Great Weather in London

We are enjoying wonderfully sunny, cool, dry weather here in London. That's something I imagine people here don't get to say too often. I hope it will continue in to the visit from Vern (Skip's older brother) and Beth who arrive on Wednesday.

Discussion of the warm weather led to my Iranian dry cleaner to ask me about iced tea. She said, "I see people drinking it in the movies. The Bridges of Madison County. But I don't understand it. Tea is a hot drink. How do you fix it with ice?" I stood there with my dry cleaning telling her about the joys of sun tea, but explained that you could also just make a regular pot, let it cool and then pour it over ice. I told her it was the first thing I ordered in a restaurant when I made it back to the US. She said she would give it a try. By the way, the Iranian New Year is coming up--March 21. Make a good impression on any immigrant neighbors you may have and wish them a happy one.

On Saturday, Skip and Maddie and I went to brunch at Giraffe and then headed out to Hampton Court Palace--where Henry the VIII spent a great deal of his time. We learned a lot about Henry and his wives and about some of his successors. It is one bloody history. I just love that my seven-year-old knows that Anne Boleyn opted to be beheaded with a sword rather than the customary ax. I think Catherine of Aragon (his first wife) got the rawest deal of them all--even though she got to keep her head.

We got to "meet" Henry and his last wife, Katherine Parr, on the day of their wedding. The palace wasn't very crowded so we got to talk to several of the guides and learned that as a young man, Henry was quite dashing and was said to the finest calves in Europe. Apparently, a well-muscled calf was highly desirable in those days. We also learned that people of high standing got invited to come to the castle to watch the king dress. That was considered a high honor. Guess they all wanted a closer look at those calves.

On Sunday we headed to church and Maddie went home with a friend who was having a birthday party. Skip and I took advantage of a free (and sunny!) afternoon to wander the streets of London. Skip was hoping to find a couple of new light sweaters to buy, and began perusing the designer section of one of London's oldest department store. Poor man didn't realize what the name Marc Jacobs can do the price of sweater. Needless to say, we did not make any purchases, but had a really nice day.

Today, I've been attempting to get my ducks in a row in preparation for Vern and Beth's visit. We are looking forward to a really good time.


Here are some of our pictures from Hampton Court Palace