The Wood for the Trees…

I live quite close to the Georgian city of Bath here in the UK and like most people who live near tourist cities and attractions, I tend to take the place for granted. In fact, nowadays, I usually avoid it like the plague thanks to the sheer volume of traffic, the traffic restrictions, and the car parking charges. That said, whenever I do venture in, I always find something new and beautiful to appreciate about the city.

Aside from its architectural and historic interest, Bath offers many interesting possibilities for an author. The ghost walks and tours have provided many an entertaining evening and are one of the first things we always do when we have non-local friends to stay. We’ve actually had a couple of scary encounters during these walks, but that’s for another blog another time 🙂

On a trip into Bath this week for a dentist visit, I had some time to spare before the appointment so, armed with my trusty phone camera, went off to explore. On this trip it was the trees of Bath that held a certain fascination for me, and I came away with ideas for new stories in the process.

First stop, the Circus. These London plane trees, planted in the 1820s and said to be the most photographed trees in Bath, can be found in the central grassed off area of the Circus, and are surrounded by a circle of townhouses. They’ve so far survived the weather, pollution, and even the Bath Blitz during the Second World War, when a number of nearby townhouses were destroyed (since rebuilt). The Circus is considered a fine example of Georgian architecture, designed by John Wood, the Elder, in the 1760s. Apparently, John Wood was influenced by the knowledge that since Bath was a major centre for Druidism, the Circus design should reflect that of Stonehenge in nearby Wiltshire, which was thought to be a Druid temple back in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

The old hanging tree can be found in the heart of the city in Abbey Green, a Georgian square by the Roman Baths and the Abbey. As the name suggests, this is where public executions would take place. Sadly, my photo was too dark to post here, but you can see a photo of the tree at this link.The tree is one of the oldest in Bath, said to have been planted in 1793. Mary Shelley wrote most of her masterpiece and finished the final draft of Frankenstein while living in this square, and a pub opposite is said to be haunted, most likely by some of those poor unfortunate souls who met their demise by the old tree!

On the way back to my car, post dentist, I walked past these beautiful blossom trees lining the edge of the Royal Victoria Park. Landscaped in the late 1880s, the park stretches over ten acres and is filled with the most beautiful trees, shrubs, and flowers. Despite that it was named for her, it is said that Queen Victoria hated the city of Bath, allegedly because she overheard someone describing her in a less than complimentary manner! Regardless, those blossoms are pretty stunning. Don’t you just love spring?

Thanks to my spare half an hour in Bath, you might just find the old trees of Bath, and their history, making their way into future Faye Avalon stories. Watch this space!

www.fayeavalon.com

Threading

Without the picture you would think this blog was about something for sewing.  Since I first discovered threading (January 2023), I have seen one sign that I’d have sworn I could go in for hemming some pants.  

Karen and I found this way to shape brows by accident.  There was a shop in Walmart and I went in to make a couple of appointments for having our brows waxed.  The young lady said they did Threading instead and always ready to try something new, we thought it would be fun to try.  

Since than I have asked around and found that 

1. Some people have heard of Threading , but never tried it.

2. Some had never heard of Threading.

3. No one I asked had Threading done. 

I googled  ‘Threading’ and thought I would address some of what we found with our experience.  To start with, both Karen and I have switched from waxing to threading so my view will be in the positive. 

1. The speed of the process. I didn’t find it faster but it was marginally slower. And that was our first time so it might be faster for us to maintain. 

2. It doesn’t hurt as much as waxing. Both of us hardly felt it. 

3. Lasts as least as long as waxing maybe even longer as they shaped the brows. 

4. Cost. Every place here (Phoenix), charge $10 for Threading and $15 for tinting.  When Karen went home, she had hers done in Lacey Washington for the same price. 

5. Some irritation around the area.  Mine were about the same as waxing both in redness and how long it lasted.  By the time Karen got back to the house I didn’t notice any redness. But mine always is irritated to the point of redness with waxing.

