Day 71: Durham

Nothing much to report about today except for that I finished Nicholas Nickleby and walked 2 miles to get a Starbucks latte.

pretty field that I walked  through on my way to the Starbucks (tiny cathedral tower in distance)

pedestrian tunnel that goes under the cathedral

Tomorrow should definitely be more exciting.

Day 70: Durham

Cloudy & rainy day here in Durham.  Chris and Caroline came home just after lunch.  We had a quiet afternoon.  I'm almost finished Nicholas Nickleby.

This evening I attended a Taize prayer service at the Cathedral.  It was great.  I'm so glad I went!

the skies cleared and the sun came out during the service and shone brightly through the stained glass

the river is calm and clear tonight...  what a difference a few hours makes

When I got home it was close to 9:30 pm and though the sun had just set the sky was still bright and turning pinkish so Caroline and I headed to our favorite hill to enjoy the prettiness and take some pictures.

the flowers on the hillside are perfect

the hills are alive...

so pretty and pink

p.s.  Erin is on her way back to North Carolina today.  She should be there by now.

Day 36 (May 8): Durham

Another quiet day, a bit of shopping, mostly more resting up for Zachary.

In other news, I am reading through the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series.  Nicholas Nickleby is somewhat on the back burner.

Day 27: Durham

Cold and rainy today.  Church in the morning, home the rest of the day.

No photos for today, so I thought I'd share the books I am reading while we are here.

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith (a Scot).  I haven't read these yet -- in my life at home I guess I just don't have time (or make time?) for this kind of reading, so it's fun to do that here.  I'm half-way through the second book.  I understand there is a BBC TV series made here, will need to look into that.

Mary Queen of Scots by Alison Weir.  I've read a few of her other English royalty titles and since we are going to Scotland and visiting Edinburgh I thought I'd read up on an important chapter in Scottish history.  It's tough to keep everyone straight but it's interesting reading.

Nicholas Nickleby  and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.  I'm about 1/5 into the first.  We'll see how far I get with these two!

We are also re-watching the BBC Cranford series right now.  So good.  And living in England makes these stories more meaningful.

Plus it is fun to see this again after recently seeing Imelda Staunton be so amazing in Sweeney Todd.