Lucy's turning 40

What a lazy blogger I've become. Sorry about that. I have great intentions but consider sleeping and going to work more of a priority than blogging. That's just how it is.

Today, though, I've got something on my mind. Or I should say someone. Five thousand miles away in a small English village called Wantage in the county of Oxfordshire, my friend Lucy is turning 40 years old. I hope she's still sleeping right now as it's 3 a.m. where she lives, but I find myself imagining how she'll celebrate this milestone. Judging from the birthdays I've witnessed in their home, she'll receive cards (probably homemade, which we all know are the best) from her two kids, William and Ellen. I suspect she'll receive an appropriately sappy card from her husband, Ian. Maybe they'll have a special tea (evening meal) at the end of the day. Or there might be a special family party on the weekend with her mum, sister, brothers, sisters-in-law, nephew and niece.

Mostly I'm wishing I could transport myself across the pond and be there for just a small slice of her day. Maybe just to have morning tea with her and a good chat, as she would call it. Or better yet, chatting over a glass of wine in the evening. Not that we'd stop at just one glass. Here's a picture of us before we dug into our strawberries and cream at Wimbledon in 2003.

A little history...
I met Lucy over 15 years ago when I was on a business trip to Holland and England. It was the first time I'd ever been out of the United States and I was petrified. I was to be gone for six weeks and it seemed like an eternity to be away from home. The first week I spent in Amsterdam at a trade show. The next week I was in York, England, with a co-worker, but then it was time for her to go back home. I was left alone in jolly old England for four more weeks learning a computer system from people who didn't want to teach it to me and driving on the wrong side of the road in a rented car. After driving around the city wall in York multiple times the first day with the car, I finally figured out how to drive between work and my temporary flat with no detours.

I remember needing my sunglasses only about three times during that four weeks. Lucy was literally one of the only bright spots of the whole trip. She was the only person who asked how I was while I was on my own in England. She would stop in the office where they had me set up and ask if I needed anything and would inevitably end up staying to talk a bit each time.

Lucy asked me to attend a bonfire night celebration with her and her family in their small hometown of Boston Spa while I was there. It was held on a Saturday night and the invitation included dinner with her family and then taking in a fireworks show. That's how they celebrate the plot to blow up Parliament...by shooting off fireworks. I had such a good time that night and felt very much at home among her family and friends, even though I was the token American in the bunch. We're very similar people, Lucy and I, and out of the whole world we met by chance. But I've always felt it was divine intervention.

I have wonderful friends right here in Wichita and all over this country, but Lucy and I have a special bond. We've been friends for 15 years, but have physically been in the same place only nine times. And each time we're together it's like we've never been apart. We pick right back up where we left off. It's easier now with e-mail and the internet, but even before that we wrote letters the old-fashioned way. I still have every piece of mail she's ever sent me.

Here's a picture of William, Ellen, Lucy and Ian on a trip to the Kansas Cosmosphere in Hutchinson when they last visited in 2005. A trip to the Cosmosphere and taking this picture have both become tradition when they visit. They're very good sports to pose for me like this!


To the left is a picture Lucy sent me last week of the kids with the snowman they made. They actually had a snow day and didn't have to attend school, which is a rare event for them.

I feel very fortunate to be able to call Lucy my friend. I'm terrible at getting things in the mail early enough for her to actually have them on Christmas or birthdays (something she's very good at) but this post will have to act as my card to her.

Here's to our friendship, I cherish it every day. Live long, my friend. And live well. May we see each other again soon. I wish it with all my heart.

Shepherd or cottage? You make the call

I've been absent from blogging a lot this past week. There are a lot of reasons, but mostly I've just been taking a break from everything and blogging has been a casualty of that. But now I'm back, baby. And I've got something to get off my chest.

I got an e-mail from my British friend Lucy this week. I had sent a package with various gifts for her kids and for her and her husband and she sent a message on Sunday saying that they had received it and everything was a big hit (big relief for me as it's hard to buy for kids who live 5000 miles away). I'll post another time about how Lucy and I met and put some photos up of her family, but this post is about something specific I've been thinking about since she wrote. This will prove how idle my mind has been this week. If you're looking for a post heavy on deep thoughts, this is not it and you should stop reading now.

At the end of Lucy's message she said that she was making cottage pie for their tea (evening meal). For those who don't know that's a very delicious casserole dish that's made with meat and vegetables on the bottom and mashed potatoes on top. Once assembled, it's baked until the mashed potatoes are a little crunchy on top. It's awesome comfort food. Anyway, ever since I read that I've been thinking about cottage pie vs. shepherd's pie. I got schooled by Lucy on my first or second trip across the pond about the difference between the two, which is that shepherd's pie is made with minced (ground) lamb and cottage pie is made with hamburger.

On the Planet Tess blog, I saw where she'd posted a recipe for shepherd's pie back in November, in which she used sausage. Interesting choice. I might have to try that. So to further my research, I went to Wikipedia and searched for cottage pie, which pulled up the entry for shepherd's pie. They did explain what I've already said, but that Americans generally use shepherd's pie no matter what meat's being used.

Any opinions? Got a great recipe for shepherd's/cottage pie that I need to have? Need to get rid of some leftovers? Send them my way.

Don't care? I don't blame you, but thanks for letting me purge my soul. I feel so much better now!