Summer Days - August

This month we fully settled into our house.  We got Internet and T.V. hooked up and had our second over-night guest.  We enjoyed a slight drop in temperatures and several dinners with friends.  I took a girls' trip and returned to start the school year.  The pictures from this month are some of the most beautiful in a monthly round-up in a while!  

August 1 - A Visit to Versailles

August 2 - Traveled to Provence, Laughed at Signs for Goat Wranglers

August 3 - Intrigued by these Altars in the Fields

August 4 - The Prettiest Street I've Walked Down Lately

August 5 - Birthday Magic

August 6 - Games-Obsessed Family

August 8 - Gelato with a Friend

August 9 - Tea Break

August 10 - Most Romantic Bedroom Window I've Ever Had

August 11 - Teaching Kyrah to Use Measuring Cups

August 12 - Emmanuel International Church

August 13 - First Day of School Evening Walk

August 14 - The Magic Hour

August 15 - Forest Light

August 16 - Dinner Party

August 17 - Our Local Creperie

August 18 - My favorite tree in the park

August 19 - Sunday Morning 

August 20 - Party

August 21 - Bedtime Selfies

August 22 - New Read-Aloud

August 23 - Perfect Sun

August 24 - Fresh Coat of Paint

August 25 - Bricks that caught my eye

August 26 - After Church Fun

August 27 - Tea with Noreen

August 28 - Found some Exercise equipment

August 29 - Grape Vines

August 30 - New Park to Walk In

August 31 - Morning Light

The change of seasons is in the air, though we still have a few hot days left to come.  I'm looking forward to September.  It just feels like it's time for that bouquet of newly sharpened pencils, right?

An Evening on Sutton Bank

I've been slowly sorting through pictures from 2017 for a family yearbook I'm making, and I loved these from a beautiful August night last year.

Summer days are long in North Yorkshire, and sun shining always feels special, so one night after dinner we decided to seize the golden hour and drive up to the top of Sutton Bank for the view James Herriot called, "the finest in England."

You can see for miles and miles from this vantage point.  I love the late-summer fields ready for harvest and all the wildflowers and heather.

The path wends its way along the top of the bank above the Kilburn White Horse.  It's a landmark hard to find when first pointed out to you from a distance but impossible not to see once you know what you're looking for.

I love having my family for scale in this picture.  It helps capture the vastness of all the open space around you.  But you can't help but notice the small things, too.

My boys tried to pinch a little heather for me to take home, but that proved harder than expected.

It came up roots and all, which feels like it's probably a violation of national park rules.

I took the most up-close picture I ever got of the white horse as we drove down the bank toward home, but I loved this last one best with the sign and the little house with the white horse in the distance.

Friday Favorites, vol. xii

1.  Back to School

We started school on Monday, and it was a little jarring.  The first day was long, and I was tired at the end of it, but it only took a couple of days for the routine to feel nice again.  Summer freedom is good.  A little back-to-school structure is good, too.

2.  The effects of making a plan

I prepared for this week's school work a little more than my end-of-school self had.  I made all the copies ahead of time and came up with a schedule for the day.  My brain really doesn't like planning ahead.  I like to "see what comes next" and let things "happen naturally."  But I pushed through the brain ache to make plans, and I felt so much more peaceful teaching this week as a result.  I guess I know what I need to do tomorrow.

3.  Having friends over

We finally have a working oven and stove, so we inaugurated them both this week by frying chicken and baking a cake.  It's been fun to enjoy our new little home with friends.

4.  Reading Aloud

When I was in middle school I thought it would be a great idea to record myself reading Gone with the Wind.  Because I just love reading aloud that much.  Now I have little people forced to listen to me, and it's great.  We finished Chitty Chitty Bang Bang this week and started this adaptation of Canterbury Tales.  Both have brought a lot of laughter.

Fleming's description of a backed up motorway because the weather was nice and everyone decided to go to the seaside made us laugh because I think that's pretty much the way it still is in England when the sun shines.

5.  James having a dog to play with

We're dog-sitting again this week, and Polly LOVES James.  She follows him from room to room in the house wherever he goes, and when we got the leash out to try taking her on a walk?  She lost her mind.  She loved it so much.  And I love watching him run around the garden with a stick, Polly at his heels.

"Never say 'No' to adventures.

Always say 'Yes', otherwise you'll

always lead a very dull life."

- Caractacus Pott, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang -