Category Archives: England

My buying trips to England

The Queen

09 Wednesday Sep 2015

Posted by in England

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

IMG_3694-0

I dislike it when people call me “Queen Lee”..for some that call me this, its just from my old high school and being homecoming queen..for others that call me this, its because my husband (they think) treats me like a queen and that my dad treated me like a princess. Okay, he did. And okay, my husband does!  Some like calling me Queen Lee due to my love for England..and others that have called me that, well, thats just plain old “mean girls” which that could be an entire other blog of its own.

IMG_3761 The only crown I’ve ever worn!  Be nice..it was the 80’s!  I should get an award for bravery for posting this one!

The word Queen to me is Queen Victoria. I collect books about this woman. I think she changed England. I can’t imagine living during her time…the way she wore black after her soulmate passed away, the things in England named after her..it goes on and on….speaking of going on and on, theres a new record thats being made in history today…and that is Queen Elizabeth now holds the longest reigning monarchy in the history of England. The Queen will have reigned 63 years and 7 months . She is 89 years old.

IMG_3762IMG_3763IMG_3696-0

Many of you may read this and say “big deal”, “so what”..then my question is “why are you even taking your time ready a post that is about the love of England and its Moncarchy..just get offline now!

I love the Queen. I adore the Queen. I respect the Queen. I believe the Queen is one of the most fascinating women in the world.

Here is a little insight to some things you may not know about the Queen.

Her nickname was Lilibet…she couldn’t pronounce Elizabeth as a child.
She was a mechanic during World War 11..not kidding…she owns old vehicles and loves working on the old rovers.

IMG_3743-0IMG_3737-0IMG_3754
She does impressions…truly.
She’s a pro at playing solitaire “patience” as they call it in England
She can do a Rubics cube in 55 seconds
She drinks Ovaltine every night before she goes to bed.
Her favorite song is “give me all your loving’ by ZZTOP
She is related to her husband…don’t choke..or gasp..yes its true..they both share Queen Victoria as Great Great Grandmothers…seriously..google it for yourself!
She has helped us all by breaking the old rule of “never apply lipstick in public”..I personally thank her for this one. Truly grateful !

IMG_3691IMG_3692IMG_3690IMG_3689IMG_3693-0
Her grandchildren call her “Granny” and say she has such a great sense of humor.

IMG_3750
She texts all the time.
She is computer savvy.
She got married at a very hard time in England and used coupons to purchase her dress.

IMG_3739
The queen loves animals especially dogs and horses..both of which she owns many of both dogs and horses!

IMG_3736

We tend to forget this woman is human. She was handed over her future without any planning on her own. She is known to be kind, considerate, always giving to charities, supporting her country and supporting her family…(yes the prince charles/camilla saga..thats support!!).

As of today, she’s earned the longest reigning Queen over Queen Victoria’s reign..She has carried herself with grace, dignity, and unlike many politicians in our country, she’s never “tweeted” something bad, used foul language in public (although Prince Phillip was caught once) . Her mornings start with tons of correspondence, meetings, etc. and her days are full of her duties. The haters will always be haters, but the lovers make up for those by masses…I love the Queen, I love the history, I love the formality, I love her when she dresses in her suits and gowns…IMG_3747 I love her dressed down in her more casual attire..IMG_3755IMG_3742 I love knowing she’s a grandmother, I love knowing she loves her children unconditionally, and I love saying GOD BLESS THE QUEEN. England wouldn’t be what it is without the Queens in history, and for those who talk badly about the royals, they sure like to visit England and have their photos taken next to historic monuments!

IMG_3751IMG_3748

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN….love her, admire her, respect her. I curtsy to you your Majesty. Now,please invite me to tea.

It Feels Like The Correct Side of The Road To Me!

11 Thursday Jun 2015

Posted by in England

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

One of the questions I get asked so much is, “How hard is it to drive on the wrong side of the road when you are in England?” My response is always the same, “It feels like the correct side of the road to me.”

I can’t read our maps here in the United States for the life of me, but you give me a British road map and it makes sense to me… And all of the different road signs in England and Scotland… They make SENSE to me.

