old habits die hard

it's funny, i find one always carries the remnants of where they grew up, no matter where they go...

in law class this week, we're reaching the final 5 classes of our year long adventure. we had our half-term national exams in january (which thankfully i passed), and now there are two more exams plus a portfolio for june.

we were told to get our portfolio in for easter, and suddenly the laid back students whose attendance was sporadic at best have now disappeared.

the teacher is taking role and says, 'mrs. x'.

the girl next to me asks me, 'who is mrs. x?'

in america i'd say, 'that's the african american girl who works in town C'

i know it's not right in the UK to say 'african american', so i'm stuck.
in my region of philadelphia, to say 'black' is not the most appropriate. most appropriate would be 'african american'.

uhhhh.
uhh.
that's the girl who works in town C?

seatmate 1: who?
seatmate 2: ohhh, the black girl?
heather: aaah, yes.

it's funny how a term which flies over here would potentially cause issues in, or not be the best in the phillyland area...

Grounded

I've been missing in Blogland for a few days; I was burning the midnight oil studying for a work certification test which I was supposed to take next week, in the US.

British Air tonight cancelled all flights tomorrow, regardless of what comes of the continuing ash saga. On the one hand, I'm a little annoyed having spent all the time in preparation, including taking three days of vacation, on the other hand, the test is regular and will be offered again and I'd rather not fall out of the sky.

From what I've been reading on the internet a lot of people are a lot worse off, missing one-time events like weddings and funerals or having to travel thousands of miles by car to get somewhere or sleeping in airports. I'm still at home with a bubble bath and a glass of white wine on my agenda this evening and no alarm to go off at the crack of dawn tomorrow.

This air situation has been unfolding over here day by day, so I've been carrying on with the assumption that I would travel, although being 90% sure that I wouldn't. Slocombe was deposited at The House of Treats on Thursday as planned and I had all laundry done and everything fresh eaten from the refrigerator. In some ways, it's been a blessing as I've been taking advantage of the time since the cancel to get some things done which are a lot easier without a little furry person around, like shifting plants between the front and back terraces.

Still on the agenda for tomorrow...
-more work in the garden. I've been planting the tomatoes, peas and beans outside in their final homes for the season.
-possibly painting the kitchen and bathroom ceilings. this would be much easier without Slocombe in attendance and the weather here is quite nice during the days, up to 18, so the doors can be left open all day, sans cat.

Slocombe the cat's garden update

Dear blogging world,
Tappity tap, Slocombe the cat here. Someone took Thursday afternoon and Friday off from work as the weather was so nice, to have study days. I convinced her to take a few breaks to work in the garden though...I thought I'd catch you up on our rooftop garden activities.

Here I am ruling over my strawberry kingdom:


Here someone moved those little seedlings to their own pots and put them into these trays so they can go out on sunny days and come back inside when it's too cold. You're seeing bean and pea plants here:

Someone bought two catnip (or catmint in UK terminology!) plants. I ignore these plants regularly, unless someone breaks off a bit for me. When she moved them into larger pots, a little wore off onto her gloves:


Here I am guarding the little shovel while someone takes a coffee break. Sheesh, must I do everything around here?!?

Here is the final view as it now stands, prior to sweeping up the loose dirt. Looks good so far. We have strawberries, potatoes, garlic, catnip and my grass, and one chilli pepper outside, as well as the tomatoes, beans and peas in small pots awaiting bigger homes.

Easter in Essex

When I lived in Germany, there was a definite need to get away for the four day Easter weekend as the stores were chaos on Thursday and Saturday due to being closed the other days. Without family in Germany and with friends away, four days off wasn't such a great deal when everything including the museums was closed. I guess it's always nice to be able to sleep in and read books though.

Here in my corner of the UK, Thursday, Friday and Saturday were considered 'normal' days. Sunday everything was closed. On Monday, many stores were open.

I took yesterday and today as study days, I have a work certification exam coming up. However, I nipped out for some fresh air today. It was cold and windy, but the showers held off:

Beyond the green grass and some daffodils and impatients in town, I cannot see so many signs of spring, so I had to take a photo of the one I did see:

This fellow was crossing the path, so I tried out my 'close-up' mode:

It's still chilly here, though. I saw dogs out on their walk wearing coats and people in hats and scarves. (Tapping fingers) Can't wait to be able to jump into the full swing of gardening.

The answer to the quiz

Thanks to ian in hamburg and LuLu's Bay for playing along. The couple I met explained to me that they were Hungarians.

Hungarians with German as their primary language?

But of course! They explained--> Germans of Hungary

Seedlings

As you may remember, the seeds were started around St. Patty's day. Since then, all five containers have sprouted, so off came the cling film:

Here are the tomatoes enjoying a sunny day:

There is also oregano, basil, hot peppers and lettuce.

The living room window faces the same direction, so that one has been comandeered as well for seeds:

There are lots more tomatoes and peppers, and some seeds for New friend Ian's garden which is a shady and cool patch of land. So he gets eggplants, peas and brussel sprouts.

Unfortunately 'someone' is not so pleased that her window view has been displaced by all of these planting things. As I came home the other day she was sneezing upon arrival, so I knew she was up to something. Not sure if you can see the destruction of the furry wonder:

It appears that someone has taken to uprooting the seedlings. Or it's been raining all week so we haven't been outside for her to get enough greens. :-(