I decided at the very last minute to make cupcakes for the little Halloween Soirée we had next door but by the time we’d finished eating and it was time for me to run back to the apartment to make them look all sugary pretty, we were all too full. So into the freezer they went for another time. Hmmm….there could be worse things to have in the freezer… 
….was something quick and easy. Pizza from the freezer *BUT* I added a *TON* of fresh veggies on the top and made home-made spicy potato wedges from scratch so it didn’t turn out to be too much of an instant meal after all 
Only me! Just popping in for a quick hello and to say that OUR INTERNET WAS CONNECTED THIS AFTERNOON and that we no longer have to borrow the neighbours’ which we can only really get successfully from the far corner of the apartment (ok, the far corner was the lounge, but it’s far away from the bedroom which is where I like to spend time browsing, plus the fact that prior to this afternoon we had no TV either so I never really sat in the lounge much anyway).
But anywho, what I’m trying to say is that life should start to return to normal over here now, hooray! I’ve already caught up with a couple of outstanding posts, like the walk that we took on Sunday and when we voted early for the upcoming election, and there’s much more to come, so keep your eyes peeled
PS I have a feeling that there might be a little celebratory giveaway coming up some time soon too, squee!!
(Photo inspired by Spring_Peeper)
Well technically *I* didn’t vote as only citizens are allowed, but DrMrNin cast his, and I went along for the ride
Due to the fact that our move was so recent, there is no way that the voting registration for the new address will enter into the system on time for November 4th so we had to drive back to our old city in order for him to cast his ballot. We also happen to be away for the election itself (what bad timing!) so our only option was to vote early. Thankfully our old county had facilities to do this, hurrah!
I got to see the ballot paper which was very different to the ballot papers at home- in England you effectively mark a box next to the political party you want to win which seems far, far simpler to what they do over here. In California, one not only votes for the political party (and some other local positions, as per in England), but one also has to vote on about 20 or so legislative measures that have been proposed ranging from the likes of should more parks and nature reserves be created, to should we open up more drug rehab centres, to should we treat farm animals more humanely (HELL YES!) to should we openly discriminate against certain sectors of society (they actually allow advertisements in favour of discrimination on the radio and TV over here (not to mention banners in the streets) which has shocked and horrified me to my core and it is something that would NEVER be allowed in the UK and is an imprisonable offense- come on America, you’re supposed to be the Land of the Free!). To me it would make more sense for the politicians to decide the outcome of these measures as that’s part of their job, but that’s probably because it’s what I’m used to back at home (we have the occasional national referendum in the country when there’s a particularly major issue, but most of the time the local governing people decide the rest).
But anyway, “we” did our bit and cast “our” vote (we share the same political opinions, so in my mind I feel like I’ve voted too).
Now I just hope the best person wins
Autumn leaves can be nothing but a BIG FAT YES, but flip flops and bright, bright sunshine??? NOOOOOOO!!!! I can’t handle it, I’m not used to it, it’s never featured in my life before.
Autumn in England is one of the prettiest and my all time favourite time of year…
There’s a chill in the air, the smell of damp straw in the weeks after harvest, slight mists that come over the hills and the light is slowly fading to a wintertime dim glow.
The countryside is at its most spectacular.
I took the photos above about 6 weeks ago, in the final few weeks before I emigrated. By now the leaves on the trees will have turned brilliant shades of ochre and brown creating the most amazing display of nature. Having lived in this area for almost all my life, it’s hard not to love the outdoors, especially around this time of year.
But since moving to California, my senses have had a battering. Here we live much more in an urban setting and in the place of my beloved forests of trees there are instead jungles of asphalt and concrete. And what with us being a lot more equatorward, my damp misty mornings have been replaced by blazing hot sunshine with not an ounce of rain in sight. For the past couple of weeks (the last seven days especially), I have been yearning to get back out into the natural world, so I suggested to DrMrNin this weekend that we investigate the local hiking trails. A quick glance at the map revealed a nearby county park, so we jumped in the car and off we went…
And came upon possibly the UGLIEST LAKE I HAVE EVER SEEN. This photo does not do it justice, it makes it look too pretty.
I already knew that coming from one of the prettiest areas in the United Kingdom finding somewhere even half as nice would be a tall order, but is this really the best that the country park could do?
It was slightly prettier looking up toward the other end, but only slightly. Again, it looks far more interesting in the photograph, but in real life the colour of the water was a bit more of a putrid green.
There was no way that this could be a highlight of the park, so insisted we drove on for another 20 minutes where we happened upon a hiking trail. “AHA” I thought, “there must be something at the end of this, it must lead SOMEWHERE”. So we parked, and walked uphill, and about 15 minutes later we were still walking uphil, and another ten minutes after that we were still walking uphill (bad choice of a trail..)
And eventually the path became flatter and the trees opened out to reveal….
The UGLIEST pond I have ever seen.
Maybe my expectations were too high? Maybe this will turn into something pretty when the rainy season eventually comes?
But on the plus side…
THE LEAVES WERE TURNING!
Here in California it *IS* possible to find signs of autumn after all! And that made me very happy and not mind the ugly lakes after all
