News from the Mews!

I believe I violated a basic tenant of Britishness today.  I ordered an item online yesterday and this morning I received a phone call from the company.  The conversation went something like this.

Fiona-  Hello, Mrs. S, it is Fiona calling from ABC corp about your order.

Me-   Yes

Fiona- Well Mrs. Smith I am calling because the delivery company imposes an 8 pound additional charge for delivering in London.  (This is on top of the normal delivery charge)

Me- Um, ok.

Fiona-  Well are you quite happy with that then?

Me- No, not really but what choice do I have?

Fiona- Um, ah, um ah well all right then……

Obviously I had violated the very British rule of not complaining about something directly to the face of the person with whom you have an issue.  The phrase “are you quite happy with that” is not a question you re meant to answer except in the affirmative.   The poor girl did not know how to respond when I did not follow the “script.” 

This post is a test to see if I can finally post photos again.  Maybe you will see something, maybe you will not!

Jake entered our lives only six years ago but it seems like he had been with us forever.  When Brent first called me and asked me if I would be interested in taking Jake, I must admit I was a bit taken aback.  Jake belonged to friends of ours in Tulsa and we had met  him on several occasions.  He seemed like a pretty cool dog but we already had two dogs and the thought of taking on a 12 year old dog and adding a third dog was a bit daunting.   Our friends could not keep Jake due to a conflict with their toddler and they had been turned away everywhere they went.  I agreed to take Jake contingent on getting Murphy to agree to the new member of the family as she is not fond of new dogs.  The contingent plan was that he would live in Tulsa with one of our parents if things did not work out with Murphy.  We drove to Dallas to meet our friends and to pick up Jake.  

Jake was very mellow and did not seem to mind his trip back to Houston in the back seat.  Once we arrived back at the house, he jumped into my lap and would not be budged.  Jake was a ladies man followed me around everywhere.  My fears about taking on an “elderly” dog were soon gone as Jake proved himself to still be quite spry.  Squirrels were quickly dispatched from our back yard as Jake swiftly sped across the grass.  My favorite story of Jake was when I was taking he and Murphy for a walk in our neighborhood one day and he spotted a squirrel which he promptly sent packing.  For the rest of the walk he was convinced the squirrel was following him and would confidently flip around to confront it.  

Jake loved playing ball in our media room which devoid of furniture or media things quickly became Jake’s ball playing room.  He was always willing to nibble and lick your nose and loved to bake himself in the hot Houston sun.  He would lay on the hot pavement of our driveway and flip himself periodically to ensure proper heating.  

Jake was his own dog and was a tough old bird.  After our move to London, his age started to catch up with him a bit.  He was diagnosed with “Westie lung” which is the canine form of COPD but with a much fluffier name.  He took a daily course of steroids, puffers and codiene.  This did not slow him down too much however as he would still take himself for walks and even drug home a big black trash bag someone had put out for further exploration.  Back in the day, Jake could be in a trash bag in two seconds flat.  

In the last few months, Jake had slowed down quite a lot.  He was a bit more confused and his arthritis made him a bit wobbly.  We knew the end was probably not too far away but yesterday he went downhill quickly (like in 20 minutes time) and difficult decisions had to be made.  As I held him on my lap in the taxi on the way to the emergency vet, I knew where things probably stood.  I loved my little shadow with all my heart but I did not want to see him suffer.  Jake was 18 years old and had a great life.  We will miss him terribly.  It is strange to go from three dogs to one in what seems like a short period of time.  

Rest in peace Jake.  I am so happy that when Brent asked, I agreed to take on a Westie man.  I would post a picture but Word Press continues to deny me.  

Well I still have not cracked the problem of posting photos but I am relieved to know is is a great topic of conversation on the Wordpress technical forums.  It is small comfort to know others are having the same problem.

In the meantime, here is the rundown of the stats for our time in Tuscany.  We rented a villa in Tuscany with our friends Randall and Michael.  While not exactly slumming it, it is not quite as posh as it sounds.  We had a fantastic time and more to come soon with photos.

