the lake district :: film

the lovely thing about film is that i don't usually develop it for moths,

which makes for a lovely surprise when i finally do.

i took these images while on a little hike in the lake district last summer.

i could really go for some fog and green pastures about now.

we're off for a little spring break trip down south to the desert,

not exactly a place of green pastures and fog,

but beautiful and healing nonetheless.

do you have any plans for the weekend? celebrating st. patrick's day?

i think we might write some limericks.

happy weekend.

{more photos of england here}

another day, another lake...last summer in england and what my today looks like

i had a lot of ambition this morning: the plan was to read a dense article and read a 120-page book...

doesn't look like that's going to happen now--something i can't put my finger on is distracting me.

do you ever have those kinds of days? like day-dreaming mixed with goal-setting mixed with anxiety.

it's one of those days where i'm trying to reach down into the depths of myself and figure out

what's really going on in there...what does a heart really want, and how does one get it.

day-dreaming: ceej is in italy today enjoying snow in the dolomites. i see photographs of such a magical landscape and want to be there, not here with my ambition. i want to be there with my dreams: a book store, writing, and workshops. these photographs here are of our last evening in the lake district last summer. what an incredible land. no wonder romantics such as william wordsworth lived there. inspiring in a sort of way that makes it necessary to write, to question, and to live.

goal-setting: finish school...and another degree. actually write dreams/goals on paper. find that confidence, that bravery. talk with your professor, and admit fears because somehow once that is done the fears dissipate. remind myself that school is something i enjoy...it's not something for me to prove how smart i am, because really i'm there because i'm in love--in love with history and literature.

anxiety: there's always a to-do list with ambition. ugh. am trying to remind myself that it truly is all about baby steps. i'm trying to cover up all of the steps except for the one immediately in front of me. i can do that one. i can read an article and a book in a day...still.

so, i'm off. to do step number one (read, read, read); to day-dream of living in a land with a pulse; and to give my anxiety a dose of deep breaths and a peppermint chocolate.

the lake district {part five} : roads or sidewalks? and stone circles...

after the initial shock of driving on the left side of the road,

ceej quickly learned the adventure of driving on the

narrow and winding roads of the countryside...he called it "james bond driving."

i couldn't believe how narrow some of these roads were...and they were two-way!

we were always hoping that we wouldn't run into a car coming the opposite direction...

that only happened a couple of times and let's just say we're happy we

got the insurance with the rental car. 

i found these little roads to be very walkable and pleasant--a good way to

wander and see things that we would have missed had we been in the

car, concentrating only on the road itself.

one of the other "thrilling" things about this country is that

anywhere we went we were bound to be in the neighborhood of

a stone circle...these things are prehistoric, thousands of years old.

not much is known about them, which makes them all the more interesting, yes?

tomorrow i'll be taking you back to oxford when my family came to visit.

hope you've enjoyed the lake district!

the lake district {part four} : hiking catbells

while ceej and i were in keswick we wanted to hike up to the clouds

and get a view of the lakes, the farms, and the town: catbells was the 

perfect little hike. the trail went on and on and on...wishing we could have gone on forever.

it was oh so nice to see everything from up high,

and to get lost in the clouds and the rain.

the heather and the sheep clung to the hillsides, and i was happy.

the lake district {part three} : ashness farm

was so lucky to get a room here on this isolated farm on the hill while in the lake district.

i loved driving the winding road, over the oldest bridge in the county, and through our gate.

anne, our hostess, was fantastic. it was fun to see her boys talking about their chickens

and chores they performed on their pretty little farm. 

i loved coming "home" to this place every night. 

we shared the house with a belgian family that had four little boys:

their turtle-necks and sweaters were so sweet, and we loved watching

the youngest line up his matchbox cars every morning while we ate breakfast.

the parents were absolutely lovely to talk with, telling us that their friends

thought they were crazy for loving "dreary" england so much.

we talked about our shared love of the weather and the gardens and the land.

bed & breakfasts are so so awesome.