From sparks to water...a nerve-testing day

Well today started off with a *bang*...literally! I plugged my blowdryer into the adapter and that into the converter and turned it on--and barely a wind came out of it. So I turned to "high"...and POOF -- sparks flew out of that socket like no other. Not only that but it blew the fuse on the microwave, dishwasher (mid-cycle), washing/dryer (mid-cycle--argh!), and the fridge! My blowdryer is toast and it was soooo worth it as once we were out and about it rained quite heavily -- can you sense my sarcasm here?? So preparing for a bad hair day I didn't want to venture far. We needed a few things from the grocery store and I desperately needed some coffee by that point so we settled into Starbuck's for a mid-morning snack. I ordered a mocha, although it tasted different than home, as near everything has so far. Of course this couldn't be without incident as the stroller had to tip backwards twice with Ava in it, of course, and the one and only teeny bathroom did not lock. When a line had formed poor little Ava was still on the potty when the lock-less door was opened! I was sweating by the time we left there! On to the supermarket where the stroller once again tipped...it is just so heavy with the grocery bags, umbrellas and jackets, even when I enlisted Braden, age 6, and Skylar, age 9, for carrying help. Once we had our purchases I felt all must go well from here...and then we stepped out into a downpour. Well, what's a little rain, I figured, after a day like today!? It felt very Seattle-esque in that it was simply "rain" and not the crazy thunderstorms we experienced this summer back home. Obviously rain doesn't phase the Londoners as they bike, smoke, walk, and carry-on. It sure felt good to get out of our waterlogged clothing once home! After Mike got home, we put our nerves to the test as he drove for the first time here and we headed to Tesco, which is similar to Walmart. Not only is it strange to 1.) drive on the other side of the car, but it's even more strange to 2.) drive on the other side of the road, and 3.) it's hard to drive somewhere where you are completely unfamiliar! After several roundabouts and motorways, a couple U-turns and many red-light runnings, we arrived at our destination. Phew! After the drive I felt my brain was fried so trying to sort through all these different products took some time, as none looked familiar. We did find some soy and rice milk and even soy yogurt and pudding. I'm still holding out to visit Waitrose for some more products, but am happy that I found what I did. A couple things to note--the traffic lights are a bit different. When the light is just about to turn green it blinks yellow and then cars start accelerating. There are several word differences, of course, such as buggy instead of stroller, trolley instead of shopping cart, and car park instead of parking lot. I have also been approached a couple times for directions, which means I must look like I know where I'm going. After I tried my best to help them (or so I think) they happily thanked me with "Cheers!" On that note, I have some chores to do and absolutely must take the rubbish out straightaway. Cheers!