Number of Plates of Pasta Eaten                        342.5

Number of Times Pasta was Almost Seen
Again Due to Curvy Roads and Mario 
Andretti Driver                                                    7

Number of bottles of Chianti consumed            Some things are better off not                                                                                                                             counted

Number of Titles Lost                                       1

Number of Dumos (Cathederals) Visited             7

Number of  Transvestite Prostitutes
Wearing a Thong Encountered                            1

  
Number of Scorpions Removed From Shower      1

Number of Cinghiale Seen by Side of Road          1

Number of Cinghiale Eaten in Tasty Pasta Dish   1

Number of Times asking a Local Where the 
Poison Night Club was in Effort to Locate Car     1

Number of Minutes Spent Walking Around
Looking for the Car Prior To Asking Where 
Poison Night Club was                                       52

Number of Ceramic Shops Visited by Randall    All of Them!

I was up early….very early as in 3:30 early.  I awoke and could not go back to sleep.  I checked my email to find one from my brother saying they were in the ER with my youngest niece Mandy who had apparently broken her leg at the tender age of about 16 months.  After a conversation with my brother and my other niece to get caught up on the latest, I still could not go back to sleep.  Brent got up at 5:30 and Murphy got up as well.  I took her out in the mews and as I sniffed the early morning air, I could not help but feel I was in the middle of a barnyard.  The air smelled remarkably of manure.  I did not think too much about it until I was reading a London paper online later this morning.  Apparently there is some freaky weather (their word, not mine) that is sending stinky weather from Germany.  Not only is this not the delightful springlike weather I am expecting but apparently this freaky weather coincides with the prime pig manure spreading season of German farmers.  Apparently the freaky weather system has sent all of the stinky pig smell over to London.  In this day in age, the stinky smell sent many calls to terrorism deterrent agencies and fire departments.  Here is hoping the weather changes soon and we no longer feel we live in the middle of a barnyard in one of the largest cities in the world.

Coming soon…..Vienna, Germany, and Italy.  Wordpress is having problems posting photos right now so stay tuned!!!!

My mom is here for a visit and we have been taking in the London sites! I think mom was most excited to learn we live very close to Baker Street as she exclaimed it was the home of none other than Sherlock Holmes. She was even more excited to learn there was a museum in his honor at the address of his home. Thus, our first stop in London was the Sherlock Holmes Museum.

Yes, there is always a man dressed as a Bobby at the door. That has got to be one of the worst jobs ever. Now I am not much of a Sherlock expert but mom seems to know quite a lot. Here she is engaging in a bit of sleuthing in the manner of the great detective himself in his very own chair none the less!

On the top floor, they had wax figures depicting some famous crimes Sherlock cracked. Mom seems to have just realized the undead is lurking behind her.

This fellow was called “The Curled Lip” however he reminded me a bit more of Clay Aiken down on his luck after the whole American Idol thing did not quite work out as planned.

This fellow is called the professor. It is a look I am hoping to get Brent to adopt!

Our next stop was to see some other famous people in the neighborhood. Mom was quite the hit at the party at Madonna’s London Pad. She got to meet quite a lot of famous folks.

Here she is just after she and John took a turn on the dance floor. His hair looks better than at the Oscars don’t you think?

She and Leo are looking cozy!

That Oprah, she just can’t leave the microphone at home! Whoopie also wants to hear what Mom has to say!

Now we all know Madonna is a powerful woman who can get things done and could probably get anyone she wants to attend her party. Apparently she also has the power to bring back the dead and even has them looking their best! Here is mom crooning with the King himself.

Sam, Nana also hung out with Shreck!

Mom started to steal Brad away from Angie but decided she did not want to be a stepmother to all those kids.

Mom decided to make Stephen Hawkings more comfortable by joining him in a wheelchair as they discuss the origins of the universe.

Although we were exhausted after the festivities, the Queen insisted we stop by after the party.

Stay tuned for the further adventures of Sue in the city!

For my Christmas present, we decided to ask a London artist who had done a series of paintings of our neighborhood to do a painting for us. He also does paintings of dogs so it was a perfect fit. The artist came over to the house tonight to deliver it and we are thrilled! He painted the square just around the corner from us and where we walk the dogs daily. He captured the dog’s personality perfectly.

Here are some photos

Here is a snippet of my conversation with the XM Radio people

Me: I would like to cancel my account (what I did not say but wanted to was “I would like to cancel my stupid account your automatically renewed without me knowing.)

Drone: I am so sorry to hear you no longer wish to receive our wonderful service. May I ask why?

Me: Yes, I no longer own the car and I no longer live in the United States.

