This is going to be short, since I am tired and want to write when I can do it properly. :)

I would like to point out an error I made back in August. "Birmingham Rocks" is actually, "Brimham Rocks." (I went back and fixed that in my blog and photo album.) Sadly I didn't realize my mistake until driving by them today. I saw the sign and went, "Duh." Oh well. (That would explain why, at the time, I couldn't find any websites about it!) :P

Today Ryan and I went to Middleham Castle with Carissa and Tom and their two boys. That was fun. Photos and details to follow. (This picture of Ryan is from our trip there today.)

Trying to balance getting enough rest with going places and doing things, as well as taking care of Ryan and the house, etc. is hard. It seems like one or two things are always falling behind (usually the house, and/or my blog. Ok, actually it's usually getting enough rest!).

Hope to catch up soon, and hope everyone is having a great weekend!

A couple of items about my Scarborough post: First, as I wrote that I'd never been to a boardwalk, I just knew I would get called on it. :) It's not that I set out to outright lie, it's just that I didn't really remember the experience. As you may have seen in the comments for that post, my mom pointed out that she and my aunt took me to the boardwalk in Santa Cruz when I was little. I DO remember that - vaguely. I also think I may have been to a boardwalk type place near Boston in the summer of 2000 while visiting my sister-in-law. So when I said I'd never been to a boardwalk, I meant I'd never been to an honest-to-goodness, Jersey boardwalk. :)

The second item comes under the category of: reactions-to-things-I-least-expected. When I got home and showed Larry my photos from Scarborough, he looked at the one I took of the menu board and commented on the "beans on toast" part. The next day, I had a comment from my mom on the same thing! :)

Back to catching up...

Friday the 29th was another busy day. Over here you have to have your gas inspected once a year. The inspector was supposed to come around 9:30am, but didn't show up until 10am. It was only a half hour later, but I still hate waiting around for stuff like that. When the man did show up, he basically insulted Americans living here by saying that we keep our houses too warm. Nice.

After that, I tried to go for a jog (with Ryan in the jogging stroller), but I just didn't have it in me. I went home and got cleaned up, then got myself and Ryan some lunch. I needed to go to the commissary and bx, so I did that. I still needed to shop for the baby shower I was going to the next day, so once home, Ryan and I walked into town and did some shopping. By the time we got home, I was pretty tired. Add to that, that Ryan didn't really nap. By the end of the night, I was fried!

The next day was just as hectic, if not more so! :) In the morning, Ryan and I drove back to Manchester to pick up Larry from his short tdy in Germany. Not long after we got home, I went to my friend Natasha's baby shower, which was very nice. Larry kindly agreed to watch Ryan. (We thought Ryan would nap so Larry could just relax. Unfortunately, this would not be the case.) Towards the end of the shower, Larry called to tell me there was no heat or hot water in our house. Not good, especially because of the weather here. It was getting pretty cold in the house. The pilot light on our boiler was out, and we couldn't figure out how to get it relit. Boilers and gas are definitely something you don't want to mess with! Larry was able to get a hold of our landlord, who said he'd come by in the morning to check it out. In the meantime...

Larry informed me that Ryan had climbed out of his crib while I was at the shower. It seemed we couldn't put off the transition any longer. Larry went ahead and converted Ryan's crib into a toddler bed. (It was a huge pain, too.)

I felt bad for Ryan, because all in one day he had his Daddy come back from being gone, then had his crib taken away, then had his Mama gone - twice (and the second time I was gone for bedtime). Where was I...?

That night I went to my very first barn dance! The Harrogate Harriers hosted a "Barn Dance and Hog Roast" at the Ripley Star Club. I was worried about Ryan and Larry - Larry being tired from his tdy and his long day, and Ryan spending his first night in his "new" bed.  That was probably why I accidentally drove out to Ripon, which is way farther out than Ripley! I was driving around Ripon looking for the Star Club, when I stopped to ask for directions to the... Ripley Star Club. It hit me what I'd done, and I felt like an idiot! Luckily, the people I'd stopped were really nice about it!

I turned back and went to Ripley, which is an extremely small village. Seriously small. We're talking about a quarter mile from one end of the main street to the other. And I couldn't find the Star Club. I asked directions, and luckily was pretty much right next to it. It was one of those places that if you weren't local, you'd never see it, or know where it was. From the outside, it looked more like a church than a club. On the inside it looked like a very small school auditorium, with a stage at one end where the band was playing. (The name of the band was, "Cobblers Wax!")

