Where we are now

Well, I can't even begin to start to explain where we are now. I have no idea how long it's been since I last wrote an entry (I know that it was sometime after sliced bread was invented). Anyway here is the long and short of it:

- We decided to move back to America from England
- We moved back to America from England
- We sought jobs in our respective fields
- We got jobs in our respective fields
- We moved into a house in a desired location
- We promised that we would not make any big decisions for a while and just try to live a calm and 'normal' life.

- Oh yeah...and we have decided to adopt a little girl from Ehtiopia


Ok, so maybe this seems a little out of the blue to some of you, but that's the truth--we have decided to adopt. So, here is the first entry of the next stage in our life. Once again we are going to document our trials, tribulations, ups and downs... or at least we will attempt to document this amazing experience. I imagine like last time will loose some steam on the blog entries every once in a while, but we will do our best to keep it going.

I am not sure how exactly we came to this decision, but I remember the day. I had taken Mia to Sunday school and noticed all the children running around. Normally this would not be encouraged... reverence for the holy and all. But this particular day was for children. I noticed that there were many children from Ethiopia... again something one might not see at many synagogues, but that is what makes our synagogue so special. And that was it. That was the moment. I thought why not. Really, I have always wanted more children. Mia wants a sister. And the one she says she has is in Africa. It seemed like a natural choice. I had not always supported adoption for many reasons, but I was a changed man. Don't' worry... I am still the stubborn, crotchety, cranky, but really good-looking youngish man that I have always been; however I had changed on the inside. Yes, I have more feeling and care then I used to.

I went home, told Andrea, and as things go in our life, that was all that was needed. We had already booked our tickets to Ethiopia and picked out a new bedroom set for yet unknown child.

Seriously though, Andrea, has always wanted to adopt. As most of you know, she is much nicer than me and had always felt that adoption was a wonderful thing. So, needless to say, she was more then happy, but cautious.

As the days passed, all two or three of them, we talked ad nauseam about my change of heart, our ability to actually do this, and the reality of what it meant for our family. To be serious for a moment, if you will allow me that, we have taken this very, very seriously and speak about this at length. I had never realized how many different opinions there can be on this subject. Adopting a child just has all these layers of issues and emotions. Everyday feels a bit like an emotional roller coaster as we realize all that this decision means for our life and the life of this unknown child.

Needless to say there are volumes of books written on the subject and I have started to buy them...all of them. This is always a sign. Whenever I want to do something, I buy a book. I figure if I own a book, then I am on my way.

So, here we are on Christmas Eve and we are starting our journey together. We will also keep everyone updated on our progress. We estimate that we will have adopted a child by the end of 2008.

Progress to date:
Attended information session
Started to fill out application which involves fingerprints, reference letters from our dearest and most wonderful friends (and we mean this with all our heart, in case they are reading this) and examination of just about every other part of our life.

In the meantime, here are some pictures of our life since we have been back.
The early days--life on the farm

"Doesn't everyone in America water in their Ruby Slippers?"


Mia's first baseball game--a new American pastime!

Halloween with some scary cousins

New neighbors and new traditions

The Thanksgiving Day play--a star is born!

Sushi and Surf Music on a Saturday afternoon

We had a slight reprieve from the endless rain on Saturday and decided to head down to The Lanes for some Brighton culture. Jeff somehow came up with the brilliant idea to go to Yo Sushi! for lunch, thinking that Mia might like it. I'm not sure how he came up with this idea, because if there is one food I would guess kids DON'T want to eat (especially my kid) it would be sushi. Well, I couldn't have been more wrong. Not only was this a hit with Mia, but every other kid in all of Brighton seemed to be there enjoying sushi as well! After suffering nearly 4 years of seeing Mia scrunch up her face and whine 'I don't like it!' to nearly everything we have offered her, watching Mia stuff her face with plate after plate of sushi really was one of the bigger jaw dropping moments of my life. Don't believe me? The pictures don't lie!



After our lovely lunch at the Sushi bar, we strolled through The Lanes looking to buy a present for Kayo's new baby in Japan. We stumbled upon this street band that was playing the most amazing surfing music. There was such a crowd of people around them that we couldn't see much. I fought my way to the front of the crowd to see what was going on only to discover that they were all completely decked out in full scuba gear. Somehow none of this was strange given that it is Brighton and strange is the norm here. These guys were jamming though!



