London Calling....

Liz arrives in London...what a whirlwind!!

2008-07-16T06:41:00.000-07:00

So I picked up and moved to London last Friday...admittedly, its a very strange feeling. I had been staying in Buffalo for the past month recoving from shoulder surgery - great timing in a way as I got to spend time with my family before I took off for new adventures...Thursday afternoon my Dad drove me up to Toronto so I could catch my flight up out to London on Air Canada...tried to check in but no luck, had to wait a few hours before I could and then when I did it was a heart attack in the making - my passport is a bit too "teathered" to be acceptable so they weren't going to allow me to go - that would have been quite the surprise! But, thankfully, because I had a work permit, all was good and I was sent off to the Air Canada lounge - which, by the way, was great....all the food and booze you want!! I boarded around 730 and we took off at 830, and I have to say, business class definitely spoils you - it was wonderful!! A nice dinner, a movie, a little snooze, some light breakfast and then a big Welcome to London Heathrow airport.

I deplaned and then headed up to immigration, obviously, after Air Canada almost not allowing me on the flight, I was a bit nervous but apparently I was the least of their worries because after 30 seconds at the desk, I had my stamp and I was on my way..I picked up my luggage (by myself as there was no one there to help - not a really good thing for a girl in a sling to do!) and headed out the door - those of you who have been through Heathrow know that customs seems to be more of a hallway than a government agency! Keith from Egham Cars was waiting to pick me up and immediately recognized me with my lovely black brace. He delivered me to the Richmond Hill Hotel about 20 minutes later where I checked in, showered and prepared to go househunting with Claire from the settling in service...

The Richmond Hill Hotel - my new home for the next few weeks...

The view of the River Thames from my hotel...beautiful!!

I was a bit tired but certainly excited to go out and see the new world that was I was about to become a part of.

Claire and I started off at the bank - good tip for any of you that are considering moving here - open a bank account asap - it typically takes 2 weeks for the UK government to ensure you are not here to start a money laundering scheme!! So after filling out tons of paperwork and trying to figure out postcodes/addresses/phone numbers...we were off to see some apartments or flats as they are called here. I saw four flats throughout the afternoon, got caught in a shower or two and then headed back to the hotel - I was exhausted!! The flats were quaint and each had their charm but there wasn't one that said "Liz and Lucy...welcome home!". When I returned I was starving so I decided to walk down to High street - each town center has a high street - its the equivalent of main street.

On the road down into town...about a miles walk.

After a bit of dinner at a sicilian place, i walked next door to see Mama Mia! the movie - an attempt to keep myself awake. I learned that the seats are reserved in the movie theaters here!! Who knew! After a rousing and entertianing ABBA concert witha theater full of 45 year old british women dancing, I headed back up the hill, popped into the bar for a quick night cap and met my first friend here - Michael Scott - aka Scottie - Mike is a consultant who flies in and out and stays at the hotel quite a bit....he knows the area so he gave me some quick pointers and I headed to bed...what a day!

Happy Easter!

2007-04-08T12:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter to you! Hope your holiday was as nice and relaxing as ours! Lucy and I left Boston on Friday morning and made the trek to Buffalo...7 hours, 4oo plus miles...me and Lucy, I guess you could call it bonding time! It is one long drive!

So, we finally arrived in Buffalo to be greated by snow in April - of course....why would it be spring here yet?? Finn was thrilled to Lucy - I'm sure the feeling was mutual because check this guys out running through the backyard!

And, yes, Miss Lucy did get her hair cut for the big trip home...she had to be well groomed to see her first flame Finnegan! I took Lucy to Dewberry's Dog's for her first haircut in Boston on Wednesday - and what a cut! She looks like a different dog!! Maybe a bit like an Easter lamb?? Don't worry the curls will grow back...but isn't it nice to see that cute face?? And how about that new spring collar? So Friday night was a stay in night for the Henry family...it was kind of suprise to have all the kids home for Easter. Its been a long time since we've celebrated Easter together as a family. Dad cooked a wonderful meal on Friday night - in traditional Good Friday fashion, it was a seafood platter...shrimp, scallops and smoked salmon paired with salad and tons of wine...later on that night, tons of friends stopped by - what a great night!

Mom in the Kitchen

Em enjoying a cold on in the new kitchen

First toast at the new kitchen table...

And Finn patiently watching Lucy and watching for any scraps that may fall from the new table....sorry Finny!

