19 - 25 January 2016

It was a bit of a crazy week, with the highlight being two straight days of full sunshine!  Wow, it was a surprise but well received.  They were followed by continuous days of clouds and rain.

It was such a thrill to have sunshine coming through the window, I had to take a picture!

Dad started in with a kidney stone creating all sorts of pain and discomfort on Wednesday and was home the rest of the week.  Brother Head was extremely excited to be in charge and take care of our shift.  He is a wonderful man with a zest for serving and doing what needs to be done.

The temple was a little busier than last week and Saturday brought more patrons.  We had plenty of workers but some cancelled or were sick so each day was a new experience.  It is always amazing how the work gets done in spite of how many workers there are.

It was a busy birthday week with Mason, Cheryl, and myself turning over one more year.  We spoke with Mason and he was excited to tell us all he has been doing.  He even showed us his Pinewood Derby car that took first place!  

We also wished Riley a happy birthday as his special day is next week.  Shawn shared the news that he and Tanner will be coming to London for a soccer game just before we come home.  We discussed plans to spend a day with them when they are here.

Sister George went shopping with us and surprised me with a cake!  

I received many birthday greetings from family and friends via Facebook, email, texts, phone calls, and FaceTime.  It was a joy to hear from so many.

Sam sent us a letter and it came on my birthday.  What a nice surprise.

Sunday ended with a Hi & Bye.  We are happy to welcome in Sister Cooper, Sister Crocker, and Brother and Sister Peel.  Elder & Sister Lock also said Hi, as they are the new directors of the Visitors' Centre.  They have been periodic workers while we have been here and were in the temple presidency previously.  Sadly, though, we said Bye to Brother & Sister Head.  Their mission ends the end of February and we will sorely miss them.  They are brilliant trainers and serve so faithfully on our shift.

Judith Cooper, England, A shift.

 Moira & Roger Head, England, A shift.

 Sister & Elder Lock, he is English and she is Irish, Visitors' Centre Directors.

Brother & Sister Peel and Sister Crocker, all English and on the B shift.

Since Dad had dealt with the pain of a kidney stone all week, we made the decision to head to hospital to get treatment.  It was a very long day's process but when the tests were in, he definitely had stones in his right kidney blocking the tube going to the bladder.  We met with the urologist and he prescribed a stint being put in to drain the swollen kidney and let it heal before they took action on the stones.

We drove home to get the car there and for Dad to take a shower and pack a bag.  Roger & Moria drove us back to hospital where Dad was admitted.  The three of us went back home.

12 - 18 January 2016

Sister Barbara Dyer, a periodic worker was here this week on shift.   She gave the spiritual  thought in preparation meeting on Wednesday.  She asked the question:  "Does my life have meaning?"

"In regard to my temple service, I am lucky to be a part of an organization that shares experience and wisdom; where we don't have to take early retirement or make way for the young and trendy.

As the world sees it, most temple workers could be seen as past their 'sell by date.'  How wonderful it is that Heavenly Father sees such great value in us.

I recently watched a program about loneliness.  Loneliness is bad for your health, both physically and emotionally.  People are lonelier than they have ever been, and that is just not old people.  A lot of them say, 'No one needs me.'  The program went on to say that happier people found ways to serve others and find meaning in life.

What can be more meaningful than helping the living and the dead on their journey towards the celestial kingdom."

Saturday evening we were out to dinner with Peter and Janice Banks.  We went to Toby Carvery where we enjoyed a delicious traditional meal of meat and plenty of vegetables.

 We not only went as friends, but to celebrate Peter's birthday which was last week, and my birthday which is next week.

When I got up Sunday morning, there was an email from Julie asking if we had snow.  I responded with "no," but then decided I best look out the window before clicking send.  What did I see?  I saw snow!  I was so surprised.  Bob took a picture out the window but I donned shoes, jacket, and earmuffs and headed out for a better shot.  It was amazing to be outside with me making the first footprints in the snow.

It really is a magical picture.  I couldn't believe how beautiful it was to be outside with it so peaceful, serene, and still.  I was looking down at the camera, checking the photos I had taken and started to take another one when I noticed the lights had turned off!  You can see the first picture is the best one.

See my footprints.  Hee, hee.  No one else has these pictures.

Church was good.  It was ward conference so we had stake speakers and teachers.  Sacrament Meeting began and the introduction was played for the opening hymn when I noticed there was no chorister.  I jumped up and went and led the music for the meeting.  Sister Hughes, the organist, was happy I came up.

Primary Sing Time was delightful with the stake music person taking charge.  She had fun visual aids and sang songs with lots of actions as well as teaching a new song.  The children were very reverent, much more so than on a normal basis.

Thoughts and Impressions from a Sunday's Meetings

What keeps us from coming unto Christ?  1.  SIN:  Isaiah 1:18 - "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord:  though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."  2.  NOT SURE WE BELIEVE OR TRUST:  Alma 32:27 - ". . let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words."  3.  WANTING AN EASY LIFE:  2 Nephi 31:12 - "follow me (Jesus Christ) and do the things which ye have seen me do."

Attitude determines altitude.  We can have great privileges and blessings in our lives if we live the gospel of Jesus Christ.  (President Uchtdorf, April Conference 2011.)

"ORDINARY people who faithfully, DILIGENTLY and consistently do SIMPLE things that are right BEFORE GOD will bring forth "EXTRAORDINARY RESULTS." (David A Bednar)

In the car park Monday morning we came upon Peter and enjoyed conversation with him when Brother Pallett came along.  Dad immediately noticed he was wearing the same hat!  Peter tried to talk me out of my earmuffs for the photo but I wouldn't budge.

Peter said:  "I believe the Americans are catching on!"

Monday found us on our way to Wimbledon to find Parkside Hospital where Dad will have the place on his face removed, 29 February.  We will stay over as he will be in overnight.  We wanted to be familiar with the area because we will be relying on the bus from hotel to hospital since I don't drive. We checked out two hotels and took the bus from one to hospital but never arrived.  We got to the end of the line and stayed on the bus to get back to the hotel.  

We were both hungry by this time and Dad said to watch for places to eat.  We passed several and then I saw Five Guys right across from a bus stop.  We hopped off and enjoyed delicious hamburgers.  This was the largest Five Guys we have been to and it was all on the same floor.  We did not have to go up or down stairs to find the toilets!   When we finished eating Dad noticed a group of employees eating at a table and he went over to thank them for a good meal and service.  The manager was very gracious and thanked us for coming and was happy our experience was so positive.  He was so happy he gave each of us a card for a free meal the next time we eat at Five Guys.

We got back to the hotel and explained how we never made it to hospital.  They told us we would have to change buses at one point.  That answered a lot of questions.  They were kind enough to print out the bus schedule and map for us.

We ended the evening playing Pinochle with Doug & Beverly.

"Winchester Cathedral, your bringing me down. . . ." 5 - 11 January 2016

It was another cold, rainy, windy, no sun kind of week.  It did get even colder and Saturday, when we came out of the temple at 4:45 p.m., it was pitch black and rain was coming down.  We ran through the normal tasks of cleaning, laundry, shopping, and errands.  We squeezed in a couple of movies, the chiropractor, haircuts, and attending a session when we were off shift.

I guess all is not dreary here, as this beautiful amaryllis was in bloom in the chiropractor's office.

We received an email from Dan and Cheryl with photos of a family gathering in honor of Sonia's and Aunt Millie's birthdays.  It looks like they had a good time in celebration.

Aunt Millie, Sonia, Bill, & Greg

Aunt Naomi, Uncle Harold, & Sharla

 Phyllis & Bill

 Danny & Cheryl

Tracy & Greg

We also received an email from Jeff.  It was good to hear from him and learn about all he is doing.  The newest thing in his life is the birth of his son, Jeffery, born 23 Oct 2015 in New Orleans.

 Angela and baby Jeff.

Kylie, Michael, and Jeff.

Steve and Leah Vowels invited us to Sunday dinner.  We went to their home following church and enjoyed a great time with their family and the meal was delicious.  Leah made a cottage pie with peas and corn.  Dessert was an apple crumble.  We brought a pan of brownies.  We played games with the children, visited with everyone, checked out their DVD collection, and watched the hail come down on the trampoline outside.  The boys wanted to go out in it but of course they didn't.  The temperature was in the 30's.

