Diamond Jubilee

In early June, the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth celebrated Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee, that's 60 years as Queen.  It was a really special weekend with lots of festivities that we were able to watch on TV.  The country was alive with royal spirit and patriotism.  It's been really nice seeing all the Union Jack flags everywhere.  Our street had a "street party" which was a great opportunity for us to socialize with our neighbors, who usually stay to themselves. 

We spent our morning making Union Jack Cupcakes to share.

The girls had the most fun painting faces at the party.  They even painted the faces of most adults at the party.  So funny how our little american girls painted the UK flag on everyone's faces!

 Great job Alexa!

Haddon Hall

On one of our Tuesday outings, the American ladies visited Haddon Hall.  It happened to be a lovely day...sunny, mid 60s, very comfortable and pleasant.  Haddon Hall is near the town of Bakewell about an hour north of where we live.  The interesting thing is that Haddon Hall has been the location for many, many films.  Here's the description from their website:

Described by Simon Jenkins in “1000 Best Houses” as “the most romantic house to survive from the middle ages”. Set in the heart of the beautiful Peak District National Park, parts of the house date from the 12th Century, sitting like a jewel in its Elizabethan terraced gardens, and overlooking the River Wye.

Film-makers flock to Haddon Hall to use it as a location. The house and grounds have played host to no less than three versions of “Jane Eyre”. Screen credits also include "Elizabeth”, "Pride & Prejudice” and “The Other Boleyn Girl”. This year marks the silver jubilee of “The Princess Bride”, the cult classic movie in which Haddon Hall became Humperdinck’s Castle.

Haddon has its own romantic tale - that of Dorothy Vernon’s elopement with John Manners. Little wonder Haddon Hall is recognised as one of the most romantic houses in Britain.

The view from the courtyard.

The spectacular view over the garden wall!

Inside the gardens.

Project Completed!

Before I left for England I took a look at the huge pile of Volleyball jerseys I've collected over the years and decided that I wanted to make a T-Shirt Quilt.  So I cut the backs and some fronts off my shirts and moved them to England.  This Spring I finally got around to completing the project.  It only took me a couple of months.  I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, but I'm not exactly sure hwat we'll do with it!  It could be a picnic blanket, but I'm not sure I'm ready to get it dirty yet...

Anyway, so I got on of my projects done.  Next....use up as much scrapbooking supplies as possible so that I don't bring many craft supplies home next year.  I'm also considering making some tea cozies (keep the tea in the tea pot warm)....

Chatsworth with the Belangers

We take all our visitors to Chatworth.  We had a beautiful Monday to tour the house and gardens.

New Yorkers visit York

Last weekend Sean's sister and parents arrived for their visit.  One of the things we did with them on their first weekend here was take them to York.  We hadn't really seen most of the city yet, and it was a beautiful day to walk around and see the old world town.  York is a city that dates back to 71 A.D. when it was founded by the Romans, but also has a rich Viking and Norman history. 

The streets in York are called Gates.  The picture above shows one of the funny named streets in York Whip Ma Whop Ma Gate.  York has a very large walking district which is fabulous for shopping.  We really enjoyed walking around town and checking out all the shops.

 We stopped at Betty's, a famous tea house where we enjoyed a traditional afternoon tea.

Then we went over to the York Minster to relax in the yard outside and then attend an Evensong service.

Field Trip with Alexa

Recently, I was able to chaperone a field trip with Alexa's class. This is the first time I've been asked to do this, so I was very excited. First we went to a local greenhouse and the children learned how to plant hanging baskets. Then we went to a local church that is nearly 1000 years old! Part of the trip included a walk past gorgeous fields of Rapeseed. This is the time of year that Rapeseed is in bloom and the fields are brilliant. Imagine a whole field painted in bright yellow. Just gorgeous.

This was a medieval cross that was found on the property.  I think I was told that it is 700-800 years old.  I guess the monks back then believed that the cross looked like this, very different from our image of the cross now.  It was found in 1919 and mounted on the stone as it is today. Pretty neat.

Castleton

A couple weekends ago we took a drive up to Castleton, home of Blue John. It's always such a beautiful drive. The rocky hills covered with green and sheep are breathtaking. We had a nice lunch in town and explored the village a bit.  Then we took a short walk into the hills. 

We didn't make it very far on the trail we were on.  It was quite cold and windy.  But we definitely want to return and do a complete hike.

This was one of the excursions that Cooper was able to come with us.  He had a great time as always!