Tuesday, July 26, 2011

We have so much to talk about . . .

We're just back from a ten day holiday in England.  We had a wonderful time visiting London (shopping, sight seeing, going to the theatre, eating, etc.); hiking in the Cotswolds; and experiencing the academic life in Cambridge.
I have so much I want to share, including

  • the photos I found for the scavenger hunt (like the Castle above) and how happy I am to see all your posts with the different things you've been finding this summer and how the hunt has helped you see familiar things with new eyes or stretched you to visit new places;
  • tales of our adventures getting lost in the pastures around Chipping Camden, romantic dinners overlooking the Thames, avoiding the rain at the Tower of London, etc.;
  • what the children were up while we were gone, including the life lessons learned by a 16 year old boy who stayed home alone to watch the dog and the house (he wasn't totally alone, and he did great). Plus, the fun had by a 13 year old girl hiking in the mountains with her Aunt and shopping in the malls with her cousins;
  • how I managed to eat, drink and be merry; yet still lose half a pound and maintain my commitment to be fit and fabulous; 
  • how the Mirot exhibit at the Tate Modern fed my creative life (so much thought for my art journals!) and how my photography classes affected the way I saw England and the photographs I took (including a review of the Beautiful People Portrait Class).
All that and more will be coming in the next few weeks. Plus, I'll be getting round to catch up on your blogs. I've missed visiting and commenting.  I will share one quick story. Only one because I'm still pretty bleary from the trip:
{Well, maybe not quite this bleary as in the photograph (taken by my husband)}
I had the wonderful good fortune of meeting up with my blog friend Jacky while in London. I had hoped to meet up with a whole bunch of blog friends, like Deb, Denise, Lizzie, Pippa and more, but the timing of my trip (at the end of the school term) and the number of things I was trying to juggle right before our trip meant that I dropped the ball on that one. Luckily, Jacky picked it up and emailed me right before I left. And she was willing to take a long train trip in to London. So I, at least, got to meet her. And I am so glad I did!  We had a wonderful time - I think it would be hard to find a more genial, down to earth woman. I can't wait for her to come visit San Francisco some day. Plus, she gave me the most brilliant She Art canvas! Thanks Jacky for the present and for making the trip. Our meeting was a definite highlight of my trip.

15 comments:

JO SOWERBY said...

im so glad u had a wonderful time. lovely to have met jacky too, wish i'd been well enough to come. hope u recover from the jet lag soon so we can enjoy the rest of ur stories,
jo xxx

Tammy Lee Bradley said...

Welcome back. You were missed!!!

Heather said...

Can't wait to hear some details & look at some photos of your trip :) How fab you managed to meet up with Jacky too!! xx

scrappyjacky said...

I was so pleased to be able to meet you,Rinda...such an enjoyable morning....hopefully next time it will be in California!!
Looking forward to hearing more of your English adventures [no shortage of castles here....though unicycles seem to be in short supply!!]

Alison said...

Glad you enjoyed your trip! Looking forward to hearing/seeing what else you got up to
Alison xx

Deb @ PaperTurtle said...

Hi Rinda! I'm so glad to hear that you had a wonderful time! And was so happy to see the photo of you and Jacky on her blog last week. I always love when blog friends get to meet, and we are no exception, right? Carrie and I are really excited about our California trip next month and meeting up with you while we're there! xo

scrappyjacky said...

You'll be pleased to hear....B had done 3 loads of washing by the time I got home...and made dinner!!

Amy said...

I'm really looking forward to hearing a thorough report of all your adventures!
I have been struggling with the scavenger hunt, when you are in the thick of things routine wise/school term I think it is easy to become blinkered in your own world ... never fear, I will keep plugging away!

nancy y said...

your trip sounds just wonderful. I just love that castle photo and can't wait to see more. Way cool that you got to meet Jacky!!

Yvonne said...

Sounds like your trip was a huge success, Rinda! Love the photos.

Ginger said...

Beautiful photos Rinda! That's a great photo of you and Jacky and it's nice to hear you had a wonderful time :)

Anonymous said...

How FUN!!! Angelina and i have quite a few pictures, not sure how to get them to you since i dont have a blog :) do i send you a disk?? or a compressed file??

Mariana in CA

debs14 said...

Can't believe you came within 30 miles of me and we didn't know! Sounds like you had a great trip and you will just have to come back again to meet the rest of us Brits ;-)
Looking foward to seeing the photos of your travels on the blog very soon.

Sian said...

Wonderful, wonderful title for your post! And I just can't wait to hear more. It's so good to have you back. I'm delighted you got to meet Jacky (it's an ambition of mine too!) - a year ago exactly we visited the Globe . Arghh! I missed you both by a year.

Looking forward to more x

ComfyMom~Stacey said...

Sounds like a wonderful time! I look forward to hearing about your adventures