i'm on the road again...

a little late i know...but i am back at my little blue desk, albeit for a very short time, one day to be exact...and as usual surrounded by piles of chaos wondering if those kind of things will ever change...

we had a grand old time in England, despite the lack of blue skies it was good to be on home ground again...my heart has gone out to all those living the nightmare of the floods, you are definitely in my thoughts.

even lacking summer skies i achieved a number of things...

i managed to spend quality time with my children, family and friends...

i read three quarters of a very intelligent book...no small feat, i haven't picked up a book in months...

i made a serious dent in my wallet because of all the lovely clothes that kept saying "buy me, Tif " and the shoes that called to me "try me, Tif " as i passed by shop windows...

and i found plenty of inspiration...

i will in time show you some of my "have you lost your mind, you do not have that kind of money to spend" purchases...but alas it will have to wait for a while.

you see dear readers ( i have missed you ), after living a life of a gypsy for July, i am on the road again with the children and this time my man is in tow...a little bit crazy but while travelling the roads in England, my man, all lonely holding the fort back home decided it would be rather grand to go on a road trip together when we got back...

usually i might have protested just a little bit as it is rather too close for my sanity's comfort, but how could i when my man is reaching a milestone this week...a milestone that is a little bit scary, and so while we are whitewater rafting in Oregon and doing all sorts of other outdoorsy things (sadly not suited to my lovely new clothes and shoes, sniff) he will celebrate or commiserate turning 40...which ever way you like to look at it.

at the same time, we hit the milestone of being wed for seventeen years, which quite frankly is nothing short of a small miracle these days...so i feel a little "voyage de route" across the state line is perfectly acceptable in the celebratory circumstances...

with big plans to finish the other quarter of her book and possibly, quite recklessly start a new one while on the road ~

Tif

a little footnote here for the lovely Kristen Michelle , thanks for tagging me...i admit to having been tagged before and it took me over two weeks to actually finish listing my things, however i will think of a few things in between reading about "the man beneath the jumpsuit" and list when i get back.

also Kristen i have to let you know, i am totally envious of your lovely spectacles and wish they were mine...

postcard #6...

i've been caught up in a whirlwind romance for the past week...when i arrived in London i headed straight to the nearest pub, it must have been destiny as behind the bar was the 'love of my life' just waiting for me...

i asked her where she had been all my life, she was speechless, i feel it must have been the american accent and my good looks...cupid had sent his arrow and i was smitten. i dumped Tif and spent the rest of the week sweet talking my new love. she turned out to be a single mum working in a pub trying to make ends meet, i promised her a life of untold riches...

we eloped to Gretna Green catching a ride in a lorry full of Walkers Crisps (what luck), the rain stopped for one magical afternoon so i could wed my bride in sunshine...so in the words of 80's band Madness i leave you with postcards from our wedding day...

it must be love, love, love

it must be love, love, love

nothing more,

nothing less,

love is the best...

living happily ever after with his bride and ready made family ~ a pesky gnome

dear readers...

i'm just letting you know that the pesky gnome went AWOL in London...i am waiting for him to send a postcard soon to let us know what he has been up to...let's hope he turns up soon and brings some sun with him...

having a lovely time despite the rain ~ Tif

postcard #5

Tif has put pressure on me to show you a few pics of where we have visited..she has told me that several readers have requested more than a view of a pesky gnome...

we had glorious sunshine today and so Tif, her mum, four kids and myself set off to two of her favorite places in Devon, now of course she is a little bias as these places hold childhood memories for her, in fact she told me that she is positive there are hundreds of other equally if not more beautiful places in the UK..but these are special to her...

first we headed to Lyme Regis, a classic British seaside town...we wandered the high street, dodged all the grannies and Tif even found a couple of vintage linens in the charity shop. i myself managed to unearth another rather natty looking tie, but sadly no 'love of my life' only a very old grumpy gnome in Woolworths, who wasn't looking for love and definitely wasn't my type (ie. male). let's check out the postcards...

beach at Lyme Regis

bunting at the bottom end of town

Tif and her mum with their French Market summer sacs which proved very handy for carrying around doughnuts and a sale rail bargain cardigan (Tif has just asked me to mention that she does wear other clothes it just seems like she doesn't, as in every photo she is wearing the same cardi!)

me by a lovely looking mini

and me posing in my new tie, outside the house that Tif says she should be living in...

after picnicking in the parking lot..oh yes we dine in style on this vacation, we drove down the coast to Branscombe..now Branscombe holds a special place in Tif's heart as her children are the fourth generation in her family to spend their summers on this beach. Sadly earlier in the year (as many of you Brits know) the Napoli was beached at Branscombe, causing all sorts of problems for the locals and the environment etc...anyhow yesterday was the big day when they got it up and floating again...the beach was very busy but the sun was shining and so it was a great way to pass the afternoon..

a view of me, look right behind me and on the horizon is the Napoli boat

me outside the beach huts overlooking Branscombe beach with not a chance of getting sunburn as Tif slapped factor 45 on me...(and i do mean "slapped")

me and my toadstool...

Tif says she hopes these pics might have helped any homesick Brits out there and also anyone else hoping for a glimpse of the UK (ie. her friend Laura), she is planning to do better next week but has mentioned that i get in the way of the shot quite often...

off to London on the train for the weekend, shall send another postcard soon ~ a pesky gnome

postcard #4...

i arrived safely in Devon yesterday after several bus rides...already i have learnt a valuable lesson...

do not drink scrumpy cider and climb trees, they do not mix

worried about his lack of clothing ~ a pesky gnome

postcard #3...

Tif has asked me to tell you a couple of things...

that is not true, what i said pesky gnome is "i would like to do a post if i could" and you told me that i had made it quite clear that i would not be posting on my blog until July 30th and have proceeded to get in the way of the keyboard...

well that's life, this is my blog for the next few weeks and you can only talk to the readers through me..ha ha hee hee...so let me continue dear readers while Tif goes off and eats a lot of Cadbury's chocolate and Walkers crisps while watching Live Earth...

it would seem that Tif has had two exciting things happen since her arrival in Cambridge...firstly, today they had a French Market right in the middle of a British City...she could not believe her good luck and raced over, dragging four children and carrying me with her. to her delight it had a load of old stuff plus cheese, fruits etc...she tested her French summer sac, it held up a treat and even managed to carry a small weary child...

her second exciting bit of news is that the good people at Cambridge City Council have obviously taken kindly to women who wish to wear 'pretty sweet' wedges this summer and installed railings on any slopey areas near the shops..this is wonderful news and she feels it is a very good use of tax payers money...

anyhow that is enough chat about Tif, let's talk about me...

i did have a bit of luck with a couple of birds i picked up at the French Market after i put up my little sign, but they really weren't my type...

but as they say "beggars can't be choosers" so i'll take what i can get at the moment

off to fresher hunting grounds in Devon tomorrow...

waiting for a bus ~ a pesky gnome

postcard #2...

today i awoke to no rain..."yipee"

i said to myself this is the perfect day to show some british birds

my talents...so i took myself over to the park and got a couple of local lads to join in a game of soccer (known as football on this island)

before i showed these lads how the game was played, i removed my rather attractive 70's crocheted kipper tie that i had scored at the thift store yesterday (known as a charity shop...i am learning lots of the local terminology and am beginning to blend in quite well)

i played my pesky little heart out as goalie...but was completely unappreciated when my team lost by 67 to 3, the lads blamed me, told me i was a load of rubbish and then left for the pub without asking me to join them...sniff, worst still not a single chick walked past to see my impressive goalie skills...

going to bed early and alone ~ a pesky gnome

postcard #1...

i have now recovered from having my bits poked around by security and then spending hours waiting on the tarmac at Heathrow...YES!! i am on british soil.

my first port of call was the pub (i 'swam' around a bit and found a likely looking one)...after several beers i was starting to feel lucky, after all who could resist a pesky gnome.

as i looked around for a bit of action, two things were quite noticeable, first no one actually seemed to be in the pub, they were all outside having a 'smoke' (due to the clean air rules) and secondly lady gnomes are very thin on the ground...i have now set myself a mission of finding myself a 'sweet young british lassy' gnome to have a summer fling with...

hoping he gets lucky soon ~ a pesky gnome

greetings from a pesky gnome...

"ah ha!! i have managed to find my way into Tif's luggage...and will be reporting along the way with travel updates and photos of my charming self in bonny England...stay tuned for coverage of me in far flung places...."

"oi, what do you think you are doing in there? who put this pesky gnome in my hand luggage?"

"nooo, please let me come with you...."

" well you better behave yourself...'cause you look kind of pesky to me, which could spell trouble"

" i promise...tee hee"