Arizona Winter

This is really a great place to spend winter. There has been some rain but I don't spend any time shoveling it off the sidewalk, like my poor Washington State friends. Julie and I got here after new years day and had a great visit with family and friends. After a week she returned to England for work. I stayed behind and got a container of furniture loaded and sent on the slow boat overseas. Then I got another load sent to the Lake Chelan house. We downsized from 4500 ft. to a 1700 sq. ft. house in Az. That left a bunch of furniture to get rid of. Also I got my most favorite duty of the year... The tax return. Since we move so often, we have tax info going everywhere. It's always a struggle to put all of the figures together. This will be the first year without residential rentals. These have been traded for two commercial properties, that makes the bookwork much easier. Then when I get the US return done, there is the offshore portion. Everywhere we go the tax-man has his hand out. Don't you love it!
This week I'll take in the FBR PGA golf tourney. For a golf fan it's great and only 10 minutes away. I'm sure looking forward to going back home to England next week. Julie's there having all of the fun. Maybe she can teach me some UK driving skills.

First drive

We just received our new car, a mercedes benz 4 door with nav system. I woke up to a sunny day (this is Julie) and decided I would venture out. I was very nervous as the cars have the drivers seat on the right side and you drive on the left side of the road (yikes)! I got the Guildford map out and picked out a short route where I could venture out and find my way back ratherly easily. I went down to the car, started it up and low and behold, it does have a nav system but they forgot to give me the cd to go along with it!!! Oh my god! Now what. I have calls in to everyone to find a cd, no way will I drive farther then my map until I get that sorted. Anyway, I did find a nice little route, took a spin and had a little difficulty at the first round-about but after a moment of panic managed to get around. I successfully completed the route and even back tracked to find a petrol station and filled the car up with diesel. It cost approx 50 pounds which is close to $100 US, won't be driving that much! I made it back to my parking garage and was completely satisfied with myself that I had braved the driving for the first time! Yeah. Phil is still in the states and it is rather lonely here but I did have a great day today shopping the high street and driving. Cheers for now!

UK Haircut

So I go for my first UK haircut and guess what......I can't afford it. 35 pounds, was the price. Thats $70.00 US. Now that I'm back in Arizona I took advantage of a $20.00 haircut, and look at the money I saved. I might have made a big mistake telling Jerry, the barber what the English price is. He'll no doubt double his prices for all his clients, or just move there himself.

O'l Grandpa

Here is our first grandchild, Kiana. Now that we are back in Arizona we have some quality family time that we've been missing. Shown here is 10 month old Kiana, with ME! her Grandfather. There has always been some doubt that a "Roddy" would ever be born with as much charm and intelligence as this proud grandparent. This cute little girl might be the first. Don't we make a gorgeous couple!

Business Class

It's the only way to fly. This is what business class looks like on a 747. This is on the upper deck of the plane. The seats recline all the way for a good nights sleep. Each seat has it's own TV screen, complete with movie choices, TV shows and games. With an 11 hour flight we were served 2 meals with any drink choice from a full bar. This flight was picked up by Barclays in which we shipped our furniture from Arizona to the UK.

The Smart Car

These little cars are quite popular here. With gas prices $10.50 per gallon this car is cheap as it gets, getting over 50 miles per gallon. It will go over 70 mph and is about the size of a golf cart. There is a sport model that is even smaller with a removable top. It can be parked almost anywhere, and has all of the options.

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2007

I GUESS THIS IS OUR OFFICIAL CHRISTMAS LETTER..AFTER FINALLY GETTING SETTLED, WE CAN WISH EVERYONE A MERRY CHRISTMAS. EVERYTHING HAS BEEN SUCH A SCRAMBLE FOR US THAT WE ARE HAPPY TO SIT BACK AND ENJOY EACH OTHER WITH OUR 3 FT. CHRISTMAS TREE. IT IS JUST LIKE THE USA, WITH EVERYONE ON THE STREETS THE DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS, A BLOODY ZOO! THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS IS ALSO A HOLIDAY IN ENGLAND. IT'S CALLED BOXING DAY. THE WAY I UNDERSTAND IT, IT RELATES TO BOXING UP ALL OF THE EXTRA CHRISTMAS DAY FOOD, AND GIVING IT AWAY ON THE DAY AFTER. SO THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS WE WILL BE THINKING OF ALL FAMILY AND FRIENDS. DON'T' WASTE TOO MUCH TIME FEELING SORRY FOR US BECAUSE WE'RE LIVING THE DREAM, MEETING NEW PEOPLE EVERY DAY AND HAVING A BLAST.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM PHIL & JULIE