Tying up Odds & Ends

I suppose I could call this post "Christmas Comes to Town" but the pictures are mostly from the final 24 hours or so that I spent in England before heading home! Most importantly, my little sister turned thirty on the 21st and so we spent the day celebrating her... albeit a little more low-key than originally planned but isn't that just the theme for this year? This entire year has been a whole lot MORE than we thought and everything we celebrate is more low-key than we'd like... 

My Mom cooked spaghetti (one of Lindsey's favorite meals) and we had a delicious cake, opened presents with my Dad on Face Time and christened her new fire pit in her little English garden with roasted marshmallows and Gin cocktails! We also walked around the town to look at the Christmas lights, which were officially turned on November 20th - which is St. Edmund's Day - and 2020 was the thousandth year celebrating St. Edmund's Day. The thousandth year. Wrap your head around that one.

 

The lights decked the buildings, the light poles, all along the roof lines of the homes and businesses in the main square and stretched across the main streets lighting the whole town with a soft glow that - let's be honest - is so enchanting! Granted, I tend to think everything about Christmas lights is enchanting.... and there is something about Christmas lights in a little English town is even more enchanting.

 

The trees around town are covered with white stars - some of the stars have "2020" on them and other stars have messages about what people have learned or done during this unique year. Some of my favorites included "played hangman with my Nanny"... "created a life size skeleton"... "spent time with my sister"... there were tons of them; before I left I had counted three trees that had the little stars - but I'm sure there were more in the town that I didn't see! 

Sunday dawned bright and beautiful with wispy clouds floating across the sky! We had coffee and breakfast and then took one last leisurely walk around the town, through the Abbey Gardens and back to my little sister's house for lunch! Then it was off to drive along the A11, the A14 and the MI6 (just kidding - that's where James Bond works, not a road)... to Heathrow; although there was road work happening and so we ended up taking a road that paralleled the "highway" and we saw the countryside instead! 

 

I checked in, gave hugs good-bye and made my way through security... and then on to my very empty flight. I settled in and passed the eight hour flight with a book, a movie, an episode of The Mandalorian and a little nap... and before I knew it, we were landing in DC and the 18 day vacation was coming to a close! 

I still feel like those eighteen days passed in a blink - but I made memories to hold on to for a lifetime, explored a corner of the English countryside that I'd never seen and all in all just had the most wonderful time.

Five on Friday

It's the final Friday in the month of November - hold on to your hat because the last month of 2020 is coming in hot and before we know it, 2020 will be on it's way out.... which I feel like most of us will welcome. 

One. A COVID Test - Well... this week brought about an experience I didn't think I'd be having; I got to have a COVID test done! My boss decided that before I returned to work I should have a COVID test done... especially with the cases on the rise here in the US and so on Tuesday I made my way to the local CVS and swabbed it up.

I've been working from home this week which isn't my favorite thing to do (I know - I'm in the minority on that) and I'm patiently waiting on the results of my test. I have 0 symptoms, so unless I'm asymptomatic, I'm pretty sure I'll be getting a negative on the test... which is actually a positive thing, ha-ha! What a unique year it's been, am I right?

Two. Thanksgiving 2020 - It seems crazy to think that yesterday was Thanksgiving but another 2020 holiday is in the books and the celebration was (like most of this year) a bit different. My family was spread out across the globe: one of us in Mississippi, one of us in Virginia and the other two in the United Kingdom. We all had our meals... at different times and in different places.

I was lucky enough to be invited to celebrate Thanksgiving with some dear friends who are also neighbors and the spread was so delicious! I piled my plate with Brussel Sprout Salad, Corn Casserole, Rolls, Fried Okra, Dressing & Chicken, Sweet Potato Bites, Cranberry, Orange Salad and Bacon & Cheese Crescents. I'm full just reading all of that! Oh - and there was also a divine Chocolate & Peppermint Trifle. 

Three. Sweet Potato Bites - The first dish I contributed to the Thanksgiving feasting was Sweet Potato Bites; a recipe I sort of stumbled on and decided I really wanted to try. They turned out so well and I thought I'd share that recipe with you! 

