Though the silence around here might indicate otherwise, I am still around... And even crafting! Or thinking about it, anyway... I'm almost done with the Scottie bookmark, I have some fabric that might be right for a very special baby quilt, and I've been spending a lot of time with family.

I've also been sitting at this computer a lot, sorting through all my pictures from England!!



A lot of them are ending up on flickr. I just can't believe some of the beautiful places I got to visit.



So I'm sorry if I'm quiet these days! I'll be around, I promise...

Labels: photography, travel

I'm back home, and so glad to be here! It's taking me longer to adjust to certain things - the time zone, driving on the right side of the road - than last time. A side effect of so much time away, I suppose!

My last day as a tourist in the UK I headed up to Warwick Castle. It was fantastic!



The castle is huge, and has quite a few interesting exhibits and demonstrations. The grounds are gorgeous, too, with a rose garden, river, and peacock garden.







You can climb to the top of one of the castle towers, and the view from that high is amazing!



I definitely enjoyed myself, but I could tell I was losing my enthusiasm for being a tourist... It was so nice to finally get home!

Labels: photography, travel

I know, it's supposed to be WIP Friday, but hey, close enough!

I definitely couldn't go five weeks without crafting, but the knitting project I brought along (the same plane project, yep, still not done!) got old quickly. I didn't want to buy a lot of supplies I already have at home, so when I saw a cross stitch kit in the gift shop at Edinburgh Castle I knew that was the perfect solution.



It's a small project, in fact I've almost finished since I took this picture, and it's westies and scotties! Perfect!!

Labels: needlework, wip

Saturday I got up bright and early to start a 200 mile tour of four castles southeast of London. It turned out to be one of my favorite days so far!

First I headed to Scotney Castle, only recently opened to the public. It would be easy to never realize a little gem like this sits hidden in the English countryside.





My next stop was Bodiam Castle, straight out of a fairytale with its moat and perfect castle towers.





Hever Castle came next, and the grounds around this castle were some of the best I've seen. Many people seemed to pay the low garden access fee in order to bring picnics and sit in the gorgeous parks and let their kids play in the fun garden mazes.





Finally I stopped at Hampton Court Palace. If I hadn't already been to Hever Castle these would have been my favorite gardens, but something about Hever just seemed more intimate, Hampton was so formal. Still beautiful, of course!





There will be larger versions of these pictures and many more showing up on flickr when I'm home again with my beloved Photoshop, and I have more pictures from Sunday I hope to get up this week! I even have a work in progress to share - you didn't think I could make it five weeks without any crafting, did you??

Labels: photography, travel

Wow. Hi there! It's been a little while. I'm surprised I remembered my blogger log in! How are you?

I'm still over in the UK, working long days but enjoying my weekends. My first weekend over here I stayed near my hotel, relaxing and reading my book in the sun in a park by the river. It was fantastic! The next weekend I visited some friends in Newmarket, near Cambridge. We went to the horse races and walked through Cambridge - unfortunately the sun had abandoned us and we had to carry umbrellas the whole time, so my pictures are few.



Last weekend might be my favorite so far. We took a quick hop up to Edinburgh and spent two days exploring the castle and surroundings. Of course my camera got the most use in the botanic gardens; I've found I have a definite draw to nature pictures!



Last night we had a celebration dinner since we successfully prepared for our first review, at a wonderful restaurant in the Oakley Court hotel. The meal was good but the setting was even better! We ate our dessert on the terrace by the river and everyone had a wonderful time.



This weekend I'm going to explore a few more places in England, then after one more week (making a total of five this trip) I'll finally get to come home. For three weeks. Before heading back for one last business trip...

Labels: photography, travel