Little Things...

Today began Matt's program and was the first official day of the Michaelmas term. His schedule is basically broken into 3 trimesters - Michaelmas term (now until Christmas), Lent term (Jan-end of March,) and Easter term (April to end of June.) By the way, the "Michael" is pronounced liked the word "nickel." Don't say it like the name Michael, or you're a dead giveaway as an American for sure!

So anyway, we got up at a decent hour this morning. I packed Matt a little lunch before he headed to his orientation, then I got ready and decided to go to Poundland at the Grafton shopping center. I found the following pics online, just fyi. The people in them would not be dressed adequately for the weather right now. The sky is about as blue as the pictures, but it is still about 80 degrees. I think tomorrow is when a cold front moves in, so it should be stereotypical English weather from here on out. This little warm snap has been a good transition from Oklahoma, and I never thought I'd say it, but I'm ready for cold! I know about a week from now I will be begging for relief from the dreariness, but I'm sick of sweating all the time! :)

Closest thing to a mall here. There are indoor and outdoor shops. It's about 1.6 miles from our little place, which took me about 30 minutes to walk.

Poundland = UK version of The Dollar Store. Everything really is one pound. It's the best place I could find to buy clothes hangers, trash bags, ziploc bags, cleaning supplies, etc. 

I finally got smart and took my own tote bag, which significantly cut down on the number of times that the circulation in my fingers got cut off when I was carrying all my new belongings back to our flat. While at Grafton, I asked the tourist info booth for some bus maps and schedules, and I believe I should be able to use that mode of transportation from now on. It probably won't save me any time, but it will certainly cut down on the calluses/blisters on my feet and the soreness in my forearms.

When I got home, there was a nice surprise waiting - our duvet covers, pillows, and sheets arrived from Tesco! I am washing them now, so by tomorrow I should be able to put them on the beds. That will take me one giant leap forward to feeling more at home. Any type of decorating I can accomplish makes me very happy. I think the desire to nest is in my soul. (Unrelated: "Party in the USA" just came on my iTunes. Oh America, how I love thee!)

Tonight there is a meeting for the graduates of Girton College that Matt and I will go to. I think it's like a meet and greet, complete with 'nibbles' (snacks?). Hopefully we will meet another married couple or something. So, until I can post pictures of my decorating progress, I wanted to leave you with a few of the little things that I have come to appreciate most in the past few days. Here goes...

Covered the windows in the front door with some brown packing paper. Looks janky, but makes me feel like no one can see in anymore! Also, notice the mail slot. The first time mail was pushed through, we thought someone was trying to break in. It clangs really loud.

Aw...the wifi router. Would be so stinking bored without Internet capabilities! Additionally, I have my wellies and my umbrella ready for when the time comes. The people that lived here before us were Asian, and they left a handy shoe rack by the front door. Thanks Tai-June! (That really was one of the people's names. I'm not racist!)