Also, two weekends ago we celebrated Jeff's 39th birthday with our friends Scott and Cheryl and baby Caleb. They came down for lunch and I just know they enjoyed the dairy free, gluten free, wheat free lurch we served. I'm not sure if we have pictured the McFaddins on our blog before, but here they are for your viewing pleasure. They are our adopted 'family' here in England and are actually flying back with us to the States in July; although they will be continuing on from Minneapolis to the land of flying spiders and killer bees (that is Texas for the rest of you).


Well that is all there is to report for now folks. I will leave you with a few photos of Mia and Jeff lounging in front of the computer (no doubt zoning out to 'The Wiggles' or 'Postman Pat'). Mia and I have been a bit sick for the past week and have had more than our share of couch moments (notice Jeff seems to be enjoying it more than Mia). Hopefully we will all be better soon--we have a lot to do as it is now only 75 more days to squeeze our entire life into 6 suitcases.

Less then three months

I can't believe that we have less then three months left. It seems like just yesterday that we were planning on moving here permanently. Now here we are packing up all our stuff, yet once again, and moving back home. The upside of this move is that we have less stuff. We really are excited, but now we are packing everything into a much shorter time. Things like exploring London.

To this end, we decided that what we really like most about travel is the food. So we decided to make our way across London through food. We've seen enough of the historic places. Really, places like Big Ben or Westminster Abbey have been the same way for a thousand years. We've seen them now. My guess is that they will not change by the next time we see them. So we are seeking out food (and to anyone who knows me, this will not be a surprise). This picture is of Mia eating a real sausage (I hope you're proud of your little meat eater, Papa).




We did stop to take a picture of the Globe Theatre, where Shakespeare's plays were performed (although we happened upon this and really was just on the way to a different place to eat). It is a picture in front.


We did take a time-out at the Tate, a modern art gallery. The building looks like an old, converted industrial building, witha big smoke-stack on the top. Mia had fun as she got to a play a game where she had to find different objects in the paintings. This was a brilliant idea to keep her interest.



We went for a picnic with food from Harrod's and played in the park afterwards.







The other day Andrea went to Stratford upon Avon for the 400th birthday of Shakespeare. I guess he wasn't there, but Andrea said she had fun anyway. She said that that part of the country is just beautiful and picturesque. It sounded quite lovely. Mia and I stayed in Brighton and went to the beach and had a picnic, which was lovely, but we missed Andrea. Here are some pictures.



The garden is growing well. I haven't been planting too much as we are leaving soon. But what is in the ground is growing. We have lettuce, spinach, parsley, raspberries, blueberries, broad beans, and beetroot coming up. Not too bad.

Our Adventure

When we started our adventure back in July 2005, we certainly didn't know what we were in for. Sure we did the research, but having never been here, we really had no idea what England would be like, let alone what our life would entale. Its funny, but I thought that the only real problem would be learning to drive on the other side of the street, something that was in fact a problem for me! As it turned out, things were different, but also the same.

For instance, the politics were really the same. While England is part of Europe and the EU, it is much more aligned with America in its policy. This was something of a surprise. Another surprise was the state of the schooling system. I figured that since England is home to Oxford and Cambridge, that the educational system would be excellent. This is not the case. The reality is that the educational system is total rubbish. Sure there are good schools and smart children. But overall, the schools do not fare well as compared to those in the states.

But whatever our misconceptions were, it has certainly been a wonderful experience. We have had the opportunity to travel in Europe and England, have been able to make good friends who we will hopefully be able to keep in contact with over time, and have had the opportunity to grow vegetables all year (well, perhaps attempt to grow vegetables would be more accurate).

But in light of all the pluses and minuses, what we realize is that we miss America - our friends, our family, Bread and Chocolate! We miss what we know. Really, what we miss is our little corner of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Mia has certainly stated that she misses her family. As a result, we have decided to come home. As is the case with Andrea and I, this has become an ever changing affair as well.

