Life as we know it

One final post at the end of an era....

2010-02-27T05:08:00.002Z

So this is going to be the last blog entry for "Life as we know it". This blog started in 2006 after we moved to Woodland Park, CO and began building our house. Many people in Harper, where we moved from, were interested in how the building project was going. So Ed started the blog. As we were going to London the following year, we thought it would be fun to continue our blog throughout that experience. We have now completed our three year term with Mennonite Mission Network and are now home. We want to thank all of you who followed our blog and commented now and then. It was nice to know friends and family were interested in what we were doing. The following pictures are from our trip home. We flew into Philadelphia where we were picked up by Ed's brother Pete and his wife Sandy. We were able to watch the super bowl at his brother Phil and his wife Renee's house. We could only keep our eyes open through the third quarter before giving up to head to bed. We spent a day recovering from jet lag before heading on the train to New York City to visit Ed's sister, Sylvia. Then back to Leola, PA where we bought a used car. After more visiting with his sister Hilda and her husband Wes, as well as some other friends, we headed westward via other friends and the rest of our siblings. We made it to Bluffton, OH where we stayed with Bill and Susie Swartley; then to Goshen staying with Ed's sister Mim and husband Ron. We also got to visit with his sister Dorothy and her daughters. Then on to Chicago to spend a night with his brother Eric and his wife, Karen. Then a drive to southern Wisconsin to stay with his sister Louise and her husband Bill. Next was a drive to Iowa City to take out Sophie, our niece who is working at the University of Iowa. Heading south, we ended up at my side of the family. My sister, Rosie King, lives in rural Paola, KS. After a night there, we drove to Wichita and had lunch with my sister Linda, her husband Pat, their son Josh and his girlfriend, Mandy. Then a brief stop in Harper to pick up a piece of furniture which fit perfectly in our car. Then to Garden City to spend the night with my brother, Roger and his wife Carol. Then the next day west to Woodland Park where we are now! So within a week, we visited with Ed's parents and all 8 of his siblings and my 3 sibs. It was fun but we are glad to be home. Following are pictures of our trip home through the Eastern and Midwestern USA.

We don't see cardinals in Briton so it was nice to view that outside of Ed's parents house. Ed is waiting for the train to NYC. At the entrance to Central Park in Manhattan A view of Manhattan from Central park.The subway of NYC. Darker and not quite as clean as in London.Time Square!While in NYC, we had supper at Ed's neice, Laura and her husband Matt Wiens and their son Henry.The view of the city from the Empire State building.Susie Swartley in her living room.Rural PA.In Wisconsin, close to Louise's house. They live on a dairy farm.My sister Rosie's house. Very warm and cozy.I guess we are still in the habit of tea at four. Ed is having a great time as you can see. His favorite thing....working with power tools!A nice warm homecooming.We've had a lot of snow since we've been back.This looks like a 'where's Waldo' entry.Ed having fun moving snow off of our driveway.This was taken when we were in Goshen. We hosted a high tea for all the past host couples of the LMC. The only ones missing are the Barges who are no longer living, and one other single man who I can't remember at this writing.

2010-02-19T03:41:00.000Z

On our last week in London, we took the 43 bus down to London Bridge and walked the South Bank in the evening.This is St Paul's.Here is the London Eye.For our farewell staff party, we walked from Highgate to Hampstead via the Heath to a French crepery.

2010-02-17T21:09:00.000Z

Please bear with me. I intend to add to this blog but it has been difficult to find the time! Ed and I are now back in the U.S. and just haven't had a spare moment to to anything on the internet besides check email and respond. We are making our way back to Colorado from the East Coast via friends and family. We are having a wonderful time of this. I intend to blog about our last week in London and then start on our trip home. SEE YOU SOON!

2010-01-30T16:20:00.000Z

Our last Saturday in London was spent walking around the London Bridge, Tower Bridge and St. Katherine's Dock area. It was a rare day of sunshine in London and Ed is soaking it up.A sculpture along the Thames path walking from Tower Bridge to St Katherine's Dock area.

2010-01-26T07:35:00.001Z

Sean and Judith Gardiner, good friends who also go to Wood Green Mennonite Church, took Ed and I out for some great Indian food. When you are in London, the place to go with the most choices and best curry's is Brick Lane. We took a walk afterwards to walk off some calories and close by is this bell foundry. The Liberty Bell was made here. It is still a working foundry.Another picture of the foundry.

At Church the next day, we had as our guests, Edwin and Astrid who live in Southern England (for the past four plus years), but are originally from Columbia. They were involved with a Mennonite church in Columbia and were very involved with peace, justice, and social concerns. Due to numerous "threats" and concerns for the safety of their two sons, they decided to leave Columbia for awhile until things settled down. They have remained in England mostly because of their boys who are now teenagers.Chatting with good friends, Will Newcomb, Judith and Sean after church.

2010-01-20T07:18:00.001Z

We are starting to say our goodbyes to the people we have come to know. This is a Turkish family who are now citizens of the UK who manage a small cafe close to where we live. We like to eat breakfast there, not so much for the good food but because we like these people. Don't ask me to say or spell their names but they always have a smile and a wave for us when we walk by the window.One last visit to Spitalfields market. Each market is unique and this one has a lot of clothing artists. Much of the things sold here were designed and made by the people manning the booths.

And here we have what we will miss....the Monday night house meal. This night we had homemade pizza, salad and a pavlova for dessert.Sam is enjoying his. Sam has been living at the centre since early September. He is a Mennonite Mission Network worker giving his time to the Bridge Builders department at the LMC. Originally from Vermont, he graduated from Goshen College and has done VS work in Boulder, CO. prior to coming to London.

The Beginning of the End

2010-01-15T07:46:00.000Z

In just three weeks we are headed back to the US as our term under the Mennonite Mission Network has come to an end.

This means sorting through our 'stuff' and deciding what to take back and what to 'take care of'. Also lots of cleaning, clearing out files, drawers, etc. We were able to take back a lot of warm weather clothes when we went home for Phyllis' mom's funeral, and now we have a bit more room for the rest.

However, when we came over three years ago, we were allow two pieces of checked baggage without extra charge which they were only slightly concerned about the weight. Now we can have only one checked bag with the price of our ticket and the weight restrictions are tightly controlled.

Our other leaving tasks are to do a few more things like a photo exhibit we visit every year at the Natural History museum, another walk on Hampstead Heath, breakfast at Kenwood house, Spitalfields market, Camden Town market, Borough market, Highgate Woods, one last play,......so much to do and so little time!

We have not been good at taking the camera with us lately and so we have no pictures to share. We have been busy at the Centre doing a lot of cleaning, painting, rug shampooing, moving furniture from one room to another, etc. that we haven't gotten out much other than to get groceries!

We did travel down to central London the other night and ate at Wagamama's, one of our favorite places, and had a walk down the south bank....another favorite activity.

Our plans are to fly into Philadelphia, get picked up by family, stay a couple days at Ed's parents, watch the Super Bowl at his brothers house (this year at a decent time of the day rather than midnight) Then take a train to New York City where we will visit Ed's sister, Sylvia for a couple days. Phyllis has never been to NYC, just the airports, and Ed hasn't spent much time there either.

Then a train back to PA, buy a car, and head west towards our home via friends and family along the way. Please pray that we have decent weather to travel in as we are staying north....Bluffton, OH, Goshen, IN, Chicago, and hopefully, Wisconsin, before we head further south.

We'll take the camera out on our next outing and get some pictures in. England has had more snow this year than in the past 30 years and it has stayed cold enough that it didn't melt for nearly two weeks. This put a major kink into the lives of many Londoners as they are ill equiped to deal with this kind of weather.

Until the next post....

2010-01-01T18:42:00.002Z

On 15 December, Ed and I flew back to Kansas to be with my mom who had come down with Pneumonia and was doing poorly. We were picked up by Pat McClure, Phyllis' brother-in-law, at Wichita airport and we spent the first night at their house. This is a picture of the sunrise the next morning on their land.On Christmas Eve, Emily made sushi for everyone. We also had JJ's sister Lisa and her family over to eat and play 'Bonanza'.My mom died on 19 December and the funeral was on 22 December. We were able to make a trip out to our house in Woodland Park, Colorado since our return tickets to fly back to London were not until 31 December. Emily was able to come to the funeral and her husband, JJ and our youngest daughter, Hilary, came to the Colorado house just before Christmas. The only downside was that Erica and Adam were not able to be with us. This is Christmas morning oopening up some gifts. The tiny Christmas tree you see behind JJ was cut by Emily who felt we needed a tree. Hilary bought this for Ed to use when he is on the tractor plowing the driveway. The day before, Ed had plowed without a hat and he came in with his eyebrows and beard all iced over.Here the kids are opening up the blankets we got them in Scotland.One night the Graber family came over to open some gifts we got them and to play some games. This is Andrew blowing his elephant that we got him. The sound is quite similar to an elephant. He would blow it every time someone 'farkled' during the game of Farkle.Outside our house we found a couple of deer prancing around.

2009-12-07T23:26:00.002Z

We had our annual Christmas open house on 5 December. Lois Hochstetler and I had fun decorating the house all day on Friday, the day before the event. The previous Monday we spent the day baking cookies for the open house. The unique thing is that we had next to no Christmas decorations, so we went out and bought red and gold tree ornaments, ribbon, and a tree. All the other decorations were obtained in the LMC garden. We used 10 different kinds of greens. I've never had that available to me before. We were able to decorate on the cheap and had a wonderful result.

Merry Christmas!!!!

2009-11-28T22:18:00.000Z

We had an American Thanksgiving at the Centre on Saturday. We weren't able to have one on Thanksgiving since it's not a holiday here so we had to work.

We invited four girls from the Radical Journey team who are based in Bradford, England about a four hour drive from here. Wayne and Lois Hochstetler came back from their travels on Wednesday so thay were able to join us as well. Will's girlfriend from China is visiting so she is having her first American Thanksgiving.

We had all the traditional Thanksgiving food so we felt at home. We even went on a traditional walk afterwards.

2009-11-22T00:47:00.000Z

I am really doing a poor job of keeping up this blog. The truth is, since we went to Scotland, we haven't done a lot outside of the LMC activities. Since the Director and his family left on 2nd November, Ed and I have been busy with cleaning, filling in the cracks in the ceiling and walls, and painting and then when the painting is done we will shampoo all the carpets at the centre.
So most nights we are sore and tired and after a hot shower and a few ibuprofens, we aren't good for much else.

