Winchester

Babette and I drove to an hour south to the beautiful city of Winchester.

Please take a moment to contemplate this parking space...one thing I will NOT miss about the UK. Another dreadful parking fact is that almost every parking lot (car park) is pay parking. This one in Winchester was short term parking, so when we returned after 4 hours and 15 minutes, not realizing the limit was 4 hours, I had to pay £15!! Yosemite Sam could best express my sentiments at that moment.

Winchester is lovely and very walkable, with lots of old buildings and a charming High Street.

Cathedral

Window designed by Edward Burne-Jones, Arts and Crafts Movement.

Grave of Jane Austen.

Blessed hope.

Medieval tiles.

Mural depicting Mary restoring the hand of an innocent man.
Now do you believe, Nin?

Saint Joan of Arc.

We went for lunch at the Wykeham Arms, which is a charming pub, just around the corner. I definitely recommend it if you are visiting without children, because they don't serve them. It is very busy, so make a reservation.

House where Jane Austen died in the arms of her sister Cassandra.

Statue outside the Winchester College, founded in 1382.

Is this not the happiest baby Jesus?

Wall of Winchester Palace.

Alfred the Great,
King of Wessex from 871-899.

Christmas market next to the Cathedral, so much fun!

Thanksgiving Wishes 2011

Grandma came to visit us for Thanksgiving! Michael is madly in love with her and spends a lot of his time trying to figure out a way to get more Grandma in his life. One of his visions involved getting Mommy and Daddy to divorce so he can live with Daddy and Grandma...his plan included telling Daddy that I held up my middle finger to him when he wasn't looking.



Pumpkin pie and pumpkin cupcakes for Thanksgiving dessert.


There are days when his bizarre plan sounds pretty good, with a few tweaks. Let me keep daddy, for starters.

"How fabulous!" I wanted to say, "But just for a week..."

Instead, I took a deep breath and replied, "You love Grandma very much!"

I think everyone in our family has wanted to escape reality and live with Grandma at some point. Lay on her ultra-comfy couch in her quiet, clean, organized house and watch TV all day, feasting on pizza and mac-n-cheese. Or in our case, crab legs and rib eye. I am so grateful my children have such a wealth of love from and for their grandparents. I wish every child could feel so cherished.

But for now Michael is stuck with us and our rules. "You're always bossing me around!" He barked recently when I told him it was time to practice piano. 

Turkey tacos, beans, salsa and real tortillas from Tucson!

A few days after Thanksgiving, I had two wish bones for the boys. Michael broke his first, and I held my side so it would snap just so. He wished for Grandma to live with us.

Next, it was Dominic's turn. I repeated the same trick and his wish was granted. He jumped off his dining room chair, ran into the living room, hopped onto the arm of the couch and flung himself body and soul into the air.




Happy belated Thanksgiving, and may all of our wishes come true.

Barefoot Contessa's Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Frosting

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup canned pumpkin purée (8 ounces), not pie filling

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Maple Frosting (recipe follows)

1/2 cup coarsely chopped Heath bars, for serving (2 1.4-ounce bars)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush or spray the top of 10 muffin tins with vegetable oil and line them with 10 paper liners.

2. Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. In a larger bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin purée, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil. Add the flour mixture and stir until combined.

3. Divide the batter among the prepared tins (I use a level 2 1/4-inch ice cream scoop) and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely.

4. Spread the cupcakes with the Maple Frosting and sprinkle with the chopped toffee bits.
Makes 10 cupcakes

Maple Frosting

6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 teaspoon Boyajian Natural Maple Flavor

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese and butter on low speed until smooth. Stir in the maple flavoring and vanilla extract. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.

Buscot to Kelmscott

I checked out Walking in the Cotswolds from the Crowthorne library; there are many great walks within an hour or two from us. We chose Buscot to Kelmscott because it is close-ish and I read that William Morris lived in Kelmscott. He was an architect, artist, textile designer, author, printer and an important associate of the English Arts and Crafts movement. He is a fascinating man who helped establish the modern fantasy genre and his writing influenced J. R. R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. He is inspiring me right now!

Every morning we wake up to these beautiful spider webs on our cars. 

The walk starts in Buscot, which we didn't see very much of. It appears to be a very small and charming village.

This is the Buscot Lock house, the smallest lock on the River Thames. Beside it is a National Trust picnic area.

Sunshine on Mike's shoulder...can you spot it?

Leaving the lock we started on the walk along the Thames.

The path is lined with electrified fencing, a little nerve wracking with boisterous bodies to supervise.

The cement structure in the photo above is a World War II pill box, one of three or four seen on the walk.

Can you see Michael?

This was our first visit to the upper Thames, a much quieter part of the river.

I love walking with the boys. They tell jokes, sing songs, are entertained by sticks and rocks and leaves and tell us long stories.

Here are my hand written directions. I was tempted to not write it all down, but they were so specific and we would not have found our way without them.

Cross the footbridge.

Kale shakes!

Approaching Kelmscott, there are cottages and a manor house inspired by William Morris.

Detail of slate tiles.

Manor house.

I know there are gobs of photos, but the entire walk is amazingly beautiful. And the weather was misty and quiet adding to the magic.

We stopped for a nice late lunch at the Plough Inn, and honestly were underdressed, but they welcomed us warmly and the beef bourguignon was so good I wanted to lick the plate clean. Regretfully, they ran out of the herbed dumplings!!

I want this fence!

This next photo was the home of William Morris in Kelmscott. It is open to visitors on Wednesdays and Saturdays in the summer months.

As we began our walk out of town back to Buscot, it became apparent that we were not going to make it back in daylight.

A home on the river.

The last 45 minutes of our walk was in complete darkness, walking through fields, up and over mossy, slippery stiles and across footbridges, reading my hand written directions by the light of our cell phone.

La belle Iseult, William Morris

Madonna and Child, Edward Burne-Jones,
example of stained glass from Arts and Crafts Movement,
Winchester Cathedral.