Saw no sunlight again. It's slowly getting colder each day. I'm now wearing 90% of my winter clothing again.
In other news I did some basic work digging beds before being taken into the local town to be showing how to get there and back. Mostly because I needed to know how to get around Raglan so I could visit the castle.
After this break I got back to work for a grand total of 20 minutes. Then I was pulled away again to walk with Toby (who I found out is a regular visitor on Friday) and Mrs. Willot over to another farm to say hello to Val. Once there we got to see their chicken farm. With hundreds of chickens you can hear the collective rumble of their sounds. Its a bit frightening almost. While there I also got an amazing view of some green hills. So much green! If only the sun were out it may be greener.
We also got to see their sheep. Or at least the ones which were recently lambing. Such big fluffy sheep. I learned much today about sheep. How they act and how their wool feels while it's still on them. And of course that older sheep apparently have larger irises and that instead of the usual up and down their pupils go left to right. Its a bit disconcerting in some way. I'm too used to cats I suppose.
On retruning I worked on the leek bed for another half an hour before stopping for lunch. Eventually I will finish that bed.. but not right now.
After a while of work I did manage to finish this bed, and went on to do some extra weeding in another bed before stopping for the evening. After some cleaning I found out that Toby's parents would be staying for dinner when they came to collect him. Also something I keep forgetting to mention (I think.) is that Jenny, Toby's mother, is the MP for Cardiff. This is the equivalent of a Congressmen in the States. So fun fact... I've been having lunch and dinner with a congressman over the past 2 weeks or so. XD
Dinner was Dahl, some Chicken Tikka, Papadams, and Pilau Rice. A very traditional British-Indian dinner. Dessert was mincemeat pastry. (Mincemeat being a fruit term, not meat for some reason.)
I retired shortly after dinner, unfortunately I waited too long to write this so I forgot some of the more interesting and fun details. >< I got to be more on top of this thing.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
You Jelly? Mar.15
Freezing cold again...ish... I havn't seen much of the sun for the past few days. This may be where all the sterotypes of English weather come from.
All of todays work was heavier based jobs with Quinton, mostly moving wood that was chopped down yesterday to the bonfire area or into storage if it was large enough. I actually saw the sun through the fog for a grand total of 15 minutes before the sky became a complete gray haze again. How can this land have ever had a sun god? Why is there no legend of the grey sky fighting the black sky every 12 or so hours?
I learned a few tricks for carrying more, namely I must learn how to use rope properly sometime soon.
After work I did reading on Raglan castle again, nearly done up to the 1800's now. Dinner was just 3 of us as Mr. Willot had to go into Cardiff for a lecture. Pasta with peas and more leeks. (We have many fresh leeks which all need to be eaten.)
Dessert was Strawberry Jelly with Rhubarb in it. I had Jelly and ice cream for dessert... you jelly? (Only the people my age may get that joke anyways. XD) Note: Jelly is not Jam in the UK, its actually what most in the states would call Gelatin or Jello. Also it is not sold powdered but rather in a small packet that resembles the bottom of an ice tray or a bar of chocolate. You put the cubes (which are jelly in their own right) into water and dissolve them and add your other things then have it re-set in the fridge. Now you have jelly! And yes I am enjoying myself being strangely obsessed with jelly. (Only my brony friends will get that joke. U Jelly?) XD
Ok enough of that.
After dinner I had a talk with Bob from choir who arrived early. I have officially met someone named Bob... >> You Jelly? (I have got to stop this. XD Its an only today joke I promise.
After everyone else arrived I sang more lovely choir songs in preparation for all our singing for the next holiday in Wales.
That was it for today but I promise to get some stuff done soon so I can get the pictures up. @_@ I am so behind on that... It's not hard to do but I cant seem to make the time for it. Sorry again.
Until next time. ^_^ Have a wonderful day!
All of todays work was heavier based jobs with Quinton, mostly moving wood that was chopped down yesterday to the bonfire area or into storage if it was large enough. I actually saw the sun through the fog for a grand total of 15 minutes before the sky became a complete gray haze again. How can this land have ever had a sun god? Why is there no legend of the grey sky fighting the black sky every 12 or so hours?
I learned a few tricks for carrying more, namely I must learn how to use rope properly sometime soon.
After work I did reading on Raglan castle again, nearly done up to the 1800's now. Dinner was just 3 of us as Mr. Willot had to go into Cardiff for a lecture. Pasta with peas and more leeks. (We have many fresh leeks which all need to be eaten.)
Dessert was Strawberry Jelly with Rhubarb in it. I had Jelly and ice cream for dessert... you jelly? (Only the people my age may get that joke anyways. XD) Note: Jelly is not Jam in the UK, its actually what most in the states would call Gelatin or Jello. Also it is not sold powdered but rather in a small packet that resembles the bottom of an ice tray or a bar of chocolate. You put the cubes (which are jelly in their own right) into water and dissolve them and add your other things then have it re-set in the fridge. Now you have jelly! And yes I am enjoying myself being strangely obsessed with jelly. (Only my brony friends will get that joke. U Jelly?) XD
Ok enough of that.
After dinner I had a talk with Bob from choir who arrived early. I have officially met someone named Bob... >> You Jelly? (I have got to stop this. XD Its an only today joke I promise.
After everyone else arrived I sang more lovely choir songs in preparation for all our singing for the next holiday in Wales.
That was it for today but I promise to get some stuff done soon so I can get the pictures up. @_@ I am so behind on that... It's not hard to do but I cant seem to make the time for it. Sorry again.
Until next time. ^_^ Have a wonderful day!
Train Brain Pains Mar.14
Because the fog was so thick not to let the actual sun shine for most of yesterday, it has been getting colder very slowly. I have never expected to see so much fog past 3PM before. This may be truely what seperates southern wales from GA.
After saying good morning to my hosts and Quinton, I got to work on mulching the remaining trees. This time with music to make the work a bit less painful. This worked surprisingly well but it did have some downsides. Namely I couldn't hear the birdsong and I became much more aware of time spent on each action.
I did this till the tea break, fairly uneventful and then swapped to cleaning the lawn sized chess pieces.. did I mention my hosts had a lawn sized chess pieces?
I finished this within an hour and got back to mulching till lunch, (Vegetable Quiche.) After this I finished up the mulching and retired from work for the day. So much mulching... but its finished with now.
During my 3rd stint of mulching I did get to meet the owner of the next door farm. An ex military man who goes by the name of Shawn. I spent half an hour talking with him and saying introductions, very friendly chap. Also he is very fond of Ireland, pointing out some of their best euphemisms for social issues.
I spent the next two hours getting train tickets to my next WWOOF house. It should have taken me 10 minutes but my route was apparently much tougher than I thought. As I had to buy tickets from 2 different companies 2 different times and there was no consolidation buyer so I had to also register on these sites and this was after finding a very cheap trip there and back. (I will be returning to Wales for a convention come late April.)
This sadly took enough time so that I was not able to assist with preparing dinner today. (Rice, Pumpkin, Pheasant and Sausage stew, Kale, and strawberry pudding? (I forgot to ask what the dessert was but it tasted like strawberry pudding. Possibly Rhubarb.)
I started planning for what I would cook for dinner one evening later in the week and went to bed.
Have a good day everybody!
After saying good morning to my hosts and Quinton, I got to work on mulching the remaining trees. This time with music to make the work a bit less painful. This worked surprisingly well but it did have some downsides. Namely I couldn't hear the birdsong and I became much more aware of time spent on each action.
I did this till the tea break, fairly uneventful and then swapped to cleaning the lawn sized chess pieces.. did I mention my hosts had a lawn sized chess pieces?
I finished this within an hour and got back to mulching till lunch, (Vegetable Quiche.) After this I finished up the mulching and retired from work for the day. So much mulching... but its finished with now.
During my 3rd stint of mulching I did get to meet the owner of the next door farm. An ex military man who goes by the name of Shawn. I spent half an hour talking with him and saying introductions, very friendly chap. Also he is very fond of Ireland, pointing out some of their best euphemisms for social issues.
I spent the next two hours getting train tickets to my next WWOOF house. It should have taken me 10 minutes but my route was apparently much tougher than I thought. As I had to buy tickets from 2 different companies 2 different times and there was no consolidation buyer so I had to also register on these sites and this was after finding a very cheap trip there and back. (I will be returning to Wales for a convention come late April.)
This sadly took enough time so that I was not able to assist with preparing dinner today. (Rice, Pumpkin, Pheasant and Sausage stew, Kale, and strawberry pudding? (I forgot to ask what the dessert was but it tasted like strawberry pudding. Possibly Rhubarb.)
