September

September gave me the highest highs of relaxation and restoration on vacation when I saw new and inspiring things every day.  September also gave me the lows of being confined to my bed and my bedroom, quarantined from my family in an effort not to pass on flu germs.  I discovered that it is indeed possible to get tired of watching television.  

What did September bring to you?

September 1 - Pre-Church Warm-up

September 2 - K.J. exchanged some money for me on the ferry.

September 3 - Ella and I got a kick out of this being the church of Saint Peter AND Saint Paul.  We don't want to leave anyone out.

September 4 - Can you imagine living in a town with both a castle AND a cathedral towering over you?

September 5 - Best view award?

September 6 - Devonshire Coast

September 7 - Soaking in the Beauty

September 8 - Cornwall

September 9 - You can see some pretty cool things if you look out your car window in England.

September 10 - This is Bertha, a Frankish princess who married the King of Kent.

September 11 - A Canterbury Street

September 12 - a pretty house I noticed on an evening walk

September 13 - The tips of the trees are turning yellow.

September 14 - A small town Saturday morning:  the florist is open.

September 15 - These are the kind of things I pack in my suitcase to pull out when the seasons change.  They remind me of my American home.

September 16 - School Mornings

September 17 - English Crime Classics

September 18 - I was proud of myself for finding a good substitution for cream of mushroom soup for a Paula Deen recipe.  It probably even gave it a better flavor.

September 19 - Up in the night with a fever, watching the shadows on the wall

September 20 - View from my Sickroom

September 21 - I cross-stitched a lot the first three days.

September 22 - By the grace of God and this bandit mask, no one else caught the flu.

September 23 - Photo-Editing when I felt a little better

September 24 - My View for a Week

September 25 - K.J. kept me well fed and brought me meals on a tray.

September 26 - More of K.J.'s picks for me from Picard (I didn't have much else to take a picture of during these days.)

September 27 - I also called on K.J. to kill this monstrous spider on the bathroom curtain when I woke up Friday morning.

September 28 - The autumn flowers hit their peak bloom while I was sick.

September 29 - A Morning Present

September 30 - Left the house for the first time in 13 days!

Walking on the White Cliffs

For an entire year I happily reminisce about how wonderful our England vacation was, and I'm so glad to be going back again this September.  I pack really light this year, and K.J. is impressed.  I tell him I purposely left lots of room for all the books I'll be bringing back.  He stops looking impressed and looks a little nervous.

My heart is light even when we miss our boat because our passports need extra attention.  The border guards are thankfully kind and understanding, and we're put on the next boat where English immediately and familiarly surrounds us.  The language changes, and the cuisine changes.  I eat an early dinner of Pumpkin Ravioli.

It's Ella's 13th birthday, and K.J. and I think a walk along the cliffs, hearing the white gulls call, while the wind whips through her hair, is a perfect gift for our girl.  She loves that kind of thing.

I immediately spot a rabbit off the path.  We must be back in England.  

I love the juxtaposition of the autumn grass and the turquoise sea and how the cliffs meet the water.  I don't love how the wind whips little hairs into my eyes, obscuring my vision, so I wear my hat.

I love blackberry season in England.  I love seeing the flower, the ripe and unripe fruit all together.

I follow the kids down a hill, which then means I have to follow them up a steep path, and my knee of the two meniscus repairs screams at me for attempting such a thing.

At the top of the hill we sit and eat slices of the cookie cake I made for E.  It's a beautiful spot to celebrate her life.

"You must remember that this 

was in the old Merry England…

when the forests rang with knights 

walloping each other on the helm, 

and the unicorns in the wintry moonlight 

stamped with their silver feet 

and snorted their noble breaths of blue 

upon the frozen air.  Such marvels were great 

and comfortable ones.  

But in the Old England there was 

a greater marvel still.  

The weather behaved itself.”

- The Once and Future King, T.H. White -