TheWoodenCrosses and ImpactbyDapperChap on Etsy

In life I have learnt that you have to try every avenues to get your name out there. TheWoodenCrosses on Etsy make lovely hand crafted signs that depict the whimsicality of life and embraces that a sign cannot only encourage you but transport you to a memory, place or time in your life giving us hope. ImpactbyDapperChap is also on Etsy showing the beauty around us in photographs that can be ordered on mugs and bags alike and in frames or not. Photographs allow us to be a part of a world we love or be transported to a world where memories were made. These two business allow us to see that people press through in life not only trying to change their world but allowing others to have a part of the wonderful world in their homes. As I have gone through life I am thankful for the quotes and photographs in my home that have encouraged me and allow me to Dream Big. https://www.etsy.com/shop/ImpactbyDapperChap?ref=l2-shopheader-name https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheWoodenCrosses?ref=search_shop_redirect They do two-sided signs!

Norfolk Federation Womens Institute

While I was in England I went into some lovely bookstores that were in some stately homes. While at Felbrigg Hall I found a wonderful book. Norfolk Countrywomen's Year since coming back to the United States I have so loved reading it. The memories of home flood through my mind and I am transported to a world I love and miss so much. Norfolk England is like no other. It is a world where time has in parts stood still. The Women's Institute really is the very foundation of what England is about raising money to help many amazing causes. It is a group of women who soldier together to make a difference in their communities not wanting the praise but wanting to touch and change lives. As a child I remember the many Women's Institutes' bake sales and the wonderful smells from the cakes. You can find out more about them by clicking on the links below: http://www.thewi.org.uk/become-a-member/structure-of-the-wi/england/norfolk/about-us You should take the time to look into them and if you are able to join them, you should become a part of their history. Making a difference, young and old can be a part and join forces to change and help their community. I really suggest you read the book I bought I love it. It will transport you to the England I love and one day hope to return to live. The stories are true and allows you to see a small part of the wonderful Norfolk that I love and grew up in. http://www.amazon.com/Norfolk-Countrywomens-Year/dp/B001ID9D8S Enjoy.

http://www.impactbydapperchap.smugmug.com

Photographs can captivate us and bring us into a world that allows us to be ourselves. I am over three thousand plus miles from England. I miss the wonderful serenity of the villages the peace that is found on walking along the beach. The family and friends that hold me dear in their hearts and captivate me to believe that I can do anything. Impact by Dapper Chap is an amazing photographer who captures the wonderful world that I call home. His pictures show us that there is more to life, that there indeed is beauty to be found all around us. That if we look closely we can see the amazing beauty in this wonderful world. A snowdrop lifting its head to welcome spring,a sheet of ice can be transformed into a piece of art, an old side road covered in snow can lead us on an enchanting adventure. All are very real, all exist, and all can be a part of your life. Impact by Dapper Chap is run by three generations. Their story would captivate your heart and is indeed inspiring to all who dare to believe. Please join me and help Impact by Dapper Chap get off the ground. The amazing photographs can be found on: https://www.facebook.com/ImpactByDapperChap http://wwww.impactbydapperchap.smugmug.com/ ImpactByDapperChap@hotmail.com impactbydapperchap@gmail.com All can be purchased. These are a small part of my wonderful England and I so encourage you to think where you could put these wonderful photographs in your home,office or beach house maybe you own a business. These photographs capture life in a way many of us just dream of but this is not a dream, these places exist and can be brought into your home.

Autumn 2013

As autumn approaches and the many colours of autumn appear to brighten our day, I am reminded of the many walks that I went on with my Dad and brother through the National Trust owned woods in North Norfolk. As a child I probably hated being dragged along, now I look back with such fond memories of being in a middle of a forest and seeing all the splendor and wonder, we did indeed live in Narnia so to speak. Narnia was our back garden and was full of life and one I took for granted. It was one with colours oh so beautiful and imagination galore.

Just walking down a street or my driveway I recall just loving and kicking the leaves and the smell of bonfires going in the village meant Autumn was here and that warm fires would be started in many homes. So if you get the chance, go for a walk take a camera and value this wonderful time of year and your Narnia. In America we have lots of pumpkin patches and the amazing different oranges and textures so should be seen or at least captured. In England go for a drive, sit outside a pub, and just take in the amazing majesty of this time of year. Perhaps you too are living in a Narnia so to speak but you have not bothered to step through the cupboard doors. Go for it it calls your name and I am sure like Lucy in the story "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" you will not regret it. Wishing a wonderful adventure in your Narnia. And remember there is always room for one more on our adventures.

Oh to be in England

I have not been home for six years and I don't care what anyone says Home is Home. England is unique to say the least the cobbled streets, the markets the bustle in the town and for me my family lives there. If you visit England this summer take the time to drive out of the hustle and bustle of busy London and go to the small towns and villages that truly depict the wonderfulness of England and the place I call home. Walk a long a beach eat an Ice cream with a chocolate flake. Eat fish and chips and run in from the rain. I loved walking in England, so go be an adventurer do not let what people often say about England and that it rains all the time to allow you to miss out. It does not always rain and rain is just rain. Eat scones, have a cup of tea and enjoy the smallness of little villages and the small roads.Take in all that amazing countryside. It is just amazing. As I sit here I see the lovely corn fields and amazing people. Oh to be on England's green and pleasant lands. Listen to choirs, sing in churches, hear the church bells being rung and just perhaps you will be transported into time and love England as much as I do.

Waste not want not.

Every single day food is wasted. http://www.feeding5k.org/get-involved.php Feeding the 5000 is a group that helps us all to see how much is truly wasted. Every day stores chuck out slightly bruised fruit and vegetables. Bread is thrown out that can bless others. The list is long and wide from factories producing food to restaurants. Starbucks each day chucks out coffee grains this can be used for compost bins and gardens. Many places chuck out pastries and bread at the end of the day because their companies will not even allow these to be given out to the homeless. I understand that none of us want to make others sick. However there is so much waste that we are not seeing the big picture of how simple acts of kindness can mean one less person in this world go hungry. If you think you feel down this is one way you can make a difference. Go by and ask your local grocery store for those fruit that they are chucking out and go through them. Bless others, those items can be frozen and a meal made to bless and fed someone. Make sure that you wash everything you freeze, before it is used for consumption. Every day scrapes are chucked out from places that either make pre made fruit bowls to those making salads. This scraps can be placed on compost heaps and also fed livestock. Cutting down the amount that is going to the rubbish heaps around the world. Feeding the 5000 organization does not need to be limited to England if we all did our part this world would and could be a better place. Please think of how you can make a difference and indeed step up to the plate and make this world a better place.

England in June what a wonderful delight.

As I sit here and remember what June was like for me in England, I thought it would be nice to include a link to things to do in June if you are visiting. http://www.visitengland.com/ee/June-events/ When I was a child June meant that the beaches near me Cromer and Sheringham would be bustling with people getting ready for the holiday makers that they prayed to God would come in the Summer months July and August. The smell of fish and crabs from these seaside towns appeared to be transported to everywhere you went. As a child I probably hated it, now I look back with a smile and think of such happy memories. Bluebells grew along the roadsides and in Blickling Hall outside Norwich I so remember going with my Godmother and seeing wooded area's now carpeted in a wonderful blue woven tapestry. I don't remember making a big deal about fathers day to be honest, perhaps in the 70's and 80's it was not such a big thing. I do remember dreading the approaching summer holiday's in July .I not like most children loved school. So as many children count down to the summer holidays and dread taking exams mum's pray that the school uniform will not have to be replaced and will last at least until the end of the school year. As many hope to God that the summer will not be wash out and look forward to long summer evenings it is a time when windows are opened and washing lines are full of spring cleaning. Winter days you hope to God are over. If you go to England I would take a moment to stroll through a wooded area, drink a cup of tea outside and just value the true beauty of my England.

Spring is calling you home

Spring in England is unbelievable. I always tell everyone who asks me about England that it is the best time to go. There is something in the air that says the long winter days are over and that warmer days are coming. You walk past grave yards and for once they do not seem so creepy, with flowers bursting up everywhere it is as if even the dead have summoned up spring. I loved walking down streets in the villages and through the meadows and seeing not neat little flowers all in a row but flowers popping up that were planted long, long ago. There is a sense that as you walk down the roads in the villages that you are connecting with history. The clothes are pegged on washing lines and the breeze is sweet, the windows in homes begin to be open and the paths finally start to dry. So if you have the chance to go home in Spring to my England hurry go and enjoy in my opinion the best place to be in Spring.Oh don't forget to eat those Cadbury cream eggs and have a lovely cup of tea. There is always room for one more.

Snowed in..... Maybe not so much fun.

I have followed the snow in England like a hawk flying over a mountain. To begin with I was quite jealous, but last night as I watched on the BBC many people stranded in their cars.. the fun so to speak went away and reality hit. Imagine having to walk in that snow for miles to get home? Imagine having to shovel snow and you are seventy three years old, or you are running out of food because you know no one to go and buy it?Guess the fun goes out the window then. I loved walking in the snow as a child, loved playing in it although i hated ruining the pretty snow by my foot prints. I am sure even the children in England must be getting a little fed

up with the cold weather. As I type I wonder how countries like Switzerland and Iceland deal with it, perhaps you grow accustomed to it...you stop complaining and just live. I was encouraged by friends who made Princes snowmen and took wonderful pictures in the snow and then the scenes of the beaches were pure wonder. So even though I am sure the fun of the snow is wearing of, take the time to capture the beauty of it whether in a poem, painting or with a camera, because in time the cold memories might just melt away and you will have a memory to last a lifetime.

