A medley of topics for the month of October.

This entry is a combination of several different events. I had some catching up to do so you get a 3 for 1 deal this week.

We start with the Harewood house located not more than 15 minutes from our flat in Harrogate. In my opinion, it is a glorified version of the Hilbert Estate, the mansion I worked at for several years in Carmel, Indiana. However, the house is even more grand and the property is much larger. The house was built between 1759 and 1772 for the Lascelles family, who bought the estate after making their fortune in the West Indies through customs positions and slave trading. The estate is now open to the public and offers tours of the house and grounds, as well as a bird garden, art gallery, walking trails, playground, a boating lake, and a cafe. The Harewood house won the Visitor Attraction of the Year award in 1994 and remains a popular tourist attraction. The Lascelles family still live in the house today and to Brandon and my surprise, as we were leaving the estate, we happened to drive out right behind the owners and saw the earl of Harewood with our own eyes.

Event #2: Hooray, we celebrated my birth on October 3rd. I have now lived in this wonderful world for 23 years. Brandon gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and took me to a nice restaurant called "Room." I also received lots of love and many wonderful gifts from friends and family. Thank you for your kindness. Ahh, I do love birthdays.

Last but not least, we visited Rievaulx Abbey, a famous church in the Yorkshire Dales. The abbey eventually became one of the greatest and wealthiest in all of England, with 140 monks, receiving grants of land totalling 6000 acres. It's big and impressive as the pictures will show.

Thanks for reading, I love you, and have a great week.