Throwback Thursday - Bath, UK!

Hello from Gilbert, Arizona.

We left Greensboro yesterday afternoon – a day ahead of schedule due to the uncertainty of the behavior of Hurricane Florence.

If we waited until TODAY to fly out, we could have been hammered by rain and wind, not knowing how it would affect flying times.

This weekend is one thing I just can NOT miss.  It was better to come early.

It amazes me that it was just a month ago we were in England.  And how quickly the following weeks have flown by.

My sharing of photos from that trip stopped as other things took precedence in the “NOW.”

And going into a few hard days ahead, I think it’s a good time to get these other happier times off of the back burner.

Bath, UK!

This is the second time I’ve been in this lovely city, and I was able to notice things I had not payed nearly as much attention to as before.

Wide lovely streets!

One end of the Royal Crescent --

To the other!  It won’t fit all in one shot.

Our group listening aptly to our guide as he points out highlights along the way.

Sneaking in a selfie -

This one – isn’t it postcard worthy??

Street scenes.

Tall spires and narrow streets near our hotel.

Beautiful flower boxes over a pub.

And that bike?  Photo-perfection!

Evening  - lights just coming on.

I made a little video of our panoramic walking tour where we stopped to enjoy not only the Royal Crescent, but also The Circus – it is just like stepping into a Jane Austen novel!

Click to play:

The night above – Irene and I made a pilgrimage down to the Abbey where evening services were just beginning.

Bath Abbey.

Photos weren’t allowed inside, understandable.  And no pictures were needed as we in turn lit candles for loved ones – Irene for her father-in-law, and me for Mark.

And also – because we’d had an event from within our group that I haven’t been able to express.

We lit candles.  We let prayer for those we loved fill our hearts.  No words were necessary.  We sat and listened to some lovely music.

It has taken some time to come to terms with this, along with everything else.  Life is so very fleeting and we all process things in our own way in our own time.

One of our lovely tour members passed away, experiencing a very quick demise on our bus – the very first day we arrived in Birmingham.  We’d only been on our panoramic tour for about 15 minutes when we had to stop the bus and pull over.  Something was wrong with one of our travelers.

We really CAN be here one day, and gone the next – or gone in minutes as was her case.  I haven’t been able to talk about it.  I couldn’t find the words.  And now that it has been a month, I’ve got my own family grieving to deal with as well.

I am unable to give names or further information.  We had a nurse on the bus with us that jumped right in.  The ambulance was called – she was taken to the hospital.  But it was a shock for our whole group, and our first couple of days were quite rocky.

But let me say this – when it is my time to go, I want to be busy doing what I loved to do, surrounded by those I wanted to be with.  And I believe this is the case here.

Our Craftours group really bonded together during this time, we linked arms and held each other up.

Beautiful Bath.

The countryside overlooking the city on our way back

from the American Museum by bus.

Quiltville Quote of the Day

Quilt photo from the American Museum in Bath, UK.

As I head towards this weekend with family gathering for my brother's memorial service, I'm finding it difficult for my heart to remain calm.

This quote captured me this morning. There are a lot of things unresolved, but they don't need to be resolved all at once, or immediately.

I can choose patience.