Saying farewell to Maine with a ridicuously unhealthy whoopie!

What a week it's been. Several children needed peeling down from the ceiling as excitement built. We were just glad when Thursday finally rolled round and we could go and celebrate with dinner and drinks at the Tavern.

We had a Solstice party on Wednesday which was lots of fun with truffle making, gingerbread decorating and then an English tea. An amazing team of parent volunteers swooped into action and set up the room with cups and saucers and toasted crumpets. A few children braved the marmite option and many enjoyed the tea largely due to copious quantities of sugar...the afternoon was lively!

This morning I had a Christmas breakfast with Sarah, Stuart and Sofia which was lovely and I'm now sat in Logan airport after narowly escaping frost bite on the bus down from Portland. I could barely feel my extremeties. I had the foresight to wear my fluffy snow boots but didn't think to pack mittens. Every American airport I have been in so far has been really really boring and this is no exception. I've just wolfed a whoopie pie (Maine's state desert don't you know) followed by an apple to try and neutralise some of the badness and now have to try and pace myself before breaking up the monotony with a trip to Starbucks. Oh well, it's all worth it. I am SO looking forward to being home!

I just wish I could meet the new addition to the family, Jenny and Ceri's new baby. Welcome to the world baby Edward!

Last weekend, on Sallie's recommendation, I went to seek out the Victorian Mansion in Portland. Every year, different businesses decorate one of the rooms to match a theme, this year's being Christmas carols. It was lovely to have a stroll around and enjoy some Victorian opulence. I just loved the reindeers...

It has also been blooming cold this week and i've been quite right in claiming 'it's (insert choice word) freezing' -12C on Monday morning...brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Christmas domesticity!

I successfully made mince pies, look...

I am feeling very proud of myself. They even taste good despite the fact I forgot to add any salt to the pastry. This comes in the wake of me making biscotti last night. I managed to salvage some good looking biscuits from the carnage that ensued in the kitchen but also went to bed with a very full stomach after having eaten many bits that fell apart or were a little on the overdone side. Aren't my friends here lucky to be receivers of such gifts?!

I've had another interesting week with Monday night being a highlight. Sarah took me along to the Choral Arts Society's annual Messiah sing along. We entered a packed church in Portland full of people with thick manuscripts and a dressed down Southern Maine Symphony Orchestra. Sarah strode straight to the front to sit in the Soprano section and I meekly followed behind. There weren't many non-singers in the audience. What followed was beautiful. It really was amazing to be able to sit there amongst all the singers and just watch and listen, especially when the whole chorus were belting out the hallelujah chorus. Wow wow wow! The experience was slightly marred by the fruit bat standing behind who was as deaf as a post, chomped on her gum rather loudly and didin't necessarily hit all of the right notes in the chorus. She made me feel guilty for thinking bad things when she declared at the end of 'hallelujah' that she would never forget being part of it.

This week was also the christmas party at work. For me, the best things about having a christmas party were missing from the very beginning. I couldn't dress up as the party was 4-6pm after school on Thursday and as a result of this bottles of wine and the silliness that usually follows were also absent. Home by ten past 6...in the evening. Needless to say I didn't wake up in the early hours of the morning and wonder why my ankle was throbbing, see anyone do the splits from standing, hear any renditions of 'ice ice baby' or see anyone dancing on chairs. Roll on next year!

It did, however, allow me to experience a Yankee swap. Everyone takes along a gift and leaves it under the tree. You then pick a number from a hat to determine the order you will pick a gift in. Number 1 goes first and unwraps their present. Then number 2. If number 2 likes 1's more than theirs, they can steal it. Number 3 then has choice of their own, number 2's or number 1's and so on. I was number 4 - not great as you want a high number to have the best pick - and unwrapped something that was really not my cup of tea so quickly swapped it for a strange back to front clock which, oddly enough, no-one else wanted. I, however, think I got the best deal!!! My class are intrigued so think we're going to put it up to disconcert visitors to our room!

Anyway, this time next week I should be home on British soil. Very excited. Fingers crossed heavy snow holds off for just a little bit longer. I just hope that all of you are ready to tell me how much you like my accent several times a day to keep me from being Maine-sick!

'Tis the season to be jolly!

The festive season is building here, although at the moment without snow. On Monday it was the Cumberland tree lighting ceremony. Sarah's high school group sang some Christmas songs and then Santa rolled into town...on a fire truck!!! Cookies and hot chocolate were then served in the church rooms. Yum!

On Tuesday, Sarah's group held a proper concert in the church and it was lovely to hear. Some Christmas classics but not many carols...separation from the state means that schools are not allowed to show any connection to any one religion in particular. Very odd. I have to be careful to say 'the holidays' rather than Christmas. They did, however, finish with Silent Night from the balcony.

In celebration of 'the holidays' I have got a rather fetching tree in my room. One of my class drew me a huge picture of one which is now on my door. Not a spot of tinsel in sight so it is highly preferable to the white monstrocity that appeared last year when I was foolish enough to leave my classroom unattended for a morning. I haven't yet forgotten or forgiven!!! The scene that met me has scarred me for life.

Not a scrap of tinsel in sight, I love it! Big baubles of light hanging from trees in Bath.

Yesterday, I went up to Bath with Emily and her family. We all climbed aboard the Candy Cane Train, which goes up the coast to Wiscasset and back with all proceeds going towards a literacy project. It was very cute, with story readers in the carriages, carollers, dancing elves, cookies and of course a visit from Santa himself. He really knows how to travel (apparently he landed in the Sea Dogs stadium a couple of weeks ago in a helicopter too!)

