It's Fall Y'all!

Fall, Autumn, whatever you call it, is my favorite season in America.  Come September, pumpkin flavored food and drink items are everywhere.  On offer are pumpkin lattes, teas, cookies, cakes, breads, nuts, pies, cereal, coffee creamer, chocolates, beer, wine, desserts and pop tarts.  You can even find pumpkin air fresheners for your car or for your house.  

Ugh, no thanks!

Oooh, yes please!

I don't think I'd ever even tasted pumpkin before I came to the States.  Recently, an online rumor started, saying that Durex had produced a pumpkin flavored condom, but it turned out to be untrue.  Had it been real, I'm sure those condoms would have flown off the shelves.  Americans (and me) are crazy for pumpkin!
 

A hoax, but funny nonetheless :)

Craft Stores are full of Fall themed decorations from wreaths to yard decor and cute scarecrows to stick in your garden.  Places like Hobby Lobby are a sensory overload right now.  If you happen to venture in during this season, you will not leave empty handed unless you have a will of steel.  Yes of course you needed to buy those cute pumpkin decorations...! 

In most neighborhoods, homes, entryways and yards are adorned with colorful Fall decorations.  Some people turn their front yards into huge Fall displays complete with hay bales.  Orange and yellow chrysanthemums are everywhere and piles of pumpkins arrive in the supermarkets.  Even Halloween costumes, candy and decorations start to appear in the stores at the beginning of September. 

Farms offer hayrides, pumpkin patches, Fall activities, playgrounds made out of hay and Fall food. Corn field mazes abound and while the kids love these, I'm not a fan and would rather sit on my butt drinking a pumpkin beer with a slice of pumpkin pie in my hand.  

All this Fall enthusiasm sure is contagious.  Autumn at home is so much simpler.  The leaves start to turn and quickly fall, the air is chilly and damp, and the winter coats come out of hibernation.  We do like to complain about the weather in the UK, so Autumn is the perfect time for us to do so.  I don't think I've ever seen any Fall decorations in the UK bar the odd scarecrow.  I know some Brits will read this and think "What a lot of fuss over a season", but I disagree.  Why the heck not?!  I love that Americans embrace and celebrate the change of season - Fall here is fun!

Obviously both countries are beautiful as the leaves change color and start to fall.  My favorite Fall destination in the USA is the spectacular Spearfish Canyon in South Dakota:

And in Scotland, I miss walking or driving through the countryside on a bright, Autumn day enjoying views like this:

Believe it or not, South Dakota and Scotland have many similarities scenery wise. 

Anyway, in true American fashion, I'd like to finish up by wishing you all a Happy Fall!  This year, I intend to perfect my gluhwein recipe and to take my dog for many walks in the woods without having to worry about her dying of heat exhaustion.  I also intend to consume as many pumpkin food and drink items as is humanly possible and to then run these off on trails covered with crisp and crunchy leaves :)  Till next time folks!

Cheers!

It's Electrifying!

Power, electricity, whatever you call it, it's everywhere and we all need it in these modern times.  But over here in America, IT'S BLOODY DANGEROUS!!!  In the UK we're brought up hearing "Don't take anything electric into the bathroom or you'll get electrocuted and die"

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Sounds kinda harsh huh?  That means no hairdryers or straightening irons in the bathroom, nothing.  You want to beautify yourself in the UK?  Do so in the bedroom or someplace else with a mirror.  Otherwise, you'll die, I tell you!

UK plug sockets are strongly fixed to the wall and grounded.

You plug something in, it's in.  You can't wiggle it around, it's safe and secure.  If a child sticks his little finger into the socket, nothing will happen.  It couldn't be safer over there.  Unless of course, you get water near it, then INSTANT DEATH!!! 

Now you've got the background, you can imagine my shock when I arrived in the US and saw not one, but several electric outlets (plug sockets) in the bathroom.  Not just in the bathroom, but right next to the sink.  Water + electricity = instant death right?!  My heart jumped and my instant reaction was "There's no way in hell I'll ever plug my hairdryer in to any outlet in any bathroom."   No sir.  The husband, who luckily is used to my verbal tirades, patiently listened as I ranted on about how dangerous this was and how in the UK...blah blah blah.  You get the picture.  To make matters worse, American outlets do not seem to be sturdily built or attached properly, but the worst thing is, when you plug something in or unplug it, you see sparks!!!!  SPARKS!!!!  It always makes me think of this song: 

Love this video :)

Not once in the UK have I ever seen sparks come from an outlet.  Here, it happens every single time you use one.  Although I've lived here for a long time now, my anxiety hasn't lessened every time I plug or unplug something.  America is a modern country, why aren't the safety standards for electricity as rigid as they are back home?   I will probably never know as I'm not very technologically aware and I probably wouldn't understand anyway, but it just doesn't seem right!  I have to confess though, nowadays, my hairdryer is plugged into the bathroom socket.  I guess beauty comes first people :)  But I am sure to dry out the sink before I use it so that no dangerous water drops find their way towards it causing a catastrophic explosion or electrocution resulting in my death.

