More Progress....

The packers arrived bright and early this morning(830) and worked hard all day until 515pm. There was some concern that the 40 ft sea container would not make it up our lane on the truck Wednesday so they decided to load up the truck they brought today and bring the stuff to the sea container back at their depot. They took a total of 118 items/boxes with them!! There is still SO much more they need to pack and load up it is SAD. I am a bit concerned about our furniture as I don't think it was wrapped/packed as well as it could have been but I am not going to worry about it ~ there is insurance to cover those items if any are damaged.

It has begun.....

The first part of our packing has been completed. The movers were here to pack up the items that we are having sent ahead via an air shipment. The boxes are all packed inside of another box and are on their way to catch a flight in London! How exciting is that? The next phase begins on Monday when they start to pack up the entire house. I have spent today cleaning out the kitchen and moving things to the dining room. Since Tim will be staying here for a few more months he will need a working kitchen and we decided it would be easier to have the packers ignore the kitchen while they are here, hence the move of stuff from one room to another. The sad thing is I still have a lot to move out still.

This cute little boy (Nicholas, on the left) with the chubby cheeks is 15 today! Where has the time gone? Once upon a time these two boys excitedly thought about riding their bikes to school now they are looking forward to driving cars to school!! We hope Nicholas has a wonderful day and his gift will be flown in especially for him in 11....yes, 11 days!

WOW!!!

This Claude Monet painting owned by the estate of a family back home sold tonight at Christie's Auction house in London for £40,921,250 ($80,451,178) ~ yep 80 million dollars!!!

The painting "Le Bassin Aux Nympheas" was the second highest price EVER paid for a piece of art in Europe. I was following this auction as there were many pieces from this family. I am amazed at the price collectors are willing to pay for art.

Summer Solstice

Happy first day of Summer!! The weather here today was more like the first day of fall ~ I was wearing jeans and a turtleneck sweater! Yep, you read correctly jeans and a sweater on the summer's solstice. On the upside, only 15 more days until we are in actual summer weather. With our luck it will be unseasonable cool and rainy upon our return to the US.

The Police.....Concert!!

Last night we went to the Police concert and it was absolutely AMAZING!! We had the BEST seats and could see everything clearly on the stage. There was a huge screen up above and it was good but we didn't really need it....although it did come in handy for the video I took. The tickets said no cameras but as it turned out I could have brought mine and was SO mad I didn't. Photos and video on cell phones can only do so much ~ plus on the video my hand was covering the microphone so the sound quality is not the best.

Only 15 days until we see Elton John and those seats are even better!!

First Communion

Today was Maggie's First Communion. It was a wonderful day and we celebrated with friends and their family who were over from Ireland! Maggie had her closest friend and her parents attend church in the morning and then to the party that followed afterwards. Maggie wore her St. Margaret necklace that Nana sent for today and she proudly showed it to all who would look :-}

We did miss Tim today as he is in China on business but he did call to see that the day was a good one!

Kudos to Tony Stewart

A big KUDOS to Indiana native Tony Stewart who has announced that his earnings on this Sunday's race will go to the Red Cross to help in relief efforts for recent flooding. At this time every dollar counts...let's hope he WINS!!

The NEW Journey

I am sure those of you in the US will view this as OLD news but I have just seen this and was amazed at this guys voice. If I was not looking at him I would have thought it was Steve Perry singing. Who would have thought that that You Tube would have brought Journey their new lead singer??

Fun In The Sun

It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day here today. The sun was shining and the temperature was in the upper 70's....time to break out the slip 'n slide!!

We had a call today that there was terrible flooding back home and we hope that everyone stays safe. We have been in touch with people and they are having water issues {flooding in basements & need to boil water before consuming}, but otherwise are ok. Hopefully the worst is over.

Quick trip to London

I am back from the girls overnight trip to London and we had a great time! I can honestly say I LOVE London and would go over and over again. It is never the same twice and there is so much to see and do. I took this photo from the courtyard at the Houses of Parliament.

Friday we spent the day wondering around the city and seeing sights that we had not seen before and visit some we had! We were able to spend time at the House of Commons and saw the members of the government debating a proposed bill ~ very interesting. We had lunch at Harrod's ...yep very nice. What was really funny is that in the bakery section of the food halls there was a Krispy Kreme stand!! To say we were surprised is an understatement...NO we did not get any either.

The night was topped off with the Phantom of The Opera. Our seats were amazing and oh so close...it was a great show ~ the staging and costumes were spectacular.

Talent Winner...

The winner of Britains Got Talent was crowned over the weekend. While I think the winner was good..I think there were others in the final who were a bit better! With that said, this boy was a humble winner and I do believe this win will truly change his life for the better. He tried out for the competition last year and did not make it to the semi-finals even thought Simon thought he was good enough to go on.