Sunday And Such, 7 - 9 September 2014

It was nice waking up in our own bed this morning.  We got ready and walked over to catch the minibus to church.  Only problem, it was not there and it was not even parked in the car park.  We waited around a few minutes and then got in the car and amazingly, Dad drove to the church!  He has a good mind when it comes to directions.  Us and the Murdoch's were the only missionary couples there.  We wondered where everyone else had gone.  We did find out later they had gone to Haywards Heath where Brother Vowels has a calling.  Since he was driving, they went with him and left a half hour early to arrive on time.  We didn't get the memo since we had been out of town.  We had a quiet afternoon and evening.

On Monday, we drove to Tunbridge Wells where we knew there were two fabric stores.  We purchased a sewing machine and found flannel to make receiving blankets for Juliann's baby.  They call flannel brushed cotton over here and the range of selection is quite limited but we did find some.  I am excited to sew and crochet.

On the way home, we stopped in Hartfield at the Hundred Acre Wood.  We took a walk down to the Pooh Bridge and even found his house!

I never thought of Pooh have a house!  But, here it is!  We waited around to see him but he must have been off into the woods as he didn't answer his door.

To play Pooh Sticks, you selected a stick, dropped it in the water on one side of the bridge and go to the other side to see whose stick came out first.  Dad did't play so I just watched my stick come out by itself.

We really were "deep in the Hundred Acre Wood," and enjoyed the many trails and paths.  You weren't quite sure where they would lead, but they were fun to follow.

On Tuesday, we went to Standen House in East Grinstead.  The drive was beautiful going to the house.  The house and gardens were created in the 1890s by James and Margaret Beale and made it into a family home, filling the functions needed for a wealthily Victorian family.  They raised seven children in the home.  When we visited, we saw Satnden House very much as the family would have known it in the 1920s.

The main view of the house is from the back, opening out into the vast garden and lawns.    You can see some of the kitchen garden growing with flowers lining part of it.  They even had a little stand as you exited the property with bags of some of the produce.  We purchased a bag of running beans for a pound.  They were delicious.  The bottom left photo is of the front entrance to the house.

We liked the real billiard table and the hobby horse to the side.  The children used both forms of entertwinement while growing up.  The old fashioned scale was interesting to see.  Dad wanted a pictures of their dining room table as it reminded us of ours.  Another kitchen garden laden with herbs and spices.

A part of the drawing room and study.  The flowers were beautiful.  The older building was on the property when the Beale's purchased it and then added the house onto it.  This building dates back tot he 15th century.

This evening I attended the European Women's Conference, originating in Germany and was broadcast to England.  There were 39 countries attending or viewing the conference.  We gathered in the theater at the Visitors Centre.  Sister Langner, a stake Relief Society president in Germany was conducting, with M. Russel Ballard and his wife there as well as David A Bednar and his wife.  We also heard from Elder Halstrom and his wife.

Elder Bednar spoke of the apostles as warriors of God.  They are as Captain Moroni, steady, sure, seasoned, and willing to serve.  Nine of the twelve are over 80 years old at present.  That is a wealth of wisdom and experience.  They are the ones to listen to, to follow, and take their course of action.  Elder Ballard extended the love of the first presidency and quorum of the twelve to the women of the church, to the women in Europe.  They are loved, are daughters of God, and have a divine purpose.  We can look to the women of the scriptures for examples.  What matters most in life is our testimony and our family.

I was impressed with Sister Jennifer Kearon's talk.  She spoke to the Primary girls and Young Women and began with explaining how to put a fitted sheet on a bed.  She went into detail with the difficulty of putting three corners on and then having to crawl on the bed to the farthest one that is up against the wall to secure the forth corner.  Sometimes it seems impossible to do and she has ripped many sheets trying this method.  It wasn't until she discovered the ease of putting the hardest corner on first, that her sheet buying days were reduced!  The analogy was perfect for these girls to focus on the "hard" corner first and then the rest will follow in all aspects of life.  The Strength of Youth booklet lists five standards that when you do what is hard first, then the rest falls into place.

Elder Ballard was funny when he got up to speak and commented that he didn't know when he came to the meeting he was going to learn how to put a sheet on a bed!