Topping up at the petrol station

I am proud (or should I be embarrassed) to say I have not pumped gas since our arrival here in the UK. At first Dan just took care of it, but then it started to become a goal of mine to never pump gas while I am here. Don't ask me why - it just sounded like a good idea to me.

Well, after five months, I had to pump gas into my car for the first time yesterday. Dan is away on business for an extended period of time, so it was either pump gas or not leave my house.

As you probably know, gas (or petrol as the Brits call it) is very expensive here. Here was my total:

Let's convert that into US dollars and gallons.


One British Pound is equivalent to $1.59, so my total to fill the gas tank was $87.00. There are 3.64 liters in a US gallon, so my per gallon cost was a whopping $6.99!


This trip to the gas station will motivate me to walk more...


Linda

Can a CPA be creative?

The question I am most frequently asked by friends in the US is, "How are you spending your days while the hubby is at work and the kids are at school?".  With all the culture and history in the area, I have a lot options to fill my days.


When we decided to make this move, one of my goals was to spend more time nurturing my creative side.   So, I have made sure to devote some time each week to art projects.  Here are a few that I have completed:

Knitting - In middle school, I learned the basics of knitting (knit and purl) but never took it any further.  One of the school Moms I have become friends with asked if I wanted to join her in a knitting circle.  She brought in a knitting teacher from London to review the basics with us for about two hours.  I selected a pattern that was quite challenging and have just about completed a scarf for Dan. It took 3 skeins of yarn and two weeks to knit.

Painting - The walls in our rental house are all painted white, so they are screaming for some color. I thought that the family could create some art work to put on the walls.  Everyone contributed a few brush strokes, but I spent a lot of time finishing this.  The painting is a scene from Tuscany and it is hanging up in our dining room.

Collage - I went to an art studio yesterday with about 15 other school Moms and created a personal collage.  My theme was London and used some vintage images, paint, gold leaf, tissue paper and fabric.  It was great fun.

Question:  Should I stick with debits and credits?


Linda

Our Town

The town we are living in is Walton-on-Thames in the county of Surrey.   Walton is southwest of London about 15 miles from the city center.  The county of Surrey has a population of about 1.1 million, with 22,000 residing in the town of Walton.  It is a 25 minute train ride into the center of London.

The County of Surrey

The River Thames bounds the town from the north.  

River Thames and the Walton pubs The Angler and The Swan

Many swans inhabit Walton - The Queen owns all the
wild swans living in the open water in the UK

Now, for a quick history lesson detour:  Surrey was inhabited by the Romans and it is said that Julius Caesar sailed the Thames through Walton on his second invasion of Britian.  The region was eventually conquered by the Saxons.  The Vikings sailed up the Thames attempting to take Surrey but were defeated by the Saxons.  In the Middle Ages, the Normans invaded.  In early modern times, the early Tudor kings constructed magnificent royal palaces in northern Surrey, in convenient proximity to London.   Just 10 minutes from our house is the gorgeous Hampton Court Palace, one of Henry VIII's homes.  Needless to say, there is an incredible amount of history here.  OK...now you can wake up.

Hampton Court Palace - Anne Boleyn's ghost supposedly resides here

Famous people born in Walton include Julie Andrews and Nick Lowe (he is the singer of one of my all time favorite songs, Cruel To Be Kind).


The town of Walton has undergone a huge transformation over the last five years.  The old town center was built in the 1960s and had become very run down due to poor maintenance. The Heart of Walton is the name given to the re-development of the Walton town center.  In 2006, The Heart opened and includes a shopping mall and apartments.

The Heart shopping mall and apartments

There are lots of outside dining options in Walton  -
people eat out side rain or shine, winter or summer

We really enjoy living in Walton as we like walking to town to shop and eat.  There is a movie theater and a wonderful library (Zoe has read about half of their books already!).


For us, Walton is the perfect town for our home away from home in the UK.


Linda

More on My Blog Title

I have received some inquiries on my blog title, The Lady What Lunches. Specifically, people are wondering why the title uses the word "what" rather than the words "that" or "who".

The blog title uses proper English, known in the UK as "BBC English" or "the Queen's English". Over the years, the use of this English in the UK has become far less prevalent in everyday language. However, you will hear this language used a lot on the tele here in England. And the Queen probably talks like this too.

