Have I Ever Mentioned....

...that I like presents? Who doesn't? Well, I got a bunch!

A week or so ago, our friends from Nottingham, England--notice how I throw England into my posts every chance I get?--sent us these pictures:

Gren and Diane enjoying happy hour at our place in Santa Rosa Beach. Except for the "Covid years" they have gone several times. 

They have been taking their friends, Dave and Lyn with them. We sent our response to their pictures:

At the exact time they were having their cocktails, we were having ours on the front porch. Gin and tonics all around.

After this trip, Diane said that they wanted to take us to dinner. They even picked one of our favorite places--Sperry's. We invited them to our house for a drink before dinner. This was going to be our first time meeting their friends.

Little did I know that they would come bearing gifts! And, oh, so many gifts there were!

Starting from the back, a bottle of Grey Lady gin--that's a new one to us, but with a name like that--what's not to love? The Sipsmith Lemon gin is my favorite. I think part of the reason is that we cannot get that here. Luckily, Gren & Diane keep us supplied--and now Dave & Lyn. I tend to hoard it. Next is the 1000 piece puzzle, tea towels from Robin's Hood Bay. I've never heard of that, but Dave & Lyn have a place there. In fact, they've invited us to visit. We plan to do just that when we go in 2023. 

A close-up of the tea towels.

The card is from Nottinghamshire. I was looking at all of the castles and palaces on the front. I've been to several and plan to add the others to my list. I'm presuming all of them are in Nottinghamshire---which is a larger area that includes Notthingham. I think it must be like our counties that contain many cities. Lest you think I'm bragging about how much I know about England, I'm admitting right here that I looked that up! Still, little by little, I'm learning! 

One of my favorite words is "bespoke." Diane explained that to me--it means custom. I've managed to work that into some of my everyday conversations like--"I'm getting a bespoke cake for Sandy & Greg's birthday party!" Or, "I bought Butch a bespoke gift for Father's Day." 

And now, another new favorite. As we were getting ready to head to dinner, Diane said that she needed to "spend a penny." I looked at her quizzically. She then explained that she needed to use the bathroom. It's the English version of what Southerners say--"I need to powder my nose." From now on, there will be no powdering for me. I'll be spending a penny! Isn't that so darn cute? Oh, and Lyn needed to spend a penny too!

And then there's the puzzle. It portrays all kinds of things decidedly British. Still there were many things I'd never heard of before. 

I circled two things I thought were particularly interesting. One is a pancake race. I've never actually seen a pancake race, but when I hear anyone mention pancakes, you can bet I'm racing to get some!  

And then there's "wife-carrying"! Seriously? Is that really a "thing?" How fun! I'd love to take part in that. Leave it to the Brits to make fun out of something so random! I would love to hear how that started. I'll bet it was a bunch of blokes 'aving a few too many at the pub. One says to the other, "I bet I can carry me wife further than you, mate!" Thus a contest was born! (See what I did there? That's my best attempt at a British conversation.)

Lastly, the flowers. The bouquet was over-stuffed. I re-worked it to make two arrangements. This way I get to enjoy fresh flowers in two places. 

This one is in the "lounge" (just another English word I picked up!).

And then this one over the sink in the kitchen. I love, love, love fresh flowers.

We had a lovely dinner with our new friends, but I have to say, I was a little disappointed that the restaurant was so loud. Luckily, we did have a round table. That's my favorite for everyone to be able to participate in the conversation. The food was delicious as always. It was even better since they treated!! So nice! 

Diane shared this picture on the 4th of July with the boys donning their red, white & blue--British style! Aren't they cute?

So are the girls--another photo from the beach.

Butch and I look forward to the next time we get to see them.

England 2023, here we come!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love England? I know, too many times to count. But now, I can add that I have "real" British friends. Heck, before you know it, I might become a Brit by osmosis! You know my philosophy--which I always preached to the girls when they were growing up-- "You become who you hang with!" I can only hope!