Jim got a new bike!

After the moment above, we headed out on an epic bike journey around London, with only one near death experience! (I came very, very close to being hit by a black cab).

We rode our bikes through Hyde Park. I almost ran over two very small dogs.


We stopped at the "Round Pond" and watched mini sailboats being competetively sailed by concentrating men:

They wore some strange mitten type things over their controls. To protect them? It was weird (or interesting, depending on which viewer you were) and they were really into it! Jim proclaimed that learning to sail a mini sailboat was to become his future hobby. Learning to sail a real sailboat was "too much."

Me watching the sailboats:


We ended up in Chelsea, where the Chelsea football fans were getting ready (drunk) in anticipation of the Chelsea/Liverpool match. We veered off into the Brompton Cemetary which is HUGE!


After lunch at a noodle place, we peddled on to Westminster. It was fun to see Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and Buckingham Palace from our bikes. They shut down the roads around St. James Park on Sundays, so we could ride around without having to worry about traffic.



On our way out of Hyde Park, we passed through Speaker's Corner, where local preachy types can get on their soap boxes. Pretty much all you have to do is bring your stepladder and an agenda along. This guy was preaching against Allah:


This one just wanted a hug.


No outing is complete without a visit to the pub! Is drinking and biking a good combination? Probably not, but we made it home.

Oscar in the House

I would like to begin this blog by confirming what you already think--we are cat people. We're not extreme cat people, but now we have four cats in two countries and we are prepared for the day that sometime we'll have all four of them at once. But for now we have two in America and two in England. Introducing....OSCAR!

Finchley was being so bad and acting so lonely that we thought it might be a good idea to get him a friend. We left our house with Maddy and Joe in tow, on a quest to find a young, playful cat to be friends with Finchley.

On the way to the shelter (a new one because the one where we got Finchley had a fire and is still under construction), everyone was peering into our cat box. Our invisible cat wasn't too keen on that. Here he is with Maddy, Joe and Jim...still invisible.


The wait to see the cats was REALLY long and boring. We were forced to entertain ourselves. First we watched all the lame videos that the shelter had on the TVs in the waiting room. After we got through that entire cycle, we ate candy and drank coke.


Finally, things got desperate and Joe was forced to play with the cat toys we bought.


Eventually we made it through all the channels and got to visit with the cats. At that point there was a mad rush to get a cat and the only cat who was available and ale to live with other cats was Oscar, a ten year old black cat with snaggle teeth and dandruff. Of course, we loved him. He purred and purred and purred, even in his cat box on the way home. Then he totally freaked out and stayed under the bed for about 24 hours. He still mostly stays under the bed, but he ventures out every once in a while and likes to snuggle up with us when we go to bed. And Finchley loves him (not sure the feeling is mutual).



He has snaggle claws, too.


Despite his senior status, he likes to play!


And he tolerates the ever curious and playful Finchley:


And now...a video: Jim and the cats.