I started planning for what I would cook for dinner one evening later in the week and went to bed.
Have a good day everybody!
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
The Day I Struck Stinged White Gold 3/13
I woke up to a plesent amount of warmth. It's still a bit chilly but overall its been unusually warm for the middle of March in the UK. I really hope its not like that back home. >-o
So after a quick breakfast I was given the task of preparing one of the smaller garden beds for planting. I have come to realize that I dislike doing this task first thing in the morning. As my first action is always to remove weeds from the bed and if there is no sunlight, or has not been much. Then it is very wet and muddy as the soil here is full of clay and clumps easily. This is an absolute mess for trying to remove weeds.
So after my first half an hour with a hand fork, I find one plant with a very large root that just wont come up. So I pull out the big fork, dig in, loosen the soil and pull out a massive fully grown parsnip. I pull out 4 more like this before I go find my hosts to ask why a bed that should only have weeds in it would have such large and rather hard to miss parsnips in it. They didn't know they still had parsnips in the ground there either.
So I go back, look at the leaves end up finding 6 or so more parsnips of an insanely large size. The largest being the length of my forearm, with the top being larger than my fist. I hope these are still edible, as I have been told once a parsnip flowers and grows over a season it becomes woodlike and inedible.
I finished the garden bed and went to finally finish the last of the hay moving from the grass near the pond. With that being done I now had to find a new task but it was also lunch time. So after lunch I was given the task of mulching the fruit trees in the orchard. I have found this task to be particularly taxing on my body. I will need to ask tomorrow for tips on doing it more efficiently. As I am learning that if it starts exhausting me easily, it may be because I am doing it wrong.
After work I had free time for most of the day, helping to make dinner and resting up from the work earlier in the day. I have also found out my plans for part of the weekend. I will be visiting the local castle so I will make sure to have my camera taking pictures of this one (which I still need to upload some pictures >< grr... how can I be so bad at remembering this when I got spare time.)
Dinner was fried chicken, kale and mashed potatoes, leeks, and finished off with Rhubarb pie. The dinner table was ended with long talks about politic and taxes.
Talk to everyone again later!
So after a quick breakfast I was given the task of preparing one of the smaller garden beds for planting. I have come to realize that I dislike doing this task first thing in the morning. As my first action is always to remove weeds from the bed and if there is no sunlight, or has not been much. Then it is very wet and muddy as the soil here is full of clay and clumps easily. This is an absolute mess for trying to remove weeds.
So after my first half an hour with a hand fork, I find one plant with a very large root that just wont come up. So I pull out the big fork, dig in, loosen the soil and pull out a massive fully grown parsnip. I pull out 4 more like this before I go find my hosts to ask why a bed that should only have weeds in it would have such large and rather hard to miss parsnips in it. They didn't know they still had parsnips in the ground there either.
So I go back, look at the leaves end up finding 6 or so more parsnips of an insanely large size. The largest being the length of my forearm, with the top being larger than my fist. I hope these are still edible, as I have been told once a parsnip flowers and grows over a season it becomes woodlike and inedible.
I finished the garden bed and went to finally finish the last of the hay moving from the grass near the pond. With that being done I now had to find a new task but it was also lunch time. So after lunch I was given the task of mulching the fruit trees in the orchard. I have found this task to be particularly taxing on my body. I will need to ask tomorrow for tips on doing it more efficiently. As I am learning that if it starts exhausting me easily, it may be because I am doing it wrong.
After work I had free time for most of the day, helping to make dinner and resting up from the work earlier in the day. I have also found out my plans for part of the weekend. I will be visiting the local castle so I will make sure to have my camera taking pictures of this one (which I still need to upload some pictures >< grr... how can I be so bad at remembering this when I got spare time.)
Dinner was fried chicken, kale and mashed potatoes, leeks, and finished off with Rhubarb pie. The dinner table was ended with long talks about politic and taxes.
Talk to everyone again later!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Return of Toby! Mar.12
I woke up, had breakfast and saw Toby coming back for an additional stay today as his parents were invited to a concert at the melennium center in Cardiff.
I said hello and got to work, I needed to remove more hay from the field and clean the Conifer trimings. At around lunch time I was given a new task... Planting potatoes! ^_^ The cage garden was having some potatoes planted to loosen up the soil and grow something in the areas that just got de-weeded.
After that I spent some time strolling around the garden and exploring the more wooded areas of the farm. A few interesting sights were the old pathways which are now overgrown, a massive network of spider webs with sections glistening in the setting sun, and of course so many birds!
I sat down on a tree branch and played a flute for the next half hour or so. After that it was time to come back inside, say goodbye to Toby, and plan for dinner.
I was helping to make a Turkish phesant dish along with carrots, potatoes, and leeks. The main dish was phesant with onions, walnuts and pomegranates... I do not understand the walnut use in this dish. Dessert was ice cream with shortbread cookies.
Venus and Jupiter are still both visible in the night sky and I need to remember to ask about helping set up the telescope so everyone can get a closer look at all the stars and events.
Most of my time before and after dinner was spent discussing music with Mrs. Willot.
Also I want to wish my mother a happy 40th! ^_^
I need to get back to writing these the nights of. Have a good day everybody.
I said hello and got to work, I needed to remove more hay from the field and clean the Conifer trimings. At around lunch time I was given a new task... Planting potatoes! ^_^ The cage garden was having some potatoes planted to loosen up the soil and grow something in the areas that just got de-weeded.
After that I spent some time strolling around the garden and exploring the more wooded areas of the farm. A few interesting sights were the old pathways which are now overgrown, a massive network of spider webs with sections glistening in the setting sun, and of course so many birds!
I sat down on a tree branch and played a flute for the next half hour or so. After that it was time to come back inside, say goodbye to Toby, and plan for dinner.
I was helping to make a Turkish phesant dish along with carrots, potatoes, and leeks. The main dish was phesant with onions, walnuts and pomegranates... I do not understand the walnut use in this dish. Dessert was ice cream with shortbread cookies.
Venus and Jupiter are still both visible in the night sky and I need to remember to ask about helping set up the telescope so everyone can get a closer look at all the stars and events.
Most of my time before and after dinner was spent discussing music with Mrs. Willot.
Also I want to wish my mother a happy 40th! ^_^
I need to get back to writing these the nights of. Have a good day everybody.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Lunch and Bonfires. Mar. 11
I woke up early today, read up on some news while waiting for the rest of the house to awake. I skipped breakfast due to an expectantly large lunch and as we awoke the house got a bit warmer. Around 11 I was already packed and we were ready to head off as today I was off to meet my WWOOF hosts for lunch and a ride back to the farm.
After a lengthy walk, dotted with interesting sights (a meso-American painted house is a bit of a rarity in Britain, and we also talked with a man who used to WWOOF that was such a nice guy and grew bamboo and bananas on his front lawn.) we arrived at Pippa's house.. apparently 2 hours early. ^_^ So I sat down, helped with the garden and lunch, and we had some exotic tea. A mild almost fruit type tea from Africa. I lack the palette to actually distinguish its finer points. Maybe at some point I shall learn these things, but until then, I shall enjoy drinking all kinds of tea. ^^
At around 2, Mr and Mrs Willot arrived along with Jenny and Andy... and that adorable Toby.
Lunch was ham with spinach, mashed squash, roasted parsnips and baked potatoes (small ones), baked cauliflower with cheese sauce and some bread sauce as well. It was a delicous meal and I found out in my time of waiting that Pippa used to want to be a professional chef and so she was so expertly talented in planning and cooking of large meals.
There was much talking to be had about the local politic, and of Tobias' new words of the day ('cool' for those wondering.) When my hosts began to talk about the garden I spent some time talking with Andy about various alcohols and coffees. And it was at this point I realized that most coffee in the UK is either instant (in the form of dissolving granules) or served in a french press. (Granted it has a different name in the UK that I cannot remember. On that note anything called French "xxxxx" is not called that in the UK) Paper filter coffee is a bit of a rarity and overall the higher quality coffee is abundant here. >> Its a shame I am not a coffee drinker myself.
After a few games with Tobias and cleaning up, we all headed home and I saw planes and a very early bright pink hot air balloon for most of the trip back. There was so much of that lovely hilly Welsh countryside which I plan to get pictures of soon enough.
Shortly after coming back I found out that the bonfire that has been building up the past week from all the chopped wood and brambles, was set to be turned up today. It took most of the night as there were many loads but it was a large and beautiful bonfire... >> And because I changed clothes shortly after ti started to something more bramble resistant... I forgot my camera in my room. T_T;; There will be another bonfire before I leave and I will learn to remember to carry my camera around.
