Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Day Two

It is 4.55 pm British time as I wrote this this morning. I copied it down as I could not get to the internet at that time. But I have since discovered that our hostess has become a silver surfer! Hurrah for valiant older ladies who let poor addicted bloggers get their fix daily now. I was concerned...really I was.
Anyway, the following is a retrospective.
Oh, and before I forget, the arnica tablets were great Sara, thanks for the tip :)
It is 11am and I have six children prancing round me in various conditions of dress. There is a paddling pool and they are splashing like little seals and eating, not fish, but chunks of chilled watermelon. The crickets are whirring and I am in the shade of a peach tree I believe it is, with said bowl of watermelon at my feet. It appears I am a natural Southerner.
We were very tired when we got into Atlanta but immigration was utterly painless. The border guard was really friendly, commiserating with V that he had three daughters, and that his (guard's) daughter was 11 going on 17 and the bane of his grey hairs etc etc.
And when we stepped out of the terminal...oh my! It seemed like a joke! It was envelopingly, effortlessly warm. At 10 pm! (ish). I loved it. So soothing on the lungs, not quite like inhaling steam, but so clingy and melting. And the breeze was like a very heavy silk on the skin.
The four hour drive to Huntsville, Alabama was surreal. Falling in and out of sleep. We figured out that we had been on the move for 25 hours. It was about seven am British time when we got to sleep that night.
And we were in pretty good shape considering (Mind you, we were so full of arnica tablets we rattled!) So no jet lag so far...though the humidity is playing silly b's with my hair. It has gone curly and fluffy. But if that's as bad as it gets, I'm good.
Just a last word about breakfast. Just to assure my mum that we are eating well.
Mumma, this morning your daughter and grandbabies ate:
biscuits (not like our biscuits, more like a kind of soft scone) with butter and homemade peach preserve which was like candied peaches in fruit flavoured honey.
Scrambled eggs (lots)
thin strips of crispy bacon,
fresh strawberries
and watermelon.
Buttermilk to drink (acquired taste, but I'm getting there) and orange juice.
Oh and grits! Just call me Scarlett. I ate it with butter and hot salty bacon. Stunning, pure carb - love it. So I guess I'll be putting the weight on in no time at all
:) so don't worry about us mum, in fact I could get used to this in a big way.
We are off to a mid week church meet tonight, I'm looking forward to it. I think its quite a big one and an utterly new experience. Such fun!
See you tomorrow and with any luck I'll have some pics to post
Take care my loved ones...
x

6 comments:

Nicole said...

I had forgotten that our biscuits and yours were so totally different. (Personally, I like ours better, but that's probably partly due to growing up with them.) Yum. I just had lunch, but your description of food is making me hungry. =)

Pilgrim said...

Here's hoping you have a great visit in the States Sian.

Amanda said...

Your words paint such a vivid picture, I also feel like I might be on vacation. Thanks for sharing!

Sian said...

Thanks again :) We are enjoying ourselves!

Christy Woolum said...

Even though I live in the states I have never been to Atlanta. The weather there is quite a change I'll bet!

Clare said...

Hi Sian! I assumed you wouldn't be blogging so I didn't check in sooner after you left. I've got a lot to catch up on -- I am starting where I left off and working my way up to the present -- it will take me a while! Anyway, I'm happy you arrived safely and are eating lots of wonderful things -- I'm so hungry now and craving grits and bacon!
:)