We got stucco put on the house, yea!  You can see by the gray wood to the right that we're going to have to tear down the laundry room and garage and start over on that.  The crew that did the stucco did a great job, though.

I finished by classes and should start my thesis next month.  Looking forward to it, I've learned and grown every step of the way.  Great school, awesome curriculum, fantastic professors!  I can't say enough about Heriot-Watt, they're amazing.  I always wanted to go back to school and learn something, now I'm doing it.  They are actually teaching me to think for myself.  Awesome.

Meanwhile I booked a guide to take me flyfishing for striped bass that go up to 40 lbs or so on the Susquehanna Flats, which is at the mouth of the great Chesapeake Bay.  I'm trying to book a second trip with another guide for the same timeframe, which is the last two or three weeks of April.  That will be a great trip.  I've decided to hire boats/guides rather than purchase my own boat, mostly due to the cost of finishing the ranch house.

Rhonda is still waiting on her green card and I'm going for a visit next week.  Hopefully we'll have this all taken care of by the fall and she and Buster will be with me.  I don't like talking about it that much, nor my time away so that will be that.

I have neglected the webpage (this one) in lieu of using Facebook for a while.  Facebook seems to be more popular these days and is easier to use.  My Facebook link is in the left-hand column of this page, just click on it to find my FB page.  Still, I enjoy using this weblog and have noticed that some folks still visit from time to time.  So I'll try to keep up on it.

My job is great, the folks I work with are really good to me.  That makes up for a lot, especially the traffic in this area.  Some folks need some drivin' skills 'round these parts.  I see at least one accident every day each way to and from work.  It's really nuts.

We really miss Old Blighty and our dearest of friends there, you know there are no others who were better to us in all of our time together.  We're fighting the good fight and keeping our hopes up that we'll sort it all out.  I should be finished with my degree by the year's end and who knows what the future holds.  If offered a position in the UK in my new field I think I'd jump on it.  It would have to be a pretty good offer, though, I'm making some good bread here.  Still, money isn't everything... I much preferred our quality of life "over there".  Bye for now.  Drop us a line.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all from Phil, Rhonda and Buster !

We are having a really nice holiday together and have been eating lobsters and opening presents!

It's REALLY cold here today and we're best kept indoors.  Rhonda's birthday is this Friday so everyone be sure to send her happy 40th wishes!  We're going to a grand New Years event down at 'the Harbour' (Sheet Harbour) and will be quite sauced by the time Rhonda's birthday rolls around but we'll try to make sure she feels celebrated.

Just a reminder, both Rhonda and I have been using Facebook extensively - this may be an easier way to keep up with our latest and to chat and keep in touch.  Click on the "Facebook" badge in the left-hand column to reach Phil's FB page.  I'll be sure to add Rhonda's badge soon.

Yeah, I dug myself out from the foot of snow we had in Baltimore and headed up to the Great White North for Christmas.  Rhonda and I had lobsters for dinner tonight, they were "some good" as they say here.  Rhonda is a New Year's baby so we've got to party twice as hard as everyone else this Thursday night.

The job is going well, the ranch is on hold, Buster is in good health, we're still waiting on immigration, I've moved to a new 1 BR apartment and have finished my last exam - now only a thesis to write next year.

We really miss all of you across the pond back at 'Old Blighty' - Rhonda was just showing me some video clips from Penny.  Rosie is growing up fast, she's a pretty girl and not at all spoiled.  Anyway, perhaps we can visit, or maybe I'll get a position at one of your breweries or distilleries.

Happy Holidays !  I'll post a photo of us tomorrow if I can remember - getting old, you know.

Well, I'm not working at the microbrewery any more.  Those guys were a little "off' - they had some unusual practices and policies.  Let's say we agreed to disagree.  Perhaps, as they say, it was all for the best.  I found a really great job through a placement firm in Baltimore, Maryland.      I am now working for Northrop-Grumman in the Electronic Combat Center in Linthicum, MD and loving every minute of it!  The people there are VERY professional and very nice, too.  I think this will be a long-term employment - at least, as a result of my first impression, I hope so.  (I just finished my first week.)

The photo is the front entrance of a house in Hunt Valley, north of Baltimore, where I am renting a furnished room.  I obviously haven't had much time to shop around or organise a move of my furniture so this will have to do for the time being.  It's not bad although I'd prefer to live closer to work - the commute is about 30  miles (w/ heavy traffic).  

