Friday's Flashback: Calerne

I already wrote a post about our spontaneous stop to sit on a stone wall and admire the view of Calerne.  You can read about it HERE if you like.

 Wouldn't you have stopped for that?

That's quintessential southern England.

Today

Today I took Ella to gymnastics.  Several pictures will follow that statement of course.  Grandparents need to see these things.

I'm excited about visiting with a dear friend from college tomorrow.  This will be our second visit in 6 1/2 months!  That's a big deal when you have small children and live hours apart.

 our last visit

I'm really proud of my son who did you-know-what in the potty for the first time.  You know...number two?  Maybe he won't begrudge me that sentiment 10 years down the road.  I hope not.  Hooray for baby James!  (who's not such a baby anymore)

What's the big deal?

Ella requested a date with her daddy.  They went out in the rain for ice cream and came back with a ball and tortilla chips instead.  

I'm proud of my husband who edited his Sunday School material and published it for the Kindle!  Buy your copy HERE.  It's good stuff.  

I'm thinking about something KJ wrote on my blog once: 

"I think we are hardwired to like stories that reveal an intricate plan in the end. If the LOST writers are so clever to weave together six seasons and keep it surprising, then O the depths both of the wisdom and knowledge of God; how unsearchable and unfathomable are His ways! God has a lot more than six seasons to weave together to a satisfactory ending."  

It goes without saying that God is an infinitely better storyteller than any other.  We don't have to wonder if He's laid out the end from the beginning.  He even told us the ending ahead of time!  And it won't disappoint.

Conversations with My Boy

I thought it would be a walk all by myself, enjoying the fresh, cool air after the rain.  

"I wanna go wi' you.  I go for a walk."

My plans changed, and I'm glad they did.

 
Walking with James from KJ Pugh on Vimeo.

Sparklers

We didn't make it to any fantastic firework shows this year, but no July 4th celebration is complete without sparklers.  Our kids go to bed when it's still light out, but we tried to fit in some fire before bed.  Thus the pajamas.  We made it out with only a stray spark hitting James' foot when he and Ella were arguing about something.  KJ suggested shoes after that.  We're really great parents.  ;)

No shoes

This was my first year to break out the tripod and try out some slow shutter speeds.  Trying to make letters with the flames proved too complicated for us, but we got some fun flaming circles. 

With Shoes

And thankfully, my neighbors obligingly fired off some big ones, so I didn't completely miss out on a few fireworks shots.

THE END

Monday's Memories: Lacock Abbey

Sunday was Apple Day at Lacock Abbey.  I'm not sure what the origins of the day are, but I assumed it had something to do with the apple harvest.  The following Sunday when we were back in London I noticed there was an Apple Day celebration going on there, too.  At Lacock Abbey this included games for kids and families, music, apple scones, apple pies, apple butter, apple cider, and anything else yummy with apples in it.  We watched an exciting obstacle course race.

 I think the middle boy is the only one following the rules.

I guess it is much easier if you just hold the apple.

After our time in Oxford and all the beautiful, different trees we saw I started paying more attention to the trees around us. I took pictures for my mom, who loves a good tree picture.

 

The Abbey was really beautiful with an interesting history.  It had been an abbey (obviously), a private residence, and like the Professor's house in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, had housed children and other evacuees during the war.  Of most recent interest, it was used as a location in the first two Harry Potter movies.  Professor Snape's dungeon classroom was filmed here, as well as scenes in Professor McGonagall's office.

I like tower rooms.

 Recognize Hogwarts?

If I had time I would link up shots from the movie...but I don't.  So you'll just have to look for it next time you're watching.  I think they shot the scenes here for the forbidden third floor in the first movie, as well as the scenes with the Mirror of Erised.  The 700-year-old cloisters were a good backdrop for an ancient castle.

Snape's classroom was the most recognizable. 

I didn't take too many pictures of the rest of the Abbey.  I guess I was just enjoying the rooms and forgot my camera for a little while.  I did really like the great stone kitchen and the lovely old oven.

I loved this for its absurdly long name for a grocery list.

It's also fun to look at the items needed in a 1940s household.

 a little dress-up in period clothes

I could get used to that.

 the South Gallery

I played the piano a bit in this room.

 the famous window from the first photographic negative

And that was Lacock.  We trooped back to the car park and headed to Bath.

Book-Inspired

Friday's Flashback: A Pioneer in Photography

One of the things I most looked forward to planning our trip were the photography opportunities.  I'm sure you never would have guessed that.  I probably had about 10 GB of pictures on my 16 GB card at this point so when we entered Lacock Abbey and found an exhibit on the "father of modern photography" it was a nice surprise.

I wrote in my post from England a little about my amazement at the ingenuity of people.  "Oh, how charming it would be if it were possible to cause these natural images to imprint themselves durably and remain fixed upon the paper!  And why should it not be possible?  I asked myself."  Why indeed?  I for one am glad he took it upon himself to make his dream a reality.

A one-hour exposure time is hard to imagine.

I think the thing we found most interesting was that Talbot was responsible for the first negative.  The earliest surviving negative is of a picture he took of the below window.

There was also an exhibit about George Bernard Shaw.  Some of the self-portraits displayed were familiar to me, but I think I most recognized his name from his writing.  I didn't realize his relationship to photography in the UK.

I really like this picture.

Though I don't look nearly as cool, it reminded me of this one.

I think this is a more accurate picture of my photographic history, though.

 

Speaking of images fixed durably upon paper, I really need to order some prints.  It's been awhile.