"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"

We have tried every possible configuration of our living room in an effort to display a traditional Christmas tree. Alas we have surrendered to decorating our mantel with boughs of evergreen and pine cones and bulb ornaments, which, to our surprise, has successfully filled our cozy cottage with Christmas cheer. Alex created his first ever impressive Christmas wreath, hung with love on our front door.

As our Vagher traditions meet Quinn traditions meet English traditions we are planning a divine Christmas feast of turkey, stuffing and roast potatoes. We will entertain the Vagher family custom of opening just one present on Christmas Eve, whilst enjoying hors d'oeuvres of shrimp and cocktail sauce. We will adhere to the Quinn family tradition of unraveling the bulk of red and green ribbon on Christmas Day. Though not before we have unstuffed our stockings and delighted in some fresh squeezed orange juice, croissants with jam and cappuccinos or maybe bloody ceasars. Needless to say, we will not go hungry on our first Christmas as the Dr. and Mrs. Though we will be hungry to talk to our loved ones and share in the joy of the holiday season. "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night."

Bicycle Haiku

if my wheels were square
or triangles; trapezoids;
life would be harder
Alex has now left the number 20 Stagecoach bus from Old Woodstock to Oxford behind him and is venturing the 8 miles to work on his new bicycle (thanks Mum and Dad!). And what a difference it makes. It's 20 minutes faster in the morning, which allows him to hang around drinking coffee with Renae until she leaves, he can stop off at Marks & Spencers on his way home for gummies (they have some of the best we've ever had) and other provisions, and he can always leave on his own schedule.

ride to work today
challenge oppressive powers
and survive the fray
At the end of the National Cycle Network bicycle path he rides on to work (no sharing the wrong side of the road necessary), Alex arrives at the University of Oxford to an office of 14 other colleagues in the Cardiac Mechano-Electric Feedback Group. Currently, he spends much of his day there, in front of the computer on his corner desk, working on computational models, abstracts, manuscripts, and grants.

keep on pedaling
through the muck and the mire
to make room for beer
Downstairs in the laboratory is the work he is really excited about getting to in the New Year. Here he has setup a Langendorff apparatus for an isolated heart preparation where he will use a device to subject these hearts to controlled mechanical impacts to induce fibrillation to better understand the mechanisms of mechano-electrical interactions in ischaemia.

the answer my friend
is not blowing in the wind -
it's riding a bike
So far, he loves the people he's working with and the atmosphere of the group. He's learning a lot each day and is excited about the time he'll be spending here. It seems to definitely be the right fit!

English Health Farm

On my morning drive to work Ma Petite Auto nips along the 16 mile stretch of country roads, whilst I sip my morning coffee and soak in the country landscape with country tunes to boot. My Grandma Vagher calls me a "country girl" and I am finally livin' in the country. I quite enjoy my cheery commute to Hay barn, Daylesford, an organic and sustainable farm residing on the Daylesford Estate, where Lady Bamford (Lady because her husband was knighted, Sir Anthony Bamford, in 1990 and his company, JCB, has won a host of accolades for engineering and is Europe's premier manufacturer of construction equipment) nurtures a community/subculture of refined rustic elegance in produce, meat, cheese, chocolate, tea, clothing, garden goods, body products, treatments and yoga. Divine. The spa, named Hay barn (pictured above), is the final stop a visitor will experience on their trip to Daylesford after visiting the Farmshop, the Butcher, the Garden Shop and Bamford Barn (a clothing boutique). Hay barn is a refurbished barn made into a bright, dreamy smelling, spacious and serene spa...which is where I work in an all-white uniform, politely polishing my English hospitality. We offer tea to nearly everyone who comes through our barn door. Sounds perfect? Well, it is not, but that is alright...tell me a job that is perfect! I am learning to enjoy the good and ignore the bad. The good includes my one on one massage time with the high society of England, most of whom are nursing a hunting injury and filling my ears with blood sport stories, i.e. fox hunting, seriously steeped in tradition. My favorite quote thus far came from a quintessential British gentleman: "In America, they think 100 years is old. Here in England, we think 100 miles is far!"

