I love seeing how other people live around the world so in that spirit I caught a few pictures of the flat we rented in Rome to share with you. The white walls were so nice. The white sofa….less nice. I think I am officially over my white slipcover obsession. Ok not really but they'd need daily washing in my world and I AM over that.
It was a wonderful sunny bright space. Definitely Euro-sized but fabulous for our needs.
(elevator going down past the window and from the front, entering)
“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As longs as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.” Anne Frank
Go outside. Get your feet wet. All is as it should be. : )
Things seen from the car window…
“See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories. Ask for no guarantees, ask for no security.”
Ray Bradbury, Farenheit 451
There was a question this week about how our school days normally run. I have been working on a summing up, but haven't found a minute to write it. Things like this complicate…
The first of our two away game athletes just left for the weekend. When you live in Europe, an "away" game involves a passport, a ferry crossing, a 15 hr bus ride, and three forms of currency. We gathered all that plus snacks, clothes, uniforms, and stuff to do en route. However, our sleeping bags (circa 2000ish and yellow and turquoise : )) were deemed too girly/embarassing/uncool in some way and a small person (by all accounts it was "not Me" who was responsible) managed to change the combination for the brand new duffle bag lock. It's ok though. Every time we do this, it will get easier.
It reminded me of a song I listened to the other night:
And like a newborn baby
Don’t be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk
Sometimes we fall
…so
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live!
Our days are a lot like this. Mostly going the way we hope they will. Sometimes not. We just put on our game face and give it our best shot. (insert fumble analogy here) Then we do it again the next day. And the next day. And the next day.
It's all good. : )
St. John's church sits nestled among high coastal meadows by the sea. The weather was rather bleak the whole ride there. The rain let up just as we arrived. My husband went to scope out the trail to decide if it was an ok idea yet. While he did that I was was able to check out the church and cafe a bit. And convince a boy he could ask the cafe people directions to the restroom. It's the little victories in life. ; )
I have been wanting to share this breathtaking bit of Cornish coast, but day after day gets swallowed up in sports and grading quizzes and sounding out phonics and practicing cursive capitals and walking my daily miles – which is all pretty cool as well. And I pictures of all that too. : ) It finally came together tonight though and it was so much fun to sit and sigh over these again.
Sandymouth, you stole my heart.
I have wanted to snag a picture of a local farmhouse which is being rethatched this summer. The house stands right alongside a busy road however so while we get a good look at it every time we drive by there is no good place to pull over. Problem solved when riding with my husband the other day. He even turned around so I could try again from another angle. You know, like hanging out of the vehicle. : )
So, just a little English coolness because a person doesn't see that everyday.
A pullback showing how very right on the road the house now is. And how absent the idea of "shoulder" is….
Yep. No words can explain the pure joy of pulling food right off the plant. No words necessary to explain their reaction….
After which the who-can-catch-a-berry-by-mouth game commenced.
May I present the winner….
Framlingham Castle came alive with dancing and medieval combat last weekend and we were front and center for all the action. The sun even showed up which made it pretty close to perfect.
The reenactment, provided by the Plantagenet Society, was incredible. (I should probably not admit how old I was before I could pronounce that correctly. Suffice it to say it was before this weekend. But maybe not allll that much before ; )) They use authentic weapons – ie no matter how many times you rehearse, it's gonna hurt some. We were all wincing every time we heard a blow strike. We left convinced this would have not have been as romantic and sweet as it may have seemed to us before. I am pretty sure it was brutal watch it live back in the day.
I am always super happy when our kids work up enough courage to jump into the fray. I was so not that child, myself.
And a side note, if there are any Jack Black fans out there who watched his version of Gulliver I am telling you, this guy was SO the spitting image of Chris O'Dowd's villain. And if you haven't seen it? C'mon. For real??
“All in all, it was a never-to-be-forgotten summer — one of those summers which come seldom into any life, but leave a rich heritage of beautiful memories in their going — one of those summers which, in a fortunate combination of delightful weather, delightful friends and delightful doing, come as near to perfection as anything can come in this world."
Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne's House of Dreams
It was the beach trip that almost wasn't. We had already had a couple full days of sightseeing after all. "We can be home by dinner time if we head back now…" It was decided that we would eat our boxed lunch in the shade and sit for a few minutes and reassess.
After our break we loaded kids and dogs and headed out, resigned to wrapping up our trip if the Dad driver needed to. But after a few miles I noticed the car was not pointing north after all. Instead, the buildings began sporting pastel hues and we spotted the occasional palm tree even. Yes – in England!
And then, the water came into view and all talk of heading home was long forgotten.
This was waterfront in Hastings and the 'sand' was manmade. More like a super thick layer pea gravel actually. No one was complaining though. At the end of that trek were icy white topped waves to splash through on a warm day. After they were all splashed out we explored the boardwalk area and hit up the ice cream stand. After which some very happy kids piled into the car and dozed all the way home, windows down and wind blowing hair dry.
Starry Sky Journal 