Off to England!

The End of this blog and a new beginning...

2009-06-04T17:49:00.000-07:00

If you click on the title of this post, you will be linked to the blog that officially takes the place of this one. Off to England is in the laborious (but most enjoyable) process of becoming a blurbed hardcover book. This blog should have really been limited to my Once in a Lifetime trip to England but it morphed into something much more to me. I've re-discovered a serious love for journalling - incorporating a passion for photography and more recently, grandchildren (!) all of which makes this forum simply irresistible. So this summer, I hope to put the finishing touches on my book and then I will be closing down this blog and continuing with This Pilgrim's Progress. I thank you for visiting and look forward to keeping in touch with you 'over there'.

Pictured above is a beautiful heirloom quality book by John Bunyan, featuring the inspiration of my new blog name. Below, you get a peek inside the covers where a large, luscious font delivers the Old English story in its original form. Next to the Bible, it is considered one of the most widely read books - throughout the last few centuries-

It easily makes my top three choices for the next extended read-a-thon.

WHEN??? she wails pathetically.

Poor Christian with that symbolic burden on his back!

A regular visitor to our daily stock of cat food. We have a big bossy Blue-Jay swooping in daily for his fair share as well. Obviously, I had no idea what I was starting when I began this feline mission post!

It was definitely a Crock kind of day - we (the fabulous five grandbabes plus my daughter) were outdoors for most of it, blowing bubbles and generally soaking up the sun.

A scraped knee is positively calamitous until

Curious George pops out of the First Aid Kit.

....Oh, AND another trip to the pond WITH Hippo for good measure!

Blowing bubbles with one hand...capturing the bubble dance by camera with the other.....you get the idea? It didn't seem to diminish the excitement one iota.

Synopsis of Sorts

2009-06-04T10:06:00.000-07:00

The three musketeers came by invitation for a two night sleepover.... here's a pictorial tour of our first day together - which was beautiful and breezy by all accounts!

Well, well. We seem to be no worse for wear considering that two of the three got up around midnight for some TLC.

I made the mistake of mentioning pancakes for breakfast. With chocolate chips.

Micah has the sort of recall that makes an elephants memory seem infantile.

Also mentioned 'in passing' was a possible trip to the pond fountain after breakfast. I had no idea that wee man Micah could scarf down a pancake like that! The journey to the front of the property was waylaid momentarily at the sight of this shovel - apparently begging to be used.

Rachel loves the courtyard gates as much as I do. She could have played the proverbial gate-keeper all day had I not mentioned one other thing to them....

Okay, so here's the proof - I keep my promises when I'm 'reasonably' able - he got his five minute awe with the fountain. Still keeping a highly cautious distance from the 'shoreline'.

Also per typical, Danielle threw caution to the wind and needed to be chased more than once!

Then I reminded the munchkins that we were going to visit Diana for cookies and juice in the office andthat set them off at a dangerous clip toward the house again.

Nothing like snacks to gain compliance and did you know that grandmothers have "license to abuse all known house rules" written right in their contracts?! :)

One last 'kick at the can' for the Rachinator with Mr. Mischief right beside!

They all have this uncanny sense of GPS on locating this Diana lady of ours....I actually had to run to keep up for crying out loud!

Ahhh.....she even had SPECIAL ginger smiley face cookies for the occasion. What a great gal!

We really enjoyed playing boss-man in Grandpa's absence. Hee-hee.

Yep. Rachel always goes for that extra touch of authenticity!

Much to my delight, our grandkids are thoroughly intrigued with the Aslan type figure-head on office wall. He adores it but 'respects' it enough to not want to go anywhere near it without adult supervision.

A thankful goodbye to our gracious host

And of course, we could not leave without a run through the shop. A supervised run, yes.

This Pilgrim's Progress

2009-04-05T16:23:00.000-07:00

Finally, something new to read, please enjoy. Plenty of pic's coming down the pipe too!

Tailgate Party for Tots

2009-03-07T15:10:00.001-08:00

March 6, 2009 was a record breaking day.

17 celsius is the warmest it's been since daily temps have been recorded.

I had the pleasure of hosting three grandchildren for a few nights.

We took advantage of the weather and made for the outdoors in a hurry...

The last of the snow piles in our yard...it must look a bit mountainous yet to these little guys.

They certainly weren't too eager to climb it!

That triple runabout stroller is a riot to maneauvour. Seriously, Rachel could handle it no problems and she made sure she had the chance.

You can see Micah trailing in the distance; he didn't want to have any part of that tom-foolery!

Since I was the one in charge of laundry anyway - I let them discover the joys of puddle-jumping. Both of them were a trifle hesitant to "just git in there and go for it".

Pfft! Did they think I was going to demonstrate for them first?

Our first official tailgate party. A good time was had by all, including grams who sat on one end with a camera around her neck, sipping a Tim's coffee thoughtfully supplied by her son.

We wiled away two hours in the great tepid outdoors

before retreating inside for our lunch and naptime...

Oddly, the twins were just getting fired up! They spent close to an hour rough-housing in this chair together, giggling hysterically while Danielle played nearby - giving them the occasional glance of indifference. It was very amusing to observe.

Ah...warmed bottles and jeans almost thru the dry cycle.

What a great way to cap the morning!

Potty Training

2009-03-07T14:38:00.000-08:00

Jules - the thoughtful and wise one is undergoing the potty training regiment.

Her mom is diligent in this matter and has met with success - using stickers and a chart for positive reinforcement and rewarding "jobs" well done! :)

Today, I had the distinct pleasure of having my gaggle of grand-babies all in one spot together.