Dinner was beef stew with couscous and for the most part I fell asleep afterwards. Anyways im off to work for the morning of the 12th, update again later. ^^
After a lengthy walk, dotted with interesting sights (a meso-American painted house is a bit of a rarity in Britain, and we also talked with a man who used to WWOOF that was such a nice guy and grew bamboo and bananas on his front lawn.) we arrived at Pippa's house.. apparently 2 hours early. ^_^ So I sat down, helped with the garden and lunch, and we had some exotic tea. A mild almost fruit type tea from Africa. I lack the palette to actually distinguish its finer points. Maybe at some point I shall learn these things, but until then, I shall enjoy drinking all kinds of tea. ^^
At around 2, Mr and Mrs Willot arrived along with Jenny and Andy... and that adorable Toby.
Lunch was ham with spinach, mashed squash, roasted parsnips and baked potatoes (small ones), baked cauliflower with cheese sauce and some bread sauce as well. It was a delicous meal and I found out in my time of waiting that Pippa used to want to be a professional chef and so she was so expertly talented in planning and cooking of large meals.
There was much talking to be had about the local politic, and of Tobias' new words of the day ('cool' for those wondering.) When my hosts began to talk about the garden I spent some time talking with Andy about various alcohols and coffees. And it was at this point I realized that most coffee in the UK is either instant (in the form of dissolving granules) or served in a french press. (Granted it has a different name in the UK that I cannot remember. On that note anything called French "xxxxx" is not called that in the UK) Paper filter coffee is a bit of a rarity and overall the higher quality coffee is abundant here. >> Its a shame I am not a coffee drinker myself.
After a few games with Tobias and cleaning up, we all headed home and I saw planes and a very early bright pink hot air balloon for most of the trip back. There was so much of that lovely hilly Welsh countryside which I plan to get pictures of soon enough.
Shortly after coming back I found out that the bonfire that has been building up the past week from all the chopped wood and brambles, was set to be turned up today. It took most of the night as there were many loads but it was a large and beautiful bonfire... >> And because I changed clothes shortly after ti started to something more bramble resistant... I forgot my camera in my room. T_T;; There will be another bonfire before I leave and I will learn to remember to carry my camera around.
Dinner was beef stew with couscous and for the most part I fell asleep afterwards. Anyways im off to work for the morning of the 12th, update again later. ^^
Sunday, March 11, 2012
The national dish of Britain! Mar.10
I woke up suprisingly warm, the couch makes such a nice microclimate.
Breakfast of tea, and toast followed by an excuse to go shopping. I needed ear buds, and my own pair of wellingtons when I need to head to Scotland. As luck would have it, the Millets outdoors store that was going out of business.. still had loads of wellingtons for sale at incredibly low prices. ^_^
We stopped by the enclosed market so Gog and Nine could look at synth parts and 30+ year old electronic pieces while I got my pair of buds. We then looked at these parts for another half an hour or so but Nine did get an awesome picture of the market... visible here... *finally founds it again*
http://a.yfrog.com/img877/8738/vbjfr.jpg
Ill be learning this site tonight if I get the chance so that I may hurry and upload the pictures I am getting. I expect within a month I shall have gotten more pictuers of the local sights such as Cardiff and Raglan castle, the local museum, a nice hudge garden I saw yesterday, and of course my WWOOF farm.
After these we headed back to have lunch and hang around for a few hours. I got to relax with some music and prepared for dinner. Which would be the national dish of Britain.
After watching my favorite show (which had its time changed recently to air just before dinner so nicely,) we found a restaurant about 15 minutes away and walked out to find that it was full. (A large international rugby match happened today and since Wales won.. most places were full in celebration.) The similar resturant down the street was also full... so we went back to the first, got some take away and headed home to watch Life of Brian while eating the national dish... Tikka Masala. ^_^
Tikka Masala is an Indian type of dish invented in the UK much like Nacho's and Fortune Cookies were invented in the US. Its very mild and semi sweet for a curry and is usually served with lamb or chicken as its meat.
I again fell asleep while watching a movie and managed to spend some time this morning catching up.
Have a wonderful day everybody!
Breakfast of tea, and toast followed by an excuse to go shopping. I needed ear buds, and my own pair of wellingtons when I need to head to Scotland. As luck would have it, the Millets outdoors store that was going out of business.. still had loads of wellingtons for sale at incredibly low prices. ^_^
We stopped by the enclosed market so Gog and Nine could look at synth parts and 30+ year old electronic pieces while I got my pair of buds. We then looked at these parts for another half an hour or so but Nine did get an awesome picture of the market... visible here... *finally founds it again*
http://a.yfrog.com/img877/8738/vbjfr.jpg
Ill be learning this site tonight if I get the chance so that I may hurry and upload the pictures I am getting. I expect within a month I shall have gotten more pictuers of the local sights such as Cardiff and Raglan castle, the local museum, a nice hudge garden I saw yesterday, and of course my WWOOF farm.
After these we headed back to have lunch and hang around for a few hours. I got to relax with some music and prepared for dinner. Which would be the national dish of Britain.
After watching my favorite show (which had its time changed recently to air just before dinner so nicely,) we found a restaurant about 15 minutes away and walked out to find that it was full. (A large international rugby match happened today and since Wales won.. most places were full in celebration.) The similar resturant down the street was also full... so we went back to the first, got some take away and headed home to watch Life of Brian while eating the national dish... Tikka Masala. ^_^
Tikka Masala is an Indian type of dish invented in the UK much like Nacho's and Fortune Cookies were invented in the US. Its very mild and semi sweet for a curry and is usually served with lamb or chicken as its meat.
I again fell asleep while watching a movie and managed to spend some time this morning catching up.
Have a wonderful day everybody!
Your name is Toby! Mar. 9
Sorry for the delays, I normally write these blog posts at the end of the day.. and the last 2 days I have fallen asleep while my laptop was playing a movie. ^_^;;
So on this day, it was wet again, but not raining, there was no sunshine due to the gray clouds covering the sky... and it was still a magnificent day.
I was finishing my lumberjack and grass moving work, and I also got to plant more seeds and seedlings for future growth. During my chopping work I discovered two things. The first was that in the grove that is perfect for resting, there is a large tree with a curved root base that is perfect of laying onto. Its a shame I finished my work there as I can no longer find an excuse to rest there as easily. The other thing was I noticed in a second grove, a series of tombstones. All from 1902-1903 and apparently were the buried remains of pets. Vincinet, Fiddler, (I forgot the 3rd one) and Janet the rat. My hosts said that these were most likely the remains of pets who belonged to a woman who owned the house at around the 1900s.
More importantly today there was a visiting grandson of my hosts. A lovely cherubim boy of 2 or so years that is named Toby.
My hosts love having him around and have done so well enough to speak his language. "Nana book!" "All gone." and other such lovely words like "Brr, up!" (I want up to see the birds.)
After I finished working I cleaned up and packed to return to Goggled's house, leaving half my things behind to dry after being washed and then I helped prepare another very English dinner.
"Toad in the Hole," kale leaves, mashed potatoes, roasted squash, and for dessert there was rhubarb cobbler with ice cream. It was today I discovered how delicious rhubarb is, and how much it is like strawberry in taste.
I was also introduced to the parents of Toby/Daughter of the Willots. Jenny and Andy are a nice couple and very busy. I was lucky enough to get a ride to Goggled's house from them while we talked about Venus and Jupiter being visible...ish in the English night sky.
Once at Gog's I also got to meet Nineleave's another friend of his from further north in the UK who came by to visit and stay over for a day or two. He has quickly proven himself to being attached to his smartphone. Literally. He keeps a battery device in his coat pocket for lighting flashlights or charging his smartphone on the go. (Thus it has a cord which goes into his coat, making him appaear phisically attached to his phone.)
We sat down for tea, chatted for a while and watched 'Felidae' while I fell asleep in this process.
So on this day, it was wet again, but not raining, there was no sunshine due to the gray clouds covering the sky... and it was still a magnificent day.
I was finishing my lumberjack and grass moving work, and I also got to plant more seeds and seedlings for future growth. During my chopping work I discovered two things. The first was that in the grove that is perfect for resting, there is a large tree with a curved root base that is perfect of laying onto. Its a shame I finished my work there as I can no longer find an excuse to rest there as easily. The other thing was I noticed in a second grove, a series of tombstones. All from 1902-1903 and apparently were the buried remains of pets. Vincinet, Fiddler, (I forgot the 3rd one) and Janet the rat. My hosts said that these were most likely the remains of pets who belonged to a woman who owned the house at around the 1900s.
