Talk About the Weather

Leaving Florida on Friday at 1, here's how it looked through the plane window:

Pretty ominous wouldn't you say? Apparently, there was much, much more of the same during our absence. According to the paper today, 6" of rain has fallen this month, however, that may or may not be accurate because the rain gauge just since we've been home contradicts that figure.

Friday I did our laundry, unsure if hanging them on the clothes line would work because of the afternoon rains. Well, it did. Around 3:00 I noticed the sky turning darker so I headed out back to take them off the line, hoping they were dry. And they were. Just as I was taking the last items down, a few sprinkles began. Shortly thereafter, a sunshower started.

I'm not sure if this phenomenon happens everywhere, but here in Florida, the sun can be shining brightly with rain coming down in buckets at the same time. And then it stopped. But, boy howdy, did it start again, eventually dropping 3.5 inches in about three hours. And we were worried about the rain in England!

Which never really materialized, except for our time in Bath. Before we left I'd worried about the weather in England; I needn't have. Aside from the chill during our visit to Stonehenge, I was very comfortable. Despite the drizzle, we roamed around Bath, taking in the sights including the Royal Crescent.

With the gray sky and wet bricks you can tell it has been raining and might do so again, however, we trooped along just fine. I never thought I'd be saying this, but I actually didn't mind the lack of pure sunshine all that much. Now whether a steady diet of grayish skies would ever work for me I can't say, but for ten days it was somewhat of a pleasure never really knowing what the weather would do. From May to October there's really no reason to consult the weather forecast because most days it is HOT with afternoon showers expected.

It also rained during parts of our tours, again though, only for brief periods. This Costwolds village, Castle- Combe, looked even prettier after a shower:

According the the Castle-Combe website, it has been called the prettiest village in England. Although I'm no expert on the subject, I will say that it is charming in person. Ironically, we learned that the village was closed down for a month while Steven Spielberg filmed .
Speaking of which, seeing "War Horse" at the London Theater was amazing. When you see those giant puppets at such close range as we did, thanks to the terrific seats Matt purchased, you can't help but be in awe. Although WWII gets most of the attention, this story is set during The Great War, a time when horses were still used in battle. After seeing the play, Bruce purchased a used book on the subject at a market on South Bank, reading it a good deal during our flight home. Tom, naturally, knew more than all of us put together; I suspect having an historian for a father will do that for a bright young man.

I can't say often enough that I'm not much of a true photographer, never really knowing how best to use my cameras. I get by is what I do. After our trip to Melton Mowbray on Sunday, a very quick shower came down that evening. Have I mentioned how long the days are in England? Long, very long. The sun comes up around 5, setting between 9-10. So whether it could be called evening or not, I'm unsure. At any rate, I thought the rain puddles looked cool and as it was dark when I went out front, I tried very hard to set a long exposure which is a trick photographers do at night. Try as I might, I couldn't figure it out. So why am I including this photo anyway?

Mostly to show you the neighborhood and one other thing. Any guesses what that other thing might be? Since I can't hear your reply, I'll tell you. In our city it is illegal to park both ways, however, it seems as if in London you can park any old way you want. Plus, if you can imagine, this is a two way street!

Things are returning to normal around here. I did the market yesterday, Bruce has gone to the office, and Nancy is at Zumba class. You should see what she's accomplishing in the cleaning department! More on that later.

Time Flies, or So They Say

Do you ever have one of those days when you have your day all planned and then it gets upended? Or at the very least shuffled? That was yesterday for me. I've been doing my best to walk Baxter more regularly, either before or after I have breakfast, but not before the tree is watered. Sounds tough right? I know, I know, I've got it pretty easy don't I?

Speaking of the tree, it occurred to me the other day while walking Baxter,  that sometime in the future, when the tree is magnificent, the owners of this property will never even know the care it took to get it established. I suppose that is always the case with things that are well established; I know it's certainly so when people dine at one of the restaurants Bruce has sweat blood and tears over getting completed. Finally, he came home yesterday evening, after five days of traveling. The good news is that things came together beautifully on all his site visits which makes his absence much more tolerable. An evening of rest was in order. Eating by the pool, we lit the torches, listened to music, and may I just tell you it was a little slice of heaven? I don't need to mention he is back working this morning...

On that same walk with Baxter I noticed all of the peaches covering our neighbor's tree:

There are gobs and gobs of them which I do so hope won't get eaten by the squirrels as is often the case. Here's a reminder of the beautiful flowers that preceded these pretty little peaches:

Back to yesterday--I planned to get our house in order before Bruce's arrival, starting with making a lemon blueberry poundcake. While creaming the sugar and butter, Angela came over. She stayed and stayed, leaving just as a young woman working with a federal agency, sort of like the FBI, knocked on the door. With Angela standing there, she asked if I might answer a few questions about Matt (Angela's husband, in case you've forgotten), regarding National Security. He was re-applying for his National Security Clearance because he works in the defense industry. She asked me questions about his character, did I think he was a security threat to the United States?, where he lived before, had he traveled to a foreign country and on it went, enough so that she filled to pages of a legal pad. Answering them was pretty easy as there is hardly anyone I know who would be less of a threat! After chit chatting about herself a bit, I bid her farewell.

My mobile rang just as she was leaving; it was none other than Tom Quinn asking if I wanted to meet him for lunch in an hour at OLV, a local restaurant. I said yes. Mind you, because of my unexpected company, I was still unshowered (is this a word?) at this point. When I looked in the mirror before hopping into the shower,  I discovered serious mascara rings under my eyes! Wonder what that girl was thinking as we talked. Had it been me in her place, that's all I would have been thinking about!

While I was working I'd see TQ about three or four times a week, eight hours a day. Since both of our  retirements, I see him at most once a year because he is spending loads of time at their home they bought in Whitefish, Montana. Many of you will recall that it was Dr. Quinn who diagnosed our mother's cancer after I described her symptoms. Her own doctors who she saw regularly were clueless! All that to say we had some serious catching up to do! Our meet up at noon lasted until 3:00!

Returning home I got down to house business at last.

There are two contests I'm considering entering, however, my chances of winning either one are slim. Still, I suppose you never know until you enter. One is for the local Audubon Society, one is for the 2011Winter Park Autumn Art Festival poster. The theme of the former is patterns in nature with nothing man made in the picture--the later is either Autumn or Winter Park related. I have several more weeks to come up with something.

As well, I'm in serious travel planning mode for our trip which is just 68 days away.  While in England we are planning to do London, head to Stonehenge, Bath,  the Costwolds, meet Tom's family and then on to Cambridge before returning for another action packed (or so I imagine) weekend in London. To date Matt has already booked tickets for both a play and a concert . Whoo-hoo! I'm hoping time flies!

Finally there's this, apropos of nothing: