Recovering from a cold after the jaunt to the US for Timothy's wedding, I've decided that weddings REALLY take it out of me and I have to schedule some holiday time to recouperate afterwards - pertinent given that in 80 days from now there will be another one. In the week after I returned I made Lucy's wedding dress - it's just waiting for the zip and hem. next time I have sewing-machine capacity (perhaps sat. mng) I'll make a start on the bridesmaid's dresses. After the wedding dress I made a 'sleeping bag' - more like a dressing gown with the bottom sewn up (and the zip down the back so she can't undo it!) for Victoria becuase it has been so VERY cold here for so long. There were other memebers of the family who thought it might be nice to have such an item, though I didn't make any others!
all my reflections on the trip to America are stored away in my head somewehre and will, doubtless, spill out at random moments - though if I don't record them on here, they will be gone for ever. On the way over there I was determined to make an effort to savour everything which could be savoured. The 2-hour 'mysterious' delay at Heathrow was not a good beginning but I did wander round the fantastically expensive shopping places ('duty free'!!!) and tried on some perfumes. I saw a gorgeous lilac silk tie with delightful flowers embroidered on to it - only £55 - that was in Harrods. I got to sit next to the window and the sky was pretty clear most of the way. I saw housing developments which were neat and compact which reminded me of small trays of seed-beads, I saw acres and acres of frozen wasteland and reflected on the fact that a bit of global warming might be a good thing for such places - thought of one of the schoolwork lessons we had considered earlier that week which told of how the Vikings had gone out that way and had quite a thriving community until a major climate change in 500ad (nothing to do with man-made CO2 either!!) drove them back to their homelands. On the little airoplane from wAshington (whcih they had kindly held up for us and which meant that Timothy at least knew when to come and get us - we didn't even have a PHONE number to call when we were at Roanoak!. The drive back from the airport was about an hour. The family into which Timothy has married is truly delightful and, at the equivalent of 2.30am our time, I went off to bed pondering how marvellous it was that one could travel over 3,500 miles over the heads of who-knows-how-many people and fetch up with folks with whom one felt right at home from the moment you walked in. All that worrying wasted.....
Another of the marvels I pondered on the big plane was after seeing nothing but sea and frozen-wasteland for hours I noticed a cargo ship - it didnt' look big enough to be crewed even by fleas! The snow and the Christmas lights over which we flew in the little plane made me think how much like a Christmas tree all that ground was - with the road (it looked like there WAS only one!) like a long string of tinsel with commuter lights twinkling all the way. That was the same road along which we returned 5 days later driven by our concerned host after he found that our flight from Roanoak to Washington had been cancelled due to freezing rain. For anyone who doesn't know about freezing rain, let me tell you that it is the nearest I ever came to a white-knuckle ride (though that's no reflection on the driving on Anna's father!) making that journey back to Washington. We left around 4am. The ground was frozen. For the first 8 or 10 miles we were on minor roads (which only in recent years have even been tarmac-ed - before that they were dirt tracks) before hitting the highways. Some parts of the highways had been gritted, some had not. The rain came down onto the frozen ground and, well, froze... It froze on the wing mirrors and it froze on the windscreen wipers. There are good, metrological reasons why we here in England dont' get freezing rain - and let me tell you, that's a great thing to be thankful for.
When we got back to merry England we were greeted by the young man who had been staying here to provide a bit of authority and fun - did HE look exhuasted!!? Back at the old homestead at 11.30pm - just in time to celebrate New Year - stood out and heard (though we've too many jolly TREES round here to ever SEE any) fireworks and sipped chilled Rose.
Nice!
Two weeks after the wedding we've got stuck in to schoolwork and are, frankly, a bit fed up of snow....
Finished a book about J O Fraser (a CIM missionary from 1912) which was v. thought provoking. have been having reading-aloud sessions from Adrian Plass.... Have also been listening to John Piper and seminars from his recent 'Calvin' conference.