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The days flew by on this trip. They always do but I really lived in the moment and soaked up every minute. I had the most amazing time and must thank Katie for her hospitality and all the plans. We had a blast! Saturday we took a day trip to Blackpool. It’s errr ….an experience!…

It’s been a really busy week. With volunteering in the morning and working until 8:30pm the days go by quickly. After volunteering Sunday I took a steam train to Haworth. It is the home of the Bronte sisters. A quaint little town but unfortunately very touristy. Wednesday we went to Ripley castle, which had outstanding…

The UK has had a big storm with high winds and lots of rain. Consequently, we decided this would be a good “day off” from the rescue. I did ride back in rain yesterday but am not keen to tackle gale force winds on the bicycle. Yesterday after my stint at the rescue I went…

Well, I have been volunteering at the rescue each morning since Tuesday, so 3 days in. It goes without saying that I miss home, Sara, and all our critters. Anyone who knows me knows I love a good routine. It is wonderful that everything here, including the daily routine, is familiar —my apartment, getting around,…

Our last day in Edinburgh we toured the castle. All I could think about is how the view must have looked in the 1600s as compared to the tourist nightmare that now unfolds beneath it. We then spent the afternoon in Leith, on the outskirts of town and right on the water. We visited an…

For my American friends, it is pronounced “Edin-bruh”. I have heard it enough from our local tour guides and it is ingrained in me now. Before the trip, I read on google “Edin-burah” but that’s not correct. From a tour guide I learned the city has a population of about 500,000–the entire country only 5…

A few people asked if I might continue my blog for the trip so I will give it a whirl. We left our house full of senior pets with an expected bit of worry, but more excitement and faith in our wonderful sitter. Traveling all night and being up over 24 hours is not fun…

I spent the majority of last week with my family in Georgia. I took them a side of beef, freshly butchered. I also helped my near 80 year old parents navigate the internet, just installed, as well as a brand new iPad. It has been nearly 48 hours since my departure and I have not…

After some consideration, I have decided to turn my blog into a farm blog. For those of you who own farms of your own, or my country cousins, you may find this boring but a fair number of our friends really don’t understand our lifestyle. That is certainly no fault of their own; it is…

It’s been a little over a week since we returned from England, though it feels much longer. Thanks to our wonderful farm sitters we were able to have a carefree vacation and all animals were as well attended to as if we were here. However, having been gone for so long we had tons of…

The dreaded end has come but what a time we have had! I will do a more fitting final post but wanted to share all the things we did this week. Tuesday morning we went to the rescue. I cleaned Kitty Cottage and Sara put two new rabbit hutches together. Afterwards, volunteer Carol, Katie, Flora,…

I finished out a great week of being at the rescue most mornings and loved every minute of it. I am inspired to get my own bike out of the garage when I get home. I have gotten stronger by the day here and it feels good. Sara arrived Friday morning so I made the…

I have a lot of catching up to do! It was a very busy weekend at the rescue and I have gotten out sight seeing a couple of times. Weekends are busy times at the rescue. Saturday after regular cleaning duty I accompanied another volunteer on a shopping trip for flowers to plant. Now this…

I can’t believe I have already been in England a week yesterday. I feel pretty comfortable now. I can get to and from the rescue easily on my borrowed bike, I can walk to a grocery store, and there are enough restaurants nearby to keep me from getting bored with my own cooking. I do…

I have had a very busy week and will catch up on events in a different post but wanted to share some photos I took yesterday while (whilst) shopping. The title of the post is self-explanatory. Beans, beans and more beans. Lots of Heinz beans. Holy instant coffee selection! Stuff related to air drying clothing.…

What a whirlwind of a few days it has been! I left home at 11:30am on Wednesday the 12th. I had a layover in Atlanta then flew 8 hours to Manchester, United Kingdom. That was followed by what seemed a 10 mile walk lugging too much luggage to the train station. After changing trains twice…

For those who may not have a Facebook account the link I posted at the end of my last entry was about a little cat from Dubai. A beautiful, white, teenaged kitty hit by a car and left for dead. Paralyzed, bloody bones sticking out of her back legs, little Manisha certainly was in a…

Dubai….Sara called from the road and said guess what? A man I worked with in Saudi (she was there when George Bush declared war) wants me to come to his new college and it is in Abu Dhabi. I said “where’s that?” She replied “the UAE… Dubai?” That I recognized. And thus my first international…