FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Why are you in the USA?

Because Mr D's work wanted him to move to Phoenix, Arizona for 2 years, and then they wanted him to stay so we thought it was time for an adventure.

Where are you in the USA?

Phoenix, Arizona.

Where are you from?

This is probably the question I get asked the most here. Although it usually goes like this:

"I love your accent! Where you from?"

I'm from the UK.

Oh, the Ukraine? You don't sound Russian.

No, the UK - the United Kingdom?

*spots blank look on question-asker's face*

Great Britain?

*occasionally the blank look continues on the asker's face*

...erm, England.

Oh England, I love England. So are you from London?

No, I'm from the North East

*decides not to says Stockton-on-Tees, or even Middlesbrough to someone who hasn't heard of the UK, so goes with:*

Near Newcastle?

*blank look*

Near Scotland, but we've been living in Shropshire for nearly 20 years.

*blank look*

Near Birmingham?

*blank look gets blanker*

...erm, near Wales.

*asker nods unconvincingly to try and make out they know where Wales is so that they can quickly end the conversation*

Is you daughter really called Melchett?

No, it's a nickname we call her, mainly because she came out of the womb shouting and hasn't stopped - "shout, shout and shout again" as Stephen Fry actually said when he played the Duke of Wellington in Blackadder III...but he basically played the same character in as General Sir Anthony Cecil Hogmanay Melchett VC DSO KCB in Blackadder Goes Forth:

My eldest daughter is however called Goth Child. Joke.

Is it hot there?

Yes, it's in the 80s F (upper 20s C) in the winter and in 3 digits during the summer with the top heat being about 115 F (46 C).

But as everyone here says "it's a dry heat" so the lack of humidity and the fact that our bodies have acclimatised means that it's not as bad as it sounds.

I didn't understand people telling me, "you just learn to hibernate in the summer" but I do now...if you want to do anything outdoors (shopping, walking to your car, gardening) you need to get it done before 10am or it's pretty unbearable.

Do people really drive their cars there wearing oven gloves?

Yep, I've seen a few doing that, the steering wheel gets too hot to touch if you don't take precautions - we have learnt the hard way that if you leave the car parked anywhere even for the smallest amount of time, you need to put a reflective screen up inside your windscreen (translation: windshield). Mind you, I've also seen people here driving whilst on the 'phone (amazingly it's not illegal here), with children, dogs and cats on their laps or on their shoulders....so seeing them wearing oven gloves is pretty mundane in comparison.

Do you think you'll stay in the USA?

Very possibly, the schools here are so good and Melchett and Goth Child are both talking about going to university here. This will be difficult as unlike Americans who start saving for their kids college fees from birth, we used to live in the UK where we didn't have to worry about this in the same way.....so things are going to be tight. We have visas to stay until 2014 but we're also starting procedures to apply for Green Cards.

Do you miss the UK?

Yes, but the fact that we have the internet makes being this far away so much easier - we can chat online to friends in the UK, use skype for webcam chats and watch British telly (and yes, we do still pay our tv licence). Life without Eastenders probably wouldn't be worth living ;)

Do you have a job out there?

Nope. Unfortunately (or fortunately) although I have a visa, I don't have a work permit. This will change if we get Green Cards, I'll apply for a work permit then. Until then my job is making our house as best a home as I can in a foreign land and helping my kids grow up well-adjusted.

Who designed your website?

I did, I thought it would be fun to make something beautiful that would bring me joy and learn some HTML and CSS in the process. It's a typepad powered blog using their most customisable design (without using advanced templates) Theme Builder. I'm learning new things all the time though, so hopefully you'll see the blog become more user friendly, quicker to load, professional etc over time. I'm currently doing A Beautiful Mess's Blog (Design) Love e-course too to improve the usability of the site even more.

When did you move to the USA?

On 9th November 2009.

What camera do you use?

When I can, I use my Canon EOS 400D for the best quality pics, but it's pretty large to carry around with me all the time, so I also use my iPhone too whilst out and about. I'm

Do you like living in the USA?

Yep, as the locals say it's toadally awesome :)