Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

Whew! What a fantastic trip we all had. Belgium, France, England, and lastly, Scotland all went by in a thunderous good time! So much to see, so little time, but we certainly gave it our all. The actual tour started on June 10th with Stitching with Susan and Sally. I've never seen such beautiful needlework in all my days. We had such good times at the Royal School of Needlework (I think they had my most favorite piece of all), Jane Greenoff's Pinks Barn, The V & A Museum, and Joyce Petschek's Bargello Studio, etc. Those are just for starters.
Our friend, Kim, planned before and after trips while we were over in Europe. So as soon as we hit London, we took a train to Brussels and then Bruges, Belgium. Some mighty fine chocolate and lace, I might add. Very pretty and picturesque. Then off to Paris to see the sights. I lucked out and found a wonderful needlework shop there, too - good thing hubby wasn't around to see what I spent there!
Then to London for the actual tour. I've been to London four times in the past 30 years and have never seen the English countryside. It was such a treat - so beautiful. We went to Bath and actually saw places where Jane Austen lived and frequented. Can't get better than that, eh? Went to visit Jane Greenoff at her home. Now that was something to talk about. She was so friendly; very nice to see her in her home habitat. We had a visit with Joyce Petschek of Beautiful Bargello fame. She opened her home to us also; it was lovely and eclectic. Susan and Sally spent much effort on this trip; even with the expected excursions, there were lots of happy surprises along the way. Many thanks to them for wonderful planning for us all!
Then, again thanks to Kim, after England we went on to Edinburgh to see Scotland. Definitely one of my favorite places. My first time there and it was so inviting - such lush greens everywhere. Of course, the weather changed every 30 minutes or so; kept you guessing. Took a trip out to see the countryside with Glencoe, Inverness, Loch Lomond, and Loch Ness. Nope - didn't find Nessie, but we found lots else. Scottish people were so helpful and nice. Lovely place. Well, once I unpack and upload all my pics, I'll choose a few good ones to share. It was a great trip, but it's always good to come home.
On a rather interesting note, I'd gotten a phone card on the trip. I couldn't understand why it always cut me off after the home phone rang four times and it didn't go to voice mail. I found out why when I got home. Our little sweetie (Montana) had chewed through the cord that plugs in our main unit for all the portable phones. So who knows how long our phone has been out. DH said he was wondering why the phone never rang! Speaking of said Montana, I must tell you the saga of the days before leaving. I was frantically trying to be ready for the trip on the 5th, when my DH insisted something wasn't right with Montana's neutering. Lo and behold, he was right; Montana still had a testicle left after the surgery. The vet said he was danged if he knew what happened - Montana either had three to begin with or they missed one. The vet's assistant swore they counted two removed, but be that as it may, he still had one left afterwards. So off to surgery that day again he went. Poor thing, but the difference in him has been amazing. He actually appears to sleep now, when he's not chewing, I might add..... But all's well that ends well!

31 comments:

Loretta said...

Wow!!!! What a fantastic trip!!!!!!

GoldenAngelsWorks said...

Sounds like a great trip.

Terry said...

Sounds like you had a lovely time. I can't wait to see a pic or two from all the fun!

Karen said...

Your trip sounds great! I am so jealous....glad you had a great time.

Jan said...

OH goodness, what a trip! It sounds so inviting, can't wait to see your pics.

Welcome home, Carolyn!

Cynimin said...

Wow, since you were able to visit all those nice homes of famous stitchers...I guess you are a real celebrity now! LOL Sounds like you had a real nice time.
Poor Montana baby, we can't decide if we want to 'do' Holly or have pups someday.

Threads and thoughts said...

What a wonderful trip! You should have visited Antwerp in Belgium too, we could have met. And Scotland, my favourite country, I could have helped to carry your luggage if you asked me to go with you, LOL!
And d to see the designers in their own place, what a treat!
Can't wait to see the pics.
Edith

Meari said...

What a fabulous sounding trip!! I'm so jealous. Can't wait to see photos!

Donna said...

Glad you had so much fun. We had a black lab once that pulled the doorbell out of the wall outside. The doorbell just kept ringing and ringing. I went to investigate and she had it in her mouth!

Dawn said...

I'm so pleased you had such a wonderful trip. You didn't say what lovely stash you bought.
Lucky you for meeting famous stitchers, and being invited to their homes.

Dying to see your pics.

Kathy said...

I am really looking forward to seeing the photos. Especially one of the stash you managed to get. LOL

Poor Montana. having to go through that twice. :( And I hear you about the chewing. I can't wait until Rory gets his adult teeth. At least then some of the chewing will settle down. :)

Chiloe said...

Seems like you had a wonderful trip in Europe with really interesting sightseeing ;-) Maybe you'll have some pictures to share? :-D

Shelley said...

Your trip sounds fantastic. Can't wait to see photos. I am so jealous, lol!!!

Anne Sans Tete said...

what a fabulous trip!!! i am also very jealous! :D

Daffycat said...

Glad you had a lovely holiday...I'm so jealous!

ROFLOL Three? OMG!

5 Foot Runt said...

I'm so glad you had a wonderful trip. Everything sounded so exciting.

Cindy F. said...

Welcome home Carolyn!! Your trip sounds unbelievably exciting and I can't wait to see pics!

Your poor puppy!! Missed one?? what?! Bless his heart:)

Maureen said...

Sounds like you had a great time - looking forward to seeing your pics. Glad you enjoyed Bath - I used to live there so know it quite well - it's a great place to visit, so much history.

Charlene ♥ NC said...

Sounds like a wonderful adventure! Looking forward to seeing the sights - through your eyes. Welcome home!

Dani - tkdchick said...

Glad to hear you had a great trip!

Faye said...

Loved your story here!! Sounds like a really good trip!

too_busy_to_stitch said...

Next time, come visit - we're relatively 'country' just fifteen miles south of London (Epsom Downs). I'd love to show you Oxford too - I lived there for a while, and you HAVE to go there one day!

Nancy M said...

Sounds great, looking forward to your photos. Had a similar incident when we had our cat declawed YEARS ago. Both paws were taped up. After a few days we removed them and low and behold.....still claws on one paw. The vet said she didn't feel good that day and must have forgot! I haven't had a cat declawed since then.

Olga said...

Carolyn,
Thank you for visiting my blog,
Sounds like you had a fantastic trip, I am looking forward to seeing your pictures.
Have a great weekend,
Olga

Lana said...

Sounds like you had a great trip! I'm glad you made it home safe and sound! Thank you so much for your lovely comments on my blog!!!

Mel said...

Glad you had such a lovely trip!
Hoping to see pictures. :)

CindyMae said...

Sounds like the trip of a dream! So glad that you had a wonderful time!!

Cindy Mae
My Store opens July 1st
www.cindymaedesigns.com

Kathy A. said...

That sounds like one awesome trip. Look forward to photos. Welcome home - we've missed you.

Anonymous said...

WOW!! It sounds like you had a wonderful time! I loved reading about your adventures!

Suzie said...

Carolyn, every few days I'd think about you, and would wonder what you were doing, and seeing. It sounds like you had an absolutely grand time, and I'm SO happy that you were able to go!

I too am anxious to see your photos! You always take such interesting and beautiful images!

Welcome home!!

CameoRoze (Margaret) said...

Oh, Carolyn! What a once-in-a-lifetime experience! Looking forward to seeing those photos in the next posts.