I arrived late, and a dance was in full swing. I saw a man I knew named Pat, and made my way over to him. He's a fellow American who has also spent time in Germany. We had talked a bit before. He's quite nice. He found me a place to sit, very kindly got me something to drink, and  introduced me to a couple of women who work out at MHS.

I went ahead and joined in the next dance. The band leader had a microphone and taught everyone the dance. I had no idea what I was doing! It was so much fun! A lady I've run with a couple of times, Rona, was quite helpful, literally pushing us in the right direction and telling us what we needed to do when we got lost. At first the dances seemed kind of complicated, but after doing a couple of them, they started to make sense. I thoroughly enjoyed doing them!

After a while, the roast hog was brought out. I really, really ought to be a vegetarian on principle. People applauded the presentation of the hog, and I couldn't help but think that the hog probably wasn't too pleased! :) Everyone lined up to get some food. There were a couple of boys around the age of seven who were sitting at our table (they belonged to the ladies I was sitting with). They were talking about watching the man take out the hog's spine, and one boy asked his mother if he could keep the hog's head. Yikes! Boys! Is this what I have to look forward to??? :)

There were some wonderfully soft rolls to put the pork on, along with applesauce and some overcooked stuffing. The man serving the hog asked me if I wanted some, "cracklin'," which was the skin. I said sure. Once back at the table, I took a bite of the cracklin' and realized that the thought of eating pig skin grossed me out, and one bite was all I managed. (It tasted pretty much like crunchy bacon, but not nearly as good.)

The price of the ticket to the dance was 14 pounds. (Drinks not included.) After seeing the food, I thought it was honestly a bit steep. However, there was a live band, and I did very much enjoy myself, so that was definitely worth it.

Cobbler's Wax advertised themselves as a "ceilidh" band. (Pronounced, "KAY-lee," believe it or not.) I'm not sure if a ceilidh and a barn dance are the same or not, but I'm guessing if not, they're pretty close. It was nice because people of literally all ages were there, and everybody dances with everybody. I'm told that the dances we did are similar to American square dances. (However, since I never square danced except in elementary school, I don't really have any experience to compare it to.)

All in all, I had a good time and would go to another one.

Around 10pm I went home, since I was really tired and was wondering how Larry and Ryan were doing. Ripley isn't far from Harrogate, so it was nice not to have far to drive.

Apparently Ryan did pretty well while I was gone. He took a little coaxing, but generally his first night in his toddler bed went well.

Sunday morning our landlord, Sandy, came by. It took Sandy and Larry a while, but between the two of them they got the boiler relit. It was actually a very simple process once they figured it out, it was just figuring it out that was tough! (We have instructions for our boiler, but they are very technical and not at all straightforward.) At least now we know what to do if it happens again. The kicker is that the gas inspector's inspection was what caused the pilot light to go out. I think it was negligent of him to not bother to mention to me that that could happen, and that he didn't ask me if I knew how to relight it if it did. Oh well.

The rest of the day we just tried to kick back and relax. At some point Larry went for a run. Ryan and I went to ASDA for a couple things, and hit Starbucks as well. Since the weather was semi-decent, for dinner we barbecued one last time.

I've got more to post, but it's getting late and today's been a long day, too. Hopefully Ryan will nap tomorrow and I can finish catching up!

Thursday we got up before 5am to take Larry to the airport in Manchester for his tdy to Germany. (It's about an hour and forty-five minutes from Harrogate to Manchester airport.) That day there was also a babysitting co-op meeting/outing at Monk Park Farm. Ryan and I got back from dropping Larry off a little after 9am. I had some things to take care of before heading back out for the 11am meeting. I didn't quite make it on time! :) Luckily, Monk Park Farm isn't too big, and Sarah hadn't been waiting there long. (Actually, it turned out the only people there from the co-op were Sarah, her two boys (Henry and Winston), and a friend visiting from the States, me and Ryan, and one other family.) The Farm wasn't far from Harrogate, maybe less than half an hour's drive or so. It was a really nice day for a visit there. It was sunny, but cool.

The Farm had a few different areas. In front was a café/gift shop, as well as a building with animals inside (piglets, chicks, cows, goats, and chinchillas). Behind that was a large picnic/play area, which Ryan thoroughly enjoyed! The was a huge sandbox, which was really more like a dirt box. Ryan got filthy, of course! Next were large fenced off areas with various animals in them (cows, sheep, small horses, etc.). There were goats wandering around loose, which was funny because they would hang out on top of the picnic tables! At the entrance of the park you could buy bags of feed for 50 pence. I bought one, and if you shook it, it was like shaking a can of Pounce for cats. The goats would come running!

Beyond that area, was a little gazebo leading to a duck pond, then around that was a small play area and a nice scenic path to wander on. There were yet more animals, such as wallabies and emus.

