Lessons from the Brits Week 28 November 16th to November 22nd

Goodness, time is moving right along, but the biggest reason is that I have no internet therefore I cannot post and do things; which means all the weeks are piling into one.  Sorry!  I really thought Brad would fight this one, but we are having major trouble with the bank and he is tired of fighting.  Our bank rejected our card AGAIN because they said we didn’t have the right documentation, so when we went in they apologized and said they would reset our number and all was well.  Brad tried to use the card in a ATM machine and it ate his card and the bank immediately froze all our money.  JOY!  AGAIN, they apologized and said they would start over.  I would like to drop it completely and just use American banks.

LIE
How about sugar: you go to the store and you buy sugar – right?  Okay, we have granulated, powdered and brown sugar but that is still pretty easy.  Over here we have white eating sugar, white baking sugar, demerara brown sugar (hard crystals), soft light brown sugar, soft dark brown sugar, and molasses dark brown sugar, and icing sugar (powdered).  I am forever buying/using the wrong sugar. 

1.  Company
I did sleep which was a wonderful wonder.  I woke up just after 6 AM and headed to the kitchen.  I baked an Elder David A. Bednar Strawberry Cream Pie, made rolls, made artichoke chicken, and fresh peas, carrots and potatoes.  We made it to church where we got more cookies, (thanks Rubin) and the meetings were very nice.  We rushed home to finish off the meal.  We had invited a new couple, Jackie and Carolyn Orton from Wellsville, Utah, and the Garrett’s really from Ft. Collins, Colorado but they just bought a place in Rigby, Idaho, right near us.  The Orton’s arrived Friday but the Garrett’s have been here 3 weeks. 
We made it home and finished everything up not quite as smoothly as last time but it went pretty well.  There was a fireside that night but we were a bit too tired to go.

 Jackie Orton, Carolyn Orton, Steve Garrett, Sandi Garrett

2.  “I am Henry the 8^th, I am!”
We got up and got things ready to head to out on another excursion.  Today we traveled to Leed’s Castle which is just past Maidstone and not near Leed’s at all.  The castle was started in the 11^th Century and has been built and rebuilt every since.  It has an amazing mote around it and they have really turned it into a bird sanctuary.  They had black swans that were brought in from Australia.  They had some diving terns that were really fun to watch.  They had a maze and we all got lost in it.  Brad kept giving wolf calls but I don’t think anyone took him serious.  They do have a guide that will come rescue you as it is quite the trick to find your way.  Great fun!
We took a lunch and bought some hot chocolate and just had a great day.
Oh, and the big deal about this castle is when Henry VIII got rid of Catherine of Algernon, he put her in this castle.  The castle was lived in until about 1970’s. 
It was a great trip.

3.  Afternoon shift
We got up and went for a very calm walk.  The temple was a fairly calm day but now that it is getting dark early, it sure seems late when we come home.  Actually 9PM is rather late.

Sister and Brother Whitehouse, our good friends and a real English Patriot.

4.  British Tea
Brad headed out early to take Orton’s over to the bank and to the Dr. or as they call it surgery.  I made a buttermilk pie.  At noon we headed to Blake’s where they had fixed the most delicious dinner (British Tea) every for us.  They had roast chicken, roast potatoes, gravy, dressing, mashed swede, cooked carrots, cooked cabbage, and of course, Yorkshire pudding.  We had the buttermilk pie which was a success and poured thick cream over it.  (They do not add sugar to their cream.)
The temple was great and all went well. 

5.  Our British Tea
We made it to the shopping market as soon as we could and bought our goodies.  We rushed home and fixed more peas and potatoes, chicken strips, cabbage salad, cut up a galia melon, and had the neighbors over for lunch.  She is not doing well since she wrecked her car and is hurting more each day.  We had a fun lunch with some good laughs.  We had bought Bob a sweetie from the bakery and had one for each couple to share and served it with ice cream and our marvelous Carmel sauce.
Today was pretty special for the temple as we had 7 new patrons come at the same time for the same instruction session.  I think that it went rather well.  Exciting!
The temple went well and then home to read and go to bed.