Rhonda is still in Dartmouth and working across the bay in Halifax; Buster is staying with her.  We've hired an immigration attorney who is transferring our case to Montreal in hopes of speeding up the process.  I can't wait for her to join me here and will try to convince her to move into the city (downtown Baltimore) when she gets here.  We'll see how that goes, it may be wise to buy a home here at that time, who knows.  At any rate, I'll be going to see her for Christmas and we hope it won't be too long before she can join me here.

I'm really, really likin' this job.  My days are only 8 hours long and overtime is available once I get fully up to speed.  I'm still doing my MSc, working on the last course and test in December, then it's on to my thesis next year.  I'd have to be offered a pretty sweet job in the brewing/distilling industry to convince me to leave this job, though.  My experience at the micro was a nightmare, although this job at N-G is super-sweet!

Weather is improving, could be warmer here.  Nice and hot at the ranch, though.  Lobster season ends today but we've had our fill.  Last weekend we went to Rhonda's folks for another feed, 40lbs of live lobsters.  Hard to believe but they were cheaper than chicken.

Exams are done for now.  Only one more to go, in Dec.  Takes quite the load off.  Now I can concentrate on catching up on my "to do" list.  

Buster is in good shape, quite happy to be with both Mom and Dad.  He's slowed quite a bit.  To be expected for a 12 year old.  We're glad to have him, he's such a good dog.

We are well and hope you all are too.  We REALLY miss England... seems as that was a golden age period for us.  Who knows, when I finish school I may get a job offer in the UK - I wouldn't object to that, although I realise that the situation would be much different.  We're going forward slowly and carefully, hoping the economy will improve soon and that we'll be together on our ranch someday soon.

Well, more later... hopefully with a photo or two.  In the meantime, a hearty hello to all and we wish you all well.

And it's lobster season here, so things aren't so bad.

Well.... it's a long story.  I was in Halifax over Christmas with Rhonda visiting family and dropped by this microbrewery who couldn't live without me.  So I got a work permit and drove 2700 miles from Austin to Halifax and have been working at the Garrison Brewing Company for the past two weeks.

The house is dried in and locked up and I have some neighbors checking in on it once in a while in addition to my roofer, who is finishing up the laundry and garage.

I like the job, I have a lot of learning to do and am still doing my courses.  I should finish up the modules and take my last exam in Dec.  So far, so good.  I'll do a thesis and then apply to their doctorate program - but will be looking for 'facilities' to do my research.  By then we'll know a bit more about it and where we'll be and what we'll be doing.

I think this is fresh news to some of you, since Rhonda has been having difficulty with her e-mail.  She was unable to send mail but could receive it, very frustrating.  I think I have it sorted out now.  I think.  So, great news for us two.  More later,

Hey, everyone.  I got the facia boards and soffits on the main house and primed them.  There's also some OSB on the front and rear of the laundry room.  We're going to try to get the roof on the laundry room next.  Starting to look like a house, eh?

I drove down to my brother's house in Austin, about an hour and a half, with the dogs in the back of the pickup.  They loved the ride.  Buster always has and Chase did too.  But on the return trip I got back to the ranch and only Buster was in the back.  Chase must have jumped out somewhere, I couldn't see back there as I had some boxes up against the rear window.  A guy that was grading the dirt roads a few miles up from the house said he thought he saw two dogs in the back when I passed him coming home.  Hope he was right.  Still haven't found Chase and it's been a week now.  Sad news.  Hope he finds his way home.  You never know.

Here's a photo of my roofer putting the ridgecap and hipcaps on the roof.  Go ahead an click on the pic, it looks great!  The facia boards and soffit are next, then I'll be all dried in and we can move on to the laundry room and garage.  There will be a covered porch in the front that will wrap around the house to the back, so I'm not too worried about the facade at this point.  We'll see how it comes out - I bet it will look great!

Here's a photo of the sunset from the rooftop.  Pretty, isn't it?  We should be able to see more of these from the deck that will be built over the water tanks behind the laundry room, which will be tall enough for us to peer over the laundry roof.

Howdy everyone.  It's been a long time since I posted progress on the house.  I kept forgetting to recharge my camera, but have some photos to share.  As you can see, the kitchen windows are in, they're casement windows, the centre one is fixed and the outer windows open outwards by cranks.  The front door and picture window will get installed this week, they're the last of the doors and windows that need to go in.

