More England

The sun is shining here in Belgium and that, my friends, is not something I can say every day. We have had snow and rain and ice and wind, but precious little sun. But today is amazing. I am about to plant myself in a ray of the precious stuff and get serious about Christmas, but before I do, here are a few more pictures from our trip to Bath, England.
All of you Jane Austen devotees out there will recognize the Royal Crescent--the most prestigious address in Bath. Anne Eliott comes out of the door on the far right to seek love and Captain Wentworth. Ahhhhh.

These baths date from the 16th century and were unknowing built right on top of the ancient Roman baths. Can you imagine the people watching 500 years ago?

Another Jane Austen reference--the pump rooms. This pump provided the wealthy access to the curative waters and the best society. You can still get water here for 50p a glass. And it tastes nasty.

A view of Pulteny Bridge and the park. Benj was run over by a man in a motorized wheelchair on this very bridge. I wish I had a picture of that to share.

We got our fall colors in abundance and class this year. We just love those Edwardians.
And the market around the corner. Fabulous scones and pastys and cheese and raspberry shortbread. It really is all about the food. And the fall. And the family.

Thanksgiving

I used six pounds of butter in 3 days. It was a good weekend.

Vacations

David and I have been pondering an existensial question for several years now: When does a vacation really begin? Does it begin when you finally shut off your computer, empty the last dish from the dishwasher, or close your schoolbook? Does it begin when the car is loaded with bags and snacks? When the vehicle has pulled out of the driveway or the wheels are up? Or does it really begin when you have arrived at your destination, be that Grandma's, Gran Canaria, or the couch? We have wondered because sometimes vacations seem an awful lot like work. However, I think we have finally come up with an answer...and a picture to illustrate.

The vacation begins when the raisinettes begin to fly. (Left corner of the mouth. Artfully pelted by me from the front seat. Reaction time: approximately 7 minutes.) I just love roadtrips.

Passeys and the Henge

Fall Break--did we every need it! November in Brussels means dark, cold, rain, and the irresistable urge to hibernate. Since we can't succumb, we had to get away. And where did we go? ENGLAND! Darker, colder, pretty rainy, but great TV, comprehensible conversations, and big rocks. We started our adventure on the Salisbury plane and Stonehenge. Matthew's comment: "Wow, that is big."

We learned some new vocabulary too. "Henge" means hanging. Those big tall rocks standing upright and weighing about 24 tons are called Sarcen stones and nobody knows exactly how the highly intelligent inhabitants of the British Isle in 3000BC got them to stand up like that. And then got the blue stone lintels on top. They are heavy too.
The rebellious irregularity of the fallen stones only adds to the appeal. Too bad Anna's room doesn't look that good when the towering piles of laundry collapse off her bed...

We learned lots from our handy audioguides. Matthew searched for the Tardis...

We had some impromptu Passey love...

Jubes posed beautifully...

And we decided that some interpretive art was definitely in order.

I was there too.
We miss you Sarah!

Complete

Good Morning. It is Friday. The house is quiet, and warm. If you had opened my front door at 7:43 on Tuesday morning, this is what you would have seen.

This is the view at 8:18 today:

Do you notice that subtle rosy hue? That is because my kids are all happy, my bed is made, my husband is good and kind, there is food in the refrigerator, gas in the car, peace in our hearts, and the birds are singing. Our lives are insulated in double paned happiness. We are very grateful.

Monday Morning

I am having a delightful day. It is a sunny 39 degrees outside. It is also 39 degrees inside. Why, you ask? The boiler is working just fine. All the radiators are turned on. Here is the reason for the chill:
We are having our windows replaced. All of them. Consequently, half of the windows from upstairs are on the front driveway being chiseled and hacked and caulked and cleaned. The front door is wide open so that the five French workmen can keep hacking and chiseling. We are getting a nice cross breeze. It is 11:46 which means that a 90 minute lunch break is moments away and the windows will remain on the driveway until at least 2:07.
But I really am having a fabulous day. I have to stay home to monitor progress. Because of the weather both inside and out, the only habitable room in the house is the family room. After braving the arctic climate in the master bath and giving it a good scrub, I am feeling guilt-free in my hibernation. In the family room I have my computer, my knitting, the TV, a down comforter, several loads of laundry and easy access to the kitchen. So far today I have:

Cleaned the bathroom --my justification for the rest of the list.
Talked to Sarah and her friends Chad and Megan who want to come for a visit.
Chatted about our collective future with David and decided that maybe we should refinance.
IM'd with Benjamin during his advisory. I guess it is OK to chat with your mom during advisory.
Booked our Eurotunnel tickets for Fall Break in a cottage near Bath, UK.
Figured out how to fix the colossal mistake in my knitting that could have required me to pull out half the sweater.
Messed around on Facebook
Listened to a fabulous Jeffery Holland compilation on Youtube. I love Elder Holland. Here's the link if you need a little injection of hope and humility: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5bUKNYgRi8
Tried to book a house for our RS trip to the Alsace Christmas Markets.
Watched 4 minutes of Oprah and decided it wasn't worth it.
Listened to some classic jazz.

I am now contemplating lunch and that laundry.
I love chilly days.

German Wine Country

Everybody needs a friend that will make you do things that you wouldn't ordinarily do. Meet Anita:Anita and her family have been in Belgium for over 20 years. She is incredibly fit and loves the outdoors. She is holding the 3euro tart that we devoured with our hands at the halfway point of our adventure on the Moselle.There is a bike path that hugs the Moselle river in Germany through some of the most beautiful wine country you'll ever want to see. Anita has ridden the whole route (3 days solid) and has been talking it up so much that we decided to give it a go...in abbreviated form.

So Antia, Isabel, and I strapped the bikes to the car, drove over the Belgian border just past Tier, hopped on our bikes, and enjoyed a most beautiful fall afternoon.

This region is know for it's vineyards and the grapes were ripe on the vine. We passed several work parties gleaning by hand, and this jolly gentleman wished us "Gute Fahrt."
Don' you just love linguistic humor?

As the most inexperienced biker of the lot and general whimp, I spent most of the time behind the group. It had it's advantages. I got great shots like this one--love the downhills...

And I sometimes got to ride with the senior citizen groups that were out and about on the trail. They usually passed me up too.

A nice German couple helped Isabel with her tire. I just had to include this picure for the outfit on Mr. Fixit: Biking shoes, black socks, plaid man-pri's, a plaid shirt in similar colorway but hmmm. I love it. Reminds me of Sarah's comment when we first arrived: "You can pretty much get away with wearing anything over here..."

What a fabulous day. And I am keenly reminded of the joys of a good bike trip each time I sit down. Thanks Anita!