Julsie - being so motherly in nature - took it upon herself to encourage her cousin to this new stage of maturity. Micah, in his typical boyish manner, was on the Fisherprice cell-phone, telling mommy (and anyone else who would listen) all about it

...undoubtedly, a ploy to spare him from a similar attempt.

I simply could not resist making a digital record of the drama as it unfolded.

The Fabulous Five

2009-03-07T13:46:00.000-08:00

Here they are, from the eldest to the youngest....five of the most wonderful little people currently part of my existence and better still, pieces of my heart.

Micah Levi: Little in body - Big on imp-ness

Rachel Yvonne: Secure and Sweet of personality

Juliana Christine: Thoughtful and wise

Danielle Justine: A Beauty not to be left behind OR overlooked!

Elyse Joanne: DNA of such great delight!

Passive or Proactive...what are you?

2009-02-26T12:56:00.001-08:00

Link: Expelled No Intelligence Allowed

Explanation to follow tonight - but first!...I'm going to enjoy the tepid, almost balmy temperatures outdoors and go for a long walk with my beloved. See ya'll later!

...several hours later.

By the way, last week, my Word of the Day taught me at long last, what "dot dot dot" is officially called: An ellipsis!

So,now we both know. (Don't you feel better about yourself?)

Not only have I enjoyed a lovely walk in the interim, but had it capped with a dinner date at Canyon Creek to boot! Spoiled rotten I am and I know it. It was most enjoyable to fellowship around the table with all our kids again - a tradition fast approaching extinction as each one enters adulthood. *sigh*

But I promised an explanation of this odd, seemingly 'out of the blue' post and I shall preface it with an anecdote of my past.

Many years ago I treated the kids to a day at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto.

It began with an elaborate, limited-time special exhibit on dinosaurs. It was a fascinating & serious thrill marred only by the overt and shameless propagation of the evolution theory. The "silence" of any other plausible theory in this display was deafening - at least for those with ears to hear it. I remember feeling angry that my childrens' innocence was being thus manipulated. The attendant for this exhibit merely shrugged his shoulders when queried. This bugged me even more.

In England this past summer, where I had the privilege of attending the remarkable C.S. Lewis Summer Institute to sit under the tutelage of many fine scholars of both Oxford and Cambridge - aka two institutions of the finest "seats of learning", Darwinism reared it's ugly head once again. Let me quickly clarify that it was exposed but not supported by this conference.

My naive notion that our civilized society of the free west had at least put it in its proper place - that of being only one of the theories about the origin of life - was painfully dispelled.

On the contrary, I discovered that a certain Richard Dawkins, today's foremost militant atheist is defending the outdated Darwinian worldview with a belligerence that borders on hysterical. In the media, he is commonly referred to as Darwin's Rottweiler.

Do yourself a huge favour...pour yourself a drink, sit down and watch the video.

Then press the link above, do some research and think about in which camp you belong, the passive or proactive one.

Expelled Trailer

Going - going - gone...

2009-02-20T18:35:00.000-08:00

Just one question. What's with a 'civilized' society that goes to absurd lengths to protect the asexual turtle egg from harm but can slaughter a human being without any penalty up to moments before his birth??? God have mercy on us here in the 'free' west.

Same deal here. An injured coromant rec'd plenty of attention and concern from the beach public. Someone was fiercely standing guard over it until the wildlife protection agency could be summoned to pick it up and nurse it back to health. I'm all for stewardship of environment and natural habitat but when it comes to regard for human life - where's the balance?

Sorry, more wave photography. I couldn't help myself.

A vast expanse of rippled sand testifies to our wind today.

Oops. More shots featuring ocean. What can I say? It features rather large in my idea of a great holiday.

Sandcastle shots I am posting strictly for the pleasure of my friend Lilly. Enjoy! :)

Kinda reminiscent of Lord of the Rings for some odd reason. Helm's Deep maybe?

Art and Jackie - parents of our crazy cousin Kelly. What a nice addition to our company this week.

And now the day is done. Time to head for home and start that unfortunate thing called packing.

Making its circuit

2009-02-19T12:03:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love the ocean.

Art and Jackie took us out for a fancy steak dinner last night but before loading into the van for that fine adventure, we seized the chance to catch another sunset.

All good things come to an end.

I know that and I gladly accept returning to a new normal once again.

But I will really miss the ocean just the same.

I love walking in it and watching it.

I love the way the waves roar and foam and roll over in great green/blue curls.

Sometimes its very calm but the wind today was enough to bring out the surfers and wind boarders in full force. The kite enthusiasts are a special breed and because of the great expanse of this beach - plentiful as well.

I don't always have the camera attached to me but will make a serious effort to capture that craft on film before I have to leave these sights behind me.

The water temperature may have broken 60 degrees (a die-hard imperialist :) at long last. People are slowly venturing beyond their kneecaps into the froth now.

A heated pool at 86 degrees is by far more appealing for the swimming fix. This pool is covered with a lunai or fine screening - which allows us to open up a whole wall of glass sliding doors (about 25 feet long) to get that lovin' 'outdoor living' feeling.

Not quite the same as camping but an agreeable compromise in my estimation!

One morning I left the house at 6:30am to catch a sunrise.

I had to drive down the road a bit to find a good clearing on the bay side of the island where the sun first makes its daily appearance.

The picture below is one of three bridges I need to travel to get off the south end of the island. It would have been better to take the pedestrian walk to the peak of this bridge to catch it rising over the bay but I chickened out.

