England is enjoying some spectacular weather at the moment! Yes, I did say that. Unusual, I know, but we have had hot, sunny days for a while now and more to come. Is it a coincidence, I wonder; that my husband is arriving from Tennessee next week? Is he bringing his weather with him? I rather doubt it because where he has been staying for a few weeks in South Carolina, there has been thunderstorms and heavy rain every day. Perhaps he’ll bring those too.
I have been preparing the cottage for his arrival. There are lots of differences to life over here. I wonder how he will cope? What will he notice first? Our lack of air conditioning perhaps? The birds are different here. They look different and they sound different. There are no mocking birds, humming birds or cardinals. Instead we have blackbirds, who sing so very beautifully, wood pigeons, little English robins and tiny wrens. I’m just thinking of my own garden now. With two cats, the birds like to keep away. We have no cicadas or poisonous snakes and our butterflies are smaller. There are no fireflies either.
From my own observations I can say that the trees are different. Ours are not so tall and they are more gnarled looking. We have miles of hedges. Did you know you can tell the age of a hedge by the number of species of plant and tree in it?
We drive on the left hand side and there are many, many roundabouts. We are allowed to park cars on the side of the road so driving becomes a bit like an obstacle course.
We have double-decker buses. Ours are painted turquoise. We use public transport a lot because our petrol is very expensive. Because I am over 60 I travel free on the local buses, whether they are in my own town or someone elses.
I don’t pay for my prescriptions because I am over 60 years old. Our National Health Service is free at the point of use.
Time for another picture:
I am more than excited about L’s arrival and have been ‘nesting’ for a few weeks now. Only a few more days now…
Only a week to go? Wow! You must be feeling very excited now. I’ll pray that the weather continues a while longer.
Well thank you Valerie (smile). I think he’s bringing the weather with him – hot and humid!!!
Gorgeous roses Oma.
Has your husband visited England before, or will it all be entirely new?
He’s been before Jessica, but only for weeks. This is forever… (smile).
what beautiful delicate rose ( the first one)
I am glad I wandered into your space here…I hope you don’t mind
my son was stationed in England, and when I went to visit him
I left my heart there…it felt like I was finally home…
Best wishes to the reunion of you and your husband…!
Take Care…
)0(
ladyblue
Aah that’s very sweet LadyBlueRose. You may visit whenever you feel inclined. Yes, the roses are good this year. I have some gems.
Wonderful roses.
And there I thought he was the grandfather in the previous post – he’d snuck in and you hadn’t told us.
Is he a gardener as well Oma – will he be able to help look after those beautiful roses and all the other lovelies you have dotted about the place?
There will be two granddads living here soon Cathy! With a bit of direction, they will both be fine in the garden. First project will be a new shed for the ‘new’ granddad!
Now you have me confused Oma – you’ll have to elaborate in an email.
Cathy
Dear Cathy,
Ok, sorry but it’s complicated, like the film. My American husband is coming to England to live we me, tomorrow actually, shhh. Also in the cottage is my ex-husband. We are going to live all three together. It could get lively at times!! I don’t know if things will work out or not, but if they don’t, we’ll just have to think again! That’s it in a nutshell…
Thank you for your comments and your interest in my blog.
Best wishes, Oma aka Stella Jones
What a Summer and WOW to that top Rose,.. And I feel your every growing excitement to the day your Hubby arrives 🙂