The past two months have been busy. People tend to say that quite often. It's a great sort-of apology when you've been neglecting aspects of your life. "Oh, I'm sorry I haven't answered that email you sent me three months ago. It's been so busy." But in all honesty, I feel like I've not even had a chance to enjoy the few short holidays I've had recently, because I was either working during them or as soon as I came back I hit the ground running.
I can't believe how behind I am with this podcast episode recap! It has been nearly four weeks since our eighth episode went out and in that time I don't think I've had a spare moment to really reflect on our August podcast. Luckily, I managed to find some spare moments today to put into writing some things that have come to mind.
Cambridge is a cycling town. During the morning rush hour you're just as likely to see herds of cyclists barreling down the roads and paths of the city as you are cars. It's one of the things I really enjoy about living here. There's even a bicycle highway of sorts here. The guided busway links Cambridge and St. Ives, a town about 16 miles to the northwest. I've written before about a brief ride Jeremy and I took down the busway but a few weekends ago, we finally had the chance to do the whole thing. We took a day and cycled to St. Ives and back along a beautiful stretch of the English countryside.
Those of you who have been following my Instagram for the past several months know that I have been training for the British 10K. Three times a week, I would lace up my trainers and pound the pavements around Cambridge. There have been ups and downs, runs where I felt amazing and runs where I questioned my sanity at taking on this challenge. This past weekend though, the training came to an end and it was time to put myself to the test.
It has been eight days since I released the seventh episode of You Say Toma(h)to but it feels like it has been months. July has been very busy here in Cambridge. We've moved house, I ran the British 10K, and . . . well that's about it so far, but still that's quite a lot. I'm hoping to write a few posts about all the goings on here in the next couple of weeks. But that's not why you're here reading this. You're here because you want the inside scoop on our seventh episode. Well, here it is.
My fledgling National Trust membership has been getting quite a bit of exercise over the past couple months. Between trips to Anglesey Abbey and Wicken Fen, I've had more than my fair share of tea and scones. Last weekend, I had the chance to add yet another property to my list, Wimpole Estate in Royston. A short fifteen minute drive from Cambridge takes you to some gorgeous countryside, formal gardens, and the obligatory country house.
With temperatures across Britain set to break record highs, Jeremy and I decided to try to survive the heat by renting a car and driving to the seaside town of Hunstanton on the Norfolk Coast. I can't claim responsibility for this brilliant idea. Jeremy came home from a long day at work last week and made the suggestion that we treat ourselves to a day at the beach. I couldn't agree fast enough.
Jeremy and I had a "delicious" time making this month's episode of You Say Toma(h)to. Alright, puns aside, discussing the foods of our respective nations was quite fun. I must admit though, the more episodes we make in which I try to discuss things "American" the more I realise that I can only speak for my own experience as a girl from the Northeast. We've got our fair share of diverse restaurants and the like, but when it comes to speaking for American cuisine, I find it difficult to know where to begin.
If you've been following my Instagram, you've probably seen that I'm training for the London 10K next month. At least three times a week I can be seen on the streets and trails of Cambridge ambling along at what seems to me to be breakneck pace (though to most of the world is a bit on the slow side) gradually increasing my distance. Last week, I finally broke 9K which feels like an enormous accomplishment. It was even better to celebrate my running progress by participating in the London Color Run this past Sunday.
It started innocently enough. I just wanted to organise some of the wayward files on my computer and clear a bit of space to help my rather elderly, rather overwhelmed laptop cope a bit better with the day to day tasks required of it. I uninstalled some of my games as I tend to know play exclusively on Jeremy's desktop, I streamlined my PhD files, making sure all the journal articles, administrative documents, and my papers had proper homes.
an american in durham 