Rudders at Home

I was on my way home today when I was waylaid by a young man full of Christmas spirit. As he proceeded to grab my hand and kiss it, he declared that I was both, boring AND cold.  I tried to explain to him that yes, while I was boring and cold, I was also not interested in his attention. That didn’t however, prevent him from trying to persuade me to go the same direction as him and his friend. Thank goodness for the friend. He provided a distraction as I escaped towards the underground.

Somehow I think his Christmas spirit was of the alcoholic variety.

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I’ve been busy recently. Very busy. Work has me in early and home late, so I haven’t had much time to sit down at home, let alone post to the site. However, just last weekend, I did take much appreciated afternoon off to celebrate my birthday.

It started when Paul brought home my birthday cake:

Absolutely yummy. Paul brought this home for me from Patisserie Valerie last Friday. Granted, that was October 31, but we were on our way out the door for my annual birthday trip. This year it was a bit low key, completely different from the year before. But that’s ok, because I had a fabulous time, and I finally got to celebrate Bonfire Night in the UK.

My birthday falls on November 5, which  in America is most often just a normal day, unless it happens to fall on an election day. Which it doesn’t this year. Close, but not quite. In the UK, November 5 is Bonfire Night. Bonfire Night – what is that, you ask? Well, it’s a holiday the UK has to celebrate the foiled plot of Guy Fawkes’ attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament.

The weekend before my birthday, Paul took me up to Derbyshire for my annual trip. We went there specifically to tour the house Chatsworth and go to their Bonfire Night celebrations. Not to mention enjoy the beautiful countryside up there.

Chatsworth celebrated Bonfire Night in style. Not only did we get to see this massive fire, but they also put on an impressive display of fireworks.

It was a great night. Not too cold, and only minimal rain. The event started at 6:30, and they had food vans selling pasties and sausage sandwiches, along with beer, tea and coffee. It was a bit of a carnival, with people on stilts all dressed up and then they also had performers who were juggling fire batons and all sorts.

It was a quick weekend, with the Saturday spent touring the house and exploring the gardens. I was having a terrible afternoon with the camera, though, and didn’t manage to get many pictures, which is a bit disappointing. It was a nice break and one I’ll definitely remember for a while.

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When I was little, I used to look for salamanders on the road after a rainfall in the summer. During the summer, a nice cool rain would bring them out and you could find them very easily along the road.

This is a salamander, or a red spotted newt, native to the Eastern US. When they’re young, they’re this vibrant orangey red color. They turn brown as they get older and head towards the water.

The weather turned on our last couple days in the US this last time. On the last afternoon, Paul and I took a bike ride down the road. As it had just rained I held out some hope of spotting a salamander, and I was in luck. I thought it might be a bit cold for them, but we ended up spotting two. I had to flag Paul down on his bike though, as he very nearly ran one over! But once he understood what it was all about, he made fast friends.

We didn’t disrupt them too much – just made sure they crossed the road safely!

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You can’t get Libby’s pumpkin just anywhere in the UK, and sometimes it can cost a fortune.  However, I’m lucky enough that a local grocery store stocks it and at a reasonable price. Unfortunately, they don’t get very much in, (unlike the Wal-mart I went to when I was back home), and it always seems that I’m behind the crowd. Last year I was too late, and they were all out, so there was no pumpkin pie in the Rudders household. It was a very sad time.

But I’m ahead of things this year. I’ve stocked up.

I stopped by the grocery store today in order to get some pumpkin puree. I am now officially ready for fall and the holidays. Let the pie making begin!

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Well, I’m back in the UK and trying hard to get myself over my post holiday melancholy before returning to work tomorrow.

I’m not feeling particularly creative this evening, so I figure I’ll talk about the weather. There’s no denying that here in the UK fall is definitely upon us. That’s ok, though, because the weather had turned on my last day in the US. I don’t mind arriving to poor weather if that’s what’s going on back home as well. 😛 That way I don’t feel like I’m missing anything.

The weather was so lovely when I was home we were able to have two cook outs. It’s so nice to have a fire in the backyard to cook a hot dog over.

If you are interested in the results of the guys’ big trip north, please head over to Rudders’ Ramblings. I’ve made Paul put up pictures. I’ll be updating things regarding my trip to Ohio soon, as well as some other random things that came out of my three week trip to the States. Stay tuned.

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