Things I love about being in England

OK, so I've been here for two whole days, but already I'm smiling.

The weather is co-operating. (There, just jinxed it.) We've had sunny, cool and windy days. Lovely. Right now it's evening, I have a glass of wine, the Little Guy is in bed, I'm leafing through recipes books looking for a birthday cake that he can easily cook for grandma, and it's pouring, but......

I can hear the rain on the conservatory roof. I love that. Conservatories, although not unknown to other countries, are a trademark of England. It's 9.30pm and still light, so I can sit in the conservatory and pretend I"m actually out in the garden, even though it's like a monsoon outside.

I blend in. Sort of. No one turns round when I talk, although when they hear my kids speaking with American accents I can tell people are dying to know our story. However, I get a little bit of special attention when I hand over a credit card in shops. It doesn't have a chip and pin so we always have to have a conversation about the transaction, which them moves on to being asked where I live, for how long, do I like it, etc. etc.

Having found our cake recipe, I am now lazily leafing though Good Housekeeping summer recipes, writing down the ones that I think I can manage. They will be taken back to Chicago and probably never made, but I'm enjoying myself right now.

All that remains is for me to get on to this time zone and wake up a little earlier than noon and it'll be great!