More importantly today there was a visiting grandson of my hosts. A lovely cherubim boy of 2 or so years that is named Toby.
My hosts love having him around and have done so well enough to speak his language. "Nana book!" "All gone." and other such lovely words like "Brr, up!" (I want up to see the birds.)
After I finished working I cleaned up and packed to return to Goggled's house, leaving half my things behind to dry after being washed and then I helped prepare another very English dinner.
"Toad in the Hole," kale leaves, mashed potatoes, roasted squash, and for dessert there was rhubarb cobbler with ice cream. It was today I discovered how delicious rhubarb is, and how much it is like strawberry in taste.
I was also introduced to the parents of Toby/Daughter of the Willots. Jenny and Andy are a nice couple and very busy. I was lucky enough to get a ride to Goggled's house from them while we talked about Venus and Jupiter being visible...ish in the English night sky.
Once at Gog's I also got to meet Nineleave's another friend of his from further north in the UK who came by to visit and stay over for a day or two. He has quickly proven himself to being attached to his smartphone. Literally. He keeps a battery device in his coat pocket for lighting flashlights or charging his smartphone on the go. (Thus it has a cord which goes into his coat, making him appaear phisically attached to his phone.)
We sat down for tea, chatted for a while and watched 'Felidae' while I fell asleep in this process.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Im a lumberjack and its OK! Mar.7/8
So to recap yesterday (despite not making a post I should have still written down some fresh thoughts.)
I did very little of intrest. >> Really. XD Just the same stuff so at best I could give you a recap of my day. The most interesting things were me gaining some understanding by a few hours of working with rose vines and brambles.
Today on the other hand I did all sorts of only minorly intresting things. I got to start planting some seeds which I have been dying to learn more about the various methods and practices this farm uses for that.
I also was assigned to cut down some very thing almost bush like trees. The reason being that they grow back very vine like and flexible and make a great decoration.. and because they haven't been cut in 2 years they are now too thick to use for anything other than wood.
I am quite enjoying this work, I was given the blessing of a friendly robin during this... repeatedly singing to me as I cut down some of the thin trees. I mean it too, it would often face me directly and sing every 20 minutes or so.
After work I immediately got started on cooking dinner, it was just me and Quinton today so I volunteered to give me some practice with their augur stove. Dinner was a tomato and egg casserole like dish, cubed potatoes, and chocolate mousse with blood oranges (or to my embarrassment a grapefruit I mistook for an orange... >> it was small and the other oranges were big for oranges in my defense. XD).
I spent most of the time this evening after dinner talking with Quinton about his WWOOFing experience and his thoughts on various farming methods. I also got a peek at his life in France. All fairly interesting tho I am not 100% sure I can agree with some of his ideas regarding what constitutes a right work ethic. But again he feels that what he does is perfect for him, I may or may not see that way soon enough. ^_^
In other tangents, the weather is getting warmer, I spent half of today during the noonish hours without an external jacket on so I was is my mostly normal wear. ^_^ In a few weeks it might be warm enough to justify that for longer periods.
I have some pictures on my computer just need to get them uploaded and such then I can get them here. I promise to get to that this weekend.
Anyways im off to sleep... so tired right now.
Time to Om Namah Shivaya myself to sleep.
I did very little of intrest. >> Really. XD Just the same stuff so at best I could give you a recap of my day. The most interesting things were me gaining some understanding by a few hours of working with rose vines and brambles.
Today on the other hand I did all sorts of only minorly intresting things. I got to start planting some seeds which I have been dying to learn more about the various methods and practices this farm uses for that.
I also was assigned to cut down some very thing almost bush like trees. The reason being that they grow back very vine like and flexible and make a great decoration.. and because they haven't been cut in 2 years they are now too thick to use for anything other than wood.
I am quite enjoying this work, I was given the blessing of a friendly robin during this... repeatedly singing to me as I cut down some of the thin trees. I mean it too, it would often face me directly and sing every 20 minutes or so.
After work I immediately got started on cooking dinner, it was just me and Quinton today so I volunteered to give me some practice with their augur stove. Dinner was a tomato and egg casserole like dish, cubed potatoes, and chocolate mousse with blood oranges (or to my embarrassment a grapefruit I mistook for an orange... >> it was small and the other oranges were big for oranges in my defense. XD).
I spent most of the time this evening after dinner talking with Quinton about his WWOOFing experience and his thoughts on various farming methods. I also got a peek at his life in France. All fairly interesting tho I am not 100% sure I can agree with some of his ideas regarding what constitutes a right work ethic. But again he feels that what he does is perfect for him, I may or may not see that way soon enough. ^_^
In other tangents, the weather is getting warmer, I spent half of today during the noonish hours without an external jacket on so I was is my mostly normal wear. ^_^ In a few weeks it might be warm enough to justify that for longer periods.
I have some pictures on my computer just need to get them uploaded and such then I can get them here. I promise to get to that this weekend.
Anyways im off to sleep... so tired right now.
Time to Om Namah Shivaya myself to sleep.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Opps and Ahs Mar.6
I awoke in a lovely warmth (electric blankets are amazing... >> I need to not use this too much or else I will get used to it.. then again in a month when I wont have it I wont really need it so much... XD) and in this warmth I managed to pull myself into going to start work a good 2 hours early with Quinton who also started early (7 AM), this worked fairly well until I had a talk with my hosts and realized that they would prefer I started at 9 so that I would finish closer to when they do.
Apparently they wake up around 9 and start working shortly after, and then around noon or so they start to work on the bigger projects when its warm enough to do these. And if I start at 7 I am done around then and less willing to help as I am exhausted after the 5 hours of labor. (There was none today but soon we are to remove the branches from an oak tree as a group and I will be needed.) Quinton loves doing the work so while he starts early he also ends late (he works at least 8 hours a day.)
This is a mistake I do not plan to make again, as I felt horrible being the only one not working come 2 PM.
Excluding this mistake I did get another garden bed done and I have started to deweed the cage garden, which has not been used in 3 years so it has much to be done in terms of removing the weeds. I got about 1/10th of it cleaned after 2 hours.
Lunch and breakfast were the usual toasts and cold cuts. I did avoid the marmalade this time as I learned I am not fond of the bitterness of marmalade. XD
I tried a new variety of cheese yet again today but cannot remember its name for the life of me.
In more interesting news I got pictures taken of various parts of the house and will work on uploading them tomorrow where I may also get some pictures of the outside area. It was getting dark come the time I wanted to take pictures so I didn't get many outside.
After some supper of mushrooms, leek casserole, bacon and eggs I joined in the choir Mrs. Willot hosts and we sang such classics as "Hallelujah" from Shrek, a special version of "Swing Low Sweet Chariot," and some French song that is lovely but I cannot remember its name (despite singing it half an hour ago.)
It was great fun and we had a full 4 person choir with me joining in on the bass lines. I think there is an event at the end of the month I may get to sing in before I leave, but I need to double check that to be sure.
I may start combining posts on working days as there is little going on, as there is less to write about. So if there is no post tomorrow I will join it together with Thursdays post. ^_^
Until then have a wonderful day all and feel free to comment or email on any suggestions or some such that you want to say.
Apparently they wake up around 9 and start working shortly after, and then around noon or so they start to work on the bigger projects when its warm enough to do these. And if I start at 7 I am done around then and less willing to help as I am exhausted after the 5 hours of labor. (There was none today but soon we are to remove the branches from an oak tree as a group and I will be needed.) Quinton loves doing the work so while he starts early he also ends late (he works at least 8 hours a day.)
This is a mistake I do not plan to make again, as I felt horrible being the only one not working come 2 PM.
Excluding this mistake I did get another garden bed done and I have started to deweed the cage garden, which has not been used in 3 years so it has much to be done in terms of removing the weeds. I got about 1/10th of it cleaned after 2 hours.
Lunch and breakfast were the usual toasts and cold cuts. I did avoid the marmalade this time as I learned I am not fond of the bitterness of marmalade. XD
I tried a new variety of cheese yet again today but cannot remember its name for the life of me.
In more interesting news I got pictures taken of various parts of the house and will work on uploading them tomorrow where I may also get some pictures of the outside area. It was getting dark come the time I wanted to take pictures so I didn't get many outside.
