Getting ready for Christmas

This morning we took it easy, after our full day and late night in London for Rhiannon's birthday.  It was cold with high overcast skies as we woke up, and after some cozy morning stirrings, we went to the Carter's Christmas Tree farm down the road and picked out a good one for the season.

In the afternoon, Rhodri and Tryfan actually had rugby practice and as they were starting to pack up to head home, our part of the country got a big dump of snow!  Apparently they barely made it up the hill to the top of Stonequarry Road because there was so much snow on the ground.  But for Rhiannon, Annie and me, we were all snuggled at home with the fire going.

We spent the evening decorating the tree and the house!  We've all been looking so forward to this moment, when the four of us are back together under one roof and feeling the Christmas spirit, and here we finally are.

Our girl turns 17

It is so hard to believe that Rhiannon is now 17! We are so glad that she was able to be here at home for her birthday, and the way she wanted to celebrate by going into London with Sophie to do some shopping, then go for dinner at a place of her choosing.

It was so busy and crowded in London! But the decorative lights and installations made it all feel very festive and fun.

We went for dinner at Cocochan, and it was really great.  And then after dinner we made our way back home.

Annual Tree Light-up

In years past, this has been my favorite night of the entire year.  This year I was a bit ho-hum about it, because of course the focus was on Rhiannon's return earlier today.  But in the end, it was a fun event which had the normal amount of mayhem and confusion, but all in good spirit. There is always at least 1 Christmas song that we end up singing and yet we don't have the words to it, while another song ends up getting sung multiple times.  Anyway, with mulled wine and mince pies and loads of people crammed into the village hall (all doors and windows open to enhance circulation), it was funny. Rhodri ended up being the MC (he was asked to do this as we arrived to the event!) and he did a brilliant job of course. 

After the tree lights were dramatically switched on, a crowd of us went caroling up and down the main road. We were more successful this year than in previous ones, mainly because we targeted houses that we considered 'wins' from last year! That is, we did NOT attempt to go back to the ones who switched off the lights after they peered through the window to see we were there at the door, etc. One heartwarming house had quite an elderly lady who stood at the door requesting more songs and singing along herself. 

Anyway, Stuart and Leigh came back to our house afterwards for a liquid debrief, which involved a lot of laughing.  They are always fun to hang out with!

Happy collection

Meeting Rhiannon at the International Arrivals area of Heathrow Terminal 5 was in retrospect a highlight of the month or maybe year.  I even tear up a bit just thinking about it.  We had been in text communication since she touched down, so I knew when to pay close attention to faces walking through the arrival doors. I saw my girl before she saw me, and I positioned myself at the end of the roped off area so she could come straight into my arms. Ahhhh, that gorgeous moment of a tight tight hug that didn't relax or even allow any words to flow for like 10 minutes. It was such an indulgent, long awaited embrace in a moment I had been dreaming of for months. It was so powerful, and even now thinking back to this moment, I can go back there in my mind and feel the closeness of my daughter in my arms. I hope I can retain this memory for the rest of my life.

Anyway, eventually we de-clung from each other and found the car, then drove home. Of course, she had a similarly dramatic and emotional reunion with Rhods before she settled into her bedroom and started to unpack. However, it was not a day of rest since she wanted to see Evie straightaway.  So Rhi and I did a grocery store run on the way to collect Evie in Uckfield and then came home for the afternoon.

It was so wonderful to hear the two of them laughing together and filling the house with teenage girl noises.

Rhi Day

Rhiannon is leaving for the Christmas holidays today (1 day before the rest of the boarders) to get home for her birthday, but in the meantime her RC made a birthday cake and sent us this pic!  In just a few hours she will set off on her solo travel from St Louis to London Heathrow (via Chicago) and we wish her safe travels.

More construction

Things are happening now on the sauna complex

... and just 2 more sleeps til our girl arrives!

Less than a week to go!

