Long time family friend Doug

HI Doug
Here he is sitting in the garden looking very relaxed and happy. Doug has hung around with my sisters for as long as I can remember. Drinking Coke and calling my mom Toots :) That is what I expecially remember about Doug . I dont get to see Doug as much as my sisters do, and I just wanted to send this post out to say a huge hello and give him the warmest hug ever, so that he knows that I am thinking of him on this side of the world. I have also asked my sisters to say hi to him frequently.
Doug used to work in the health care field but sadly he has had to give that up and I bet those patience really miss him there as he was their angel.
Doug this day and post is just for you .

Hugs and kisses Sandy xxxooo 

Lavenham in a day

We finally found the medieval town of Lavenham (wool and weaving made this town famous)and what a find, its only about 45 minutes to a hour from where I live!
Can you believe this fantastic stuff right near me, yippeees am I lucky. We did a bit of siteseeing at the church first then we wandered around the village, stopping for a bite of tea in the afternoon.
We went to Tickle Manor Tea Room. Its a two storey timber framed home built by the son of a priest in 1530. We had pots of tea and baguette sandwiches, perfect for getting us going to continue on to see the town.
We also stopped in at the Crooked House Gallery and met the owner Clare Calder-Marshall who told us about the place and showed us a picture of her living quarters upstairs. Fantastic.
There is also a resident artist Alison Englfield who does some fantastic work, textiles , paper and painting. Have a look at the site and enjoy the photos of the village.

Moss and Flint

Flint and moss down the walkway
Here is some flint stone down the walkway of a street.

Old shoppes 

Town Hall (I think ) Lavenham  

Amazing someones house! 

More old houses 

Old Tutor style house with mullioned windows 

Come on in we don t bite USUALLY 

Crooked House Gallery  

Old house in Lavenham 

Lavenham and Medieval Flushwork

Last friday we finally made it to Lavenham! We tried to make it there the first week my sister came over but got abit waylaid shall we call it and ended up in Clare. Then the saturday after that we went and had a workshop with Margaret Talbot called Medieval tiles and mosaics .... she did a book on Flushwork which is medieval tiles with flint. One of the places in her book is Lavenham and I am sure we would not have noticed the flint and its significance if we had not had the workshop and knowledge. So right back to Lavenham, we made it there last friday and low and behold found the church and its flushwork SEE BELOW.

There are some other lovely bits and pieces, do enjoy and if your out that way do stop by and have a good look. There is alot to see. Tomorrow more on Lavenham.

Stop and rest your tired pins 

More with another mosaic tile 

Flushwork at Lavenham see the mosaic tile as well 

Fantastic door handle in Lavenham church 

Thomas Spring the rich Clothier 

nice old chair and lovely seat cushion 

Old Crypt inside the church 

Oldest piece in the church 

Stunning photo of an old door 

close up of some mosaic bits 

Model of Lavenham Church 

Till me meet up again

ta ta for now sister
I write this with tears in my eyes to say till we meet again
to my sister Dianne. I did not go to the airport with them as the luggage
had filled the car up and I am also a very big suck when it comes to
goodbyes. I cry and then get a lump in my throat and am not able to talk.
Its always so lovely to see them visit
or to go visit them but the goodbyes are just a killer to me.
I am such a wimp. So I post a picture of us during Diannes
visit here and good times we had during that visit. Sniffle sniffle...
Kinda weird to not hear her voice this afternoon and a bit
of an empty spot ..right here (points to chest) LOVE YA SIS...
ok ok come on ... we had a wonderful visit getting caught up
again with each other and showing Dianne new techniques in textiles
ect. so that she can show her friends and our sister back home.
Hope I did not wear her out as we were up and out everyday
running around going here and going there. We had a workshop and
then we went to see a few places that stemmed from the workshop
of the churches that have flushwork on them.

Medival Flushwork is a unique regional art form, given its name
because the flint and stone are set flush with each other. Knapped
flint and stone are combined to create architectural patterns and
decorative motifs on the external walls of medival churches.
Suffolk and South Norfolk have a rich variety of these. (15th Century)
Stay tuned as I will travel around and take pictures of these different
churches and the flushwork around the area.

Have a great flight Dianne and Jan, talk to you really soon
Love
Sandy