TheSecondTimeAroundEngland

The pesky arrow is in the way, but look at that map of the Emerald Isles!  Breath taking!  I am pleased to say that we both survived our talks nicely.  Our topic?  Recognizing our relationship to our Father in Heaven and our relationship with others.  SK did great.  He took the scripture Moroni 7:48 and then found paragraphs from prophets about that verse.  He read seven or eight of them.  I thought it was interesting.  I think it is much easier to give a talk to a computer.  You can look directly at the screen, you can sit comfortably in a chair, you can hold your paper close to the screen so you never lose your place, and you can do it without shoes on. One grand advantage in being in a ward far from your normal haunts is that they don't know your stories.  I used The Little Prince and Mother Theresa's quote about seeing Christ in others, in wretched, diseased and dying individuals, in fact seeing "Christ in all His distressing di...

 February 27th.  Our official release date is exactly 6 months from today, August 27.  In three days we will have been here six months.  It is a fascinating thing.  It has been nearly three years since we began deliberating about this mission, starting in September 2018.  In November, I approached our stake president to see what he thought.  With his blessing, we went forward with it, doing all the things needed to turn in our applications. In February, we were thrilled to receive the call to England London.  We were also surprised that we weren't to report until September 9, because we had put on our application March as the date we would be available to leave.  Arriving in England in September 2019, home to Gilbert in March 2020, back in September 2020, making it a year and a half mission that covers essentially 3 years. Today was gloriously beautiful with brilliant sunshine spilling lavishly over every surface.  How can you not love a...

 It felt like Saturday all day.  It was a good day and I got several things accomplished.  Another batch of cookies for several individuals.  I've been making white chocolate almond cookies - which SK loves.  He thinks they are the ultimate cookie.  They aren't bad, but how can a cookie be that great when it doesn't have real chocolate in it? Sister Hartvigsen gave me a recipe for raisin cookies.....SK had them the other night and has been raving about them.  I tried them too and they were excellent, but like I say...it's a step down from white chocolate, which is a step down from real chocolate. I watched a little bit of RootsTech and I am hoping that all I have heard is true, that we can access all the talks in the future.  I got a dip pen and ink from Amazon today so that I can do some things in calligraphy for one of our young adults whom I greatly love,  A little bit of practice....it feels so good to use a metal nib once again! We walke...

Our grand trip of the day was to drive 5 miles to get gas and then get the car washed.  I asked SK if he ever looks around here and thinks, "I LOVE this place!" He thought about it for about 5 seconds and said, "No." Incredulously, I asked if he ever felt that way about any other place, to which he replied that no he doesn't.  He just enjoys where he is.  That is admirable....but nearly impossible for someone like me. We attended a "Come Follow Me" lesson with the young elders and several newer members.  As always, I was wondering how 18, 19 and 20-year olds know how to teach like that.  It was a good lesson. Later I attended a Relief Society discussion group which was very interesting.  The host can choose whatever book, movie or podcast she would like.  Tonight it was a podcast about grace  Besides the podcast, it referred to several talks and articles, a few of which I listened/read, which was a great preparation for the get-together.  I t...

 We are having a heat wave!  It got up to 50 degrees this morning.  What will I do if they have record temperatures this summer?  This lovely little apartment on the third floor has windows facing north in every room.  The rooms are all in a line, except for a little entry way and a central kind of a hall that leads to all rooms.  So it is a bit difficult to get good circulation going. Our first suspicions came last year when we first got here.  It was September 2019 and utterly gorgeous.  Cool enough to wear a lightweight jacket everywhere.  Nights were almost cold.  But there are four fans, two floor models and two table-sized fans that seem almost unnecessary.  But we haven't been here in July.  We heard that there were several days in July that were unbearable.  Combine moderately high temperatures (90 degrees) with very high humidity (it was 100 percent last week - no rain) and no air-conditioning (most places don't h...

 Before I go any further, I need to tell you about the email we just received from the ward clerk of the Oxford Second Ward.  He would like us to speak in "church" on Sunday.  We each only will speak less than 10 minutes so it should be a piece of cake!   SK is mumbling about it.  It is because it is an entirely different thing to stand at a podium in church and read a prepared talk to the congregation - and to sit at your desk at home, in a white shirt, tie and jacket - and the ever popular pajama bottoms (just kidding - kind of) and read with any kind of naturalness.  He hasn't done that before.  I have done it a few times and so the thought of it isn't quite as unnerving for me.  Both SK and I tend to almost shout at the computer because we haven't yet realized how powerful the microphone is. When I gave the art presentation to the mission, I sat here at the desk speaking and advancing slides.  SK sat in the living room watching from ...

 "What a revoltin' development!" was what my dad would have said.   Tonight's Family Home evening was fantastic.  So fun.  Everyone got their favorite Chinese take-out meal and we all sat on the zoom call eating our food and talking.  We had a great turn-out.  And it was delightful to see them all visit and enjoy themselves.  They are all very busy right now with their studies. The delivery service that seems to be most trusted and cover the most territory is "Deliveroo."  We see them on bicycles, motorbikes and occasionally in cars.  They all have a distinctive aqua-colored insulated box attached to their person or their bikes.  In some instances there is no delivery charge and in some it is 2 pounds.  And online, we are told that any tips are 100% the property of the delivery person. It is perhaps one of the few businesses that is thriving, but it is also helping restaurants stay afloat.   We ordered Thai food - rat...

