Troy's musings

Not much exciting has happened here since we've been back. We're sliding into the groove of everyday life with minimal stress. That's a blessing. We are going on a trip next weekend with the International Family Network, so expect some pictures, and if this is like the other trips, a story where something odd and/or funny happens. For now, I'm researching, Melissa's mothering and Arbonne-ing, the boys go to school on Monday and Wednesday, we're hanging out with people from church and school, and that's about it.

As there's not much else to report, I thought I'd share some things that I found interesting that have happened in the last few weeks:

1. I learned that British people pride themselves on their ingenuity when it comes to making up new foods. This is funny since British food is generally considered bland. However, they do have a variety of "crisps" (that's chips to the rest of us). I tried thick-cut, kettle-fried potato chips that were roast chicken with rosemary and thyme flavor. No, I'm not kidding, and by golly, they tasted like roast chicken with rosemary and thyme. I was informed that other popular flavors of chips are: ox liver and potato, Heinz tomato ketchup, lamb and some vegetable, steak, and worcestershire. I've not tried those but will let you know if I ever run across a bag. I learned a recipe that I'm not really dying to try for "beanos". You get 2 pieces of bread, 1 can of baked beans, and 4 slices of cheese. Put 1/2 can of beans on each slice of bread, cover in cheese, and bake in oven until cheese is melted and bread is a little toasted. Someone try it and let me know what you think.

2. British people don't carry umbrellas because they're futile. When it rains here, either a) it comes at you from every direction (including up) so you get wet no matter what or b) the wind is so strong that your umbrella turns inside out an average of every 18.3 seconds.

3. Speaking of high-winds, I saw 3 people blown over by wind gusts last week. I heard a story of a guy who lived on one of the isles off the west coast of Scotland who parked his car with the wind and when he opened his door to get out the wind blew the door off. The wind was strong enough to make me catch my breath and lean into it to walk (even going downhill). I saw water dripping from a 2nd story balcony and being blown across a major street to hit the building on the other side without hitting the ground...and we're talking a 4 lane plus 10 feet of sidewalk on both sides kind of street. Besides abnormal winds, we've had some beautiful days recently and have enjoyed them tremendously.

Hope you enjoy the musings. More will come.