Sights and Sounds Forty-Eight

This morning we slept late. We both are feeling a lot better...of course we are the vacation is almost over. That's the way it always works we're finally raring to go and we have to come home. We decided to go with Julian today to walk the dogs Mac and Tyson. We went to the Roaches which are just a large collection of rocks on the moors in Staffordshire. Dusti and i have been before but Julian took us to a new set this time. The weather was typically English, cold, wet and cloudy. We did manage a few pics and some video which we will edit at alter date.

Sights and Sounds Forty-Seven

Dusti had a pretty rough night last night and didn't get to sleep until around four but despite that we still got up at 9 and went to Liverpool for the day. We first went to Crosby Beach which is just north of the city. It is really a cool place. Around 100 statues have been placed in the sand on the beach staring out to sea. It was the same artist that did the Angel of The North in Newcastle. They are collectively called "Another Place" and the artists name is Antony Gormley. It was pretty sweet for photography. We were amazed on how far out the sea was. I had forgotten that being so far North the tides are pretty big. There was just miles of beach and soggy sticky muddy wet sand that made it a little difficult to get out to shoot pics. I can't wait to get some of my shots back to my iMac to give them a little Photoshop treatment but i posted a couple i edited a little with iPhoto below.

 

After the statues at Crosby beach we headed into Liverpool for lunch. We ate at a restaurant at Albert Docks and then wandered around the shops a little. We also headed over to Liverpool 1 which is a fairly large shopping complex. It was extremely busy with people trying to grab bargains in the after Christmas sales.  The lines in some of the shops were enough to put us of buying anything. We did have plans to go to Manchester tomorrow but after seeing the chaos in Liverpool we may just stay in Buxton.

Sights and Sounds Forty-Six

Well Christmas is over. We had a nice mellow last couple of days with mum and dad in Knaresborough. Both Dusti and I have been hit pretty hard with colds and i had a fever the other night. I feel much better today. We arrived in Buxton and went to Sarah's mum and dad's for some food. It was lovely to see Victoria and Kate and the rest of the family. We took the dogs for a walk on the snow covered golf course and returned to more food. Tony and Celia were fabulous hosts. We even played some games and had some beers.

It's snowing a pretty heavily this morning and more is expected tonight. We don't think it will effect our travel plans home.

Sights and Sounds Forty-Five

This morning we woke up to more snow flurries and i woke up to a sore throat and cough. I knew i was going to get a cold. We had breakfast and then headed into Knaresborough to explore the town a little. We started out at the castle and walked done to the River Nidd. It was frozen over and that has not happened since the famous winter of 1963. We kept walking around the town to keep warm and took various photos. On the other side of the river was Mother Shipton's Cave which is closed in the winter but legend has it she was some old lady who predicted the future. There is a a place where people leave ornaments etc in the water and they turn to stone over time due to the minerals in the water. It's too bad it was closed because the best views of the town were from that side of the river. We had lunch a trendy lunch venue called So which was very nice. I had a chicken melt and Dusti had Carrot and Coriander soup.

We walked home about 3 after Dusti but not before had bought some art from a local gallery. In the evening we had Gammon, Sausages, Roast potatoes and fried tomatoes for dinner.

Sights and Sounds Forty-Four

So it seems the jet lag is lasting longer than i thought. I woke up at 5 this morning but fortunately was able to get back to sleep at 6:30 and not wake up again until 9. We had our usual toast/coffee/tea breakfast in the kitchen and were treated to small snow flurry through the window. Shortly after breakfast we headed to the train station. It was still bitterly cold. I think it got down to -11C last night. It still hasn't made it above freezing yet. We caught the train to York and stared out the train window at the frozen English countryside. Dusti saw several rabbits, a few pheasants and a buck! We arrived in York about 11:45 and since we were here 2 years ago we kind of walked around pretty quickly. We went to the same Italian restaurant as last time for doughnuts and cocoa which was lovely. We wandered the streets and saw a man juggling fire on a unicycle and lots of street musicians playing Christmas carols. It was very festive but oh so cold. We eventually went into some old pub called the Star Inn one of the oldest pubs in the city. We both ordered steak pies with chips. The food was piping hot and certainly did the trick. I did eat a little fast though and felt like a fat pig the rest of the day.  We decided to head back to Knaresborough before it got dark (last time we missed our train stop) but we had a great day. Dusti bought some new boots with warm furry insoles to keep her feet above freezing.
In the evening Auntie Rosemary, Ian, Roseanne, Justine and Millie all dropped in. It was lovely to see them all after so long and I managed to get the first of my British interviews for our family documentary.  Tomorrow i think we will chillout (literally) for the day and just walk into Knaresborough to take some photos.