Traffic is heavy enough at that time of day to make me re-think the wisdom of putting myself at risk like that. So to all those who like to chide me for "living life on the edge", take note!

A sunrise is every bit as beautiful as a sunset; perhaps even more so because it bestows light instead of darkness. On the other hand, the stars of a black clear night are the express gift of a sunset. Those with eyes to see are blessed either way aren't they?

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.

Uh-huh. Oh yeah. Quite right.

The two crazy ones

2009-02-19T08:08:00.000-08:00

This final week away brought our last group of new visitors including our "baby" girl Catherine and her crazy cousin Kelly with her parents. Since mom is away visiting elsewhere for about five days - it's just been the six of us roaming the house, the beach, the pool and the unforgettable Miromar outdoor shopping complex.

There really is nothing like two winter weary teenagers to spice up the dynamics of our home away from home! They just biked off to get the coveted henna tattoo this morning and Kelly has graciously allowed me to use some of her pictures for this blog post.

With the assistance of some poor passerby on the beach - they took a series of action photos in the setting sun.

Would you believe they've even managed to finagle me into making a trip to the local thrift store for some juicy finds?

Oh, the beautiful bells of St.Peter's are tolling again as I write this!

(There's also someone around here who practices the bagpipes at random times thru-out the day. I enjoyed listening to him tho' it helps that he was obviously an accomplished musician. Memories of my kids in their 1rst year on string instruments rise unbidden to mind :)

Such are the inner courts of the Miromar Outdoor Shopping complex. One cannot really believe the magnitude of it's size or variety of venue's -- suffice to say that you cannot possibly see it all in a day. Did someone say there was a recession here in the USA?

Where?

The poolwater was so dismally neglected that the maintenance people didn't even have to add their weekly chemicals. That all changed when Catherine and Kelly arrived.

Within the first half hour I had to gently remind them to respect the fact that perhaps our neighbours weren't quite as thrilled to see them unwind as we were.

They have the tower room at the front of the house with the spiral staircase. Squeals of delight alerted me to the idea that they kinda liked their private little perch.

A lot of sand toys and beach paraphernalia finally saw the light of day. Who says there's an age limit for that past-time? The attention this little sand kingdom attracted suggests otherwise.

We have certainly been blessed with premium beach walking weather but I don't see anyone swimming in the ocean yet. I suppose that starts in March - we are just at the start of the busiest vacationing season.

Here comes the sun...

2009-02-15T16:45:00.000-08:00

This is an account of one of my walks with grand-daughter Elyse.

She is a three month-old-beauty with tender teething gums (we think) or perhaps a wee thing who knows already what home is and what home is not. At any rate - she has proven to be an outdoor-sy type who enjoys cruising the quiet back-streets with anyone interested in taking her. I took my camera this time wanting to capture this fascinating tree I spotted on an earlier outing & share the find with you on this blog.

So here we are, about to embark on the 4:30pm Save Mom's Sanity walk of the day.

We live in a house off the (in)famous Estero Blvd; a two-lane ocean-front highway running north/south across the island. The only way on and off this island is by a two lane bridge on either end. There are absolutely no shortcuts or detours to be found. Every side street running east/west off this highway are posted as dead-ends or NO OUTLETS (as above).

That is not merely a ploy to keep the local streets clear of traffic - I've walked enough of them by now to know that this is indeed the case. The suburbia off Estero is a mad maze of streets without rhyme or reason - where's the dang compass when you need one?

EVERYONE for miles around comes to the beach on sunny days. The highway starts looking more like a game of bumper cars by late morning and unhappily stays that way for the remainder of the day. Forget about running that quick errand to Publix! -- unless you take a picnic basket of course and are content to spend it trailing behind the pedestrians on the sidewalk next to you. :) It's been so frustrating that I might even resign myself to doing as the Europeans do and start using that rental bike with the big 50's style basket on the front!

Well, this is typical! The stroller hasn't even made it off our own street before L'il Lysie is sawing logs. So much for my grandiose plans of introducing her to the joys of tree identification and appreciation.

This is our home away from home; a one floor bungalow the sprawls all over the place save for a little tower room at the front with the spiral staircase. I confess to being somewhat disappointed at first glance - particularly with its proximity to this ridiculous highway - but I'm over it now.

Yeah. Yeah. You wouldn't put up with my whining anyway :)

The landscape around these parts doesn't impress me much. Or expressed more graciously:

It makes me ever more thankful for the variety of four-seasons and its effect on the landscape.

I love the ocean but I'm content to come visit it once in a while and leave it at that.

Below is the massive multi-stem of a ficus. Fig-tree. I think. I cannot say with any authority but that remains my semi-educated guess.

What does it matter anyway? - Lysie is sound asleep.

But THIS is the baby I came to photograph! Look at this fine speciman of Robinson Crusoe distinction! It has the dark leaf of a fig but the bark of one of my fav's, the London Plane. Half of it seemed to surface a few feet away from the main trunk - a monstrous sideways shoot. Is there an educated guess out there as to its true identity?

Wouldn't this be a perfect tree to grow up with?

I'm so glad the hurricanes of late haven't taken it down. Not that I think something this massive could ever be uprooted but then I speak in ignorance - I've never had to 'batten down the hatches' and secure my home from 200mph gale-force winds either.

There's a Lutheran church (St.Peter's?) nearby with a wondrous bell-tolling spire that plays a hymn like melody every noon and supper hour. *sigh* I would dearly love to wake up every morning to the sound of bells. England was a remarkable experience in that regard.

I'd also love to know the history of the tradition of bell-tolling.

By rights, I should just walk there and see if a human being could enlighten me.

By jove, I think I've just given myself a new mission.

(Little Einsteins anyone?) LOL

Everyone flies a flag. Okay. Every other one flies a flag.

Canadians can learn a thing or two regarding properly placed patriotism.

To be world renowned for passivity doesn't exactly give me any warm and fuzzy feelings.

I nearly choke on the hypocrisy of my 'people' singing their national anthem at the hockey games....."I stand on guard for thee?" Oh please, don't get me started.

Eh?

I think the tree above is a Norfolk Pine. I do recall this as a greenhouse plant - deep green and coniferous. I couldn't keep my house-plants alive for all the sweet talk in the world.

Shucks, it's a good thing my grand-daughter continues to sleep and I don't expose this ignorance of mine.

I think this palm tree is called the Royal Palm. I wish I knew why - but I don't. :)

This over exposed picture doesn't do any justice to the beautiful and unusual torquoise green and span of these palm leaves. I asked the neighbour if they could identify it but alas - her ignorance was even greater than mine. Imagine that.

Most of the houses on and near the beach are on stilts. Their "basement" area double up as a car port and/or sitting area. Kinda smart actually. Hurricanes are still a constant threat here and flooding is the inevitable consequence.

Gecko's abound. We've seen a few cockroaches too. Except in polite company, they are referred to as"Palmetto bugs". We had a "Palm rat" come visit one night too. But looking at the what the trap caught confirms that a rat is really just a rat - unless it's Ratatouille of course!

Turning back up our quiet street. Quiet is a relative term of course. Looking straight down this street you will see the ocean lapping along the ever popular seven mile beach of pristine luxurious sand. But here I am, yapping away while supper beckons!

Pier posing for grandmarmie's camera. Oh how I miss my Jules.

An elderly woman down our street has been feeding these uhm...egrets? and old bearded blue herons for several years. She purportedly knows them individually by name, they will come to her door and take the sardines right from her hand.

Another day is done.

Thanks for coming along - company is always a pleasure.

Gigantuan Sigh :(

2009-02-14T14:24:00.000-08:00

The last of our grandbabes left this morning in the VP group - with son Joel, buddy Adam and my mom in tow. It's disturbingly quiet here.

I am going to greatly miss my morning hugs and random requests for company to the beach.

Gramps stole that final delicious chance to hit the beach with Julsie early this morning while the adults finished up their packing and wouldn't you know it?....

A big frolicking dolphin gave them a little show none too far off the shoreline -- this was the best he could come up with in documenting the event. Unfortunately, he doesn't know where the burst button is for action sequences.

Family Fellowship

2009-02-11T19:15:00.000-08:00

We've rented a sprawling home here that comfortably sleeps 17. With a crowd of 21+ coming and going, we have managed to accommodate everyone and then some. One of the nicest features about this house is its very large dining table (one indoor and one outdoor) and the spacious common area to share our family fests.

The lunai covered pool? -- now that is a serious treat for all!

There is nothing like Little Einstein's from the cozy comfort of Grandpa's lap.

Not showing, is Baby Elyse. She's in the bouncy chair on the floor and makes for five under three around the dinner table. As you can well imagine, this made for some incredibly memorable meals where comfortable routine was simply pitched out the window.

Oh so captial c Crazy....but also the stuff that great memories are made of.

I cracked up when I saw Julsie take to my Ipod like this! I downloaded Dr.Suess' Green Eggs and Ham before I left home thinking it would be a good distraction on the airplane. Turns out to be a great way to spend quiet time too.

Cards and games at the dining room table. *sigh* We've done a ton of that too! You see that little desk in the far corner of room? That's where this beauteous MacBook Pro sits - quickly earning the adoration of every e-mailer in the house -- which is why I am so far behind on my blogging!

You got it right Jules, it's all good here....good to the last drop!

Family Vacation

2009-02-08T20:35:00.000-08:00

We're enjoying the sunny south for a few weeks. This past week was unseasonably cool - most unfortunate for the one family that has already come and gone but I think we succeeded in making the best of it anyway.

Snowbirds that we are, we used the heated pool regardless and even managed a photo shoot on the luxurious beach in shorts and sandals. Locals spot us out easily on account of that....as if they even know what 'cold' really is. Pfft!

Am I having fun?

Here's a pic or two that say it all for me....

On the upside, the cool weather was bonus for shore-fishing. Our son and his fiancee biked all over the place in search of the choicest fishing hole. As a result, our freezer is stocked with a few meals of Sheep-head and spotted sea trout. Yum.

Fun is what you make it eh? Eh? LOL

Below, Diva Julsie enters a restaurant incognito with her designer Winnie the Pooh sunglasses. My mom took the gang out for a seafood dinner at the highly acclaimed Snug Harbor.

As it turns out, her disguise was of little use. In this Floridian retirement zone, children, (and the smaller the better) elicit an inordinate and even laughable amount of attention everywhere they go.

The sun.

It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other;

no thing is hidden from its heat.

Psalm 19:6

This Pilgrim's Progress

2009-01-29T23:15:00.000-08:00

Announcing a new blog on the block!

Just click on the title to find my new place to unload (download? :)

It includes lots of pic's and stories concerning my new main mission....at least for the next little while....