After some supper of mushrooms, leek casserole, bacon and eggs I joined in the choir Mrs. Willot hosts and we sang such classics as "Hallelujah" from Shrek, a special version of "Swing Low Sweet Chariot," and some French song that is lovely but I cannot remember its name (despite singing it half an hour ago.)
It was great fun and we had a full 4 person choir with me joining in on the bass lines. I think there is an event at the end of the month I may get to sing in before I leave, but I need to double check that to be sure.
I may start combining posts on working days as there is little going on, as there is less to write about. So if there is no post tomorrow I will join it together with Thursdays post. ^_^
Until then have a wonderful day all and feel free to comment or email on any suggestions or some such that you want to say.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Learning to work Mar.5
I woke up pleasantly cold, my fault for not wearing my sweater to bed or not using any of the heating technology in my room (an electric blanket and a space heater.)
I will not be making this mistake again.
I changed into my work clothes and after waiting and searching for an hour and not finding Quinton (who said he planned to start work early.) I went inside and read the news for an hour, nothing special and a few minutes before 9 I met Mr. Willot and found out my WWOOF work for today. I was to work with Quinton to clear out a few of the garden beds inside the walled garden which needed to be planted immediately. (within a week) or else they would not be ready to grow in time for summer.
The work consisted of weeding, then mixing compost into the soil, then mulching the pathway to that bed and sometimes forking the soil of the bed. It took me 5 hours to do 2 of them. (I did get a coffee and a lunch break before I was done.) Quinton was showing his growing wit in English with a great joke today. As Mr. Willot tried to remove a fork (smaller version of a pitchfork) from the ground that was a bit too comfy and not wanting to leave its spot, I heard Quinton crack the joke "It seems we have found ze legendary Excalifork." I had a lovingly large grin after that for the rest of my day. ^_^
After this I learned how to operate yet another kind of shower (thankfully not one of the 300 year old objects in this house. XD)
I then decided to spend some time listening to a radio program and ended up taking a nap for an hour... it was after I woke up I found out that there was a comittee meeting that one of my hosts was president of...
So after we all sat down and introduced ourselves we had dinner, some soup with bread and again with the massive variety of wines and cheeses. (I skipped the wines of course but I enjoyed the Brie and the Camembert with lemon peel. )
I suppose while I did kid that I was going to posh it up whilst in the UK I get to do so anyways. There was much distinguished talk of WWOOFing and sheep upbringing and of course the exotic flavors of the wine and cheeses. Jokes were made in a lovely fashion and everybody smiled. It is yet another experience I will have enjoyed and remembered.
After this I decided to rest up for the night and sadly because the meeting is still ongoing for another hour or so I will not have gotten time to take pictures of the various parts of the house yet. I will try to get them done tomorrow so that everyone can see the cats and those awesome doors. ^_^
Until tomorrow then, also I appear to have developed some pain in my left arm due to muscle growth... I will need to stretch and most certainly cannot afford to let that freeze tonight, or I fear I may cause some actual damage to my body.
Well with complete disregard for that last paragraph, I hope everybody has a wonderful day!
I will not be making this mistake again.
I changed into my work clothes and after waiting and searching for an hour and not finding Quinton (who said he planned to start work early.) I went inside and read the news for an hour, nothing special and a few minutes before 9 I met Mr. Willot and found out my WWOOF work for today. I was to work with Quinton to clear out a few of the garden beds inside the walled garden which needed to be planted immediately. (within a week) or else they would not be ready to grow in time for summer.
The work consisted of weeding, then mixing compost into the soil, then mulching the pathway to that bed and sometimes forking the soil of the bed. It took me 5 hours to do 2 of them. (I did get a coffee and a lunch break before I was done.) Quinton was showing his growing wit in English with a great joke today. As Mr. Willot tried to remove a fork (smaller version of a pitchfork) from the ground that was a bit too comfy and not wanting to leave its spot, I heard Quinton crack the joke "It seems we have found ze legendary Excalifork." I had a lovingly large grin after that for the rest of my day. ^_^
After this I learned how to operate yet another kind of shower (thankfully not one of the 300 year old objects in this house. XD)
I then decided to spend some time listening to a radio program and ended up taking a nap for an hour... it was after I woke up I found out that there was a comittee meeting that one of my hosts was president of...
So after we all sat down and introduced ourselves we had dinner, some soup with bread and again with the massive variety of wines and cheeses. (I skipped the wines of course but I enjoyed the Brie and the Camembert with lemon peel. )
I suppose while I did kid that I was going to posh it up whilst in the UK I get to do so anyways. There was much distinguished talk of WWOOFing and sheep upbringing and of course the exotic flavors of the wine and cheeses. Jokes were made in a lovely fashion and everybody smiled. It is yet another experience I will have enjoyed and remembered.
After this I decided to rest up for the night and sadly because the meeting is still ongoing for another hour or so I will not have gotten time to take pictures of the various parts of the house yet. I will try to get them done tomorrow so that everyone can see the cats and those awesome doors. ^_^
Until tomorrow then, also I appear to have developed some pain in my left arm due to muscle growth... I will need to stretch and most certainly cannot afford to let that freeze tonight, or I fear I may cause some actual damage to my body.
Well with complete disregard for that last paragraph, I hope everybody has a wonderful day!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Hogwarts!(May has well have bloody been XD) Mar.4
I woke up warm and toasty for once. I finally got the pleasure of not wanting it to be warmer. The long johns may have helped my issue but I expect that what really helped was the couch which kept great thermal mass... as the minute I got out of my toasty microclimate... I was freezing cold... Damn you Wales... you drive me to seek warmth... XD
I did the routine morning preparations and packed everything down to 1 plastic bag which was gifts and a spare coat I found ineffective for its weight but possibly useful for my work environment where getting mud of my fleece sweater would be undesirable.
After a bit of waiting in some light drizzle my host arrived along with the other WWOOFer Quinton (Cont-toh is how it is pronounced I believe... I have been working on it all day and still cant get his name right.)
So the lovely Mr. Willot gave us a tour of the town including the bay and the Cardiff castle (all by car btw,) before we left to head out to his farm.
On arrival I was greeted by wind and mud. Not that I minded much, it was a short walk to the house... and OMG it has the large wooden doors that look and feel like I am in the shire hobbit holes... XD
It's a refurbished house dating back a few hundred years of which I was delightfully told of its history while enjoying the visual charms of hanging dryed herbs and beams holding up the ceiling. My WWOOFmate is also an interesting guy. Having just arrived in the UK from France a few days ago he speaks great English and has been WWOOFing for a year or so and it was delightful to talk with him and learn a few tips and advice for equipment and general expectations.
I will be visiting the local goodwill equivilent soon for a better pair of shoes and pants... my pair of puritans and my lovely legendary gold khakis are a bit weak and fragile compared to a pair of jeans and wellies for the mud. (Which were both supplied to me by great kindness of my fellow and my hosts respectively.)
After this I got to meet Mrs. Willot and she was also a delight to talk to as we had a cold lunch of meat, cheese and bread. I got to try ham from the next farm over and 4 different kinds of cheeses.. all of which were delicious with some hearty bread. ^_^;
After this we went to the small local garden to fetch some sprouts and leeks for tonight's dinner. I got to see the lovely walled off garden where we fetched these from. I learned a bit about the tasks ahead (clearing a few of the plots for fresh planting mostly.)
My hosts went off to church and I got acquainted with the house and Quinton in this time. I learned where the light switches are.. which doors make the most awesome creaking noise... >> I'm not kidding these doors are just so much fun for me. ^_^ I also got a bit of reading and writing this blog in.
Then we got to the dinner.. and man was I spoiled by dinner... I was still halfway full from lunch a few hours ago and not more than 2 hours ago we pulled the leeks and sprouts from the garden...
Mushroom Pheasent Cassarole (the Phesant was shot yesterday I am told,) roasted squash from the fall harvest, plus the sprouts and leeks from today.. it was amazing... I ate something I pulled from the ground 2 hours ago... >> really... That is ****ing awesome... I lack a better vocabulary to describe how awesome it all tasted.
After dinner we talked for another hour or so mostly about politics in our respective countries and varying philosophies on how it all could be improved and I was then given a tour of the house at some point in the evening.
I saw the conservatory, the library... this house actually has a library with 8+ bookshelves filled with detective novels... great scootaloo of the nords... XD then there is another floor filled with other fiction and a wall of non-fiction... ^_^
There was also a music room with some pianos and great acoustics in it. God I need to get a picture of the kitchen for you guys... Ill be doing it soon I promise.
They also have 3 cats which are all lovely things to be around and willow reminds me of china in many ways.. may she rest in peace and I do miss her... and cyber too...