Today, Saturday, 21st November, we went with another couple from our church to visit one of the Christian Communities (aka Bruderhof) that live Southeast of London. We had a tour of their compound where they make childrens play equipment for their main income. They live in total community, sharing all things and owning nothing of their own. They are a very friendly bunch. This community has around 300. Earlier this past summer we visited a smaller one in North East London of about 20. They live very simply but unlike the Amish, they allow all the modern conveniences. They have their own Dr's and dentists, and lawyers. The community in London is largely made up of students studying in London and well as a sign making business. As they are an Anabaptist community, we felt we needed to keep in better contact with them. They have four communities in New York, one in Florida, and one is Austrailia.

Mennonite Mission Network and the LMC Trustees have selected our replacements and as soon as they get their visa's, they will be able to book their flights to London. Hopefully they can arrive near the end of January so that we can have a two week overlap to help them orient to LMC life. They are Darrell and Barbara Jantz from Duncan Oklahoma. Barbara is the daughter of one of the past host couples, the Barges.

We can't quite believe how quickly our time here has gone and even though it has been a great and wonderful time we are anxious to get back to see our friends and family.

Hopefully we can get some more pictures posted of events happening here.

2009-11-08T19:20:00.000Z

The annual Halloween party in the garage at the LMC. Thanks to Tonya Graber for sending us some Halloween things to use for the party.

Guy Fawkes Day Celebration at Alexandra Palace. We first went to the McKay's house (Alastair is the director of the Bridge Builders Programme at the Centre) for a traditional British meal of Bangers and Mash. Then we walked to Aley Paly for the fireworks display along with 55,000 other people!

There was 25 minutes of constant finale type fireworks to recorded music. The night weather was perfect. A clear sky, stars were visible, cold but no breeze and being in the middle of so many people, I wasn't a bit cold. Then a nice 20mins or more walk home.

2009-10-26T20:17:00.001Z

Ed and I took the time to go to Scotland. We thought it would be a shame to be in the UK for three years and not see Scotland. We got in on the Autumn colours but wished we could have seen the Highlands with the heather in it's pink bloom. Most of the Highland mountains are covered with heather and when we were there it was all brown. Still very beautiful however.

We flew to Glasgow on a Monday evening, spent the night there and the next morning rented a car. We drove up through the Highlands to the Isle of Skye. This is a small island off the West coast of northern Scotland. This is the scenery along the way before we got to Skye.

There are plenty of Loch's (lakes) along the way to stop and look at.

We would have liked to take a ride on a steam train that was advertised but we didn't have a lot of time and we were having trouble finding the station. Supposedly it's similar to the kind of train in the Harry Potter films.

You can go over a bridge to get to the Isle of Skye but we would have had to drive further north and we wanted to take the ferry. Here the ferry is coming in to port to pick us up.We spent the night in the town of Portree which is the capital of Skye. This is the harbour.

The next few pictures are of our drive around the Isle of Skye.

This is Inverness castle. We drove from Skye through the Highlands to the city of Inverness. Our hotel was on the river Ness across from this castle.This is Loch Ness at the north end. We drove along the East side of this beautiful lake that in some places is as deep as 750 feet. We saw no sign of 'Nessie' as they refer to the Loch Ness monster.Some beautiful areas to take walks on the way between Inverness and Edinburgh.Edinburgh....a beautiful city.Edinburgh castle. Edinburgh is pronounced Edinbura. Weird.

We stopped at a distillery and took a tour and learned how single malt whiskey is made. There were distillerys all over the place!

2009-10-18T13:57:00.000+01:00

On Saturday, 17 October, our church had a work day at one of the members gardens. Ed and I from the LMC participated and drove over, parking in front of her house. There is a church directly across from her house with this sign. I was a bit confused as to what type of church they are. In case you can't read the sign it says: Trinity Aftrican Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Hmmmmm.

Here I am standing about halfway down the garden. As most London gardens go, it is narrow. Usually they are often very small but Leslie has a fairly long garden for London standards. She by far has done more to her garden in the way of plantings as most of the other next to hers were bare of anything 'pretty'. You can see Ed in the background going out of the gate on the side of the house.I am standing in the second half of the garden looking to the rear of the garden. This is Jane, another church member of Wood Green Mennonite Church. She is an animal enthuseist and before she would allow Ed to start the fire to the brush pile, she wanted to rake through it to make sure there were no hedge hogs that had burrowed into it during the last year that the pile had been collecting. I was half hoping for one to come out as I've never seen a hedge hog and was quite curious.

And now the 'tea' break. At least when working with the church group, if we don't have a 'tea' break nearly every two hours, some can't function as well. I'm all for it!This apple tree is actually the neighbors but hangs over onto Leslies garden. The neighbor said to take any that we wanted.Leslie thought she would try to take advantage of all the smoke that the newer, greener prunings were providing to try to smoke a salmon.

2009-10-11T22:56:00.001+01:00

Back in August, Ed and I were invited to a child dedication at one of the Christian Communities, formerly know as the Bruderhoff, in East London. Ed became aquainted with some of the young men there when we were needing a new LMC sign in the front of our Centre. This community has a sign business. It's a community where they live together and share all the duties of cooking, cleaning, earning money, etc. There are several other communities in England. Most of them are North Americans and have come from the States where there are other Christian Communities. We were warmly welcomed and had a very nice time.

There are several neighbors that also joined them in this celebration.

Helping our neighbor move from Isle of Wight to London

2009-10-05T23:09:00.003+01:00

This is the I.O.W ferry. Its about two miles over to the island. There was a bus, a number of trucks and 30 or 40 cars on it when we went over. First class!

Lots and lots of impressive boats.

This is the view of the inlet at Freshwater. That white cow was so pregnant she was 4 feet wide!

Stunning view!

They say Isle of Wight has a distinctly English flavor that may be 20 years behind the rest of the country. Looking at this fellow, I'm thinking maybe more like WWI time frame.

2009-10-05T23:04:00.006+01:00

Gordon is our neighbor. I went with him to I.O.W. to bring back their family belongings from a flat they had rented for a few years. We had a good and productive day - plus I got to see another part of this amazing country. Behind Gordon is the site of an old fort set on the cliff to protect this part of the Isle of Whight. Most of the fort is long gone but there are several gates and, what looks like, an escape tunnel coming out of the wall above the sea.

Jimmy Hendricks is memorialized here on IOW. It was only three days after he played at the famous annual IOW concert that he died. Seems Brits respect talent - regardless of a persons qualities (or lack there-of) you will get respect in Britian if you are talented.

Striking a pose - (well, not so striking actually)

This yacht had a cabin cruiser for a dingy and a 20+ foot sailboat ON BOARD!

Lord Alfred Tennyson memorial on the top of the cliff overlooking the sea near the town of Freshwater on Isle of Wight. The word is that he fought Queen Victoria's desire to make him a lord for a long time - but finally relented later in life. His poems (many if course): Charge of the Light Brigade, Crossing the Bar. He was un-usually Christian - for a poet. http://tennysonpoetry.home.att.net/

Leaving I.O.W. ferry port there is a good view of the The George (the Victorian equivelent of the the Crown Plaza). I was told this THE GEORGE is owned by a member of a successful rock band. I can't help but think it might be important to make that first canon shot count or be able to reload REALLY fast!

2009-09-29T22:21:00.000+01:00

This is Ancelle who is just about to turn 3. She got some water colors on Sunday and this is what she made for me! The beads are suppose to be the 'wrapping'. Ancell and her family rent one of the LMC's flats.This is the hole in the fence that was probably started by some fox and has been discovered by the children that live in one of the LMC's flats and the neighbor's kids next door. They go back and forth so they can play together.

Ivy has been growing all along the fence in the back garden and it was getting out of control. Ed is halfway done here tearing it off.

2009-09-22T15:18:00.000+01:00

So I am about ready to give up on this blog. Mostly because things change with it and I don't like the most recent change they made. So about three pictures down is what should be at the beginning. I hope I can tolerate it until we are done here. This is some of the house members getting ready for our hobo dinners last week.

2009-09-22T15:15:00.002+01:00

Here's one of the vegetarian ones.

2009-09-22T15:12:00.000+01:00

Autumn is in the air in London and we thought before it gets too cold, we would have another outside meal, this time doing hobo dinners. Most of you know I'm sure what those are but just in case....It's where you take meat, potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, and whatever else you want and wrap cabbage leaves around those, then tin foil and throw it onto the coals of a fire. Within 20 mins you have a wonderful meal.

Arundel Castle

2009-09-16T23:30:00.002+01:00

For some reason I am unable to add comment to each picture so I will comment at the beginning of this entry. While Ed's parents, his sister Mim and her husband Ron Byler, Emily & JJ were still in England, we took a train to Arundel to see the castle there. It was a great day and a great castle.

More Wedding day pictures.

2009-09-08T18:47:00.006+01:00

Some of the pictures wouldn't import so if you are on facebook, I have the entire album there.

The space is limited at the LMC so we have to share the mirror space.

The parents going over things before the ceremony.

A peek out of her dressing room window.

Hilary chose a poem to read at the ceremony.

Reading her vows.

Adam chose a poem for his vows.

Heading out of the tent.

Everyone is happy!

Welcome to the family Adam!

Time for some celebration.

Our expanding family

Sisters

Some advice giving????

Looks like Shara has the "block out" on Hilary during the bouquet toss.

Hilary is giving it a good fight but Shara won out.

Waiting at the bus stop on our way to the restuarant for dinner.

The view from the top of the double decker.

Wedding Day for Adam & Erica

2009-09-03T19:39:00.003+01:00

Emily and JJ practicing for the song they sang for the wedding.

Johnni Amobi is our neighbor and a professional actor/singer. He offered to sing at the wedding as a gift to us. He sang "unforgettable".

The moms.

Going after the bouquet.

Fighting over the bouquet.

The happy bride.

Grandmother, Erica and Grandad, Frank Shirk

Adams mom and step dad, Cheryl and Paul.

The wedding tent. The day was wonderful weather and we wouldn't have needed it but it was nice to have just in case.

Brighton, England

2009-08-30T22:06:00.002+01:00

We drove down to the Southern coast of England to the town of Brighton. It's got a pebble beach and the famous Brighton Pier with a carnival on it. Erica and Adam have not arrived yet so it was Emily, JJ, Hilary, Ed and me. It turned out to be a gorgeous day with lots of sun a warm weather. We thought it might be cool so we were not prepared for the heat. It did turn quite cool at night though.

I can't remember what this elaborate building is but it's nice.

A very nice sunset at the end of the day.

On the pier looking at the city's lights.

