Saturday Shape Up- Airplane Yoga

 

     I've been much better starting my day with at least 10 minutes of Yoga, and when I can, adding a bit more through the day. My back has felt better and I'm not as tight when I go to bed. I thought sitting three hours in a plane is going to do my body no favors. Surely there's things I can do to help keep limber. 

     Normally when I fly more than a 90 minute flight, I'll get up at least once to use the rest room. I don't care if I look bizarre, but I try and take wide, lunge like steps. In the tiny room, I try to bend my knees, then straighten a couple times. Usually this little action is at least enough to keep me from cramping up. But, I looked for more options while in the seat itself in the magic world of YouTube and Google. 

     Here's a few links I'll be checking out today and putting what feels doable into action. Incidentally, I had the option of picking an exit row, more leg room, but in good conscience couldn't declare myself fit to help all other passengers in an emergency. 

8 Airplane-stretches

3 Best leg stretches on a long flight

    Here's Adrienne, whom I've used before as my virtual Yoga instructor, with a series of short moves and poses to help our bodies.

     Wish me luck on my journey. I'm nervous, but mostly cautiously excited to travel again.

Travel on My Mind

 

     A link on The Most Perfect Road Trip came up in my news feed from some Kitchen page I follow. Oh my juices are flowing for planning a good road trip. I shared it on my Facebook  page mostly so I could find the article later. A couple of my sisters popped notes in the comments about doing a sisters trip. That would be eight of us because of course we would include my sister-in-law who I've never not known. Really there is no reason we couldn't do this-none of us have any kids at home, me being the last empty nester. 

     While making the full 360 degree trip in one go would be pretty impossible until a few of us retire, picking one path might be an option. Doable. I can't see though the oldest sister wanting to be in a car or van that long. She's sort of a homebody anyway, other than in her younger years she loved going to Vegas. We used to do a sister's weekend, but the last one where we rented a  cabin about two hours away was the weekend before my sister passed away. While some have vacationed together, and we still do a shopping day that starts with breakfast out, a mid afternoon happy hour, and ending with dinner and girls poker night, it hasn't been the same. Needless to say, we didn't even do that this year. C'est la vie de pandemic. 

     I'm drafting this blog post while watching Hannah Ricketts vlog on her lock down wanderings using her one hour of daily exercise to walk and take us along to lovely London neighborhoods. She clicked and showed several houses for sale on a certain street. They ranged between 1,600,000 to 1,800,000 pounds! I mentioned the other day Stanley Tucci's Italy, and Laurie was kind to put the start date, February 14th, in the comments. I think these tours from my television will be what I have for quite a while. I can still plan though. It's unreal to think my daughter was on route to New Zealand a year ago. Now, I'm leery crossing the bridge into Wisconsin! 

     I went along with Hannah to the London Zoo. I had to agree and share her disdain to see people coming off a ramp, not wearing masks (as is the requirement) and leaving paper cups just laying on a ledge, not being bothered to deposit their garbage. What makes people behave this way! I swallowed hard when she mentioned her discounted fee was 26 pounds for her visit!  Well, our local Minnesota Zoo is I think $19.95 so considering the location, I guess it's on par. The animals need to be taken care of pandemic or no pandemic. 

     I'm not keen on staying in a hotel at the time being, though even my son who is more careful about the virus than anyone I know, did for work. They had very strict bubbles, and still ended up barely getting the project done before they had more cases than they could sustain after isolating staff. I think I may plan some day trips, map them out for relatively nice days. Some would be pup friendly and others  would need to work for our daughter's schedule to come hang with him like she did when we visited our daughter four hours away. There's only a few things we can do in the Twin Cities, and because most things need to be reserved, it feels like  planning a trip. No impromptu outings. You need reservations for both zoo's and the museums are not open but may start with limited hours at the end of the month, with reservations, and limited capacity. I guess that will feel as safe as I do when grocery shopping. Our best bet continues to be different county or state parks, dressed warm, and bringing our own food and drink. Add zoo's and museums to the the list of 1,000 that I will never  under appreciate again. 

     I have no shortage of vacation time banked, and will replace in short order any I use. DH has 15 days to use in  2021, and he will use at least 6 planning to take three combination Friday Saturdays off this summer giving him three Thursday-Sunday weekends at the cabin. I think we might stay there Sunday-Thursday a few times as well, since he could just go to work from there, but still get a nightly swim and an outing with the boat. If things still don't feel safe to us for air or hotel staying, we'll likely take another fall week at the cabin.

