Wuthering Heights

I can't say the word 'moors' without thinking of Wuthering Heights. Not that I read it, mind you. That was the year I got kicked out of high school, and so I missed a bit more than British Literature, truth be told. But 'moors' just sounds like Wuthering Heights. Or like Othello. Either way, it's Brit Lit.
Anyway, I went walking yesterday on the moors. Must have walked five miles or so by the time it was all through. But it was beautiful, and the wind was whipping, the skies were crisp and blue, and all was right with the world up there. OK, most everything was right. There was the unfortunate discovery Tabitha made of a pair of young child's underwear....there are no JiffyJohns on moors. And there was the mental hospital we stumbled upon. OK, it wasn't really, but it seemed like a plausible story. Learned later that it was an old TB sanitarium. And there was the bus stop that had the courtesy to display a nicely printed sign that read "This is no longer a stop." Guess it would have been too much trouble to just remove the stop....gotta give people hope that they've reached the stop, and then crush it. But the swifts and Queen Anne's lace and crumbling stone walls and heath and open vistas... they were lovely. We stopped in at the Three Merry Lads pub (which my Facebook friends have made naughty jokes about). Tabitha ate her third major dessert in 24 hours (but no judgment, really), and I had a latte with Kahlua. Just the thing to warm me up so I could make it to the real bus stop.

Chatsworth House, Derbyshire

If you have an ounce of a soul in you, you'd probably enjoy Chatsworth House, at least today. Today was filled with gorgeous art and baby animals and gardens and beautiful spaces and flowers. After a WARM night (must have worked to our benefit that I tipped up the furnace) Tabitha and I woke happy. Lisa, our hostess, drove us down to the bus stop to catch the 9:12 to Chatsworth House in Peaks National Park. It is the ancestral (and current) home of the 12th Duke and Dutchess of Devonshire.
After a lovely half hour drive in the countryside, we arrived before opening. We got a cup of coffee/tea and wandered through some shops, then into the gardens surrounding the estate. We lucked into arriving on one of the days of the "Florabundance Festival". Even though it was raining, we walked for several miles admiring all the landscaping and flowers in bloom and baby animals (lambs and ducklings). The home exterior was undergoing some renovations, but the gardens and interiors were still fantastic. The tulips were all in bloom, along with about every other flower you can imagine. It was really incredible. Reminded me a bit of Biltmore House, Versailles... you know, houses and gardens erected by really rich people, who now must let the likes of me inside their homes, in order to pay for them!
We dined at the restaurant and then tackled the house itself. The art collection alone was worth the trip: from Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Franz Hals, and Correggio, to Joshua Reynolds, David Hockney, and Lucien Freud. Then there were the awesome interiors. Then the gorgeous flower arrangements. Just my cup of tea, for sure.

Oh, and be sure to watch the upcoming documentary about Chatsworth House on the BBC. It will feature all three of these feet.

...to the dodgy end...

Tabitha and I shivered our way through night one. I stayed in bed as long as I could to stay warm. When we both got up, and no one was home, we turned up the heat just a little bit! But of course our dear host Andrew showed up and I was busted! :-) However, the day warmed up and it was absolutely lovely today for strolling around town and checking out our new surroundings. So we walked to the bottom of the hill, boarded the bus into town, and saw what there was to see in downtown Sheffield. Everyone we talked to were like, "You're spending your holiday?...in SHEFFIELD?" Apparently the convention and visitors bureau has not convinced the locals that anyone would want to come here! But we enjoyed ourselves, especially the little coffee shop where we sipped caramel hot chocolate. As the day got late, we boarded the #120 back to our house. But after circling the city center it veered east, rather than west. Gradually, the scenery got dodgier, and we realized that yes, we were on the right bus, but headed in the wrong direction! After learning some valuable transport lessons -- make sure what side of the road you are on! make sure you wave for the driver or he won't stop! -- we were delivered back to the bottom of the hill. We stopped in the pub there to celebrate our arrival. Then climbed Carsick Hill to our home sweet home. Lisa fixed a delicious vegetarian lasagne which we devoured. We sat around planning our weekend adventures. Tomorrow we will travel to the Darcy estate from the Keira Knightly version of Pride and Prejudice, better known as Chatsworth House; at the end of May, Ryan will join us (and maybe Maja??) to fly to Venice!

Same blogger...different country

Today I landed in Manchester, UK, to begin an internship at the University of Sheffield. However, most sadly, I could not find the cord which connected my camera to my computer, and so haven't a way to upload photos currently, except from Tabitha's camera (where those that follow were taken). I'm going to look to buy a cord here if that's possible. Of course, I still haven't exchanged currency, used an ATM, bought a bus pass, or really done any of the navigating in a new country that I need to.

