Colorado

With our friends from Denver, we drove about two and a quarter hours to a cabin near Buena Vista we had rented for the weekend. The weather was gorgeous, the scenery was too. From our deck we had wonderful views:

The cabin is on the banks of the Arkansas River, and we had our coffee around the campfire each morning:

We had daily visitors, as many as three doe at a time:

And this big fellow:

We hated to leave, but I managed to cajole everyone into returning via Leadville, my favorite town. It's the highest city in the United States, sitting at over 10,000 ft. on a "Fourteener" (a mountain with elevation of at least 14,000 feet). The history of Leadville is like something made up for a novel -- gold mines, silver mines, lead mines and all the stories of mining rushes. It was a very rich place (all that gold and silver sloshing around), and also pretty rough and tumble. It had grand hotels, an opera house (an opera has been written about the doings there, The Ballad of Baby Doe, by Douglas Moore), and everyone who was anyone came to Leadville: President Grant, Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde and many more. Remember the "unsinkable Molly Brown"? She came to Leadville from Missouri as a young woman to take care of her bachelor miner brothers, met Johnny Brown and married him. They lived in Leadville, where he made lots of money. One day Johnny came home from the mine with $100,000.00 in cash and told Molly to put it in a safe place. She put it in the firebox of the cold cook stove. Next morning, she absentmindedly lit the fire and burned it up. Johnny kissed her goodbye and went off to make another bundle.

You couldn't make up the stories of things that really happened in Leadville. It's on the cusp of being taken over by the zillionaires who want second homes (or third ones) in beautiful locations, which is a shame. I'm glad I've had a number of chances to visit it before its history gets buried by a Starbucks on every corner. Speaking of which, we had lunch at a little cafe, and when I went to the ladies' room, I saw a photo which captured my heart -- a beautiful wolf. I dragged my friend in, then both our husbands; they all were as captivated by the photo as I was. I was able to get the website address for the wolf sanctuary (http://www.krdotv.com/Global/story.asp?s=6701725) which sells the photos and have one sent to me. It's being framed now, and will hang over my desk. These are God's creatures just as we are, and they are being hunted down by people in airplanes, chased until they are exhausted, then shot. It's heartbreaking, and it has to be breaking God's heart too. Surely there is room for all God's creatures in this world. We are the ones who have invaded their habitat, and then we decide they have no right to exist there.

Gratitudes:

all God's creatures

the beauty of Creation

good times with good friends

Bad girl!

I wonder if I should be trying to blog; sometimes it's just impossible to keep up with it. We had a wonderful time in Colorado (pictures at 10), were home just a few days and I went on a quilting retreat.

You'll recognize this sort of thing that goes on at retreats:

Here's what I mostly did -- 331 flying geese. I have to finish the last 29 for a total of 360 for a block exchange in January.

Some candids:

Janet (left) does the most beautiful handwork. Gayle's a new grandma, and her son and daughter-in-law, the new parents, are the CSA farmers who have kept us in excellent organic veggies all summer.

Maria from Chicago (left) and Annie from Pittsburgh.

The other thing I did was get the last border on the blue Four Patch Posy, piece the backing and prepare the binding. Monday morning I took it to the long-arm quilter, and it should be done by Christmas.

Gratitudes:

I'm surviving this crazy year

Time with good friends

The freedom to play

A few candids

No history lesson tonight! DH and I are leaving early tomorrow AM for Colorado to spend a few days with friends. Thought I'd post a couple of miscellaneous photos before going.

Contemplating in the ruins of St. Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury.

Doesn't this statue make me look petite by comparison? (LOL) That's Her Majesty Queen Victoria on top.
Matthew the rescue dog with Sr. Pamela. He's adorable!
Here he is enjoying the rawhide stick I took him. I had thought, from the photo I'd seen of him, that he was a much larger dog. This chew stick will keep him busy for a while!

Stay well, be good!

Gratitudes:

Got all my errands done today

Going to see good friends and relax

I have such a good life

St. Augustine's Abbey & Henry VIII

In Canterbury:

Three Saxon Christian churches already stood on this site when, in 597, St. Augustine was sent from Rome to 'evangelize' the English. The not-yet Christian king, Ethelbert, allowed St. Augustine to build a Benedictine abbey on these grounds. Over the centuries, the abbey was added to until it became a large complex. Many of the Angle and Saxon kings are buried here, and many of the early archbishops of Canterbury.

This is the chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary:

This is one of the newer graves! (Date is 1063). Several date back to the 6th and 7th centuries.