JJ, Mark, Stevie, Lizzy, Penny, Baby Becky, Adam, Papa Steve, and Anthony.  We felt right at home with a bunch of children to play with.

We decided to go to Winchester Cathedral on Monday.  We both remember the hit song, Winchester Cathedral from our younger days and the cathedral is the burial place of Jane Austin.  The song was written and sung by the New Vaudville Band in 1966, and was #1 on the Billboard Top 100 chart in the U.S. and Cananda, but sat only at #4 in the UK.

Our trip there was interesting as we were held up in traffic on the M25, causing us to arrive a half hour later than anticipated.  We got into Winchester and had a hard time finding a parking spot.  All the streets were very narrow with cars parked all along side making it difficult to navigate the lane.  We came upon a two level car park and was unsuccessful in finding a vacant spot after driving around and up and down for half and hour.  We came out and went onto a road that took us out of town and into a small village.  By this time we had been in the car for 2 1/2 hours and were all in need of a toilet break.  We found a store with free parking and took advantage and found relief.

We still did not know where to find parking so Dad took a chance and asked a man drinking his coffee.  He said he was not from around here and that our best bet was to drive back into the town centre and go to the car park we had just come from.  So, off we went.

We were back in the car park scouting every spot we could see.  A young mother was getting her push chair out and  Dad stopped, rolled down his window, and asked if she was leaving.  She said she was not and then he inquired how she found the spot.  She said she had been driving the park for half an hour waiting for someone to go to lunch and she got lucky.

We continued around and I spotted a car getting ready to leave two rows over.  We stopped to take a closer look and Brenda and I jumped out and went and stood in the space until Dad could get over to it.  Finally, three hours after leaving home we were parked and walking to the cathedral!

Winchester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral.   It is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and greatest overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe. In 635 a small church was built on this site and worship services have been held here continually to the present time.  The current building was begun in 1079 to replace the smaller one known as Old Minster.  It is one of the largest medieval cathedrals in England.  It is the burial place of the famous author, Jane Austen.

 The Browns and the Crowthers standing in the Nave with Traveling Lizard.

 Above is Jane Austen's grave.  Below is a Memorial Brass to Jane Austin.  "The grave of Jane Austen, who died in 1817, is in the floor of the North Aisle, with its inscription which gives no indication that she was one of the greatest English writers."  Above the Memorial Brass (you cannot see it in the photo) is a stained glass window erected in 1900 by public subscription in her honor.

 Isn't this a cool door?  It leads to the treasury which is up a couple flights of stairs and looks out into the North Aisle.

 One of the many chapels.

 Another chapel

From this view you can see the two types of architecture.  At the top is the rounded arch from the original construction and below is the pointed arch that was used later.

The South Aisle.

 The baptismal font.  The story on this side shows a father kneeling before the Priest requesting support for his three daughters so they will have dowries and thus able to marry.  A young man is standing at the end waiting to see if they will have dowries for him to choose a wife.

 The choir benches are right below these beautiful organ pipes.  We attended Evensong and were able to sit right next to the men's choir and enjoyed the beauty of their pure tones and blending of voices that resonated throughout the cathedral.  Well done.

The beginning of the choir bench under the organ pipes.

Steps leading to the oldest part of the cathedral.

 Two Nativity sets were intriguing.  The one below is made of paper mache.  It has been used in the cathedral for about 30 years.

 Down this hall passed the flags and to the right is the door to the Crypt.

 Dad is coming up from the Crypt, but look what we saw down there.

The Crypt floods quite often and therefore has never been used for burials.  Look though at the reflection of the ceiling in the water.  And, since it always floods a statue was erected in it.  It was beautiful down there and it made me think immediately of a movie - Phantom of The Opera.  There is a map on the fence showing the layout of it.  I wanted to go exploring and check it out.

At the end of this hall is the oldest part of the cathedral and the floor is sunken in in places and the right wall leans out.  Braces have been put in the ceiling to keep it from leaning any farther.

