Starbucks coffee in England is lousy. Through a week and several cups (most E’s) we did not get a single decent cup from Starbucks. And they didn’t have half-half or “single cream” for those who like a little cream in their coffee. (I take it black, but E takes it white, very white.) This wouldn’t be a big deal if Starbucks were a native company, but this is Starbucks! American capitalist imperialism catering to American tourists needs and addictions. How they haven’t capitulated to mass protests of caffeine and dairy crazed Yanks is beyond me.

Cafe Nero’s coffee is great. It could be the two shots of espresso they include in every cup of regular coffee (you have to ask for only one shot) but this stuff is good. Black gold.

The weather is the same as always. Grey, damp, with mild outbreaks of sun. Still, it makes being in the basement of the library palatable.

The Bodleian is the greatest and worst library in the world. It has everything, they just won’t let you near it. Actually, that isn’t really true and this isn’t my complaint from this trip. I was able to get at everything I needed easily and quickly and my library card was reactivated in mere minutes. But my colleagues were complaining that they are not allowed to have more than 3 (three) books at a time out of the Bodley. That is, assuming they are circulating books in the first place. These are senior faculty! And they are not trusted with more than three books at a time. Wow.

But the staff at the OI are great. It was as if I had never left and they were incredibly friendly and helpful. Great stuff. There was only one real shocker returning to the OI (Oriental Institute) and that was the smoking lounge was closed! Turns out the entire country went smoke-free on July 1. Now I don’t smoke very often, the occasional pipe and even more occasional cigar, but when I was a grad student it was a rare opportunity to chat with certain senior faculty. A casual conversation in that smoke filled upper room was a great treat for me. *sigh*

Water pressure? What is this thing that you speak of? I had forgotten about “Power Showers,” these necessary little add on turbine-type devices necessary to give your shower pressure on the scale of a light drizzle. Anything less and…well you take a bath. That and two faucets per sink. Someone in the plumbing guild needs to let builders know that they can now install a “mixing” faucet that allows both hot and cold waters to mingle and come out of a single faucet head. It is magic!

Great people. Above all we have had a fantastic time and everyone we have met, old and new, have been wonderful. We were expecting a certain amount of anti-American sentiment, but we have found nothing but very cordial and helpful people in restaurants and stores.

Most of all, it was great to see old friends and visit old haunts. We only lived here four years, but it was the first four of our married life and it still looms large in our hearts and minds. The visit back did nothing to diminish that.

 

I thought I would share this retrospective with you all:

 

Chris has written about how easy the new NWP has been to use and indeed, so far it is looking great. BUT what is particularly impressive is that I was able to open my old NW documents with it AND almost everything (but not all) was just as it should be! Most importantly, the Hebrew and Aramaic were right there, looking as they should and editable! (The header and footer were messed up and I need to reload my Greek and Syriac fonts.) But here is the amazing thing: it even maintained the Styles from the original! (See the image below.) This means that I can simply go in and edit, say, the font size, and it will adjust all footnotes to the new font size, etc.

Now that is great! So, NWP may not be my full time WP just yet, but it will again become my WP of choice when using Hebrew and Aramaic. Way to go Jerzy and Gang!

(Reminder – When you see a squished image just right-click and select “View Image.” The WordPress template automatically squishes it to ensure that the image doesn’t run into the sidebar.)

 

Oh Tannenbaum! My folks are here for Thanksgiving and enjoy going out to cut the tree. I did not realize that Mack was helping me. It was a beautiful day and we ended up with a blue spruce. Beautiful tree but prickly!

 

This year we are particularly thankful to be so close to family. My folks, my grandmother, and my aunt and uncle are joining us. We bought a 19lb. turkey from the PennState Poultry Science Club (first in the nation last year, second this year!). I wanted the 35lb. tom, but they told me that would be a bit much. (And I measured; it wouldn’t fit in the oven and we have a BIG oven!) The pies have all been cooked, great grandma’s Date Nut Tapioca Pudding is in the fridge (recipe to follow), the turkey is now in the oven, and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has started. Oh, and there are 3 football games on today. Go Cowboys! So give thanks and enjoy this day!

Great Grandma McNamara’s Date Nut Tapioca Pudding*
Description:
They say it’s a salad, but it tastes an awful lot like a desert to me!

Ingredients:
4 C Water
1 1/2 C Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp. White Sugar
3/4 C Tapioca
1 Tsp. Vanilla
1 C Chopped Nuts (Optional, but then it is a Date Nut Salad!)
1 1/2-2 C Dates

Directions:
1) Boil water, Brown Sugar, and White Sugar
2) Add Tapioca in above, cook till thick.
3) Add Vanilla, Nuts, Dates
4) Chill, top with Whipped Cream and dot with Maraschino cherries.
5) “Serve in a beautiful crystal bowl,” Mae E. McNamara

Number Of Servings: A bunch.

Preparation Time: 2 hrs w/ help from toddler

*At the dinner table Great Grandma todl us that the recipe is, in fact, from an aunt, and Mom said that she has since found it in an Amish cookbook. Given that Great Grandma’s father was a German baker it is likely that there is a common heritage.

 

1986 Kings Dominion Concert Schedule

May 25 Robert Palmer / Belinda Carlisle $4
June 1 Ready for the World / Zapp/Roger / Sly Fox / Eugene Wilde $4
June 22 Jimmy Buffett $5
July 6 New Edition $5
July 13 Starship $4
July 19 Air Supply $4
July 20 Billy Ocean and Meli’sa Morgan $5
July 27 Patti Labelle $6
August 3 Eddie Rabbit / Exile / Janie Frickie / TG Sheppard / Sylvia $4
August 17 David Copperfield $4

Things that Happened in 1986
The US officially observes Martin Luther King Day as a national holiday for the first time
The space shuttle Challenger explodes moments after lift off, killing 6 astronauts and a teacher
A major nuclear disaster occurs at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Soviet Union
Japanese video game maker Nintendo introduces its games to America
US warplanes bomb Libyan headquarters in retaliation for terrorist attacks
The Soviet Union launches the Mir space station
IBM unveils the PC Convertible, the first laptop computer
Charlotte Church, The Olsen twins, and Lindsay Lohan are born
Chicago Bears win Superbowl XX
Top Gun is the top grossing film
“That’s What Friends Are For” by Dionne & Friendsspends the most time at the top of the US charts
ALF, the Oprah Winfrey Show , and Pee-Wee’s Playhouse premiere