Her Man's Ramblings

"Bore da" (pronounced 'Bore-ray dar'). "That's 'Good Morning' in Welsh".
"Hi Y'all, how are ya". "That's 'Good Morning' in Oklahoman"

So started the conversation on a recent visit to the Border Agency Offices in Cardiff, South Wales, Sharon had to attend to give biometric data for her visa renewal now that we are married. As Cardiff is about a three hour road trip, we decided to go deeper into Wales and spend the weekend in Brecon, about 40 miles from Cardiff and in the heart of the Brecon Beacons.

Since returning home we have had another day on Dartmoor, including a visit to Dartmoor Prison Museum, (After 1812 when the United Stated declared war against the UK American prisoners were housed there.)

Following this, Sharon had a 'girls day' out to Minehead, on the north Somerset coast, including a ride on a West Somerset Railway steam train, something she has wanted to do since arriving here,

Back at home, 'Ol' Glory' flies proudly outside our front door. This is a story in itself ..... the first flagpole bracket buckled twice (in two days) with the wind .............. not to be beaten, the replacement is fabricated, welded, and heavyyyyyyy !!!!! Eventually we intend to fly our 'combined' flag ..... as seen at the bottom right of this page.

What with all of this, the gardening, the photography, etc ..... and taking very good care of her man, life is very busy - but no doubt she will eventually get around to writing something herself again.
 

Where has the time gone ?? Already we have been married nearly three months (and still speaking to each other ;-)  ), the snow from the wedding week has long disappeared, and the garden that Sharon has put so much hard work into is beginning to reward her labours.

My ‘english rose’ has settled well, and is now an integral part of the community ….. more of an ‘okie from okie’  nowadays, as opposed to an ‘okie2okie’ !!!! She still says ‘y’all’ occasionally, so she’s not totally anglicised yet

We are again in a ‘bureaucratic paperwork’ saga ……… changing names on Sharon’s US passport proved relatively easy, once we’d accepted that US/UK passport photos are completely different sizes/formats ….. and the fact that the US Embassy in London will not accept payment in any other currency than US$$ !!!

Registering with Doctors, Dentists, and other services all went very smoothly (much more smoothly than my cynical  mind expected !!) …. and we are once again re-enacting the Visa ‘saga’ !!! I say ‘re-enacting’, because, would you believe, this is no easier than the first time around. But just as worth it.
The questions are the same, the requirements are the same,  the aggravation is the same ….  even to the extent that another appointment  for biometric data is required !!!!!

The new computer is up and running, but Sharon’s laptop remains an important kitchen accessory (see Seasons Change – March 11th) ….. actually, now that we have them set up on a wireless network, we are enjoying listening to K95.5FM most days.

Life is good, our marriage is good, and in the words of ‘my other half’ …. I sure smile a lot !!!! But then - so does she !!

Christmas Day 2008 - a wonderful day (our first Christmas together), and a quiet day at home with Vicky, and our grandson Alfie, and friends later.
Boxing Day - we walked into Okehampton to watch the annual Hunt commence.
All photos are in the Galleries.
Wishing all our friends, and everyone who reads this, a happy Christmas, and a successful and healthy New Year.

Sharon had a request played on 'Big Al's Country' - Radio Devon, Sunday 16 Nov 2008
(The sound quality isn't too good !!!)
** Audio controls optimised for IE - do not function in Firefox, not tested in other browsers.

My first entry from England ....... together !!!!

I had a wonderful time revisiting Tulsa, but it was a little saddening to be taking Sharon away from her friends. She truly is a wonderfully brave person in being so willing to give everything up for me, and move to a strange home, and strange country (particularly at our time of life), and start again. This is very greatly appreciated, and I feel incredibly proud and privileged that she was willing to do this ……………… I also feel extremely lucky, and it feels sooooooo good now that she is here with me.

Our last week in Tulsa was a blur of motel living, goodbyes, tears, shopping frenzy, and hundreds of photos !!! Our journey to the UK was smooth but lengthy, and Sharon was airsick the whole way until we arrived at Gatwick airport – about 24 hours after we had arisen. She felt better after a visit to the bathroom in Gatwick departure lounge (in her words “I left the last 48 hours in the ladies bathroom !!!!”) ……… and actually enjoyed the flight to Plymouth. She had always said that, on arrival, she would “kiss the ground I walked on”, and sure enough, she did !!!

   

Entering the arrivals lounge at Plymouth, would you believe that we met a cabin stewardess from Charleston, SC; who had lived in Plymouth for 13 years – she spoke with a local dialect, and a southern drawl !!!!!

The drive home from the airport was in daylight, which gave Sharon her first chance to see the Devon countryside, and a short part of the journey was across Dartmoor. After starting out at 5.30am on Sunday, we finally got indoors about 4pm on Monday !!!!

Tuesday and Wednesday we spent unpacking suitcases, and walking around Okehampton, trying to get her (slightly) familiar with it before having to return to work.

I returned to work on Thursday, so we are now beginning to develop routines, etc. Sharon has already made a few friends, and has ventured out on her own (complete with hand drawn map !!!) and is slowly getting used to being in a different environment, different climate, different language (at times), different money, me driving on the correct side of the road, etc.

It’s now a week since we left, and we are finally starting to recover. Reality is sinking in ………… we are both comfortable with 'reality', and we are both ecstatically happy.