Day at the Lake

Every so often Andy & I will go to the lake with some of our friends for a day of wakeboarding, waterskiing and a BBQ. Andy loves wakeboarding and I've tried it, but I'm really no good at it. Still they try and get me in the water - fortunately this time, I had a good excuse! I sprained my ankle on a run yesterday morning, so there was no way I could get out there. But it's still fun to watch everyone and I got to play with Annabel for a long time : )

BBQ!

One boat ride and she was out like a light!

Annabel is so beautiful - so delicate and precious. And she's also got the blanket that Andy & I gave her! I just love holding her and looking at her, even if she's crying - I don't mind. Anyway, it was a great day out - the sun was shining and that's about all it takes to have a good day here. This morning it's so foggy I can't even see the park out back; there is very loud thunder and it's pouring rain. Gotta appreciate the good weather while it lasts.

Andy comes home tonight from Sweden - I can't wait to see him!

My Last Day at Woking Borough Council

Walking out the doors of the Benefits Department for the last time

Yesterday was my last day at Woking Borough Council. It was a day of mixed emotions - on the one hand I was happy to be finishing with work(!) and moving onto school, but I was also sad because I have truly come to adore (most of) the people I work with - I've spent nearly everyday with them for the last two years and now I'll only see them when I pass by from time to time.

And it wasn't just my Leaving Do - we were also celebrating the fact that our colleague, Sue, is getting married next week. We did what all English people do when they want to celebrate - we went for a meal and to the pub! We had dinner at this place called Nando's, their speciality is peri-peri chicken.

I'm glad at least 3 people are looking at the camera - not a good group shot!

Sue and Me

The girls (Karen, Jenny, Nicky, Me, Jan and Lorraine)

All in all, a great night out. Thus ends another chapter in my life. Now I've just got a couple days to get myself ready to come to the States! Deary me...my life does move at quite a pace.

Weekend in Morchard Bishop, Devon

This weekend I visited my friend Richard, his wife Anna and their daughters (who are my age). They live in a tiny village in Devon called Morchard Bishop which is about 30 minutes outside Exeter. Richard and I met at Exeter University back in 2004 when we were in a study group with two other students. Richard really looked after our group - he would often pick us up, take us back to his house and Anna would cook lovely meals for us. Sometimes they would take us to National Trust houses and gardens and we would take long walks with their dogs. We have maintained a friendship ever since. More than anything Richard and Anna are just wonderful to be around and their hospitatlity is endless. This is the lovely little thatched cottage they live:

My room when I stay there

I've always wanted a door like this!

I also really love the booth wish cushions on it...very cozy.
I will have an Aga someday...this is actually a Rayburn, but same difference.

While I was there we went to their friend's smallholding. The farm is fantastic - organized chaos...or not so organized as it were. They had not one, but TWO litters of kittens...12 total. Andy is lucky I didn't bring one home...I bonded with the black cat with blue eyes. I was even able to help out - apparently the pigs kept escaping so we fixed the fence. The whole experience was wonderful and only made me want my own smallholding even more!

What a view!

Look at those eyes!

How could you say 'no' to that face?!?

We also went for several walks - they have two dogs, Max and Molly. They are the happiest dogs alive, they get so many walks in these huge fields and pastures...and they swim almost everday! Yesterday we also had a picnic by the river...





They also have a horse called Dotty who had a filly back in May...both horses are beautiful.

On both Friday and Saturday night they had dinner guests. One night it was family friends and the next evening it was just people from the village that they called at 6:00 pm and said "Do you want to come for dinner?" I love village life - it's so sweet. Everyone bought wine or little goodies that they had made. And that night I cooked! Anna is a very traditional cook so I think I surprised her with creamy pasta (my mom's recipe) which had chicken, peas, broccoli and red & yellow peppers in it followed by cherry cobbler. But they really enjoyed my dinner (everyone had seconds) and then we played board games til 1:00 in the morning. I think it was the 1982 version of Trivial Pursuit, I only knew like two answers, haha.

We just got back last night and I am exhausted we were busy nearly every minute of the day! But it was great fun. I woke up this morning and went out to the greenhouse and found all of this! I got a lot of cookin' to do. Thank goodness it's a Bank Holiday, I'm home all day!

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

It's been four days now since I got the shock of my life. Andy and I have been working tirelessly, day and night, to find out what our options are. Tuesday night, the news was pretty grim. They advised that I should not go to my appointment (arranged for September 8th) as I might be served a notice of deportation at the Croydon office...fun! As of Tuesday night, my only option was to post my application, hope and pray, and wait 30 days for it to come back. No Malawi trip.

After all this searching I had two other choices - one more risky than the other. I could fly to Malawi as planned on September 2nd and then head straight for the British High Commission in Lilongwe where they might be able to sort out my visa for me. I contacted several people in Malawi and GAIA (the NGO we're working with) who tried very hard and did a lot of work on my behalf to contact the British High Commission. In the end, they said they could extend my visa for me - they just couldn't promise how long it would take...so that eliminated that option. I love Malawi, but I don't want to get stuck there!

