Cath Kidston arrives in Bertram, TX

Am so excited! New Cath Kidston bag has finally arrived after getting lost and touring the whole USA before it got here! It's a gorgeous saddle bag and I have already had loads of positive comments upon it - just like my other Cath bags. I know at least one other lady who has ordered a bag recently based on seeing mine. Soon there will be a load of happy Cath Kidston-toting ladies in this little corner of Texas! Wish she did an oilcloth Union Jack bag then I could really fly the flag here in the Hill Country!

I had a significant birthday yesterday and it made me both reflective and nostalgic. Even though I like it here I am really homesick for England and wish my kiddoes had more opportunity to experience English things and explore that part of their heritage. Seeing as my opportunities to return to Blighty are non existant in the future I have decided to spend the next year consciously raising their awareness of English things - food, art, books, history, traditions. "English Stuff" that I totally took for granted and didn't appreciate at all. I hope they'll have fun, learn a little and remember their batty mother doing this when they too hit their own significant birthdays.

So today on Day One of this English year we hit the ground running with breakfast. Robertson's Golden Shred marmalade on toast! They loved it as I would expect from discerning Marmite-eating children. Hope they don't want it every day though as it's jolly expensive and hard to find - might have to ask Mum how she makes her marmalade from Seville oranges. After basketball and the official opening of our fab new library here in our small rural Texas town, daughter #1 and I decided to continue with the foodie theme by donning our pinnies (aprons) and making jam tarts, Shepherds' Pie and her Great Grandmother's "Cut and Come Again" cake, a recipe brought over from Sussex. All turned out beautifully and the Shepherds' Pie in particular was wolfed down which caused stirrings of guilt for the less-than-home made food that my kids often have to eat as their Mum works full time. Squashing that thought quickly, I promise to become proficient on how to upload pictures of these English events as they unfold. Day 1 was lots of fun. Off to see what English programs we can find on the telly! More anon!