Home again!

Hello Everyone,

I am happy to say I made it home safe and sound on Thursday afternoon, It took 3 trains, two cab rides, two car rides one trans-European flight and another trans-Atlantic flight to return me back to New Hampshire. I have to say I was sad to go as I have really grown to enjoy living in Wales with Phil, Lynne, Libby and Tess. On Monday night we had a little party with many of the Roger's friends I have gotten to know during my stay. Lynne and I baked all day and made loads of yummy foods. I learned how to made Christmas pudding and Welsh Cakes amongst other things. It was a really nice to see everyone and enjoy good food and drink.
On Tuesday Phil had to drop some pots off at a gallery that was a few hours away. It was quite posh riding in his leather, heated seats. Lynne bought me some Welsh wool yarn so I knitted all the way there. Its surprising how some galleries have such badly done art in them. The one we went to in particular was just awful. There was some nice stuff but there was just some wretched paintings and 3-d things that were grossly overpriced. It makes me wonder how one can have a gallery if one's eye cannot spot horrible pieces. It led to some interesting discussion and more learning experiences for me. Its too bad because it was a lovely space in a a nice area.
Wednesday was the day I left. I packed real quick and got all my stuff ready. Phil and Lynne loaded me up with gifts. I packed my Christmas pudding that weighed about 3.5 pounds-its quite a dense dessert. I also brought another British tradition to America- Christmas Crackers. They are these paper things that have two long ends. 2 people each hold an end and you pull. There is a prize inside with a funny hat. Also, there is some kind of mechanism inside that makes a loud "BANG". I brought a bunch home and thought it would be fun to make my family wear dorky hats. Phil says I should market them in the US as they have the potential to make millions. After big hugs and goodbyes Lynne drove me to the train station at Caeswrs. We made it just in time for me to hop on the train.
About two hours later I was in Birmingham. After another train switch I called a taxi which had difficulty finding the bed and breakfast I was staying at. Eventually he got his bearings and delivered me safely there. The B&B was bit odd because it was this old Irishman whose house I had to walk through to get to my room. Needless to say, it was clean, warm and had a TV so I could watch my last episode of Coronation Street. I went to bed early and rose at 4am. A taxi picked me up at 5-he also had a hard time finding the B&B. My plane left at 6:30 am. A 55 minute flight landed me in Paris where I had a layover of several hours. They had these really nice squishy leather chairs that were by a wall of sunny windows. I got comfortable there and knitted for a while. After finally boarding the plane which was huge, we sat on the ground for about an hour. That flight lasted six hours. I sat next to this elderly couple who spoke French. The woman kept trying to talk to me. Although her English was better than my French, I couldn't make heads or tails of what she was saying. I just kept nodding and saying Yes. When we finally touched down in Boston it was snowing and there were a few feet of snow on the ground. It took a while to get through customs and baggage claim. I saw my mom right away and was able to sneak up on my dad from behind and give him a big bear hug. I was completely knackered but very glad to see them and be back home. When we pulled into the driveway my sisters, Kristen and Hannah were jumping up and down on the front porch standing behind a snow woman they made for me. Its nice to have a big family. Today I'll be going Christmas shopping with Kristen. Keep checking my web albums for pictures of the igniting of the Christmas pudding and Crackers. I hope you all have a very happy Christmas (or Hanukkah). I will return to Wales January 22 so you can expect my weekly updates to start again. Until then, Happy Holidays everyone!

Take care,
Kari
http://picasaweb.google.com/nhthrower
http://kariinwales.blogspot.com/