Thinking out loud (not really. I'm writing)

It's' been awhile,

and I'm not sure why I let it go so long.

I love writing, and I enjoyed keeping up with this blog,

but I have not posted one thing in several years.

Lots of drafts ... just no posts.

I missed this blog 

and I wanted to get back.

There is only one thing you have to do to get back to something.

You have to start.

So that's what I'm doing here today.

I'm starting.

**********

 The little country of England had been a dream place of ours for years, 

but we had lots of dreams,

and no one expects their dream to become reality.

Neither did we, 

Until Bud was offered a 3 year assignment in England, 

This dream was about to be real life.

And life for us felt like a whirlwind of preparation.

Three years in a place we had only dreamed of living...

The only thing I knew for sure was that it would be nearly impossible to fit all of the places we wanted to see into three years.

How do you choose?

Where would you start?

  

Imagine.

You have before you a country with a rich heritage.

Whatever your interest, there is an England for you.

For example,

Books?

Think large literary heritage.  

There are places you can go that were the inspiration for books with such beloved characters as 

Winnie the Pooh,  Oliver Twist, and Mr. Darcy.   

Maybe you prefer to see the homes where the authors lived;

 to walk in the grounds of the huge castle-like home of Sir Walter Scott, 

or the tiny cottage garden at the home of Beatrix Potter, 

or walk in the heather covered wild moors of the Bronte's.

While in the US,  you can go on tours of the homes of stars, 

in England, 

you can tour the homes of 

the people who wrote the stories 

that have been making people into stars for centuries. 

Crafts?

Take your pick. 

Basket making, Weaving, Lacemaking?

For ages, these crafts were more than a leisurely undertaking;

yet today, some of these skills are in danger of being lost. 

Good to know, there are places where you can still learn how to make things...just for fun.

History? 

Pick a place.

Whatever direction you look you are surrounded by it.  

Medieval Castles, Ancient Forests, Cathedrals, and Battlefields.

In order to get to our favorite picnic spot, we walked across a bridge built by the Romans!

In fact, while we lived in England, archaeologists discovered evidence of a Viking settlement, 

and raised up an old ship from the bottom of the English Channel!

(it sunk on its maiden voyage after it was sent out by Henry VIII)

Still today historic discoveries are made! 

After we left, they dug up the remains of a former king right in the middle of a parking lot!

Speaking of kings...

No need to tell you that England has a few royal things that might be interesting to you.  

They were to us.

And while we lived there, England celebrated a Royal Engagement, a Royal Wedding, and a Royal Birth. 

And still, there is so much we would learn from our time there..

We would learn the character of this place

People who lived their lives and changed the world.

The thing that caught me by surprise was how much of our Christian heritage could be found there.

Those I had never heard of gained my utmost respect 

because of the part they played in the ongoing story of our faith.

As time passed, 

and with the help of more than a few friends and strangers, 

we learned many things that made England special to us.

We went there with a few ideas of the things we wanted to see.

Saw so much more than we'd imagined.

Met friends that are dear to us to this day.

We ended up calling England home for six years...

twice the time we had anticipated,

Six years. 

Where woul you start?  

What would be first?

For us, it was finding a house that we could call home.

*****

(Note:  the house pictured above was not that house, it was Beatrix Potter's )