Saturday, February 14, 2009

Hearts, Flowers, and Super Dog?

My husband surprised me by coming home a little bit early on Friday evening with his arms full of these...yellow roses are my favorite.

Saturday morning I cooked a special breakfast. It was special 'cuz I made heart shaped French toast and since Christmas we've been, ahem, watching what we eat, so bread hasn't shown up too often in our menus. After breakfast we piled Dixie into the car (hey, she needs a Valentine's Day treat too) and drove to Burnham Beeches. It's only about 10 minutes from our house unless someone inadvertently tells their husband to turn 5 miles too soon and they end up on a scary, skinny, single tract road that did eventually get them there. Burnham Beeches is an area of a little over 500 acres of ancient woodland and it is a truly beautiful place to spend a few hours. Muddy, but beautiful. Pinewood Film Studios is nearby and several movies have used Burnham Beeches for location shots including First Knight, The Princess Bride, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to name just a few.




We walked thru the woods, while Dixie frolicked (there's no better word for our dog off lead in the woods) and we ended the morning with a coffee at the 'eco cafe' near the car park. I'm not 100% sure why it's called an eco cafe but I can tell you the roof is made of real live growing grass. As we were sipping our coffee something over to the side caught our eye...





I couldn't help myself...I had to ask. This is Tessa and according to her owner, Friday was Tessa's 12th birthday and they were at Burnham Beeches with some of her 'friends' having an honest to goodness birthday party. Yes, there was cake and yes, there were goody bags because, as the owner whispered to me, 'You know you can get anything on the internet nowadays.' She went on to explain that they had put Tessa in her costume on Friday and she has not wanted to take it off since. I think I've said it before but it bears repeating...dogs rule in this country.

I'm realizing now that seguing into a description of the very elegant dinner we enjoyed later that evening is a bit clumsy after what I've just written but I'll try. Yes we did have a lovely dinner Saturday night at a beautfiul restaurant called The House on the Bridge. It technically sits just beside Windsor Bridge in Eton, adjacent to the Eton College boathouses. During dinner I commented to my husband about the fact that 25 years ago on this day we were planning our wedding. And he said (God bless him) 'You look even better now than you did then.' Now, I'm completely certain that if you held my 23 year old self up next to my 48 year old self you would not agree. But this is one of the wonderful blessings of a long marraige.

As a lovestruck young adult starting out in marraige you look at your mate and you see your whole life stretching out in front of you, filled with hope and endless possibility. When looking at your spouse after 25 years of married life you see so much more. You see your shared past with all of it's joys and sorrows, you see the parent of your sweet children, you see all the years of working and playing together, you see the hurts and the forgiveness and love that you've lived. All these things that you were only able to experience because you both decided every day of your married life that you are in this together for ever and for always, come what may. And yes, you do still look towards the future, and yes, it is still stretching out in front of you filled with endless hope and possibility. Happy Valentine's Day....Joyce

3 comments:

  1. What a beautiful day! Thanks for sharing it with us. I absolutely love Tessa!

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  2. You cant make that picture up with the dog dressed in costume. I hope Dixie was not upset she was not invited to the part.

    Beautiful description of marriage to Tim. Sounds alot like a script I would write of Sean and I.

    Tim did not lie. You are still hot.

    Love, Lisa

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  3. 25 years of marriage. That is awesome!! My husband and I will celebrate 33 years in May. We met when we were 15 years old, so we were high school sweethearts. My oldest daughter married her high school sweetheart. My youngest daughter's high school sweetheart was killed in a car accident 4 years ago. We are still praying for a special young man to come into her life when the time is right. She so wants to marry and be a Mom. Your day with your hubby sounds wonderful. So romantic!
    Love & blessings from NC!

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