[email protected]

In a message dated 1/31/2003 11:51:46 AM Eastern Standard Time,
shyrley.williams@... writes:
> We hardly ever see anyone now. Just one other Mum will let her kids play
> with mine. I'm pretty lonely and fed up but I'm not going to pretend to be
> something I'm not just to have company. I'll just keep
> taking Prozac and counting the days till we leave :-)

I'm way behind on reading, so I'll chime in late:

Makes me sad. But I had similar thoughts when we were in different areas of
the country/world (military). I'll say it NOW before it's too late. You're
going to miss it when you're gone! Maybe not ALL of it! Maybe not MOST of it!
But you WILL miss it!

Make the best of it, Shyrley! Get out and visit unschoolers---we have SO many
on this list! You never have to be in VA again until you leave! Really! A new
family every week!

And you're going to miss being able to grocery shop at 3:00am! And (although
you hate it now!) WARM weather! And all SORTS of things about VA that piss
you off now ---you'll miss!

Enjoy it NOW. Bitch about it later. It's not a permanent condition. Enjoy it!
Or as the Officers' Wives say, "Bloom where you are planted!"

~Kelly, military wife (D/W)


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Alan & Brenda Leonard

2/4/03 10:34:

> And you're going to miss being able to grocery shop at 3:00am!

YES YES YES YES YES YES

And WalMart on Saturday afternoons a 5pm because you started a project at
noon and now you need something. (All german stores close at 2p.m. on Sat.)

And your favorite restaurants, unless McDonalds is your favorite.....

I like Kelly's idea about a new family every week. I'm coming to the States
in March. Think I could piece together a new family for every week until
the conference in August so I don't have to fly back until then?!?!

brenda
homesick today

[email protected]

In a message dated 2/4/03 6:39:49 AM Eastern Standard Time,
abtleo@... writes:

> And WalMart on Saturday afternoons a 5pm because you started a project at
> noon and now you need something. (All german stores close at 2p.m. on Sat.)
>
>

But there are some things about Germany that I do miss. Walking/biking
trails that are useful and well kept and go on throughout the country. You
can go anywhere on a bike that you can go by car without worry that you will
be hit.

Also craftsmanship. The German's take so much pride in what they make. We
bought wood crafts and crystal etc. Here in the states so much is mass
produced you can't find anything "one of a kind".

The Germans were great about breastfeeding in public. People would move so I
could have a seat, and people wouldn't mind sitting next to you if you were
breastfeeding. It wasn't a big deal. No one says "Take it to the bathroom."

Pam G.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 2/4/2003 6:39:44 AM Eastern Standard Time,
abtleo@... writes:
> I like Kelly's idea about a new family every week. I'm coming to the States
> in March. Think I could piece together a new family for every week until
> the conference in August so I don't have to fly back until then?!?!

Uh huh. We'll start making a list. You can stay here. Or leave Tim with us
some of the time! <g>

We have a German fellow coming in mid-March for three months (he'll have to
share Duncan's bunkbed!). He wants to better his English. It's always fun to
have guests!

~Kelly


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 2/4/2003 8:48:23 AM Eastern Standard Time, genant2@...
writes:
> But there are some things about Germany that I do miss. Walking/biking
> trails that are useful and well kept and go on throughout the country. You
>
> can go anywhere on a bike that you can go by car without worry that you
> will
> be hit.
>
> Also craftsmanship. The German's take so much pride in what they make. We
>
> bought wood crafts and crystal etc. Here in the states so much is mass
> produced you can't find anything "one of a kind".
>
> The Germans were great about breastfeeding in public. People would move so
> I
> could have a seat, and people wouldn't mind sitting next to you if you were
>
> breastfeeding. It wasn't a big deal. No one says "Take it to the
> bathroom."

But that's what I meant! You WILL miss some things, no matter how homesick
you might be NOW. When you're gone, the neat things about the place you left
will be JUST as missed as home is now.