What You Need

• 3 medium sweet potatoes (scrubbed clean)
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 8 ounce can of refrigerated crescent rolls
• 3/4 cup mini marshmallows

What You Do

• Preheat the oven to 375 and grease a mini muffin tin with cooking spray. Pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork and microwave 15 minutes. If your potatoes aren't fork tender after 15 minutes, continue microwaving in 30 second increments.
• When potatoes are cooked through, scrape filling into a large bowl and discard skin. Using a potato masher, mash sweet potatoes until smooth. Add brown sugar, heavy cream, cinnamon, vanilla and salt; whisk to combine.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out crescent dough and pinch together seams. Cut into 24 squares and place in muffin tin cups.
• Spoon a heaping tablespoon of sweet potato mixture into each crescent square, then top with mini marshmallows and bake until crescent pastry is golden; about 15 minutes. 

*You can also add a pecan to each bite when you pull them out of the oven. If so, add the pecan, brush with maple syrup and cook an additional 5 minutes. I refrained from using pecans because of a nut allergy at the home I was enjoying Thanksgiving at!*

Four. Bacon & Swiss Crescents - The other item I decided to take was a appetizer of sorts; a savory bread made with crescent rolls. It was a little bit of a last minute decision and my Mom came through (from across the pond) with the recipe! It was also a hit and so I thought I'd share it here also!

What You Need

• 1 8 ounce package refrigerated crescent rolls; flatted into a sheet
• 1 cup real bacon pieces
• 1 cup shredded Italian blend cheese

What You Do

• Preheat over to 375; mix together bacon and cheese.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out your crescent dough and spread bacon and cheese mixture over the crescent rolls. Roll lengthwise and bake for 12 minutes - or until browned.
• Remove from over and slice.

*I ended up cooking my bread roll about 15 minutes as opposed to 12 and it worked perfectly!*

Five. This Seems Accurate - A portion of the lights on the Christmas tree in the living room just decided to give up this week... and if that doesn't seem like a completely 2020 thing, I don't know what does.

Y'all have a good weekend and soak up the good where you can find it. 2020 has been a mess but there can still be joy in the mess and I'm going to try to find what I can throughout this last month of 2020.

To the North Sea

I can say I've been to the English coast - what a joy! Certainly November isn't the most ideal time for a trip to the English seaside but then again, you have to seize your moment and see what you can see when you can see it! I wanted to see the North Sea and so away we went across the countryside and toward the seashore. The North Sea separates England from the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway - so imagine; if you will, that Elsa was out there somewhere.... 

 

 

The weather was forecasted to be rainy but thankfully the rain itself held off until near the end of the day. We had to stop in at the Base Exchange at Mildenhall on the way to the seaside and it took a wee bit longer than planned - but soon enough we were parking, pulling on coats and scaling a small dune to walk down and peer across the North Sea and into the wind. The beach was littered with shells and rocks since it was low tide and I merrily collected a few that are now on display in my living room!

 

Obviously there weren't too many people wandering the beaches - but there was a wee pup named Diesel who hopped around at my knees as if I had something tasty hidden in my pockets (I didn't) and ended up being called a "bloody cheek" by his owner. After gathering shells, snapping some pictures, taking in the little beach huts and scrawling a message in the sand it was off to Wooten's Fish & Chips for lunch! We made a quick stop by the gates of Sandringham - because that was all we could see - the house is closed until the Spring but I'm sure that's where the Royals will be when Christmas rolls around. You see - Sandringham is where the royals spends Christmas each year and that's where they do the walk to church on Christmas morning... although who knows if that will happen this year with the COVID.

 

I'm not a huge fish eater myself - so I chose to have an Onion & Cheese Pie with my chips and honestly it is one of the best things I've eaten in a long time! The weather still wasn't exactly hospitable for eating outdoors and so we ended up fogging the windows of the car as we ate our fish, chips and pie alongside a park in the town of King's Lynn. When all was said and done, we had to hop out of the car to shake off the crumbs and the whole car smelled like fried fish but man if it wasn't all so very delicious and just writing about my Cheese & Onion Pie makes my mouth water!

We perused the square at King's Lynn, walked down the the canal and snapped a picture at a unique looking pub called The Crown & Mitre before deciding to route our way home through the town of Ely to see Ely Cathedral - a cathedral that was built all the way back in 1083! Of course the COVID prevented us from going inside but what a stunning sight it was just to walk around the outside in the dusk and imagine everything that the building has seen - almost a thousand years of history! 