And that happens to be the search for our long lost niece/cousin/grand-daughter Nicole Kristine Peters. The blogosphere opens incredible opportunity to cut through time & distance and (re)introduce ourselves to her through cyberspace.

That is our great hope. That she will find this blog and know for certain that we love her, miss her and have never forgotten Yvonne's beautiful little daughter.

Feeling Euphoric :)

2009-01-27T21:21:00.000-08:00

My new MacBook Pro is a dream. Presumptuously, I loaded it with Adobe Photoshop Elements and am presently glued to the thing - taking a ton of helpful advice and encouragement from daughter Amy as I learn the ropes. This single little page cost me easily 5 hours of time but I am proud none-the-less because it is my very first attempt!

The good news is we are about to embark on a family vacation in Florida. The bad news is, the house we've rented is equipped with WiFi....

Uh, lemme see: swim in the ocean with grandbabies? or digiscrap extensively with Amy? or digiscrap on the beach while Grampa swims with the grandbabies or....

It IS an addiction, isn't it?

Oh the pictures are vintage shots of my siblings (some of them) and myself that I've recently come across.

The black and white on the far left (askew) are the "triplets" my mother had. I was born in the same year as my eldest sibling and my second brother was born 15 months after me! It must have been crazy for my mom but I only remember the time with great fondness. That's me kissing my mom. She's coming to Florida too. I can't wait.

N'other Fork in the Road

2009-01-17T12:07:00.000-08:00

With the savvy and digiscrapping prowess of my daughter Amy, this blog is going to become a fine hardcover blurb book which I hope to enjoy for many years to come. I am thankful for her initiative to offer such a service and wish her blessing and success in the endeavour.

My intention is to carry on with the intrigue for journalling and "scrappin'" in a new blog entitled

This Pilgrim's Progress .

Not too original I know, and you'll discover that for yourself should you ever google it.

Most of what appears is connected in some way to the life and journey of the believer and/or Christ follower and that is my whole point as well. It's a journal of my sojourn but it starts with diary type data from way back.

Travel companions are most welcome.

Pfft!

2009-01-17T05:43:00.000-08:00

I'm annoyed.
About ten days ago I spilled a coffee over my laptop.
I killed it dead. I cannot believe how naive I've been about that inherent danger.
My beloved husband has graciously & speedily enabled me to replace it, this time with a Mac!
The switch has posed many hours of inertia for me reading manuals and pacing myself through myriad tutorials....a strange mix of fun and frustration.
Last night my shiny new (two day old) MacBook Pro froze on me. Froze. I can open the lid and I can manipulate the cursor on the typepad but that's about it.
Another trip to it's place of origin this morning. I'm hoping it's a simple thing to fix.
The launch of my new blog is postponed a little longer. Thanks for your patience, I am definitely learning a thing or two in that department myself.

A Satellite Out of Sync

2009-01-06T19:16:00.001-08:00

Dear readers:
I am both astounded and humbled to see the number of visitors to this blog and am making this 'oh-so-brief' entry to express my appreciation for your patience.....
First of all, our country existence confines us to satellite service for the internet and the winter storms of December did a number to the dish on the roof of an outbuilding on our property.
Without getting too technical, the heavy snow and high winds messed with the alignment and rendered us signal-less for the entire duration of the holidays.
I had hoped to use the holidays to launch my new blog This Pilgrim's Progress.
It is a work in progress (the blog as well as my life :) and I assure you - it is coming soon to a screen near you!
But I am fussing and fretting over the inaugural post - a memorial of my sister Yvonne on the 20th anniversary of her death and the search for her offspring whom we have not seen since she was whisked from the country more than ten years ago.
It's a bit of family history that needs to go public for the sake of justice, but needs to be shared respectful of so many variances.
When the time comes - and I trust it will be soon, (my sister Yvonne died at age 21, January 8, 1989) I will publish a link to the new blog and invite you to walk this new 'bend in the road' along with me and mine.
God bless your life in 2009!

Out of the Womb - Into the World

2008-11-26T20:43:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share with you, the stunning beauty just emerged from her womb...
Elyse Joanne was born last Saturday and makes for an incredibly sweet 8lb.10oz bundle of blessing! Her name means God's promise and her arrival graces this family of ours with five grandchildren though I like to use this moniker while it still fits:
Grandmarmie X7 with two in heaven :)

This is big sister Jules who reportedly is handling the adjustment with style & grace.

I can't help it. I literally laugh out loud every time I look at this picture. Each 'personality' in this candid shot is captured so true!
Five grandbabies.
I am often overwhelmed with gratitude to have so much sweet spice in this life!

Growing Grandbabies

2008-11-17T19:02:00.000-08:00

This is baby Danielle. She turned a year old today. I can hardly believe this even as I write it! Our littlest munchkin grandbaby, a year already! Can you see the mischief in her eyes?

She got her cake and she ate it too. All by herself. Sans candles, yes, of course.

But truly, THIS is our littlest munchkin grandbaby. Soon to greet us face to face, D.V.

*sigh*

All this goodness...our cup overflows!

