Have you ever had one of “those” days when you wanted to hop on a train and just ride until you can’t ride any more? Well, today is “one of those days.” In fact, do you remember the ad on TV (if you are in America) that said, “Calgon, take me away!”? It was a marketing campaign created to “take us away” mentally from the stress of the day. This photo was taken a couple of years ago while I was in England. The thought of it flashed back through my mind today and immediately, I was there and not here. What was I thinking about the moment I took this picture? Getting back to London to have dinner with friends. . . . . Calgon take me away!!

Hang with me because I’m about to take a right hand turn tomorrow and promise that the posts that come next will be in a new direction. This one was taken in Oxford, England, while walking down a lovely lane.

I’m trying to understand why some things seem more beautiful in England than in the States. A rose that has grown up beside a well-seasoned downspout—who would have thought this would draw anyone’s attention but it did . . . and the memory lingers.

This old gate is one that C. S. Lewis would have passed many times on his way to Holy Trinity Church at Headington Quarry in England. I don’t know why I thought of this quote from Prince Caspian when I posted it last night; I just did. I hope you enjoy it, too. And if you have not read Lewis’s Narnia books, the summer is a great time to do just that—read.

“He led them to the right of the dancing trees—whether they were still dancing nobody knew, for Lucy had her eyes on the Lion and the rest had their eyes on Lucy.”

On my way to find another photo, I ran into this one and couldn’t believe that it was just sitting there waiting to be posted. Of course, it is of Big Ben taken at 11:55 am on some day over two years ago while I was in London. Has it been that long? Yes, because last May I was in the middle of a huge move.