Emily and JJ enjoying the sun.

Hilary taking in the view. You can't tell it from this shot but there were loads of people there.

River boat to Hampton Court Palace

2009-08-24T08:52:00.004+01:00

We took a cruise up the Thames to Henry VIII's Hampton court palace.

People were out in all kinds of crafts that day.

Here are some kids getting lessons.

The river is tidal and so at a couple of places where we had to go under bridges, and the tide was low, we had to go to the side and go through a lock system.

When the sun was out, we sat on top to see the views.

At HCP, there is a maze and this is Hilary at the end.

One of the rose gardens. It wasn't at it's peak.

There was a wedding close by and they were using the palace to take some pictures.

Another one of the formal gardens.

The other view of the palace.

U2 Concert

2009-08-16T12:46:00.005+01:00

So our neighbor who lives with his wife and two small children in one of the flats that we rent out got two tickets to go to the U2 concert in London from his wife for his birthday. Long story short, she was unable to go. Gordon tried to sell them but was unable to so he asked Ed to go with him. It was held in Wembly stadium in Northwest London.

This is our very nice and generous neighbor, Gordon.

He only had his phone along to take pictures so they aren't as good as he would have liked.

Proof that he was there.

Moonrise over London

2009-08-08T13:12:00.004+01:00

Several of us made our way down to the Thames. The sky is expected to clear and the moon is almost full.

What a beautiful city!
This is the Tower of London.

The City building.

We're standing on the London Bridge looking south toward the Tower Bridge.

St Paul's cathedral on the right.

This was taken before the moon came up and before the clouds cleared out.

A walk in East London

2009-07-27T21:12:00.003+01:00

Finally a day off to take a walk in London. We got out our deck of London walk cards and chose two walks close together in East London. The first 'landmark' was the Wesley Chapel and Museum. The museum wasn't open today as it is Sunday. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, began his movement here in 1738.

Statue of Wesley.

This is Bunhill Fields which is across the street from the chapel. Writers Daniel Defoe, William Blake, and John Bunyan are buried here. Thousands of people have been buried here before it was closed.

We went to a park called Finsbury Circus. This is one of the buildings surrounding the park circle.

In the park was a large lawn bowling area with one guy practicing.

Another view of the park.

A pedestrian street where there was a market in the street. However, we got there about 5pm and the stalls were being packed up. Darn, usually we can find a great treat at these markets.

This is Saddler's Wells, London's Dance House where ballet, Flamenco, opera, and other types of dance are performed.

These are the posters of what is coming up at Saddlers Wells.

2009-07-20T14:08:00.002+01:00

I have been finding it difficult to add to the blog as often as I did the first two years of our time in London. Since our trip to Ireland, we have stayed put at the Centre staying quite busy with guests coming and going and hosting groups for a day. Somehow I managed to schedule every Saturday with a group, three of which I cook a meal for. So we haven't been able to go on any interesting walks. It's too difficult for us both to take off during the week. I've been taking a day during the week where I don't do any office work which gives me some rest. The problem is I still hear the phone and the doorbell and it's hard to relax.

We have had loads of guests here from all over. One of the perks from that is we gets invitations to visit them. So we are thinking about visits to Spain, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Germany...all of which we could "Mennonite" our way so to speak although many of them are not Mennonites.

We are having a much nicer summer this year than any we have had since arriving here. The temps are generally in the 70's and cool down to the 50's at night which makes for great sleeping.

We are gearing up for August which is when the Centre is closed to outside meetings but I keep it open for guests. The VIPs this August is our family which is coming the later part of August to celebrate our daughter, Erica's marriage to Adam Bowen. I'm sure we'll have loads of pictures after that event. It will be family only and a couple of Erica's close friends.

Sharon's farewell picnic

2009-07-10T22:50:00.002+01:00

Sharon has put in her three years at the London Mennonite Centre working with the Bridge Builders Team and now it's time for her to go home to Virginia. But first we must party!

We walked to Hampstead Heath, a large park, to one of the ponds and had a picnic. We then had to toast Sharon....

And eat!

Of course there must be Frisbee playing with such a large green space.

It was a beautiful day.

Is it Russian or Australian? And trimming the hedge.

2009-06-28T11:26:00.002+01:00

The week of June 22-26 the Bridge Builders team ran a Mediation course at the Centre which I had to cook lunches for. I really don't mind cooking if someone else would create the menus. So I spend a bit of time going through cookbooks deciding what to make. This week was a challenge as I had a gluten intolerant, one who is allergic to chocolate, diary products, & potatoes, one who couldn't eat cheese or citrus, and a vegetarian. Really makes me appreciate omnivores. So anyway, while making the menus, I decided to try some different things. This is called Pavlova. There is a dispute where it originated. It was made and named after a Russian dancer by the name of Pavlova, but she danced not only in Russia but also a lot in Australia and New Zealand. So there is a dispute as to whether it came from Russia or Australia. Does anyone out there have an opinion?

The week the mediation group was here we had beautiful weather so they could eat all their meals outside.

Ed decided it was time to take the front hedge down a couple of feet. He loves using power tools.

Back half is done. Now for the front half.

The finished product. Now that ugly sign needs to come down and a new one up.

20/20 Cricket

2009-06-28T10:33:00.003+01:00

Saturday, Ed was invited to go to a Cricket match. We understand that Cricket can be an all day or two ordeal. But to speed up the game in an effort to keep people's attention and interest in Cricket, a shortened form was created called twenty, twenty.

It feels a lot like baseball and yet very different. However, they try to do lots of gimmicky things such as this mascot that of course is advertising the company that is sponsoring the game. In the original cricket, players are all in white. But again, to update the game the teams have colors. These changes are criticized by many but I think it is an effort to keep the younger, computer generation interested.

Here is a batter who as you can see missed the ball. There is a catcher as well.

The stats board. The Bowler is what we would call the pitcher.

Maybe Cricket is "for the birds"!

A Trip to Ireland

2009-06-21T18:45:00.007+01:00

We were able to find five days to take off and visit Ireland. We mostly visited Northern Ireland where Jake and Nancy Rittenhouse are doing a one year volunteer term with Mennonite Mission Network. They work at a retreat house that is associated with Corrymeela, a larger retreat centre that works with reconciliation projects stemming from the Catholic & Protestant conflict. After flying into Dublin, we drove to Portadown where our MMN boss lives with his family. We were able to meet with their church's small group that was meeting at their house that night. The next day we drove to the Rittenhouses and they drove us around the Northern Ireland countryside.

This is their house that they live in (on the left) and the 'annex' on the right which has bedrooms, a kitchen, and a large living room. This is a view from the back of the house as we were hiking up the mountain side that they live on.

This is a courtyard/garden at Corrymeela.

The next day they drove us to 'The Giants causeway', which is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. The top of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea.

Here are the basalt columns.

These are some castle ruins beside the sea not far from the giants causeway.

On the same day we drove to a forest with a river and water falls.

We saw lots and lots of sheep grazing.

After a couple days with the Rittenhouses, we drove to Donnegal which is still in the North part of Ireland but is in the republic of Ireland, not Northern Ireland. There we went through the Donnegal castle and stayed in a Hostel that night.

We drove north of Donnegal to see the coastline in that area. This is called the Cliffs of Donegal.

A beautiful hidden beach.....too cold for sunbathing though and too cloudy on this day.

There were about 125 plus steps to get to this beach so you had to want to go! Notice on both sides of the steps it's all ferns. It was sooooooo lush there.

the view from our bedroom at Jake and Nancy's house. Very peaceful and serene there. Quite a contrast to our life in London.

Birds in the garden

2009-06-13T20:04:00.005+01:00

This Saturday, 13th June we woke up to a beautiful day of warm air,mostly sunny skies, and lots of singing birds. Ed has great patience when it comes to 'shooting' birds with his camera. He'll spend a good bit of the day looking out of the window waiting for the perfect shot. Today he tried to get some good pics of a wren but it was proving to be difficult as she wouldn't hold still for very long.It looks like she is gathering building material for a nest.

If Ed's outside he can't resist snapping a few pics of the beautiful flowers we have in the garden.

Looks like the robins are building nests too.

Ed & I have been in London for nearly 2 1/2 years now. It's amazing to me how different life in London feels to me now as compared to our first year. Early on I would constantly notice all the differences between here and my life in the States, thinking that London had funny ways of doing and saying things, not to mention the difference in the weather patterns.

Now I've grown quite accustomed to most things. Someone recently asked me what I thought seemed funny to me as an American about English people. I honestly had to think about it for awhile because I realized that what used to feel awkward now feels normal.

As with so many experiences where you go into a situation of service, whether that be as a mission worker or serving in your church, etc., with the intention of giving of yourself, I once again have realized that I have received much more than I have given. It has made me wonder more than once who God had in mind, Ed & Phyllis or The London Mennonite Centre, as being the intended recipient of this service project. We feel extremely blessed to have been chosen to serve here at this time in this way.

Thank you to all of you who have supported us in your thoughts & prayers and with your visits and generous hospitality when we would come back to the States on visits.

Also thanks for being interested enough to keep reading this blog!

More pics from the Schmidt sibling visit

2009-06-06T11:10:00.003+01:00

My (Phyllis) brother, Roger, had to leave after only five days in England to get back to responsibilities. Ed drove Rosie, Linda, and Sarah to Bath to visit the Roman baths, the Bath Abbey and a stop at Stone Henge on the way back. It was a gorgeous day. The architecture of Bath is mainly Georgian and I like it much more than the Victorian.

A gathering of birds cooling their feet.

Right before we entered through platform nine and three quarters at Kings Cross train station.

Lawn bowling we observed while in Windsor. It must be a bit like shuffle board. I've seen it a few times but only played by what looks like retired people.

I finally made the famous Beatles crossing walk.

A visit from Phyllis' siblings & a Niece

2009-05-31T23:12:00.003+01:00

Phyllis' siblings and a niece were able to coordinate their schedules to make a visit to London. Here is Roger, Linda, Rosie, and Rosie's daughter, Sarah on the tube on the way to our place after we met them at Heathrow. They look pretty good for not getting much sleep.

This is what we look like after a day of getting them around the city!

The day after they arrived we had a beautiful day so we took a long walk along one of the canals which ended up in Regents Park.

After Regents Park, we went to Camden Town to look at the market. Outside of the tube exit was this drummer which sounded pretty nice.

A group photo in front of the fountain in Trafalgar square.