Today, of course, the abbey is in ruins. It was destroyed by Henry VIII, along with all the monasteries in England. Now Henry wasn't quite as depraved as he's usually portrayed. He was certainly every woman's worst nightmare husband. But his reasons for what he did were sound. England had just been through a thirty-year civil war (the War of the Roses) over the succession to the throne, causing the land and its people terrible misery and poverty. Henry needed a male heir to ensure there would be no war over the succession after his death. His wives (all six) produced among them only one very weak surviving son (by his 3rd wife), who died at age 15.

Although popes had granted divorces and annulments to royalty for just this reason, the pope at the time, Clement VII, would not annul the marriage of Henry and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. She was the aunt of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, a Spanish king, and he didn't want his aunt's marriage annulled as it would prevent their family's heirs from eventually ruling England. And Charles had Pope Clement right where he wanted him -- in prison!

Additionally, the English monasteries had become very wealthy. Rich landowners would leave vast tracts of land to monasteries so the monks would pray for their souls after their death. The monasteries received rents from the common people who 'sharecropped' the land. The monasteries then sent huge sums of money to Rome. Rome, in turn, gave the money to either France or Spain, whichever was currently in favor, to fight against England during centuries of constant warfare. This didn't set well with the English, understandably.

So the usual story about Henry VIII and the English Reformation leaves out a lot that explains what it was really all about. The amazing outcome of this mega-soap opera was Elizabeth I, the child of Henry and his 2nd wife Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth was without a doubt England's greatest monarch, male or female. She kept England safe from foreign enemies. (She said, "I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England, too.") The arts flourished (think Shakespeare!). English explorers sailed the seas (think Drake). English scientists made great discoveries (think Newton).

Gratitudes:

Not being a queen!

History is so interesting.

Wildflowers can grow from ruins.

Really Olde Things

This is a Stone Age hill fort. The people would have dug the ditch (second photo) using cattle's hip blade bones as shovels and red deer antlers as pickaxes. And we think we work hard.

This next one needs no naming! Whatever Stonehenge was meant for -- and no one knows for certain -- it has to have been very important to the people who built it. I have now seen many 'henges' as these stone circles are called, and none of the others had stones which came any higher than my chest. These are unbelievably huge, and each must have a good bit underground to have kept upright for so many thousands of years. See the person in the right background to note the scale.

I am almost back to Central Daylight Time (which will switch again soon!). The accumulated To-Dos and the new commitments that come with fall are keeping me swamped.

Gratitudes:

Fall is here (I love it).

DGG's 10th birthday - she's a pip!

DS's 42nd birthday coming up.

Olde Things

The English don't tear down old buildings and put up new ones. I was told they will gladly spend more to preserve the exterior of an old building and replace the interior if necessary. Some of these buildings are comparatively 'new' next to some things I'll post another day.

Here's a house across from one of the gates to the cathedral close in Norwich -- this is a top-notch neighborhood!

This next one is on King's Street, the 'main' street of Norwich -- also an excellent neighborhood. The lower level will soon be upscale shops and the upper level will be residential flats.

Norwich today is quite a large city; there was a time when it was larger than London. It was the center of trade with the continent, especially for wool exports, a major part of the English economy for centuries. To this day, the Speaker of the House of Lords in Parliament sits on the 'Woolsack,' which was the symbol of Britain's prosperity.

My body is still about four hours out of synch with this time zone -- so at least I'm halfway back to normal. I saw the orthopedic surgeon today, fifteen weeks after the shoulder surgery. He was very pleased with where I am now, and so am I. I was able to schlep my own luggage without help on the trip.

Gratitudes:

good recovery from surgery

the character of old buildings

Home from England

Got home Friday night and am still between that time zone and this one. I'll tell more and show photos bit by bit (and in no particular order). This is a very old church in Canterbury, St. Martin's, built in the 6th C. and still in use: http://weblingua.hostinguk.com/invictaweb/canterburybuildings/pages/stmart1a.htm

This one is looking toward the West Door of Canterbury Cathedral from the quire (about 2/3 of the way up the nave):

A beautiful, beautiful space which reaches to the heavens.

And here is the view from my bedroom window in Canterbury:

I could walk (past all those banks of roses!) from my room to the cathedral in five minutes!

I will say that I'm grateful for wood floors and carpets at home -- we spent a good six hours a day standing and walking on stone floors -- very hard on the feet, knees and hips! How did those ancient folk do it?

Gratitudes:

very easy flights both ways

good traveling companions

wonderful experiences