When we first started to entertain the idea we thought that we would stay for another two years, then it became one year. We had all these reasons and rationalized our way to this decision. We said that this was it, that it would not change... it did! Then we said December was the perfect time. Then it was November. And now it is 28 July. This seems like a good date and I think we are sticking with it, for the time being anyway.

So, that's it then. In three months we will be back and starting all over, once again for the umpteenth time. Sure we're sad and hope that we don't come to feel that we have failed, but I think on a much deeper level we feel that we succeeded in something that perhaps was rather brave. And really what we got out the experience was and is far greater then had we not made the move at all. For me, there is a small part of me who will always say that this was a very, very expensive move (considering that we lost everything but six suitcases of stuff), but really, what I gained, and hopefully the whole family gained, was a once in a life-time opportunity to see and experience something a bit different.

And since you have sat and read all this without any break, here are couple of pictures for your effort!

More Italy and some other cute pictures

First, however, an update on my garden. Things are going pretty well. I have managed to stave off my mortal enemy, the slug/snail. They have been kept at bay by what force I am not sure. But if I ever find out, I will be sure to bottle it and sell it. My new problem is the compost pile. Because we do not have a lawn to speak of, I do not have enough stuff, nitrogen, to put into the pile. What we do have plenty of, however, are food scraps... remember we are vegetarians so there are lots of fruit peelings. So in addition to these food scraps, I now have plenty of flies. Actually, what there is is a colony the size of Luxembourg in our backyard. This is truly annoying.

On the plus side, we have beans, peas, garlic, carrot all coming up. Lettuce, spinach and parsley will be staring to sprout, too. The raspberries are growing, but the blueberries and strawberries did not make the winter.

Okay, now to Italy. Like Andrea said earlier, Italy was amazing. Here are a few more pictures.

Pigeons in San Marco Square: These pigeons eat whatever is on offer, which in this case was a full size person.

These streets aren't paved with gold, they aren't even paved.

Our personal gondola driver.

Mia actually took this picture!

A Tuscan butcher... cute! The shop isn't bad either.

A view of Tuscany.

Our audience with the Pope!

Not Italy, but awfully cute!!!

Can you say gorgeous!

A few pictures of Italy

We are back from Italy and finally getting around to posting a few pictures. I don't know what to say about Italy other than that it was amazing and incredible and wonderful!! Venice was our favourite city by far, but Siena and Rome were just lovely. I would love to go back and explore some more. One week was in no way enough time.

Our gondola ride in Venice

Mia's first experience with Italian pizza. It was love at first sight.

Dinner on the balcony of our hotel in Rome

My giant gelato. Do you see a food theme running through these pictures?

Jeff and Mia enjoying a little bit of history.

Off to Italy we go!

We are leaving for Italy tomorrow for one week. Jeff has been busy packing like a madman and Mia can't stop talking about all the pizza she is going to eat. I have been so busy at work, that I just keep stressing about all the days of work I am going to miss. We are very excited, however. We have managed to make this a backpacks only trip--which means we are carrying everything we are taking on our backs! It feels so nice not to have to think about checking luggage and pulling bags up and down stairs. We are spending two days in Venice, two days in Siena (Tuscany), and two days in Rome. The weather is supposed to be warm, but it looks like we might encounter some rain along the way. Oh well. Hopefully it will stay somewhat nice for us.

Today I went on a day trip with my colleagues for a work retreat. We went hiking across the downs. It was so amazing. We were literally hiking through sheep fields and forests. We had to climb over fences and wade through mud. It was pretty rough going, but so gorgeous and peaceful. The British countryside is truly amazing. We then had lunch a wonderful country pub. The day was so warm and sunny that we were able to eat outside overlooking the beautiful rolling hills. After lunch we walked to the local horse track and watched the races. I was expecting all sorts of royalty with big hats and small binoculars, but apparently royalty does not attend races at such small tracks--bummer. Anyway, it was just a great day. I have been travelling a lot for work recently and it is nice to finally see some more of Britain. Last week I went to the Isle of Wight with 115 international students, and last week I went to Birmingham for a conference. I am supposed to go to Manchester in a few months as well. I plan to take my students on a bunch of trips next year, so I'm hoping to see some of northern England and Scotland as well!!

