Hey everyone! We hope you are all doing well! Since I was late on the last update, I'm making up for it by being early this time. The goal is to get these out every couple of weeks. It was a cold week last week - got down to -3 degrees Celsius. We are surprised about the lack of rain - we kept hearing that it rained all of the time, but it hasn't rained much at all - and when it has rained, it's been a light rain and hasn't lasted long. I may have spoken too soon because I hear that the heavy rains comes in April and it may go on for several weeks in a row.

We went jogging in Richmond Park one Sunday afternoon - it was nice to get a little exercise, but we can tell we're getting out of shape. We're going to go deeper into the park next time and find the deer everyone keeps talking about - they're big and will come right up to you. We went to Camden Market last Saturday - it's a street filled with shops and kiosks like Portobello Market. This area has more interesting people than Kensington - lots of interesting clothes and hair styles. We went by Big Ben, the Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. These are some amazing structures - we're going to have to tour them all before we leave.

My job is still going well - still busy, still enjoying it. I'll be re-building some hardware in the middle of the month, so I'll keep busy for a while. Jill is living it up with all of the shopping there is do. It's amazing how one place can have so much shopping - and such a wide variety. She is still amazing - it is such a great feeling to walk home from the train station and look up and see her waving at me from the window!

We made a couple of new friends out here - we went out to dinner with a girl that I work with and her husband. They live a little further out, but hopefully we'll be able to get together again soon. I think Jill is already planning on doing a shopping spree with her - her husband and I may just have to find a nearby pub or casino.

People keep asking us what we miss back in the States and what is different out here. Of course we miss all of you! We realized that we took Krispy Kreme for granted. There's one in Harrods and there's always a line to stand in - but every time we've been, we've gotten a free doughnut for waiting. One way things are different over here is that there are desserts, cakes, candy, etc. all over the place. I'm all about this - and their chocolate is better. Kit Kats are my new favorite candy - I didn't like them this much back home, but these are good.

Train life is probably the major difference that I have been through. As you know, I catch a train each day for work. It's nice when it's on time (and it usually is) - I can plan my commute to the minute - and I know EXACTLY what time I need to leave the flat - the train can be late, but it will never leave early. It's not so good when it is late, delayed or canceled. Some of the train stations are outside, so it gets cold when they're late. When they are canceled, it just means that you have to wait for the next one - could be up to an hour in small stations (like where I work) - but Richmond is so busy they are about every 10 minutes or so.

I've almost been through it all now - I've fallen asleep and woken up past my stop (I set an alarm now) - I've missed a train because it was so crowded I couldn't squeeze in - It was so crowded one time that I almost couldn't get off before the doors closed - I've run and jumped on right as the doors were closing - yes, it was that close - I have not missed one yet, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time before I'm "that guy" who runs to get on and the doors close in his face just before he makes it.

We had a breakthrough this past week. We finally figured out the bus system. There's a stop 20 feet from our flat, one by the grocery store where we shop, and one at the train station. This is so much easier than carrying our groceries all the way home. It works well when it's really cold, raining, or when we're just too tired to walk.

A lot of things revolve around food and beer over here. I was informed last Tuesday that it was "Pancake Day". Apparently this is a huge deal once every year. Everyone knew about this - except for us - someone at work gave me a box of pancakes to take home - they look more like crepes than the pancakes we're used to. Every Sunday is "roast day" - everyone either cooks a roast or goes to a pub and eats one. I've already talked about "pub Fridays". I'm just trying to figure out what the rest of the days are for.

I went to a meeting the other day and someone offered me a biscuit - I didn't want a biscuit, so I declined. Then they started passing a plate full of cookies around - I wanted those and asked why they only offered me biscuits and not cookies - well, it turns out that biscuits mean "cookies" over here. So don't turn down a biscuit when you're in England.

Some quick bits to wrap this up - Jill is keeping us on pace to win the "Mexican Eating Contest" over here. We've been so much that we've already been seated at the same table as a previous time. Scheduled is pronounced "SHED-YULED" - no "k" in there and they know it. The voltage over here is about twice as high as in the States. Plug something in from the States over here without a voltage converter and it blows up. Plug something in from over here into a US outlet and it runs S-L-O-W.

Jill's mom is in the air as we speak - we can't wait to see her. We're going to be busy because Jill has jam-packed her calendar. They're heading to Paris for a couple of days next week. If you haven't booked your flight, what are you waiting for? We'll show you a good time!

If you haven't already done so, please sign our guest book. We've also updated our London pictures page. It's been nice hearing from all of you - please continue to keep in touch often. That's me in the phone booth waiting for you to call me. We miss and love you all - we hope you have a great week! God bless!