Kensington Gardens & Palace & Holland Park

2009-05-26T08:53:00.003+01:00

May 16 we had a free day of no guests or groups to take care of so we headed on a walk to Holland Park. However, we took a wrong turn out of the tube station and stumbled onto Kensington Gardens and Palace first. This is one of the views of the Palace. It was closed for the day. This was the residence of Princess Diana. Also the birth place of Queen Victoria & residence.

Evidently, this man spends a bit of time feeding the squirrels as he had a lot of food for them and they would eat right out of his hands. Made me think of the old lady in Mary Poppins when she is feeding the birds of the steps of St Paul's. We did make our way to Holland Park eventually and here is a beautiful Japanese garden within the park. The bird is real.

This white man was posing outside of a cafe in the park and this young girl went up to take a look and he beckoned for her hand as if he were to shake it then planted a kiss instead. She was thrilled!

Trip to the States & a 50th celebration

2009-05-16T11:15:00.002+01:00

My US trip was mainly to attend the 50th birthday bash for my sister in law Mim Shirk. The sisters and sister in laws of Ed's family have a tradition that when we turn 50 we get together for the weekend and celebrate. Mim choose a great location near Virginia Beach. We only had to walk less than a mile to the beach. Every day was sunny and warm. I walked at least twice each day to the beach including a night visit to lay on towels and look at the stars.
As always there was much game playing, good conversation, eating, laughing, and gift giving. This year the main Saturday night feast was Fondue. Thanks to Renee for taking this on. I arrived a couple days early to PA to stay with Ed's parents so that I could get over my jet lag. While I was there, Casey who is Pete & Sandy Shirks daughter, had a soccer game. She is on the Varsity team of her Jr High. This is a shot taken right after she made an assist. They won! Mom Sandy and bother Eric clapping for the end result. Somehow Pete avoided the camera.

After the game in the driveway.

Mother's fabulous garden and the great shed Pete made complete with rockers to sit and enjoy the view.

This tree was picked out and planted for Mim years ago (Each child got a tree) which is a dogwood. How appropriate that it blooms on her birthday!

Mim's 50th Bday party weekend

2009-05-16T11:02:00.004+01:00

Those of us from PA drove to our destination while others flew in. Mim and Ron were at the house for the week prior to our arrival. Ron vacated to another location while we had our party. A few of the early birds on the first morning waiting for breakfast.

The birthday girl getting in some early morning quiet time reading.

Relaxing before supper on the deck.

Late night activity. Earring making. One of the gifts was a kit to make earrings so everyone made a pair for Mim. As I was still jet lagged, I took pictures instead. I was afraid that my creation would be lopsided.

The weather was great. Actually the skies were blue the entire weekend except in this picture. I forgot to take my camera each time I went to the beach so this is from Hilda. This is Sunday afternoon after the most of us had left. Mim, Dorothy, and Hilda (not pictured) stayed for another day.

Two teas and a bunch of friends

2009-05-16T10:43:00.004+01:00

The Monday after getting back to PA from Virginia, I flew to Wichita where my sister Linda picked me up and I stayed with her one night. The following day she took me to Harper where I stayed with our good friends Spike & Gloria Hostetler. It's a great location as it's close to the church and other friends and within walking distance to the hospital where my mom lives. I spent the next 9 days there catching up with them and many other good friends. It felt like I'd never left. We have the dearest friends in Harper and we miss them. Visiting with my mom every day at the hospital gave me a chance to see my old work mates. It was a good time to be with my mom too.

As a small way of saying THANK YOU to my home congregation (Pleasant Valley Mennonite in Harper, KS) for the support they have given Ed and I while in London, I said I would like to have a cream tea for who ever could come. Big thank yous to Faith Penner, Pam Gerber, and Leslie Roberts for doing all the ground work. It was fun! We had scones, Victoria sponge cakes, chocolate covered strawberries and TEA! These lovely ladies did the work of inviting everyone, setting the tables with lots of pretty dishes, flowers, and tablecloths, etc. Thank you so much! All I had to do was make the goodies, everything else was taken care of.

I think about 30 ladies showed up for the tea. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. It was so good to see them all!

The next day at the hospital in the Long Term Care wing where my mom lives, was a Tea for families of the residents. No scones or cakes this time but some great American cookies!

Icing on the cake of my visit was that Tonya, Andrew and Emma Graber from Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp were in the area for a graduation of relatives. So I met them on their way home. Corbin and Natalie stayed home this time. Here they are leaving and doing one of their silly face poses just for Ed.

I've been admonished to "Get with it"!

2009-05-07T13:41:00.004+01:00

These ought to keep you in desk-to background photos for a while....

Flower Power!

Hurt-your-eyes gorgeous!

This is the flower of the Hanky Tree - seriously! The tree is about 60 feet tall and covered in hankys. Just in time for Swine Flu season!

Rhodys and Azaleas

The gardens of Kenwood HouseMarmite - having a sniff.
Speaking of Swine Flu......

Opportunity Knocks!

2009-04-26T09:22:00.007+01:00

Dear Friends,

It is almost unbelievable to us but we are well into our last of three years at the London Mennonite Centre. It has been an amazing experience and a great opportunity to grow spiritually as well as make many, many new friends and contribute to God's work in the UK. We still have to pinch ourselves from time to time. God has been so generous and merciful to us and our family.

However, our time here is rapidly coming to a close (Feb 2010) and the LMC and Mennonite Mission Network (MMN) are looking for a replacement couple to help continue the legacy started here in London so many years ago. If you are interested in this experience or you know of someone who might be, please get in touch with us or MMN and we will be happy to answer any questions you might have. Here is part of the job description;

Work and live at the London Mennonite Centre located in North London, UK
A three year commitment
Married couple of any age who are physically in good health
Handy-man(woman) skills required along with catering and housekeeping skills and modern communication capabilities
An attitude of service and hospitality
Duties include: answering the phones and the door (24-7), handling the mail, managing the official LMC calendar - including several guest rooms, meeting rooms, library, Prayer Hut, kitchen, and garden, cleaning guest rooms and public areas of the centre, catering meals for groups attending either a day seminar or five day course. (Groups are usually no more than 10 - 25 people), all general maintenance of indoor and outdoor spaces including the very large back yard/garden (the LMC is famous for the beautiful garden), maintaining the LMC vehicle, maintaining the two flats/apartments the LMC rents out - including any cleaning and redecorating when tenants move out, carpet cleaning, painting, drain unplugging, window washing, mess cleaning, and many other things.
Most importantly, the hosts of the LMC need to maintain the long and stellar history of warm hospitality. This means welcoming short-term and long-term guests and visitors from all over the world who come to the LMC to visit, learn about Mennonites or Anabaptists or are just traveling through on mission assignments or are on sabbatical from other important jobs around the world. This includes providing coffee at 11 each morning and tea every weekday afternoon at 4 for whoever happens to be at the Centre. It means worshiping with the Mennonites at the Wood Green Mennonite Church who use the Centre for various activities throughout the month. It also means helping guests and housemates with whatever challenges they have from navigating the London Tube system, to finding a doctor or dentist.
Hosts report to the LMC director as well as the LMC trustees and the MMN Europe director.
Compensation - The LMC takes care of your room and board (one bedroom flat at the LMC and pays for your groceries) there is also a small stipend for incidentals. Health care is provided by the British National Health System (free!)The best part is that you get to live in community with interesting, committed Christians in a beautiful Victorian house built in 1883 in London, England. You are within 1 1/2 hours (by air) of most European cities/countries via low-cost airlines and most are connected by high-speed train. You meet many interesting and accomplished people who are on the cutting edge of the 21st century church and a front-row seat to the flourishing Anabaptist movement in UK and Europe.

If this seems like a lot of work, it is. But there are many, many benefits - not the least of which is living in London which is a beautiful and vibrant cultural center of the world.

We urge you to prayerfully consider this opportunity. At first this may seem a complete impossibility for you but that is what we thought too - at first. Please know that God has proven to be capable of managing impossible situations for those who are willing to step out in faith and offer themselves to the opportunities presented.

If you would like to discuss this with us or MMN personnel, we would be happy to accommodate you. Email us at ed55shirk@yahoo.com or hosts@menno.org.uk or we can connect you with the MMN representatives.

Thanks for supporting us in our adventure at the LMC,

Ed & Phyllis Shirk - LMC Hosts

Spectacular Springtime

2009-04-26T08:57:00.003+01:00

Bluebells in UK are spectacular. They come up everywhere and last for several weeks. The blue is so bright it hurts your eyes and the greens of the stems and leaves are so rich. What a treat.

This is Sharon's idea of a gag birthday present. I guess this is proof that I should keep my opinions about vegetables to myself. They didn't go to waste though. I advertised then via email to my fellow staff members and they were gone in an instant. Yuk!

I have been working with this apple tree now three seasons. When I got here they told me this tree used to produce a tremendous amount of tasty Bramley apples (great for baking), but for the last number of years it was completely barren. So I pruned the tree a bit the first year and I got one blossom - but no apples. Next I pruned the tree harder taking of six or seven years growth. This spring I got FOUR blossoms. That's progress - 400% improvement! I hope it will really take off next year.

Church Weekend Away

2009-04-19T22:46:00.002+01:00

Our church had our biannual weekend away in Kent which is in South East England. This is a retreat type place called The Friars where the buildings are from the 13th century. This is the dining hall.

We took a long walk on Saturday afternoon in between sessions. The sessions were led by Dave Nussbaum who used to be a member of our church and is presently the Chief Executive of WWF (World Wildlife Fund) He has worked with many charities and has a theology degree from Cambridge. His emphasis was titled "One World, One God". We explored through the bible different areas that refer to the relationship between nature and humans. That puts it into very simple terms but it was a very good weekend. We had a good amount of free time so there was lots of visiting, game playing and strolling around the grounds.

The is part of the Rosary walk.

On our hike we came into a large area of wild blue bells.

A view from our hike of the surrounding area.

Glastonbury

2009-04-19T22:33:00.002+01:00

On the way home from our Cornwall & Devon getaway, we stopped at the town of Glastonbury. This town has a huge music festival every year, mostly rock musicians and such. Many of the people walking around the town then and other times of the year are hippy looking kind of people, or new age types.

This is an old Abbey that fell into disrepair during King Henry VIII reign.

And some beautiful daffodils around the Abbey.

Tintagel & King Arthur

2009-04-05T11:08:00.002+01:00

The town of Tintagel has the ruins of a castle high on the cliffs of the sea/Bristol Channel where the legend is that the castle was that of King Arthur. It is mostly ruins but the beauty of it is that of the view from above looking out over the sea.