This stained glass window was broken out when King Henry VIII did away with the Catholic Church.  Many of the people living there were saddened to see the damage done to their cathedral and picked up as much of the glass as they could and later it was used to restore the window, but not as it had originally been, thus the uneven patterns and colors.

We enjoyed our tour of the cathedral and walked back into town in search of a place to eat.  It began raining so we were more anxious to find a place.  It took a little time before we came upon Ruby Red's.  We enjoyed fries, sweet potato fries, hamburgers, chicken burgers, burritos, and hot chocolate.  It was a neat little place to eat and the food was excellent.  We took our time eating and then lingered enjoying the warmth of the place, being dry, and being able to sit down.

We headed home about 6:30 p.m. and arrived safely just after 8 p.m.  It had been a day of exploring and learning with good company.

Hello, 2016! 1 - 4 January 2016

New Year's Day was very relaxing.  We slept in then woke to clouds and no sun all day long.  We had a leisurely breakfast and then Brother Vowels came and put a new faucet in the bathroom sink.  It is a mixer so hot and cold water come out together.

I posted on the blog, watched a couple of movies, and edited pictures in iPhoto.  We met over in the dining room with about 60 other missionaries and friends of Roger and Susan Matthews.  He planned a surprise Thai meal for her 60th birthday on New Year's Day.    She was totally surprised and a fun time was had by all for the occasion.  Sister Miller from reception prepared the whole meal including spring rolls, soup, rice, two meats, and veggies.  Brother Rayton made the birthday cake and Sister Miller added Thai rice pudding for a delicious treat.  What a feast it was.

 Happy 60th, Susan!

January 2, 2016 was a big day for Jackson.  He and Ansley were married in the St. George temple.  Although we could not be there, Hanna face timed us and we were able to watch them walk out of the temple.  We also greeted other family members and were able to meet Ansley.  We enjoyed seeing the bright sunshine!  It invoked many fond memories of home and wishing for sunshine here.

 Jack & Ansley

Juliann, Kendal, Katie, and Jeanna.  Jeanna had her three baby sisters there to help in the celebration.  Katie made the wedding cake and cousins enjoyed playing together

 Katie, Thor, Lorili, Gabe, Henry, Caleb, & Eliza

Trevor, Juliann, Adellae, Brynlyn, and Collins.

We also began the New Year in the temple on Saturday with the new yearly schedule:

Thoughts from a Sabbath Day:

Sister Mann bore her testimony about goals.  She commented that New Year and goal setting has never been something she has participated in.  Last Sunday a brother spoke on this very subject and a comment he made impressed her.  He said:  "A goal that is not written down is just a dream."

I thought about that because I not a fan of writing goals down since I seem to never finish them.  But, I have decided to give this concept a try.  I am starting with just one goal and hopefully by the end of the year I will feel like I have completed something.

Sunday School lesson:  Lehi learns in a vision that Jerusalem will be destroyed.  He warns the people to repent, but they reject him and seek his life.  "And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away."  (1Nephi1:20)

The thought occurred to me, how do I today take what the prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, says or what counsel he gives me?  Do I just listen?  Do I think it is good and is for everyone else or someone I know?  Or do I take his words and apply them to my like to become more of whom Heavenly Father knows I can be?

I went to his latest council during General Conference in October:  "My message to you tonight is straightforward.  It is this:  keep the commandments."  He listed several of the ten commandments and continued:  "God's commandments are not given to frustrate us or to become obstacles to our happiness.  Just the opposite is true.  He has provided us with guidelines which, if we follow them, will see us safely through this often treacherous mortal journey."

I decided I do not want to be like the people of Jerusalem during Lehi's time.  I want to listen to my prophet and heed his counsel.  So, I picked one of the commandments I can improve on and begun the journey.

Monday we took off for a day in London with Doug and Beverly.  Our destination was the Victoria and Albert Museum.    The day started off with a hope of sunshine and it did not let us down as it shone throughout the day.  There were short periods of rain here and there but the sun won out most of the time.

The sun breaking through as we headed out of the lodge to the car.

Victoria & Albert Museum.  Doug & Beverly Jensen and Barbara & Bob.  What a great time we had walking through a few galleries.  There are many more than can be seen in a day, a week, or even a month!

