Down on the Farm in West Sussex - The Celebration Continues

While visiting family in West Sussex last week, we were privileged to stay with Peter's oldest sister, Wendy, and her husband, Michael, in their 18th c. restored barn home. The barn is one of many buildings on the property to include the main house where daughter Jackie's family lives, stables and a cottage, plus a pool, gardens, fields, woods, horses, chickens, dogs and a cat. There must always be a cat!

The gardens were the perfect location for the final event of the week long celebration of Michael's 80th birthday. While everyone pitched in to set up party tents and move tables, my donation to the garden party was deadheading and tidying the garden beds and hanging baskets the day before with a cup of coffee and a quiet sense of peacefulness amidst the flurry. It was a wonderful celebration, thanks to Jackie and her family for all of their hard work, love and laughter. Despite a brief shower, the event was a huge success.

Sister Jo (standing) speaking to dear family friend Brenda

Peter (right) speaking to his youngest brother Nigel and cousins

Many happy returns, Michael! (left)

The Halfway Bridge Inn & Woolbeding Gardens, West Sussex

Woolbeding Gardens, West Sussex

As we continue to celebrate brother-in-law Michael's 80th birthday, nine members of the family dined at The Halfway Bridge Inn and wandered through Woolbeding Gardens in West Sussex, "sitting halfway between the two historic market towns of Midhurst and Petworth, with a sky line dominated by the South Downs. Petworth, with it's famous country house, deer park and numerous antique shops and now established as the antique centre of southern England. Whilst Midhurst, voted by readers of Country life as the most pleasant town in England, is home to the Cowdray Estate, Cowdray ruins and international polo," according to the Inn's brochure passed around while waiting for our starters to be served.

Elizabeth and Michael - The Halfway Bridge Inn, West Sussex

If you click the link, you can open the menu and understand why we are all having such a difficult time selecting starters, the main course and afters. Wendy and Michael chose red and/or white wine for all. And of course there was plenty of ale, Doomsbar from Cornwall, for Peter.

The family wandering out of the Halfway Bridge Inn, West Sussex

A short car ride away, we had the opportunity to visit Woolbeding Gardens, newly opened in 2010. While the Village of Woolbeding was listed in the Doomsday Book of 1068AD, a home was recorded on the site in 1652 and the gardens of today were developed in the 1970's. Fortunately, we were the only guests at the gardens with not a bus filled with tourists in sight. 

Also fortunately for us, the rains held off and the weather was glorious as we made our way back down the lane to our cars. If you visit West Sussex, I highly recommend the gardens. While you may stride across the meadows, sit quietly in the Saxon church and meander through the vegetable plots at your own pace, you will need to make reservations in advance. 

What's on your bucket list?

When I was a young girl living with my grandparents in a steel town in Illinois, just east of St. Louis, MO, never would I have dreamed that someday, I would work as an illustrator in New York City, attend a university (no less be working on a second Master's degree), begin a second career as an art educator at 50, spend summers visiting family in the UK, or ride across England on the Orient Express to the Roman ruins in Bath, Somerset.  Now that I am older (cough-cough), I no longer have a wish list, but a bucket list of possibilities for the future. Wednesday's journey checked two of those possibilities off my list.

Victoria Station - London

Admittedly, I have been a fan of Agatha Christie and have had the desire to ride the Orient Express ever since I saw the movie in 1974. Although the idea of traveling anywhere with a load of tourists following a little man or woman holding an umbrella or red flag is dismal, sometimes you just have take a deep breath and jump into the international stream of humanity flooding into certain iconic locations.  Fifteen members of my husband's family undertook this adventure as a celebration of his oldest brother-in-law's 80th birthday. We filled all but four seats on the Iona, one of the train cars on the OE. Sitting at dining tables in groups of two, three, or four, the journey (each way) included a multi-course meal with various bubbly beverages to keep everyone in good spirits.

Our family on the Iona

I must admit that the entire experience felt much like performing in a dramatic novel as there are no shrinking violets in the family. And all, if not most of us, are characters!  As an example, for a few years now, I have been photographing toilets in the UK in an attempt to capture the wide variety of flushing options before Health & Safety makes everyone replace their vintage loos with the standard bog design. Some people in the UK are VERY serious about lavatories and offer the LOO of the Year award. When I first saw the lavatory on the Orient Express, I ran back to my table, almost tripping our waiter, to get my camera. Below demonstrates a room where one could possibly spend a lot of time.

The button above the seat at chest height does the trick.

Mosaic tile floor of a lovely lady and her zebra in the loo

By the time we arrived on the platform, we all needed a brisk walk ... or a nap.  Instead, we climbed aboard a tour bus (something Peter and I never, ever do) and listened to a very knowledgeable lady describe the Medieval and the "newer" 16th - 17th century buildings in the city before we debarked and walked through the ancient Roman town center.

Since we only had little less than three hours to see everything before we were to meet on the train platform, we did our best to absorb as much as possible with the idea of reading more about it later.

All too soon, we were back on the train headed for London. More lovely food and drinks for all. What an exciting experience, and an opportunity for which I am very grateful. 

Hobo Bags and Indigo Cloth

After researching various hogo bag designs online, two of my 8th grade Art 2 students at Oakville Middle School created their own bags as an additional after-school project.

First, they cut paper patterns before cutting pattern pieces from indigo dyed pillow cases and recycled fabric. They sewed both lined and hidden pockets, either inside the seams or the lining, for their cell phones, keys, etc. Finally, they made cloth straps to fit across their bodies. The girls had only a little experience sewing, but completed their bags in about four hours total (after the cloth was dyed) by sharing my portable sewing maching in the OMS art studio classroom. I think I enjoyed the process and time shared during this project as much as the girls!