We’re well past the mid-point of March, but I’ve decided to throw together a little R-E-P-O-R-T for you anyway . . . just as a quick way to showcase some of the highlights (and a few lowlights) of my recent trip to England.

C’mon along. . . and enjoy my R-E-P-O-R-T.

(By the way . . . that door? It is the North Door to St. Edward’s Church in Stow-on-the-Wold in The Cotswolds. This door is much visited and often photographed as it is one of J.R.R. Tolkein’s inspirations for The Lord of the Rings. It is Very Cool. Unfortunately, the church is currently undergoing interior renovations and was closed to visitors so I didn’t get a peek inside.)

             

R . . . ecovering.

I was in England for 12 days. I traveled with a friend, who happens to be an artist. Last summer, she proposed we visit England to take an art workshop, and it sounded like it might be fun . . . but also one of those ideas that would never actually fly, y’know? Well. This one flew, and before I knew it, I was registered for a 3-day painting workshop . . . and the trip was rapidly expanding to include several days of sight-seeing through the English countryside. Let’s just say . . . I got swept along in my friend’s travel planning frenzy and could barely keep my head above water.

(Here’s my advice: trust your instincts when it comes to traveling with a friend you have never traveled with before. Especially out of the country. Especially if they are extremely extroverted. Especially if the trip is very long. Lessons learned.) (For months, I’ve been living the U-2 song “stuck in a moment and I can’t get out of it.”)

Anyway. After flying into (and eventually out of) Heathrow, we traveled to Bath for a couple of days, moved on to The Cotswolds for a while, and then moved north to the Staffordshire Moorlands where the art workshop was located. It was a lot. (And it wasn’t planned terribly well, so there were . . . challenges . . . we needed to address on the ground.) (Like. . . every day.)

So. I am recovering not just from the travel and the jet lag, but also from a very stressful trip – and a very stressful few weeks before leaving on the trip (because I saw this coming). (Again . . . the U-2 song . . . )

The countryside was lovely, though. And spring was unfolding . . . and that is always a bonus.

             

E . . . nduring.

It’s hard when you return from a trip that was generally lovely but a little disappointing and quite stressful. I mean . . . what do you even say about it? People expect you to tell them you had a “wonderful time.” But what if . . . you really didn’t? What do you say then? So, pardon my honesty here. It WAS lovely. I was very lucky to have an opportunity to visit places I’d always wanted to see  . . . and I know it. But it was also incredibly stressful and I didn’t get enough exercise and, well. It was long. I tried to make the best of things, and generally I did. Thanks to a well-timed message from my son, I began to think of it as an adventure I’d never have again. I did pull myself together and I did . . . endure.

But it wasn’t “wonderful.”

             

P . . . ainting.

The 3-day painting workshop was great.  THE highlight of the trip, for sure. It was everything I had hoped for. Actually . . . it was more than I had hoped for. The setting was incredible and inspiring. The instructors were talented artists and inspired teachers – supportive and motivating. The materials were unlimited. And I learned so much! I was actually exhausted at the end of each of those 3 days. (This part of the trip actually WAS “wonderful” — and I’ll tell you/show you more about it next week.)

Here are my completed paintings, which the art school is shipping to me. (I couldn’t take them on the plane; not enough space in my suitcase.)

             

O . . . verflowing.

Another good thing to come out of this trip (and there were good things; I just have to keep looking for them) was a steady flow of ideas and inspiration. The art workshop was a big part of that. I really did learn so much there – color theory and composition and technique; so many ideas. And the other participants (from all over England; there were 12 of us in the workshop) inspired me, too.

But I also had a fair amount of time to myself (this introvert took daily quiet time to recharge) for breathing . . . and thinking. I needed the break and the re-set, and I have ideas for how I want to move forward with . . . life and garden and blog and my own art. So that was good, too.

             

R . . . ambling.

I mentioned earlier that I didn’t get enough exercise on my trip. As you have probably surmised, my traveling companion and I turned out to be . . . well . . . not exactly compatible, and our individual fitness levels/needs were part of that equation. I WAS already aware of this going into the trip (although perhaps not the extent of the situation), and had planned to seek my own ways of exploring and moving . . . which didn’t exactly work out like I had hoped.  We managed some gentle rambles together, though, which provided vistas of the lovely English countryside — and some fresh, spring air (always welcome).

             

T . . . ending.

Now that I’m home, I’m tending to All The Things. My own heart and soul. My garden. My life that has been rather “on hold” for several weeks. My family. My dog. My relationships . . . including the relationship with my traveling companion.

Travel is always a good thing — even when it’s not as “wonderful” as you’d hoped it would be. It opens your mind. It challenges your assumptions. You find out a good bit about yourself and how you “are” in the world. You also learn how resourceful and resilient you can be — especially when you’re under pressure.

I’m glad to be home.
And at some point, I bet I’ll be glad to have gone away, too.