Snow in England brings people to care for each other

Well as the snow has braced My England for this last week. Many of us who are not there are longing for them to share the snow. I guess one forgets,those moments of feeling so cold that your fingers are so numb you want to cry and your checks feel like they have been frozen to your face. I guess the grass always looks greener on the other side the reality is that the grass is greener in England. But as I talked to many in England this week, many just tried to be positive. Making sure that their pets were looked after and friends checking in on each other. A simple call to someone elderly or getting a newspaper. Such trivial

things but when the weather is cold it means so much to many. Perhaps people in England find this an easier thing to do, as in the war they had to all pull together. Something I do believe they never forgot, especially many from that time period. So if you are in England pull out the sledges, batten down the hatches and keep warm. Sending you warm wishes.

England my home.

The other week someone asked me about England and added "surely you don't miss the rain". I added "It's the people that make you call a place home". It's friends having a cup of tea, walking into town and sharing Christmas meals. It's the market places and the banter of hearing the stall holders cry out. The panto's and the smell of fish and chips and the pouring of vinegar and salt over them and then eating them in the freezing cold. It's the squeals of the wheels and bustling in the airport and the realization that the place you just landed is your home and that there is just none like it. It's the laughing with friends that remember you at school, or a sister remembering you keeping her up at night. There's the nicknames that only your family know and there is that kettle in the kitchen which calls your name and says Your home. So England may have rain, it maybe damp,

but to me it is oh so much more than that to me. It's My home. Hope you all are enjoying the snow.

2013 Here we are.

Well I stayed up to see the New Year in,on the East coast of USA. Many New Years Day's in Aylmerton would be, us all waking up to snow and going for a walk in the woods. My Dad which I probably quote every New Years Day would say that the snow wiped the world clean. It has stuck with me ever since he said it.

Dad in his own way said something true. That bringing in the New year gives us all a chance to make dreams come true. It is a shame that a snow falling can't wipe a world clean as beautiful as it is, I sure wish that was true. It rained today where I live and in a small way I thought of the rain as the many tears I have cried and that today was a new day of hope. So let's hope I get to come home to England this year. To all of you Start a new page and a new chapter and Dream ever so big Happy New year to you all It's going to be a good one..

My home for Christmas 2012

So the gifts are wrapped and if you are in England you are checking out what will be on the telly tonight and over Chrismas. So if you are in England don't forget to walk down the streets and drive through the villages and see the Christmas lights. Sing with all your heart Christmas carols down the streets. Go to a Carol service or a small church. I loved the services in Stanton so many good memories, thanks Aspinalls. See the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square. Ride on a double-decker bus and listen to the merry tunes of buskers singing in the streets of London. Don't forget to have some Christmas cake and Christmas pudding and oh some yummy custard. Open up a cracker and pull the wish bone with a friend. Enjoy a meal at a pub. Listen to the Queens speech. And stuff,stuff your face with loads of yummy Cadbury's chocolates. In other words this is my home and I am so jealous that you are there. So from my family to yours have a wonderful Christmas in England and may one day soon we will be home for Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

Which book will clean your very soul this Christmas?

I find this time of year magical and my most favorite movie at Christmas is The Snowman by Raymond Briggs. It takes me back to England and walking in the snow near Renwick Park in West Runton to walking in the snow on New Years Day, with my dad saying that God had wiped the world clean. I find the simplicity of the story magical. I find it so totally what England is all about. I remember my brother wearing one of those dressing gowns with the cord tied around his waist. Us all eagerly looking out of the windows to see the snow. The story transports me back in time and to my England. Then another amazing author Nick Butterworth in all the Percy Park stories, takes us to the wonderful parks in England where indeed we often see the park keeper. Oh to read One Snowy Night and to be taken to that park with all those wonderful animals. But perhaps simplicity is not on your reading list this Christmas, then go with me to A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens perhaps you will just read the words, or perhaps you will allow your mind to see how you can change and make the future brighter. See Charles Dickens might of written it about a man called Scrooge but let's be real there is that man in all of us and all of us need to be changed. So here are my favorites, what books from Good Olde England will you read and which ones will change your life forever? As my dad use to say on

New Years Day when it snowed that God wiped the world clean, I ask you which book will clean your very soul to make your Christmas Merry and Bright There's always room for one more.

Cromer's Christmas tree with a difference.