Mostly I just let Ryan run around the play area while I fed the goats. (All the animals would pretty much just eat out of your hand!) Ryan LOVED the sandbox and the slides the best. He strongly objected to being put in his stroller when I wanted to walk around and explore more of the park (without losing Ryan).

At one point, I was taking pictures and for that nanosecond, not paying attention to Ryan. He was at a dead run for a nearby pond. Of course! I ran and caught him just in time. He just did NOT understand why he couldn't go in. I wished I could have explained it to him (I tried, but it didn't seem to help!). He took it out on the water fowl by chasing them around.

After a while, we got some lunch in the café, then checked out the animals in the building. There was an enormous mother pig they let loose, but unfortunately my camera picked then to have its batteries die. :( I don't know that Ryan was all that interested in the animals, but he seemed to enjoy trying to climb into the chinchilla enclosure, and putting the plastic kiddie chairs into straight lines. Weird! (I've read and been told that this is normal toddler behavior. Wish Ryan could tell me why he likes to do it, though!)

All in all, it was a nice time. (Here's the website for the park: http://www.monkpark.co.uk/)

Click here for the photos!

Monk Park Farm

I can't wrap my head around the fact that we're over a week into autumn, and it's October already.

Wednesday, Sept. 27, Ryan and I went to Scarborough with our friends Carissa and Tom, their boys Thomas and Nathan, and Tom's parents, Larry and Wendy (visiting from the States). Ryan and I walked to the train station, where we met up with everyone. Then we all took a train to York, where we switched trains for Scarborough.

The train ride was nice and relaxing. All the kiddos were well behaved. Yay! :) It was nice not to have to drive. It took a couple of hours to get from Harrogate to Scarborough.

Once at Scarborough, we walked around for a while. I still laugh when I see signs that say things like, "Humped Zebra Crossing!" (Just the British way of saying, "Crosswalk with Speed Bump.") We wound up going through the suburbs by accident, which was fine since it was a nice day. It was interesting to see the various places people lived. I like that people have little signs on their homes, like the one we saw proclaiming, "Al's Place." There's a castle in Scarborough (which we didn't visit) that we got a nice view of from the top of a hill. Also because of our route, we got to see a B&B with palm trees - yes, that's right - PALM TREES! Something I never thought I'd see in the UK.

We finally made our way to the North Bay. (Scarborough has a North and South Bay. The North is more for enjoying the beach, while the South is more commercial.) All the little concession stands and shops were boarded up. It was only four days after the official end of summer!

The North bay was really neat though. There was a good view of the castle up on the bluff, and the tide was very much out, so there was a lot of real estate for Ryan to run around on. (There was an area down the shore a little that looked like it would be great for tide pooling, if the kids had been a little older.)

The weather was mostly overcast, which made everything kind of grey. It was a little cold from the breeze coming off the sea, but otherwise wasn't too bad. Ryan kept his jacket on all day though. The sun did peek out a little towards the end of our visit to the North Bay, which temporarily warmed things up a bit.

Ryan absolutely LOVED running around. We all hung back a bit while the boys ran around (Thomas is about six months younger than Ryan, while Nathan is still an infant.) I was taking pictures, and suddenly realized that Ryan was at a dead run right for the water. Tom realized this at about the same time. We both took off at a dead run of our own, reaching Ryan right as he reached the water. I honestly don't know if Ryan would have stopped. That child has no fear! Luckily all was well. I really appreciated Tom coming with me, just in case. It's always good to have backup!

Of course at some point Ryan had to do a full length body plant onto the wet sand! Unfortunately he'd already gone through the extra pair of pants I'd brought along. I did have a dry towel, which helped things along.

After a while (and with much protestation from Ryan), we packed up and took a bus to South Bay. I've never really been to a boardwalk in the States. From what I've been told, this part of Scarborough was something similar. I would describe the area as, "delightfully tacky!" There was a little area on the sea side of things that had carnival type rides. A little further up was a row of concession stands. In between were glimpses of the docks. There was one concession stand that caught my eye. The first time I went by it, I just saw that they sold candy. Then Carissa made a comment about its other wares. I went back and wondered how on earth I'd managed to miss the *cough* "adult" candy on sale! What blew my mind a little was that it was mixed right in with all the other candy. There was a "Large Manhood" sucker hanging right next to a Winnie the Pooh! After being overseas for so long, it didn't really surprise me THAT much. But still... On the other side of the street were tacky looking gift shops and restaurants. It was all very colorful. At one shop, I bought Ryan a pinwheel. His face lit up like a Christmas tree! It's the little things. ;)

From there we wandered around some more. It was quite a trek back up to the city center, where we were hoping to find "Scarborough Fair." We eventually stopped at the local TI (Tourist Info. center) and got directions. We got to the "fair" at 4:20pm. It didn't open until 5pm! The "fair" was just one huge midway of tacky rides. I wasn't really surprised. Earlier, Carissa had told me that the "Scarborough Fair" of old hasn't happened in a very long time. (It used to be a harvest festival/market.) Now, they have the "fun fair" (as the signs called it) in a sort of commemoration of the original fair.

