March 10, 2002

Tom's been busy at work, with a proposal due at the end of this week, he worked late (7 p.m.) for the first time since we've been here. It'll cool down a bit after that is done next Friday. He also went to Bath this week for a meeting. From driving around trying to get to our meeting, it seems like a beautiful city and worth further exploration - we'll have to plan a trip there (about 1.5 hours away).

We both went to the 'surgery' (doctor's office) for the first time, presumably to go over our medical records with a nurse (or so we were told when we registered and made the appointment). Toby was first for her 15-minute appointment. She was out in 5, after having her blood pressure checked and a very (very) brief conversation with the nurse. My appointment was even more brief as they seemingly hadn't put me in their computer records system yet. Blood pressure and no discussion. Oh well. At least it was free, even if it disrupted both of our workdays. I have a real doctor's appointment next week anyway; hopefully they'll have me 'in the system' by then.

Quick, what time is it? Our clock radio shows time only in 24-hour (military) format. Not so hard to read once you get used to it, but I will say I've gotten much better at subtracting 12. Good thing everything is easy in the wee hours of the morning!

We went to London on Thursday. The real reason to go was to see The Lion King but we made a 1/2 day trip out of it. Took the bus in at 2 p.m., picked up our tickets (thanks Kelly!), then poked around for a bit. Had dinner with the Glotzers (hi Glotzers!) who were in town for vacation. Great to see them! And then our first London cab ride to the theatre. We really enjoyed the show, especially the costumes and the sets. You had to think pretty hard to see how some of the the animals were really people, especially the giraffes. Not only did we have a good time, but it helped us know that London was not too far for an occasional (long) night out.

Last night we saw Chris Smither and Peter Mulvey (remember them? They were our first guests in Oxford) play at "The Pit" in Farnham. It was a great show in a beautiful place that included this cool thatched roof cottage, which is over 400 years old. They actually played in the 'studio' behind the cottage, but this is where Chris slept and where the bar was for a before show cocktail hour of sorts. Peter got to stay in a small room under the eaves (slanted roof, hard to stand up) on a mattress on the floor. That must be the English class system at work in the arts. (Peter was opening for Chris.) Here's a picture of Toby in front of the cottage and of Chris on stage (a bit grainy, no flash). Notice her first British haircut.

Did we mention our fast, always-on internet connection is up-and-running? So far so good, we're enjoying it. If nothing else it makes searching for cheap airfares and maintaining the web page easier.

• According to the label, the peanut butter we bought is "Full of Scrummy Goodness"
• The name "Maurice" is pronounced "Morris" here. And "Magdelan" (as in Magdelan College here in Oxford) is pronounced "Mawdlan".
• DO NOT go see "The Oxford Story", a history of Oxford University, if you come visit us. We speak from personal experience.
• They've ended the season for Sex in the City and The Sopranos, but E.R. and The West Wing are here (our 5 TV channels have some US shows, even if they are months behind!).