I miss the yellowness of northern California, the wineries, the fresh and
funky food, the cute restaurants and shops, the "looseness" of the people.

Germany---all of what Pam described plus our incredible neighbors, the rich
food, the wineries (there's a pattern?<g>) and fests, actually HAVING the
stores closed by noon on Saturdays (seems more civilized!), and the
cleanliness and "oldness" of it. And the proximity of so many different
countries and cultures.

St Louis area---I miss my quaint downtown life (we lived just 5 blocks from
Main Street), all the cultural offerings, "The Hill" (Italian restaurants),
and my weird friends.

We learned our lesson from California. We bitched constantly about EVERYTHING
there, but after we left, we realized how much fun we had---and what we
really missed. We decided NOT to do that again, and we enjoyed our other
tours SO much more! We seem to REALLY enjoy going back out to California
whenever we can!

Your stay is what YOU make of it. It's not permanent---and it can be a lot of
fun if you'll put homesickness out of your mind.

~Kelly


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Mary Bianco

>From: genant2@...

<<The Germans were great about breastfeeding in public. People would move
so I could have a seat, and people wouldn't mind sitting next to you if you
were breastfeeding. It wasn't a big deal. No one says "Take it to the
bathroom.">>


Wow, you actually had someone say that to you??? I've never experienced
anything like that while nursing. I've nursed in all kinds of public places
and never even had a dirty look. Aside of course from my in laws scurrying
out of the room everytime I started to unbutton!!!!! That was actually a
good thing. <BG>

Mary B



_________________________________________________________________
Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8.
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

[email protected]

I like Kelly's idea about a new family every week. I'm coming to the States
>in March. Think I could piece together a new family for every week until
>the conference in August so I don't have to fly back until then?!?!



We have an apartment (separate from the house) It isn't being used right
now. Welcome to stay here.
Pam G.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 2/4/03 9:36:29 AM Eastern Standard Time,
kbcdlovejo@... writes:

> the rich
> food, the wineries (there's a pattern?<g>) and fests, actually HAVING the
> stores closed by noon on Saturdays (seems more civilized!), and the
> cleanliness and "oldness" of it. And the proximity of so many different
> countries and cultures.
>
>

Oh yes, I forgot those, although we are starting to make our own wines here
now. I guess we missed the wineries too much. And the flea markets, love
those. Germany had great flea markets. There was a Mexican restaurant we
loved there. Can't remember the name ,it was tacky though, they used cole
slaw instead of lettuce or tomato in everything. Taco with cole slaw.
burrito with cole slaw inside etc. It was not authentic but it was great.
Oh well.
Pam G.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

<<The Germans were great about breastfeeding in public. People would move
so I could have a seat, and people wouldn't mind sitting next to you if you
were breastfeeding. It wasn't a big deal. No one says "Take it to the
bathroom.">>


Wow, you actually had someone say that to you???

Oh yes, on the trains all the time and on city benches if there was no place
to sit.
Pam G.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

kayb85 <[email protected]>

I was visiting the crayola factory with a friend and her kids, and
she was breastfeeding. There was school group there, and a teacher
asked her to please take it to the bathroom. She said that these
kids are worldly and that they shouldn't be exposed to looking at a
woman's breast. My friend did go to the bathroom, and didn't tell me
until after the teacher had left. (I was off with the kids while she
was nursing).

If I had been there, I would have had a thing or two to say to that
teacher.

