Only missing the figure and the bonnet . . .

We took the opportunity afforded with the visit of our niece, Melanie Hinton, to visit a place we have been intending to experience ever since we heard it was within our mission boundary.  Does this look familiar, anyone?                                          

Or perhaps this view is better . . .

Yes, we visited Lyme Park, better known to most of us as Pemberley!  Here is a closer view.

The steps which Darcy quickly descends while fastening his cuffs, in order to apprehend Elizabeth before she departs is actually inside the courtyard.  (The house is "hollow" in other words.)  Here we ascend the same stairs.

As I said, I don't quite have the figure ("figger") nor the bonnet for this.

Here is the walk, with steps in the distance, where Darcy and Elizabeth have their first very civil conversation.

We enjoyed the grounds

             and walked up to "The Cage," the hunting lodge on the top of the estate, from which the hunters could survey what was once quite a woods to see where the hunting would be best.  A special breed of dog, the Lyme mastiff was bred here.

Melanie took the opportunity to strike a Wuthering Heights pose

     and a tourist started wailing, "Oh, Heathcliffe!"  It was quite fun. 

It was absolutely delightful to be in this place that was laden with so many  fond literary and cinematic memories.  The house itself was not the one represented in the BBC Pride and Prejudice.  It was a hunting estate of a family by the name of Legh (pronounced Lee).  One room in the house had numberous stained glass panes about 15"x20" depicting the coats of arms of all the families who had married into the Legh family.  The had been taken from the local church (to be replaced by biblical scenes.)  The saying went that "In Cheshire the Leghs are as common as fleas."  From all the portraits living the halls, I would believe it.  The dining room featured the most beautiful silver service ever.  The spaces of the house really were amazing, but our friends say it is nothing compared to the Chatsworth House which we will see sometime before we leave.  That is the Pemberley of the shorter and more recent version of  P &P.

It was a grand day out, and we would love to go again with anyone who will come over to accompany us.
We now know the way!

A Sweet Week

The week of May 2 through 8 began and ended with sweetness.  Monday was a bank holiday, meaning that governmental offices and many businesses were closed .  As happens with some temples in the US, the Preston Temple ran five Monday morning sessions to accommodate patrons who would normally be working that day. 
It was our first time inside this lovely temple, and we relished every moment.  It is a small temple in the sense that there are only fifty seats in the endowment rooms, but the central spaces were spacous and inviting.  And of course the people were wonderful--gracious and kind.  Needless to say, there will be no pictures from inside the temple, here is Blackie who found a comfortable place to wait for us outside.

Here is a proper shot of all three of us and the beautiful Preston Temple which is actually in Chorley.

Thursday we were back to the Temple Complex to attend a Multi-Zone Conference at the Chorley Stake Center.  It was a great one as usual and featured NO role-playing (whew!) and a "Preach My Gospel quotation " chase wherein the missionaries vied to be the first to stand with their finger on the quote.  Elder Hinton and I got to run one of the preliminary rounds and were astounded at how well these young folks knew their way around that manual.  The sister who won our session (one of seven sessions) came in second place overall, surviving a semi-final round of the fifteen prelim winners, a final round of the top eight, and then going into a tie-breaker.  We were very proud of her. 

Friday evening we had tea (dinner) with our office partners and four other missionaries.  We were treated to a southwestern cuisine favorite--chicken enchiladas, good company, and an evening stroll around their pleasant neighborhood. 

And here is the sweet way the week ended (or the next week began.)  A friend, mindful of American Mother's Day, made me these cupcakes.  She chose the outdoors theme because we were spotlighted in the Primary newsletter and it mentioned that we liked hiking and had hiked the Grand Canyon.  The little pink thing is a tent, and you can recognize the hiking boots, the marshmellow roasters, fishing pole and campfire logs.  It was a thoughtful gesture and touched me deeply.  The world is full of goodness.

Which house would you choose?

I enjoyed an evening walk today and decided to snap photos of some of the homes I passed.  I enjoy the way some pretty large and imposing structures are side by side with some quaint and apparently rather old dwellings. Sure would like to get a peek inside some of these cottages some time.  So, which would you choose?Would you live in Holly Tree House with its glorious entrance. . .

Sorry, you can't really see much of the house because of the wall around the grounds. 
Or would you rather live in Rose Cottage just across the street?

Would you rather live in Wood End (literally across the street from where a small but proper wood ends..

or the Red House?

Oops  Got those in reverse order.  Wood End really is a stunner--(choose it!)
                                                                                     How about this beauty with the pretty atrium?

Or there's always the rectory attached to the Snelson Methodist Church built in 1825.

I enjoy looking at the old and new stones in the churchyard cemeteries here, but we won't choose those for our homes just yet. 

