Oxford England....Really?
It felt good to get out and walk today. I was overdue for a haircut, and the salon is over a mile away. However, I didn't walk there. SK drove me there and then went on to an appointment with a doctor - another mile farther. He needed to have prescriptions refilled.
I sat in the salon, a sleek beauty of a mixture of old and new. One entire wall was windows, as well as a window skylight, all of which brought beautiful old trees and shrubs into the interior, which was black shiny floors, white walls and gleaming steel accents. Yet, from the outside, it is a cheery little old storefront that looks like it could have once been featured in a Dickens novel (with older windows of course.)
A young man met me at the front desk. He looks all of sixteen, although I think he is a couple of years older. He is an apprentice. He said, "Hello Janis!" The Brits have an interesting way of saying my name. I don't think I can even put it down phonetically. And I don't hear it often, since I am mostly addressed as Sister Madsen. The voice comes up on the second syllable, and he started Janis with a lower than usual Jan-is. It is quite endearing.
After a lovely time visiting with the woman who cut my hair, I walked out and continued on the street to the medical clinic where SK was just finishing up. The sun was bright and beautiful. The air was cool and there was a very chill wind. I had forgotten my scarf! That makes such a huge difference. Nevertheless I pressed forward. Doesn't that have a ring to it?
It was so lovely that I wanted for all the world to bottle it up and hold it tightly to myself. Every now and then I have to draw a deep breath and say, "I really am in Oxford England!" It always gives me such a moment of delight.
I walked past stately old homes, perhaps you might call them mansions. They were two and three-story brick structures, probably a couple of hundred years old. Long ago they must have given up on green yards. The homes are surrounded by hedges that will no doubt be a gorgeous green in a few months. What might have been grass years ago, has been covered in gravel and now serve as a parking lots in nearly every home. There is enough "yard" in front to drive in and park maybe five or six cars.
I suspect they are all dorms now.
Eventually the residential road became a lovely little business district, with all kinds of shops to explore. Alas, SK was done at the clinic and so we saved the exploring for another day.
We are now getting ready to go out with a small group of YSAs who have invited us to go with them. That will be fun.
I sat in the salon, a sleek beauty of a mixture of old and new. One entire wall was windows, as well as a window skylight, all of which brought beautiful old trees and shrubs into the interior, which was black shiny floors, white walls and gleaming steel accents. Yet, from the outside, it is a cheery little old storefront that looks like it could have once been featured in a Dickens novel (with older windows of course.)
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| This is the interior of a neighboring shop...tiny. The other wall has a host of cheeses of every size and shape. I love this place! It can't be any larger than 10 by 15 feet. |
After a lovely time visiting with the woman who cut my hair, I walked out and continued on the street to the medical clinic where SK was just finishing up. The sun was bright and beautiful. The air was cool and there was a very chill wind. I had forgotten my scarf! That makes such a huge difference. Nevertheless I pressed forward. Doesn't that have a ring to it?
It was so lovely that I wanted for all the world to bottle it up and hold it tightly to myself. Every now and then I have to draw a deep breath and say, "I really am in Oxford England!" It always gives me such a moment of delight.
I walked past stately old homes, perhaps you might call them mansions. They were two and three-story brick structures, probably a couple of hundred years old. Long ago they must have given up on green yards. The homes are surrounded by hedges that will no doubt be a gorgeous green in a few months. What might have been grass years ago, has been covered in gravel and now serve as a parking lots in nearly every home. There is enough "yard" in front to drive in and park maybe five or six cars.
I suspect they are all dorms now.
Eventually the residential road became a lovely little business district, with all kinds of shops to explore. Alas, SK was done at the clinic and so we saved the exploring for another day.
We are now getting ready to go out with a small group of YSAs who have invited us to go with them. That will be fun.
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