Furlough Fun

As you may have heard, the U.S. Government shut down on October 1st. I'll leave my political views out of this, except to say that as an American living abroad it is a huge source of embarrassment. How do I explain to my British friends that my country, which is supposed to be a leader of the free world and an example to other nations, shut down because our leaders can't talk to each other. Partisan politics have gotten completely out of hand. The fact that 800,000 government employees, including my husband, are currently without work is absurd. Since I left my job to come here, it means our family is not earning any money at the moment. Thankfully, we'll be fine, but there are thousands of others who are  suffering.

Most of my friends out here are furloughed as well. It's been a weird, but oddly fun week. Everyone is just trying to make the most of it. Our friends Felicity and Ryan threw a pancake breakfast party and Sarah and Randy threw a frugal potluck lunch where the item you brought couldn't cost more than £5.

Since we had the time, Dan and I decided to take a mid-week trip to the Lake District. We found a great deal on Travelzoo for that night. Windermere is only a couple of hours away, so we were able to leave in the afternoon and get there in time for dinner. The hotel, Hillthwaite House, was amazing. Our voucher included breakfast, a four-course dinner, tea and scones, and a bottle of prosecco. They had an indoor pool and sauna that we took full advantage of. 

She may not look it, but she loves it

Love the sauna!

The greatest part of the hotel was that it had a baby monitor in the room! I've never seen this before, but it is absolutely brilliant! You dial a number on the phone and leave the phone off the hook. Then you pick up a mobile phone from the front desk and can listen in to your room from anywhere in the hotel. Dan and I enjoyed our first post-baby meal alone. Even though I was listening to the phone every couple of seconds, it was so liberating to be on a date with my husband. I miss those days.

The next day we took a drive around the lakes.  The weather was terrible, but we had a great time exploring Keswick seeing the gorgeous scenery.

 

Keswick is a cute little town with several good restaurants, art museums and shops. We had a snack in an all-vegetarian restaurant called the Lakeland Peddler; and lunch in an art museum. The food was OK, but the desserts looked incredible!

I sincerely hope that Congress can work together to bring the government back online, but until that time we'll just do our best to enjoy our time together.