Tabitha and I arrived here after an uneventful flight. It was the part before the flight that was eventful. My parents dropped us at the airport and we said our goodbyes. Inside, we immediately learned that our baggage was overweight. Not such a big problem for me, as I could carry a makeup bag as my second carry-on, and problem solved. But Tabitha had "weightier" issues: 25 pounds to redistribute, and (Murphy's Law) a busted zipper on her brand new carry-on. Finally after proving that no, we are not terrorists, and about an hour, extra baggage, and lots of discarded toiletries, later, we boarded the flight.
The layover in Atlanta was short. I scarfed down an Arby's as Tabitha tried to hunt down a replacement for the totally worthless Samsonite. As time neared for boarding, I began sending texts: "Hi, I'm leaving the food court." "Hi, where are you?" "The gate is all the way at the end of the concourse. Where are you?" "Our zone is finished boarding! Where are you?????" and finally "I'm on the plane and in a panic." But she made it on, having found unfortunately no luggage to replace the broken zippered tote bag. This was this morning's view out the window:

Jet lag has been my constant companion today. Arriving in Manchester, we navigated our way to the train station and found the train for Sheffield. We called Andrew, our University contact, who picked us up an hour later at the Sheffield platform. He drove us by the University, showing us where we'd be working, and then on to the house we are staying in, high up Carsick Hill, west of the city. The home is lovely... a recently renovated older home with a large (by English standards) lot, 3 darling children, 2 Maine Coon cats (Ra and Isis), and a very kind and accommodating couple. Following leek and potato soup, Tabbs and I both took a long nap. Late afternoon, we walked down the hill to the bus stop, and did a bit of shopping (replacing those discarded toiletries). It is election day here in England:

Hopefully by tomorrow we will have our beauty sleep, and be ready to tackle to bus system, touring around downtown, and getting our local bearings.
So far, these are my observations:
1. It's colder here. Colder in the house, colder outside. I hope I brought enough warm non-work clothes.
2. I want a Maine Coon cat.
3. Even the houses where they wouldn't claim to have a gardener, look quaint and brimming with landscaping. Just on our short walk, we saw peonies, lilacs, columbine, tulips, rhododendron, roses, and about two dozen other plants I don't know... all in bloom.
4. I should have amazing calves by the time I've climbed Carsick Hill daily for 6 weeks. This is a sign posted along the not-very-steep section:

View across Presbyterian

Today, I began my practicum at Presbyterian College. I hardly had time to breathe, so this was the only shot I took all day, the view from my office window across to the library. Interesting to have regular contact with three universities and to be able to compare how they do things: Clemson (pop: 14,400, 70% from SC), High Point (pop: 3300 from 46 states and 51 countries), and Presbyterian (pop: 1200, 97% residential).

T

Yep, they called a technical.

Sunshine on snow

I looked out the window and was struck by how happy the shadows on the porch made me. Madge must agree.

Meditative Me

This is a sculpture, given me by a friend, to honor my spiritual journey.

I think it is supposed to be Mary Magdalen in the garden. Whoever it is, she reminds me of my meditative self. This Self hasn't been around in awhile, and I miss Her. I hope I can spend some time this weekend reconnecting with Her. I gain so much from meditation, it just seems to be one of the first things to go, along with exercise, when I'm dealing with life. But like exercise, it gives back much more than it takes.

You don't want to go down there...

Over the winter one half of my neighborhood is cut off from the other because of the rebuilding of the bridge.

Not that I'm complaining...the old bridge was built of toothpicks. But it makes walking the dog to our usual spot difficult, unless we feel like running across a water pipe. And it makes driving the direct route to many of my regular places impossible. But in this ice, it could really be dangerous to turn down this street!

An Apple man, naturally

I've gotten lazy with my 365 over the last week. Something about being snowed in has made it ok to neglect. But snow is melting and I need to get cracking. Here's how I see my dad a lot. He's coming up on 86, but he is up-to-date on computer stuff. He loves checking in on Facebook to keep up with people. He watches his grandson's game online. He emails his friends.

He's pretty hip.

Snow day!

Zeus illustrates just how excited EVERYONE is about snow in the south!

I ♥ my cat

Actually, my own cat is on my hit list, after chewing my laptop power cord in half.
Saw this bit of graffiti on my walk yesterday.

Swamp Rabbit Trail

Zeus, Kati and I went walking today along the Swamp Rabbit Trail. It's a 12+ mile trail along an old railbed, so the scenery is often industrial and sketchy. But the trail is bringing life and visitors to a side of town that has needed it. Even though it was 32 degrees out the trail was full of bikers and walkers and dogs. This was one of the scenes along the route.

Trivia Night

A few nights ago, Kati and I met Adam for trivia night downtown. Thank goodness for Adam, because one round was all song lyrics. Can't say we exactly dominated, but we had fun.

Centennial Oak

63 feet tall. 16 feet circumference. 60" trunk diameter. 141' spread.

Blue Star mom

Students aren't back yet, so the campus is pretty empty. Certainly, the dorms are. Today the sky was gray, and so I thought this shot captured the feeling of coldness and emptiness. But then I noticed the little blue star in one of the windows, and that made me think of Gray. I talked to him today for a short while. He spent midnight on New Year's Eve in a helicopter above Afghanistan. Talk about cold and empty.

WOOF

This is my mantel at Christmas. It's kinda -- no, VERY -- plain compared to the mantels I've done in the past, but it's a happy one for me. Kinda hate to see the stockings taken down.

Back to the salt mines....

Today was the first day back at work, and here's the view of my cave from where I sit. I spent the day cleaning out files and e-mail, and trying to get back in the groove.

Everybody's happy at the Apple store

...most of all me. My power cord died, and thanks to Apple Care, they just swapped out a new one. First problem of 2011: solved. If only they will all be this easy!

The Lottery Virgins

Take two twenty-somethings and two forty-somethings, none of whom have ever bought a lottery ticket, and here's what you have on New Year's Day. Between football games we drove to the gas station and plunked down a few bucks for a chance at winning!