In less depressing topics a lot of this house is refurbished but some of its parts (namely paneling) dates back to the 1600s and up. A lot of it used to be a church so there are panelings and the side rail on the second floor has a hole for the placing of the crucifix. Its amazing to see all this.. there is floor tiling stones from the 1800s and a stained glass window too. I'm so glad I bought a camera. ^_^
Well that is enough of the gift of gab for tonight I need to head to sleep to wake up in the morning. So have a wonderful evening all and I will keep you updated on the situation as it develops.
I did the routine morning preparations and packed everything down to 1 plastic bag which was gifts and a spare coat I found ineffective for its weight but possibly useful for my work environment where getting mud of my fleece sweater would be undesirable.
After a bit of waiting in some light drizzle my host arrived along with the other WWOOFer Quinton (Cont-toh is how it is pronounced I believe... I have been working on it all day and still cant get his name right.)
So the lovely Mr. Willot gave us a tour of the town including the bay and the Cardiff castle (all by car btw,) before we left to head out to his farm.
On arrival I was greeted by wind and mud. Not that I minded much, it was a short walk to the house... and OMG it has the large wooden doors that look and feel like I am in the shire hobbit holes... XD
It's a refurbished house dating back a few hundred years of which I was delightfully told of its history while enjoying the visual charms of hanging dryed herbs and beams holding up the ceiling. My WWOOFmate is also an interesting guy. Having just arrived in the UK from France a few days ago he speaks great English and has been WWOOFing for a year or so and it was delightful to talk with him and learn a few tips and advice for equipment and general expectations.
I will be visiting the local goodwill equivilent soon for a better pair of shoes and pants... my pair of puritans and my lovely legendary gold khakis are a bit weak and fragile compared to a pair of jeans and wellies for the mud. (Which were both supplied to me by great kindness of my fellow and my hosts respectively.)
After this I got to meet Mrs. Willot and she was also a delight to talk to as we had a cold lunch of meat, cheese and bread. I got to try ham from the next farm over and 4 different kinds of cheeses.. all of which were delicious with some hearty bread. ^_^;
After this we went to the small local garden to fetch some sprouts and leeks for tonight's dinner. I got to see the lovely walled off garden where we fetched these from. I learned a bit about the tasks ahead (clearing a few of the plots for fresh planting mostly.)
My hosts went off to church and I got acquainted with the house and Quinton in this time. I learned where the light switches are.. which doors make the most awesome creaking noise... >> I'm not kidding these doors are just so much fun for me. ^_^ I also got a bit of reading and writing this blog in.
Then we got to the dinner.. and man was I spoiled by dinner... I was still halfway full from lunch a few hours ago and not more than 2 hours ago we pulled the leeks and sprouts from the garden...
Mushroom Pheasent Cassarole (the Phesant was shot yesterday I am told,) roasted squash from the fall harvest, plus the sprouts and leeks from today.. it was amazing... I ate something I pulled from the ground 2 hours ago... >> really... That is ****ing awesome... I lack a better vocabulary to describe how awesome it all tasted.
After dinner we talked for another hour or so mostly about politics in our respective countries and varying philosophies on how it all could be improved and I was then given a tour of the house at some point in the evening.
I saw the conservatory, the library... this house actually has a library with 8+ bookshelves filled with detective novels... great scootaloo of the nords... XD then there is another floor filled with other fiction and a wall of non-fiction... ^_^
There was also a music room with some pianos and great acoustics in it. God I need to get a picture of the kitchen for you guys... Ill be doing it soon I promise.
They also have 3 cats which are all lovely things to be around and willow reminds me of china in many ways.. may she rest in peace and I do miss her... and cyber too...
In less depressing topics a lot of this house is refurbished but some of its parts (namely paneling) dates back to the 1600s and up. A lot of it used to be a church so there are panelings and the side rail on the second floor has a hole for the placing of the crucifix. Its amazing to see all this.. there is floor tiling stones from the 1800s and a stained glass window too. I'm so glad I bought a camera. ^_^
Well that is enough of the gift of gab for tonight I need to head to sleep to wake up in the morning. So have a wonderful evening all and I will keep you updated on the situation as it develops.
That spot of unluck Mar.3
I woke up yet again frozen in my legs, I fixed this with a warm shower and some morning tea. I used the leftover blueberry sauce on toast for a delicious start...
However I realized shortly after I started eating that the power had gone out mid toast making. >> I did not notice until the "must have running water" flatmate got annoyed that the water had stopped running. (Their shower is electricity powered for flow as well as heat.)
With the power out we checked the area to confirm it wasn't us, then proceeded to play a few games of MtG with somewhat predictable reasults for those who have played with me.
Norin the Wary seemed unfairly strong and Sivitri Scarzam was unfairly weak.
He played aggro R/G werewolves. (He was a wolf furry afterall... >> also he bites... he bit Dan on the arm to prove that he does bite.)
I played music on the zune until he was sick of ponies and then we listened to some house from his Ipod and after a few hours we decided to go shopping to get me the long johns I needed to buy and a Camera. I also got a pair of goretex waterproofed shoes. All of these were on great deals of course.
Topping the experience off we got some famous brand of diabeetus inducing cupcake in a chocolate peanut butter variety. We split it in half after we got home.
It was about 5 PM and the power was still not on. I had a cold lunch and we were setting up plans to go visit Sirus again and back in his fellowship... and power sockets when Kai returned home and pointed out to us that there was a circuit breaker switch outside of the circuit box that had not been flipped back and that both of us missed when we checked the fuse box hours ago.
After the egg on my face was wiped off with my new long johns I spent some time with the two of them talking about various things I fail to remember and watching he who bites play some Skyrim.
Tired of waking up frozen I decided to move from the futon to the green leather couch... why did I not think of this earlier? Really? This was the biggest thing I could have done days ago to fix the whole issue.
Sorry for the list like nature of the past few days I will try to keep up with these on a more daily basis to help keep the fresh experiences alive and translate better into the figuratively written documents.
One more page and I am caught up.. now to recap my stay at the most unbelievable house I have ever had the pleasure of staying at.
However I realized shortly after I started eating that the power had gone out mid toast making. >> I did not notice until the "must have running water" flatmate got annoyed that the water had stopped running. (Their shower is electricity powered for flow as well as heat.)
With the power out we checked the area to confirm it wasn't us, then proceeded to play a few games of MtG with somewhat predictable reasults for those who have played with me.
Norin the Wary seemed unfairly strong and Sivitri Scarzam was unfairly weak.
He played aggro R/G werewolves. (He was a wolf furry afterall... >> also he bites... he bit Dan on the arm to prove that he does bite.)
I played music on the zune until he was sick of ponies and then we listened to some house from his Ipod and after a few hours we decided to go shopping to get me the long johns I needed to buy and a Camera. I also got a pair of goretex waterproofed shoes. All of these were on great deals of course.
Topping the experience off we got some famous brand of diabeetus inducing cupcake in a chocolate peanut butter variety. We split it in half after we got home.
It was about 5 PM and the power was still not on. I had a cold lunch and we were setting up plans to go visit Sirus again and back in his fellowship... and power sockets when Kai returned home and pointed out to us that there was a circuit breaker switch outside of the circuit box that had not been flipped back and that both of us missed when we checked the fuse box hours ago.
After the egg on my face was wiped off with my new long johns I spent some time with the two of them talking about various things I fail to remember and watching he who bites play some Skyrim.
Tired of waking up frozen I decided to move from the futon to the green leather couch... why did I not think of this earlier? Really? This was the biggest thing I could have done days ago to fix the whole issue.
Sorry for the list like nature of the past few days I will try to keep up with these on a more daily basis to help keep the fresh experiences alive and translate better into the figuratively written documents.
One more page and I am caught up.. now to recap my stay at the most unbelievable house I have ever had the pleasure of staying at.
Shopping! Mar.2
So the next morning I woke up a frozen Mike-cicle. Barely able to move and with a bit of pain in my knees and elbows from the cold. I was sleeping in a futon in the living room and I would later find out that this was the second coldest room in the house. (The first being the kitchen.)
After forcing myself in the shower and burning my hands and feet off with water I felt a bit better and greeted everyone else waking up and taking their showers. The nicest of which wore a bathrobe and the crudest wore only a towel and grunted "Guy (his name) need... running... water..."
After an hour or so of having morning tea and breakfast. (Nutella and toast.) And saying hello to a few of you on yahoo we decided I needed to go do some shopping to obtain my winter clothing.