We are counting down the days and hours until Rhiannon comes home.  Here she is with her roommate in front of a Christmas tree in the dorm.  She is going to fly on Thurs Dec 8 and arrive home Fri Dec 9 in time for her birthday on Dec 10th.

Construction coming along

Construction has stalled a bit this week because of the weather forecast: really cold and dry followed by freezing rain. A beautiful start to the month though!

Beautiful morning

This morning was so beautiful - cold and misty with lovely muted colors.  I do enjoy the morning tours of the forest with Annie!

Thanksgiving for us

Our friends down the road invited us to join their Thanksgiving family community for a special meal at the village hall. I was tasked with making a 'Welcome Cocktail Appetizer', so I opted for a prosciutto-wrapped date with goat cheese and a pecan, which goes well with a winter sangria cocktail. It was fun making a bunch of these earlier today and then bringing them to the dinner.  The gathering itself was just over 40 people and it was such a fun and heartwarming and delicious evening!

First we had the cocktails with appetisers, then everyone sat down at their assigned spot and dinner was served family style with dishes passed around. Duane and Sarah gave a little toast and explained the history of their Thanksgiving tradition, and we all dug in.  It was a proper feast.  Just before the dessert course, two of their musician friends got up and played a set of American and Irish songs and we all sang along. It was so great!  Then after about an hour we all helped to clean up the village hall and demobilized over to their house for the after party.

Football boys

Tonight we went over to Claire and John's house to watch the Wales vs USA World Cup game on TV.  Nearly the whole boys football team was there and we had fun watching together.

Construction starts!

A lot happened this week out in the back yard..

Thanksgiving for Rhi

Rhiannon has gone to stay a couple of nights at her friend W's house for the Thanksgiving weekend. It's so nice that she has a day student friend.

Its my burfday

 And I had quite an epic day of it actually!  First, a swim at lovely Tide Mills with my homies. 

Then, a 2 hour session at the Wild Wowo Spa just a few miles from our house. Then a brief hiatus in the afternoon before the evening festivities continued with some celebratory beverages, a mystery night hike, and then dinner at the Red Lion pub.

I don't have any photos from the night hike or the pub dinner, but it was really fun. A great day all around actually. Thank you to everyone who made it special!

Royal Geological Society

Yesterday and today I was at the UK Geothermal Symposium at the Royal Geological Society building in central London. So grand!  I met quite a few interesting people and got to see my manager too, which is rare since she is in California and I'm here.  I should have taken a photo of us together! Oh well..

Super Mario

.. and Luigi!  Tryfan and his friend Bradley dressed up for a post-Halloween party that was this evening.  Sounds like they had a great time.  They looked good, anyway.  

A new project out back

Rhods and I have started a backyard project but the first part is to undo the work that we had done earlier in the year (or was that last year) by removing the gate and part of the fence.

Rhi's new roommate

Den Haag

This week I traveled to the Netherlands to attend a conference in The Hague (Den Haag). I flew to Amsterdam on Sunday and stayed with my friend and former colleague Martha.  It was really fun to meet her family and stay in her house.  

Then I traveled on to Den Haag on Monday morning and joined the Global Energy Transition "GET22" conference.  I stayed in the center of the city and it was so beautiful. 

It was a long week, but a good week. I actually gave a talk at this conference about a paper that some colleagues and I wrote, so that was a first for me!

Room change at Prin

This week Rhi is getting ready for her first room change. Here are some photos from the build up.  I think it took awhile for Rhi and her first roommate to get their room ready for someone else to move in, they had to stack everything outside in the hallway.  The big reveal of new room assignments were posted on Saturday morning and then everyone moved rooms in the afternoon.

Rhi's new room is actually on the same hall that she was previously on, which she is happy about because she really likes her RC (Resident Counselor - formerly known as Housemother). 

Here is a photo of Rhi and her friend Wylie who is not her new roommate but a friend nonetheless