Eighteenth Century 'Vandal'

This afternoon we visited Andrew and Jan for tea.  We took a short walk to the village church which is very picturesque..

The windows are not ornate...

They do, however, show evidence of rather ancient graffiti..

Whether it is fair to call this vandalism, I am not sure - it is so beautifully etched into the glass and appears to be written in a careful, neat hand.

There are several examples in different panes of the window, each with their date and usually a signature.

Perhaps at the time, making your mark in a church or public building in this way was a more acceptable thing to do?

Chasing Butterflies

This beautiful Red Admiral butterfly was basking in the sun and enjoying the warmth of the statue it had chosen to rest on.

As I approached to have a better look I realised that there were two butterflies, but the first one flew off and just this one was left..

Selfie 'Postcards'

Firstly, my apologies to Maggie for shamelessly copying her theme of selfies (farmerswifedaybyday.blogspot.com) for today's blog.

My phone conveniently groups everything that it recognizes as a selfie (presumably in our case it counts the number of chins in close proximity to the lens).

And so we can see exactly how many US landscapes we have almost blotted out with our usually rather unsuccessful attempts at selfie 'postcards'...

Did you manage to recognise any of the views?....

(Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco; Waikaloa, Hawaii; Disneyworld, Florida; Chesapeake Beach; Zion Canyon; Bryce Canyon; Colorado River, Grand Canyon; Washington DC - Cherry Blossom festival; Universal Studios, Orlando; Trevone Bay, Cornwall - odd one out;

Oahu, Hawaii; Big Island, Hawaii; Skyline Drive, Blue Ridge Mountains; Meadowlark Walk of Lights;  Winter 'picnic', National Mall, DC; Niagara Falls)

We must try harder in future!  Remembering to take the selfie stick out with us would be a good start!!

Floral Displays

David has returned to the US today - his holiday has come to an end all too quickly.  

For today's post I am looking back to the first day of this visit, in Shillington.

The floral displays that David's Dad creates each year are a sight to behold and are often photographed by passers -by.

A really beautiful collection of flowers.

One other pot that particularly caught my eye was this fuschia - which has a flower which seems to grow up rather than down..

And finally, in a neighbouring garden, this bicycle wouldn't be much good for cycling but it was very effective as a decoration..

In Charge

Yesterday, David and I were looking after Theo for the day - although to suggest we were in charge may not be entirely correct.

Theo was full of beans from early in the morning - here demonstrating his ball skills..

And now sitting in his mini ball pool.

When we went out for a walk, he looked very serious, as he also did in the coffee shop when we were in Leamington.

Obviously it is a serious business keeping an eye on two grandparents at large!

A lighter moment in Marks and Spencer when he chatted to a remarkably similar little boy, in the mirror...

Out and About

Visiting home every couple of months we expect to see changes - especially in Theo of course, who is growing and developing so fast.

In the weeks since our last visit, he has come on in leaps and bounds - learning to walk (and run) and growing in confidence.

He is willing to try anything .. 

..and is then ready to move on to the next challenge..

At the park yesterday he spent a fair bit of time watching the bigger children playing ball.

In the space of a few minutes he had tried out everything in the toddler play area.