Last option: Fly to America and re-apply for another spousal visa. And that's what I'm doing. Both Andy and Sharon called premium rate help-lines and asked SEVERAL times if it was okay for me to fly back into the country and get another visa....YES! (Andy made her say it three times and took her name, haha) But, I'm still very skeptical (can you blame me?!), but I have to give it a shot...for my project, which means everything to me. If I don't try this, I definitely cannot go to Malawi. I booked my flights to America last night (thank God they're cheap at the moment, £298! With Virgin Atlantic!) and set up my appointment for my Biometric Exam in Hartford, CT. Then I'm going to pay for a courier to do a same-day visa for me...I've contacted him and he says no problem. Ironically, it's cheaper for me to fly home, pay for my visa in dollars and pay for this same day courier than to spend £1000 on the settlement visa in the UK.

So that's the deal. I may be posting in 2 weeks time saying I'm stuck in America, but I have to take this risk. Thanks for all your support everyone - you are all the very best. xoxo

Oh yea, and I can change my flight dates to Malawi - so I'll be leaving one week later. I may just get two weeks instead of three, but hey - it's definitely better than nothing at this point.

Bad News

Well, I guess the blog is for sharing happy events, as well as sad. Yesterday was pretty much the worst day of my life in memorable history. I went to my visa extension appointment (my spousal visa was only valid for two years), only to be told I couldn't have the visa I was applying for. My visa has now expired, I am an illegal immigrant in the UK and I can't leave the country or will not be allowed back in. How could this happen, you ask? It happened because of the misadvise of someone working at the UK Border Agency. Of course they are sorry for any inconvenience caused, they are going to reprimand the man who gave me the wrong advise. But are they going to help me? No. Expedite my application? No. I have to post it away (but I can't post if before next Wednesday)...and it will come back to me in 20 working days.

As some of you know, Andy and I were meant to be going to Sweden next weekend for a friend's wedding. Not going to happen. A few days after that, I was meant to be going to Malawi for 3 weeks to do the research trip for my project. Not going to happen. And now, I may not even be able to work next year. So that great job I got? Might not even start. I don't think I've ever felt so low - my life is just in pieces right now. More than anything, I'm upset about the project. I'm upset because we really needed this information and these meetings in order to create a solid foundation for this project...and now that's on hold. This is my future. My life! Oh yea, and my current employer isn't even sure if they can keep me on! They're a government agency, so employing people who don't have visas is a no-no.

Yes, I know. We have our health and we have eachother - but that doesn't change the fact that this is devestating. On so many levels. And the worst part is, it's not my fault! I'll keep you posted with what happens, but in the meantime...please pray for me! And also, does anyone have any idea what I should do for the three weeks I was meant to be in Malawi?!? I can't leave the country and I can't spend a lot of money and I can't work. That's your homework - GO! Haha.

Andy's Birthday Party - Benihana, London

Last night we went to London with our friends to celebrate Andy's birthday. It's not until next Tuesday but we're away next weekend, so I planned an early celebration for him. We started the evening by going to Benihana, a Hibatchi restaurant in Picadilly. There were eleven of us. Mainly Andy's friends from University and my two girlfriends came along as well. What fun! I think more restaurants should make the food in front of you...

HOT! HOT! HOT!

Our chef, Benjo

Later we went out in Soho and met up with some other friends. Oddly, three of Andy's friends have birthdays within days of eachother, so they were all out as well.

LOVE!
Jules and Emsy
Bromance...haha

Family Fun

Andy's brother, James, his girlfriend, Lisa, and her son Daniel came down from Scotland to visit this week. Unfortunately, we've still had to work but we've really enjoyed catching up with them in the evenings. And it's been great having a kid in the house! They're so fun and goofy...case in point!
I never really think about how much Andy and James look alike until I see them side by side. And then I see so many similarities. I think they both look so much like their mother, but then also, they resemble their father is many ways too. Especially James' voice! Here the boys are doing the washing up after the girls cooked dinner...good boys.

Yet another beautiful sunset in our backyard...I always say, I will never tire of the view...

A beautiful picture of James and Lisa.

Football!

Tonight we went to dinner at Nanny and Grandad's house...Nanny did what she calls "Bits and Pieces" - she really makes me laugh. "Bits and pieces" sounds deceptively like you're in for a light meal, when in fact we leave more stuffed than if we'd had a full roast dinner. There's so much food she actually has to set out a second table...and then when we don't finish it she says we haven't eaten enough and now it will "only go to the birds..."

After dinner Andy helped Daniel put together his new "Indiana Jones" legos. Daniel went to Legoland today (a Legos amusement park).

And here was the finished product...
I love this woman!
The family...