Back to my old trouble.  Jim did right this one for me when he downloaded it, but it didn't stay for some reason.  I just have to show you this Lavender Cottage because I love the shape of it!!  It actually deepens at the other end into quite a nice size and has a gorgeous huge yard to the far side.  It's so interesting to see the way homes are placed on property here.  Wood Side (across the street from the aforementioned wood) has a lovely magnolia tree which seems to have been worked on by the wind today.  Magnolias are everywhere--lovely!!

                                                   
(Sorry about those of you in Utah, but your turn is coming.)  Everything thrives here, including dandelions.

These are about two inches in diameter. 

Your last choice will be Holly Cottage which also features a lovely prospect out the front door.

So where do you wish to go to find your next home:  Over Peover, Marthall, Knutsford or Chelford?  The choice is yours, and aren't the options delicious!

For me it will be back to the tulip door that means I am arrived at 4 Dixon Court, Chelford, Cheshire, SK11 9AU.     

Here is our cute St. Helens District of the Liverpool Zone at our training this morning.  Next week brings transfers and Sr. Snell will be heading home.

The Elders are from Armenia, Germany, Australia and USA.  The sisters are both Americans. 

Life gets busier as I have been called into the ward Primary leadership (and music) and, since this week will be our ward conference, we will be visiting less active children with stake leaders.  So I am now requesting simple, effective music teaching/reviewing techniques which you have used or observed along with recipes.
Springtime in England is lovely and so are many of its people.  We have the dearest bishop's counselor in our ward. He always says he is a simple man, but his expressions are eloquent and devout.  He father died three weeks ago which was a sadness, of course.  Then he called me into the bishop's office Sunday morning to entend the Primary call.  After he did that he said, "I had wanted you to meet my mother. . . but she died on Friday."  I was so stunned; I thought he had misspoken.  As the tears came he said that she had  wanted to set her life in order to go to the temple, and he was hoping we would be a help to her in this.  Now they will be doing her work in a year instead.  He also wants us to work with his brother who wants to prepare for the temple in spite of a very anti wife.  In testimony meeting he bore the sweetest testimony that he knew the Lord was mindful of his family and that he only wanted to know how he could assist the Lord in bringing to pass His purposes for the family.  Such faith!  We do feel part of this ward family. 

As a parting shot, here is one of favorite ward families:  The Keith and Carol Bass family.  Little Sol is one of my Primary CTR's.

Olivia, Megan, Grace, Thea, Ella, Sol, and Isaac, with Carol and Keith in the back.  Great folks. 

food for body and soul

We had the wonderful opportunity to head to the Temple Complex in Chorley again last week.  It is a large site which includes the MTC for all European missionaries who will be speaking their own language but are proficient also in English, the Chorley Stake Center, and the Temple with housing for temple patrons.  There is great peace to be found strolling on this place as with all temple grounds.  We still haven't been inside yet, but soon!

So white and beautiful!  And just to the right of this photo there were the most amazing evergreens. . .

                      And here is the Temple AND the evergreens. . . right way around!  (Dad helped.)

                                                                             
        And here is where I am gradually getting more comfortable preparing food for our bodies:

The kitchen might be 12' X10" wall to wall and transitions into dining room and lounge area (living room.)

Our cabinets are deceptive. . .  this

                                                   changes to this.

                              And the "cabinet" just at the left edge of this photo

                                           becomes our fridge and freezer.

                         with Andy's drawing of a zoo prominently displayed to my daily delight.
                    Our sink arrangement is interesting . . .

        and our table features three different chair styles.

  Next week maybe you can have a peek at the bathrooms ;)  Life is great in merry old England, and our Warrington Ward even won the Liverpool Stake roadshow competition!  Remember the days! 

English Strolls

My sis told me I would love walking in England, and she was so right.  The dampish freshness feels so good to me--perhaps it takes me back to my Oregonian childhood.  Truly, who wouldn't enjoy strolling over to this beautiful mansion to post the mail each afternoon? 

                                                  And I can turn around and see this

   

and this.. .

 And all of this is within twenty-five yards of our Mission Office Building which actually looks like this:  a plain old, well not actually OLD--that's the problem--office building.

           It is a pleasant enough place, though obviously without any of the charm of the environs. 

Saturday I took another purposeful walk to see what is beyond the square mile of Chelford houses.  It started when I crossed a simple stile.  I was delighted and recited "I saw a crooked man, who walked a crooked mile.  He found a crooked sixpence (alas, I was not so lucky,) upon a crooked stile ..." for the next fifteen minutes.  

         Sorry, I haven't figured out how to turn my pics yet.  Help, anyone??!!

But isn't the stile cute, and the byway signpost!