On the way to the central square I had to stop by an ATM to get money for the day, and it was at this point I had to introduce my friend and his flatmates that were with us that day to the great traveler's custom of shoving money into your underpants. (For once it was not because I was Jewish. =p) The reasoning for this was that I had to place the money into my moneybelt (a thin nylon or silk zip bag tied around the waist and worn underneath the pants as a hard to reach area for pickpockets and very hard to misplace item as it is easily worn when sleeping.)
Once we arrived in the shopping parts of town I was introduced to the Arcades of Cardiff. Rather than being a gaming arcade these were streets with roofs over them and basically an outdoor hallway of stores.
I found a Millets clothing store going out of business and obtained a great deal on a fleece sweater in navy. I believe I look ridiculous in it but I was assured more than once by the people I was shopping with that this was not the case.
I also bought some toiletries from the local chemists store. (Pharmacies that produce chemical cleaning agents and various plastic items that usually include most hygenics. There are not many all around stores like how this function is in every grocery in the states. The groceries there sold food.)
After a few more shopping expeditions that have sadly passed out of my memory we went to a local pub called "The Prince of Wales." I did the customary tourist thing and ordered the fish and chips with mashed peas and scraps. =p In other interesting things the pub used to be a Victorian theater so it still has all its stage and furnishings as a great gimmick and view.
Needless to say the food was delicious, and it was at this point that I found out that ketchup in the UK actually has sugar in it. Not corn syrup but actual sugar. Just a small point of delight there.
We headed home shortly afterwards and I spent most of the time after that talking with them about music theory or somesuch while also trying to adjust my packing method to include my summer coat, fleece sweater, and its previous occupants.
I still need to weigh my full backpack so I can plan to work out cuts.
After this Daniel gave me lessons on sound crafting and antique game systems (of which we played Dr. Mario on an old Amiga game system.)
I forgot my dinner that evening and it was also fairly late when I realized I forgot to by long underwear and while my torso may be comfy my legs were sure to freeze yet again.
This is of course exactly what happened.
Onto the next day.
P.S. I now remembered that I was driven out to Tesco's (the equlivent to Wal-Mart in the UK) and picked up some ingredients to cook my own dinner. Cod Loin with blueberry sauce with rice and veggies. It was also while waiting for the rice to cook that I got to play a rousing game of **** you with the flatmates as Daniel had already left the house by then to visit family. (It was lighthearted and no one was actually yelled at. )
After forcing myself in the shower and burning my hands and feet off with water I felt a bit better and greeted everyone else waking up and taking their showers. The nicest of which wore a bathrobe and the crudest wore only a towel and grunted "Guy (his name) need... running... water..."
After an hour or so of having morning tea and breakfast. (Nutella and toast.) And saying hello to a few of you on yahoo we decided I needed to go do some shopping to obtain my winter clothing.
On the way to the central square I had to stop by an ATM to get money for the day, and it was at this point I had to introduce my friend and his flatmates that were with us that day to the great traveler's custom of shoving money into your underpants. (For once it was not because I was Jewish. =p) The reasoning for this was that I had to place the money into my moneybelt (a thin nylon or silk zip bag tied around the waist and worn underneath the pants as a hard to reach area for pickpockets and very hard to misplace item as it is easily worn when sleeping.)
Once we arrived in the shopping parts of town I was introduced to the Arcades of Cardiff. Rather than being a gaming arcade these were streets with roofs over them and basically an outdoor hallway of stores.
I found a Millets clothing store going out of business and obtained a great deal on a fleece sweater in navy. I believe I look ridiculous in it but I was assured more than once by the people I was shopping with that this was not the case.
I also bought some toiletries from the local chemists store. (Pharmacies that produce chemical cleaning agents and various plastic items that usually include most hygenics. There are not many all around stores like how this function is in every grocery in the states. The groceries there sold food.)
After a few more shopping expeditions that have sadly passed out of my memory we went to a local pub called "The Prince of Wales." I did the customary tourist thing and ordered the fish and chips with mashed peas and scraps. =p In other interesting things the pub used to be a Victorian theater so it still has all its stage and furnishings as a great gimmick and view.
Needless to say the food was delicious, and it was at this point that I found out that ketchup in the UK actually has sugar in it. Not corn syrup but actual sugar. Just a small point of delight there.
We headed home shortly afterwards and I spent most of the time after that talking with them about music theory or somesuch while also trying to adjust my packing method to include my summer coat, fleece sweater, and its previous occupants.
I still need to weigh my full backpack so I can plan to work out cuts.
After this Daniel gave me lessons on sound crafting and antique game systems (of which we played Dr. Mario on an old Amiga game system.)
I forgot my dinner that evening and it was also fairly late when I realized I forgot to by long underwear and while my torso may be comfy my legs were sure to freeze yet again.
This is of course exactly what happened.
Onto the next day.
P.S. I now remembered that I was driven out to Tesco's (the equlivent to Wal-Mart in the UK) and picked up some ingredients to cook my own dinner. Cod Loin with blueberry sauce with rice and veggies. It was also while waiting for the rice to cook that I got to play a rousing game of **** you with the flatmates as Daniel had already left the house by then to visit family. (It was lighthearted and no one was actually yelled at. )
Getting to sleep, Mar. 1
3/1
So continuing where I left off last time,
It was morning of the next day and I opened the airplane window to see clouds and ocean. (Or glimpses that looked like ocean rather.) After a few hours of chatting we got to London ahead of schedule... which meant we had to fly in circles for 30 minutes waiting for our schedule to catch up with us. =p The benefits of being tied to organization I suppose.
So after this we touched down, filed out and slowly got ready for the day ahead. Customs gave me a small hassle but nothing too unexpected. I made it out of the airport in one peace after paying 20 dollars for a 15 minute train ride to the central station (Paddington Square.) Then I only had to wait 45 minutes after I learned how to read the train board. (mostly pigeon watching and being surprised by there were MPs carrying assault rifles in broad daylight. @_@ Psyop maybe?)
The weather in the daytime was fairly moderate. I was comfy in my usual shirt and pants and ended up lugging a jacket around the whole time for no reason. I boarded the train to Cardiff and knew in 2 1/2 hours I would be able to relax and meet my first international friend.
I spent the first hour trying to take a nap to make up for my rediculous lack of sleep, and after that failed I spent it watching the passing terrain. Mostly ivy or graffitti covered brick walls or areas of farmland growing... grass? I would find out later that the habit of growing grass was for grazing. >> I should have known that already.
I spent the second half making friends with a lovely elderly woman who had just sat down. We introduced ourselves and she asked a few questions about my region of the States, and then she explained a good bit about the local area's and sights of Cardiff. Namely how the train goes through a castle and if it wasn't so foggy at 2 PM I would be able to see the coasts.
Me and the lovely lady, got off at the Cardiff central and she was kind enough to help me find the appropriate train to finish connecting to Cathays. And of course she helped me find it, not once but twice. (I was in Wales now and despite the fact that most people do not speak the language of Welsh, most signs are in English and Welsh or happen to have an English verson and somewhere nearby a Welsh version... of which I misread and thought this was my wrong train. >> I still don't understand how I managed this feat or pure airheaded mindlessness. XD)
I finally got off my final train of the day, exhausted and at 3 PM, I found the house of Daniel was greeted by the cheery blonde otter himself. After a few minutes being shown the house I finally got to sit down and we planned about to meet the puppy sirus. (Most of the people in this house and his friends were furries so this is why I address them by their furry name or fursona on occasion.) The point of going to meet sirus was in part so I would have someone to go pester when Dainel/Goggled went to go visit his grandmother this weekend, and so we could all visit a small grocery to buy supplies for pancakes.
Its 8 PM and we were making pancakes... because one week ago it was national pancake day and apparently they missed celebrating it. I got to try the local recipe and found it delightful. I highly reccomend a bit of lemon juice and sugar on your next pancake. This was a first for me but I am sure someone reading this has had lemon juice on their pancakes before.
Clarification: Pancakes in the UK are not the Flapjacks of America, the large puffy pancakes. Think of these more like crepes as there is no baking powder/soda involved in this recipe.
Around midnight we finished talking and I was introduced to my bed. I got to loving it fairly quick and fell asleep faster than I could keep track of.
=p I need to finish packing for visiting my WWOOF house in a bit. Ill catch up on the next day tomorrow. Only 2 more days till I'm caught up.
Also for the people reading this, would you prefer more or less detail? I only keep up with interesting things so in the chances I start doing more routine things as my stay in the UK deepens I may have a lot less to write per day anyways and will likely consolidate days.
