A little of our London trip

 Visited with the cousins in England. It was amazing!  Here are a few (unedited) highlights.

Kensington Palace Garden

The Shard

The Globe Theater with a modern-day performance of MacBeth

Tower Bridge

We had a great time and would love to go back!

See more fun photos here and here.

I'm bored

 No, this is not the lament of a school-age child after one week's worth of summer, though it could be!  It's me!  I'm bored!  What do you do when you're bored?  There is only so much TV that can be watched and Internet that can be surfed.

I've done all the laundry.  The house is (fairly) clean. Dinner tonight is easy to warm up.    I've made a thank you card, and I did some other crafting. I've run errands.  I've watched the shows I want to watch.  This is what happens when you wake up too early (Thanks to the neighbors for chopping down a giant tree that was providing wonderful shade in my bedroom).  Now what?

I wonder what Chat GPT will say.

It said I could watch a movie (nope), go for a walk (not feeling it), rearrange a room (not gonna happen), or scroll Google Earth.  Chat GPT clearly does not know me!  One of its seriously lame suggestions was to go on Youtube and learn a new skill such as, get this, origami, speedcubing, or lockpicking.  Yes, it said that!  I guess I will look up what speedcubing is and get back to you.  But for now...

Have a great week!  Don't forget to visit Happy Tuesday and Random Tuesday Thoughts!

Fun Photos!

One of my favorite outings in London was visiting the Tower of London because I read so much historical fiction about England's kings and queens and royal families, and the tower almost always plays a role in these stories.

Traitor's Gate

 

Window Seat in one of the chambers.

The ravens are the guardians of the tower.  But they will bite!  Both my husband and I got bitten.
Mine was on top of my foot (thanks for my shoe protecting me)
and his was on his shin (thankfully he had on jeans).

 They don't allow you to take photos of the Crown Jewels, or else you'd see some of those beauties here.

You can visit Wordless Wednesday here and here.

Sunday Synopsis - The Queen's Fool

The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory


Philippa Gregory is the queen of English historical fiction. The compelling main character of The Queen's Fool is Hannah Verde, aka Hannah Green, who has fled the inquisition in Spain and arrived in England with her book-maker father. The book follows her life from her quiet life with her father to being begged for a fool. Robert Dudley, King Edward's protector and adviser, discovers Hannah and her "sight," the ability to see into the future.

She is sent to spy on Catholic Queen Mary who has a bitter rivalry with her Protestant half sister Elizabeth. Hannah finds herself amid a court of lies, deception, and religious persecution. In the process, she develops a loving bond with Mary who ends up in disgrace due to not one, but two hysterical pregnancies and numerous burnings and beheadings.

Hannah is also betrothed to Daniel, another who fled the religious persecution in Spain and must hide his true faith in England. Daniel plans his escape, along with his family and Hannah's father, but Hannah must stay at court until she is released from service. She will eventually join Daniel and her father in Calais, but even then, there is fear and betrayal. When Calais falls to the French, she will find herself back in England and still in service to Robert Dudley.

This is a fast-paced enjoyable read full of intrigue, rivalries, deception, and even war. It will bring about a new perspective on both Queen Mary and Princess Elizabeth, the offspring of Henry VIII. No one can write historical fiction that is both fascinating and realistic quite like Gregory. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

View all my reviews

Was Anne Boleyn a Sweetheart?

 

I've been getting in the mood for my visit to the UK by reading historical fiction.  I'm currently reading a book set in England during Henry VIII's reign and courtship of Anne Boleyn.  The author continually has Henry refer to Anne as "sweetheart."  First, I don't know that Henry VIII would call anyone sweetheart, and second, I didn't think the term had been coined at that time.  But, as it turns out, I was wrong. It was first used in the year 1290 in England.  Hmmm. I still think the author overused the term, and coming out of Henry's mouth just doesn't seem right.

Have a great week!  And don't forget to visit Happy Tuesday!