Sights and Sounds Forty-Three

Today I managed to start feeling a little bit better. I slept until 8:30 got up and had a little breakfast. Later in the morning we went into Harrogate the town in which i was born 41 years ago. We went to the Royal Horticultural Society Garden and to Betty's Cafe which is a posh tea room. We had a bite to eat and some tea. It was delicious. Dusti enjoyed her food and taking pics of the gorgeous treats they had on display. After lunch mum and dad dropped us off in town. We went to a couple of shops including Dusti's favourite Primark (the big cheap clothing department store). We also stopped by Marks and Spencer to get some marmalade and cheese. After our little shopping excursion we went to Hales Ales House which is Harrogate's oldest pub. We had a fw pints of Ale and Cider before making our way to the train station. once back in Knaresborough we had some fish and chips for dinner which was absolutely fantastic.
Tomorrow we are off to York.

Sights and Sounds Forty-Two

Woke up this morning at 6. Dusti managed to sleep until 9. I am feeling a little rough. Probably a little jet lag just bringing me down. Today we went out for lunch with dad. We drove to Ilkley and ate a pub up on the moor called the Calf and Cow. I enjoyed a nice pint of Black Sheep Bitter and Dusti had some mulled cider. There was great view of Wharfedale from the top. On the drive back to Knaresborough we stopped to take some pics by the river and also at the Fewston Reservoir at Blubberhouses. It was so cold we only stayed out for 10 minutes or so. There was a good bit more snow there than at my parent's house.

We are having dinner shortly and will be watching the Manchester City match on the telly later on.

Sights and Sounds Forty-One

We made it. It's 9pm here in the UK and we just watched the BBC Sports Personality of the year. I am about to go to bed. We arrived this moring about 10 to a snowy Manchester and Dad greeted us at the airport. The flights were good and didn't seem to take too long. It took about 1hr 20 mins to drive from Manchester to Knaresborough. Dusti and I had a cup of tea and some bacon sandwiches for our late breakfast. I took a little nap and Dusti went for a jog in the -2 Celsius weather. For dinner mum made us some Yorkshire pudding along with some good old roast beef. Here's a couple of pics form the day.

Sights and Sounds Forty-One

Okay, so this last weekend we had our "first" Christmas at the Annan's. This, due to the fact we are going to England this year to spend Christmas with the Coultas' (hopefully...weather permitting). We had a very nice Sunday although much colder than our Thanksgiving. The standard family pic was taken outside along with some others. Judy made a delicious spaghetti lunch and Steve  even threw a few bacon wrapped scallops on the grill for appetizers which were out of this world! Here's a few pics from our day.

I thought I would add little monkey at the end because this is a cute pic!

Sights and Sounds Forty

Sometimes comfort food just rules. Tonight i decided to make a good old English meat and potato pie. I also added onions, peas and carrots, a little HP sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, Beef Bisto and a splash of Guinness and wow it was amazing. A couple of tips from the Missus and voila! See for yourself....

Sights and Sounds Thirty-Nine

Today was Thanksgiving here in America. We went over to Dusti's parents for the annual feast. I have a lot to be thankful for and spending time with family is one of those things. We had a great meal on a lovely warm afternoon. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

Sights and Sounds Thirty-Eight

We spent the weekend in an region outside Aiken, SC called Horsecreek Valley. Dusti's mother's family all came from this area. It is known for all the textile mills that once were thriving but now all lay silent with locked gates. We shot some video and interviewed Uncle Chuck and WooWoo for our family documentary that we are putting together. It is quite an undertaking and will be a long haul but the stories we are capturing from our time spent with Dusti's family are great. Along with the footage and interviews we plan on shooting in the UK this Christmas we think this project is going to be quite special when it's finished.

Below are couple of images. One is the now derelict Vaucluse Mill which is where Dusti's Great Grandad worked. It closed a  while back but the post office is still open!

 Dusti standing with Mama, Steve and Judy outside the little Vaucluse Post Office

Sights and Sounds Thirty-Seven

I bought the new iLife suite for my mac this week. We made a quick video of our cats.

Monkey the Garden of Delight from Jonathan Coultas on Vimeo.

Sights and Sounds Thirty-Five

Just a couple of pics of the cats over the weekend. One is of Whitman hanging by our firewood and the other is our little monkey Beckford who lived up to his nickname by taking to the trees. He climbed so high and then ventured out onto a branch. Dusti managed to get the camera in time to get a shot of him falling from about 8 feet up. He had a soft landing on his feet and had Dusti and i rolling with laughter.

Sights and Sounds Thirty-Four

I haven't updated much in the last two weeks as I have been extremely busy. Last night i made Shepherds Pie. The real deal. American's use beef for Shepherds Pie which a big no no. That would be a Cottage Pie. A true Shepherds Pie is made with Lamb, hence the Shepherd! Anyway last nights was one of my best so far. So i took a pic of it!

Sights and Sounds Thirty-Three

Here's a few more shots from the weekend.