How to be a Local (In the English Countryside)

One thing we wish the council handed out on moving to the English countryside was a badge that said something to the effect: "I live here, so I am NOT a tourist, as my accent makes you think." There's something about living in a small village that makes you want to immediately be recognized as a local. We discovered this weekend that it's all in the uniform. Our Wellies have arrived and we went out for a walk on Saturday that ended at the antique market in town. And to our delight, when chatting with the gentleman selling wonderful old brass implements, he said: "Where you two from? I mean, I know you must live here now by the Wellies on your feet, I was just wondering where you came from before living here." And the wisdom in his observation becomes very clear when one goes walking the paths around Woodstock, only to discover that many of the paths are in fact closer to rivers!

Quail Eggs, with a side of Streaky Bacon

As the previous post describing our local butcher's fair may have suggested, the food in the English countryside is not quite what we're used to. Take for example the breakfast consumed in Appletree Cottage by Alex this morning: Quail's eggs (4, as they are very small) with two pieces of "streaky" bacon (read "fatty", even though the bacon back home is far fattier), toast with red current jelly (not jam) and tea (not coffee). Working our way up to the local pigeon and blood sausage!

Ma Petite Auto

We are now the proud owners of a little French car, a Renault Clio. This is the island of small, fuel efficient cars (smart considering that the petrol is twice the price as the US). When searching for our car we were rightfully humored by the British style of marketing their cars: tidy, great runner, reason for sale fancy new car, two lady owners, mechanically sound, good tyres, lovely condition, first to view will buy, (oh and our personal favorite) nippy. And boy is our car ever nippy! Yes the steering wheel is on the wrong side of the car and yes they drive on the wrong side of the road and yes we have to change gears with our left hand; it's amazing how quickly we noticed our left hand weakness. Surprisingly, the biggest challenge at first (foreign and seemingly obscure road signs set aside) was finding the rear view mirror to the left instead of the right. Driving on the left side of the road with these minor changes can be a bit disorienting and also kind of entertaining, given one's ability to adapt. Ahh, and the roundabouts...don't even get us started! We might strangle each other over those damn roundabouts. Renae is happily driving deeper into the Cotswolds 18 miles each way for her new work experience. Stay tuned for a blogger-tour of Daylesford Organics. Maybe Alex will also give a blogger-hypothesis of his research fellowship thus far.

Fresh Pheasant

The Woodstock Family Butcher is amazingly "country." Alex and Renae have marveled at the array of meats for sale: pheasant (see hanging in the picture), poussin, pigeon, partridge, guinea fowl, duck and quail to name a few. Alex is dying to cook up a pigeon and Renae's time in NYC has given her the lasting sensation of repulsion for pigeons, poor little guys. We are hoping to order up a turkey for Thanksgiving if we are able to convince our American friends (come on Wuj, Ian, Jeremy and Joey!) to come over for a feast. On our daily walks through Blenheim Park we see many of the said birds and wonder whose the lucky Sir or Lady to stalk the Duke of Marlbourough's land. It is tempting to bring along a gun for our walks, as we often see a fence lined with precious pheasants.

Learning Where to Duck

We have lived here at Appletree Cottage for two and a half weeks now. We have been to Quiz Night at our pub across the street, Alex has started his fellowship at Oxford, Renae starts her new job on Sunday and we just got internet yesterday.

We love our little cottage, which by the way is over 200 years old! It wreaks of old-English charm; wood beams, low ceilings and drafty doors and windows. Our evenings are warmed with a wood burning stove and our mornings are entertained by Alex bumping his head on the bedroom door frame, nearly every time. This gate is only 10 yards from our cottage and our passageway to long walks in the English countryside of Blenheim Park (we are dying to get our wellies), home of Blenheim Palace and 2100 acres of nature. Fall is here and the trees are old, big and beautiful. We are simply wild about the country lifestyle. Last Saturday we had a load of wood delivered and argued over whether or not to stack it or just chuck it inside our shed. I bet most of you are predicting who was on which side of the discussion...and you are wrong! For once Alex wanted to be laissez-faire regarding the wood and Renae was insisting on a kempt woodshed, of which to be proud. Guess we are both aspiring to be more like each other. Kinda scary! Well, Renae prevailed and the wood is now stacked very nicely and happily in the shed and eager to warm our winter.

We have a guest bedroom awaiting visitors, come one come all...we miss you!

Pre and Post Wedding

Everything in our lives is now categorized into pre and post wedding. Pre wedding we wrapped up our existence (sadly) in Brooklyn and moved to Colorado/Canada (happily) for the summer. We had a dreamy summer with our families. On August 30, 2008 we married! Here we are, Dr. and Mrs. Quinn, living in the UK. Here is where our blog begins...

Click here to view our wedding montage!