I do know its actually Monday, not Friday, but I was a little preoccupied with the hurricane this weekend, and this is the first I’ve been able to post.
“Silent Night” December 2007. I created this years ago, but I still love it.
I do know its actually Monday, not Friday, but I was a little preoccupied with the hurricane this weekend, and this is the first I’ve been able to post.
“Silent Night” December 2007. I created this years ago, but I still love it.
In between Yorkshire and Edinburgh, I had some time in Liverpool and Glasgow, while Jon had business meetings. I can’t say I would have chosen to go to Liverpool, but I did enjoy my afternoon there. The area around the river has been refurbished and is an interesting place to walk, and the warehouses surrounding the docks have been updated to include many restaurants, bars, shops, and museums.
I really liked Glasgow, although it was definitely more industrial than Edinburgh. Like Liverpool, I only had a short time here. From our hotel I took a walk through Kelvingrove park to see the Charles Rennie Mackintosh house, which is part of the Huntarian Museum at Glasgow University. Obviously, I wasn’t allowed to take photos in there, but it was amazing to see such an immersive experience of the artists’ vision. And these was also some artwork created by his wife, that I was previously unaware of, that I really loved.
Top Row:
A beautiful, brightly colored chandelier, by Cerith Wyn Evans, in the Tate Modern, Liverpool
Along the Mersey River, Liverpool.
Ferry, painted by Sir Peter Blake, also part to the Tate Modern. Although I was short on time, I was able to enjoy a few hours at the Tate Modern in Liverpool. Also, I love it when art is free to the public. I am quite sure the love of art I and all my cousins share comes from visiting the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston with our grandparents. But the price of some museum admissions is pretty high these days, and I think its great when I see art being made accessible to everyone (the Huntarian was also free). And of couse watching the fun colorful boat float across the river made me smile.
A rainbow along the highway as we were driving North to Scotland.
Bottom Row:
Kelvingrove Park
The River Clyde
Squiggly Bridge, part of the river walk along the River Clyde
The Yorkshire Moors were beautiful! There were sheep everywhere, even some little black ones with four horns, instead of two. My friend calls them demonic sheep, but I thought they were adorable! They wouldn’t let me pat them though.
Seriously, how cute are all these sheep?
Purple heather in bloom. The wide open spaces and rolling hills were so pretty. It was windy though. I definitely want to come back here when I have time to do some hiking.
Did you know that Etsy is getting rid of treasuries? Apparently they just aren’t used by shoppers very often. I don’t disagree with Etsy’s reasoning, but I will miss these beautiful collections.
Its been a tough week around here. My grandfather died last week, of complications of pneumonia. So, I spent the weekend in Massachusetts for his funeral. It was difficult, but he lived a long life, with few regrets, and up until the last month actually had a very good quality of life. And the end was peaceful. Really, it is the best any of us can hope for. Definitely, it served as a reminder that life is finite, and we should make the most of it.
Of course it was great to see my extended family. We try to have a reunion every year, but not everyone, including me can always make it, so unfortunately we only see each other at weddings and funerals. Naturally, my family does the Irish wake, celebrating life with stories and jokes. Some of my grandparents neighbors, from France, couldn’t believe how loud it was. Even my grandmother got a laugh over that.
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This is pretty amazing for me, but I actually managed to get all of my vacation photos edited in less than a week, usually I’m way behind on my photo editing. I guess I just had such a great trip I was excited to see how all my pictures came out.
First, I landed in Yorkshire, in the North, to visit with some friends of ours. Even after almost a full day of travel, just the view of this pretty patchwork of farmland was definitely worth it. We spent the weekend in York, “the walled city.” I’d like to tell you all that I was immersing myself in the history and amazing architecture. But, truthfully, we went on a pub crawl. Speaking of which, I have never in my life seen so many people, so drunk, so early in the day. And I don’t mean a little buzzed, I mean completely shitfaced, at three in the afternoon. It was hilarious, and a great, fun atmosphere. I just love all these little narrow, winding streets which are now an outdoor mall. Of course we did walk past the Minster, which is beautiful, on our way from the oldest pub in the city, to have another drink at the birthplace of Guy Fawkes (see got some more history in). And then I was very excited to go out for some good Indian food, because we definitely don’t get much of that in Eastern North Carolina.
Jon and I woke up hours before our friends the next morning, miraculously not hung over, and took a walk around the city. We started along the River Ouse, walking through a pretty park and walking trail along the river bank, as we watched boats going by.
Next, we came to Cliffords Tower, a thirteenth century castle sitting atop a mound which would have given views of the nearby rivers.
Finally, we made our way back to York Minster, built in the fourteenth century. This is probably one of the most amazing churches I’ve seen, even compared to the churches in Italy. Not only is it huge, but the gothic decoration is incredibly detailed and dramatic. Even today, it dwarfs any nearby buildings.
I have a lot going on this week. I just got back from a trip to England and Scotland, which was amazing. Expect several blog posts about it in the next few weeks. So I’m trying to get back in the groove of things here, timezones, a pile of dirty laundry, and what was I working on a week and a half ago? I’m getting my garden ready for fall, new flowers on the front porch, and all the yard work I put off while it was so humid all summer. I want to make more jam and pickles before the season for summer fruits and veggies is over.
Also, I’m starting to ready for an Oktoberfest themed cookout we have every year that will be in a few weekend, things like deep cleaning the house and I’ll start cooking a few days ahead of time. I even make preztels from scratch. Last year we got rained out by a hurricane, so hopefully that won’t happen again, but if it does then it will just be Jon and I with a bunch of beer, chicken wings, and pretzels, watching Netflix.
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Yesterday I had a minor breakthrough during yoga; I finally felt comfortable in fish pose. Most people don’t find this to be a particularly difficult pose, but my lower back doesn’t bend. When I was a teenager, I had back surgery for scoliosis, and my lower 6 vertebrae were fused together. Mostly this is a great thing, I would otherwise have a crooked spine. Also, I’m less likely to have back problems in the future as I age. The downside is that I do have reduced flexibility. In reality it’s almost never an issue, my body has compensated and my hips are more flexible. But there are a few poses, not necessarily difficult ones, that I feel uncomfortable in, or just get no benefit from.
Yesterday, during a yin class (deep stretching), I tried it with the blocks in different positions than I had previously, and was able to finally feel some benefit and gentle stretching in my middle and upper back. It continually surprises me how my body keeps getting stronger and more flexible, in addition to the mental benefits. This is also a great example of how yoga translates to life, accepting your weaknesses doesn’t mean accepting defeat.
Do you practice yoga? What are your favorite type of classes? What do you struggle with?
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I just love all these yoga goodies I found on Etsy, and I actually have and use the planner stickers, if you’re into planning I highly recommend that seller. What gear do you feel is essential to your practice?