We Made It!!!

Before I go very far into the post, I just want to let anyone with nefarious ideas out there know that we do have house sitters while we’re away. Not only that, we have amazing neighbors on all sides of us that are watching the house with eagle eyes. That is just one benefit of moving into a neighborhood where everyone has known you for 45 years!

Our flight out of Omaha was delayed for quite some time and we only had a one hour connection in Chicago so before we even left Omaha, the wonderful people at American Airlines had rebooked us on a British Airways flight leaving Chicago a few hours later. That was the best thing that could have happened. Since we had to take a train and go through security again in Chicago that gave us plenty of time to accomplish all that needed done security wise and still have time to get some dinner at one of the restaurants.

The flight was a wonderful one on British Airways, where they fed us both dinner and breakfast with regular trips through with water and juice to keep us hydrated. We actually arrived a little early in London and we breezed through immigration. We didn’t even talk to anyone. We simply had our passport and hand print scanned and our photo taken by a machine. Our bags were waiting on the luggage carousel and we walked straight through customs without talking to anyone there either. At the end of the corridor stood Alex waiting for us with a big grin on his face. Oh how wonderful to see our boy after over one and a half years!  The first thing he did was buy his dad a cup of coffee, but I used the restroom and then off we went, driving through London.  We went straight to his house and haven’t left since.

We’ve been in here for two days now and we’re having a lovely time visiting. However, we aren’t allowed to leave the house or back garden until five days are up and we “test to release” from quarantine. It is all a bit hard for me to understand since beginning August 2, anyone arriving in the UK from the United States who is fully vaccinated does not have to quarantine at all. Since we arrived on July 28 we have to quarantine the entire 10 days unless we test negative on day five and day 8, even though we are fully vaccinated. Then we have to test again before leaving to go home. There is so much we want to do, much of it outside where we wouldn’t even be around other people. Oh well, we are still having a wonderful time.

The house in London is a beautiful three-story home right in the middle of the city. It’s within walking distance of many places. One of my favorite parts about European cities, is the fact that you can walk to the shops and restaurants and just about anything you need. Anything else is just a short train ride away. I always miss that when I go back home. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to experience any of that yet. Ha! We are not allowed to go outside the front door, but we are allowed in the back garden. This garden is not a bad place to spend time at all. I sit there knitting or reading your blog posts.

Here is the view from our bedroom window. You can see some of the skyline from here. So far we have had two of the best nights sleep of our lives in this room. It’s quiet and cozy. We have had the windows wide open and I have a hard time believing just how quiet it is in the center of London.

Dennis has been doing some work from here and so has Alex. They have also done some home-improvement projects. Dennis made up a list of lumber and tools required and Alex went to the local home improvement store.  They spent the afternoon putting drawers and shelves in the pantry. It looks very nice! They had planned to work on the decking this week too. You can see in the photo above where Alex removed one board to see if it had rot in it and it did. Now they are trying to decide whether to replace the decking material or take the decking off and leave the brickwork underneath. If it keeps raining the way it has been the past couple of days, the time for Dennis to help him will have passed, although I’m sure we will be coming back before too much time has gone by.

I am able to read all of your blogs and I am doing so, but I didn’t bring my laptop with me and so I am unable to comment. For some reason Blogger quit letting me comment on my iPad or iPhone a couple of years ago. Teresa tried to help me solve it, as did several of you, to no avail. Please know that I am trying to keep up with all of you.  Connie, I am praying for you and Far Guy as he gets to know his new doctors. Val, I am enjoying reading about your move and how all three kitties coped in their own ways. Sam, I’m glad you had such a wonderful time with your family right now and looking forward to all the new projects. I know that’s just a few of you, but I want you to see proof that I really am reading your blogs! Ha! Oh, and Connie in WA, I absolutely love what you did with your new pick-up. It’s exactly what I would like to do, but Dennis isn’t so keen on it. 😂 Take care everyone and I’ll try to post again soon. Love to you all.💜

Blessings love and hugs,

Betsy