I'm here! I'm alive! All is well! :)

Goodness, it has been a while, hasn't it?

I really just have not had much of a chance to be on my computer lately. However, I do wish to rectify my lack of entries soon.

Larry left in the wee hours Sunday morning for another tdy. Unfortunately, he will not be back before Ryan and I leave for the States. :(

Hope everyone has a good week - especially with Thanksgiving coming up!

Happy birthday to Mark, and Heather! Hope each of you has a great one!

Love,

~Holly, Larry, and Ryan

On Saturday, Larry and Ryan and I went to the Corbridge Roman Site and Museum. Corbridge was a supply base for Hadrian's Wall. Larry's become interested in Hadrian's Wall since moving here, and we've been wanting to take a day trip there for a while now. We didn't make it to the wall itself, but the site at Corbridge was interesting to explore. They had a small, but nice museum and visitor's center. There was a little table for kids where they could color and do puzzles. Ryan enjoyed coloring.

After wandering through the museum, we went outside to the ruins. It definitely wasn't the best day to be outside, weather wise. It was cold, windy, and rainy. Luckily it didn't rain much while we were there. We went through some very heavy rain and wind on the way there and back though.

Corbridge

Happy birthday Brice!

This is one of the fireworks pictures I took on Bonfire Night. (Larry likes this photo. He says it's, "trippy." :)) The bright orb is the moon. The camera I used has a "fireworks" setting, but actually I found that "night landscape" worked better. I don't know if it will show up on here, but in the full res version, you can see the clouds in the night sky, and it adds a really amazing texture to the whole thing.

Yesterday we didn't have running water for a while. Apparently, a main burst somewhere. Unfortunately, our washing machine also decided to go on the fritz yesterday. I'm not sure if the two events are related, but I was in the middle of a load of laundry when the water was shut off, and the washer hasn't been the same since. We tried to get a hold of the landlord today, but couldn't. Larry and I hope we can get the washing machine fixed asap!

Today was the first day I would say it was officially cold. I actually wore a hat and a scarf, and wished I had gloves! I put mitts on Ryan, but he just pulled them off.

Speaking of Ryan, I forgot to mention that for a while now, he'll say, "Zip!" and zip up his jammies himself. He also likes to zip up my hoodie for me. :)

(This is a photo of this year's bonfire. We were fairly far away. The bonfire was pretty huge.)

It is definitely that time of year where the whole sunlight situation (or lack thereof) is weird. It is just WRONG that it's dark by five pm. It's also so strange that the sun never gets very high up in the sky. It seems late all day. I really don't like it.

We've been pretty fortunate with the weather so far though. Except for a day here and there, it's been pretty dry. At the end of October, we had some unseasonably warm days, which was wonderful! Over the last week or so though, the weather here seemed to remember it was November, and the temperature dropped accordingly. When the sun is out, it's gorgeous except for the wind/breeze (there always seems to be one or the other around here). It's the breeze that makes it really cold. The sun is warm, but the wind has a sharp, freezing edge to it.

I managed to kill a plant. My Grandfather had the greenest thumb, and my Dad does, too. I thought I'd inherited at least a little of it. At a friend's baby shower, little flowers were given out as mementos. The idea was to pot the plant and watch it grow in honor of the baby to be. Well, I bought a nice pot and some nice soil, and potted the nice plant and put it in a nice spot in the kitchen window. It promptly was devoured by aphids and died. I think I may have over watered it, too. Oh well. It may not mean the green thumb gene skipped me. Even the best lose a plant now and then. It was still a bit disappointing.

Speaking of disappointing, I discovered today that someone threw an egg at our house! I hope it was random. We live in a decent area. I think it's so stupid when people do things like that. Larry said it's probably the same people who pulled off our license plate!

I've been running with the Harrogate Harriers still. I think I can actually see some improvement in my running, which is always gratifying. Because of where the group meets, pretty much all the runs end uphill. Tuesday night, I started up that final uphill stretch and realized I felt good and strong. I enjoyed a sense of power as I increased my pace and accelerated up the hill. It's moments like that when I truly savor being a runner.

Ryan's been doing well. He's started saying, "Ready, steady, go!" Which every time Larry hears, he says to Ryan, "Ready, SET, go!" :P

Last Saturday, Larry and Ryan and I went to IKEA for a few things, then had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe in Leeds. That was fun. We hadn't had lunch there in a while. Oddly, we were seated at the same table we sat at the last time we were there.

Today Ryan and I took advantage of the nice weather and spent a lot of time outside. In the late morning, we went over to the shopping area where the farmer's market (on every 2nd Thursday) was taking place. It was fun to browse, though I didn't buy anything. Of course we stopped at Starbucks! Actually, during our previous two visits, we got free drinks! The first time was because a very nice girl there doesn't charge us for Ryan's hot chocolate, when she's working the register. I think that's very sweet! She says that it's hardly anything at all, and we're in all the time. It's much appreciated! The second time was because another barista forgot to put espresso in my gingerbread latte! :) Neither time was I expecting it, so both times the freebies were a pleasant surprise!

Ryan and I came home and had lunch, then we went back out to the Stray where he ran around for almost an hour. Ryan loves to run, and he loves to be outside. A few days ago, Ryan accidentally discovered how much fun it is to roll down a slope. Ever since then, he's been trying to duplicate the experience! It's funny how kids take you back to your own childhood. I'd forgotten how much I used to enjoy rolling down hills. Another thing Ryan loves to do that I think everyone loves at some point is kicking and tromping through fallen leaves. It's so much fun to watch Ryan having such a good time!

It's that time of year again, where England celebrates the foiling of the "Gun Powder Plot," and the capture of Guy Fawkes by burning him in effigy! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes#General_popularity

This morning Larry ran the Guy Fawkes 10 Miler at Ripley Castle. It was a dry day, but cold and extremely windy. There were 871 runners in the race. The course was tough and very hilly (Larry counted at least seven distinct hills). One hill was a 15% grade. (I was glad I wasn't running!) Larry told me the first part of the race went through the castle itself.

Larry did well, placing 258th overall, with an official finishing time of 1:17:52.

Larry said it was a great running environment, and that, "The Brits do running well," referring to their enthusiasm and friendliness.

Later on in the evening, Larry and Ryan and I walked over to the Stray to watch the Bonfire Night fireworks, and of course to see the bonfire itself. (Photos to follow at some point.) It was brisk out, but not terribly cold.

We timed it really well, since the fireworks started right after we arrived. We also got a really good spot. It wasn't too crowded (which was a feat, since there were supposed to be about 10,000 people there), and we had a wonderful view of the full moon as a backdrop for the fireworks.

Larry tried to put Ryan up on his shoulders so he could see the fireworks. However, Ryan was more interested in trying to run around than in watching fireworks.

It was a good display, and we enjoyed watching it.

Happy birthday Rene!

Happy anniversary Shawn and Jeremy!

Love,

~Holly, Ryan, and Larry

First, happy birthday Jim!

On Halloween I set out a jack'o'lantern to let trick or treaters know we had candy (since we don't have a porch light). At one point I went out to check on the pumpkin, and noticed that someone had taken the "lid" off and set it to the side. There was a slight burn mark on the lid. I thought it was nice of someone to spot a potential fire hazard and remove it for us. Very considerate! :)

We did have some trick or treaters, but we had waaaay more candy than we needed! :)

Ryan enjoyed answering the door, and it seemed people enjoyed seeing Ryan! (He wasn't even in costume!)

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(Drawing by Venessa http://www.mudblood428.com/index.html)