Bits and Bobs

 SONG -  Heart of the Country by Paul McCartney

Day 11 - May 10

I have been enjoying a proper English breakfast each morning but without the blood sausage, beans and black pudding. Well, and no tea. So that l end up with bacon (nothing like US bacon), eggs, & grilled mushroom & tomato. Yum. 

Today we drove to Cirencester (a much larger town than Lower Slaughter) to get Mr. B’s brand new shoes fixed at the Cobblers as the sole broke away from the uppers. We also bought him a new pair of tennis shoes as the only other shoes he had brought were flip-flops. 

He’s a proper Bobby-dazzler now

While waiting for the cobbler to finish his shoes, we popped into The Corn Hall for a “boot sale”. I found a few silver pieces to purchase but mostly it was fun to rummage through all of the vintage/antique bits & bobs.

On the way back to Lower Slaughter we stopped by Bibury to see Arlington Row. It was crowed with tour busses but we lucked out and found parking in the center of the village. 

“Arlington Row at Arlington in the parish of Bibury, Gloucestershire, England was built in the late 14th century as a wool store and converted into weavers' houses in the late 17th century. It is a Grade I listed building, owned by the National Trust. “ Wikipedia

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Manor House across the street from the Slaughter Inn.  

It was a beautiful warm evening and we sat outside for drinks & light appetizers. 

Care for a game of croquet anyone?

Sophie from St. Ninians near Stirling was our waitress and it was fascinating as she told us that she knew a lot of “Baird’s” growing up. We happen to be going to St. Ninians to do some research on Mr. B’s family tree!

Mr. B ordered a great bottle of Priorat from Spain and then our pre-appetizers arrived. 

It was a delicious Basil & Parmesan tart and a Fried Mushroom Quenelle

Followed by our starters - mine was White French asparagus with a Blood Orange butter & Sauce Maltese and Mr. B’s was Bang Bang Cornish Crab with crab bread & butter. 

For our main courses I had ordered Lake District Lamb with Morels, wild garlic, with a mint & caper condiment while Mr. B went with the Creedy Carver Duck with garden celeriac & parsley and a side of leg ragout.

And if that wasn’t enough they brought out pre-dessert which was a chocolate nugget with raspberry ice cream and for our ordered desserts we both had the Baked Apple with puff pastry & Carmel ice cream. 

We walked back to our Inn with a lighter pocketbook but happy hearts. 

Did I mention that our hotel is three-quarters surrounded by water, the river Eye? And that while we were getting ready for dinner about 20 Morgan cars pulled into our parking lot for the evening? The group was from Spain. 

Night……

One Year of Giggles

Song - Teach Your Children by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

Guess who has had one whole year of discoveries?

My grandson Henry!

He discovered that mommy is pretty cozy....

....and that naps can be refreshing.....

He discovered his tongue....

...and that playing in the pool is great fun!

He discovered his daddy will always have his back.

And he discovered baseball and football.....

...and that Lake Tahoe can be quite cold!

He discovered that sometimes people go away.....

...and boy is it fun when they return!

He discovered that both of his grandpa's are loving and fun!

And that hair cuts don't really hurt....

...and that Pat the Bunny is the best book ever!

He discovered his love for Great-Grandma Betty...

..and how to be gentle with flowers thanks to Grandma J.

He discovered food sometimes has a funny texture.....

...and that he isn't quite ready for a girlfriend yet!!!

For right now mommy will be my girlfriend....forever!

He discovered he has a very cool and funny uncle....

...and that he has a very loving family!

But you know the most important thing he discovered this year?

He discovered what happens when you go to sleep with damp hair....it's a riot in the morning!

"Love you to the moon and back Henry"

--Grandma J

Art in the City

Song - Are You in the Mood by Django Reinhardt covered by Zak Martel

Yesterday, Mr. B and I drove into the City to see the James Tissot exhibit "Fashion & Faith" at the Legion of Honor.  It was a beautiful clear day and we could see the ocean, the bay, the Golden Gate Bridge and downtown from the knoll in front of the museum. 

Above is an early self portrait of the artist and is painted rather loosely and impressionistic. Tissot was a French painter and lived in France and London from 1836 - 1902.

 

This is a painting of his muse - Kathleen Newton who lived with him from 1875 until her untimely death from TB in 1892. And while his "style" is not to my taste, I found the show delightful. It was interesting to see how he rendered people in work and play. 

The young girl playing croquet was one of my favorites but unfortunately I had left my "real" camera at home so all of these shots were from my cell phone so they are not very good quality.

Tissot rendered fabric with great care as he was well acquainted with drapes and folds coming from a father who was a successful drapery merchant and a mother who designed hats.
As a painter, I would go crazy rendering all of the pinstripes on this woman's gown!!!  But it was beautiful to look at.

 Afterwards we headed upstairs to the Legion's regular exhibit and I found some of my old favorites like "The Bath" above by Jean-Leon Gerome

And "The Absinthe Drinkers" by  Jean-Francois Raffaelli

 "Shelter on Montmartre" by Vincent van Gogh

 "Sewing Party at Loctudy" by Edouard Vuillard

 And after all of that eye candy we went around the corner for some dim sum that was excellent!

After the busyness of the holidays, it was nice to spend some quiet time together on a beautiful day!

"Part of the secret of a success in life is eating what you like 

and let the food fight it out inside."

--Mark Twain