No apology Apologetics

2008-11-04T14:32:00.000-08:00

It is one thing to be well-read and edified by the apologia of a great Christian thinker-writer-theologian like C.S. Lewis, it is quite another to learn the skill for oneself.
Those who know me well, know that I am seldom without adequate words to express myself and convey my thoughts. I don't like the term "opinionated" but fear that it does describe me none-the-less. A favourite play on words for me is: You are certainly entitled to my opinion!
You would be surprised however (as I often am myself when push comes to shove) and a spontaneous opportunity befalls me, how hard I have to work to make a defense of my strongly held beliefs in a manner that is articulate, methodical and convincing.
I marvel at the concise and engaging manner of apologists like Lewis, Lee Strobel, Ravi Zacharias and so many others. Part of that is divine gifted-ness I know, but ultimately, every believer is mandated to be prepared to give a verbal defense of their faith.
Me? I'd rather cook you a meal.
But God has a sense of humour.
He has a not so subtle way of prodding one off the laurels.
My newest nephew by marriage describes himself as an atheist/agnostic. And he'll tackle anyone who wants to challenge that position.
The time to hone that skill has come upon us. For the love of God and for the love of my new nephew.

A Quandary

2008-10-08T12:38:00.000-07:00

It's been five weeks since my last post on this blog.
I'm in the process of creating a Storybook (using the Creative Memories program) but my progress was seriously curtailed when I decided to experiment with my daughters recommendation: http://www.blurb.com/
It was my undoing until the light went on and I made the choice to switch back to the program more familiar to me. WHY? she wails, must I learn everything the hard way?
I have also dabbled a bit with Picasa editing programs and made a collage of some England photo favs -- while I can't claim any expertise (it appeared by accident on the screen), I shall post the effort anyway. Getting it large scale into my book will be the trickier feat.

The quandary I face is this: do I close my blog and make it officially the keepsake of our Oxbridge 2008 adventure or do I keep going? I have certainly enjoyed the experience of journalling in this forum; it has provoked a fondly held dormant dream to write things down for posterity.
*sigh*
I understand more fully, the satisfaction my daughter must feel - in blogging and photographing her life as it unfolds. I think (with horror) at the shoeboxes full of neglected memories that our forebears live with - the things we find when we bury our dead and sort through the stuff left behind....not a travesty I want to copy.
*sigh*
I have also read a great deal since returning home - and of course, the daily regular routine of life is a pace that makes these "extras" more difficult to accommodate.
I shall think some more but thanks for listening eh?

Zeteo and Heaven

2008-08-29T10:28:00.000-07:00

This blog post is dedicated to the memory of Julie...a sure friend, fellow musician, quasi family member and sister in Christ since we were both in diapers.
Over the past five years, Julie spiraled into a mental anguish with an intensity few of us will ever witness in this life. Two Sunday mornings ago, she died at her own hand.
Heaven has been firmly foremost on this mind ever since.

Zeteo is Greek for "set your hearts on" which denotes man's general philosophical search or quest. This is a gleaning from Heaven, my current couch companion - a book by Randy Alcorn. Heaven is a topic that holds increasing fascination for me. The more I read, learn and contemplate -- the more I yearn for it. This is huge for me.
I cringe to admit that not too many years ago, my view of heaven would have sent any potential proselyte running fast in the opposite direction....indeed, the adjective boring or mediocre comes painfully to mind.
What an insult to the One who Is - there - preparing a place for His own!
Earthlings. Pfft! We boast so big from minds so small.
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Col3:1,2
The verb zeteo is in the present tense, suggesting an ongoing process. "Keep seeking heaven."
Don't just have a conversation, read a book, or listen to a sermon and feel as if you've fulfilled the command. Since you'll spend the next lifetime living in Heaven, why not spend this lifetime seeking Heaven, so you can eagerly anticipate and prepare for it?
Preparing for Home. How on earth :) can this concept feel so novel to me?
After the highly unusual experiences of this summer, I am convinced more than ever of these three things:
*We are called specifically to search these things out with diligence till we see Him face to face.
*God has set eternity in our hearts (!) - a divinely ordained quest for heaven if I ever heard one.
*A casual careless pursuit of heaven is akin to wasteful living and a serious affront to our Maker.

C.S. Lewis observed, "If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next.
The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven.
It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.
Aim at Heaven and you will get earth 'thrown in': aim at earth and you will get neither. "

We need a generation of heavenly minded people who see human beings and the earth itself not simply as they are, but as God intends them to be. page 21 of Heaven by Randy Alcorn
I heartily recommend this read.

We were once the three amigas and we all loved music. Singing was just one of the things that drew us together and kept us busy. I look forward to employing those gifts with Julie once again.

King's College Anecdote

2008-08-22T09:40:00.000-07:00

During our Cam River punt tour, our guide (a young college student from Trinity himself!) obliged us with many tales of fact and fancy (?) but this one anecdote begs to be told....

There was and remains a good bit of good-natured rivalry between all the various colleges and the student bodies thereof as one can well imagine in a medieval university town.

He pointed out the dramatic spires of King's college rising heavenward and claims there was a certain mischievous male who once took life and limb in hand - scaled one of those spires in the dead of night and placed a traffic cone at the top of it.

It took authorities nine days to set up the scaffolding necessary to rescue King's from her defacement -- the night before the rescue was complete, this same student, with spiderman verve, retrieved the cone - scaled the other tower and crowned one of its spires.

The student was never caught, and a 20 year old Cambridge mystery remains unsolved.

Brazen buffoonery at its finest!

The World Famous King's of Cambridge

2008-08-11T06:59:00.000-07:00

The world-famous Choir of King's College, Cambridge is one of today's most accomplished and renowned representatives of the great British choral tradition. It was created by King Henry VI, who founded the College in 1441, to provide daily singing in his glorious Chapel, which remains the main task of the choir to this day.
Today the choir is directed by Stephen Cleobury and derives much of its fame from the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, broadcast worldwide to millions on Christmas Eve every year, and the TV service Carols from King's which accompanies it.