Sheila


--- In [email protected], genant2@a... wrote:
> <<The Germans were great about breastfeeding in public. People
would move
> so I could have a seat, and people wouldn't mind sitting next to
you if you
> were breastfeeding. It wasn't a big deal. No one says "Take it to
the
> bathroom.">>
>
>
> Wow, you actually had someone say that to you???
>
> Oh yes, on the trains all the time and on city benches if there was
no place
> to sit.
> Pam G.
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 1/31/2003 11:51:46 AM Eastern Standard Time,
shyrley.williams@... writes:
>We hardly ever see anyone now. Just one other Mum will let her kids play
>with mine. I'm pretty lonely and fed up but I'm not going to pretend to be
>something I'm not just to have company. I'll just keep
>taking Prozac and counting the days till we leave :-)

Shyrley,

Come on down here. It's only a 2 hour drive, quite beautiful actually. We
have 25 acres for them to explore, creeks, woods, horses next door. We're
really close to Cia's sister's house; you could come along when they get
together.

Think about it,
Ginny



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Shyrley

kbcdlovejo@... wrote:

> In a message dated 1/31/2003 11:51:46 AM Eastern Standard Time,
> shyrley.williams@... writes:
> > We hardly ever see anyone now. Just one other Mum will let her kids play
> > with mine. I'm pretty lonely and fed up but I'm not going to pretend to be
> > something I'm not just to have company. I'll just keep
> > taking Prozac and counting the days till we leave :-)
>
> I'm way behind on reading, so I'll chime in late:
>
> Makes me sad. But I had similar thoughts when we were in different areas of
> the country/world (military). I'll say it NOW before it's too late. You're
> going to miss it when you're gone! Maybe not ALL of it! Maybe not MOST of it!
> But you WILL miss it!

Yep. I've reaslied that so we're trying to see as much of the country as we can in the next year. I will miss my basement however. And the dishwasher. UK homes do not have basements and a UK salary
wouldn't let us afford a dishwasher :-(

>
>
> Make the best of it, Shyrley! Get out and visit unschoolers---we have SO many
> on this list! You never have to be in VA again until you leave! Really! A new
> family every week!

I am I am. I'm going to go see Kelli in MN and Jodi in NH and Sandra in NM. I'm waiting for the rest of the invites (big fat hint there)

>
>
> And you're going to miss being able to grocery shop at 3:00am! And (although
> you hate it now!) WARM weather! And all SORTS of things about VA that piss
> you off now ---you'll miss!

There's shops open at 3am?? Maybe that will be a good time to cycle there cos so many people wont be trying to run me over!
We have warm weather in Britian ya know :-p and I ain't gonna miss ticks. Yuck.

>
>
> Enjoy it NOW. Bitch about it later. It's not a permanent condition. Enjoy it!
> Or as the Officers' Wives say, "Bloom where you are planted!"

Yeah, I'm trying. I have realised that once we go back to the UK I'll never be able to visit the US again. DH's UK salary wont allow it. We'll probably stay another year for that very reason and try and
treat it like a long vacation. It's just that the day to day living is grinding me down.
I wouldn't want my kids to be teenagers here though. There's no buses. How are teens meant to go visit their friends? Now that Heather is nearly 11, back home I'd feel happy about her going out and
cycling to a friends house or catching the bus to the town centre. She's very restricted here cos there's no public transport and the roads are so congested that *I* feel nervous on my bicycle. Endless
suburbia with no heart and no transport :-(

I don't regret moving here at all. It was time for a change and back home in Malvern we'd been there 10 years and I could see the rest of my life stretching out before me, unchanging, with the same
people. I had to get out of there!!! I've met some great people, learned that stereotypes don't describe America (well, apart from you lot saying y'all and Sherifff's spitting tobacco juice...) and
seen some cool stuff like the Grand Canyon.
Now I miss my country. I miss being able to have conversations without explaining different terms or having people look blank cos I've used a cultural reference. I miss seeing my mum. She's 68 now and
seeing her once a year isn't a good thing especially cos she's sick. I miss going to the pub. I miss sheep. I miss being able to cycle to the supermarket without some jerk in Hummer trying to kill me.