We wandered through and made our way back to the train station (after a stop at a bakery for a bite). The way home was pretty decent, except Ryan really reached the end of his rope. He was tired from not really napping, and just wanted off the train. Larry picked us up at the station in Harrogate, which was nice since it was dark and drizzling when we got there.

I'm so glad we went to Scarborough. We had a good time, and now I can say I've been there!

Scarborough

First, I would like to wish my friend Marie a very happy birthday!

Second, I would like to say that I have had very little time to relax, or be on the computer in the last couple of daze. :) However, it's been a good kind of busy, going places and doing things. I hope everyone is having a great weekend, and hope in a day or two to begin catching up.

Scarborough was fun!

Today we were up before 5am to take Larry to the airport in Manchester. (He has a short tdy in Darmstadt, Germany. He'll be back Saturday. He got in today just fine.) About an hour after we got home from dropping Larry off, we went to Monk Farm Park. That also was fun! Ryan only took cat naps in the car, so I am going to bed right after I post this! :)

I hope to get a chance to write about today and yesterday and post photos soon. (I'm crossing my fingers and knocking on wood!)

PS - Happy birthday, Jason!

First, I want to wish my friend Ronee a happy birthday! Hope it's a great one!

Second, I am just briefly checking in to let everyone know that things have been and will be a bit hectic in the next few days. I do hope to catch up sometime over the weekend. (I know I've been playing catch up for what seems like ages now!)

Tomorrow I am supposed to be going on a day trip with some friends. Thursday I'm taking Larry to the airport, then possibly going to a baby sitting co-op meeting at Monk Farm Park. Friday I think I get to breathe, then Saturday there's a baby shower and a barn dance I'm planning on attending. Whew!

Mainly what I have yet to write about thus far is daily life stuff, and general Ryan cuteness. :)

Hope everyone is having a great week!

(I realized after I posted Friday's entry, that I might need to explain what a "Covert runner" is. :) Mark Covert was Larry's and my cross country and track coach at Antelope Valley Community College. He fostered in us an intense work ethic, and an insane competitiveness. Both of which in one form or another have stuck with me.)

I mentioned Friday that each time I've run with the HH's, the light has been different. Around the beginning of autumn here, the transition from long daylight hours to short ones is quite rapid. It's weird to me how quickly the change comes, because once the transition is made, it seems like it's dark forever until spring. Then in the spring, it quickly becomes light again and seems to stay that way until autumn. It's not at all a gradual thing, which I would think it would be.

Saturday the 16th was the Air Force Ball. Sarah was hired to do portraits at the ball, and asked me to be her assistant. The ball took place at the same venue the Army ball did. This time, we didn't have to dress up quite so much, as we wouldn't be eating with everyone else. We also didn't have to cover any of the ceremony. (The area where the ball took place was separated by a hallway from the area where we did the photos.) Business was brisk, which was nice. It kept us very busy and made the night fly by.

As the night progressed, we started to get very hungry. It's in Sarah's contract that she and her assistant get fed, which is a good thing because it seemed that we'd been overlooked. After Sarah had a word with the lady in charge, we found ourselves at a lovely private table in a quiet section of the hall. It was very nice! It was set just the same as the ones in the main ballroom. We were surprised, because we would have been more than happy to have just been handed a plate and a fork and found a place to sit near the photo backdrop. Sarah and I laughed because our private table and service (three people together brought us our meal!) would have made for a great date! We enjoyed our little bit of poshness. :)

The food was good. It was a sit-down dinner, as opposed to the buffet offered at the Army ball. For starters we could choose from fruit, or Yorkshire pudding. I was pretty hungry (and not too into melon), so I chose the pudding. It was really good. It had a savory gravy with lots of onions that reminded me of a thick French onion soup. Rolls and butter were included. We also got a salad - bacon salad! I thought of Larry (bacon is one of his very favorite foods). It was actually not bad, if a bit salty (their bacon here is more like ham). There was a sweet tomato dressing that set off the salty/savory bacon nicely.