The Weight of Glory

2008-08-09T03:50:00.000-07:00

This post is under construction for an indefinite period...I'm on Canadian soil in Britain time and dealing once again with wonky wireless. :) so here it is without its "fullness". I might have to find a booth at Starbucks to get this done! uhmm....

We flew through the fluffiest clouds on our descent into Toronto yesterday. They were so striking in fact, with sparkling sun-beams radiating through, Catherine and I could only gaze in wordless adoration of the sight.
...He's pitched a tent for the sun in the heavens, which is like a bridegroom, like a champion, bursting with energy - nothing hid from its heat...
I love the words associated with this visible glory of God - resplendant, robust, visible to all!
CS Lewis wrote an essay with the above title and in it he expounds the enormity of this idea of image bearer.
"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet (if at all) only in a nightmare. All day long we are...helping each other to one or other of these destinations. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal."

Homeward Bound

2008-08-08T01:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, that we are.
I'm about to descend the stairs (luggage bulging with a few new books:) to hang out at the Porter's Lodge till our cab arrives.
It is four in the morning for you as I write this and it will be six in the evening for you when D.V., we touch down on Canadian soil.
Home is where the heart is.
I look forward to connecting with you there.
Thanks for keeping me company, it was very sweet and enjoyable to my spirit while away.

Farewell Reception at Queen's College

2008-08-07T14:31:00.000-07:00

The bagpipe carries a long and honorable history stretching back to the beginnings civilisation as one of the oldest instruments created and played by early humans.
In Britain, its history and fate, except in the Highlands of Scotland, followed the same pattern as on the continent. It came with the Celts and the Romans and flourished for centuries as the instrument of the common people. It was played at fairs, weddings, open air dancing, pageants and all sorts of processions and merry makings. It is mentioned and described in books of all kinds, from the plays of Shakespeare to country ballads, and pictures and carvings of it are numerous. Elaborate forms of it became popular in Northumbria, Ireland and Southern Scotland. In the first two places they are still played though in all other parts of the country it disappeared about the beginning of the eighteenth century.

Catherine and the crazy bunch whom I'm assuming are still over at Bag End, drowning their sorrows and saying their goodbyes. Now it's my turn to roll the eyes! :)
Actually, I'll just stay completely out of it. I was excited to see her take off and integrate like that....she presumed to lecture me to get out there and meet people!

I'm a wee bit proud of this one too.

When I have it up as a slide on my screen I can count the raindrops...

Queen's College dormitories....

The calm after the storm. Ah yes, the storm.

We had a freak downpour this afternoon complete with thunder and lightning flashes -- it lasted precisely all of the 30 minutes or so that it took me to pick my way over to Queen's.

My sandals were drenched to the point where I feared wrenching my ankle. I thought taking them off would have been far safer, but in the end, keeping the trot to a minimum got me there well and good.

I kept thinking about that spike at the top of my umbrella as the bolts came down around me.

..hmmm...that might have restored some curl to the hair eh?

By the way, we're coming home with a new Brit model of hair blower and hot rollers. Whoever is next to cross the pond is most welcome to them!

Ah! finally found it!

I love this shot and have deemed it a fitting photo to close my Ode to Cambridge.

We're "strolling" back from Queen's and Catherine long legs with her friend Elizabeth have left me in the dusk :)

I wish I knew the identity of these buildings but now is not the time to tarry...now it's time to FLY!

2008-08-07T10:13:00.000-07:00

There is a time for everything, and a
season for everything under heaven:
...a time to search
i.e. self and the search for meaning
...and a time to give up
i.e. go back home :)

Yeah, that's taking a rather big liberty with
scripture but I trust you will forgive me this once.
This is the other pic of Joanne I found on file.

I'm leaving on a jet plane with approx. 700 images
on file. I think that's quite sufficient and not too
overblown.

One last trek through hallowed halls of stone and mortar.

I did want to point out this tree to my Barry.

Surely it is the largest Beech I've laid eyes on.

Here it is from Trinity Bridge....then I walked over the bridge at Clare college to get the close-ups of the trunk that I am very sure, three of us would not be able to put our arms around!

I'm not sure the pic's will show the scope of it....

Sure am glad we got our tour in yesterday -- look at the punt traffic today!

A sailor greets us every morning from that balconey above the pasty (pronounce with short a) store I was telling you about earlier. I posted a letter today from a quaint Cambridge postie and actually got a bit lost trying to find my way back to Great St. Mary's. Catherine rolls her eyes at this sad but familiar confession. I must say, it's a very lovely place to get lost. I didn't mind the experience in the least! It was the sailor I spotted from a great distance -- like a beacon in the night sky guiding me safely "home".

These are the very ornate doors of the campus chapel I never once entered for prayers this week.

Too modern for my liking and I didn't want it to trump my memory of the "real deal" back at Keble College.

So I was also too tired at 6:30am to get in there!

So yeah.

I was.

Punting the River Cam

2008-08-07T05:12:00.001-07:00

I've been under some pressure to produce a picture of myself on this blog. You can understand that is a difficult thing to do when the camera is always is my hands. The other dilemma is "posing" and being at Catherine's mercy. Well, you might recall that I was taking an online photography course along with daughter Amy. She has taken off with her assignments and is producing great stuff for her blog, scrapbooking and family memories.
She took shot of me at a house gathering two days before we left for England and just e-mailed them to me now. I like its candidness and I sure hope that in posting it, those who have been asking will be satisfied once and for all.
Thank you Amy for adopting this new hobby with such vengeance and finesse! I love your artistry and I love the moments you are capturing of our family in film. I shall have to remember to turn the lens your way from here on in!
There is one other in front of Ely that never made it to the blog -- perhaps I will ferret thru the files and post it as well. And then may your cries be forever stilled!