     I'd like to reschedule our Las Vegas trip but that requires flying. I think a fall driving trip down the Mississippi roadways could be a really nice trip-Minnesota to New Orleans. Where will you plan to go once we are free to move about the cabin? Are you likely to stay closer to your home communities, or are you going to make up for lost time? Regardless of what country, if you have a road trip to recommend, please share. 

Where in the World is ....Friday W's

       We had a fun little work Lunch buddies meet up yesterday where we all changed our backgrounds to either be from a memorable vacation spot, or where we might want to go. It was fun to see people in Lisbon, and  New Zealand, the North Shore, the  Colorado Mountains, and places farther or in-between. I was in London, ready to take a walk across the Tower Bridge. It was a nice diversion-both memories of good times we've had and promises to be travelling again. Tomorrow I have a travel on my mind post, but today, just another Friday W's. 

What's top of mind: You might think based on the week, the change of leadership is top of mine, but really, schools and kids are on my mind. We had more schools returning to in-person learning and more set to go back Monday, February 1, and February 8th. My daughter has been back on campus nearly two weeks, two weeks of classes done, and her college dash board only shows one Covid case at this time. Her test she was required to have five days after moving back was negative obviously, but it still was a relief. Thank you all teachers and educators, and child care professionals that are there for our children and students. While they are prioritized for vaccines in part, there are so few vaccine does that it is only rolling out in Minnesota as a pilot. 

Where I've been: Sunday was grocery shopping day and I combined that with a Target return, and a quick walk through the store, as well as a Amazon return at Kohls I did the same, a circle walk through the store, mostly in housewares, just a peek, and we left. Tuesday was an OK day at work, but our new staff could not come in as scheduled because of a positive test on last Saturday. I'm glad he feels well though. I had a bundled meet-up for a walk around a park  with a friend. Just a little change of pace was nice.

Where I'm going: My sister's birthday was on the 19th and I have her present to run out to her. She said they celebrated by splurging on the best pizza place in town. Other than running her gift our to her house and walking the dog, I don't have to go anywhere. I'm doing a meeting at my daughters on Monday though as I need to make sure WIFI is good and no dog barking in the back ground. She is working out of her house that day.

What I'm watching: I binged watched the last two seasons of Shetland on Britbox. I know, no judging! The Scottish Islands are so interesting to me. Question though for those that know this part of the world. Is there really a lot of drug trafficking and corruption on the islands as I have watched via this program? We kept HBO Max and I am interested in a few movies that will be premiering soon-next weekend I think. I was excited, then let down to see the French drama Spiral on Amazon Prime, but the last two seasons were not available without yet another subscription service. I didn't add any more. 

What I'm reading: I still need to either buy, check out or download We Were Liars for my book club. The meeting February 5th and I tend to read in one or two shots. 

What I'm listening to:  I have not had any streaming  radio this week at all. The most listening I've done is the car radio going to the store and work. 

What I'm eating: I tried a new to me recipe, Bean and Chees enchiladas. I've been eating the leftovers for lunches, and froze a portion for a future lunch. I made a yummy rice crust quiche with cheese and vegetables and potato rosti's. Last night was ranch chicken, using the leftovers for sandwiches and French fries on Saturday. I've done better sticking to a planned menu, but did not make chili. I will say, it was easier thinking about the never ending meal preparation having a plan in place.

Who I'm paying attention to: In general, I'm just happy to not pay attention to anyone in particular. I'll be keeping an eye on, maybe even watch the playoff games this weekend to determine who goes to the Super Bowl. I am a serious anti Green Bay Packer fan, so I will root for whoever they play, this time, the Tamp Bay Buccaneers. I have an affinity for Patrick Mahomes and so will root for the Kansas City Chiefs as his father, Pat Mahomes, pitched for the Minnesota twins a few decades ago. 

What I'm planning:  Tomorrow is dedicated to cleaning and figuring out which room will be painted next weekend. I'm tired of the staleness in every room of the house. Top contenders are our bedroom and the family room. I want to convince DH to bring in some color! I'm also thinking about ordering temporary tiles to do a back splash in the kitchen. I know-I've never shared pictures after our little refresh two years ago. 

     What a week, right? We had the inauguration and it went off seemingly without flaw. It felt calmer, but of course no one should get too complacent. If we are to have movement towards unity, there needs to be conversations, and discussion, but that does not mean capitulation towards accepting unilateral actions, beliefs, and ideas that others hold. It means accountability for decisions and actions as well. It's homemade pizza night and my daughter is going to join us. I am going to open the wine I got from my sister for my birthday, a lovely shiraz.

