A Right Kerfuffle

Greetings! I am back from my trip to the U.K. It was glorious and hard and frustrating all wrapped into one big ball which was compounded by disconcerting news from home.

An explanation is needed, I suppose. 

As a very independent American who is used to driving everywhere, relying on public transportation can be a bit of a nightmare for me. Waiting for trains and Ubers and planes to arrive and whisk me off to my destinations challenged me at every turn, and many was the time I wanted to have my own vehicle and drive myself around. (Except Edinburgh and London. I refuse to drive in either city!).

While there were no plane or train delays enroute to  Scotland, the same could not be said for the return trip. I had late trains and delayed flights. Our return flight should have gone from London to Atlanta, but was delayed and rescheduled to Salt Lake City, Utah. I didn't even know Salt Lake City had direct flights to London! After the nearly ten hour flight, we had a three-hour layover in Salt Lake, followed by a two hour flight to Omaha, and finally, we arrived at 1 a.m. I think I was up for a solid twenty-four hours. There were times on the flight from London to Salt Lake that I nearly started crying because everything hurt, my body was yelling at me, I couldn't sleep, and I was cursing my bank account for not being able to afford a first class ticket which would have included a nice place to lay my head.

It wasn't just public transportation which threw me, though. My poor daughter came down with a cold or the flu (we don't think it was Covid) a few days after we arrived. That put a halt to our wanderings. While she felt decent enough to go on our tour of the Highlands (and I'm SO glad we went), as the day wore on (and it was a twelve-hour day on a bus), she felt worse and worse. And instead of enjoying the trip, I had to become the caregiver and mom once again. Please don't mistake me - I wouldn't have it any other way. I wanted to take care of her and I felt so bad that she felt bad! But it did mean we spent far more time in our hotel room than we did exploring Edinburgh. While I did venture out on my own one day, I didn't venture far, and didn't stay long because I didn't want to leave her alone.

Ironically, I went to the U.K. to escape the horrible heat here in Nebraska, and it was unseasonably warm in Scotland and England. Several people (Uber, taxi drivers, etc.) commented on how unusual it was, while I seethed with frustration at still having to deal with heat. Even our hotels - all three of them - were hot. Grrrrr!

But! Scotland is beautiful, and the Highlands...oh my stars. Breathtaking. Such stark, rugged beauty, with a hint of sadness. Our bus driver and tour guide regaled us with some of the tragedies that occurred in those Highlands, and you can feel the deep sadness embedded in the heather. I took lots of pictures and wished I had my own vehicle so I could just sit and gaze at them to my heart's content instead of having to hurry back to the bus.

I enjoyed Edinburgh and loved the architecture and the history (and the fact that I ran into the actor Josh Brolin not once but twice while I was there!), and I wanted to explore more of it. We didn't make it to the castle and many other places we wanted to go. But we'll save that for next time.

Because I erroneously shorted myself a day on my hotel reservation in Edinburgh, I decided to take my daughter to York to see the Viking museum. I was in York my first time in England, but I forgot how magnificent it is. The history just oozes off the buildings, and I could wander around the streets for hours, just soaking up all that history. 

I've discovered, though, that I am not a city person - even glorious cities like Edinburgh and London. Even York is too big. I much prefer the smaller towns - like Salisbury - or the villages - like the one near Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. That is where my heart is. My desire to move to the U.K. was not diminished by my frustrating trip - as the train rolled through the countryside, that desire was only strengthened. I'm in love with England, and though I know full well its complicated history with colonialism and its current challenges with right-wing fanatics (much like America), I still am an Anglophile at heart. I love British culture. I love British food (I ate WAY too many Digestives and Jammie Dodgers which is why the scale has not been kind to me). I love British television shows. I love the people. It's where my soul cries out to be. So I will continue working toward my goal of living there. Whether it's part time or full time remains to be seen.

A Right Kerfuffle

While watching the telly one night in my hotel room, I received a text from our landlord telling us he had decided to sell our house. In fact, he planned to put it on the market ASAP.  While he wouldn't kick us out (our lease is up in February), likely as not we'd have to move. My reaction to the news was mixed. On one hand, I'm not a huge fan of our house. It's a rental and needs work. On the other hand, I hate moving. Hate. It. And I've done it far too much in my life. 

A few days after I returned home, our landlord told us he'd be coming over with his realtor to take pictures the next day. I had less than 24 hours to get the place ready. And I did the bare minimum. I put away all our family photos because I absolutely did not want them showing up on the realtor websites, and cleaned and dusted and crammed things in corners and under beds. What a nightmare! Plus, we have two open houses in the next week. We'll have to take the pets and be gone during those times. It feels like an absolute invasion of privacy to have people walking around our place with all our stuff around! But it's our landlord's property, and he has the right to do it. So. It is what it is. But I really could have done without this while also dealing with jet lag.

The Kerfuffle Continues

I've been having abdominal pain and intestinal issues for awhile now, and I had an appointment this week with a gastrologist. I now have to do an abdominal CT scan next week, and a colonoscopy in January (that was the soonest they could get me in). Yay? UGH. Also, after working my tail off (exercising and eating right) for a whole month, I saw ZERO results. Something is wrong. So I'm waiting for an appointment with an endocrinologist at UNMC.

And did I mention I'm looking for a new job? And that I don't think my relationship is going to last?

When it rains in my life, it doesn't pour, it hails. 

About That Novel...

I need to work on finishing the edits of my novel. Need? Yes, need. It is my escape from reality, and provides me a safe place to forget about *flails arms around* all of this. The only problem is that I barely have energy to move. I have to keep reminding myself that I have chronic illnesses, and I just spent 12 days traveling, pushing my body to the limits, and that I must rest. Easier said than done.

Whew! What an update. 

I'll leave you with some photos of my travels!