Guernsey is Good

This past weekend three friends and I took the shortest flight of my life into Guernsey.
Why Guernsey? For one thing, two of us had read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society (a most excellent read) and just fell in love with the idea of going there. It was worth it as the following photos will show. Plus the locals are ridiculously friendly and go out of their way to say hello to you first, not just in a flustered response to a friendly American hello. The weather and scenery were great, the food and lodging were spectacular and the company was more than enjoyable.
This was our hotel. It was a grand hotel, old-timey but very well-maintained. We truly felt as if we had stepped back in time.
The Guernsey flag
A Guernsey cow
Interestingly enough, a Guernsey eats like 1/3 less than other cows and produces the same amount of milk.
Guernsey is one of the Channel Islands which are situated in the English Channel between England and France. Other islands include Jersey, Alderney, Sark, Herm, Jethou, Brecqhou and Lihou. They are British Crown Dependencies and have their own currency, postage and governing bodies (the Bailiwick of Jersey and the Bailiwick of Guernsey which includes all of the islands except Jersey, of course). They are much closer to France and retain much of their French heritage.
The islands were occupied by the Nazi army during WWII and there are bunkers, towers and forts all over the island. It is a great place to explore and learn some history along the way. I would definitely recommend a visit and you could easily spend a week here. Driving is a bit narrow, but truly, the bus service takes you anywhere you would need to go and I would think you could reach anywhere on the island within an hour; it's not as big as the free tourist map makes it look.

German Occupation

Click on this photo for a larger image and then hit your back arrow on the browser to return to the blog. It's worth the read.
Here are some photos from
a great little museum that was initially an underground German fuel depot.
True 'dat!I thought these Sweetheart cushions were well, sweet. Soldiers made them while convalescing in hospital.
This reads:
"Think of me
When the golden sun is sinking
And your mind from care set free,
When of others you are thinking
Will you sometimes
Think of me?"
Awwww...
Nazi Navy
A Victory Badge made by hand

The Little Chapel

So I saw this place on the map and read a smidgen about it in a tourist magazine and being a lover of textiles, I wanted to see it and everyone else was game. So we drove around and found it and were pleasantly surprised by the true quirkiness of this building. The chapel itself is very small (5 meters by 3 meters), but has stairs that run underneath to smaller rooms and it is entirely (and I mean entirely) covered in broken tiles and porcelain, pebbles and shells. The build began in 1914 by Brother Deodat who completed it pretty much single-handedly.

Scenery

Guernsey is truly beautiful.
St Peter's Port
The interior of a grocery store which I believe was a converted market hall
I would shop here everyday!
A special closet for all of those cloaks out there
That is a man attached to a crane sat on a sailboat mast. He is repairing something electronic.

Food

They knew we were coming so they saved us a spot AND
baked us a cake, Guinness cake with cream-cheese frosting, that is.
Delicious scones with clotted Guernsey cream
A traditional "Guernsey Bean Pot" = ham hock and butter beans cooked overnight = YUM
Amazing seafood
Although we live on an island here, the seafood choices are not that diverse. Guernsey however, was seafood (especially shellfish) heaven.
We also had a seven-course gourmet meal at the hotel on our last evening. Every dish was just so utterly delicious, words can't describe. It could have possibly converted me into a foodie type if I was so inclined.

Some good links to peruse are:
Guernsey
The Old Government House Hotel
German Occupation - a really good Wiki article, but be prepared to spend some time reading it

Happy Birthday Schroeder, My Love

Well, today happens to be the birthday of the love of my life. His real name may not be Schroeder, but he can be as driven as the precocious pianist when something interests him. Luckily for me, he decided to give me the time of day (unlike poor Lucy van Pelt) and we have created harmony ever since. Thanks for bringing music into my days and allowing me to rant at your piano once in a while.
I love you.

Spring Sprang Sprung

Today was exactly what I ordered when I asked for a Spring day. We went on a half hour drive to Kempley for a Daffodil Weekend Fete.
Pretty lame overall and the village was minuscule, but the daffodils were out and we saw the Church of Saint Edward the Confessor which was actually a cool bit of trail magic given that the kids' school is called St. Edward's.
Owen studied this guy
in Religious Ed and was sort of excited to see a church named after him.
The church was also pretty special because it was very decorative in the Arts & Crafts Movement style of William Morris.
Craig and Owen finished the day at the skate park and I met some lovelies to plan our girls' trip to Guernsey. We leave Thursday and return on Sunday. I can't wait.
Yesterday, we cleaned out the garage and pitched some junk. We have just about two more months before our big pack out.

Supermoon?

Call me a mooncalf (see definition), but the supposed "supermoon" isn't looking too super. I've seen bigger moons staring at me from a car window.

Here are a few of my favoUrite moon tunes.