They have WAY more road signage than we do here in the states. Here are a few signs we don’t see often… And then i sum it all up in the paragraphs below! IMG_0446 IMG_0536 IMG_9819 IMG_0099 IMG_0100 IMG_0102 IMG_0109 IMG_0111 IMG_0131 IMG_0139 IMG_0141 IMG_0143 IMG_0145 IMG_0159 IMG_0326 IMG_0381 IMG_0382 IMG_0385 IMG_0399 IMG_0536My husband drives like a pro over there. The roads sometimes can hardly allow two cars to drive down the road at the same time due to them being so narrow. Many times you have to pull over wayyyyy down the road if you see someone else coming in order to allow another car to drive on the road as well—remember, these roads weren’t always for cars—they were for horses/coaches… And that’s what I love about England.

Not everything has been made to accommodate our lives today… So many things are preserved. It’s nothing to drive thru a small village and someone’s front door is about 5 feet from the road! The roads can’t be expanded!! And they don’t tear up their land building new roads and tear down old buildings to make new ones! SUV’s are RARELY seen and if they are, then it’s likely a rover… Trucks?? Hardly ever! This isn’t America… And it feels like the correct side of the road to me. A roundabout??? Bring it on! I have no patience and tolerance for stoplights so roundabouts are to me, what its all about!

Mary The Lamb

10 Wednesday Jun 2015

Posted by in England

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

I love sheep. They make the countryside so beautiful in England. When my daughter was a little girl, we gave her a little lamb for Easter. She named her Mary. Mary was a very “different” lamb. She thought she was a dog. I’m not kidding. We had 5 dogs, and 2 were outside dogs so the lamb would literally sleep, eat and play with the 2 outside dogs; Dottie the Dalmation and Lucy the Great Pyrenees.

We lived in the country and had to drive down a long driveway to get to our house. The dogs would hear us coming and run to greet us and Mary would run along. For some reason the dogs loved tortillas—And so did Mary. The dogs loved to chew on dog bones—So did Mary. The dogs loved to follow my daughter on her bike—So did Mary. My daughter had a huge custom built playhouse that had a front porch on the front and the dogs loved to lay on the porch of the playhouse—So did Mary… You get the picture. Mary thought she was a dog. To us, she was. She was part of our family.

The day Mary died, she was 9 years old. It was a very sad day. My daughter and I cried and cried. We looked out into the woods behind our house and we both saw a very odd “see-through” vision of Mary walking over the burial ground where we had put her to rest… I”m not kidding on this either. Mary was special. As are all sheep in my book.

image

Visiting England this time, as always, we saw many sheep. We were in the Lake District and pulled off onto a very small, one lane road and stumbled upon a low area where lots of sheep were close to the road. I got out of the car to take a photo upclose and they, of course, took off running. So I thought, “What would Mary do?” So I began “bahhhhing”… Seriously… I sounded just like a sheep. My husband rolled down his window at me as I was walking down the road and said, “What on earth” (well, he said something else I won’t write) and I said, “I’m talking to them and they will listen.”

image

Sure enough they came running to me. Right up to the fence. I stood there talking sheep language to them and I think they know just what I was saying. You could say I learned “something about Mary” literally. Mary the lamb… We love you forever!

 

It’s A Dog’s Life

01 Monday Jun 2015

Posted by in England

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

For those who know me then you know how much I love dogs. I have four at home.  It’s the hardest thing about going away is leaving them behind. One is with my daughter, one with a dear friend and the other two are at Lucky Dog Lodge. I miss them so much. If you’re a fan of my Facebook page you will remember that each trip I post photos of dogs I see while traveling. This brings me joy and sadness due to wishing mine were with me. I love all the sweet personalities of the dogs and seeing the different breeds when in England. Below are pics of the sweet ones I’ve seen so far.  Join our Facebook page and you’ll see more as I travel. The life of a dog is a great one.  Especially these little fellas. Most were seen in the park today.

                          

Fresh Eats!

31 Sunday May 2015

Posted by in England

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I’m an organic person. Call me crazy but I can tell the difference (and my stomach most certainly can) when I eat something organic vs non organic. I spent a week at the Mayo Clinic for my fibromyalgia and attended their organic diet classes and learned so much, so I don’t have much tolerance when people tell me there is not a difference. Today we went to the food market on the street. All local grown. I was in heaven. We started the day out “fresh” and for the items that were freshly baked, I didn’t say I don’t eat fresh baked pastries!!!! I love fresh baked pastries. I ate fresh!!!!