Drone: I am so sorry you no longer own the car. I am so sorry you no longer live in the United States.

Me: Thinking what the heck? Why is she sorry I no longer own the car? She says it in such a way that she is personally wounded that I sold my car. And the fact that I no longer live in the U.S. I’m sure has had no bering on the country as a whole (although that whole sub prime thing did occur after I left).

Drone: Can you confirm the name on the account and the address? And what is your name so I may properly address you?

Me: Confirming information thinking I do not want a personal relationship, just cancel the account.

Drone: How is your day today? Is everything going OK?

Me: Just fine, can I please just cancel the account? Thinking-I am talking to you on the phone, how exciting do you think my day is?

Drone: Have you heard of our online subscription?

Me: No, I just want to cancel the account

Drone: I am so sorry you want to cancel the account. Do I have your permission to place you on hold while I do further research?

Me: Yes, thinking what choice do I have and what is she going to research? Is she looking for a cure for a horrible disease?

Drone: I have deactivated your account. There is a charge of $13.64 for the time we auto renewed your account to now.

Me: Thinking- some chick in Oklahoma who bought my car is pissed now. To drone- Fine, send me a bill at the address on the account.

Drone: Ok, there will be a $2.00 charge to send you a bill.

Me: WHAT!!!!!!! You are going to charge me $2.00 to send me a bill?

Drone: Yes, we want you to pay by credit card.

Me: Fine, here is the information

Drone: Thank you, please review our line up of programs online.

Me: I NO LONGER HAVE YOUR SERVICE!!!!! WHY WOULD I REVIEW YOUR LINE UP? THANK YOU, GOOD BYE

My goodness, they were not going to let me go! My other favorite experience with telemarketers was when one called here one night. She had a very heavy Scottish accent (why is it most telemarketers in the UK do???) which made her very difficult to understand. Once she started in her script, I did what I always do, I said “Thank you but I am not interested, please take me off of your list.” I then hung up. Thirty seconds later, the phone rings again. It is her and she is telling me off for being rude! She tells me I should be polite and it is rude to do what I did. I tell her it is rude of her to call me at home for something I did not ask for and to interrupt my time and promptly hung up. I did have a brief worry that I would now be receiving telemarketer calls every five minutes as revenge but all is well so far.

Continuing on with our family’s blitzing of December and January with celebrations, today is our niece Samantha’s fourth birthday! I cannot believe she is that old. It seems like yesterday I was holding her on my forearm and bouncing her up and down! Not so much anymore!

Have a great day Sam! Love Aunt Shawn and Uncle Brent!

My friend Michael and I are taking Italian lessons. I know it is not the most useful language to learn but it is a really fun language to speak. Italians say everything with such gusto! We are taking lessons in advance of our trip this spring to Tuscany. I’m sure we will be chatting up the locals the entire time we are there.

The class is interesting, they throw you in immediately, no English is spoken. It is taught by a woman I would never have guessed was Italian. She has red curly hair and looks like she is straight from Dublin. She is extremely animated and speaks very loudly. It is hilarious to see her try to get a room full of very reserved Brits to speak in a very loud and expressive way.

The class is interesting, they throw you in immediately, no English is spoken. So unlike your high school or college Spanish class, there is no endless going through of vocabulary and conjugating verbs. Thus far, my entire knowledge consists of the following:

Mi Chima Shawn–My name is Shawn
Como ti si chiama–What is your name?

Piacere– Pleasure to meet you
Io Sono Americana di Tulsa–I am an American from Tulsa
Abita a Londra–I live in London
Dove abite–Where do you live?
Lui e Russell Crow–He is Russell Crow

I’m not sure how much my new found Italian knowledge will help me in the Italian countryside. I don’t think they will really care I am from Tulsa and I am pretty sure as soon as I open my mouth, they will know I am American. I also sincerely doubt I will run into Russell Crow while I am there. I did learn one other helpful tid bit of Italian. “Come si chiama” which is the language you are supposed to use if you are every at the Italian tax office as it is more formal. Although I hope never to be in an Italian tax office, I sleep better at night knowing I would be able to address them in an appropriate manner. I do suspect however if I am in that situation, I would have bigger concerns than whether I am using the appropriate greeting.

I must say I am looking forward to and will pay special attention to the week we will be discussing food and drink. This is the real heart of what is important on a trip to Italy!