The Law of the Harvest - As Ye Sow, So Shall Ye Reap!

We have loved growing our garden and other yard projects this summer. I posted earlier when we began and now want to update our progress. This shows onions, beans, peppers, zucchini, and cucumbers. The zukes took a hit from the frost and we weren't too worried as we needed them to slow down a little in production.

We are so excited over our corn and potatoes! The corn is almost as tall as I am.

Peppers!

Tomatoes!

We had a garden lunch today! Our menu included potatoes, zucchini, onions, peppers, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and CORN ON THE COB! Plus ham from the pig we raised with Glenn. Such satisfaction - both in accomplishment and taste!!

A hill of potatoes along with, corn, cucumber and a zuke.

Our Patriotic Petunias

As our grandson Ethan would say, we planted our 'grass garden' Saturday. We have much more to do, but here is another start. Notice our completed steps.

Grass seeds!

London Chapter 3 - From a Tourist's View

It has been almost 2 months since we returned from our trip to London. It has been a very busy time with little time to detail the the last chapter of our visit - London as a tourist. We were digesting history from a thousand years ago. We couldn't take it in fast enough! Since we had only one day we had to move along, sometimes before we were really ready. But we knew that we were going to miss so much any way and dawdling would only make it worse. It was great to have Amber as our tour guide as she had already been to all of these sites. This is Amber in front of her flat. I don't know why they call them flats as it is anything but flat! Her bedroom was on the top floor so she was the 'princess in the tower'!

Harry Potter, The Half Blood Prince was just out on the screen and so to honor that book and movie, we had our picture at the King's Cross Station. We would have loved to go to the movies while there but, had too many other choices and it was a lower priority.

Dinner our first night was Chinese Dim Sum. It was something that Scott had loved while on his mission in Hong Kong. It had been since our cattle showing days in San Fransisco 20ish years ago that we had enjoyed this treat. Our favorite was the BBQ Pork Buns in the right hand bottom corner. We loved the time visiting with Amber.

The tube! What an experience! We were so thankful that Amber knew how to navigate public transportation. We enjoyed 'people watching' while traveling. Amber thought we were pretty fun to watch as we were doing this. It was so interesting. There is such a diversity in nationalities.

'The Old Curiosity Shop' immortalized by Charles Dickens in his writing survived the London fire of 1666. It was near the LSE campus.

Tower of London - such an intriguing place. I could have spent a whole day there so that I could read every information plaque and gone on the same tour several times! So much history. I was amazed at the building materials and engineering - some had lasted 1000 years.

A river tour on the River Thames.

Graduation Day dinner at 'The Blueprint Cafe' on the River Thames. We enjoyed pickled walnuts and Creme Brulee. The food was awesome as was the view of the river and city. On one side was the Tower of London and Tower Bridge and other historical sites and on the other was the very modern business district of London. While we were eating, a rain storm came through and we enjoyed the lightning display.

The London theater experience has its own unique. We wanted to see Les Mis, Lion King or Phantom of the Opera, but tickets were unavailable for the night that we were able to go. We did enjoy '39 Steps', a take off of an Alfred Hitchcock story, that had only 4 actors.

A picture in front of the Drummonds Bank Building!

London phone booths!

The London Eye - a ferris wheel of sorts that rotates every half hour to give a panoramic view of the city. You could see it from all over the city making quite a contrast to the old architecture.

Big Ben - We learned that Big Ben is the bell in the tower not the clock! It is another site that is visible from many places in the city.

Westminster Abbey - what an incredible building. Compare the people walking on the sidewalk to its size. Another place where the engineering accomplishments of 1000 years ago are amazing.

Buckingham Palace - Another huge building. The gates were massive. Sadly the queen didn't come out to greet us!

At the end of the day our treat was gelato! It tasted heavenly. I could get used to a taste of that each day. For the fun of it, I had worn a pedometer to keep track of how many steps I walked - 24,010! We were tired but thoroughly enjoyed the day.

London Chapter 2-- Family History

When we started planning our trip to London, Amber asked us to figure out what we wanted to see while there. In my pondering my mind went back to my growing up years when my mother had been doing genealogy research. I knew that many of my ancestors were from Herefordshire, England and had heard stories about their lives. William Cole (my great-great-great-grandfather) and his family were among those taught and baptized by Wilford Woodruff in 1840 in a pond on the farm of John Benbow. The Gadfield Elm Chapel and John Benbow’s home were places that Wilford Woodruff preached. William Woodward (my great grandfather) lived in Herefordshire. Great-great grandfather Henry Talbot was christened in St Margaret’s Chapel, Westminster Abbey. These were all places that we were able to visit. I was so touched to reconnect to my ancestors by being at the places that were a part of their lives. I wondered how many inches down was the actual dirt that they walked on! As I looked out over the countryside, I wondered if and where I crossed their paths. I know that they are a part of me and that they made many sacrifices for me to be what I am today. I am so grateful to them.

Scott, Amber and I at the Gadfield Elm Chapel

Amber at the Gadfield Elm Chapel

Scott at the pulpit.

Upstairs we found quite a selection of clothes from the 1840s. We each took a turn with the hats.!

John Benbow's home.

Benbow Pond

Scott and I at Benbow Pond.

Amber at Benbow Pond.

Benbow Farm countryside, Herefordshire

... at Westminster Abbey ... at St. Margaret' Chapel.



Amber took time to go to the temple while she was in London. In some ways it became her home away from home. These pictures are taken there.

London Chapter 1 -- Amber's Graduation

Our trip to London was to attend Amber’s graduation from London School of Economics. This was such an accomplishment for her and we were excited to attend. I must admit it was a little entertaining. We enjoyed the British accent and the different choice of words that they used. The graduation ceremony seemed very proper. After the academic procession made it to the stage of the theater, the director declared the graduation ceremony opened. I was impressed the speaker – only 10 minutes long! He did charge the graduates with ‘FETA’ - Facts, Enquiry, Tolerance and Ambition. As each Department chair person was announced to present the students of that department, the director would say, “I call upon… (give the name) to present the graduates from the Department of… (and give the department name). It did get rather warm, and with our lack of sleep, we took advantage of the time after Amber had been recognized and took a little nap! We were amazed at the many different nationalities represented. It is interesting to think of where all of Amber’s friends and acquaintances come from – literally from all over the world. Here are a few pictures of the day Amber showing her Master's Hood.

Amber's place!! Actually, it is across the street from London School of Economics! In reality is says "Kings Chambers" But if you look at it from the right angle it says "Ambers".

Classmates, Sune, and Kasper with Amber.

Sune, Amber, and Kasper toss their graduation caps.
Hurray!! We made it!!

Alaine, Amber, and Scott at Amber's favorite park across

the street from campus.

....in her official cap, gown and hood!

Some of the school officials at graduation. Love their cool hats!

The graduation speaker.

London School of Economics. if you were able to see,

the blue rectangle above the 'W' it says the school name.

Another LSE building.

Can't Put a Price on It

One night I noticed the sunset developing. I decided to take pictures in a series every five minutes. Natural art created by nature herself (or Himself) is one of the priceless benefits of living where we do. It keeps me in awe.