjoy every minute in Truro and at 38 Richmond Hill.  And upon our return back to England in mid-November, we will continue our time abroad.  As for where that will happen, well, more of that to come soon…….

Edinburgh Fringe Festival!

Six years ago on the Edinburgh Bus Tour - 2005

Six years ago, almost to the week, was the first time Katie and I traveled abroad together.  Among one of our stops during that trip was Edinburgh, Scotland so it was kind of fitting that we would return to that same city at the end of our first year living over here.  During the six years since our very first trip, we moved to Minneapolis, got married, started careers and frequently talked about our dream to move abroad and one day return to Edinburgh for the Annual Fringe Festival.  We even promised that one day we would see the Military Tattoo, an incredible performance of military bands from around the world set against the backdrop of Edinburgh Castle.  At long last, this all happened and it was well worth the wait.

The Fringe 2011

Tickets to the Military Tattoo were bought in December of last year so it’s amazing to think how quickly August came.  Last Monday was a bank holiday in the UK so Katie and I took off of work on Friday to make it a four-day weekend.  We flew directly from Newquay airport, which is only about 8 miles from our house.  As the flight was only an hour and a half, we had plenty of time to enjoy the Fringe Festival and take in all the eccentric craziness that comes with it. 

These street performers were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

The Fringe Festival is the world’s largest arts festival.  It takes place over a three-week period in August and there are numerous types of performances (comedy, dance, theatre, etc) taking place at venues all over the city.  This year alone, there were over 2,500 different shows, almost 42,000 performances and 258 venues!  Along with the scheduled performances, the Royal Mile leading up to the castle is also filled with a street fair of non-stop acts.  Really an amazing atmosphere!

One of the many street acts

The parents of one of my friends at the hospital have a beautiful house located just outside of Edinburgh and since they spend their summers down here in Cornwall, they insisted that we stay there.  It worked out well as my friend’s parents were also happy to have someone open up the house since it had been months since anyone had stayed there.  It couldn’t have been a more perfect place as it was close to the airport and two blocks off the main bus line into town. 

Once we landed and were settled at the house, we spent Friday afternoon and evening taking in the sights of The Fringe Festival throughout the city.  We wandered the streets and took in multiple street performances and live music acts that surround the busy streets of Edinburgh during the Fringe.  We bought tickets to a sketch comedy show called “Bad Bread – TV Times,” which consisted of three comedians “remaking” numerous childhood shows…. very entertaining.  

Cast of Allotment

Saturday was filled with more of the same festivities.  We went to a show called “Allotment” that took place in an actual garden allotment located in a park just outside of the city centre.  It was the recounting of the lives of two sisters who grew up not far from the allotment and spent their summers in the garden.  This was one of our favorite shows from the weekend.  As the best shows have a way of doing, it led to a lot of conversation about childhood, family influence, etc.  I’m sure it helped that we were served tea and fresh scones during the outdoor performance! 

Saturday night was topped off with the much-anticipated Military Tattoo performance.  Katie had attended eight years ago when she studied abroad in Scotland and absolutely loved it.  As this was my first time at the Tattoo, it was everything I had imagined it to be.  It was incredible to see each individual country’s military band perform in a way that paid tribute to their respective cultures.  This was all culminated by the final performances where every band played together.  As the sounds of bagpipes and drum-lines bounced off the castle walls it was hard not to be a little nostalgic and think about all the things that led up to that moment.  It was absolutely fantastic. 

Coffee shop time on the Royal Mile

The remainder of the weekend was as good as the first few days.  The weather decided to be very “Scottish” and rain all day on Sunday, which resulted in us spending time in coffee shops and taking it easy before a great Mexican dinner. (Oh, how I miss Mexican food!!!). 

We were thankful for quick and easy traveling on Monday and spent the remainder of the long weekend back in Truro.  It didn’t take us long being back in Edinburgh to remember how much we loved it there.  It’s easy to get around, the people are friendly and sometimes you just get a good feeling about a place.  It almost makes me wonder what the hospitals are like there…

Bits & Bobs

Usually, we write a blog after returning from a trip, but we have decided that we need to be better about writing about everyday events and life here in England.  As a result, the following is a list of random things that have been going on.  

Cream Tea and sweets at Dolly's Tea House

London Riots
As most people have heard, it’s been an eventful few weeks here with all of the riots taking place throughout the country.  Fortunately, we were not directly affected by the riots in London or the riots that drew less media attention that took place in other cities throughout the country.  It was certainly an interesting topic around here as most Britons struggled to pin-point the exact cause behind them or the message that was attempting to be sent.  It was essentially all triggered after the police shot and killed an unarmed man in their attempt to arrest him.  The riots appeared to escalate as a general “anti-police/anti-government” movement.  As of this week 3100 people have been arrested.  As we live in a relatively small town the joke has been that the closest thing to a riot Truro has ever seen was when a bum knocked over a garbage can and someone drove the wrong way around a roundabout :-)

Falmouth Boat Ride

Last weekend Katie and I decided to spend the day in the town of Falmouth for the last day of their Falmouth Days Festival.  Normally, we would travel there by train, but we decided to take a boat that leaves from Truro and navigates down the canal that empties into the sea.  It was a great way to see a part of the area that we haven’t seen before.  The highlight for me was seeing a 500-year-old cottage (with a still functioning thatched roof) where General Eisenhower stayed in the days leading up to D-Day.  We spent the day strolling through town, stopping for cream tea at a local tea house and enjoying the opportunity to explore a familiar area in a new way.  

Brangelina

Katie looking for the Brangelina super-yacht

One topic that has had Katie (and the rest of Cornwall) rather excited was the fact that Brad Pitt is currently in the middle of shooting a movie a few miles from here in the town of Falmouth.  A few weeks ago there was a story in the local newspaper stating that they were seeking “extras” for a few scenes.  Not surprisingly, hundreds of locals turned up and got to spend the day on a film set.  Katie and I had plans that day, but looking back, it would have been a fun experience.  As the past few weeks have gone on, more reports have come though that Brad and Angelina are staying on a “super-yacht” just off the cost of Falmouth.  As a result, Katie was on strict “Brangelina” watch during our day in Falmouth.  

Seagulls

Our poor neighbor's seagull ravaged garbage

When you grow up in Wisconsin and live in Minnesota, there is one thing that you don’t ever worry about….seagulls eating your garbage.  Racoons, yes, but not seagulls.  The sound of seagulls filling the air is something that comes with living so close to the sea.  It’s one of the things I like the most about being here as you are constantly reminded of this fact.  However, on quiet mornings, when the weather is warm our friendly seagulls like to make there way through our neighbourhood looking for anything to eat.  Last week, on garbage day, Katie and I were awoken VERY early in the morning to the loud sound of seagulls right outside our door.  After glancing out the window to find the neighbours garbage strewn about the street, we knew that ours was next.  Fortunately, we were able to scare them off temporarily until cars and busses began filling the streets for the day and our garbage man collected our bags.  Now, it’s something we think about every Wednesday night as we place our garbage bags on the curb.  

All of these random events are an excellent example of the experiences that fill our typical days and weekends here.  When your typical “boring” Saturday involves a seaside boat ride and a stroll through a small fishing village, you know that your life is pretty great.  Since our future is unknown at the moment, we're doing our best to enjoy every minute we have left here!

Random store window in Falmouth :-)