Dolls belonging to the Cockerell family in Clapham, London.  The outfits are perfect miniatures of London fashion, 1690-1700.

George Frederic Handel.  This statue was commissioned to be placed at the heart of Spring Gardens in Vauxhall.  It shows the composer Handel holding the lyre of Orpheus, the mythological figure whose music calmed the savage beasts.  The statue became so celebrated that it was used to advertise the garden.  It is made from marble in 1738 by Louis-Francois Roubiliac.

We saw many tapestries, some large, some small.  This one represents the baby Moses stomping on the crown of Pharaoh.

This music room was interesting to stand it.  You could imagine a concert or recital going on in it and then maybe dances in celebration of a holiday or family event, etc.  It is made of pine panelling being carved, painted and gilded.  It comes from the Norfolk House, St James's Square, London, 1756.

Ships on a Calm Sea about 1658.  Wealthy Dutch sea merchants often hung paintings of sea subjects in their homes.  The painting reflects the importance of the see to the Republic's military and trade interests.

We were busy in the museum until about 1:30 p.m., when we were all getting hungry.  Doug wanted to eat at Harrod's.  He knew he couldn't afford to buy anything there but maybe lunch would work.  

It was about a ten minute walk to Harrod's and we all enjoyed being out on the street, in the sun, and seeing the sights of such a large city teeming with people and automobiles.  We arrived at Harrod's, an upmarket department store occupying a 5-acre site with 330 departments covering one million square feet of retail space, making it the largest department store in Europe.  Well, there was no way we would be able to check out every department, so we didn't.  We went to one of the food halls and determined very quickly we were not going to pay £60 for a steak!  We learned later there is more than one food hall in Harrod's.  I guess we will have to make another trip to Harrod's!

Beverly wanted to buy something at Harrod's so we tried the confectionary department in hopes of finding something more akin to our pocket book and decided on chocolate.  Here is Beverly standing at one of the many many counters in the department.  Just from the very small section we saw of the store, it is amazing!!

Well, we were still hungry and headed back out onto the street remembering we had passed some eateries.  What did we do, but eat at McDonald's!  How ironic is was to come from Harrod's, a very expensive shop to McDonald's, the average man's place to dine!

Barbara & Beverly with their green Harrod's bags at McDonald's.

I wanted to go to a couple of other department stores, so after our meal we headed to the subway.  We misread the bus sign, thinking it was the subway, so we wound up back in front of the museum.  Doug and Beverly wanted to go back into the museum so we split up and we found the underground and made our way to Liberty London.

 We came out on Regent Street and loved walking in the sun.  The objects hanging across the street are Christmas decorations and were all lit up the night we went to see the lights.  It was exciting to recognize where we were.

 Liberty London is known for its line of floral and graphic prints. I was looking for a kit for a quilt top and was not disappointed in finding one.  We went to the Haberdashery Department and I found this pack of liberty lawn pieces that will make a nice quilt as a memento of our time in England.  There were many to choose from along with walls of bolt fabrics, yarns, threads, buttons, craft kits of every kind, and patterns for clothes.  It was quite the department.

Liberty London had five floors with an open area in the middle.  We went to the top and took this photo looking down.  The building is amazing inside with all the wood paneling and railings.  The lifts are even paneled inside with wood floors.

We left out of Liberty London and walked back onto Regent Street heading to Selfridges.  We have been there before because I wanted one of their yellow bags.  So, we were going to try again to see if I could find something in my budget.

We went to the Confectionary Department and I found a clerk that was most helpful in selecting just the right item - a box of chocolate almonds from France.  The cashier asked if I would like it in a bag and when I said, yes, he turned to select a little brown bag.  I stopped him and said:  "Oh, I want a yellow bag."  He smiled and got a yellow bag.  Dad told him I had only come for the bag and he then pulled out another one unfolded and put it in the first bag and said:  "There, now you will have an unused one when you get home!"

With our mission complete, we were back out onto the street headed to the underground.  We caught a bus that took us there and then on to Victoria Station we went.  Just as we got there I got a text from Doug saying they had just gotten there as well.  We had a great train ride home as we talked about what all we saw and did and what a great day it had been.