Above left photo shows the three singel french doors and above right shows the roof just prior to setting the metal on it.  There are several braces that will be removed and you can see the frames of the interior walls.  

Above left is the kitchen, you would see this if you came in the front door and looked right.   Above right is the den, which would be on your left as you enter through the front door.  The two areas are open plan and the ceilings will be vaulted.  The braces in the photos will be removed.

Above left is the master bathroom.  All you can see there is the window that will be at the rear of the walk-in shower area.  Another short wall goes between it and the wall that separates it from the master bedroom (above left).  That wall will divide off the toilet.  The shower will have a bench against the wall and below the window and the walls and floor of the shower will be done in "rico-rock", which will make it look like a cave or cavern.  Above right is a photo looking through the framed wall into the master bedroom.  You can see the double french patio doors and the single french patio door on the left side.  These will open out to a wrap-around covered deck.

Finally, this is a view of the walk-in closet that has been framed out between the bathroom and kitchen.  We'll have "his and hers" bathroom vanities on either side of the opening to the closet.  [Rhonda, yours is on the left, mine on the right, so you know.]  The closet measures 5-1/2 feet deep by 15 feet wide.  Should be plenty of room in there for the two of us.

More next time... the metal is actually about half done on the house portion.  Later kids !!

Whoa !  Look at these Christmas Eve lobsters!  I can't wait to dig in!  What?  Another dozen in the sink?  You mean I get seconds?  Thirds?  Leftover lobster sandwiches?  

Unbelievable but true...  eat your hearts out, this is Christmas in Nova Scotia.

The lovely Pamela (Rhonda's sister) is putting the finishing touches on the table while Dad cleans lobsters in the sink.  We're minutes away from enjoying a family tradition on Christmas Eve.

We've had lots of snow, beer, presents and fun times.  It's great to spend time with Rhonda's family and catch up.  Christmas was a hoot, New Years spent at cousin Natalie's "Foggy Goggle" pub in Halifax - we got home in a blizzard that night around 5 am.  AND Rhonda and I went to a hockey game (Halifax Mooses v. PEI Rockets) !  A great game that went into overtime, lots of fights and skating - PEI (Prince Edward Island) won with a great goal with less than a minute in the 4th period, sorry Mooses.  [Yeah, I know, the plural of moose is "moose" but that's what they called them at the game.]

If you click on the photo you can make out my lobster in the lower right corner of the photo...

Here's a new photo of Chase.  He's grown a bit and his skin has improved.  We think he may have some sort of allergy but I give him 1/4 pill steroid every other day that keeps it under control.  Maybe when I get settled in  at the ranch he'll improve or I'll have him tested.  I've got him on prescription ultra-allergen free food, too.

Brock has a new e-mail address now, "brock@hanveys.com", so you can e-mail at that address directly.  

Exams are done for this term, YEAH !!  I don't want to jinx it but I think I did ok.  I'm really glad I don't have to study for a little while.  Exams are getting old and I'm looking forward to the day when I don't have to take any more of them.  Only 3 exams left !  

We're framing the roof this week on the house but the metal will have to wait until after the holidays.  Scheduling workers this time of year is tough.  I'll be catching up on all my duties that I've put on hold during exam prep time.  The house, of course, is a high priority.  I'm looking forward to moving out there and getting all my stuff that's in storage.  Looking forward to a comprehensive job search as well.  I know this is a really bad time to look for work but who knows, maybe I'll find something that I like.  May take a while but that's okay, I'm sure things will improve soon.  The VA won't pay for foreign distance learning courses any more so that's a huge chunk out of my budget that would have helped smooth my transition.  Just my luck but I've already paid for the last three courses so I don't have to worry about that, only paying the bills, putting food on the table, just like everybody else.  Lots of layoffs in Rockdale, from Alcoa.  Hard times.

Well I'll be out of touch for a few weeks, for the holidays but I want to wish everyone a very happy/merry Christmas and happy new year.  Don't forget that Christmas is "Christ's mass", and that the focus should be on His gift to us of life.  I appreciate all your comments and e-mails, it means a lot to know you're interested in sharing your lives with us, as we are wanting to share ours with you.  So Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Phil and Rhonda with much love.  Miss you all terribly in England and wish we could afford to just hop on a jet and come for a visit.  Love to all our families and can't wait to see you during this holiday season.  Thanks so much for all your e-mails, cards and letters... it means a lot to us.  

Be of good cheer and remember how well we are all being taken care of now as always and give thanks!  God bless!  See you next year!