This bird caught our attention when in very gusty winds, he was able to hold a position just as you see him about 15 feet above the ground. He didn't move more than a few inches in any direction for several minutes at a time. Notice he is looking down which we supposed was to catch a glimpse of any four legged creatures emerging from their hiding places. Every now and then he would swoop down to apparently nab something.

One of the views from the cliffs of Tintagel.

Tintagel is on the north coast of Cornwall.

Another day in Cornwall.

2009-04-03T13:50:00.004+01:00

We saw lots of sheep grazing in the beautiful green fields. It was lambing time as there were often little tiny ones that were barely walking.

More views of coastlines from quaint villages along the drive. Whoops! I just realised that I've already added this picture in the post previously. I must really like it!

I forget which village this is but cute all the same.

A natural harbour. The tide is out and we were able to walk quite a ways out onto the ocean bed.

Penzance: Part of Day one in Cornwall

2009-03-30T00:05:00.003+01:00

This is the town of Penzance on the South coast of Cornwall.

Beautiful scenery along the drive throughout Cornwall.

Ed thought this sign was funny.

The Harbour in Penzance.

Day one in the Southwest: Cornwall

2009-03-28T23:42:00.002Z

For some odd reason, we had no guests or seminars lined up for this past week. So Ed & I borrowed Will's car and made a couple reservations and some B&B's and headed to the Southwest part of England. We slept the first night in a charming self catered barn that was divided up into five living areas. Ours was called the Granary. I can't believe we didn't get any pictures of it. It used to be a farm but converted some time ago to a self catering business. They had a games barn, a swimming pool which of course wasn't in operation yet, lots of lawn to play in. A great place for families.

After waking up late we headed to the southern most tip of England to a village called Lizard. It's a fishing village, not terribly big but the water was really blue and the skies on our first day were clear. It was windy and cold but still very pleasant to be out.

This is a view of the coast line in Lizard while having a cup of coffee in a small cafe.

This is Lands End, the western most part of England which is also in Cornwall. Again, beautiful water. We have so many pictures that I will post more every few days until we have bored you sufficiently with them all.

Stonehenge and Spring flowers

2009-03-22T22:09:00.003Z

On our way back from Bath last week, we realised that we were close to Stonehenge. They were closing at 5pm and it was 4:50pm and cost to get inside the fence. So not wanting to spend the money, we were able to see it from the roadside. We didn't get the commentary which you get with the entrance fee however. As you may be able to see, there is a path around the stones and you are not allowed to get off the path to go up to the stones.

Spring is in full bloom in London.

Forsythia in our back garden.

Bath, England

2009-03-19T20:54:00.003Z

We haven't been 'out and about' in awhile so we borrowed Will's car and headed for Bath which is less than a three hour drive to the West.

This is a shot of the Roman Baths.

This is the Bath Abbey right next to the Roman baths. This is one of the few cathedrals we've been in that they allowed us to take pictures.

A view of a central park in Bath. It was a beautiful day with the sun shinning all day and warmer temps.

This is the River Avon that runs through Bath.

It was packed out at the Pig & Fiddle.

2009-03-16T14:10:00.002Z

Well either this prayer hut user is either very short or very young! Actually, the large flat that we rent out has been recently rented to a couple with two small children. Needless to say the garden sees a bit more use.

Ahhhhhh....finally warm enough to use the patio to have coffee.

As promised, I have pictures of the new people at the centre. In the previous entry I talked about Hannah Clymer who is pictured above.....

....taking it easy on a beautiful sunny day in our back garden.

And Wayne & Lois Hochstetler. I knew she was cool when she showed up with her Pike's Peak Ascent shirt on. She's climbed the peak something like 6 or more times.

2009-03-13T23:17:00.002Z

I realised tonight that it's been nearly two weeks since I have added to the blog. After two years we have tried to add to this every week and sometimes have blogged twice a week. I guess that shows how busy we have been. Plus the fact that we haven't traveled anywhere!

Last week we had the volunteers from Virginia here and we got a lot of work out of them. Painting, rebuilding stone walls in the garden, a murphy bed in one of the flats we rent out was made and installed, patio furniture re oiled, all the bookshop and library books wiped down and the shelves that they live on, tools sharpened, our bathroom floor repaired, the prayer hut door realigned so that it now locks, several windows repaired.....we saved lots of money with this group.

We have added three new people to the centre. As soon as I can get them to hold still, I will put some pictures up of them.

First is Hannah Clymer who grew up in Pennsylvania, went to university at EMU, most recently was in Niger with Dr's without borders as a nurse, and is now here to take a class a the London school of hygiene and tropical disease university. She will be here until late July.

Also new to us is Wayne and Lois Hochstetler. What we know of them after one week:
Wayne comes with a background as a pastor, having served in several Mennonite Church USA congregations and as conference minister. He is an ordained pastor with skills in pastoral care, using the perspective of family systems theory. He is trained in conflict mediation. He holds an M.Div. from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary. He has served as a consultant to pastors and congregations in areas of congregational life, purpose, vision and effectiveness.

Lois has a Master of Social Work degree and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She is a skilled and experienced psychotherapist with a family systems approach. She has skills in dealing with childhood abuse, relationship stress, depression, anxiety, grief and other challenges. She is experienced in individual, group and marital therapy. She has served as a retreat leader and seminar leader. She is trained in conflict mediation.

Wayne grew up in Pennsylvania, Lois was born there but at 8 moved to Alberta Canada. They met at EMC, and later married, Wayne was a science teacher until going to seminary at Elkhart. Evidently they were on an Outspokin' trip at the same time Ed was on the Outspokin' staff. They were later in La Junta, CO pastoring at Emmanuel church, then in Hutchinson, KS at Faith Mennonite for 15 years (?) before their last move to the Champagne/Urbana, IL area where Wayne served as the conference minister.

They are taking some time to settle in and get to know London a bit before they head off to parts of Africa, Asia, & Europe where they will be support to mission workers in those areas. Their small little flat was not quite ready for them when they came as we were waiting on the Virginia volunteer team to do some of that work. And like most plans, things didn't progress as fast as we had hoped. They are being champs about sleeping on an air bed until their mattress is delivered on Monday.

They are a breath of fresh air and an injection of new energy.

Tomorrow I am cooking for a seminar that the centre is having on church planting, specifically in the urban area. Hopefully, pictures of all this tomorrow???

New slideshow pictures

2009-03-04T22:49:00.003Z

I changed the slideshow to a collage of 2008 pictures of London. If you've been here to visit us you just might see yourself!

Volunteers from Virginia: Partners In Mission

2009-03-01T14:11:00.002Z

Our volunteers from Harrisonburg Virginia arrived early Saturday morning. You may remember that we had a small group last February from Virginia come for a week. The programme is called: Partners in Mission. They are staying at the Centre and we provide breakfast and lunch and work! Hopefully they can find some time to see London. We don't have a van anymore so Ed was able to take their luggage and one person in the car from Heathrow to the Centre. Sharon, who knows most of the group as she is from the same area, escorted them back to the Centre via the underground.

Here they are scoping out the outside of the Centre.

They arrived in time for some coffee, breakfast rolls and some time to move into their rooms. At 1pm we had a light lunch......Then off to work. They wanted to try and stay awake and not succomb to the lure of sleeping.

2009-03-01T13:58:00.002Z

They all offered to go right to work. It helped to keep them going and awake. Here Clara is cleaning off shelves and dusting books. This old Victorian house gets dusty so quickly.

The guys went right to work scraping paint off the windows.

In the evening we had an evening talk with Ron Sider speaking, international peace and justice advocate and writer from North America. We began the evening with a meal that I catered at 6:30 PM followed by Ron presenting his thoughts on “Does nonviolent demonstration really work?” We had 32 people in attendance. This was outside of our usual Cross-Currents programme. Ed & Sue (lead Elder at our Church) knew that Ron was in the UK for a conference and approached him about speaking at the Centre. We had a full room as you can see.

The meal before the talk. It was set up to be a discussion topic and there was some good discussion.

Sloane Square & Battersea Park walks

2009-02-24T13:55:00.003Z

Close to Sloane Square was a small market selling lots of baked goods, sweets, some veg, and generally lots of other things ready to eat. Ed is munching away on a Jamacian pattie.

The is a walkway between the Royal Hospital where veterans of the army reside and Ranelagh Gardens.

Walking through the gardens of The Royal Hospital.

Snowdrops in bloom in Ranelagh Gardens which is the home of the annual Chelsea Flower Show in May.

The disused Battersea Power Station. We crossed that bridge to get to Battersea Park. Battersea Park is one of only two parks in London not administered by the Royal Parks Authority. Battersea has an informal feel and some wonderful views of the river and the city.

2009-02-24T13:46:00.002Z

Crocus blooming in Battersea Park.

We took a break beside one of the ponds to eat our lunch and watch the ducks and swans.

Caught in flight.

Albert Bridge crossing the Thames.

At the end of our walking, we got on the tube and visited Will Newcomb who lives and works at The Centre. He is the bookshop manager and IT person. Notice he has in his right ear his phone. He had a hip replacement on Friday and as I write this note on the following Tuesday, he has just come home, walking on his own with the aid of crutches. Amazing.

A walk in East London

2009-02-15T22:49:00.002Z

We made our way to Tottenham Hale Bus/Tube station where we started the walk. This advertisement on the side of the bus is a response to ads that were put on city buses a number of months ago that atheists put up saying: "There probably is no God, so stop worrying and enjoy life."

This is Sue and Peter Haslehurst. Sue is our lead Elder at Wood Green Mennonite church. Peter is the one who organised the walk.

After about two miles into the walk, we stopped at a rowing clubhouse for a coffee/tea break.

2009-02-15T22:43:00.003Z

A view from the balcony of the rowing club house.

Break is over and it's time to carry on.

The sun started to come out which really makes for such a big change!

We walked by the construction area for the 2012 Olympics. We couldn't see too much as they had a lot of it barricaded.

Enjoying the view.

2009-02-15T22:31:00.002Z

Just when we were ready to stop for lunch, the sun came out and it felt a little warmer.

Behind where we were eating was a place called three mill island. These were buildings where they made gin. The cones have something to do where the hops (sp) was dried.

After the second bit of the walk we ended up in an area called Lime House where this really nice harbour is and very nice apartment buildings.

Ed is looking over some of the narrow boats. (Canal boats) It appears that most of the ones we saw were where people were living.

2009-02-15T22:19:00.002Z

Some more apartment buildings around the harbour.

And here are most of us at the end of the walk.