Anyhow, I'm getting maudlin. I appreciate your email though.
Start inviting me places and I'll do a big road trip :-)

Shyrley

kayb85 <[email protected]>

> Yep. I've reaslied that so we're trying to see as much of the
country as we can in the next year. I will miss my basement however.
And the dishwasher. UK homes do not have basements and a UK salary
> wouldn't let us afford a dishwasher :-(

Oh, you need a dishwasher. I can't imagine life without one. While
dh has a good job now, why not save money for a dishwasher and the
money to ship it. Maybe you can let it sit at your mom's house?

"I've met some great people, learned that stereotypes don't describe
America (well, apart from you lot saying y'all and Sherifff's
spitting tobacco juice...)"

Not everyone in America says y'all. :) Here in PA, no one says y'all
unless they're imitating someone from the south. In eastern PA we
say yous. How are yous doing? Or more accurately, How yas doin? In
western PA they say you'ns. How are you'ns doing?

Sheila

Shyrley

GDobes@... wrote:

> In a message dated 1/31/2003 11:51:46 AM Eastern Standard Time,
> shyrley.williams@... writes:
> >We hardly ever see anyone now. Just one other Mum will let her kids play
> >with mine. I'm pretty lonely and fed up but I'm not going to pretend to be
> >something I'm not just to have company. I'll just keep
> >taking Prozac and counting the days till we leave :-)
>
> Shyrley,
>
> Come on down here. It's only a 2 hour drive, quite beautiful actually. We
> have 25 acres for them to explore, creeks, woods, horses next door. We're
> really close to Cia's sister's house; you could come along when they get
> together.
>
> Think about it,
> Ginny
>

Thats a thought. Me n Cia were gonna come down were we not. We'll hafta arrange something.

Shyrley

Shyrley

"kayb85 " wrote:

> > Yep. I've reaslied that so we're trying to see as much of the
> country as we can in the next year. I will miss my basement however.
> And the dishwasher. UK homes do not have basements and a UK salary
> > wouldn't let us afford a dishwasher :-(
>
> Oh, you need a dishwasher. I can't imagine life without one. While
> dh has a good job now, why not save money for a dishwasher and the
> money to ship it. Maybe you can let it sit at your mom's house?

It woldn't work on UK electricity. I already thought of that.

>
>
> "I've met some great people, learned that stereotypes don't describe
> America (well, apart from you lot saying y'all and Sherifff's
> spitting tobacco juice...)"
>
> Not everyone in America says y'all. :) Here in PA, no one says y'all
> unless they're imitating someone from the south. In eastern PA we
> say yous. How are yous doing? Or more accurately, How yas doin? In
> western PA they say you'ns. How are you'ns doing?
>
> Sheila
>

Actually, it just crossed my mind that I ain't heard anyone say 'Howdy' yet. Maybe Hollywood isn't entirely 100% accurate...just maybe......

Shyrley

Deborah Lewis

On Tue, 04 Feb 2003 11:13:34 -0500 Shyrley <shyrley.williams@...>
writes:

***I am I am. I'm going to go see Kelli in MN and Jodi in NH and Sandra
in NM.***

And Deb in Montana...

***I'm waiting for the rest of the invites (big fat hint there)***

Nothing gets by me.<g>

Deb L, in Montana, waiting for Shyrley...

Mary Bianco

>From: "kayb85 <sheran@...>" <sheran@...>

<<I was visiting the crayola factory with a friend and her kids, and
she was breastfeeding. There was school group there, and a teacher
asked her to please take it to the bathroom. She said that these
kids are worldly and that they shouldn't be exposed to looking at a
woman's breast. My friend did go to the bathroom, and didn't tell me
until after the teacher had left. (I was off with the kids while she
was nursing).>>



Now that teacher I probably would have mooned!!!

I guess I've been lucky then. Done it in malls, theaters, zoos, museums,
parks, and a few places with school kids and teachers. I even nursed in
front of Manny Puig from Extreme Encounters TV show!!! LOL!!! Never had
anyone give me the impression they were unhappy about it. How awful for
something so great to be a problem for a few ignorant people.

