How to Talk English: Learning to embrace Britishisms

Posing with King Henry VIII.

This post is the seventh in our “England 2015”:/news/category/travel/england-2015/ series.

As soon as we had secured our plane tickets, our first task was to contact our dear friend and host Teresa, a spunky, energetic 86-year-old Englishwoman. She and the Boyd family have been friends for decades, and she has been urging us to bring our family to visit for years. Continue reading “How to Talk English: Learning to embrace Britishisms”

Perfecting Fun in Quiet Desperation: A lesson from the London Eye

Rosie sticks out her tongue.

This post is the fifth in our “England 2015”:/news/category/travel/england-2015/ series.

On our second day in London, we decided to take a trip on the “London Eye”:https://www.londoneye.com. This giant ferris wheel opened in 2000 and consists of 32 large glass-enclosed capsules that hold up to 25 people each. The view is incredible, and the girls had been drawing pictures of it practically since the moment we announced our plans for the trip.  Continue reading “Perfecting Fun in Quiet Desperation: A lesson from the London Eye”

Departure: The journey from crazy to calm

At O'Hare and reading to go!

This post is the third in our “England 2015”:/news/category/travel/england-2015/ series.

The week of departure was chaos. Pack the bags. Shop for airplane snacks. Clean the house. Finish up work projects. Pack up the cats and bring them to our friends’ house. Back up the computers. As I tied up loose ends at work and at home, staying up into the wee hours of the night, Jon voiced his concern that my stressful aura would spill over into our precious trip. Continue reading “Departure: The journey from crazy to calm”

Obsessing over Shoes: Gaining self-knowledge through packing

Ironing in England.

This post is the second in our “England 2015”:/news/category/travel/england-2015/ series.

About four months before our trip — on January 5, to be precise — we bought our plane tickets. “Hooray!” we rejoiced. “It’s really happening!” And I immediately became preoccupied with the questions of what to pack. Continue reading “Obsessing over Shoes: Gaining self-knowledge through packing”