International Peace Award Winner at LMC

2009-02-07T16:38:00.007Z

It continues to amaze me that we have such great opportunities to meet amazing people here at the LMC! Today I met the current winner of Community of Christ's International Peace Award winner. She joins an impressive list of others who made significant contributions toward peace throughout the world like Jane Goodall and two Mennonites - John Paul Lederach and Howard Zehr. (click on the title above to see the complete list of previous award winners)

I was not told her real name to protect her personal security, but she is a medical doctor from Darfur. She is the daughter of a Sudanese farmer who was passionate about the right of women to get education. Her story is exceedingly grim, with all the possible horrible things that happened to the people of Darfur. Though her childhood was a happy one, early on, it turned into a complete nightmare when civil war and corruption overtook the country. She continued to treat her patients until she finally had to flee for her life. She received asylum here in the UK a few years ago and has written a book about her experiences which will be released soon. Her compassion for her people is palpable. I found her to be an impressive woman in every way. EAS

Slideshow

2009-02-04T15:40:00.002Z

I've added a new "gadget" on the upper right of this blog page. It's a slideshow application where I can pull a folder of pictures from Picasa. The one running at this time is from our trip to Slovenia in September with Weldon & Jenney Martens.

Leaving the LMC

2009-02-02T20:35:00.004Z

Dora-Marie Goulet and Emilie Bourdages have left us this January. Here is Dora-Marie at her last church service. Notice that everyone is wearing their coats and jackets. It's seriously cold in our church....even most of the summer! My nose was so cold last Sunday.
Emilie (the one in glasses) has gone back to Montreal. Ed, Sharon, and I took her out for a meal a few days before she left. We let her choose the place to eat. This is a Moroccan restaurant in Crouch End which is just a 10 minute walk from where we live.
This is part of Ed's meal.
This is mine. It came with this cute little top on it, looked a little like a chiminea pot.

Cross-Currents Seminar

2009-01-29T21:13:00.002Z

Our first Cross-Currents seminar of the 2009 Winter/Spring season was Gene Stoltzfus speaking about Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT). Besides having him here to talk about what CPT does and how they work, we had an Iranian woman come to talk about what it has been like since the U.S. and Britain soldiers have gone into Iraq. She works for women's rights in Iraq. She spoke fairly good English but we had an interpreter with her who works in London for an Iraqi news agency. It was not easy to hear about all the terrible things that are going on in Iraq at the hands of the soldiers. It's hard to believe that such practices are enforced in military training. It has strengthened my views on pacifism.

Flamenco Dancing

2009-01-27T23:56:00.004Z

Janelle, who lives at the LMC and works there part time as well as going to University part time, takes Flamenco dancing lessons at Jacksons Lane just a quarter mile from where we live. Here are some pictures of her recital we went to a couple of weeks ago.
These are the flamenco guitarists and singers.

Here is Felipe who is her instructor with one of the more experienced dancers. It was a great show. The dancing was really great and looked like a lot of exercise.
Jacksons Lane is an old church that has been turned into an arts centre where there are all types of dance lessons, theatre, circus, cafe, etc. and it's only a short walk from our place.

Holland Park Walk in West London

2009-01-18T22:08:00.006Z

Saturday, 17 January 2009: After exiting the tube at Notting Hill Gate, we stopped at the Windsor Castle pub which is an old pub that has three connecting bars and a large garden. We decided to set in the garden since the pub was full. We had to go through two different doorways (there were no doors, just the openings) to get to the next rooms to get to the garden. We literally had to duck and turn slightly sideways to get through each one. It was like being in a hobbit house. Here we are, Sharon, Rehanna & me trying out some ciders. Rehanna has been in London for over two years now. She started out as a student and is now working at the British Library. She is from North of Chicago (Evanston) and has graduated from Goshen College. She just moved into the LMC taking Dora-Maries room.
A short walk from the pub we enter into Holland Park. This is a large Koi pond with huge Koi fish in the center of a Kyoto Garden. There was a big house called Holland house, where Lord Holland lived but was not open.

Oh yes....Happy new year!

Sylvia's visit

2009-01-09T23:22:00.003Z

Ed's sister, Sylvia, came to visit from New Years day until 7 January. We took a long walk on Saturday by first taking the 43 double decker bus to London Bridge where we got off and walked to Borough market. These are truffles.

Loads of cheese!

I know about sea salt but I didn't know there were so many kinds. There were about 5 kinds here.

Turkish delight are the pick squares in the background of this picture. We got samples. Not bad but not as wonderful as Edmund in The Witch, The Lion, and The Wardrobe went on about.

Another shot of the Turkish delight

2009-01-09T23:14:00.003Z

I think this sample was a chocolate covered raspberry?

Sylvia looks like she is demanding to try something in the back.

After leaving the market, we walked on the South Bank walk and it was a beautifully sunny day although it was quite cold. This is St Pauls shot from the bridge.

As we got close to West Minister, the sun was setting.

When we got home we played some scrabble. Sylvia must have felt I take too long to figure out my next move so here she is working on the hat that she made for Ed.

Christmas Day Feast & Boxing Day walk

2008-12-29T22:47:00.002Z

On Christmas Day the LMC, which was only three of us, hosted a meal for Christmas. There were the three of us, and friend of Dora-Marie's, four from Church, a church members mother, and two girls from the Radical Journey unit in Bradford, north England. You can see the crackers by everyones plate.

Getting the food ready in the kitchen. I'm fixing the last dish, the mashed potatoes. One of the Brits was disappointed that I made mashed potatoes as they are used to having roasted potatoes. Turkey is about the only thing we have in common with the Brits. Other things that are traditional for them.....Brussel Sprouts (how is that a treat?) bread sauce, and Christmas pudding (Blech!) They don't do pumpkin things. So we had a little of both. I made the traditional turkey, mashed potatoes, corn casserole, Dora-Marie made a jello salad and celery with dip, and I made a pumpkin dessert and yeast rolls. The Brits brought brussel sprouts, parsnips, carrotts, and Christmas pudding.

This is Rachel Goering from Newton, KS and Kristen Leichty from Albany, OR. They are doing a one year term at the Radical Journey unit in Bradford, England.

On Boxing Day, Ed and I took the tube to Southwest London to Richmond and took a walk around. This is a lending library on the far left, and a theatre in the centre. Peter Pan was the play during the holiday season. It's traditional to have what they call "Pantos" during the holidays. They do the same ones every year. Often they are done up as a comedy and many of the female parts are played by men dressed as women. For instance, Cinderella is always done and the step sisters are always men in drag as well as the step mother. Peter Pan is another one, also Jack and the Bean stalk and a more serious one is A Christmas Carol.

We walked along the Thames in Richmond. It was cold but very sunny and pretty.

The area we are in is quite posh. This is a garden that opened up to the path we were on.

This is a little cafe which you get to under the bridge. You can see the arch in the background which is where the cafe is. These people are enjoying the sun and sipping on hot drinks.

A busker earning some money.

My new hat! That day I really appreciated it as it was cold and a bit windy.

Saturday before Christmas

2008-12-25T00:40:00.002Z

Ed & I set out last Saturday to another market we hadn't been to yet. This one is called Borough Market just off the South Bank walk along the Thames. I hear that it is normally busy but we could hardly move! Since it was the week before Christmas was most likely the reason. This market has been around for a long time. There are a lot of vendors selling wild game and other meats, plenty of fruit and veg stands, pastries and other baked goods, teas, coffees, flowers, plants, no clothing at this market.

A tea shop across from the market.

2008-12-25T00:16:00.002Z

This is the Charles Dickens Coffee House named such because Charles Dickens lived in the rooms above it for about 20 years. The small round blue plaque on the building has his name and dates that he lived there. This is right across from the market.

Tons of fruit and veg to be had.

This was all dried fruit.

The market came complete with a salvation army band playing carols.

The picture below was a shop close by that had nothing but tea cups & saucers, tea pots, and other tea paraphernalia.

LMC staff Christmas lunch & some keepers

2008-12-17T21:14:00.003Z

We have been having internet problems....again...at the LMC which has prevented me adding to the blog. Two years ago I barely even did email and now I use the computer & internet for 3/4 of my job and a lot outside of my job. I've learned that people really get cranky when the computers or internet goes down. We had our annual staff Christmas lunch complete with "crackers". I described them last year and hope you can remember what crackers are. That's where the paper crowns come from. There are about three staff members that couldn't make it and Ed is taking the picture. After lunch we had a nice walk through a local park, then back to the Centre where we exchanged gifts and played charades. Dora-Marie, the one in the red hat in the fore front is leaving in the middle of January. She will take a 3/4 time position with MCC Canada in Montreal where she will work as program director. She will be greatly missed. She was our Interfaith, Peace & Justice Liaison. She got to get out the most, interacting with interfaith, peace & Justice groups. She has the "What is a Mennonite" speech down pat as she was asked to give it frequently. She had Ed's name for the gift exchange and he got a beautiful knitted red and white scarf which we had all been coveting while she had been making it, thinking that it was for a friend at home.

Ed has been working on going through a bunch of his digital photos on the computer and putting ones he is especially fond of in a folder that shows up as a screen saver. The type of screen saver that shows different pictures in a folder like a slide show. Here are two of them.

This was taken in Harper, Kansas sometime before 2007 out on our (then) front lawn looking West at the sunset. It must be winter as there are no leaves on the trees.

This one was taken around 2003 or 2004 in May during tornado season also outside of our house in Harper. There had been a lot of rain, wind, etc. and we had gone outside to look as all was quiet. We could hear a whirring sound above and when we looked up we saw this long skinny twisting rope-like tornado or something like it. It was strange as it was perfectly quiet and calm on the ground and this thing just passed over us looking like an umbilical cord. In true fashion, all the neighbors were out gawking at it instead of being sheltered in their basements.

2008-12-07T00:26:00.001Z

This is Johnny Amobi. I tried to add this picture to the end of the next entry entitled LMC Christmas Open House but it doesn't seem to want to show up. So here it is. You'll have to read about it at the end of the entry.

Leaf raking day & LMC Christmas Open House

2008-12-07T00:17:00.002Z

Saturday 6 December was our annual LMC Christmas Open House which starts off with a leaf raking and general garden clean up. Last year it rained miserably and we were not able to have the garden clean up. However, it was much nicer today. We had at least 10 or more show up to help. I was worried that I wouldn't have enough soup for everyone but I even had some left over. Here they are starting out.

This is team LMC practicing for a new summer Olympic sport called synchronised raking.

More synchronised raking.

"All for one and one for all!"

