> > > Freeze warnings tonight. I brought in the hanging baskets and covered the flower bed by the front porch. We switched the heat on and the air conditioner off. Tomorrow, if I work in the yard, I will wear a sweater instead of insect repellent. I will probably wake up in the middle of the night thinking about tropical beaches with palm trees. Winter must be on the way.
> > > Howard
> >
> > Howard, has anyone ever told you that not only are you named after the bear in Sleepless Seattle but you are also named after the little known member of an English Pop group called Take That? Did you have them in America about 8 years ago? Just wondering........
> >
> > It's freezing in England too. Where are you in America? Do you live in one of those states that is God's Icebox in the winter and God's Barbeque in the summer? Where I live (Essex), the weather can't make up it's mind whether it's going to be cold, hot, snowy or rainy.
> >
> > And I thought it was only English people who talk about the weather.
> >
> > Lizzie
> >
> Lizzie,
> Weather is the universal topic of conversation. We all have to contend with it.
> I knew about the Sleepless in Seattle bear, but had forgotten about it. It's been a few moons since I saw the picture. I'm not familiar with Take That. Maybe they were named after me.
> I live in East Tennessee, not far from Knoxville. We have a mild climate by some standards. Most of our freezing weather is late November to early March. Spring and fall here are beautiful, but summer tends to be hot, humid, and buggy. August is dry except for thunderstorms, but the humidity remains high. I wish I could spend summers in England and winters in Hawaii. I've never been to Essex. Where is it from London? My ancestors came from England circa 1690. My grandfather was very proud of that and always drank hot tea because it was the English thing to do. His name was Howard, too.
> Howard

Hello again Howard,
Is Knoxville near Nashville? I just finished watching The 34th Annual Country Music Awards. It was very groovy. Essex is right next door to London but spreads right from London to the coast and I live about an hour out of London on the train in a little village called Dedham which is on the border between Essex and Suffolk. The artist John Constable lived there in case you're interested. Dedham Church is visible in a lot of his pictures. It is not a bad thing that you haven't heard of Take That. My friend sitting next to me here liked them though so I'll write this in a whisper [they were terrible!!!!!!!!] Tea is a great great British tradition. Very comforting on a cold day.
Lizzie
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