Alas - the rain that had held off all day long arrived as I was wandering the outside of the cathedral and so we decided to call it a day. I should mention that it was only about 3:30 in these pictures but the sun sets in the U.K. in the Fall/Winter at 4 PM - so night was already on the horizon! 

We returned to Bury and ordered Giggling Squid for dinner; some of the most delicious Thai food I've ever had, the Sticky Chicken was definitely my favorite! I'm sad to report that now that I'm back in the US, I tried to look up the closest location on my Maps App - and the closest location is back in the U.K. *sigh* After dinner we binged the final three episodes of the fourth season of The Crown - a perfect way to spend a Friday night, if you ask me! 

Watson Wednesday

Isn't he just a gift? He's even wearing his green diaper to be festive. *insert laughter*

The Countryside & the Dockside

Happy Tuesday everyone! It's a sunny day here in Virginia and I've realized it's colder here today than it was the entire time I was in the U.K. I  mean - it wasn't as cold in the U.K. Does that make sense? I feel like I'm rambling... ha-ha! Any how - let's talk about lovely little towns, haunted hot spots and an ark!

 

Wednesday of last week was the first day officially out of quarantine in the country! Yahoo! Granted because the entire country was in a lockdown it just meant that while we could actually drive to other places, there weren't any shops or restaurants open to venture into. The lack of shopping was probably good for my wallet - and it was nice to just get out and about to explore some places we'd never been.

We popped over to the town of Lavenham - which used to be a wool town and was just quaint and divine and what I think of as quintessentially "English". The houses had that Tudor-esque look to them and not a single one had anything resembling a straight line! One of the houses (pictured above on the left) is a tea room that is literally called The Crooked House! I love it so much! 

The house above is Harry Potter's house guys! It's actually called the DeVere House but it was used in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as the Potter's house in Godric's Hollow and so of course, we had to pop by and get pictures with this house - because how cool is that? We were a little worried about finding lunch because the tavern we'd planned to get food at (that advertised being open for take-out) was not actually open and so we ended up scouring the streets before we found a little spot called Chili & Chives - and we got the very best sandwiches and desserts!

The town of Lavenham has the most lovely church called St. Peter's & St. Paul's that has been in the town in some form since the 1340's! It was built with monies made from wool - as Lavenham was a wool town - and happily the church itself was open, with hand sanitizer available as you walked through the doors! We perused the church, walking up and down the aisles and taking in the stained glass, the burials in the floor and of course, the Gothic architecture. It absolutely amazes me how dramatic and stunning each and every church seems to be in England! 

 

Is my sister praying? Is she sleeping? I guess we may never know... Just kidding. She said that she was praying, so we'll go with that.

 

While we were eating our lunches in the car in Lavenham - because it was sprinkling and a bit too chilly to eat outside - I googled the Borley Rectory; widely known to be one of the most haunted places in England. Imagine my surprise when I discovered we were literally seven miles from it! I asked if we could pop over really quickly just to be able to say I'd seen it - and so away we went across the English countryside to Borley! 

The actual Rectory (the pastor's house) at Borley burned down in the late 1930's - just like it was predicted to during a séance at the house... oooh spooky! The house had rumors of hauntings from all the way back in the 1890's from multiple owners of the home and even though the rectory itself burned down, apparently the church yard still has some supernatural experiences from time to time. There wasn't much to the town of Borley itself - it was incredibly small and beyond the church, there were only a few houses and lots of wide open English countryside.

The final stop of the day was the port town of Ipswich - and we really didn't get to see too much of this! Each of the spots we stopped at weren't so far from each other, but when you're traversing winding English country roads it does take a little bit longer to get where you are going! I feel like Ipswich would be the most fun to explore when it was warmer - because man it was chilly on the docks at sunset! 

 

And yes - that's a full on version of Noah's Ark parked at the docks - apparently it's a museum all about the Bible but of course, it was closed because of the COVID. *sigh* We perused a portion of the docks/boardwalk area as the sun set and then headed back toward Bury to have some Pizza Hut (yes - that's a thing in the U.K.) and call it an early night. It was such a fun day and I 100% enjoyed getting to see some new portions of the English countryside that I've never seen before!