I bought the black backpack on the right about fifteen years ago at some place like Marshall’s, T.J.Maxx, or one of those outlet malls. I lucked into a very, very good backpack that was rugged, functional (pockets in all the right places), not too big, not too small, and easy to carry. After a lot of hard use, it was time to make a change, but it truly seems like I am saying goodbye to an old and faithful friend. Lorena helped me find a new backpack at Marshall’s based on what I learned from the old one. I think a lot of the features of the new one are the same, quite a few are better or did not exist in the old one, and one or two are not as good. I really like that there is an external jack to connect to a USB power brick and there are some pockets that will really help me get through airports more easily. In addition, I will be able to easily carry two laptops which I will need when we move to Mexico. All in all, I think it was a good purchase.
Kelly painted this watercolor of a bee on a postcard for a friend how plans to enter it in a charity auction. I do not know if she has any chance of winning, but she certainly had fun doing it. She has one more day in Cornwall after which she will head to London for a few days, then attend a church convention somewhere near by. After that, she will have a day or two in London then catch an airplane just in time to make the long move from West to East coast.
This is the fig tree in Christian’s kitchen. He has been nourishing it faithfully for a long time and now has some figs to show for it. It has been a bit of a struggle because he has to take it to the lab so one of his friends there can take care of it whenever he travels. It is nice to be able to work remotely from Arizona in February. This is the first time I have really taken advantage of the opportunity, but I am really glad to be able to do it.
The girls recent trip to England reminded me of a trip we took almost exactly 12 years ago to see a full size replica of Stonehenge put up as a memorial to the soldiers from Klickitat County, Washington who died in World War I. There is a description of it all 
Lorena and Kelly are safely back home now. I picked them up at the airport yesterday. They had a fabulous time and are already planning their return to Europe, or maybe down under. Either way, they are now world travelers, or so they say. One thing is still true, it is always good to be back on terra firma in the United States with their constitutional rights intact, now longer depending on the “free” NHS of the UK for what passes as health care (oxymoron that it is in that part of the world). They met wonderful people, ate wonderful food, and have wonderful, wonderful memories of a wonderful place. Rightly so. A truly phenomenal first trip over the pond.
After high tea at the Savoy Hotel, the only logical way to up your game gastronomically is to go to McDonald’s. I am seriously worried about Kelly though–she actually said, “the ketchup is better here.” A couple of questions are begged at this point. 1) Who goes to London for food? and 2) Who judges a McDonald’s by the quality of its ketchup. Still, there is no down side to a happy meal. Still I am happy for Lorena. As an avid McDonald’s fan and ex-multi-year employee, it was important for her to check out the McDonald’s in England. She has visited a McDonald’s in every country in North America, so now she wants to do Europe.