6.  Longest Day!
They are putting in the wiring for internet through the building which means they have to drill holes in our ceilings and walls.  Then the people came to put in a new washing machine.  That didn’t go so well and they didn’t finish until I was 20 minutes late for the temple.  (Brad left so one of us could be on time.)  I ran like made and made it to my locker to change into my white dress only to discover I had left my key home for the first time since our first month here.  I had to run through the temple looking for someone with a master key and then back downstairs to change.  I was exhausted before I even started our shift.
They announced that they were holding and extra instruction session at 8:30 PM for one of the stakes.  We were all very concerned that we would all go to all this extra work and no one would show up.  WRONG!  They had 67.  It was a very long day but it was absolutely wonderful!
I would stay late every day if something that fabulous happened!

We love our hot chocolate.

The maze everyone was lost in!

7.  Saturday again!
It really seemed early and we always have a hard time getting ready for the 10 AM start.  We actually needed to be there a bit early and we made it with a few minutes to spare.  The day seemed to be rather busy and rather long as we were exhausted when we reached home at 5:30.   A group was going to Toby’s Carvery but Brad really didn’t want to go.  We called Mulholland’s and they were going to a fireside.  We called McClellan’s and they were getting ready for movie night.  So, we just fixed a 99p pizza and ate at home before we headed over to watch ‘Princess Bride,’ one of our all time favorites.  We were glad we stayed and went as there was only about 6 of us there.  McClellan’s had popped pop corn for everyone and fixed it up really cute.  Nice night! 
Home to bed.  I didn’t fight it tonight – I took some vitamin I (Ibuprofen) so my feet would stop aching and collapsed in bed!

Another week has come and gone.  All in all, I think it went as well as it could.  I sure miss my internet but we always assume no news is good news.  We do hope you are all having a wonderful fall/winter as we hear America is in a very cold and snowy spell.  Keep your heads covered and your hands and feet warm.

The Black Swan, brought in from Australia.

Be courageous, when it matters,

Don’t forget your gloves,

Our love,

The Parkinson’s

Lessons from the Brits Week 27 November 9th to November 15th

1.  Too Tired
I was so tired when I woke up that I really wanted to just roll over and go back to sleep.  It was as close as I have ever been to just miss church today, but I knew the guilt would never let me sleep through it so I got up and ready.  GOOD CALL!  First off, Brother Farhall was there with cookies for us.  Second, it was Remembering Sunday, and it was wonderful.  After the sacrament, the entire program was patriotic poems and hymns and it was wonderful.  We loved Brother Sylvester Dale rendition of ‘Flanders’s Field’ and had him do it again so we video it.  Again it is too long to add, but I will try to add a bit.  We were sitting next to Sister Pilgrim and she explained that Flanders’s Field is in Belgium.  It is a new goal to go there!
In Relief Society I saw Sister Osborne, (Florence Bowman’s friend) and she had on a beautiful ceramic poppy.  I told her I was going to buy a pretty poppy but hadn’t been shopping.  She took off her poppy and pinned on me.  I was embarrassed but thrilled and she was quite insistent and I told her how that I could now remember her forever.  Really fun.
Home to a tin foil dinner: Roast in tin foil, carrots in tin foil, and asparagus in tin foil, potatoes in tin foil and sweet potatoes in tin foil.  The potatoes weren’t done but everything else was quite nice.  I made some Hollandaise sauce and we had a nice little dinner.
Nap time and boy did I sleep.  I just barely woke up for choir practice.  We are doing a cute number for Littlefield’s bye.  It was fun but they announced that they really didn’t want ‘hi and bye’s’ to be fun so we need to do it before it starts.  I really need a little more fun around here.
Home to call the kids. 

Brother Farhall passing out shortbread cookies. 

My ceramic poppy from Joyce Osborne. 

Even the lollies wear poppies!

2.  Ahhhh
Sleep in, go nowhere, wash till the washer breaks, iron, clean, bake bread,  try to change furniture, change back, exercise, eat, sleep and read day.  Doesn’t get better than this!

3.  Remembering Day!
I had thought and thought about it and I woke up so early I decided to do it – I cut my own hair.  I was so frustrated last time that my whole game plan went out the window, that I just decided to give it a go on  my own.  I think I did okay!
I wore my poppy and it was so much fun.  It was a great day at the temple until it started.  Really we had a very nice day but we had a couple of run-ins with some critics and that didn’t set that well.   I hate it when someone talks to me like I am a 3^rd grader, especially when they are not my boss. 
 We came home and exercised, fixed some frozen ribs for supper and read our book.  We went over to the dungeon for a few minutes to work on the internet and just had a calm night.

pic of my little cross, Brad and I with our poppies.

