It's Bath Time!

With Meredith visiting, we took a weekend trip to Bath, about an hour car ride away.  The town was bustling with visitors, and for great reason.  It's adorable!

 

A visit to the Roman Baths

Great Britain's only natural hot springs

This 'Roman' agreed to make the kids finials for their roofs. 

Using crushed limestone as make-up powder

Visiting the Royal Crescent, Bath

Royal Crescent

Street performer kept us entertained

Connor forgot his hat, so Meredith loaned him her new one

Hope, shopping in the market in Bath

 

Appliances

Life is beginning to return to a new normal.  We're doing the 'normal' things now:  homework, school work, work-work, housework, cooking, cleaning, and drinking tea.  For now, it's less exploring and more time on everyday experiences.


You might enjoy a look at our appliances, which are a tad different that we are accustomed:

We chose not to have a TV, which is working quite well.  NetFlix does the job!

The dishwasher, for which we are very grateful, runs for over two hours. 

The washer takes between 2 1/2 hours and one hour per small load. 

The 'dryer' takes 12-48 hours. 

Allen's manual weed eater.  He did about .01% of the garden before he took a break/gave up.

Note that when using the hedge trimmer, one must be careful to avoid cutting the cord.  At least it's electric and works quite well...when the cord is intact!

On the positive side, the stove can bring a pot of water to boiling in just a few seconds and the oven works quite well. It's been quite an adventure and we are having fun learning how everything works.

Girl's pub hopping in Henley

 Welcome, Meredith!  We are so glad Aunt Meredith will be visiting for the next month. Girl's road trip to Henley!

Who knew dogs are allowed in pubs?  Eiffel loved it when the waiter invited her in (after she barked outside). Meredith loved her fish and chips and we are both huge fans of mulled wine. Yum!

First pub visit for Eiffel...and Meredith!

The Good Witch and the Garden Gnome

Trick-or-treating on Halloween!  Much tamer than what we've recently been accustomed, but still loads of fun!

Sword fight!

"Will it ever be time to go trick-or-treating?," they ask at 3pm.

Garden Gnome, are you real?

The Garden Gnome in his real English garden.

The Good Witch casting spells.

All smiles.

Christmas festivities...already?

So, here's what happens when there's no Thanksgiving to serve as the start of the Christmas season- it starts before Halloween!  Reading is already decorated and the temporary Christmas store is open.

We joined in the premature festivities today at Mapledurham House's Christmas Craft Fair.

We'll keep our decorations put away until after Thanksgiving- oh, wait- we don't have any.  We'll be making our own- Martha Stewart style.  Maybe an early start is ideal...

Here's a slideshow of this month's album:

Fill 'er up!

It may be hard to read, but I filled up today and the grand total was £70.07, which converts to $113.55.  Ouch...that's $7.91 per gallon- nearly eight dollars.

 Good thing those pretty little villages and rolling countryside landscapes are worth it.  Oh, and avoiding 4 buses (8 for me) each day to get to and from school.  That's definitely worth it!  

Chocolate Pumpkin Bread

With cooler, rainy weather, comfort foods with a fall flavor are the hit.  The gluten-free flours here are a bit different, so many of my recipes need major adapting.

OK, truth-be-told, my mother did most of our baking before the move, or I used a mix, neither of which are available here.  So, today I finally took a stab at my own version of baking.

The adding and mixing part was a bit dicey, calling on several versions of online recipes, major substitutions, an online temperature calculator, and spilled flour all over the freshly mopped floor.  Yes, I now mop, too.

Anyway, the end result is quite amazing (for my baking) so I feel compelled to share the recipe with you all.  OK, it's here so I won't loose it.  Either way, here it is!

Chocolate Pumpkin Bread- gluten free, dairy free, soy free

Chocolate Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

3 cups self-rising gluten-free flour mix (Dove's Farm)

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 granulated sugar

1 t. baking powder

1 1/4 t. xantham gum

1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1/4 t. ground nutmeg

1/2 c. olive oil

1 t. vanilla 

1 egg, beaten (or use egg replacer, if you can find it)

1. cup pureed pumpkin

1/3 c. unsweetened almond milk

3 squares dark baking chocolate, ground in food processor

Mix dry ingredients, then mix liquids separately.  Combine, then stir in chocolate.  Line small loaf pan with parchment paper and add mixture.  Top with a few sprinkles of raw oats, honey, cinnamon and sugar.  Bake at 350F or 175C for 60-75 minutes.  Enjoy!

Beautiful countryside

We've been here a month now and are settling in quite nicely.  The kids are doing well at school, the house is functional, our neighbors and new friends have welcomed us with open arms, the US government is open and Eiffel will join us in a few weeks.

So far, we have enjoyed three drives through the countryside.  It's beautiful, see?  You can visit October's album here and see all the pictures.  Here are some of our favorites:

Henley-Upon-Thames, 5 October

Thames River, Henley. 5 October

Bucklebury Farm Park, Bucklebury, Berkshire.  19 October

Patriotic boat awaits a cruise.  Henley-Upon-Thames, 5 October

Nearly every corner in Henley looks like this! 

Story picked up by News14

News14 picked our story about the government shutdown and Eiffel's delay.  Seems you have to subscribe to TWC to watch, so we haven't actually seen the video, but there is a written article as well.  Here it is.  Let me know if you know of a hack... or how to forge the USDA's signature on our form.  Following the rules isn't getting us (or Eiffel) anywhere these days!