Work: Besides the usual mowing and trimming, Bruce cranked up an old tractor pulling a bush hog and attacked a half-acre field of thistles and weeds. Of course the tractor had a flat tire, which needed to be pumped up twice in the process. He later removed the tire and had it repaired. This week I had the opportunity (?) of driving this tractor while pulling a spring harrow. Lots of fun!
I am on a barn floor repainting a sign for one of the farms.
The men also fixed a boiler, leaky bathtub, rain gutters, sharpened mower blades and installed more shelves.
The Mannings finished their mission and went home, and the new couple won't arrive until January, so it's just Bruce and me here now doing the work. Bruce does the hard stuff, I help with the mundane tasks.
This project needed immediate attention because water was leaking from the ceiling into a laundry room. The pipe was fixed, and the very next week (to the day) another leak began in a different spot. Bruce fixed that one and had the drywall up and painted, when a third leak sprung open in an adjoining bathroom. Bruce fixed the pipe, but he's leaving the hole open for an extra week to see if any other leaks show up. While we're waiting we have been scraping, priming and painting some rusty beams on a grain storage bin, installing a new bathtub front panel and mowing. This week Bruce's mower got stuck, so I saved the day and pulled him out.
This is Mary (sitting) and her friend Peggy. We have been doing some work at her house. She is 94 years old with a mind that is sharp-as-a-tack and lives alone. We visit her often, taking her banana bread and dehydrated apples and pears. Her younger sister (80) came for a visit from Canada, so Bruce and I spent a couple of hours in her garden (or backyard) pulling weeds and trimming trees so it would look lovely for her sister's visit.
This is Mary's garden (back yard). When she moved in it was a bare piece of ground, so she added bushes, trees, flowers, a small pond, and little walkways. If you look closely you will see the peacock to the left of the bird bath that lives in her yard.
These are some funny looking pears that we are dehydrating. They are long and skinny and have extremely tiny seeds, so you can literally just eat the whole pear. I did dig out some of the seeds, as you can tell. The pears are sweet, easy to peel and lovely this time of year.
While out mowing we harvest potatoes, onions, pears and beets. The blackberries are all gone by now. I sometimes feel like Ruth who was out gleaning in Boaz'fields. Notice the size of the beet on the right. We made a soup out of it.
TRIPS - Before the Mannings left, we made one last trip to London and one to Scotland.
This is the front and back of Buckingham Palace
This is Kensington Palace where Diana lived, and where Prince William and his family live now.
Because this year marks the 20th anniversary of Diana death, they had a special display of some of the 1,000 dresses and gowns that Diana had made while she was the Princess.
We also visited Hyde Park, Harrods store, and the Hyde Park Chapel, which is historic.
We'll show you a glimpse of Scotland...specifically Edinburgh, where we stayed for two nights.
We toured the Ship Brittania, which was the Queen's floating castle for about 42 years. The second picture shows the drawing room, where guests would gather after a wonderful meal in the large dining room. It had a baby grand piano, which is out of the picture. I would have taken more pictures, but my camera battery was low.
This is the wheel house from where the Brittania was navigated. (I included this for Mark's benefit, since he is qualified to drive a submarine.)
This was a knot board on the ship....reminded me of girls camp. (But our knots weren't so fancy!)
We loved Scotland! With our ever-present missionary tags we have been able to explain to people what church we belong to, where we are serving, and our love for the country and people.
CHURCH ACTIVITIES
Bruce is chilling out with the guys at a ward barbecue, following a ward service project
Young Womens have been keeping Ann busy with lessons, firesides, a 6 mile hike, dodge ball, cooking projects, Family History projects, and much more. We are currently producing a roadshow, which is a parody on Aladdin, and includes props, costumes, music, etc. We'll let you know how it turns out.
Bruce and I drove two of the three Laurels up to Preston for an overnight Stake Laurels activity, which included a walking Church History tour through Preston, then a tour of the Preston MTC, followed by a fireside inside the MTC. I took lots of pictures inside the MTC because that is where Stephanie was at the beginning of her England mission. I sent her the pictures to see if the MTC had changed much in the intervening years.
The tour highlighting the beginnings of the Church in England was wonderful! For me, it far surpassed all the castles, cathedrals, and estates that we have seen thus far.
This is the house where Heber C. Kimball and his companions were renting an upper floor when devils entered the room and tried to discourage the missionaries from preaching in England. Heber C. Kimball then rebuked the evil spirits and they left. The mission in England was a huge success. The house is vacant at present.
This is the house where President Hinckley and his companion lived while in Preston (on the top floor). It was here that he felt discouraged and wrote home to tell his father that he was wasting his time and his father's money. His father wrote back, "Forget yourself and go to work." It was here that he fell to his knees and made a pledge that he would give himself to the Lord. Interestingly enough, President Hinckley visited this home on subsequent trips to England. After Sister Hinckley died, it was here that President Hinckley asked to be left alone in the upstairs bedroom, and he fell to his knees again and told the Lord that he was lonely without his wife, and he wouldn't mind going to her, but he would finish whatever work the Lord had left for him to do.
A funny story is that tour groups stop in front of this house often to talk and take pictures. One little boy who lived in the house at the time came out and told the people that a very important man used to live here. If he only understood how true that was!
We love serving here. The people are great and even though the roads aren't getting any bigger, we are becoming more accustomed to driving on them.
New word......autumnal. "The trees are looking autumnal". Or "It's feeling very autumnal outside."
Cherio!