Anyway, off to bed. We have to be on the train by 545 am in order to make our plane on time. I have no idea how we are going to get Mia out of bed at that time. She will be one unhappy camper. Maybe the promise of pizza will keep her in good spirits. We'll post pictures when we get back.

Writer's block

I have been suffering from writer's block. I wanted to write and tell the world about our adventures - Lewes, Dance, waiting for the ever elusive on-time train - but alas I was stuck in a rut. Well, I can say now that I am still stuck in a rut. Thank goodness that Andrea has taken over and written on what was fast becoming a very dusty blogsite.

Life has been going along fairly quietly. There have been the occasional blips. One of those blips was that I lost my wallet. Thankully the train company was gracious enough to allow me a duplicate ticket for a cost of only 20 pounds, which ends up being only 10 percent of the total cost. I say thank you and for ever after I will be in your servitude.

Andrea went swimming with Mia the other day. They had a blast, I am told. We, and by that I mean Andrea and Mia, have really settled into a routine and have made very nice friends. I love to see that. One of the things that we lost when we moved to England, besides all our personal belongings, was a sense of community. We no longer had family or friends. While our family and friends can never be replaced it is nice to have made new friends in England.

And since you have sat through my gushing, here is your reward for being so patient... random pictures of Mia. Actually, that will have to wait as I am not the computer that has our current pictures. Oh well, I guess I could post some rather old ones to tide us over.

Some spooky stuff going on around here...

We have had two very strange events happen here in the past few weeks, both of which have happened at our favourite local restaurant--Bill's. As I mentioned in my last blog entry, our friends from America were visiting a few weekends ago. We took them to Bill's for lunch where they snapped a few pictures of us and recently forwarded them on via email. Imagine my total jaw dropping sock when I saw the picture below:

Look really closely...Scharlatt family members should be staring in utter disbelief. The rest of you are probably wondering what on Earth I am talking about. The woman directly over Jeff's shoulder is the identical twin of my sister--or possibly her. Strange though that she would have come all the way to Brighton and not at least called! I wish you could see this picture in a bigger size. EVERYTHING about this woman is screaming Stacey. I can't believe we didn't notice her while we were there that day!

Well, then today we had another very strange experience at Bill's. After we had eaten our usual healthy salad and soup lunch, the waitress mentioned to us that the dessert special of the day was Banoffe Pie. Now for those of you who have never experienced a dessert at Bill's, let me tell you, it is not something to take lightly. Committing to dessert at Bill's is committing your stomach to a culinary experience that will last the rest of the day. The desserts are gorgeous, huge, and seriously delicious. We usually pass on dessert, but today we were tempted to take the plunge specifically because they were serving Banoffe Pie. Banoffee Pie is a very British dessert that is quite popular and very much talked about because people either love it or hate it--kind of like Marmite. We were skeptical, however, because, much like Marmite, we have yet to eat any British cuisine which has not made us ill--or want to be ill. In fact, I would go as far as to say that I think British food may well be the worst I have ever had in my life...until today that is. Banoffe Pie is by far one of the most amazing desserts I have ever tasted. The Brits have finally gotten something right in the world of food. Imagine this--a cookie and chocolate crust layered with Banana, toffee, chocolate and whipped cream---topped with more chocolate and drizzled with espresso. Wow. I wish I had a picture to share with you. Mia just glazed over--face covered with sticky toffee and whipped cream. 4 hours later and we are all still recovering from the experience.

We went to Lewes today--a small village about 30 minutes away. Gorgeous, quaint little village with a canal, castle and the little cobblestone streets that make British villages so wonderful. There was even a street accordion player and some men in strange costumes. Not sure what or who they were, but it just added to the quaintness of it all. We had a lovely time.

Lewes Castle

There is another village called Alfriston a short bus ride outside of Lewes which is supposedly one of the most beautiful villages in England. We will hopefully check that out another day. These trips are a bit more difficult now that we don't have a car, but we manage pretty well by train. Jeff has a bike and I will get one soon so that we can bike around the countryside this summer with Mia on the back.

Hope you all have a great weekend!