Sorry for the prolonged silence.  I flew back to the States the morning after the May Ball and spent 3 wonderful weeks, mainly with my parents and my sister.  I was also able to get up to New Hampshire to visit Geoff's parents.  Being so far away from family has made me really appreciate the time we do get to spend together.  I think a lot of the time we can become so busy that we take family time for granted and don't realise what we have until it is too late.  I am ever aware of the fact that Geoff and I are really lucky to have the support that we do from our families. 

We have had a lovely sunny day, today.  It's breezy and warm, and not too many tourists to cycle around.  My days have been spent doing various things, such as job hunting, rowing, running, and cooking.  Some days, I get frustrated with the fact that I don't have the 'right' passport or visa and can't get a job as easily as I might if I were an EU citizen.  Generally, I have decided that I should take advantage of the fact that I have this wonderful luxury of time - something I didn't have for a while - and to enjoy it.  In keeping with this new attitude, Geoff and I tried to go on a picnic the other day.  It seemed like a really good idea and it was a beautiful day.  We put together nice sandwiches and a fruit salad, packed up everything and got out to one of the more secluded gardens.  Then, we proceeded to eat all the food quickly and didn't really know what to do with ourselves.   There were lots of spiders around, too, and we didn't know where they were coming from.  We are not sure whether we're picnic people, but we'll give it another try sometime soon.

I will write with more regularity - maybe I will even commit to a weekly schedule... watch this space.