News from the farm

We had a nice, quiet weekend at home, enhanced by more glorious sunny weather. We made a long-awaited trip to Marks & Spencer, watched the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix, got a bit of organization done around the house, and went for a nice walk into Little Milton.

David also had a nice long chat with Mr. and Mrs. Peers as they sat on their porch in the sunshine, during which he gathered all kinds of useful info! He learned that the flat above us is unlocked during renovations and we could go have a look at it - we did so immediately and it has some marvelous views from up there! It's bigger, too. Humph.

David also learned that the food at The Bull pub in Great Milton (the one I visited with Steve and Linda) is not great, but The Lamb in Little Milton is very good. Very useful information!

Flying the Coop (Hopefully)

And most importantly, David broached the subject we've been worried about approaching them with - we want to move out earlier than planned. Our lease contract doesn't end until January 27, but our work visa expires on October 31 and it would be way more complicated and expensive than we thought to attempt to renew it. We are also very ready to move onto the next phase of our adventure!

Happily, they didn't care at all and said it happens all the time - in fact, another of their tenants just moved out early. But of course we need to find a replacement tenant so they don't lose any money. So I've written to the estate agents this morning and hope they will get it put back on the market soon.

Our chosen move-out date is November 27, but if no one wants the place we may be stuck here a little longer. But we're hoping for the best. Regardless, David is going to have to quit his job on October 31 to avoid being illegal! As you can imagine, he's all broken up about this. :)

My web earnings have been doing well so we should be good financially without David working in November and beyond. But we will be anxious to leave the UK as soon as we can since it is so expensive here. We are still thinking Germany will be our next destination, although we've had thoughts of going a whole lot further south for the winter...

Getting Degreed

In related news, I've finally learned when I'm going to "graduate" (although they don't call it that here). I was never given any info regarding this and it took some internet searching and phone calling to figure it out. The way it works is: there are "Degree Days" almost every month during regular term, and once you've met all your requirements you just have to register for one of them.

The next two Degree Days were already full by the time I learned this, but I've now secured myself a place in the degree ceremony on Saturday, November 24. It will be held in the Sheldonian Theatre and will be chock-full of pomp and circumstance, complete with two different academic gowns, processing, bowing, and lots of Latin. There will also be a lunch and tea beforehand. David gets to come to all of this, and I think it will be a whole lot of fun for both of us!

Walk into Little Milton

Finally, here are some pics from our Saturday afternoon walk into Little Milton. This neighboring village is actually prettier than Great Milton, with a main street lined with lovely stone cottages. I'd been wanting to take pictures of it for awhile, so it made a good goal for a country walk. We took shortcuts through a couple different fields and footpaths, and it was just lovely. We even saw two big bunnies bounding away from us!


Field near our place.


Cottage in Little Milton


Main street, Little Milton


Little Milton church, west view


Little Milton church, south view


Some funny old carved heads on the church


Inside of the church, which happened to be open because a guy was mowing the churchyard. Not terribly interesting, but it was nice to see the inside (which is normally locked) after so many visits to the outside.


We cut across an even larger field on the way home (this is all quite kosher in England, where you can walk anywhere you're not told not to). We aimed for the gap between the trees seen in the left photo. Those "straws" of cut grain (right photo) were really stiff and difficult to walk on, giving us quite a workout!


And back on comfy pavement for the final leg home.


Some wise words to live by.