Mary B



_________________________________________________________________
The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE*
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

[email protected]

In a message dated 2/4/03 7:36:29 AM, kbcdlovejo@... writes:

<< I miss the yellowness of northern California, the wineries, the fresh and
funky food, the cute restaurants and shops, the "looseness" of the people.
>>

So you used to be one of those loose women from California?

<<We learned our lesson from California. We bitched constantly about
EVERYTHING
there, but after we left, we realized how much fun we had---and what we
really missed. We decided NOT to do that again, and we enjoyed our other
tours SO much more! We seem to REALLY enjoy going back out to California
whenever we can!
>>

Good attitude.

I just stay in the same state my whole life to avoid having to learn any
lessons. <g>

Sandra

Tia Leschke

>
> <<I was visiting the crayola factory with a friend and her kids, and
> she was breastfeeding. There was school group there, and a teacher
> asked her to please take it to the bathroom. She said that these
> kids are worldly and that they shouldn't be exposed to looking at a
> woman's breast. My friend did go to the bathroom, and didn't tell me
> until after the teacher had left. (I was off with the kids while she
> was nursing).>>

My response to that would have been, "I'll be glad to feed my baby in the
bathroom if you're willing to eat *your* lunch there." I probably would
have also said something about it being good for kids to know how babies are
fed. But I never had a chance to say such things because nobody ever
bothered me about it. Perhaps it had something to do with my "Mama Bear
Glare"? ("Don't even *think* about saying anything.")
Tia

[email protected]

In a message dated 2/4/03 9:07:08 AM, shyrley.williams@... writes:

<< I'm going to go see Kelli in MN and Jodi in NH and Sandra in NM. >>

Plan your general route and I bet we can find you places to stay on the way.
NH MN and NM are a HELL of a big loop, though. HUGE road trip there...
Maybe that should be three different trips!

[email protected]

In a message dated 2/4/03 9:23:41 AM, sheran@... writes:

<< While
dh has a good job now, why not save money for a dishwasher and the
money to ship it. Maybe you can let it sit at your mom's house? >>

They couldn't hook it up or plug it in.

Appliances and electricity and cabinets and plumbing are all different there.

Sandra

[email protected]

In a message dated 2/4/03 9:31:43 AM, shyrley.williams@... writes:

<< Actually, it just crossed my mind that I ain't heard anyone say 'Howdy'
yet. Maybe Hollywood isn't entirely 100% accurate...just maybe...... >>

It happens here sometimes.

"Ya'll" is used in southeastern New Mexico but central and northern say "you
guys." We're a linguistic border state. <g>

Not everyone in England says "jolly" or "blimey" but that doesn't mean it's
not really cool to hear someone "in the wild" say it (as opposed to scripted
on a movie or TV). Same with "bloody" and "arse." Comedians saying it are
just that. But real little old men in uttering those words in front of
betting offices, that's the TRUE wonderful tourist experience!!

I've told this before, but when we were in Kirk Ella (near Hull, which is
near York, which is NE England) I couldn't understand the little throw-away
phrases which were things with meanings like "thanks" or "see ya" or "here
you go" (like when people are giving you change or a receipt) or "How are
you?" I would stand there baffled trying to figure out what they said. But
Holly always understood them. So she would translate for me, or make some
appropriate response and lead me away.

Sandra

Heidi <[email protected]>

You're in MT? We're in ID. I wonder how far away we live. We're in
southeastern Idaho, nearest big town, Pocatello. Where in Montana are
you?


--- In [email protected], Deborah Lewis
<ddzimlew@j...> wrote:
>
> On Tue, 04 Feb 2003 11:13:34 -0500 Shyrley <shyrley.williams@v...>
> writes:
>
> ***I am I am. I'm going to go see Kelli in MN and Jodi in NH and
Sandra
> in NM.***
>
> And Deb in Montana...
>
> ***I'm waiting for the rest of the invites (big fat hint there)***
>
> Nothing gets by me.<g>
>
> Deb L, in Montana, waiting for Shyrley...

