October 2022 – Llywindatravels 2025

Plymouth

We were invited to visit friends in Plymouth and went down on the train from Paddington. The forecast was for rain all weekend “it’s October in England for god’s sake!” so we went with raincoats, sweaters, and boots. Fortunately, we didn’t need them. From the train, we went to visit the Dartington Trust Gardens, aContinue reading “Plymouth”

Mudlarking Finds New & Old

This month you will see a lot of my mudlarking finds. I am thrilled to be able to poke around in the Thames gravel, and with Jonathan’s sharp eyes on the alert, we brought home a big collection of little pieces. We haven’t found any treasure (technically, in the UK, that would be gold) orContinue reading “Mudlarking Finds New & Old”

Mudlarks!

We got our Oyster cards for riding the Tube (subway) with the help of a particularly nice agent at the Kennington station just around the corner from our house. With that, we were ready for one of my principal goals of this visit: to go mudlarking, beachcombing along the Thames at low tide. I checkedContinue reading “Mudlarks!”

London!

This is our first big adventure since settling in California, and it is a LONG, LONG, way from Eureka to London. We drove to San Francisco to squeeze in an eye appointment for me, and we knew that we could park for a month at the El Rancho motel. (Bad and good news though: theContinue reading “London!”

I Become a Grandmother

Of course, I knew the baby was coming, I just didn’t think she would arrive four weeks early. Amanda very carefully arranged her four weeks pre-natal leave, went to her last day of work on a Monday, and her water broke that night. Best laid plans, and all that. The process of having the babyContinue reading “I Become a Grandmother”

We’re in the New York Times!

On August 23, I read this call for comments: What Are Your ‘Non-Negotiables?’ A daily walk? Meditation? Or something sweet at 2 p.m.? The Times wants to know what you prioritize each day — and why. Read the rest of the callout here. I wrote about what Jonathan and I do every day, just forContinue reading “We’re in the New York Times!”

September in Humboldt

Despite my trip to Chicago and having Covid, we continued exploring our new region. The Arcata Farmer’s Market is full of gorgeous produce during late summer, tomatoes, eggplant, apples. We buy the bread of the week from Beck’s, made with a different freshly ground grain combination each week. Last weekend was also Pastels on theContinue reading “September in Humboldt”