Day 74 (June 15): Durham

Last full Friday in Durham.  Lotsa rain. 

Chris and Caroline checked out the Chinese buffet in town this evening.   I am making good progress on Great Expectations and finished Wives and Daughters tonight.

Day 73: Durham

Good day.  Took the Park & Ride into town this morning to do a few errands.  Then I did a bunch of laundry.

we bought Caroline a DU sweatshirt yesterday

This evening I got to attend a lecture given by Eamon Duffy, who is a very famous and highly-regarded historian from the University of Cambridge.  That was cool.

And so now I'm watching Wives and Daughters for a little while before bed.  The Van Mildert students are having some sort of carnival thing and have rented a ride of some sort and are screaming with glee outside our flat.  Fortunately it's not as loud as last night's event was.

These English uni students know how to live it up.

Day 72 (June 13): Durham

OK so today didn't actually prove to be all that exciting after all.

In the morning I walked into town to give Chris his lunch.  Walked back home.

After lunch Caroline and I walked into town to do some shopping and errands.  Accomplished everything, walked back home.

sky was dark and sun was shining on the river, looked cool

flowers growing on the side of a stone building

pretty wall decorated in flowers

more pretty flowers

I was tired.  Too tired to go back out again (via my tired legs and feet) to go to Chris's talk which he was giving last night.  Turns out good I didn't go because then he went out to dinner and wasn't home until late.  So Caroline and I had a quiet dinner & evening at home.  Well, sorta quiet.  One of the colleges (across the road) was having an outdoor party so there was loud music blaring, but it did end (mercifully) by 11 pm, so that was good.

Another day-in-the-life in Durham, U.K.

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 69: Durham (and Exeter)

We had lots of rain last night and the night before and so the river is very high.  This is unfortunate for the rowers and city planners and those who were looking forward to the 179th Durham Regatta.  The whole event (which was to occur yesterday and today) was cancelled.

river is very high and the water is fast & rough

it's also really brown today

I took a walk this afternoon along the river and through town.   Two nice ladies (from Cambridge) asked me for directions, which I gave them.  That was fun.

this is what they were looking for -- it is a bronze copy of the wooden original

The sculpture is "The Journey" and depicts monks carrying the coffin of St. Cuthbert.  (The one lady said she didn't like it at all.)

The river under the Old Elvet bridge was quite calm (whereas on the other side it was running very fast).  I took a few photos of the boats and the valerian growing on the bridge.

you can rent these boats

my attempt at an artsy picture

I'll call this one "Still Life with Boats and Valerian"... 

p.s.  Chris and the girls were in Exeter today and taking the train back to London this evening. 

Day 68 (June 9): Durham (plus London to Exeter)

The girls and Chris left early this morning for London.

waiting for the train...

Erin will be seeing Sweeney Todd this afternoon and then they are all getting back on a train to Exeter where they'll spend the night.  Tomorrow they will be in Exeter, taking a trip down memory lane -- Exeter is where all five of us lived for 4 months back in 2006 and the girls really wanted to visit.

So I get a few quiet days here, by myself!

there goes the absent-minded professor

I'm pretty sure I've been dismissed

Day 59 (May 31): Durham

The girls and I got somewhat itchy this afternoon, on this our third "quiet day" at home...  so we did go out for a walk at one point.

pretty public footpath nearby

cute little house down our street

Getting ready for our big Scotland-by-train trip, leaving in the morning!

Day 58 (May 30): Durham

Another recovery day. 

I walked into town to do some errands.  Afterwards the girls took a walk through the University's Botanic Garden which is nearby.  Unfortunately they chose the one hour in the day when it rained...  but they said it was pretty anyway.

Getting ready for another trip this weekend.

Day 57 (May 29): Durham

In-between day, not much doin'.

Day 53 (May 25): Durham

In-between day --  getting ready for a weekend in Paris!

Day 47: Durham

Another in-between day.

made myself a "full English" this morning

Well, except for I left out the black pudding and the sausage, and I didn't have a tomato, so actually this is not very authentic, sorry.  Whenever I have this breakfast, I am not hungry until mid-afternoon.  Yum, and quite filling.

I made a trip into town to the beauty salon this morning -- sorely in need of a haircut.

Chris is home this afternoon, after several days in London and Oxford.  I am checking Zachary's flight every now and then, right now he is somewhere over eastern Canada, I think.  Erin is back in Hillsborough and tomorrow Sam (corgi dog) and Maybelle (fat kitten) will come home from Grandad's.

from my favorite hill on my evening walk

public footpaths are awesome

this is the Durham School (or part of it) near our flat

picturesque road on my walk

flowering bushes and trees are starting to flower

We'll have another quiet two days and then Erin and Grandad will arrive!  Can't wait to see them.

Day 41 (May 13): Fort William

Weather today in the northern Highlands was stormy -- yup, not just a bit of rain, but a LOT of rain and a LOT of wind plus cold temps.  Stay-inside day.  We braved the storm to walk to church in the morning, and then spent the rest of the day in our lodge room, resting, reading, playing cards, watching Scottish TV.  Fortunately there is a Tesco Metro and a Morrison's in town and our lodge has a small kitchen and dining room for guests so we didn't have to eat all our meals in a restaurant while we were in Fort William.

Our plans for today had included a gondola ride partway up Ben Nevis but due to the weather that will have to wait for another time.

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 35 (May 7): Durham

Quiet day here, rest and recovery for Zachary, and we've joined in.

We did venture out for a bit in the afternoon for a brief visit to the Oriental Museum.  (Which is all of about 50 feet away from our flat and not in the least bit over-whelming.  In fact, one might call it under-whelming.)

Day 30: Durham

Today's walks, in pictures.

on my right as I walk into town...  and look up

the indoor market (just a wee glimpse) is one of my fave places in Durham

here's the outside of the market (there are two entrances)

I walk on the other side of the river going back home (view of Framwellgate Bridge)

so now the Cathedral is to my left

later we walk through some pasture with cows (that's Caroline over to the right)

really cool trees in one end of the pasture (and lots of cow poop on the ground)

Day 29: Durham

Another quiet day.  Cool and windy outside. 

We read and ate.  I worked on plans for going back to Paris with Erin in the end of May, did laundry, and placed a grocery order to be delivered tomorrow.

Chris travelled to London (on the train) today and is there for meetings until Thursday evening. 

It's good to have some slow, not-do-much days.  I'll look back on this with fondness, I expect, once the craziness of July is here.

Day 28: Durham

Quiet day here.  Not much to report.  It didn't rain.

muddy shoes and jeans

We walked into town to stop by the library and pick up some groceries, and decided to take a route along footpaths instead of the road.  Ran into some cows who had been moved into a different field and had to go the long way around, through some rather muddy places.

Also stopped in at a favorite charity shop and Caroline bought a very sweet dress she'd had her eyes on for these last 2 weeks.

Finished Cranford tonight.

Day 23: Durham

Today was a stay-inside, travel-planning, emailing, not-doing-much day.  This is the only picture I have for you, 'cause at one point I did get around to washing the dishes, too.

just keepin' it real

Don't ask me what is in that bowl that is sitting on the top of the microwave because I don't know.  I am just sorta ignoring it and hoping it won't hurt anyone.