 Have you been to FamilySearch.org recently?  The home page where you sign in is phenomenal.  If you scroll down, before you ever create an account or sign in, there are a few activities that are all kinds of fun.  You can search a name.  Try it...just put in a name of an ancestor with the info you have and search.  What comes up will floor you. What was happening in the world, information about the country that ancestor lived in, what the surname means, a chronological history of the person based on everything that has been inputted on their page, ancestors, descendants, dates, travel, places and pictures....all on one beautifully-put-together page.  There is even a place where you can put your face into a photo of a costume and hair style of the time.  Just line your face up with the picture on the screen and push the button. It can't get much easier to do family research.  It is truly amazing.  What is really exciting is what will be ...

Nearly every morning I awake to the sounds of the baroness, who lives in the penthouse above us.  She begins striding through her flat with a purpose.  She is in a hurry, but she doesn't go anywhere.  She speedwalks back and forth. Her flat is two-stories, and so I probably only hear her on the floor above.  She is about the same age as I - early 70's, and as slim as can be.  She is perhaps 5'7" and 120 pounds.  She dresses fashionably, although I most often see her in exercise clothing.   My first introduction to her was when she was coming home from her squash game.  She had on shorts and a sleeveless blouse, white socks and tennis shoes, and a sun visor - all perfectly matched.  She speaks like one who must be obeyed in a proper British accent and short clipped questions and answers.  At other times I have seen her in hats, which look smashing on her.  She was made for hats. What intrigues me most is that striding around at ...

The rain poured down this morning for several hours.  It was a cool, gray and wet morning.  That is always a great time to curl up to study.  An hour in the morning is never quite enough for the course of New Testament reading the mission has embarked on, the Come Follow Me - Doctrine and Covenants, and The Book of Mormon - which I read daily. SK always sleeps later than I do, and that is marvelous time to sit alone in the living room and just read and enjoy the morning.  SK is a social person and loves to talk.  That makes it difficult if we are in the same room.  He is doing a LOT of indexing, working toward a goal of doing 2 or 3 Thousand a month, which means he has to get quite a few done each day.  And he can do that and carry on conversations, or at least pause and start a conversation.  I find that a bit difficult if I am engrossed in what I am reading.  But we manage - especially if I have that hour in the morning.  When he gets ...

 I got several things done this morning that have been on my list for some time.  It felt good.  I was awake at 4, and dozed for a couple of hours and then decided to get up with the rest of the mission.  I keep hoping that I can train myself to wake up early and then be good and tired when I retire to bed at night.  Sometimes that works. Hence, I will be writing this blog mostly in the evening, with an occasional early morning post. It has been a good day.  It started out with a note of appreciation from our zone leaders.  They are so cute!  Where do 20-year-olds learn to write thoughtful notes of appreciation?  They also love to bake goodies and deliver them to all the missionaries in the zone.  They have a live cooking demonstration on Facebook every week, where they tackle everything from American pancakes to home-cooked Kentucky Fried Chicken.  You would be surprised at how many people tune in.  They actually find a fair n...

Just before we left last March, I hurriedly wrote this and posted it on the door.  I wish if anything, I could help these young people realize this. Seven hours of a Zoom Zone Conference call today.  Whew!  At least I can sit on the couch, in reasonably comfortable clothes (I still dress up - but not the way I would to go into London for a zone conference).  They are incredibly spiritual and inspiring, but at the same time, I feel tired after sitting all day. Dave and Deb did this yesterday and will do it again tomorrow.  Then on Friday they have zone interviews.  Ours were last week, and they lasted 4 hours.  It is been nearly a year and a half since that first week we spent with them in their apartment.  I was in open-mouthed wonder at the schedule they keep and the intense and unremitting demands of each day for them. The final two speakers of the day were truly marvelous.  The first one was Danny Humphrey, a man who served here in England...

 Nestle's Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I love them.  I adore them.  I have made them since I was a young girl in my childhood home, watching them disappear as fast as they came out of the oven.  My three little brothers are strongly implicated in that misdemeanor.  I have made other recipes and I love them all.  In fact, a packaged factory-made chocolate chip cookie will do in a pinch. Today, I tried a new recipe.  How different can they really be?  They are basically flour, sugar, eggs and chocolate chips.  They were excellent, and I must say that I am throwing my Nestle's recipe out at last and switching to this one: https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/the-best-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies/ They were very large, and just like the recipe said, made about 18 cookies.  They just barely fit in the little "love from the oven" treat bags.  I put two in each bag and we set out to deliver them.   We set out on foot...

 The days here seem to go by so fast.  It is Monday - again - already.  And the hours in the day seem to melt into the past before I gain control of the day.  We took our 2-mile walk, through a scenic area and by the River Thames.  We had a heat wave today.  It was in the 50's!  We wore our coats, but could have done with lighter jackets. How would you like to live on the banks of the Thames? It has been one of those days, where I have been busy the whole time, plodding along through various tasks, yet I feel like there just wasn't time to get all the important things done.  I wonder how I ever got anything done with four kids and various heavy responsibilities elsewhere.  I have the luxury here of just taking care of myself and a very small apartment, and I'm just slow! The sun has broken through the clouds and predicted fog a few glorious times.  The interplay of the strong shadows and gleaming surfaces is breath taking. For Family Hom...