'Right, we're going on an adventure and I've got clean jocks!'

Thus sayeth Mark on the occasion of packing our bags in our hotel room in the Bermondsey Square hotel the night before we flew to New York.

We had a brilliant weekend in London having extricated ourselves from Oxford in as smooth a fashion as we embedded ourselves there. We were three poster tubes, an iPod docking station and some books heavier. Not bad hey! We can highly recommend travelling light.

So we said goodbye and hello to good friends, pictured below, in London and now we are abiding in Pleasantville, New York for a few days. But more on Pleasantville anon...

R

Bakin' Bacon Boy!

If he's not bringing home the bacon, he's bringing home the chelsea buns (and pitas, soda bread, kitka, farmhouse loaf, mince pies and jam tarts!).

Mark went on a bread-making course at Shipton Mill near Bristol last Wednesday courtesy of my aunt Valie who put him in touch with the right miller.

Does he not look like the cat who licked the cream? We could have a career change on our hands.

Hope you're all well and thanks for reading...

R

Summer days are gone too soon

It seems summer lasts a total of two weeks in England. It has been raining all week.

But! We've had our fair share of sunshine and here are some pics to prove it.

Blenheim Palace - our local slice of 300 year old history in all its splendour. We just love going for walks in the park here. It is a total sanctuary just six miles up the drag.

Near the White Horse of Uffington - no pictures of the horse because it can only be seen in full from the air. People suppose, therefore, that the chalk outline was made in stone age times for the gods. I spent a lazy afternoon here the day after I returned from Cape Town. Easing myself in.

Thames Path near Oxford- we walked here on Sunday with Nicci and Lyons after a Sunday roast at the pub. Very hot with lots of buzzing things and pollen driving Mark's eyes crazy.

Dear hubby is working his socks off as usual, so, again, this is from just

R

A small miracle

If you ever get the chance to fly 12 hours in a cramped and manky metal tube to a wintry city on the other side of the globe to meet your 9-day-old niece for a week, grab it by the scruff of the neck, bolt some sedatives for the flight, pack your raincoat and get there.

It is hard to describe the thrill of holding little Abigail in my arms. Of all the clever things Em and Al have done in their lives, this has to take the cake. Passing their matric geometry papers pales into insignificance. And we all know that is a Herculian feat. I mean honestly, I had to restrain myself constantly from chewing on her ear, elbow or foot (or any part that was exposed, actually). How do you like the pic of her 90-year old great-grandfather giving her a cautious cuddle?

Back in sunny Oxford and writing from my favourite Mark's-working-again-so-I-better-do-some-marking spot, Cafe Coco on Cowley Road. 'Bacon Boy', as he is affectionately known in our abode, has kept the home fires burning successfully for a week and that bacon keeps rolling in to satisfy budget requirements.

Our flight to New York is booked for 28 July and our conversation of late seems to veer towards which gas stove is best for use in Yellowstone National Park or whether to spend 3 or 5 weeks in Alaska. Tee hee. Lucky fishes we. (Please excuse my ancient Celtic grammar. Obviously influenced by all the antiquity around me in this town.)

R

PS Where have you all gone? Comments always welcome!

Weekend, wonderful Weekend!

Yes, it's a case of enjoying the present (ie. work) only for the sake of how it can fund the weekend and forthcoming road trip at the moment. Confucius say, don't live for the moment, live for the weekend.

So, my job may be slightly stressful (watch Mark's eyebrows lifting beyond Botox levels), but we have had some great weekends of late to cheer me up. Attached please find pics from Ireland (Easter), Oxford (with Nicci, April) and Amsterdam (last weekend).

I am currently on tenterhooks - which (did you know?) means being stretched between hooks on a wooden frame like fabric, ouch - awaiting the birth of my niece in Cape Town. I'll be making a sneaky dash home (sshhhh) to see her in two weeks time. Let's hope she's arrived by then!

R

A long expected blog

When you've neglected your blog for this long it becomes an albatross around your neck. So I'm wringing that there albatross' own neck by writing a shamefully short blog. Now I'm over the psychological barrier and hopefully you'll see a flood of entries in the near future.

Here's a pic of us at my birthday celebratory drinks at the Oxo Tower in London on Friday night with Leesen, Melina and Nicci and Lyons. For those who have forgotten it's near my birthday, never fear, you have 2 more days to send flowers, chocolates and bottles of wine to me. 22 April. Diarise.

Mark swears and promises to blog and hangs his head in shame. He is currently making scones downstairs, so you'll forgive me if I don't drag him away.

R

2nd anniversary and counting!

Hello from a chillier Oxford. I have included pics from a sunset we enjoyed last week in the hope that it won't be long before we see the sun again over the dreaming spires.

Yes, we have reached another milestone. 2 years of marriage seems long and short. Amazing to look back to our wedding day and know how we've been blessed right through our cotton socks over and over. We are galloping on to try and catch up with my grandparents who've been married 65 years (more or less). Now that is amazing!

The glorious daffodils that you see in the pics were photographed in the gardens of Hampton Court Palace on Sunday afternoon. Oh Wordsworth, you knew what you were talking about: "fluttering and dancing in the breeze". We spent a very cozy weekend with Nicci and Lyons. It's so wonderful being near enough to them to pop in.

This weekend we are celebrating our anni in Paris. Bring it on. Un petite romance never hurt any married couple.

R