of the Cotswolds…
Extra credit to anyone who can identify the B.B.C. series that the church in the bottom right hand corner was used in…
Tomorrow is our last full day in England. We spent a very long day in London today and we are bushed. No rain but cloudy all day. The last days of summer are winding down.
Since it’s hard to tell without all the sets adorned I’ll tell you that this is the church from Downton Abbey where Mary Grantham got married and Sybil got left at the altar…
…in some very nice places.
I will share more about these spots when we get home from England.
Cotswolds
Wells
The view from the house we stayed at in Cornwall.
We are now in a flat in London. My feet hurt but we’re happy and amazed at all we are experiencing.
I wanted to share a link my brother posted for my mom’s obituary and service times…
…and willingly could waste my time in it” As You Like It (Act II, Scene IV).
Stratford Upon Avon
We were here on Sunday last.
Today we have a long drive ahead of us to London.
Hope all is well with all of you.
Since we were so close to the Potteries we decided to at least make 2 stops on our way from Alton to the Cotswolds on Sunday. Emma Bridgewater was our #1 choice and Aynsley was close by so we stopped there, too.
Upon our arrival in Stratford Upon Avon Dear and Josh were called into service to the Crown…
All is well now so Keep Calm and Carry On…
We are on the west coast of Cornwall these days enjoying the wind and spray off the sea…
We are enjoying our Pub experiences and are rating them as we go along. The Bulls Head in Alton, Staffordshire was a huge improvement over the Boat Inn (1877) in Stoke Bruerne in Northhamptonshire.
Cheerio…
We are having a most lovely time seeing, eating, and meeting….
Looking forward to sharing when we return home. Cheerio!
I enjoyed reading the origins of adieu this morning.
This was taken at the Hailes Abbey (a 13th century Cistercian Abbey) nr. Winchcombe, Gloucester, England in 2004.
We board a British Airways flight today for London. My posting will be scarce if at all. I’m hoping to try to post a few postcards like Judy at My Front Porch. Time will tell. In the meantime you will know why I’m not visiting your blogs during this time. Blessings!
Photobucket replaced many of my photos with blurred out versions and photobucket stamped versions. They are holding my photos hostage until I pay them lots of money. I’m slowly going through all my posts and trying to clean them up and replacing some photos. Such a bother.
We are aware of some things that September holds for us and we aren’t naive enough to think we know all that it holds.
My mom’s life is still in the balance.
Here are some things we are looking forward to…
A milestone birthday for Dear on September 9th.
My parents 70th wedding anniversary.
(Technically they have already been married for 70 years since their wedding in Iran was in mid summer but the official date on their U.S. papers says September 13th)
A milestone trip to England with our son Josh and DIL Laura from September 12th thru the 23rd.
We know we’ll be seeing so many wonderful sites. I’m so excited to be going again with a digital camera this time. It will be Josh and Laura’s first time there. EXCITED!
Some of the planned events are:
Going to Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester for the Manchester United ~ Crystal Palace soccer game on Saturday the 14th.
A night in the Cotswolds.
A night in Wells so we can explore the cathedral and walk around the castle moat.
3 nights in Southwest Cornwall doing whatever we decide to do which will include hikes to the beach and St. Michael’s Mount.
Ending our trip with a weekend in London where we have rented an apartment home near Portabello Road. We will try to get in as many landmark London sites as possible and hope to be able to also see a play or musical.
Other things to look forward to in September after our trip are:
Day trip adventures with our daughter Katie while she is living with us for this new season which may or may not include tea. I’m also going to take advantage of Katie’s technical skills to help me hook up our new slide and photo scanner and for her to help me learn to use it!
Starting up our weekly Small group meetings again.
Our Fall Women’s Bible Study at church.
What are you looking forward to in this month of September?
My sister Lana calls me when she sees bumper stickers that make her laugh. She just called me to read a bumper sticker on the car in front of her in traffic. It reads: “Do you follow Jesus this close?” Love it. That would make you think.
My mom is still having her ups and downs and food requests. She mentioned she’d enjoy some fried chicken. My sister Lana decided to drive to the place where my parents first experienced fried chicken to pick some up for them, Knott’s Berry Farm. She ordered the whole meal plus a Boysenberry Pie for dessert. I’m hoping to see a photo soon of them enjoying the meal. I do not need to wish any further. This photo just popped up on Facebook!!
Katie and Andrew are enjoying their bittersweet days here before they are separated for 6 to 7 months. They’ve planned some fun things with family and friends the rest of the week. When God puts our Andrew on your mind please pray for his safety and for the loneliness both he and Katie will be experiencing…Thank you.
The last days of August are ticking away! What do you have going?
We are flying to Southern California for a wedding on a Blueberry Ranch Northeast of Santa Barbara. We meet up at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) with our daughter Katie who is flying from North Carolina. Our flights arrive 30 minutes apart. We’ll head north to our hotel and then on Saturday go farther North picking up Josh and Laura who are flying into Santa Barbara and on to the wedding we will go.
On Sunday we will trek across L.A. headed east to visit with my mom and pop before we fly home on Sunday evening. A whirlwind trip covering many miles on the 101 Fwy and interstate 5. It will be nice to be with my family and friends at Caleb and Marie’s wedding and have a visit with my mom and pop before we all head home on Sunday night. Katie will head back to North Carolina just in time for Andrew’s return from a month long training. As a dear friend of mine has coined…”Life is Rich”!
The photo above was taken by my sister Lana on Thursday night at the apartment. My niece Melissa was celebrating her birthday with my mom and enjoying strawberry cupcakes! A very special birthday to remember…
I’ll be sharing lots of photos of the newlyweds soon…
My computer will not be traveling with me so I’ll check in with y’all on Monday! Have a lovely weekend!
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 