And the last laugh....

went to this Westminster Abbey Verger, who may have had a touch too much Holy Water it seems! Apparently he didn't know the cameras were still rolling and now finds himself a legend in his own lifetime.

I also had the best laugh all day watching Anderson Cooper's (CNN) wrap up show tonight.

They introduced him to the infamous British Bacon Butty (he said cold pizza was better at 3am!), tried to explain what a "knee's up" is to him (much to his bemusement) and then he described walking down what he thought was a smart London street with no bars on it, only to see about 20 drunks, including 1 asleep in a pool of vomit (he took a photo!) and several relieving themselves. The British commentators laughingly pointed out this is just a typical Friday night and what a puritan he is. He said he never knew the British were so CRAZY but had still had a "smashing" time!

What an entertaining day it has been!

A class way to end the day!

These two pictures sum up why William and Catherine have been embraced by our nation so lovingly.

In many ways they are just like so many other young couples, and the difference to the old Royal regime is really pronounced by this adorable and very traditional getaway they made today.

Just watching it repeat with a bacon butty and smiling from ear to ear still!

Just wonderful!

What a really wonderful wedding it was!

The Bride looked absolutely beautiful, the dress is my favourite royal wedding dress to date, so elegant, simple and yet stunning. I also thought her sister's dress was gorgeous and so flattering.

Catherine already has such a regal bearing about her and seems so composed, she will make a William a wonderful wife.

They look so happy, the service was beautiful and the British are out in force to support them, it's a proud day to be a Brit. Oh and how amazing was the sight of the carriage and lifeguards, just makes me proud of my heritage.

Off to watch the balcony kiss and then back to bed for a few hours!

What did you think?

Pomp, Circumstance and a Wedding!

Well the big day is less than 24 hours away and I have been loading up on William, Kate & Royal programming for about the last 10 days! It would be fair to say America has gone somewhat overboard on Royal coverage, but I love it.

You will never catch me spouting off about how much the Royals cost the British public (reportedly it’s 1 pence per person per year, hardly a deal breaker!), or why we should abolish the Monarchy. The British Monarchy and its long history, is probably what defines Great Britain to the rest of the world more than anything else. The history and associated events and places, like Royal Weddings, castles, palaces etc. also pull in vast numbers of tourists and their spending money to all areas of Great Britain.

So I am proud of my British heritage, a supporter of the Royals and I will be setting my alarm clock for 3:45am tomorrow to watch it all go down. As I get Friday off work, I can always have a catnap later if needed.

I am going to record the BBC America coverage starting at 2am, also record the ABC coverage as I like all their anchors and then flick between the two live. CNN is also tempting as I love Anderson Cooper, but Cat Deeley being on their team was the deal breaker!

The Hubster is planning to sleep until closer to 5am and then he will get up to watch the actual ceremony and leaving the Abbey, before heading off to work.

I have already warned the Hubster I will probably shed a few tears. It’s hard to explain, but like many Brits, William & Harry hold a special place in my heart and I know I will be emotional and proud watching William marry. I remember watching his mum marry when I was 14 and being spellbound.

I loved Princess Diana and cried for hours the day she died, my family & I went up to Kensington Palace the next evening and laid flowers for her, as that huge sea of flowers was just starting outside the gates. On the day of the funeral, we watched on a bridge over the M1 as the hearse carrying her passed us and headed to Althorp. Like 9/11, that whole sad week is one I will remember as long as I live.

So to see one of her beloved sons marry is a special moment, and I am pleased for Diana’s memory that the world seems to realise it too and is embracing the celebrations.

Things I am looking forward to seeing include:

That first glimpse of the bride, who I am sure will be stunning, and I am expecting a sleek, fitted dress with a sizeable train.

William and Harry standing shoulder to shoulder at the altar in their dress uniforms.

Westminster Abbey all decorated and sparkling.

What the Queen will wear, as she just seems to be getting more stylish the older she gets.

Seeing all the other dresses and headwear, the British love their hats and fascinators.

Spotting famous faces among the guests.

Watching the carriages head back with all the pageantry after the ceremony

The ‘kiss’ on the balcony.

If there is one thing the British excel at, its throwing a grand spectacle and I am sure this is going to be one to remember.

Tonight I will raise the Union Jack on our flagpole and today I am wearing this!

Will you be watching and what are you looking forward to seeing? And any thoughts on the dress we can expect to see?

Yes, I am still here!

I know I've been an appallingly lazy blogger recently and I must thank those of you who took the time to email and check on me. I am fine, just very busy with life and not especially inspired to blog, and I firmly believe in staying stum if I have to struggle to come up with something to say!

Life has just been pretty humdrum day to day and due to being busy, the Hubster and I just haven't done much of anything except relax or work around home and the garden.

The most noteable thing in NW Okieland since I was last here has been the unrelenting wind and the resulting wild fire outbreaks. I know they sing that the 'wind comes sweeping down the Plain' around here, but it has been roaring down now for about a month and it's getting extremely old! About a fortnight ago we had an 18 hour period where the wind blew in straight line speeds at about 50mph with gusts up to 80mph and there was considerable damage done.

Oh and NW Okieland has still had less than an inch of rain since December, so we are rapidly turning into New Mexico, which is fine by me as I love it there!

As most of you know I am an Elementary School Secretary by day and we are now within the last 15 days of school (we have a 4 day week) so work is very hectic right now. I will also have a new Principal and boss after June 1st, whom I met today and immediately liked and am sure we will work well together, so major change is on the horizon.

We have spent all our recent weekends working in the garden when the winds abated enough, and I am pleased to say all our hard work has been very rewarding.

The Hubster built a very nice raised bed for a small vegetable garden, laying cardboard to kill the grass roots left underneath, then chicken wire to keep out burrowing varmints, and a nice trellis at the back.

We planted a variety of Peppers, Summer Squash which will be trained vertically up the trellis to save space, Zuccini (Courgette), Garlic and Cabbage. In the trash can just visible behind it is a crop of Potatoes and then I have a couple of Tomato plants in containers.

We have been busy weeding, clearing, transplanting from one site to another and putting in new plants too. My favourite plant I have discovered in Okieland is without doubt the Crape Myrtle shrub or tree and they absolutely thrive here.

So I placed a repeat order with an excellent supplier I found online last year called Crapemyrtle.com whom I highly recommend, and received 6 excellent plants for $59 plus shipping. They are not as large as you get at the garden centre, but Crapes grow very fast and this company is so much cheaper and very reliable.

This time my order included 3 of the tall Crape trees that will get to 25-30ft tall and the Hubster placed each one in a very nicely constructed tree box.

So this in a nutshell has been our life for the past month, and now I will make an effort to catch up with the rest of you, as my blog visiting has been non existent too!

As for this week, well I am growing increasingly excited about a certain wedding on Friday and will be back for discussion and predictions on this subject before the big day!