European Food Market

I love Europe, a good market and food... What better combination!  This bustling market had traders from France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Holland, and Poland.  It also had a stalls run by Native Americans and a Chinese family both of which I cant explain but the more the merrier right... I am kicking myself right now for not picking up that Italian strawberry and cream nougat! 

Treats on offer included, Brittany biscuits, olives, cheeses, sausages, tarifiette, charcuterie, fresh bread, croissants, pastries, paella, leather goods, and textiles.

Most products were produced by small organisations, family business, farms, and small factories using traditional methods and all traders wore local costumes to represent the region that they are from.  

Great Amwell Car Boot Sale

One of the best things about this time of year is that the car boot sales open up again.  Last summer I enjoyed many a weekend browse around the stalls and regularly found some treasure.  I put my art degree to use last year and managed to produce some stunning framed vintage prints which made their way onto ebay and into the homes of some happy customers.  

Great Amwell is one of my favourites.  It opened for the season three weeks ago so I made my way over to take a peek.  

Details:

Type: Outdoor

Held on: Sunday

Seller start time: 8.00am

Buyer arrival time: 9.00am 

From/to: Mar to Nov

Frequency: Weekly (weather permitting)

Seller fee: £10.00 for a car £14.00 for a van

Entry fee: 50p adult/ free for children.

Refreshments: Yes

Toilets: Yes

Disabled access: No

Disabled parking: Yes

Disabled toilets: No

Average no. of sellers: 100

Operators name: Va Bridgeman

Contact telephone: 01920871719

Address: Hillside Farm Field, Pepper Hill, Great Amwell Roundabout, Ware, Herts, SG12 9RZ

You never know what you are going to find at these places... Anyone for an elaborate carved wood palace?

A little teak...

As well as the one off sellers there often seems to be a few regular stalls including one of which sells fresh fruit and vegetables at a snip.  It's a nice place to be on a sunny day...

Estate sale fails, traveling and Charter

Estate Sale Fail: 
The past 24 hours have been a little hectic... I cleaned house, did laundry, said goodbye to our most adorable Mr Henry, packed my things and got ready to make my way back to London.  I realised that my 6am flight meant that I needed to be at the airport by 4am which sort of cut into our last evening together for a while.  Because of the time of the flight Nick decided to look into estate sales in the area and see if there was anything worth checking out...

I spy with my little eye...  A little Kipp Stewart?

What with the prices that these sets have been known to sell for we agreed that it was well worth him making it a speedy drop of at the airport so that he could get to the sale very early.

Well whilst I sat in the departure lounge of STL watching that frightening American lightening little did I know that poor Nick had been beaten to the stump by ten minutes...  He left as I could only imagine like a sad puppy with its tail between its legs.

Fortunately we found out later that the sale had been somewhat of a dud...The set was selling for $600 which would have been well above the amount we were willing to pay and it only had 2 of those good looking chairs attached.   Hopefully that made things a little less sour anyway.

Traveling:
Some flight seem longer than others don't they?  The distance doesnt even need to change just the company you are with! Somehow this time I managed to draw the short straw by becoming strapped next to not one, or two, but THREE screaming babies all the way across the Atlantic.  Now I love children, but parents seriously please.... I realise that you put a lot of effort into making up that inflight kiddy friendly Mary Poppin's bag of marvelous distractions but was the echo mega phone really necessary?  Between being hit by balls and other flying objects I managed to catch a wink only to be woken by baby pulling apart an entire roll of cello tape... It got stuck to EVERYTHING!

Oh my was I glad to land....

London is never this empty.  I swiftly caught my bag from the baggage claim without having to climb over anyone and was on my way...

And lastly... Charter:
Charter... The nations fastest internet.  Customer guarantee that they are committed to make your experience outstanding...  It's outstanding alright.  For months now the internet connection at the new house has been poor to awful.  Since moving in and signing our souls over to Charter we have plainly given up on the idea of video chat.  This is somewhat of a shame when you only get to see your loved one once every three months and you are paying out a ridiculous sum of money each month to get the top speeds.  Regular Skype calls are ultimately frustrating when every 120 seconds the call cuts out and then takes its sweet time to reconnect before doing the exact same thing again.  You have just about enough time to get a "Hi, How was your day? What have you been up to?" out as the person begins to reply "well... today... [[CONNECTION LOST]]"

Wait for it...

Oh boy.  Who can I punch?

I'm learning a lot about American phone/internet and tv companies lately.  I have to say... I am unimpressed with the customer service provided when it is usually such a positive feature of American business.  Firstly, I learnt that they often run a monopoly, where only one company is allowed to operate in an area so that there is no competition.  This is an awful thing, because without competition there is no reason to provide anything thats of any worth...  In England TV/phone and internet companies are extremely competitive,  we have some fantastic rates and deals on these services because they have to fight to provide something that people want to use! If a company runs a service poorly they risk loosing customers...  American companies don't have this to worry about so they can basically do a bad job, give you any old schmoo over the phone and palm you of for another day!

Charter, if you happen to be reading this, just know that I hate you and if you were running as a communications business in England I would drop kick you faster than you could give me a stupid $5 compensation voucher.

Foster Pup.

Stinking cute no?

So Nick and I have been fostering for a few years now.  Whilst living in Columbia we fostered for the Central Missouri Humane Society and took in Monty, Dopey, Ricky and Kiwi.  

Monty - 3yrs, Terrier/Pit Mix

Dopey - 8wk Beagle mix with a sad cherry eye and a nasty case of kennel cough.

  

Ricky - 3yr- Lab/Terrier Mix - Found as a stray. Extremely malnourished and depressed.  

 

Kiwi - 8 Wk black lab.  

I'll admit, if there was a dog equivalent of a crazy cat lady I might well fit that bill.  Sad dog stories get me everytime! See Wanda.... This face kills me.

 If it wasn't for Nick there is a chance you would see me on the next episode of Animal Hoarders.  This said, Nick isn't without his own vices,  Its been three months since my last visit and the unfinished master bedroom has been filled with more gorgeous furniture than any person could ever possibly need.  At the last count I think I found 28 unused chairs.  If you don't find me on hoarders you could well find him! I guess we are truly a well suited pair, I need him to keep the puppy problem down and he needs me to keep the MCM furnishing in line.  

Anyway, back to the puppies...  The latest addition is Henry, or Mr Henry as he is more formally known.  He came to visit two nights ago after I was unable to resist the urge to reply to a plea on Facebook from the St Louis Pet Rescue for five emergency foster carers.  We weren't actually registered with them at the time so we had to fill out an application and then go and meet the coordinators in Fenton, Mo.  Henry is a 5 week old lab.  He came from a large litter and we assume mum is no longer around to take care of them.  We have him for a few days before he will go on to hopefully find a permanent home.   Henry is pretty stinking cute to start with.  He is very laid back and a little terrified of most things... (Car rides, bath time, and wind in the trees to name a few) I almost lost him under the house this morning when a baby rabbit ran through the garden, poor soul.  So far he has been excellent at night, sleeping all the way through without any whining.  He is doing well with crate training and happily stays crated during naps, at night, or if we have to run about town.  

I'm a little afraid of him getting into trouble, what with all the vintage furniture around so I watch him like a hawk whenever he is out and about the house. He is happy to follow me everywhere, only stopping to give out a little cry if he comes across a step that defeats him.  Does Wanda or Mr Henry pull at your heart strings?  Could you give them a home?  Contact St Louis Pet Rescue for more information.