The main entrée was beef and vegetables. Sarah and I were just starting on it when people started coming in for photos. Apparently there was a miscommunication, and people thought they had to get their photos taken between dinner and dessert (they were supposed to wait until after all the food was served, then come back for photos, if they hadn't gotten them done beforehand). Oh well. We asked some of the wait staff to make sure no one took our food.

Unfortunately after the rush, we returned to find out plates cleared. We were able to get fresh entrées (minus the veggies, which they were out of by then), as well as some dessert (which was served buffet style, and Sarah very kindly brought me back some so I didn't have to wait in line). The dessert was cute - everything was miniature! There was a little éclair type pastry, strawberries and chocolate, a truffle sort of chocolate, and sticky toffee pudding. Yum!

After everyone had dessert, there was another mad rush of photos. There was a crazy group photo at the end that had to have had a least a couple dozen people in it. I don't know how Sarah kept her cool!

It was pretty late by the time we were done. I'm so glad Sarah asked me to assist her. Even though we weren't participants in the ball, but rather were working at it, it was still a lot of fun.

(I am going to close for now. I still have odds and ends and things about Ryan to write. However, I wanted to at least start to catch up, and post something!)

Happy anniversary Jenn and Fred! Hope you both have a wonderful day together!

Love,

~Holly, Larry, and Ryan

I had fun Thursday night! I ran with the Harrogate Harriers (which has become a normal Tuesday night thing for me). One of the things that's fun about running with this group is that every single time I've gone, it's been a completely different experience: different weather, different amount of light (more on that later), different mix of people, and a different route. The fellow who leads our group, Keith, has been running around Harrogate for 30 years, so he really knows the lay of the land. He tries to mix it up so that every run is different. That definitely keeps it interesting. It does make it difficult to learn the runs, but I'm starting to recognize various bits and pieces that Keith mixes and matches.

There's a trail that goes around Harrogate and Knaresborough that's about 23 miles long (I can't for the life of me remember the official name of it right now). In a previous run with the HH's (Harrogate Harriers), I'd run on part of this trail. It was nice and even, and well marked, running through very scenic parts of the outskirts of town. This first impression led me to believe that all of the trail was such. Boy, was I ever mistaken! The wonderful thing about the UK (or at least North Yorkshire) is this trail not only cruises along nice and even paths, but also cuts through people's farms and fields. Several times during our run, we had to stop and climb over stiles. (Apparently farmers owning land the trail runs through are responsible for the upkeep of the stiles. I think they get some reimbursement from the local government to help with the cost.) The trail is marked - somewhat. There are very small signs on the stiles (about the diameter of a tennis ball), but there are sections where you definitely need to know the lay of the land or else get totally lost. The parts of the trail we ran over went through fields of sheep and horses. There was very long grass laying in waves over the ground, hiding deep holes made by livestock during wet spells. The combination of the grass and holes made for very effort intensive and dangerous running! I have to say though, the scenery was gorgeous, and I found it great fun to be running around through someone's farm land! Just the idea of it struck me as entertainingly novel. In the States, private property is just that: private. "Trespassers Will Be Shot," and all that. I just keep smiling and shaking my head that here, public footpaths go pretty much anywhere and everywhere, regardless. (Keith told us of a path he tries to avoid, because of the very close proximity to a homeowner's living room!)

Our run continued as dusk began to turn to night. I've always thought of dusk (and dawn) as magical times of day. After our adventure through the fields, we ran through some very "posh" areas with very nice houses. The air was pleasantly warm and heavy, a last touch of summer that felt good in my lungs and on my skin. I felt happy and light as I let my cares slip away, and simply enjoyed the semi-zen state my run had produced for me.

Towards the end of the run, I was feeling pretty good. A faster group broke away for the last mile or so, and I went with them. There was a girl near my age named Ellie, that I'd been chatting with off and on during the run. There's a thing that sometimes happens between runners towards the end of a run; the pace starts to quicken, an unspoken signal given, and undeniably, the race is on. Ellie thought she could out kick me. We both spared just enough breath for a quick laugh as we began our race to the end of the run. For a moment, I thought she might have me. Then I thought, "No!", put on a hard surge, and caught her. I think she was a little surprised. We were definitely both gassed! What she didn't realize, is nobody out kicks a Covert runner - current or former, no matter what kind of shape we're in! :)

I hadn't finished a run in that way in years. It was fun! The endorphins were pumping, and Ellie and I were enjoying the light camaraderie that forms between runners after a friendly competitive finish.

(I do have much more I want to post - about the air force ball, Ryan, and life in general. I haven't been able to get to the computer much lately, so I am very behind! Please bear with me, and I will try to get caught up as soon as possible. Thanks!)