Then I headed down a proper lane.

                  I found lots of sheep

                                                             and the cutest little pony

                                                                     and his Mum, I suppose

                She was more friendly or less cautious and I had to back away to get her photograph.                                                                                   Wish you could see her silky tail.

           Then I arrived at Fir Tree Farm where I think I could spend the rest of my life in complete bliss--well, at least the next six months  until it would get cold and farming would take on a completely different flavor.

Sorry about your sore neck right now, but I wanted you to see that this is a three-story farmhouse!      
I sadly waved good-bye to the postman in his little red van and then sadly headed for home.  All good things have an end. 

                                     Farewell beautiful countryside, until next Saturday.  Each week presents a      picture                                lovelier than the one the week before!

                                                                               
                                                                               

Home, at last

Last Saturday and Monday we moved into the more comfy flat across the street just vacated by the folks we were to replace in the England Manchester Mission office.  We also got their car and the use of their Vonage connection for about four days which was heavenly.  This flat is more modern, warmer, more secure, and has a much better stocked and equipped kitchen than the previous flat.  The previous owners also left cozy bathrobes, a fully decorated Christmas tree, and some recipes--all of these are true treasures. 



Here is my favorite feature of our first flat: the towel warming/drying bar in the bathroom.  What a joy to wrap up in a warm towel in that chilly bathroom which had no other heat source!




The only bright spot in my kitchen in the first flat was the wall with the cute and functional measuring cups Ade gave me just before we left.  The blue one was the exact blue of the tiles on the wall.. They always made me smile when I came home in the cold and darkness.  Thanks, Ade. 

 You may remember that an English couple stepped forward to volunteer to be primary office couple, so that, although SL has us listed as official office couple, they are doing all the work--nice arrangement, huh!They are kind, patient, resourceful, and full of fun, and I could listen to her talk of how we will "sort it" tomorrow when things go wrong and that I should just "put it in the bin" when she doesn't want to save something and how I should just go down the "tick list" (checklist) --all great expressions--all day long. 

This week the weather has been lovely for England in March--three consecutive days of no precip and a fourth almost without.  As it happened they were days we were on the road, twice to Telford in Shropshire (doesn't that sound glorious) and once to Liverpool, also not too shabby. We didn't actually get to do must oogling, especially Elder Hinton who has to keep his eyes glued to the road anticipating those roundabouts, some of which have six exits and can have you going around anything from a cobbled rise about ten feet in diameter to a grassy spot fifty yards across.  We were on official business, but driving across Shropshire with those beautiful bright green hillside farms and quaint farmhouses was deeelightful for me. 

In Liverpool we had some zone training.  These young missionaries are truly amazing.  It is a joy to hear their family stories, their mission miracles, their testimonies, and their thoughts about the scriptures.  Some of them have the most beautiful accents as they speak English they have learned throughout Europe.  Some from Eastern Europe, and Asia have a more difficult time communicating,, but it doesn't stop them from trying.  We role play teaching and committing investigators with them and they are complimentary of us, but they are the real pros.  We learn from them whenever we are together. 

The office received some orders for foreign language Books of Mormon Thursday, and as I placed them on the shelves, I was amazed at the variety of Books we have.  I found a couple in Igbo, one of which I will take to a less active sister in our ward so that she can read scriptures with her faithful and devout husband.  I hope it will be a blessing to them.  The father comes almost every Sunday with the three young boys, but he receives no support from his wife who joined with him in Nigeria  about 14 years ago but has reverted to her Catholic background while they have been in England.  Life here is hard for her, but her eyes lighted up when I mentioned I thought I could get her a Book of Mormon in Igbo. 

We attend church with a diverse group of wonderful members.  Also serving in our ward are an Italian and an Armenian elders.  We have interesting times trying to get anywhere all together.  Poor Elder Hinton would just as soon turn directions over to our GPS, but the elders with their biking experience and I with my maps on my lap are always trying to get in on the action, and we have done a fair amount of turning around in dark alleys trying to find our way.  You cannot simply "go around the block" here to get back on the right road.  There is no such thing as a square block!!  If you don't turn around immediately, you will be hopelessly lost. 



This photo takes us back to February 9 when we first arrived in Manchester after a day of travel.  Glad you can't see the toothpicks holding our eyelids open.  Pres. and Sister Bullock look great though.  This pic is taken in front of the mission home.  They are a most gracious couple.  We are blessed to serve under their tutelage.   

 The snowdrops and crocuses are in full bloom, and the daffodils are not far behind. Then it's poppies and one flower after another until fall.  We are so blessed to be in such a beautiful country and in an especially lovely part of it.  We are still adjusting, but life is good in the Lord's service.