I have really enjoyed sorting through my pictures and writing captions, more for me than for anybody else. It is amazing how quickly it is possible to forget why I took a picture of that particular door, or tree or even a church. After all, we did see more than a few interesting churches along the way. I have written captions for most of my pictures, and couldn't resist gathering more information by using Google to find good sources, then cutting and pasting information into the captions. I am sure it is way more information than most casual viewers would want to be bothered with. But I will be able to go back and use the captions to trigger my memory.

It took me about a week to get over the combination of jet lag and just plain being tired from the busy pace. Gloria keeps pointing out to me that every week in London is like that for her. It is a mixed blessing, after all. For me, I wanted to be totally sure that I didn't waste a minute of my precious 11 days. I think that Gloria's program is planned with the same kind of thinking. They have 12 weeks, and by the end of that she will have been on many day and weekend trips, visited most of the major sites in London, seen several dozen plays, dance shows and concerts.

I was able to see enough to have a good overview of London and the other places I visited, but that is really just the beginning. Now I could go back for many more visits to begin more indepth exploration of so many places that I just saw in passing as the tour bus went by. It would be fun to live there for months at at time, as the director of Gloria's program does. Every few years she spends several months sharing what she knows and loves of London with different groups of students.

So after the week of recovering from jet lag, I had one day of feeling back to a more normal energy level, then had the bad fortune to develop a dreadful cold. This has been a particularly bad fall, so many people at work and in the local schools are sick. Some schools have actually had to close. I am part of a team of three, and we all got similar symptoms at the same time. My boss was hit harder, and was actually in the hospital with pneumonia, hopefully now on the mend and on his way home.

It worked out well that this Thanksgiving will be a smaller, quieter affair, just a few people at our house. It is just right, had it been a big celebration, it would have been hard to get ready. I am beginning to feel better, I did go to work yesterday. But I am glad to have this long weekend, even though there are quite a few activities.