In researching Threading, after we had it done, I found that brow threading has been practiced in multiple cultures for several thousand years.  They think it might have originated in India or Iran. Today it has been adopted by cultures worldwide and is one of the most popular methods of shaping brows.  (This makes me feel like a DUH moment. How am I just now hearing about it?)

Happy- Or Hoppy- Easter

Jillian here. Sorry I missed my day to blog last month. Hobbes had just had surgery and he was a miserable kitty who wouldn’t sleep alone and I spent five nights sleeping on the couch with him while he moaned and groaned about the collar he had to wear. I walked around in a daze at work for that week and didn’t even realize the 9th of the month passed until the 12th. Pretty crazy, I know.

Today is Easter and I hope those of you who celebrate are having a nice holiday. Now that we don’t have small children and don’t do the egg dying and hunting thing, it’s a pretty quiet day. We have dinner at my parents’ home and enjoy the whole turkey with fixings meal as if it was thanksgiving all over again. My mom makes the best gravy and the best deviled eggs so I am sure to indulge in those.

We used to go to the sun rise (or SON-rise) service at my church but they stopped doing it. I always loved that service as it was set to start before the sun was up and the sun came up just as it was ending– at the final hymn–beautiful. And then there was the pancake breakfast…

One thing I love about Easter is the availability of Starburst jelly beans. They have a bag of all reds that we stock up on while we can. They used to only be sold at Target but now you can get them other places. I am proud of myself this year. I bought 6 bags and have not eaten one. Not one, single jelly bean. I’m still trying to lose weight and cut down on sugar. But I do think I might cave before the day is over and eat a few. We’ll see.

Passover was also this week. My daughter-in-law is Jewish so they do both a Seder and an Easter celebration. They went on an egg hunt in their community park last weekend and her brother’s girlfriend gave birth to their second daughter on Passover. A sweet new little girl for my son and DIL to be aunt and uncle to and a new cousin for Benjamin.

Whatever holiday you celebrate, I hope you have a blessed day full of love and happiness. And go get you some Starburst red jelly beans—you won’t regret it.

Vacation, take me away!

I live a ferry ride away from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Until a couple weeks ago, I’d never had a chance to visit the city. I should have made more of an effort because it’s awesome and I wish I could have spent more time there!

We walked on the ferry, choosing to leave the car. That meant walking, something that I’m not great at these days due to hip and back pain. But I did it, and I’m proud of that.

The ferry let us off in downtown Victoria and we walked about a mile to the condo we had rented. Turns out, that mile was mostly uphill. Uh oh. Here’s my reddddd face as I’m on a daughter-enforced rest once we arrived. 🙂

But the condo? Worth it. We had GREAT views of downtown Victoria and even a touch of the bay.

Day one was all about getting there. Day two was adventure day, at least for the two teens with us. We took a city bus out of the downtown corridor and had breakfast at Tim Horton’s, a national chain whose coffee I enjoy. Then it was off to a zipline adventure. Remember that aforementioned pain? I chose not to zipline but the kids had a blast, and their mother was running from tree to tree taking pictures. It was awesome.

Then we went to Chinatown and Fan Tan Alley, another high recommend. It was an amazing place to visit.

The next day, I rested and let those younger than me explore the city. I read, relaxed, and, when they were ready for some downtime, we met at a wonderful Board Game Café. You rent a table (when we were there it was only $6 CAD.) We sat there for hours playing games. They had over 800 to choose from! We laughed, we ate, we let everything go and just stayed in the moment. It was awesome.

I came home relaxed and refreshed and my granddaughters got stamps in their passports. My daughter was thrilled because we made so many memories. Thank you so much for letting me be part of this mini-adventure, daughter and grands!

There were things we didn’t do in Victoria, like Buchart Gardens. I didn’t think I could manage the walk, but I’ve heard from so many people that it’s beautiful there no matter what time of year you visit.

Victoria is a very welcoming city and, as I said at the beginning, visiting is a high recommend from me. I think there’s something for everyone there!

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