 

4.  2 Foxes
We couldn’t sleep.  Brad even changed which side of the bed he slept on to see if it would help.  I got up at 2:50 and looked out the window and saw 2 foxes eating our ribs.  I was thrilled and woke Brad up.  Mistake!  We watched them for about 30 minutes and then we just couldn’t go back to sleep.  Brad was so angry with one guy he just couldn’t get over it.  (I was still ticked as well.)  We didn’t go back to sleep until about 6:00 and we need to be up by 7:00.  We literally pulled ourselves out of the bed to get ready for the day.
The day went a little better and a little worse.  Life! 
We did a session for ourselves that was very nice and afterwards we were so happy.  We just had the best laughs for quite the time.  Betty Cocker had dropped off Cornish scones and they were wonderful. We fixed supper, read and went and watched TV.   Sister Masih stopped by to see the chart I made for the temple and sat and talked with us.  She is excited that we are from Rexburg and her son went there for college.  Then she mentioned that he died in March.  We had no idea.  We talked with her for over an hour and she just sobbed and sobbed.  It was a most touching evening and I am sure we were no help at all.

5.  News
There are 2 shifts that work at the temple each day; the A shift and the B shift.  Every week we rotate from being the early morning shift to the afternoon shift.  We are part of the B shift as were the Anderson’s also from Rexburg that left 4 days before we came.  This morning they announced that the Davis’s are the new shift coordinators for the A shift as the Littlefield’s are about to go home.  We were thrilled for the A shift as we feel that Davis’s are very loving and caring people.
Our shift went well so the day seemed to fly by. 
I was so tired that when we finished I wanted a nap badly but we had to rush to the grocery store before it got too dark.  We only went to Sainsbury’s and had our little list so shopping went quickly.  I fixed soup for supper with some of my homemade biscuits for supper and then we headed to the TV to stay awake till bed time.  Sister Masih came in and we talked again for over an hour.  Nice night.

6.  Weddings and Games
Today Marilyn’s (Brad’s youngest sister) son Tate got married.  Sorry to miss that!!!
We slept well so the morning was a little better.  We had a very good day at the temple but I got another of my belittling lectures and I sure wonder how to get this person to understand I know something.  She is not my superior but she sure loves to tell me everything.  JOY!
We worked so hard today, Brad didn’t even get a break for lunch.  He ate after our shift and I hemmed one of my blouses in the laundry.  I love the people in laundry – today Teresa was there.  She loves me because I got rid of a bad headache for her.
As I was walking home I noticed Sister Palmer out by her car waiting for her husband to finish his gardening job.  I asked her to come and sit in our flat.  As we were walking in we saw Brad out walking so I just missed another day of exercise.  But we had fun chatting and hearing some of her advice.  I did feel a little bad that she said she loves working with the A shift but not so much the B shift.  We truly have a few personalities that are a bit pushing – the lead mare, the true trainer, the perfect worker and the king critic. 
While we were fixing our supper, Mulholland’s called and asked if we would come play games.  Now that has got to be the first time in my life that I was hesitant, but Brad said yes, so we went over after supper.  We played Peaky-Peaky and Lodge and did have fun.  Home and to bed but not too sleep. 

7.  PAIN
I got up and down the whole night and by morning I was completely exhausted and had a terrible headache.  Somehow I made it through our crazy Saturday (which didn’t have near enough people) before I came home and collapsed.  We didn’t have any time to eat which only added to the headache and exhaustion.  We made it and that is the important thing.
I suggested we get some take-away but Brad wanted to go out, so we went to Tammy’s Thai and had a very nice meal (except we were still a bit hungry).    I had taken 3 sets of headache pills during the day but somehow I did manage to go to sleep, so the week ended on a blissful note.

England is still sweater weather with a few umbrellas at the ready.  I hear it got snow and cold at home.  Mesa is gorgeous where my tennis team is playing without me with Stan as the coach.  That hurt!!!!
Oh well, we could be in snow – we could be in sun but we are in rain.  God Bless!

Be smart, what need I say more?

Keep your hand clean,

Our love,

The Parkinson’s