Old friends stopping by for some catching up - Robin & Chris

So then Saturday we celebrated Dad's birthday as we were all home and his birthday is April 16th...off we went to Allentown Hardware for a Family Toast before heading to La Tee Da's for a wonderful birthday celebration.

So Easter morning meant going to church at 10 as Katie had to fly back to Philly at 3 so it was an early start for these partyers! And, of course it wouldn't be Easter if it wasn't for the Egg game...Mom, the reigning champion took on Emmett first...she was met with defeat! Emmett then took on Katie, Katie took on me and then I had it out with Dad...
And Dad won!! Even after a challenge from the Ow-man!!

Congratulations Dad! Until next year....

Christmas for the Girls...in March??

2007-03-25T09:03:00.000-07:00

It was Girls' Weekend in Boston...

...and we definitely took it by storm!

This year for Christmas I gave my mother a Jet Blue giftcard so she could come and visit me in Boston...and, since we could plan ahead a bit, my sister joined as well! Yippee!! So, it was the Henry Girls in Beantown and boy did we have fun!!
Friday afternoon, my sister Katie and I picked up my mom at the airport and it was off to the Barking Crab for some lunch and a few cocktails. We had a great time sitting at the bar and overlooking the ocean. It was a beautiful afternoon, perfect weather to be down by the water...and very fun lunch!

Don't worry, that little guy wasn't lunch...we just wanted to say hello! After lunch, we headed back home to unpack - Lucy was very excited to see her Gram and her Aunt! My mom even brought me a surprise - my favorite boots!!I think the boots are growing on my mother!And there's Katie with Lucy...they were so happy to see one another!

Friday night we headed over to the Dish were Jo met up with us. Denice was very sweet and started out our weekend right with champagne on the house! Thank you Denice! Dinner was fantastic, as usual, although a bit strange to be there on a Friday instead of Monday night. But, the Monday night crew will be there as per usual tomorrow night...sitting at the bar and solving the world's problems!

So, after dinner at the Dish, we headed across the street to the Franklin for a cocktail before calling it a night. Katie's friends from college joined us there, who knew we would become such a big crew!

Saturday morning we got up and out of Boston we went! Lucy got to come along for the ride as we headed up to Newburyport. What a quaint little town! Lucy, Mom & Kate loved the waterfront (they mentioned planning my 30th bday up there at the restaurant...um, that's not for a LONG time still!!!)

Lucy got into the nautical theme, she was the star of the petstore in town as she modeled all of the dog accessories. What a cute hat Ms. Lucy!!

After a wonderful afternoon of poking around Newburyport and doing some shopping, we headed back into the city for a little wine and cheese before heading out to dinner at Petit Robert. Katie made a wonderful appetizer for the crew - we enjoyed the appetizers so much we almost didn't have room for dinner! No worries though, we had a wonderful meal with some wonderful vino at Petit Robert...maybe a bit too much vino??

Cheers!!

Some Wellfleet oysters? Yum!!Katie at Dinner - doesn't she look great!!

After dinner, and a bit of standing in the snow, we hailed a cab and headed down to the Greatest Bar for a 30th Bday party. Mom's friend Beverly was in town celebrating her son JJ's 30th...a little dancing to make the evening memorable perhaps??

Mom & Bev - friends since college!!

The trip finished with a quick brunch at Stella before heading back to the airport...now its naptime!! See you girls in two weeks for Easter back in Buffalo!!

And for the record...Lucy does dance!! :)

St. Patty's Day a bit late & with the Brits!!

2007-03-22T15:28:00.000-07:00

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!

As many of you know, St. Patrick's Day is my favorite holiday and a Henry Family tradition...this was the first year in many that I actually wasn't home, toasting the parade & the irish from Colter Bay on Delaware Avenue. Instead, we did it Boston style with some Brits on Tuesday! And, the party was extra celebratory as Jo finally returned from her whirlwind tour of Poland and Geneva...good thing she finally came back...Denice needed a kiss!

Chef Denice made us some corned beef and cabbage...the Brits were quite relieved when they found out that the beef didn't come out of a can (think Hash) but rather out of a pot of boiling goodness...I think all in attendance agreed that it was the definition of delicious!

