We finally got internet yesterday! Sorry I didn’t update then, but we were all just too busy reveling in unlimited data again.

To catch you up:

Sunday we had lunch at the local pub (my pre-broadband refuge for blogging). It’s not as nice as some pubs in the area, but it’s not a dive, either. The regulars seem to know to mind their manners, and mouths, when there are children in the common room, even with a football match on the telly. Lizzy and Molly had common stuff: hamburger and chicken breast sandwhich, I had curry, and Kyla got BBQ pulled-pork nachos. They weren’t quite like they would be at home, but pretty close.

Side note: In my (admittedly limited) experience, while you can get blocks of all kinds of foreign and exotic cheese, shredded cheeese comes in three flavors: mild British cheddar, medium British cheddar, and mature British cheddar. See the theme? Colby jack? Mexican blend? Right out. Nowhere to be found. And British cheddar is white instead of orange, like we’re used to. Kyla and I like it, but the girls are still resisting, which makes cooking less than fun.

Monday we were invited to visit a sweet elderly lady who lives in the neighborhood. We met her at church our first week, then this Sunday she walks up and says, “So, when are you coming around to see me?” So, we went for tea on Monday morning. Her house even has a name: Potters Barn. Isn’t that cool? It’s a pretty house on the end of a nearby lane. She and her husband built it about 65 years ago, but the interior is done in the style of a 1700’s cottage. We loved it.

So, we live in a fairly modest housing developement that’s about 10 years old. We’re surrounded, however, by much bigger and fancier homes. They’re not huge, but they’re the size of a typical American home, just an area where “American-sized” easily runs $1 million. Every time we tell someone our address, they say, “Oh, THAT’S a nice area” and I feel like I have to add the disclaimer that we’re in the housing development, not the Lane.

We didn’t do much for New Years. Watched a movie with the girls and then they and Kyla turned in early. I stayed up until midnight, which was probably good as there was no way I’d have slept through it anyway. I know that fireworks on NYE are a thing at home, but holy crap, they make up for the lack of Independence Day here on that night.

On Tuesday, Kyla started her job. Yeah for income! Since it was New Year’s Day, the buses weren’t running, so she had to take a taxi, at time and a half because of the holiday. She had a good day, though. She enjoyed meeting her coworkers and said that the sense of camaraderie in the ward is great. I spent the day applying for jobs.

Wednesday and Thursday have brought much of the same. I’m setting up accounts with all the local utility companies, getting car insurance, etc., in between job searches. I have about 50-75 applications out at the moment, so I’m hoping I get a nibble on something.

Tomorrow I pick up our car. Like I said, it’s far from something special, but it does mean a bit more freedom than we have now.