Bulls and pheasant and turkey...oh my!

As though I were writing my own theme for English B "This is how I spent my Thanksgiving holiday" :
Friday I woke up feeling as though the conjestion in my nose had somehow trapped in my head any hot air that had made it into my lungs the preceding night. A bit achy I rolled myself out of bed and prepared for a day in Burford. No unforeseen illness was going to keep me from a trip to a deserted medeival viallage. In preparation for SCIO Thanksgiving I made some of my mom's pumpkin bars and way too much cream cheese frosting (with about two times the amount of butter needed - oops). I then joined SImon, Jonathan and about 5 other students for a day of hiking through the muddy English countryside. We walked through the remarkably quaint, stone town of Burford and into its century-ecclectic church. Jonathan took up his typical position of snapping photos. Hopefully I'll snag a few to post later.

We entered a deep green valley through a pasture that was the home of several very wooly bulls, a calf and a few cows. It was an adventure. Farther on we came upon a small band of pheasant-hunters. They were every bit gentlemen, all decked out in hunting gear, carrying rifles and accompanied by some very exuberant bird dogs. Watching them shoot as we waited in the valley was enjoyable but a bit nippy. The chilly weather pushed us onward toward the oldest church I will perhaps ever see, once the center of a 12th century village. As the sun set I continued through my picture-book landscape. Much of the time I was reminded of the 500 piece puzzles I used to do in my living room. Only this time I was living them.

We got back to town and I was elated to stop in a tea house for a cup of Assam. The Christmas decor on the hearth was just enough to tickle my fancy. Then home again, home again for Beauty and the Beast and a not so restful night's sleep.

To check out Burford (and Simon and Jonathan) try the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO-w9XgEKQw

Saturday I finished Mere Christianity and was off to the Vines for Thanksgiving. We had loads of food - all the traditional stuff - and lots of people. I really felt like I was at a college function again for the first time in a long while, and yet there was also this definite feel of family atmosphere. Some of the faculty and family (ie. 3 adorable British boys on strings) provided musical entertainment and we sang Christmas carols, including my favorite "Baby It's Cold Outside." On the way home I stopped at a pub with a few friends.

Sunday I attended Mary Mag's for another very high traditional Anglican service. There are many things I've come to appreciate about traditional Anglicanism. I stayed for a cup of tea and biscuit and spent some time on essay-writing. Afternoon tea was followed by church at St. Andrew's and wood duck soup courtesy of Jonathan. Mmmm free food. At some point I went to bed. And that is how I spent my Thanksgiving.