Unfortunately, the Mad Brit didn't get any smooches...but can you blame us?? He didn't seem too friendly!! :)

However, the doggies did do a bit better than the Mad Brit...Bronson, Lucy and Ed took full advantage of the festivities. With all of the commotion Lucy decided to steal a piece of meat from Denice and before anyone could do anything...she dropped it right off for Ed to eat! Now if that isn't love, I don't know what is!!

Welcome Home Jo!!

Oxana's Farewell

2007-03-22T10:37:00.000-07:00

Bye Bye Oxie!! Good Luck...You are already missed! XXX

So, guess i should start with the big goodbye for Oxana. Oxana has decided to leave Boston and move back to Moscow (for 4 days!!) and then she is heading off to the Swiss Alps, the Caribbean and then finally moving to Amsterdam to join Nike...Congratulations Oxana!! Monday night was Oxana's farewell party. We went to Stella as Oxana had actually never been to my second home! I have to say - they did a great job and made us feel very, very welcome. Robin joined us from the kitchen and sent out tons of food and the whole staff welcomed us with open arms... great food, great drink and lots of laughs! I think Oxie had a great time as did all of her well wishers -Ozgur, Ihab,Vimla, Hilary, Melissa, Nancy, Ericka and I but we missed Rishi, Sam and Preeti too!! I'm not quite sure how all of our heads felt the next morning after all of that red wine and champagne!!

Ihab was the lucky guy - solo with 9 girls!! It doesn't get much better than that does it? :)
Oxie, you know you are going to be missed...I will always think of you whenever I see our favorite Margherita pizza...yum yum!

Until Amsterdam!

Just a little background...

2007-03-12T12:15:00.000-07:00

Meet Lucy!!!

Since all of my friends who have gone through momentous life changes have recently decided to start blogging about them, I thought I should as well...I want the whole world to meet Lucy!!

Lucy is my new Portuguese Water Dog. She's 2 and 1/2, born in Cheasapeake, VA on May 9, 2004 to Pat Cazenave at Navio Kennels (www.naviopwd.com) and handled by Julie Parker in Erie, PA. In her previous life, Lucy was a Champion Portuguese Water Dog...but now, she's my best friend and partner in crime, living and loving life in Boston...

So, how did Lucy and I end up together??

Well, Lucy needed a new home and I needed a dog in my life...and thanks to my parents' pup Finn....

Lucy got connected into the Henry family when Julie Parker dropped Finn off in October of 2006. Then, Lucy came for a visit over Christmas and instantly became part of the Henry Clan.

I don't think that there could have been a better present! Thank you Santa!!

Aren't these two adorable??

After a week, Lucy and I decided that she should make the move to Boston to be with me full time...so we went back to Erie so she could say her goodbye's to Julie and the PWD pups there....
Then, in January, Lucy was all packed and ready for the big move to Boston. Lucy's move was such a big deal that she drew an international welcoming committee...Oxana from Russia and Jo from the UK trekked all the way to Buffalo on one of the coldest winter weekends to meet Lucy and travel with us back to Boston...

But, we couldn't head back to Boston without a quick trip to Niagara Falls, and a huge Henry family celebration!

Thank you for such a wonderful weekend Mom & Dad...we all had so much fun. What wonderful memories!!

Even the dogs had fun!!

So, now life in Boston is starting to settle in. Lucy loves her new best friend Ed (don't worry Finn, she misses you too!!). Ed is a 1 year old golden (Happy Birthday Ed!) who lives upstairs with his totally cool mom Denise. Lucy and Ed walk together on the weekends exploring Boston together....running and rolling in mud in all of Boston's historic sights from the Public Gardens to the North End....having tons of fun doing it!! And, it isn't all that bad for the 'mom's' either - brunch at Tremont 647 and Houston's, not too shabby!!

Yes, Mom and Mom are having some Big Girl Mimosas...but they aren't too far away!!

And, Lucy loves her dog walker Claudia who takes her around the South End every afternoon so she can meet and greet all of the neighbors. At night, we head over to Blackstone Park to hang with the pack and play some ball before cuddling up and calling it a night. She has quite the full social calendar...last week was Ed's birthday party where we had tons of fun...the moms and the dogs!!

This past Friday night, Lucy got a bit of an impromptu haircut...I was chewing some gum, blowing a bubble and ooops, there Lucy goes for a kiss...bye bye curls!! But, all in all...not so bad...check this good looking girl out!!

So, all in all, the Portuguese and the Irish girl are having a blast...we'll be sure to keep you updated!!