2008-12-07T00:03:00.003Z

Here are Emilie, Dora-Marie and Sharon doing the smashing of the leaves, similar to the smashing of the grapes. The cage that Ed made for all the leaves wasn't big enough and so we had to have them trample them to fit in.

Janelle and Dora-Marie are putting the final touches onto the cookies before setting them out for the crowd.

In the lounge we had whole cloves for sticking into oranges, popcorn & cranberries for stringing, and various other things to make for the tree.

Down in the lower level next to the kitchen is where the serious cookie eaters and punch drinkers were hanging out.

For some reason this picture won't show up unless you click on the red x in the upper left corner.

Our neighbor Johnny Amobi entertained us with three songs. Johnny is a professional singer and actor. He has done a number of things in the West End (Same as Broadway except in London) and now makes his money with his voice. He was really good and we were left wanting more. He promised to do a benefit for us this summer in our back garden.

A visit; a photo exhibit; quaint cafe's; Camden Town!

2008-11-30T13:44:00.003Z

Last week we had a visit from Luke & Luciana Thornton from Anthony, KS. Luke works at Harper Industries where Ed used to be. Luke was in Europe for work related things and was able to bring his wife, Luciana, with him. He and Luciana married in August (I think that's right). Luciana is in her last year of Pharmacy school, doing her rotations at hospital pharmacy's. She has November and December off and so was able to join Luke on this trip. We had spent the day at Spitalfields market, a place where there are mostly clothing items designed and constructed by the people who are in the stalls. Some of the designers "make it" and move on to a better venue and others are hoping for the same. Luciana was excited to find a man who was showing wool coats that she liked. He didn't have her size so he fitted her and said he would have it done in 48hrs and meet them at the train station before they were to head home.

Ed & I went to our third Photography exhibition at the Natural History Museum. Shell sponsors this competition where the photography is of wildlife and has different age categories. One of my favorites was actually in the 10-15 year old category. After seeing the exhibit, we stopped at a French cafe for these large coffee's....I actually had hot chocolate. A very nice way to warm up out of the cold drizzle.

On our way home, we stopped at the Camden Town Markets. Every time I go, which has been about six times now, I find another part of the market that I haven't seen before. Here we are under the streets and canals where there are small little stalls along long hallways. We were able to pick up a couple of Christmas presents.

Autumn leaves

2008-11-24T00:16:00.002Z

Now that the leaves are mostly shed from the trees we can see Whittington hospital from our back yard. This is where we go to give blood, do lab work, or to be seen in the A&E (accident & emergency).

Ed and I worked in the garden on Saturday raking the leaves. It's a big job as we have so many trees. I helped for awhile but my arms felt like they were screaming so I had to quit sooner than Ed.

Other than the fallen leaves, it doesn't really look like Autumn. Many of the shrubs will retain their leaves all winter here.

I don't know if I ever have showed a picture of our train in our back garden. Somewhere along the years past, someone decided to shape the hedge into this train. It used to be a couple of feet taller but I told Ed it was too dangerous to trim and made him shorten it up.

House in the Rockies available!

2008-11-17T13:40:00.004Z

I just realized that some of the comments that have been entered on some older posts was not published correctly and they aren't showing in the comment section. Sorry about that to you who sent those in. They are now published.

If anyone knows of a family, couple, or a single person who would like to live in a new home in the Colorado Rockies for a year or so then have them contact us. We thought we had someone who was going to live there from Jan 09 for a year but that has not panned out. We would really love to have someone live there to take care of the place. We do have two families that look in on it regularly but it is so much better if someone is actually living there. We would rather have someone we know or at least someone we know, knows. All we ask is for them to take care of it and to pay the utility bills. No rent other than upkeep. So if you know of anyone that needs time off, a sabbatical, a change of scenery, even if it's not for the whole year we would welcome people for a few weeks, months, or whatever.

Just know that it is also available for vacations. We would require that you leave it clean (launder your sheets & towels and remake the beds) and general clean up (vacuuming, put dishes away, clean bathrooms). Get in contact with us via email: ed55shirk@yahoo.com

November 15th...a special day.

2008-11-15T22:52:00.003Z

First off....Happy Birthday to my oldest sister Rosie!

We have been rather busy at the Centre and so have not been out and about to take any pictures lately. Besides the guest rooms getting a lot of use, the Prayer Hut and Library have been busier than usual. There have been different groups using our meeting space and we have had several seminars recently. We have been "on duty", 24/7 for several weeks now. But, we meet such wonderful people that, what we do, doesn't always feel much like work.

Ed has been working on the Centre's fund raising campaign and filling in as co director while the director and his wife are in North America on a three month assignment for Mission Network. That plus all his regular jobs. I've tried to help him some with the yard work which has left me with some sore muscles. With all these trees the leaf raking is a constant job.

I wish we had more guest room space as I have to turn people away frequently. There are many people who are on their way to or from mission assignments that need to stay over in London. It's always interesting to hear their stories.

We only have 15 months left on our term here in London, so if anyone of our readers from home were planning on visiting, make your plans soon!

Fireworks

2008-11-10T21:05:00.004Z

Guy Fawkes Day has come and gone, and there were some spectacular fireworks at a nearby palace but we knew that there would be thousands and thousands of people there and I didn't want to be shoulder to shoulder with them. So we climbed up on our roof and watched them from there. We couldn't hear the music but we could see them fairly well.

When we took a trip to York this summer we found the house that Guy Fawkes was born in.

The weather here has been dreary and rainy. Very much what I thought London would be like but hasn't been until the last six months.

We had Krista Ehst over for supper tonight. She is a Goshen College Graduate from Pennsylvania who is here for six months doing an internship with the Anabaptist Network. The Franconia conference has sent her to work with and report on the Urban Expression churches and their outreaches in East London. These are missional churches that are trying to draw in new people to Christ as well as those who have become disillusioned with the institutional church. The hope is for her to take some of these ideas back to the States to see if they will work there.

Victoria & Albert Museum

2008-11-06T18:00:00.003Z

The London Mennonite Centre is a charity. And as with many charities, there are times when the bottom line doesn't look so good. Such is the case with the LMC. The programmes and activities at the Centre have changed and taken on different forms over it's 55 year history and now the Board of Trustees are having to make some decisions as to how the Centre can run more efficiently.

There are many people who have been positively affected by the LMC and want to see it continue. We are hoping for a positive response to our fund raising appeal that we are sending out this month and we covet your prayers for this appeal and for our staff, trustees, and programmes.

Here are a few pictures from a recent trip to the V&A (Victoria & Albert) museum in London. This is from the stained glass room.

This is an artists sculpture of Samson slaying the thousand men with the jawbone of a donkey at Ramath Lehi (Judges 15)

Daily prayers and a surprise snow fall.

2008-11-01T17:08:00.004Z

Monday through Friday we have a short time of what we call Prayers. Right before lunch anyone in the house is welcomed to attend. We usually have a liturgical reading followed by prayers and end with a blessing. We take turns leading this and Phyllis is doing her part on this particular week.

We had a surprise last Thursday with some snow. It has been rare that London gets snow at all and especially as early as October. It was quite beautiful however. The past couple of weeks has given Ed and I plenty of opportunities to have theological discussions on many levels. We've had one of the LMC's counsel members visiting our library in preparation for a seminar he is speaking at and over coffee and tea breaks there have been good discussions. We've had numerous guests that have also joined in on our break times which have led to talks about their work for the church and a few days ago a guest that talked about why he has left the church. He is from Northern Ireland and it was intriguing to visit with him about his views and to answer all his questions about the Mennonites and Anabaptism.

October happenings

2008-10-29T22:19:00.002Z

This is outside of our bedroom on the small balcony.

Here we are having a coffee with John and Naomi Lederach at Kenwood House. John & Naomi were at the LMC doing a project for the Board of Trust of the LMC for about four weeks and we had a great time with them while they were here. They are now back in Goshen where they live.

Ed & I took a leisurely walk along the South Bank of the Thames a few weeks ago. Ed is enjoying the music.

More pictures from Slovenia and an interesting question.

2008-10-25T21:10:00.005+01:00

When you work at a resource Centre that has theologins hanging around studying and such, you are most likely going to come into contact with these people during the course of the day. Today out of the blue, one of these types stopped me in the lobby and asked me "okay Phyllis, just off the top of your head without thinking about the question much, what would you say is the problem with the church"? Of course I couldn't give an answer without asking a question which he didn't want but I asked "the Mennonite church or the 'church' in general? I guess the church in general, he says.
So what would you say? My latest 'religous' type book that I've been reading I'm sure had a large influence on my answer. The book is The shaping of things to come by Michael Frost & Alan Hirsch. It talks about Innovation and Mission for the 21st century Church. So having to say something quickly I said that I felt the church has a tendency to be too institutional and not enough mission focused.

So let me know what you think.

Just some pictures I like

2008-10-22T23:16:00.002+01:00

These are a few pictures that I don't think I have put on the blog but I like them and they are more "artsy" type pictures.

They were all taken on our trip to Slovenia.
With all the busy-ness here I have still been able to find time to do some mind stimulating reading....something other than a novel. There is a lot of seminars and books in the UK about "The Emerging Church". The book I'm reading now...The shape of things to come...is about this Emerging Church. The idea of church being missional rather than institutional. I'm only a short way through but the ideas are very provoking. I'd be interested in hearing from any of you who have read anything on this subject.

Autumn 2008 programmes & etc.

2008-10-18T17:58:00.003+01:00

This Autumn at the LMC has been quite busy and sometimes it's hard to believe that it's late October. We've had two Cross-Currents seminars at the Centre. September 27 we hosted representatives from three organizations working to reduce violence in Israel: Christian Peacemaker Teams, Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine Israel, and the International Solidarity Movement. The tag line....Violence is never the only way.

Then on 11 October two representatives of "Workshop" presented a taster day. Workshop is a one year long Christian learning programme where you commit one weekend a month to this programme.

A new Christian training programme called Crucible has begun which meets for three different weekends and has a different emphasis each time: "Creating New Churches" "The Urban Challenge" & "Emerging Church".

The Bridge Builders' department has begun their revised course this week "Transforming Church Conflict", which anyone can attend but mostly it is geared towards church workers.
I personally do a lot of administrative work for the Bridge Builders department so along with that, the guest rooms upkeep, and meals for the seminars & courses held at the Centre, I have been quite busy.

Ed has been busy helping to create a new fund raising brochure, all the usual work he does around the centre, plus stepping in as co-director while Vic & Kathy Thiessen have gone back to North America for three months.