      That's what  I'm experiencing and thinking about this Friday. What's the W's of your life this week? 

Spirit of Adventure

Bloggers are some of my favorite people. I love opening my reading list and getting updates from all of them, ready to challenge me with a new way of thinking, a way to stretch a buck or two, and inspiring me with tales of overcoming challenges. I also really enjoy the travel, or travelesque blogger sites, written by ladies (I'm sure some could be men, but my faves happen to be ladies) with an inherent spirit of adventure. These bloggers have the best way of sharing their lives in ways that make everyday seem like a new adventure. Sometimes they are off on real whirlwind trips, taking them across countries or oceans, filling their pages with photo's and stories about new places seen, new food enjoyed, new people met. Often though, as is the case with most of us, travel has to be planned and spread out to accommodate finances and available windows of time. These bloggers though with a spirit of adventure, never mind that. They make the most of what's around them, whether it be an exploratory day in their won or a nearby community, a deep walk in the woods, or hosting a group of folks in trying a new activity.

Having a spirit of adventure is one of the greatest assets a person can posses. Imagine the possibilities if everyday when I woke up, instead of moaning about the early hour, and the long commute, and the household needs, I embraced the day as an opportunity to experience something new, something I didn't experience in all my previous waking days? What if breakfast was a chance to travel the world by whipping up a batch of muffins with exotic fruits, not typically found in Minnesota, and not typically found in a muffin? What if I traveled with my camera, or even took better advantage of my cell phone camera, and pulled over to take a picture of something interesting, that caught my eye, or even just made a journal note mention of it?

My dear friend is in London right now, visiting her son who is doing a three month college abroad stint. I'm excited for her, and envious at the same time as she will experience things I remember well, and want to experience again. Her pictures so far have me smiling! Still, I equally got a smile on my face seeing Jane from Crabapple Landing post her recent woodland walk. Jane has that spirit of adventure, and I look forward to her planning her trip to Scotland, and traveling vicariously with her when later she blogs about it. It's no secret I want to travel, but in the mean time, I will keep working on developing my own better spirit of adventure, knowing no two days are ever the same; no day gets a do over. Happy Monday. Spirit on!

What Could I Really Live On?

I often have a good think on my long drive home, about how little we could comfortably live on in a manner that was healthy and socially partaking.  I am the first to recognize how really fortunate I am. I know circumstances can change in an instant, but through a  combination of being mostly gainfully employed, purchasing a small fixer upper at the right time and selling at the right time, a little inheritance money, and a less than glam lifestyle means we have tended to both short and long term savings. There were many lean years when there were bouts of unemployment and under employment, high medical bills, two kids in diapers and childcare, and a decade later kid three in diapers and childcare,and the years of two kids in college. Those were times when my thrifty mind went into implementation mode.

In college, I paid tuition, housing, food and all personal spending money from a 20 hour per week waitress job. Granted, I had care packages from my mom's pantry when I was home on weekends, and that did help the grocery budget a bit. In hindsight, that was easy.  No growing kids to replace clothing for; no springing leaks in the dishwasher line to worry about.  A night out was quarter beer night on Wednesday's,or if really needing  a night out but even more broke than usual, Tuesday night  dime beer night, but you had to put up with country music. No offense intended, but not my music then or now. I don't think I had any new clothes, other than a gift or two from parents, and walked as much as possible to avoid putting gas in the car.  All my friends were in the same financial place.

Now with DD# 2 in her last 4 years at home before college, we really are in our last decade, fingers crossed, of supporting people other than our selves.  My ponders on the way home are starting to take real more shape.  Even with the job chnage, I am starting to crave more time to do as I please.  I want to write more, play more, rest more, and visit more.  I want to set out for days with no agenda, pack a couple PBJ's in a container, and see where the wind blows me.

The biggest obstacle for a vagabond, earn and live off the minimum amount I can, seems to be health care.  I have always had employer sponsored health care, so purchasing similar coverage independently would be completely foreign to me. I estimate that could be well over $1,000 out of pocket, and that with high deductible and copay.  We would always need to have the deductible for DH and I ready in the bank. Transportation would be our next big expenses, unless we moved to a much more urban area and could get by without a car.  That is on the list to consider, but desirable neighborhoods with good transportation or extremely walkable are expensive in any city.  I would be happy going super small in living space, but not unsafe. Oh the days when four college girls shared a 700 square foot apartment for $100 in rent a piece. We could go with a rural town, but with a thriving business community.  I picture a couple around us now, but interestingly, the only grocery stores are miles away from the downtown areas.  Not convenient in our Minnesota winters. 