Ironically, when I was writing this post, we had a power outage.  Perhaps the 'powers' that be weren't amused ;)  Till the next time people, just as long as I'm not electrocuted first...

America - 5 things.

I'm often asked what are my favorite things about living in America.  So, without further ado, here are my favorites and least favorites, not in any particular order :) 

5 OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

1.  Beer!  We're spoilt for choice over here.  The price is right, the taste is good, drink up!!  American beer has such a bad rap overseas but it's totally unwarranted in my opinion.  So many craft beers to choose from and even most of the mainstream ones are fantastic.  My personal mainstream favorites are Boulevard, Shocktop and Blue Moon.  The photo above may or may not have been taken on a Tuesday afternoon in SD spent with one of my besties.  Please excuse the random Coors Light at the end of the row, we'd run out of the good stuff :)

2.  The respect that most of the general public and the media have for the US Military.  When I was in the Royal Air Force (many moons ago now) this sure was not the case in the UK, although it may have changed by now.  People over here thank soldiers for their service and routinely buy them meals in restaurants if they're wearing uniform.  Back in the day in the UK, people were more likely to try and pick a fight with you if they knew you were military.  Either that or the IRA were trying to blow you up.   It does upset me that the majority of people in the States know next to nothing about the IRA's terror campaign.  I remember having to hide our RAF uniforms and having to check under our cars for bombs in the UK, but now I'm digressing from my Top 5...

3.  Mexican food.  The ultimate comfort food and so tasty.  You can even kid yourself it's healthy if you add some delicious fresh salsa and guacamole :)

4.  The Great Outdoors!  So many State Parks to choose from with amazing camping, mountain biking, water activities and hiking.  We're really spoiled for choice over here.  Want to rent a boat, a jetski or whatever you want for the day?  No problem, it's so easy to do these things over here and there's so much space to be able to do these activities safely! 

5.  American people.  Well, I did marry one!!  Friendly, generous, kind-hearted and honest.  People overseas tend to think of Americans as narrow minded, this is so not true.  I have found most of the Americans I've met to be adventurous souls with a huge interest in the rest of the world and what's going on out there.  I love that Americans can tell you where the last several generations of their family came from.  In the UK, we don't really bother to find these things out.  It does make me laugh though whenever somebody tells me they're from Scotland.  Were you born there?  No?  Then sorry, but you're not from Scotland :)


5 OF MY LEAST FAVORITE THINGS

1.  Billboards.  So many amazing views in this country are spoiled by huge billboards alongside the road.  These big monstrosities are everywhere.  The only ones I don't mind seeing are for Wall Drug.  These are posted regularly along the I90 between Sioux Falls and Rapid City and promise homemade donuts & pie, 5c coffee, free ice water, jackalopes and even a dinosaur.  These particular billboards do help to break up the monotony of prairie driving for several hours :)

2.  Commercials.  I don't watch much TV but when I do, it's usually been DVR'd so that I can skip through the commercials.  Seriously, sometimes there are mere minutes between them.  So annoying!  Although on the plus side, when I'm watching The Walking Dead, it's less scary when every scene is followed by some banal commercial for male erectile dysfunction or other similar affliction.  One of the most annoying commercials for me, has to be the Scotts Turf Builder guy.  I googled him and apparently he really is Scottish but man, his accent is soooo exaggerated that it makes me want to throw things at the TV.   Completely unrelated and random, but did you know that the GEICO Gecko voice is done by the actor who played Max Branning (Jake Wood) on Eastenders?

   'E's a geezer... 

3.  Dangerous wild animals!  They're everywhere!  Okay, not everywhere but you know what I mean.  Venomous snakes, mountain lions, alligators, scorpions, skunks, (cute but you don't want to be sprayed by one), great white sharks, tarantulas, javelinas, coyotes, bears, the stuff of nightmares!  You seriously have to have your wits about you when you go hiking, to the beach or even just out in your yard sometimes. 

4.  Bread & Cheese.  Sorry America, but your bread and cheese selection is CRAP!!! Oh how I miss proper cheddar cheese.  Sharp tasting and crumbly, but sliceable at the same time.  American cheese has the consistency of plastic.  Seriously.  It's not right, you should not be able to bend cheese.   Hovis granary bread, another thing I'd kill for.  American sliced bread has a sweetish taste and some brands are apparently made with one of the ingredients also used to make yoga mats.  Anyone for Frankenbread?   Some grocery stores here have upped the quality and taste of their breads on offer, but it's just not as good (in my opinion)  as it is back home.

5.  Public Transport.  Unless you live in a big city, public transport is pretty much non-existent and taxis are dodgy at best.  The husband and me always squabble over whose turn it is to be designated driver whenever we go out at night.  We tend not to go out very often because of this, it's easier just to stay in and have a beverage at home.


Anyway, that's it for now folks!  I'm off to enjoy a Shocktop with a slice of orange with my fabulous American husband :)

Are you from England?

