Home Sweet Home

We were back in Liverpool today for the FA Cup Quarter Final match v. Middlesbrough. I will hold you in suspense no longer... we won 2-1! Woo Hoo!

It was a rough first half (in which time they scored) but there must have been a major inspiration speech given at half time because Everton came playing hard in the second half!

This wins means that we are in the semi-finals which will be at Wembley Stadium in London. The draw has already taken place and our match will be against Manchester United. It will be a tough match but we will play as hard as we can. Andy and I are going to do our best to get tickets but it may be a bit difficult. They give an equal amount to each team but they go to season ticket holders first. Hopefully there will be enough left over for Andy and I to get one each.

The above picture is of the church that is in the corner of Everton's grounds. There is a plaque on the church that reads the following:

This is a needlepoint project that I have been working on for a couple of years. It is called Nova and it is made up of 396 different squares. When looking at it completed the colours blend and fade from light to dark.

There are 22 rows down and 18 rows across. The white square above (which is not completed yet) is on row 16. So including this unfinished row I only have 7 left! I would normally complete a new square here and there but lately I have been working on it more and more. It will be a beautiful piece once completed and I am excited to get it mated, framed and hung on the wall.

None of the 396 squares are the same. They do use the same stitches on some of them but the colours are different so none are the exact same.

Now I am off to work on it a bit more !

Have I mentioned how much I love that the mail is sloted thru the door here? How great is this?

In the small town I grew up in Illinois everything went to the local post office and you had a Post Office Box... we didn't even have mail boxes outside our house, let alone right in our door.

Andy always commented on how he missed the way mail was delivered in the UK and now I can see why.

Well... today was the day. Long story short, I got my Indefinite Leave to Remain Visa! I followed all of the guidelines and had all of the paperwork that they asked for. Bank statements, bills in both of our names, lease agreement, etc... and what did they ask to see?

1) My passport and Andy's passport
2) My certificate that shows I passed the Life in the UK test
3) £950.00

They never asked for ANY of the supporting documents that they said they require.

There was a little hic-up at the start with them trying to tell me that I already had Indefinite Leave to Remain. So I had to explain that my current Visa was in fact only a Spousal Visa but it look different because we have been married for more then four years. We had to wait while the lady called her supervisor. Then we got called to another window for the actual interview part. She took my passport and my new passport photos and told us it would be an hour for the Visa to be issued and that was it. We waited and they called me back up to collect my Passport.

I am now allowed to live in the United Kingdom for as long as I wish! Now there is some noise going around that they are going to try to force citizenship but I planned on getting that anyway when I am eligible so that is not a big issue. I am just glad my last Visa is sorted and now I do not have to worry about it any more.

So... after that was over Andy and I went on a little Beatles sightseeing tour of our own. We went down Mathew Street to see the new Beatles Hotel and of course the Cavern Club.

Then we drove to a little town called Woolton, it is just south of down town Liverpool. We went to St. Peter's Chuch, Strawberry Field and down Penny Lane.

The above picture is of one of the gravestones at St. Peter's Church and is one of the speculation stories about where Paul McCartney came up with the name Eleanor Rigby. Paul and John actually met at this Church's Hall and they spent quite a bit of time here.

It was also a lot of fun to go see the gates to Strawberry Field. It drives me crazy that so many people have written all of them but I guess you can not stop people from being stupid.

I took quite a few pictures of our little drive around today so if you would like to tak a look you can go see them here.. you do not have to be a Beatles fan to enjoy!