Not counting long term retirement, which in my commuting plan, goes by the wayside, assuming what we currently have will be enough if we keep earning along the way to full retirement, health care and transportation are empty nester Sam's biggest expenses.  Try as I may, I can't think how we could live  much cheaper than we do now once health care is factored in. We could cut to the bone everywhere else, and start with minimally having to bring home over $12,000 year just to have major medical protection.  Makes me think who I am a servant to.

Got to Get Away 2015 Edition

Last summer the travel budget was lean after our trip to London and some airline travel with the older kids back to Minnesota and accompanying me on a trip. Because of the amount of traveling I did for work, I had some Orbitz Orbucks credit to use on a hotel stay and we were able to go on a little get away to the Lake Superior shore in Duluth for very little cost. In Got to Get Away, I shared the planning for that small adventure.  This year, the budget for travel funds and my vacation  accrual balance is even leaner due to my job change, and future travel plans this fall and next summer.  I have though hoarded enough  Orbucks for an inexpensive night away, but we have to use $30 of it by August 2. We have a window of opportunity the last two weekends in July when the soccer season ends, and DD#1 can come home and stay with pup.

I've been scouting the local areas-close enough that we can drive on a Saturday night after DH is home from work, so within an hour of home. I'm doing some homework now. For the hotel, having a pool and  continental breakfast would be ideal, but we have limited options on where the promotional points will work, so not tied to either. I've book marked the Explore Minnesota web site as my go to resource.  It is amazing how much can be done very close to our home that I have yet to do, or do with my family. Where are your summer adventures taking you? Who else has made a holiday out of their own (relatively) back yard?

Loads of good hiking trails within an hour of us we have yet to explore.

Northfield Art and Craft Fair-maybe on the list.

Underwater World at Mall of America-been there and it is pretty cool.

Twine Ball-worlds largest!

All pictures from the the Explore Minnesota website. This post is not a plug or solicited endorsement for Orbitz.  I use multiple sites to compare when we travel.  I do find Orbitz easy to use, the perks are pretty straightforward and I see them instantly on my account.

Trip Advisor Pill

After booking our fall vacation, DD#2 and I spent some of our wonderful evening on the deck scrolling some of the on-line tours of a few attractions and historical places in Washington DC.  I also did a "best of"search to see what would come up outside my own memory.  We have a few more ideas to fit in that might not have originally been front of mine.  This particular site we looked at was Trip Advisor. I've used them before to get input on prioritizing activities or deciding if a tourist attraction or hotel is worth the money. If I read a particular good review, but the overall rating is mediocre, I usually can see why experiences might have differed. We were looking at a couple of the Smithsonian museum sites, and started seeing a couple reviewers who had nothing but 1 or 2 (out of 5) to give out. Now I admit I am a little bit of a mid western bumpkin, and am naturally awe struck by big cities, and particularly big city museums, but these reviewers were down right cranky, particularly about the Air and Space Museum, one of my favorites. I clicked on one of the reviewers profiles, as apparently you can create a whole trip advisor persona and earn badges for your reviews, and found he had many other reviewed trips.  I didn't look further to find what a badge actually did for you.

This particularly blogger, I'll call him Patrick P, that is P as in pill, must have a hard time on his  travels because he has a disdain for just about anything found in big cities.  DD and I started making a game to find out what place he hated the most. We learned Patrick P really hates museums of any kind. While there were some valid statements and points on ethics, pretty much each review contained the words "uninspiring", "dreary setting",  and "bleak and depressing".  In his profile narrative, he stated he lived in London, a city he finds a true cultural wasteland.  He has given reviews in 22 countries, and so fortunate for us, he had equally insightful bashing throughout the world. He wasn't a fan of most European cities. The Piazza Navono in Rome was a tourist trap. The cable car up to the mountain peak in Lucerne was slow. The Eiffel Tower was nothing more than an ugly mass of steel and porta- potty's. I can't even begin to describe his loathing of East Coast American cities, though he did have good things to say about New Orleans, even though he needed to preach at whoever was reading about the appalling timeline for bringing the city back  to health after hurricane Katrina. Londoners will be happy to know Patrick P Pill has moved to South Africa now.

