Saturdays

I know there is a God, because there is a Saturday morning every weekend. Saturday mornings are made for sleeping, coffee, laziness, chilling, watching Holmes on Homes and listening to Dermot O'Leary on BBC Radio 2 on my computer.

Whenever I get homesick for the Motherland, I come into my office, turn on my Mac and head straight for the BBC where I can listen to my favourite djs.

At the moment, Dermot O'Leary is playing "Down, Down" by Status Quo - that makes me laugh and brings back high school memories by the ton!

I should be editing photographs and learning more about Aperture so that I can make them better, but my photo office has a king-sized mattress and all kinds of junk from Christmas in it right now. (The mattress is a long story, one that involves less than 4 hours of sleep a night for the past year. All I can say is that 2 single mattresses pushed together is definitely the way to go to keep the marriage!!) Basically I'm procrastinating.

But that's what Saturday mornings are for....aren't they?

Priorities

Have been thinking a bit about death recently. This past year, some of my dad's family have been really ill, or have died. My husband's cousin died just after Christmas. Customers of our office have died over Christmas, and most recently, my mum's younger sister died unexpectedly.

It's hard living across the pond and having to prioritise my flights back to the UK when something has happened to a member of my family.

One of the things about working in the US is realising just how good I had it in the UK when it came to vacation/sick/personal/flex-time. I get 15 days vacation a year here which also includes all personal days and sick time. So although I love living here, sometimes it sucks when I can't get the time off to get back home when I really want to. I guess that's life. Of course if something happened to members of my immediate family - my mum, dad, sister or brother, of course I would drop everything to get over there as soon as possible.

Fact. Death is a part of life. (I sound like Dwight Schrute now!) Sometimes it consumes our thinking; at other times, it doesn't even cross our mind. I guess with getting older, it becomes natural to think more about it? I remember my Gran telling me that one of the things she hated about growing older, was that her circle of friends got smaller as one by one they passed away until she was the only one left of them.

What am I trying to say today? I'm not sure...just writing down my random thoughts about life, family, priorities and death. 

I'm sure that my favourite singer/songwriter Martyn Joseph says it a lot better than me. His songs cut to the chase - contradictions in life, death, feeling helpless, joy, heartbreak, love, social commentary - it's all there. If you have never heard his stuff, check him out.

http://www.martynjoseph.com/

Enough of my navel gazing for today!!

Cheers, and thanks for reading.

Opportunity

One of the differences I see between living in the UK and living in the USA is the opportunity that is often grabbed by anyone and everyone here.


I love to write and take photographs and have been encouraged to do so. I think that if I were still living in the UK, I would be shyer about putting myself forward and sharing what I love to do.


People here seem to believe that it's OK to reach for the stars. I'm not talking about fly-by-night "American Idol" syndrome, but that if you work for it, and go for it, then the sky's the limit. I feel that sometimes in the UK (and please forgive me for this, because I love my homeland) one is criticized for trying to be more than they are.


We all have gifts and talents. I believe that God is the Father of all Creation, and if we are made in His image, then we are all creative in so many different ways. What's so wrong with sharing that with each other, and trying to make something of it?


I didn't go into photography to make money, but have found that some people want to buy my photos. I love being creative, and thank Redbubble.com for being such an awesome website where I can do this within a supportive framework. I have found so much inspiration and encouragement here. Oh, and by the way...their printing is of the highest quality.


Please visit http://www.redbubble.com/ and take a look around. I think you will be there for a LONG while. If you want to take a look at what I have done, please visit www.redbubble.com/people/jsheehy 


Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Little Things I Miss

Here are some of the things I miss, now I live in the US.


Marmite, Robinson's Lemon Barley Water, pork pies (yes, bad for you I know), McVities Digestive biscuits, Rich Tea Biscuits, picallili, black pudding, the local pub, ploughman's lunches, Schweppes Lemonade, Pimms, Birds Custard, Fishfingers.


Some of the bigger things...obviously family, friends, walks in Woodbridge, easy access to the coast, popping over for a cuppa tea.


I have a lovely American sis-in-law who lives in NYC and knows of a British greengrocer in Greenwich, so she brings me care packages whenever she visits Albany. So now I actually have some Lemon Barley water, custard powder, Lyles Golden Syrup and Branston pickle! I love care packages!!


Here are some of the things I love about living here: m'gorgeous husband (obviously!) Buffalo chicken wings, "you're welcome", Albany, the Adirondacks, the snow, the heat, Ben and Jerry's, Klondike Bars amongst others.

The Weather Report

So, it's been thundering and lightning and pouring with rain for the past couple of weeks here in beautiful Albany, NY. I happen to like the rain.

What I seem to get irritated by are the lovely customers who come into the office and say to me,without fail, "You must be used to this weather, being from England!" followed by, "It ALWAYS rains in England, and it's really foggy." Yes, I know...perhaps I'm being a tad grumpy and humourless, but it gets a little old after you've had 5 people in a row say it in the same morning. :) <-- see, there's a smiley face.

Remember, some of these well-meaning people have never stepped outside of the USA in their entire life (unless you count Hawaii as outside).

So, to those lovely people I wish to say to them. "Yes, it ALWAYS rains in England, and I don't see why you would ever want to visit there. It would be a dull, gloomy experience and you would hate it." This option allows me to happily visit my homeland, family and friends and enjoy the summer on the east coast without bumping into aforesaid people.