                              

Doors 

31 Sunday May 2015

Posted by in England

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

I have an obsession with doors. I always have had this obsession, especially when I’m in England. I can remember as a little girl having the huge wooden door with large glass on it and having my mom repaint it when it began to be dull. I remember when in the 70’s “antiquing” furniture became popular and my mom did a green antique finish on our door! Once I was grown I’ve always had black glossy traditional doors.  Go outside to your door. Shut it. Then ring your doorbell. Stand and wait. Look around. Wait. This is what people see and study when they come to your door! Are you happy with what you see? People notice things you don’t because you see things everyday!!   Slap some fresh paint on your front door. Sit a planter out there and put something green in that planter. Make the area welcoming. Make it inviting. Love your door. And you’ll love what happens once you open your door! Below is a pic of my front door (with my sweet boy Norman). The rest of the photos are photos of doors I’ve seen while on this trip. You never know what goes on “behind closed doors!”

                                  

Notting Hill…  And I’m Not Talking About The Movie!

30 Saturday May 2015

Posted by in England

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Okay so here’s the deal. When someone says to me “oh, you’re named after the movie” I know right away they aren’t familiar with London, or even England for that matter! Notting Hill is an area in London that’s very famous for its Portobello Market.  In fact they’re celebrating 150 years of the market! It’s a long walk from the tube but worth the sore feet you’ll have afterwards. It starts with a street that’s soooooo long.  It goes on for blocks.

The first area is antiques. I buy from several of the dealers. Their prices are “pricey”. Then there is a good area, a junkie tourist area ( I admit I’m a sucker for this area at times) then a good area and then the good junk area. (Lots of different areas!!)

 I bought a real vintage Chanel scarf today for 95.00!! (It’s a $500.00 scarf.) But you have to know how to tell the difference between authentic and fake. Luckily God gave me that talent! Tomorrow I will share more photos of the day. I’m just worn out from walking and need a nightcap. It was a busy day at Notting Hill… The place not the movie!!

Smelling The Roses

29 Friday May 2015

Posted by in England

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

I keep fresh flowers in my home weekly. It’s because living close to a Whole Foods Market makes it affordable to grab a dozen tulips or hydrangeas a week for $9.99. I mean that’s a lunch somewhere (really less!) and I figure I deserve it too. Our house deserves it as well. I’ve come to the conclusion that the English treat themselves to things more than we do. And the reason?? Easy access. The English walk everywhere.  We don’t. It takes effort to pull into a florist or a chocolate store, find a parking place and then go in and fight traffic to get home. The English (lots of them) take the tube, bus, or walk home from work. They walk to restaurants. And on every corner there’s fresh flower markets and chocolate shops. So why not grab something along the way. We need to take time as Americans to “smell the roses!”

                    

Selfridges—It’s Not Like What You See On TV!

29 Friday May 2015

Posted by in England

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

I’m a fan of the BBC America show The Selfridges just because I love the history of the store. I love it more than Harrods and avoid Harrods due to it being such a tourist place. Remember, I hate crowds! I love shopping in the “handbag” area. This time as I entered I just kept visualizing how this place use to be during the years when it was just making a name for itself. For those of you that don’t watch the show you have no idea what im talking about. To think one entire area was dedicated to selling tea, hats, hankies etc. I love those days!      

It’s truly been renovated with all modern aspects but I really wish I could have ridden the elevator with the guy in the hat and suit like on TV and told him “ladies apparel please”. The fine liquor and wine area is one of the finest around. And the watch department. Their watch area makes my rolexes look like they are just awful. I’m posting a few pictures. Please make note the prices are in british pounds and not american dollars. So almost double the price to see what our cost would be. Didn’t purchase a watch. Not this “time.”

               Amazing isn’t it?? And yes people were buying tons!!! Here’s a pic of the “tasting area.” Pay your fee and try the scotches and wines. Had to drag my husband away from this area!

  

Rules Rules!

29 Friday May 2015

Posted by in England

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , ,

if you’re ever in London, a place one must visit/dine is Rules, the oldest restaurant in London with so much authentic English decor even I get overwhelmed. A lot looks like my own home. Be prepared to eat “game.” It’s their specialty. (It’s not mine!) Their dress code has changed and it’s no longer jackets required but after seeing some of the people dining they should go back to their policy. But no shorts are allowed so at least they still have a few “rules” to follow. Visit Rules website HERE. You’ll learn more history! Oh and it’s refreshing to sit in a restaurant and they know the proper way of having salt at the table .