Travel sites can be useful to guide a vacation but have limitations. As in all forms of social and interactive media, the forums give a platform for anyone wishing to rant about their experience. I like to sort by date to ensure I get more current feedback, but seasonal variations should be consdered as well. It is also to good to read a couple bad reviews, even if the overall rating is high, to understand what red flags that reviewer might be raising. For example, one of the rants was because there was no proper food in the areas where the museum was located. If you know that in advance and you have kids that get cranky when hungry or a medical need to eat at certain times, pack a snack or plan to visit that particular venue  after a meal. Trip Advisor only does date or rating, but many hotel sites will let you search by location, family, business travel or leisure, to better gauge your experience. I would be interested to know if there are other sites that do ratings of attractions and events besides Trip Advisor as I haven't come across any others. There are guides to help start your planning such as Frommers and Travel and Leisure.  If I can find people I know who have gone to my travel destination, I like to pick their brain. What about you?  How do you  make the most of travel sites or reviews in planning your vacation or other special events? Do you too roll an eye at the people who can't seem to find anything worthy in a place?

 

 

I stumbled upon a real life travel site kimbriggs.com, with pictures he has taken from his travels. I was surprised to see my own travel hub, the Minneapolis-St Paul Airport, featured in his pictures. Well, I guess we do have the Mall of America. I think I would rather take my recommendations from Kim rather than Patrick.  Source: kimbriggs.com

I Get To Be A Tourist

 

I hit the agree and submit button for a fall Washington DC trip for DH, DD#2, and me.  No business meetings, no late night taxi to the hotel following a three hour flight and an eight hour work day will be on the agenda.  I've been to DC more times than I can count, and while I have been able to quickly fit in a site or two on several of the trips, even managing a whole extra day last fall with DD#1, I've never been on vacation there.  I couldn't wish for more in my terms of travelling companions for five days in my nations capital.  While DD# 2 could go in an out of one of the Smithsonian's in less than an hour, I wonder if we will fit in all there is to see with my two history buffs. The Air and Space Museum will be no less than four hours-I am sure.

I've written before, we will need to really tighten the belts to ensure funds are free for the various trips we have planned in the next 14 months.  I was greatly aided by doing a quick promo code search and found a code for an extra $150 off a package for a four night minimum stay, exactly the number we are staying.  Not too shabby for a 60 second detour.  I was tempted to book one of the tours to make sure we really fit in all the monuments, but then decided "why bother?" I'd rather we have the opportunity to go slow and deep rather than wide and frantic.

Half the fun for me is in the planning of the trip. I will look forward to gathering Internet links for DD and DH to look at and picking up fact books, and reference materials from the library. I have a few old metro maps tucked in some old work binders to plan some routes, but now with the miracle of google maps, we can put in a starting and end point, as well as stops along the way, for walking or public transit. Still, the journey is part of the joy, so low tech will suit me fine for planning.  I do like the  street view interactive maps where you can drag the little avatar man to a specific location and there you are. I just caught a view of a few folks noshing on a slice from We the Pizza, one of my favorite stops on Pennsylvania Ave.

I'll probably prattle on a bit between now and October.  I am very excited about this because it will follow or precede a few markers in my families life. First, it will be my first real vacation since changing jobs.  While I will have many three day weekends because of a flex schedule, those should, will, be filled with the growing home project list.  Second, this will be the first break DD#2 will have had since starting  cross country training in August, and her first year of high school. Third, the trip is the month before I turn 50.  Seems fitting that I ring in the half century mark with a little history.  If you've been to Washington DC, what is your number one "don't miss" activity or site? What do you all have planned? Anyone else dive into the planning and design months before you actually step on the plane, train, car or boat?

 

DC budget-Savings			$2,500.00
	(includes air, hotel, ground transport, airport parking, kennel, meals, snacks, entertainment)
Budget helpers
	Orbitz Promo		$150.00
New budget-from Savings			$2,350.00

Pretty Places

I appreciate  unstructured time spent in space that is comfortable and visually appealing. 
When I am out of town and have a little spare time, I try to seek out the little areas probably well known to locals, but when stumbled upon when you're not expecting them, have an added appeal.

I was in Oklahoma city for a couple days for business  most flights are connecting flights, and  in order to navigate the best price for my work budget, I took a later flight, which gave me a few extra hours before having to get to the airport.  I enjoyed some unexpected sites.  There is a canal that runs along the back side of  what used to be a series of warehouses.  Most have been refurbished into bars and restaurants. and there were so many outdoor seating areas, but also a walk way along the canal.  if you've never been to Oklahoma City, the prettiness of the area, and the friendliness of the people cannot be overlooked.  On the canal, I ended my walk at the Devon Mosaic.  Look at the detail up-close, and you see the women in the mosaic pouring water, that then aligns with the real water feature.  Clever and soothing to sit and watch on a 80 degree October day. 