One of Dan's colleagues at Shire told him about this phrase. I thought it sounded so ridiculously proper that I named my blog after it.

Here is Zoe saying the phase with the English accent she has been working on:

Linda

Let's get you up to date - Part 3

It is great fun when family and friends come to visit.   Our house has seen quite a few visitors already and we hope for many more soon.

Most recently, my Mom, Dad and brother, Phil, visited for an extended period.  My parents immigrated to the US over 50 years ago.  It was their first trip back to Europe in as many years.

How cute!

We were also able to visit Paris.  Mom and Dad loved the city of lights.

My brother spent a fun filled month with us.  He is a writer / producer living in LA. 

My brother always looks -- how do I say this? -- "odd" in photographs,
as you can see from this picture of us as kids
(he's on the far left looking away from the camera - yes he has legs in real life).

He still looks away from the camera

Looking the other way

This one defies explanation

Also visiting for a week before Christmas was Noah and Zoe's friend, Michelle, from our neighborhood in Philadelphia.  We had a blast exploring London and Paris.

Who will visit next?


Well, you are now up to date on our first four months in London.  More to come...


Linda

Let's get you up to date - Part 2

As many of you know, our family loves to travel.  Our move to London has afforded us the exciting opportunity to travel through Europe quite easily.

So where have we been since we arrived in August?

We have spent a number of weekends traveling in our home country - England.  It is beautiful - rolling green countrysides, historic palaces, lovely gardens and lots of yummy pubs!

Shakespeare's home at Stratford upon Avon

A visit to a working farm - it's a goat

Noah's long lost brother lives on the farm

The Roman baths in Bath

Gorgeous English gardens

Delicious English beer

We have traveled to the continent too...

Romantic Venice

Dan proposed to me on this very spot 18 years ago -
it was great to share this special place with the kids

Artsy Florence

 Medieval Sienna

The cheesy, but required, Leaning Tower of Pisa pictures - let me know which one you think is the best

At the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa - it seriously leans a lot!

Picturesque Brugges, Belgium

Christmas in Paris

And last, but not least, the city of London - it is such a beautiful and welcoming city.  We love visiting as often as possible.

Big Ben

The London Eye

Crossing at Abbey Road

More soon....

Linda

Let's get you up to date - Part I

So how have we been doing for the last four months since our move to the UK?    The short answer is we are all doing great.  The kids are settled into their new school.  We love our home.  Dan is enjoying the work environment in the UK.


So how did we get here?


Well, it started with a boat load of paperwork to arrange our visas, followed by two moving trucks, one that transported some of our most precious belongings by plane and another by ship.  It took about four weeks for both to arrive to us in the UK.  The moving company sent our air shipment by mistake to Sweden (how does that happen!).  But eventually all our belongings arrived safely.

Moving truck for our ocean shipment

Our new home is a 25 minute train ride from London.  It takes about 5 minutes to walk to town and the train station.  It has a great backyard for the kids to explore.  It is inhabited by lots of birds, hedgehogs and even a fox!

Our home in Surrey

Wild kingdom backyard

After one week of getting settled, Noah and Zoe started their new school.  They get picked up at the end of our driveway every morning by their school bus.  The bus driver even wears a tie!!

First day of school in England (no uniforms!!)

What service!!

With the kids off to school, my first goal was to learn to drive on the left hand side of the road. After four months and a few scratches on our car's bumper, I feel comfortable driving.  Just not sure that everyone else in England feels comfortable with me on the road!

First day in the car - OMG!!

I will need to get my UK drivers license within one year of our arrival.  The pass rate in the UK is 43%.  Any guesses how many tries I will need to pass?  More to come...


Linda

The Beginning

View of Big Ben and Parliament from the London Eye (Dec 2010)

First, a few words on the name of my blog.  This is a phrase used in the UK to describe a woman of leisure - one who does not work and, apparently, frequently lunches.


I am happily living in the suburbs of London with my dear husband and two children.  In August, I left my job as the lead financial officer of a small, public biotech company in Philadelphia to make this family move to the UK.  I am using this time off to discover Europe, as well as do some soul searching and hopefully determine what I want to do with the rest of my life.  


I hardly ever go out to lunch, but I do love to explore and try new things.  I hope you follow me on this journey.


Linda