Back from England and Ireland

We've been back about 36 hours.
It's been an amazing two weeks:

Oxford for a day and a night
Liverpool for a day and a night
A week on a bay in westernmost Ireland
Three nights in Barnsley (South Yorkshire)

I drew and walked and looked and never blogged once. Laughed and played with a variety of wonderful friends. My camera recharger stayed home, so I brought back only 29 photos. Click on the following to see more beautiful images and get an idea of what the weather has been like on the west coast of Ireland.

citizen k
who took the gorgeous pic of his home (where we stayed on Clew Bay) you see above
Sean
tireless fellow traveller and photogger extraordinaire
T
friend, hostess and fritatta girl without whom I wouldn't be writing this

Many many thanks to you and besties Mel and Mags and the kids--Jai, Robin and Piper, for some great times.

It's good to be home, but what a shock to come back to the stagnant air and record-setting heat that has enveloped Puget Sound in its brown cocoon.

One thing that was undeniably similar between the two places, both home and away, is the closure of small shops, with whole traditional "high streets" emptying and my beloved "corner shops" disappearing. From my rather brief visit I could see ominous signs for the future in a number of villages I visited but also some hope for regeneration which could apply to our little village here in Newport Hills. More to come!