Your home sounds wonderful. I am fine and getting used to village life, but not feeling completely settled yet. I imagine that will take more time. I have joined the village choir and my first performance with them is on Sunday. It is an "international" gig, so we have hired a bus to take us over the border into England. We will be "on the road" for about 25 minutes.

The locals have been very friendly and have included us in many events. I have put my name forward for the village Panto, so I might have to hire an acting coach. do you have any recommendations From what I can gather it is a lot of fun and a bit of a spoof on life in the village.

OH is driving me nuts and I am hoping that he will get some contract work in the New Year. He has taken over the kitchen, which is fine by me, but I am not used to having him around all the time and I need time on my own.

I am still enjoying the weather, the locals must think I am mad. Not keen on the black ice on the roads, so hoping that the winter won't be too bad.
All the best for 2013.

Britwhore, I just saw your post. I'm sorry things have been tough but like everyone said (you included) just a little time and I'm sure things will look brighter.

The job thing is tough, but if it's any consolation, the average job search now is 6 months - and longer in some cases - so don't be discouraged that your husband hasn't had success yet. It will come.

Your home sounds idyllic. I'm a country girl through and through and after so many years living right on the edge of the big bad city, I'm loving village life, but if you're a city girl, I can imagine it would be hard to adjust to.

Hang in there and I'm wishing you nothing but happiness.

Hi Britwhore,
Sorry to hear you are having a rough time. Hopefully OH will get a job soon and you will be able to feel a little more settled. We are still surrounded by boxes, and I agree it is not a good feeling. We have applied for planning permission to extend our house. The determination deadline was last Friday, but we did not hear anything. I finally managed to get a planning official to return my calls yesterday. It seems that our original case officer has been off sick for some time, and our case was only reassigned this week. So basically the last 8 weeks have been completely wasted because nothing has happened yet. Not happy. Now our new assigned case officer has to start the ball rolling again. Deep breaths.
Anyway, I am glad the dogs are happy at least, and I hope things start to look up for you very soon. Our kids are loving their new school and have made friends, but our daughter complains on a daily basis about the cold and lack of sunshine!
Best wishes for the New Year.

Sorry to hear this, Britwhore. I was completely determined that I wanted to move back, but have to confess there have been the odd times when I realise that living in the US has changed me and I can never be the same again. I don't want to go back there to live, but just miss odd little things.
You've come from LA, which must be loads different from where you've pitched up in the UK. Hang on in there, this is the worst time of the year in the UK. The days are shortest and its blimmin cold.
I hope your husband finds a job soon. That places lots of strain when you're going through the job finding process. Can't offer much, but some empathy. Moving back, even if we want to, can involve mixed emotions. For me it's been happiness mixed with guilt (what if it doesn't work out?), apprehension about the future, and worrying the whole house of cards might fall down.
It will be nice to keep in touch and see how our lives move on in the next year.

SallySimmons - Thanks for the encouragement! 6 months? yikes! Oh well, we've been here 4 so hopefully in the new year something will pop up!

Pombat - sorry to hear about the planning permission. Not good. I hope the new case officer actually gets something done soon. Yeah living surrounded by boxes is not fun. I've got OODLES of time to actually be sorting thru the stuff and yet I find that I don't have the energy.....

jemima55 - thanks for your kind words. It's such an interesting mind-set to be in right now. Trying to stay sane (sane-ish!) and remember why I moved back. I'm definitely a routine person and my routine in LA was comforting in a way so being over here and trying to find my feet is very unsettling to say the least. Looking forward to hearing about your life next year and the plans you decide to make.

One thing's already worked out. Our son, who came back with us is now working. He was a student in the States, and going nowhere with it. At least now he's earning some pennies and in a better place, although still degree-less. He's so much happier in himself.
I'm going to be looking for a job in the New Year.
Also, we just took our (late) summer holiday in Belgium and Germany. It was so nice to return to England after!