visit from Sarah!

 My close friend Sarah is over for a long weekend- so stoked to have her visit even as my time in Oxford draws near to a close. Its precious to get to share the setting of this special year with a friend so precious to me for so many years before.

At Christchurch college

Magedalen college in full bloom

Contra the forecast, the weather has been ideal the last two days- a genuine victory in England!

a summer punting outing

It had been far too long since we last went punting, and this week has been properly summery (finally!) so several of us met up today to spend a leisurely hour on the river. 

The river isn't much for wildlife (unless you count ridiculous tourists which we passed in plenty, flailing, tangled in trees, and clinging to bridges) but i got to feed chips to the  ducks swimming alongside our punt (as you will see if you look closely at the above picture) and  I saw tiny fuzzy baby ducklings I wanted to kidnap (or, ducknap, I suppose)...

In the background, you can see the old glasshouses of the historic botanical gardens, as well as Magdalen college bell tower. 

Great afternoon on the water- a perfect summer afternoon in Oxford:)

(Thanks to everyone on the outing for sharing these fantastic photos!)

magical summer moment

A friend and I walked several miles along the River Thames yesterday in the glow of summer evening. With the sun setting so late now, seven o'clock looked like late afternoon, and the sun clung stubbornly in the sky for several more hours. The meadows off the river trail were magical. We literally ran through the fields, loving the moment and the company. We laughed, told stories, encouraged, and shared burdens. It was a really sweet time- a glowing moment in my summer. 

Most photos courtesy of Cameron- I was busy just reveling in the warmth and glowing sunlight and didn't take many... Oxford is having one of its rare and gorgeous moments of summer and I am soaking up every drop!

final essay...

I'm in the last few days of my final essay... I've already finished the taught course, and am completing my last round of assessed work, due in August. I will be finished a couple weeks early, but my close friend Sarah is coming to visit for a few days (!) and I have some talks to prepare for a speaking engagement in Belgium... so I need to have my work sorted in advance to allow for those events and others. 

I've been keeping from being a total study hermit by going out to read in cafes periodically, and even laying in the sunshine in a park a couple times. Great weather has finally come around these past few days and I'm soaking it up, even mid-essay!

Almost there. 

a makeshift salute to the fourth of July

Well, it wasn't quite the usual independence day barbecue... there were no burgers, or fireworks, and only a few Americans... but it was from the heart:)

I'm not sure where all our other American friends ended up, but a half dozen of us, a Brit, a Kiwi and an Aussie had a lovely time eating pulled pork, cupcakes, chips, brownies and Coke:)

When I mentioned that I was cold, the Brit offered to fetch a cup of tea... and returned with a proper  teapot, a rabbit fur hat, and a Scottish wool tartan blanket... which we promptly placed upon me. Definitely a departure from any of my fourth of July wardrobe choices in years past, but it came with love. 

Happy Independence day from across the Atlantic!

we go way back

Anna just sent me this old photo of us which she came across- its from circa early 2000s:

Contrast with this photo from the past week, summer 2016:

Clearly, we go way back:)

three days away

Study break! I went to Northern Ireland to visit an old friend who I staffed in Maui with years ago, Anna. She moved from her native Canada over a decade ago, got married, and is now raising their little brood on the salty weathered coast of Northern Ireland. I have visited her most of the times I have been in the UK. I had to make the hop over to see her now or never, as they are taking the family back to Canada for the summer and only return about the time I will be departing from here! It was nice to reminisce, see the ocean again, to breathe salty air, to pick shells, and not think about an essay for a couple days. Not that the rest did me any good: I woke up quite unwell with a bad cold this morning. None the less, essays don't wait.  I made some honey and lemon tea and am deep into my notes on the role of models in theology and the natural sciences. So think twice before you say that I have all the luck, rambling about the Northern Irish coast- the essays are the other side of the coin:)

Lovely wee Donaghadee... (you couldn't get more lilt in a town name if you tried!)

So therapeutic to be by the sea... even if, counterintuitively I have come home ill. The sea is good for the soul:)