VIP Arrivals

This afternoon we were back at Dulles airport to meet David's parents.  The sky was a rather unwelcoming dull shade of grey.

Our VIP guests looked remarkably fresh and perky after their long flight.

Back home their room is ready and an early night may be on the cards after such a long day!

Little birds....

When I was staying with Mum and Dad a couple of weeks ago, their bird feeders were very popular with small birds - mainly bluetits but also some great tits and coal tits.

In the early morning they all came to feed together, jostling for position on the feeders.

Occasionally one would perch on the top while deciding which feeder to try..

Another decided that there were richer pickings to be had around a door frame..

Newquay Zoo

We visited the zoo last week and David took lots of pictures of a variety of different animals..

Including this little chap...

Taking off (again)

It was very hard to leave Lauren and Theo this morning to return to the US, but it was time. 

These photos were taken by Juliet when she visited on Monday.

I only have to compare these with the ones taken on the day that I left the UK at the end of June to understand that I will see lots of changes by the time of our next visit home!!

Thank goodness for email, skype etc to stay in touch and share photos and video.

So for most of today, this was my view..

Punctuated by a bit of reading.  In one of the papers I read/saw this..  

An interesting idea and ideal for watching the rugby - but only in short bursts!

Country Wedding

On Saturday, on our way back from Cornwall, we were very pleased to be able to attend the wedding service of my cousin's son, held in a beautiful and historic church on the edge of Dartmoor.

Very few graveyards have such a view..

Inside the church was equally beautiful..

It was a lovely service with a very relaxed and happy atmosphere.

Afterwards a chance for a brief catch up with Fiona, proud mother of the groom, and with our other cousins.

Then everyone was off to the reception..

We continued on our journey to Bath, after just one last shot of the church, now looking very dramatic in the slightly stormy afternoon light..

Visitor for lunch

Today we had a visit from Juliet, Lauren's godmother and my friend since the early 1980's.

We had lunch at 'The Leopard' and time for a good catch-up as well as an opportunity for Juliet to meet Theo.

They seemed to get on well!!

Theo, who may perhaps be teething, found that chewing on Juliet's finger was quite satisfying!

Cornish Culinary Delights

As you may imagine, there is much to feast your eyes on in the window of Stein's Patisserie in Padstow..

Some quite extraordinary things .. giant meringue filled with fresh raspberries and lemon curd anyone??  We passed on by in order to visit the Cherry Trees cafe on the harbour to sample a breakfast dish..

Freshly made fluffy pancakes with yogurt, fresh strawberries and a generous pouring of maple syrup..not yet applied in the picture.  It is worth noting that this is a half portion (!).

Not everywhere that we visited was quite so exotic - Theo made his first visit to a Little Chef (this one with views of Dartmoor, at Sourton Cross'.

In St Ives, David and I often visit the Porthminster Beach Cafe and we are fans of their 'deconstructed' desserts.

This one is a Pimm's Salad, complete with cucumber sorbet, strawberry sherbet,  mint leaves, fizzy lemonade and Pimm's jelly!

This one featured roasted pineapple, coconut ice-cream and mango mousse..

(Oh yes and we may have sampled the odd pasty, cream tea, fish & chips etc... the diet starts right now!!)