My angle is not the best, but the water from the picture appears to be flowing right form the jugs.

Business trips are usually short, and as costs to send employees on trips  becomes a steeper luxury, it gets harder to not cram every minute with work time. With the  advent of Facetime, Skype, and Go to Meeting, you can have virtual group meetings  with people in places all over the world.  There is still something though about  really being in the same space, seeing each others work environments, and the communities they engage in.  I appreciate the extra hours I had, to take my walk. Though it was a long route getting home, this mosaic was a little water oasis.



There is also Devon Bridge.

On the Road

I'm in a new city I have not been to before; Oklahoma City to be specific.   I had delayed flights, but the time in the  air passed quickly as I sat next to a conversational man. I rarely seem to sit by people that want to talk as much as he did, but it was a nice change.  He had adult children of  similar ages, and I could relate to many of his stories.   I had an interesting cab ride from a blue haired cab driver.  She was not elderly, but did have blue hair, and all her cab friends and the cab line attendant called her, "The Blue Haired Lady".  She was disappointed at first with my destination, as she had planned on my ride being the last one of the night, and had hoped it was a nice good fare.  She had in her head I was just a bit down the strip from the airport.  When she figured out my hotel was actually downtown, and would be a nice tidy sum, she became quite sociable and gave me lots of little tidbits of information about surroundings and points of interest on the route, her thoughts on Uber in Oklahoma City, and some nice places to stop and have a beer tonight.  

My room is quite nice, and much larger than needed for one person.  It has  Neutrogena  products in the bath, so I am happy that I didn't bother packing my own. It has a Keurig coffee maker, so another nice little bonus, with a supply of  coffee and tea.  I know the horror stories about why you should never use a hotel coffee maker, but I ran several cups of water through the brewer, and quite honestly, I can't live with that much paranoia.  I like coffee makers in my room, darn it!


I'm to meet up with colleagues for a little bit tonight, and left my room number, but haven't found anyone yet, so able to fit a quick call to home-all managing just fine, and do this post. I have some work things that have to be done before tomorrow morning, to make things stay smooth in the office.  Remote access is a great technological advancement, even if it does sometimes lead to me working ridiculously more hours than what my salary and "schedule" reflects. We have room in our meeting agenda for a nice dinner out tomorrow, followed by a trip to the Oklahoma City Memorial, a tribute to the victims of the 1995.  Many of those victims were helpless children and the staff that cared for them. My oldest was in kindergarten, the middle in preschool, when this act of evil occurred. It should be a particaulllry poignant way to end our day of  meetings.  I hope to learn a bit more about  the city in the next couple days.  The ride to the hotel was informative. The Blue Haired Lady did give me her card if I wanted to book a ride back on Thursday.

American expat for hire

After my earlier blog post, I stumbled around a few UK job board sites.  I have this silly dream that maybe isn't totally silly of living somewhere in the United Kingdom, and lately have been thinking it isn't silly at all.  I know from my daughter and UK blogging "friends" the cost of living is so much higher than the part of the US I live in, the problems of work life balance are the same, and life would just fall into a pattern there as well.  Still, I do not tire of the dream, and exploring on-line, big cities, little towns, county hamlets, sea side villages, and trendy urban neighborhoods.  The UK is on my mind a lot lately. I've been following the Scotland independence debate for months.  I watched The Politician's Husband on Netflix, and am fascinated with parliament.  I couldn't name a single cop on any  NCIS show, but know Vera, Luther, and D.S, now Inspector Morse, intimately.

With my daughter back here, but planning a move to California soon, part of me wished she had gotten permanent employment and been able to stay in England, giving me a natural destination and purpose to travel there often.  Other than to see her, I have little interest in going to California.  Shame on me for considering using my daughter that way.  So if it won't be via her, I'll need to plan on my own. Getting a work Visa seems nearly impossible in my line of profession, so I'll need to go the route of entrepreneur, or self funded resident, i.e. a boatload of savings. My youngest would be on board in a minute.  Her dad does the patronizing smile, verbally saying "figure it out" knowing it has a less than a remote chance in hell to be doable.  Still, why stop dreaming, or a little harmless planning.  Anyone across the pond in need of hiring a 48 year old American expat?  References provided.