Shyrley

SandraDodd@... wrote:

> In a message dated 2/4/03 9:07:08 AM, shyrley.williams@... writes:
>
> << I'm going to go see Kelli in MN and Jodi in NH and Sandra in NM. >>
>
> Plan your general route and I bet we can find you places to stay on the way.
> NH MN and NM are a HELL of a big loop, though. HUGE road trip there...
> Maybe that should be three different trips!
>

Yeah. I've been sat down with a map. This country is huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge. Maybe in the summer I'll do the north and try and escape VA heat and in the autumn I'll come down to the west once its
cooled down.

When my kids have grown more, I'm planning to cycle across America so I'll be collecting addresses for that....

Shyrley

Deborah Lewis

On Tue, 04 Feb 2003 19:10:42 -0000 "Heidi <bunsofaluminum60@...>
writes:
> You're in MT? We're in ID. I wonder how far away we live. We're in
> southeastern Idaho, nearest big town, Pocatello. Where in Montana
> are
> you?

I'm in Deer Lodge, south western MT, about forty miles north of Butte.
It's about 286 miles to Pocatello from here. There are other
unschoolers in Montana, but it's a big state and we seem to be spread out
rather inconveniently. Some of us are trying to get together this month
at the capital in Helena where the legislature is voting on a bill that
would require annual testing of homeschoolers. Grrrr. Jerks.

Deb L

Tia Leschke

> << While
> dh has a good job now, why not save money for a dishwasher and the
> money to ship it. Maybe you can let it sit at your mom's house? >>
>
> They couldn't hook it up or plug it in.
>
> Appliances and electricity and cabinets and plumbing are all different
there.

Are they simply not available there, or do you just have to buy them there
and they're expensive. If that were the case, Shyrley could save the money
while here to buy there.
Tia

Jodi

Shyrley wrote:
<< I'm going to go see Kelli in MN and Jodi in NH and Sandra in NM. >>
> >

Why do I get the feeling this will be the highlight of my year ;-). Don't
forget I was a fundy type person using curriculum in a box until very
recently. You can make sure I've got this non fundy lifestyle and
unschooling down pat. There's a lot to unlearn between it all!

Jodi

[email protected]

In a message dated 2/4/2003 1:05:25 PM Eastern Standard Time,
SandraDodd@... writes:
> Good attitude.
>
> I just stay in the same state my whole life to avoid having to learn any
> lessons. <g>
> Sandra

BULL!

You were wanting to look at houses in every neighborhood. Asking questions
about everything. At least until the Big Break. ;-( BIG lesson! <G>

Maybe you're just happy to travel to, and not LIVE, anywhere else. I like
LIVING in different places---more fun than just a drive-by---plus this way I
have friends from all over the globe! Well, the internet allows that too! <g>


~Kelly


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 2/4/2003 2:11:06 PM Eastern Standard Time,
shyrley.williams@... writes:


> Yeah. I've been sat down with a map. This country is
> huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge. Maybe in the summer I'll do the north and try and
> escape VA heat and in the autumn I'll come down to the west once its
> cooled down.

August 22-24. Columbia, SC. Don't forget!

~Kelly


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Shyrley

kbcdlovejo@... wrote:

> In a message dated 2/4/2003 2:11:06 PM Eastern Standard Time,
> shyrley.williams@... writes:
>
> > Yeah. I've been sat down with a map. This country is
> > huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge. Maybe in the summer I'll do the north and try and
> > escape VA heat and in the autumn I'll come down to the west once its
> > cooled down.
>
> August 22-24. Columbia, SC. Don't forget!
>
> ~Kelly
>

And this year I WILL be there. Unless Alan Rickman takes me away to a millionaires mansion of course ;-)

Shyrley