As towns and cities light their Christmas tree lights and many of us start putting up our Christmas trees Cromer in Norfolk England put up a very different tree. I love Cromer I went to school near there as a child and sang songs in Cromer church so the place has fond memories for me. Cromer's tree is made up of Lobster pots and takes dedicated people putting together this creation. If you have ever been to Cromer their crabs our famous and must be tasted. Cromer is rich in history of its

fishermen and their lives. If you are near Cromer go and visit this wonderful tree. Tonight the Christmas lights are switched on at 6.45 pm. I am telling you it is a treasure to walk down those streets in Cromer. So to all those fisher men thank you for all you do. There's always room for one more even you little crab. http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/poll_what_do_you_think_of_cromer_s_crab_pot_christmas_tree_1_1708198 https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151102734290887.433668.520510886&type=1

Lessons to learn from The American Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has come and gone in America, but what lessons can be taken from the all American Thanksgiving day. I have sat down around a table many times and heard people grumble and complain, compare illnesses and how bad their year was, yes all on Thanksgiving day. I have heard people argue about what they cooked, how it was cooked and so forth. But this year I saw four families get along, no arguing. So as we English folk approach Christmas day and the thought of families getting together what can we learn? I think the true meaning of Thanksgiving was to give thanks to God for all he had done, yes the year might have been bad, but it was seeing the good and been grateful for that. So my suggestion is that we take a moment out of the holiday time to be thankful for what God has done for us. You might find it hard, but all of us can complain, but to be thankful brings life. I saw many weeks of people putting on facebook, what they were thankful for before Thanksgiving, but none afterwards. I don't think the word thankful means just for a few weeks. Christmas is a tough time, but even in the hustle and bustle find away to give thanks. I miss England I miss the rain, the cold days when I heard the market people calling out to buy their fruit and I am so thankful for those memories. Silly hey but I never thought back then that I would see the blessing in those days, the cheer it would bring to my heart in the future. So take a note from the real

Thanksgiving and give thanks this time of year do not be caught on the grumbling table. There is always room for one more and always room to be thankful. Thanks for dropping by.

England at Christmas Time

As the year rolls on and December is closely knocking at the door. I am reminded of some English treasures that I miss. The lighting of lights in villages, towns and cities. The hustle and bustle of trying to get out of the cold. The markets and the stall holders calling. I guess I took it all for granted. Singing carols in a freezing cold church and the stain glass windows seem to tell more of a story this time of year. Children busy preparing the nativity play and Father Christmas is getting ready to listen to what children have to say. I remember getting our tree from Felbrigg Hall it was like the magic had begun. My school carol service in Cromer church, dinner at the Mirabell in West Runton and of to Thursford to hear choirs and all. Where ever you are this coming December take a moment to be thankful that in these hard times there is so much to be thankful about. I hold dear the memories of England I walk through towns and villages in my mind. Cherish the time you have there it is magical if you allow it. There's always room for one more.

Happy Autumn

I have a group on facebook called englishdelights which I have so enjoyed looking up wonderful recipes and crafts to make for the up and coming holidays.I love finding crafts that children can make and recipes that bring England a little closer to me when I live so far away. I encourage you to look around see what you can make with what you find. One year we took lids of jars and made them into ornaments another I made a simple cross out of wood smoothed it down and placed it on the tree. I love this time year one can open up one's eyes and see the dew on cobwebs or the frost on a tree making it sparkle like snow. Happy Autumn to you all. There's always room for one more.

Don't knock all of the NHS

I have seen both sides where I pay for medical and the NHS. Both have good bad and the ugly. But before you knock the NHS let me say somethings that I have been blessed with. In England if you get divorced you have medical still, if you are old you have medical and people that will care for you. Do not get me wrong there are programs in other countries for low income but say if you are in the middle? It is a hard road to think, pay for shoes or go to the doctors. My mother has received nothing but love and care from the NHS recently. Now listen I am sure some have not. But before you knock it, realize many of these people work because of the love of the profession, they are dedicated.One thing I would of loved to know the day I got divorced was that I had medical, but I didn't. I have been so blessed to know that in my case that my mum has received love and care. So there is good out there, and also bad but I have been blessed to find the good these last few weeks. I hope you will experience good and realize that every country has it's good and bad points about medical.

Thank you all who serve diligently to keep us all well.

I love Autumn

A lot of people complain when they feel the weather change

. Me it calls my name, Down paths covered with leaves To memories of listening to the howling breeze To raking up piles of leaves To flying kites in the breeze To making scarecrows, To seeing fireworks soar in the night sky To wearing warm mittens and cozy coats. Yes indeed. I can truly say I am British and love the Autumn weather. Wishing you lots of Tasty English Delights