Anyways I will write again later, and if you do not see me on yahoo/any posts on here for a week it means that my WWOOF home does not have internet available and I will likely pre-write them on MS word and just post all the updates when I come back to Dan's place on the weekend.
So continuing where I left off last time,
It was morning of the next day and I opened the airplane window to see clouds and ocean. (Or glimpses that looked like ocean rather.) After a few hours of chatting we got to London ahead of schedule... which meant we had to fly in circles for 30 minutes waiting for our schedule to catch up with us. =p The benefits of being tied to organization I suppose.
So after this we touched down, filed out and slowly got ready for the day ahead. Customs gave me a small hassle but nothing too unexpected. I made it out of the airport in one peace after paying 20 dollars for a 15 minute train ride to the central station (Paddington Square.) Then I only had to wait 45 minutes after I learned how to read the train board. (mostly pigeon watching and being surprised by there were MPs carrying assault rifles in broad daylight. @_@ Psyop maybe?)
The weather in the daytime was fairly moderate. I was comfy in my usual shirt and pants and ended up lugging a jacket around the whole time for no reason. I boarded the train to Cardiff and knew in 2 1/2 hours I would be able to relax and meet my first international friend.
I spent the first hour trying to take a nap to make up for my rediculous lack of sleep, and after that failed I spent it watching the passing terrain. Mostly ivy or graffitti covered brick walls or areas of farmland growing... grass? I would find out later that the habit of growing grass was for grazing. >> I should have known that already.
I spent the second half making friends with a lovely elderly woman who had just sat down. We introduced ourselves and she asked a few questions about my region of the States, and then she explained a good bit about the local area's and sights of Cardiff. Namely how the train goes through a castle and if it wasn't so foggy at 2 PM I would be able to see the coasts.
Me and the lovely lady, got off at the Cardiff central and she was kind enough to help me find the appropriate train to finish connecting to Cathays. And of course she helped me find it, not once but twice. (I was in Wales now and despite the fact that most people do not speak the language of Welsh, most signs are in English and Welsh or happen to have an English verson and somewhere nearby a Welsh version... of which I misread and thought this was my wrong train. >> I still don't understand how I managed this feat or pure airheaded mindlessness. XD)
I finally got off my final train of the day, exhausted and at 3 PM, I found the house of Daniel was greeted by the cheery blonde otter himself. After a few minutes being shown the house I finally got to sit down and we planned about to meet the puppy sirus. (Most of the people in this house and his friends were furries so this is why I address them by their furry name or fursona on occasion.) The point of going to meet sirus was in part so I would have someone to go pester when Dainel/Goggled went to go visit his grandmother this weekend, and so we could all visit a small grocery to buy supplies for pancakes.
Its 8 PM and we were making pancakes... because one week ago it was national pancake day and apparently they missed celebrating it. I got to try the local recipe and found it delightful. I highly reccomend a bit of lemon juice and sugar on your next pancake. This was a first for me but I am sure someone reading this has had lemon juice on their pancakes before.
Clarification: Pancakes in the UK are not the Flapjacks of America, the large puffy pancakes. Think of these more like crepes as there is no baking powder/soda involved in this recipe.
Around midnight we finished talking and I was introduced to my bed. I got to loving it fairly quick and fell asleep faster than I could keep track of.
=p I need to finish packing for visiting my WWOOF house in a bit. Ill catch up on the next day tomorrow. Only 2 more days till I'm caught up.
Also for the people reading this, would you prefer more or less detail? I only keep up with interesting things so in the chances I start doing more routine things as my stay in the UK deepens I may have a lot less to write per day anyways and will likely consolidate days.
Anyways I will write again later, and if you do not see me on yahoo/any posts on here for a week it means that my WWOOF home does not have internet available and I will likely pre-write them on MS word and just post all the updates when I come back to Dan's place on the weekend.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
The flight out, Feb. 29
Good afternoon all!
Sorry it has been so long without an update despite having so much to say.
2/29
There were a few delays on the ride to the airport, but on the unexpected side I got to enjoy a wonderful display of clouds. There had to be 3 completely different kinds and heights of clouds in the air on the ride over. A lower dark layer with holes in it allowed me to see the light of the setting sun play off the remaining two layers.
As I looked into them I saw an amazing trick of the eye... the paleness of the sky at the time mixed with the light on the clouds and seeing it cut off by the darker front layer gave me the vision of looking down instead of up. It was like looking down onto a series of islands, the wispy middle layer even passed between them to make it look like there was clouds to look down upon as well. Kept simply I wish I had a charged camera to snap a few pictures of the beautiful sight as we were heading out.
So as for the flight over, we had a storm going out but otherwise it went pretty well. I had no trouble navigating the airport (read: I did not get lost and I did not get irradiated or molested at the security checkpoint.)
I met some nice people while waiting for the plane to become available.
There was a defense contractor on his was to the middle east and a group of 20 students on their way to visit Paris.
I didn't realize it at first but I was seated next to their teachers the whole flight. (Noticing a SC county tee shirt seemed to jog the link in my head.) They were really nice and we talked for half the flight. I was tipped to order the scraps with my fish and chips, and I told them they could enrich their students cultural experience while waiting for the next flight with some Ian Bru.
For the rest of the flight, the food was ok, got to try UK flapjacks (basically oats, honey and rasins put into a small chewy square) and there was a nice bit. Of course I had some fanciful (and less so) descriptions of what I saw out the window through the flight... and I was mostly annoyed that my inner monologue was always in the voice of Morgan Freeman. >>
"As I looked downward, I saw the expansive web of the city through holes in the storm clouds. The cars I had once seen as the size of insects were now near invisible and why am I hearing this in Morgan Freemans voice?"
"It is still dark outside but I can see the clouds from above the first time, the sheets cover the now visible curvature of the Earth... and yet I still hear this in the voice of Morgan Freeman.. stop it already."
I only got a good 2-4 hours of sleep on the whole flight. I was in part too excited to actually fall asleep. Or maybe there were some other effects on the plane that were giving me issues and not letting me sleep?
And that is it for the post of today, Ill start writing down the next post after breakfast to continue catching up.
I wish everyone a wonderful day and feel free to talk back to me here or through email and the like. ^^
Sorry it has been so long without an update despite having so much to say.
2/29
There were a few delays on the ride to the airport, but on the unexpected side I got to enjoy a wonderful display of clouds. There had to be 3 completely different kinds and heights of clouds in the air on the ride over. A lower dark layer with holes in it allowed me to see the light of the setting sun play off the remaining two layers.
As I looked into them I saw an amazing trick of the eye... the paleness of the sky at the time mixed with the light on the clouds and seeing it cut off by the darker front layer gave me the vision of looking down instead of up. It was like looking down onto a series of islands, the wispy middle layer even passed between them to make it look like there was clouds to look down upon as well. Kept simply I wish I had a charged camera to snap a few pictures of the beautiful sight as we were heading out.
So as for the flight over, we had a storm going out but otherwise it went pretty well. I had no trouble navigating the airport (read: I did not get lost and I did not get irradiated or molested at the security checkpoint.)
I met some nice people while waiting for the plane to become available.
There was a defense contractor on his was to the middle east and a group of 20 students on their way to visit Paris.
I didn't realize it at first but I was seated next to their teachers the whole flight. (Noticing a SC county tee shirt seemed to jog the link in my head.) They were really nice and we talked for half the flight. I was tipped to order the scraps with my fish and chips, and I told them they could enrich their students cultural experience while waiting for the next flight with some Ian Bru.
For the rest of the flight, the food was ok, got to try UK flapjacks (basically oats, honey and rasins put into a small chewy square) and there was a nice bit. Of course I had some fanciful (and less so) descriptions of what I saw out the window through the flight... and I was mostly annoyed that my inner monologue was always in the voice of Morgan Freeman. >>
"As I looked downward, I saw the expansive web of the city through holes in the storm clouds. The cars I had once seen as the size of insects were now near invisible and why am I hearing this in Morgan Freemans voice?"
"It is still dark outside but I can see the clouds from above the first time, the sheets cover the now visible curvature of the Earth... and yet I still hear this in the voice of Morgan Freeman.. stop it already."
I only got a good 2-4 hours of sleep on the whole flight. I was in part too excited to actually fall asleep. Or maybe there were some other effects on the plane that were giving me issues and not letting me sleep?
And that is it for the post of today, Ill start writing down the next post after breakfast to continue catching up.
I wish everyone a wonderful day and feel free to talk back to me here or through email and the like. ^^
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