Pies and Papparazzi

Once again it's been forever. Blogger has been giving me grief and I've had saving and posting issues. I finally figured out this evening that blogger would rather cooperate with Firefox than Safari.

I've had a long day, with both high and low points. The lowest point was probably our Old Testament test early this morning. We had somehow convinced ourselves that the test would be multiple choice. Lo and behold, there was not a single multiple choice question on our four page test. I was prepared for the matching and discussion questions. Unfortunately the short answer kind of threw me. Ah well, that's over and I know I didn't fail.

JoAnna and me

In other news from #10, the paparazzi have invaded. Several of the people from the study abroad office are here for several days. This includes a little film crew - a photographer and a cameraman. This made the test even better. I was filmed taking the test and I hadn't even showered yet! Then again, other people were still in their pajamas. I actually feel kind of special walking around Oxford with a camcorder and photographer documenting my every move.

For OXTA we headed to the Bodleian Library and New College. Right now my computer is telling me that I spelled Bodleian wrong. I'm having a bit of a giggle fit because spell check says I should spell it "Caboodles". I don't think my roomies find this as funny as I do. Anyway ... I love libraries and the Bodleian was amazing; it's so old and so beautiful. The aroma of musty old books never gets old either.

A niche in the old city wall

I don't recall ever going into New College before, and it is really a lovely college. The gardens are beautiful, surrounded by part of the old city walls. It also has lovely cloisters in which, of course, some of Harry Potter was filmed. Actually, I'm beginning to think that every building in Oxford has some sort of claim on these movies.

Acting out a scene from Harry Potter (I'm supposed to be a ferret)

I took JoAnna and Meghan, two of my new friends, by my old house this afternoon. I just love walking through the twisting passageway, past the Turf Tavern and down the cobble stone pathway of Bath Place. I enjoyed showing it to my friends and pointing out the crooked lines of the beams of our ancient residence.

It's busy here, as always, but my tests are over for the next two weeks. Unfortunately I still have plenty of homework and another required field trip tomorrow afternoon. I've also been busy buying plane tickets and musical tickets. Phantom of the Opera will be at the end of October and Greece is coming up at the end of November. I'm so excited!

I ended my day today in the best way possible: with coffee and apple pie. We came home and picked apples from the trees in our back garden. The apples are a tad bit tart, a bit like a granny smith apple. However, they are absolutely delicious when baked in a pie. We found a no-crust recipe online which was amazing. The crust is supposed to sort of form on its own as there is flour in the mixture. Ultimately, it was a fabulous apple pie and we had a ton of fun baking it. It truly feels like fall over here. The leaves are quickly changing, blazing a bright red trail throughout the town. Apples are ripe and the weather is cooling down. What a lovely fall day!

Homemade apple pie