The past three weeks, John & Naomi Lederach have been at the Centre conducting a project for the Board of Trustees. They have now completed the project (they worked very hard on this) and now will use the next 3-4 days to see some of London. It has been a very special treat for us to have them around, getting reacquainted and doing fun things with them.

We've been here for more than 20 months now and in some ways I am just starting to feel in the groove with respect to many things. The work at the Centre continues to increase year after year which has put more work onto the host couple. In the past it has often been a couple of retirement age with Ed & I being the youngest couple there has been. Some days I don't feel so young, especially after a full day of cooking and providing breaks, etc for seminars.

The directors position has evolved as well where the director is expected to wear many hats. Before long they will start to look for the future host couple (to start 2010) as well as the future director (summer 2010). Your prayers are greatly appreciated with respect to the future applicants for these two positions.

Julian Alps and Vintgar Gorge

2008-10-13T19:40:00.002+01:00

The Martens had to take off for Germany as they were flying out of a different airport than us so we were on our own the last day. We took a drive through the Julian Alps (named after Julius Caesar) and a walk through the Vintgar Gorge, both fairly close to the Lake Bled area. Here we are at the summit of Vrsic Pass of the Julian Alps. On the way we passed through what was once a leading winter resort and still a popular place with Croatian skiers and saw the worlds biggest ski jump. They still hold the ski-flying world championships every year.
A shot of Mount Triglav. We drove back to the Lake Bled area to the entrance of Vintgar Gorge. We got out of the car and paid a few Euros to walk along the wall of the gorge for about a mile.
These pictures just don't do it justice. The water was so crystal clear and the color was the most beautiful blues and greens.
There are a lot more pictures of this gorge with waterfalls, etc but it would take up too much room!
It was really a peaceful, awe inspiring walk. This was nature at it's best.

Lake Bled

2008-10-09T00:08:00.002+01:00

After two days in Piran on the Slovenian coast, we drove north to Lake Bled. This is a glacier fed lake that had the most beautiful blue/green water. I love this picture. It just looks very serene.
These boats were available to take a ride to the church on the island out in the lake.
This is the castle on Lake Bled that over look the lake and the surrounding terrain.
One of the many pictures we took of the area around Lake Bled from the castle.
Ed soaking in the view of Lake Bled.

A Drive into Croatia: The village of Rovinj

2008-10-04T14:00:00.003+01:00

The day after we checked into our hotel in Piran, Slovenia we took a drive into Croatia since it was so close. Since Croatia is not yet part of the EU, (set to join in April 2009) they have different currency and we had to go through border patrol. The patrol was very relaxed and Croatia didn't even stamp or look in our passports. Croatia's currency is the Kuna. I took out 300 Kuna at an ATM which amounted to about 45 pounds or roughly 75 to 80 dollars. We passed vineyards along the way to the coastal town of Rovinj (roh-VEEN) heavy with fruit. They were in the middle of harvest. That was fun to watch.
Here is the village of Rovinj. That's Weldon taking in the view. The upper part of the coastline which also includes Slovenia was a part of Venetian rule for 5 centuries. So the area has a lot of that influence. All the guide books say it's very Venetian. I've not been to Venice but it does look like the Venice you see in movies and pictures. I was able to see Venice from the bell tower of the church we climbed up in to using the telescope.
A bountiful fruit and veg market.
This is a typical street throughout the village. Vehicles do go through these now and then. We had to plaster ourselves up against the wall one time to let a mini van through.
This is an artists studio. When you look through the door you see the sea through the window.

Piran, Slovenia

2008-10-01T19:09:00.004+01:00

These pictures are a bit out of order. The blog is "acting up" and they don't appear as I thought I had them. From our hotel, there was a nice path that followed the coast line into the town of Piran. We walked through narrow lanes with 3-4 story houses and stores on both sides with laundry hanging out and flowers draping over the window boxes. When we rounded a corner this is the large plaza that unfolded. Evidently the harbour, which is just beyond in this picture, used to come into this area (the part that now has the shiny surface). But they said it always smelled too bad so they had it filled in. Since it was Sunday evening and a bit past the tourist season, things were slow. But it was beautiful all the same. This was one of Jenny's favorite places.
Here is a view of the plaza from the church courtyard. You can see the harbour beyond.
Weldon and I are in the church courtyard looking over the town. Weldon is consulting the ever useful 'Rick Steves' Croatia & Slovenia guide book. It was very useful. I highly recommend the Rick Steves' books for travellers.
This is the path we walked along to get to the town.
Well it's not a Kansas sunset but it was pretty all the same.

Seminar at The London Mennonite Centre

2008-09-28T19:17:00.002+01:00

On Saturday we had our first Autumn Cross-Currents seminar. These are one day seminars that are at the Centre which most have an Anabaptist related topic to them. This one was called: Walking Alongside: Alternative Methods of Nonviolent Accompaniment in Israel/Palestine. Three different organisations sent a representative to talk: 1) Christian Peacemaker Teams 2) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine Israel & 3) International Solidarity Movement.

Things went very well but I was tired after a day of cooking and serving food. It's good to meet the people putting on the seminars as well as the participants.

John and Naomi Lederach from Goshen, IN are here for three weeks to do a project for the LMC. It's been nice having them here. Naomi was one of my nursing instructors at Hesston College and we had several classes under John at Hesston.

The next few blog entries will be more of our trip to Slovenia.

From Vienna, Austria to Piran, Slovenia

2008-09-28T18:28:00.002+01:00

After a day and a half in Vienna, we caught a train (with only 30 seconds to spare!) and headed south to Slovenia. Here's Weldon & Jenny relaxing. They were slumming it with the Shirks as they had a rail pass that was good for first class but we didn't so they decided they wanted to talk with us on the six hour train trip so they came down in the world to coach.
Here is some of the beautiful countryside we saw on the train ride. I'm not sure if this is Austria or Slovenia. Both are very green with lots of mountains.
After arriving in Ljubljana, Slovenia, we took a bus to the airport, rented a car and drove to the coast to a Hotel just outside of Piran.
Here is Hotel Fiesa where we stayed for two nights.
Here is one of the fishing boats right outside of our Hotel. We were right on the coastline. We could hear the lapping of the waves all night long. That makes for great sleeping.

Vienna, Austria

2008-09-26T21:34:00.003+01:00

Ed and I took off on Friday morning for the airport and flew to Vienna where we met up with Weldon and Jenny Martens who had been in northern Austria for the last 5 days. We strolled around Vienna getting a feel for the flavor of Vienna. We had a nice pasta meal and headed for bed for a full day of sightseeing the next day.
It was unseasonably cold but we made the most of it. This is the outside of the Opera house. And this is the inside of the opera house. The bust of Mozart along with a number of others are in the lobby area.
Here is Weldon and Jenny at the end of the tour in the performance hall.
A beautiful cathedral in the middle of the city.
Vienna has lots of museums and statues.
We were really tired at the end of the day but had a great meal at a restaurant recommended by the hotel we were staying at and had lots of good conversation with old friends. Vacations don't get much better. More to come.....next....Piran, Slovenia.

See you in a week!

2008-09-18T21:22:00.003+01:00

No we're not trying to pretend we are in Colorado!

Even though the summer here has been cool, now that late September is here, it definitely feels like Autumn. More of a crisp in the air.

I haven't needed to cook for a group in awhile and today was my first in awhile. Our Bridge Builders department had a workshop today and I am tired! Ed and I are leaving for a week. We will meet Weldon and Jenny Martens, who have been in Germany for a week, in Vienna on Friday. We will take in Slovenia as well so we are excited. We can only be away for a week but it will really be nice to catch up with old friends.

So I won't blog for another week. See you then!

Last day of our Wales Trip

2008-09-16T22:18:00.002+01:00

I realized that I didn't put up the pictures of our last day in Wales the end of August. This is the Berkeley Castle. The oldest Castle in Britain to be lived in by the same family for nearly 900 years. History: Where King Edward II was murdered; where the Barons of the West Country gathered before Magna Carta; where Queen Elizabeth hunted and played bowls....
This ancient building, and the family who live here, have been touched by almost every major historic event throughout the last millennium: the Battles of Agincourt, Flodden and Cullodden, the American War of Independence, the first American Thanksgiving, and Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, written for a Berkeley wedding.
Berkeley College in California was named after this family or something like that.

There was a butterfly house close by which was a part of the grounds.

Flash to the past...

2008-09-12T20:25:00.003+01:00

Harper Industries, where Ed was Sales Manager in Harper, sent one of their sales managers and the engineering manager to an outdoor maintenance show near Windsor, England where they were showing some of their lawn maintenance equipment. It's a fairly short train ride from London so Ed took the train to meet them there and play at his old job. It was mostly equipment like lawn mowers, lawn vacs, etc. Here though is a company that make STURDY outdoor exercise equipment. I think it's great!

I think it's great that they don't always use a sexy looking girl on the demo pictures, instead using this stud.
I'm glad Harper Industries never made Ed wear things like this when he went to shows. They look like circus parade Marshall's.
And of course they all have to stick their heads under the hoods.....or bonnet as they say here.

Watching American Politics

2008-09-10T13:53:00.002+01:00

JUST SOME OBSERVATIONS

It has been interesting following the United States' presidential campaign in another country. What I have observed is that if the rest of the world could vote, Barack Obama would win in a landslide. They seem to sense that Obama would have a better sense of how to treat alliances and global institutions. Even after being here just a short while, I felt some anti-Americanism mostly due to the US international policies....a feeling that we don't really listen to the rest of the world but instead use a heavy hand to push through American agenda. Here is an excerpt from Jonathan Freedland, an editorialist for the Guardian which is the main newspaper in London & Manchester, UK.
"Until now, anti-Americanism has been exaggerated and much misunderstood: outside a leftist hardcore, it has mostly been anti-Bushism, opposition to this specific administration. But if McCain wins in November, that might well change. Suddenly Europeans and others will conclude that their dispute is with not only one ruling clique, but Americans themselves. For it will have been the American people, not the politicians, who will have passed up a once-in-a-generation chance for a fresh start - a fresh start the world is yearning for."
He goes on to say that it will look bad if Americans vote against Obama because of his color. "For America to make a decision as grave as this one - while the planet boils and with the US fighting two wars - on the trivial basis that a hockey mom is likable and seems down to earth, would be to convey a lack of seriousness, a fleeing from reality."
He goes on to say...."what does this say about America"......that the world's esteem is now unwanted? If Americans reject Obama, they will be sending the clearest possible message to the rest us (the world), and make no mistake, we shall hear it."