Stained Glass and Grade1-Listed Dog House

Ightham Mote is the most complete medieval manor house in England, and it at has the only Grade I Listed Dog house.

As promised, here is the stained glass window.

Because of the fragility and age of Ightham Mote, it is the biggest conservation project ever undertaken by The National Trust. Well worth the effort. If you ever get the chance to see it in person, you won't be disappointed.

Cheers!
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Ightham Mote

Ightham Mote (pronounced: "item moat"), is an original moated manor house, built sometime in the early 14th-century, making it almost 700 years old.

For family and friends in America: The house is 500 years older than our country. Boggles the mind, doesn't it?

The builder of the house is unknown, but owner records are available from c1360 onwards. The house and gardens are located in Sevenoaks, Kent.


I'll upload a few more pictures later in the week, since it is an amazing building. And yes, there are stained glass windows, which I promise to post!


Cheers!
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Gorgeous Gothic Doors

I  love doors, especially old, intricately carved, mysterious doors. Don't you just want to open them and see what magical world waits on the other side?

This blue door is at the front entrance of St. Paul's Church in Astley Bridge, Bolton. It is a lovely Anglican church. I've actually been through this door.  Inside it is one big room. Cold. Dark. Stone. Vaulted ceiling. Stained glass. Beautiful.

This door is in Rochester. We found it on our way from the castle to the High Street where we were going to meet some friends for lunch. No idea what is on the other side. Can't even tell you the name of the building. We were cutting through side streets and--there it was! Only had time to snap a photo and then be on our way.


What do you think? Do you like doors?

Cheers!
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Toe dipping in the North Sea

Back in October, Naomi and I went to the beach.  Being an 'inland' type of person, I was surprised at just how far the tide retreats. We went because I had this crazy idea that I wanted to dip my toe into the North Sea.  A romantic notion, I guess, since there was no common sense involved, i.e. it was October, overcast, cold and wiiiiiiindy.  Brrrr...no wonder those invading Vikings were so cranky.

Look at all that mud... and those are clean, new, white-inside shoes... hmmm... you gotta know, this didn't end well. LOL!

I'm generally afraid of natural water: ocean, lakes, big rivers.  You can't see the bottom.  There are 'things' living under the surface.  Oh, and you can't breathe under there either.
 


Luckily, toe dipping isn't scary.  It is going close enough to feel the water lapping, without the shiver of things swimming around your legs. 

When we got to the beach, the tide was out.  This meant walking quite a ways to get to the edge of the water.  As you can see, the sand closest to the pier is dry, followed by a rocky bed, and then wet, squishy, mud that never gets completely dry. 

The watermark on the poles showed that we were walking in an area where the water is usually 15-20 feet above our heads.  *eeek*

In all, it was fun, and we found lots of seashells and scrambling crabs.

I brought some of the more interesting shells home to paint. On the advice of a friend from Japan, they made great tea light holders for Christmas candles and presents.


Cheers!
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