Happy Halloween!

We're all set for Halloween! I picked up this pumpkin spice candle in the States, and on our last Morrison's run, we got cinder toffee, toffee apples and my carving pumpkin.

On the last weekend of each month (Mar-Nov), they hold a market at Kirkstall Abbey

The last time we went, we just sort of stumbled upon it and we'd already eaten lunch. This time, we made sure to come hungry!

I had this "Sombrero Bowl" from El Kantina. It's pulled pork with salad, chipotle dressing and jalapenos. After eating this, I remembered having their pulled pork sandwich at the food festival this summer, so I guess I'm a fan of El Kantina (despite the spelling...Spanish doesn't use 'k'!)

On Sunday, we had a pub lunch at Weetwood Hall's Stables

They do this amazing gravy with red wine & thyme...it was on both my sausage & mash and on Richard's steak pie. 

Tonight I carved my pumpkin and we watched "Ichabod & Mr Toad"--Happy Halloween!

York

We went to York this afternoon

We went to Barley Hall, one of the only museums in town that we hadn't visited. It was great! Much bigger and more involved than I thought it would be, and I love the fact that photos were allowed, too.

The Great Hall. We thought the white rose design was a York reference, but it's actually religious--the rose says "IESUS" (Jesus) and "MARIA" around the petals, and the white symbolises purity for the Virgin Mary

The brick area at our feet is actually a hearth in middle of the floor--the ceiling has a clever little chimney in the middle for the smoke to escape

There was a really good exhibit on medieval medicine, with herbal cures and barber surgeons' tools (eek!)

Elizabeth I used scary chemicals for make-up and hair dye to cling on to her youth, and wound up having skin sores and baldness in her later years. Today's plastic surgery addicts should take heed!

The stuffed rat on this table was way too realistic!

Henry VIII's codpiece scares me a bit, too--yikes!

The parlour--apparently the name comes from the French parler, because it's a place to chat & socialize!

We went to Jorvik viking centre, then popped into our favourite Starbucks across the street

The Shambles

Back in Leeds

We had a great time in Seattle, but it was nice to get back to Leeds--school is back in session, Headingley is packed with students again, and the leaves are starting to change colors

Light Night was the first Friday after we got back--so glad we caught it! This is the main council chamber in the Civic Hall, where a youth music school group was performing

I love Light Night!

Inside the Corn Exchange

This brown thatched cottage in the centre was part of a Narnia exhibit--the wait time was about an hour, so we skipped it, but it looked really cool!

On Sunday we went to Bolton Abbey after church

The views are incredible--we appreciated the gorgeous Yorkshire landscape even more after being away

We sat on the river bank & shared some biscuits with the ducks

Richard went across the stepping stones (I took the bridge this time!)

Last weekend was extremely pious--on Saturday night, we went to a charity harvest supper & quiz night at church, and on Sunday we went shopping for the Operation Christmas Child Shoebox after church. It's so fun to shop for a little girl and I always pick things I would've loved as a kid, like the art supplies and the Hello Kitty stuff. Last year, our box went to Romania--according to the website, it was one of 977,880 boxes that went to 15 countries!