It was lovely to spend time with Emily's family as they took over her aunt's old house, a huge place with a wonderful twirly staircase, perfect for descending to the waiting party below in a beautiful ball gown. Sadly, I didn't get the opportunity for such an entrance. As we walked through to the kitchen, I saw chains coming through the ceiling. I asked Emily if these were bell ropes used to make servants come running in the early days of the house. "They're coffin ropes," was the reply. Sure enough there was the lift for carrying coffins. With relief, I found out her family aren't vampires. The house used to be a funeral home. That made me feel better about the fact her family were all making me feel very very welcome!

Thomas was busy so we were pulled by Diesel.

Johannah and Henry enjoying the ride.

No Candy Cane Train would be complete without the dancing elves!

This week I made the decision to come back for Christmas. I wasn't planning on it but, as the time approached, I realised that as much as I love it here and have made some wonderful friends, I just wanted to see the people who know me best and take part in all our christmas traditions. How could I possibly miss Christmas eve dinner with friends, the Christmas morning dog walk around Sywell and of course roast potatoes? (No pressure Kath!) How could I possibly deny my mother the chance to give me that huge christmas present that she couldn't possibly post? So back on Christmas Eve until New Years Day. A whirlwind visit but time enough to enjoy good company, the joys of Marks and Spencers, the wonders of the BBC, Robinson's squash being on tap and wonderful muesli...oh I just can't wait to munch my way through several humungous bowls of the stuff whilst reading the G2.

Before I leave, however, I have to follow through on a rash promise I made to make mince pies. There isn't much that we have in the UK in the way of Christmas traditions that they don't have here, but small mince pies do not fill shelves and shelves of Hannaford as they would in every supermarket back home. In fact to have had 11 days of December already, yet not seen a single solitary one seems very very wrong. And lets face it, its not because Americans are worried about the horrifying numbers of calories they contain. I digress...thankfully, I found a jar of mincemeat after lots of laps of Hannaford and it is vegetarian. It doesn't look quite as I was expecting though. Because of this, I asked an assistant whether this was the only kind of mincemeat they stocked. He replied "errr...I don't work on meats, why don't you go and ask the butcher?" I politely (but with a withering look) informed him that there was no meat in the jar of mincemeat I was holding. Anyway, this is all a long way of saying that if my first attempt at mince pies is a complete disaster then it is nothing to do with me. Especially as this evening I surprised myself by making a yummy potato gratin using my mum's technique of guessing the quantity of ingredients needed, the cooking temperature and the cooking time. I know its not exactly rocket science but...domestic goddessdom here I come (and pride cometh before the mincepieth fall!)

Mmmmm marmite!

I'm planning a Winter Solstice party for my class and promised them a while ago that we would try good old English crumpets and marmite (I have tried to convert them already. Back in August at my open house I fed them crackers with marmite on top...some weren't convinced ao I'm trying again.) My 'room parents', who kindly bought me some crumpets last week to prove I wasn't hallucinating in the supermarket, are helping me to organise this event and today sent me this link from National Public Radio. All I can say is what a load of wimps...oh and they should have tried marmite properly, on hot crumpets with melting butter.
Mmmmmm....
Never mind Marmite, I still love you!

All the small things...

This week has been about all the small things making me smile...
(If, like me, you can't say these 4 words without thinking of Blink 182, here's the link to listen while you read even though it doesn't match my sentiment and the video is rather disturbing!)

1) Having Blackpool illuminations on my doorstep.
After Thanksgiving, preparations for Christmas step up several notches here but particularly on our street. Blackpool illuminations are not a patch on this. Every house has something, whether it be white lights wound around the trees (not just one tree but about 7 of them), balls of light dangling from trees or candles in every window. We have lights on the porch but, really, we are putting on a very poor show! I'm waiting for a complaint to come through the door.

2) Visiting Oxford, Paris (well...South Paris) and Norway all without leaving the state! It was interesting to take a trip West and see more rural Maine and its many lakes. I can't wait to see them in the depths of winter when they freeze over so hard that they turn into ice fishing villages with tents and cabins.

3) Spending Saturday afternoon in good company doing some crafting. It was lovely to get creative making tree ornaments, enjoying the silence of concentration and then breaking out into chatter as we enjoyed coffee and the wonders of dark chocolate digestives...thanks Anne!

4) Spinning again. I've bitten the bullet and joined a gym. I'm sad to leave behind exercising locally and in the great outdoors but running in the dark here would be truly ridiculous and would qualify as an extreme sport. Plus the only way I could continue to swim at the high school would be to get out of bed at quarter past five. Never going to happen! So I trundled off to the Y and haven't looked back. I am already addicted to spinning again although am intimidated by all the other superfit people in the class.

5) Finding the eleventh commandment whilst attending 'Christmas at the cathedral'. Today I went to see/hear the Choral Arts Society's Christmas concert and it was beautiful. A wonderful sound to make me feel all christmassy. Soooooo much better than listening to christmas songs played non-stop on some of the radio stations here which has the opposite effect of making me into a Christmas misery. I particularly liked 'Gloria' from 'The Bluegrass mass'. See what you think!

 
6) Having a lovely dinner with some lovely neighbours.

7) Starting my animated London advent calendar with my class (thanks Karin). On Friday we decorated the christmas tree and all chose a decoration to put on. We also got to hear Big Ben chime 9 o'clock. So exciting! I also enjoyed opening my chocolate one (thanks mum). When I told my class this, their faces said it all...but you're too old. NEVER!!!

Happy December everyone!