I get asked this all the time. I guess my accent has faded and been mixed up a bit over the years.  It goes without saying that if somebody had asked me that when I lived in the UK, I may or may not have given them a Gleska Kiss.  Okay, probably not, but you know what I mean.  Once we clear up where I'm from, the other questions start.   "Do you like it here?" "Is it a lot different over here?"  "Do you miss home?"  "Isn't the food in Scotland horrible?" and lastly, these 2 nuggets: "Have you ever tried coffee before?"  and "Have you ever seen a train before?"  Seriously!! 

Before I came to America, I'd spent a lot of time traveling around Europe and Asia.  America never really appealed to me until I met the husband and decided to give it a try.  I had the usual stereotypical view of America and Americans that a lot of Europeans have (please don't take offense my many American friends, I love it here now!)   When we first moved here, I had massive culture shock which you wouldn't expect moving to another English speaking country.  I was horrified when I first watched Fox News which is fair and balanced apparently.  The astounding amount of TV channels, most of them useless, overwhelmed me.  The whole cell phone thing - here in the States, a pay as you go cell phone is not the norm like it was in the UK.  I found banks over here very old fashioned and difficult compared to the UK which was a surprise and I couldn't believe you couldn't just call overseas without first having to be approved by your telephone company.  People would say to me "I can tell you're European because you don't wear sneakers with your jeans."  I was horrified by people having dogs but leaving them outside in their yards all day and night.  The most difficult thing perhaps was not being able to walk anywhere due to lack of sidewalks.  I remember saying to the husband that I wanted to go to a store just across the road (a dual carriageway).  He laughed when I started walking.  I could see the store, it was a few hundred yards away, but there was no way I'd safely  make it across the road.  We had to drive!!  Across the road!!  The ovens here don't have a grill, you have to broil it (just the word sounds scary).  The grill is the BBQ.  Confusing at first :)  Massive sodas with unlimited refills, cheese with everything...  I'm not saying this is all bad, I just wasn't used to it.  It took me a long time to get used to America.

So, back to the normal questions.  Do I like it here?  Yes!  I can't believe how different it is in each State that I've lived in and visited.  America is beautiful.  Even the places which don't conform to standard beauty are amazing in their own way.  North Dakota - flat as heck - but amazing to see.  So desolate but the sky goes on forever.  The people - friendly, helpful, kind, family oriented, generous, non judgemental (mostly)!  At home, I wouldn't go out dressed the way I do here, but I love that!  At home, you're sometimes judged negatively if you go out in non smart or non fashionable clothes.  Here, it really doesn't matter.  People don't care what you look like!  It's actually very liberating!

Is it a lot different here?  Yes! It's massive!  At home, we moan if we have to drive a couple of hours to get to Glasgow.  Here, it's the norm to drive for days to go visit somebody or go on vacation.   Everything is bigger here, it's true.  Stores, roads, houses.  Of course, bigger isn't always better - I'm not a fan of Walmart even though I seem to spend a ridiculously large amount of time there grocery shopping. People here are a lot more religious than back home.  I think this is a good thing.  There are a lot of old fashioned values alive and kicking here in America.  Some good, some not so good, but mostly I like old fashioned values - being of a certain age myself now :) 

Do I miss home?  Yes I do.  A lot.  Scotland is such a beautiful, small place.  And of course, my family are there.  I speak to my Mum every day.  Where my parents live, you can walk to a gorgeous, clean, white sandy beach, walk up the river and catch a fresh salmon, drive a short distance to historic castles and battlefields, see dolphins or drive into the most amazing, rugged mountains to go mountain biking or hiking.  All close by.  It seems cleaner in Scotland.  The water, the air, the sea.  I do miss it!  I miss shopping for clothes in smaller stores that I know instead of in huge department stores that seem to have jumbles of clothes on racks that I can't be bothered sorting through!  I miss walking down the High Street and I miss going to the pub.  Bars here are a whole other different blog post! 

Isn't the food in Scotland horrible?  Heck no!!!  Every country has it's junk food of course and I miss the heck out of Tunnock's caramel logs, proper fish and chips doused in salt & vinegar, chocolate hobnobs and crunchie bars to name but a few.  But there is so much fresh food available in Scotland - salmon, trout, cod, prawns, scallops, beef, venison, vegetables, haggis (hehe) and so many amazing restaurants to try.  Bakeries abound in Scotland as do local jams, chutneys and other home made foodstuff.  I get fed up with all the chain restaurants here.  It's difficult to find somewhere truly special that serves fresh, local ingredients.  Haggis is awesome by the way :)  Luckily, most major grocery stores here have a selection of British food.  If I want to, I can make a cheese beano with Heinz beans, have some marmite on toast, snack on a Fry's Turkish Delight or  make a trifle with a can of Ambrosia custard :)  It's probably 3 times the price, but it's worth it!

Have I ever tried coffee before?  P-U-LEASE :)  For once in my life I was speechless at this one.  I guess some folks think us Jocks live in caves or huts and drink only whisky.  Maybe in the Outer Hebrides...?! 

Have I ever seen a train before?  I think I just laughed in this guy's face :) 

So no, I'm not from England.  I actually have dual nationality now!  I'm happy and proud to be both Scottish (British) and American, as are all 3 of my children.  It's a heck of a lot of passports to keep tabs on, but it's also kind of cool! 

Have a nice day y'all!