I don't know how Catherine took this shot - she must have simply held the camera above her head and did a blind point and shoot. Our boat companions were John and Laura with their daughter Elizabeth and her friend Rachel.

The impressive King's College flanked by her equally impressive library...yes -- Library which holds 75,000 titles including original work of Isaac Newton and William Shakespeare.

I can't believe I remembered all that!

We walked over this very bridge (Trinity Bridge) every day at least twice and probably more like four times daily. One had to cross the river to get to Great St.Mary's in the city center.

The Bridge of Sighs. Our guide regaled us with a swashbuckling tale of the executions that take place on this very bridge.

Then he added the detail that it merely transported students to the place of their annual exams and that it felt very much like going to execution.

Funny boy.

This is a statue of King Henry VI who has something to do with Kings College. Remember the shot I posted of the cows grazing in a field opposite the imposing structure of Kings?

Our guide informed us that it was this King who decreed by law to have precisely four cows to gaze at from that vantage point indefinitely!

When I asked what the point of that was he suggested the King was fond of cheeseburgers -- then he confessed that he didn't have the foggiest clue.

The only bridge with a cast iron underside - and so decorative to boot!

Our guide gave some detail about the ugly cheap brick covering this side of the building -- unmatched from the rest because the project ran dry of funds, hence the encouragement of ivy cover.

In a few years, the ivy will break down the brick well enough to start over I suppose.

How is that economical she wonders?

The little dock from which one jumps or delicately steps into the punt...

Here's my room at Robinson College with a desk and chair that now fits me like a glove.

Many late night hours and even more early morning hours were spent there - catching you up on the events of the day. I couldn't show you Catherines' room...it wouldn't be a decent thing for the public eye.

Each room shares a balconey with the room next to them and overlooks a wide expanse of trees and gardens. I took a walk back there and met up with a fireweed I think. My thumb brushed ever so slightly on something that looked like a thistle bush - it stung and welted up immediately - but it disappeared just as fast. What a strange plant.

Tearing off the Dragon's Skin

2008-08-07T05:03:00.001-07:00

That's another phrase for transformation.
Go back to the previous post to hear the conclusion of that inspiring speech by Malcolm Guite.
Malcolm claims to read the Chronicles once through every year since he was a boy. It was especially delightful to hear someone recall the story in such detail from memory. To have it delivered in the lovely lilt of his Irish tongue was rich indeed.

Locusts and Honey

2008-08-06T16:11:00.000-07:00

A glass of shiraz on my left, a wedge of old cheddar and a pint of blueberries on my right -- good choral music streaming from the laptop speakers and finally, in conversation with you.
Life is good.
Do you understand the title of this post?

Yes. You remembered! I've set out to tell you about an amazing presentation put forward by the wild John the Baptist type I wrote of earlier.

Malcolm Guite is the preacher poet that conducts Catherines Poetry Workshop.
He chose this beautiful title: Be Ye Transformed...the Way of personal transformation in the writings of C.S. Lewis and based it on 1 John 3: 1,2 which says:
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are the children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
This is a good summary of the conference theme: Imago Dei? No question about it!

Now I shall attempt to summarize his message using the hastily scribbled notes in my program.
Malcolm gets into this idea of transformation by bringing us to the book Voyage of the Dawn
Treader from the Chronicles. This book in particular is often cited as a personal favourite and it's easy to see why when you hear the story.
Eustace is a self-centered boy who goes his own way in search of treasure. He finds a great heap of it in a mountainous cave and in his greedy exhilaration flops atop it and falls asleep. He wakes up a dragon. He discovers too late, he has trespassed into the dragons lair and become one with them. He did not bargain for that per se, but since he has "made his bed, he must now lie in it!"
Life as a dragon is a lonely one. Eustace soon finds himself friendless, his crusty ugly exterior scaring everyone off before a word is spoken - if he could speak.
He meets up with Aslan who hears his plea for help and accompanies him to a lake -- a lake he must be baptized in for deliverance. But first he is told to undress, to peel away the hordes of old adamisk layers acquired in his life as a wandering dragon.
Despite many attempts to do this on his own (for Eustace had not dealt severely enough yet with his pride) it could not be done -- at least not without excruciating pain.
In agonizing defeat he concedes to lying down beside the lake and in terror, he submits himself to the claws of Aslan to remove the dragonish scales of his "person".
Through great pain, his exterior is finally shed and Eustace, with his tender sensitive skin follows Aslan into the water where his healing slowly takes place and his little boy-self emerges once more.
The story goes on to show us a much different Eustace - not perfect and not yet without fault and weakness, but one who seems far more concentrated on the well-being of others and much less concerned for his own.
To the Christ follower, the parallels are obvious.
It is a matter of trust and obey to submit to the claws of Aslan -- in the hope of removing our dragonish exterior to become the people we were created to be.
Transformation is the work of Jesus.
We cannot lose the layers on our own, tho' we waste much energy and many a year trying.
Furthermore, it will never be done in isolation but only in communion with Aslan.

*sigh* It's time to go home and read the Chronicles over again.

All Roads Lead to Narnia...

2008-08-06T14:29:00.000-07:00

"Okay, let's go around the room, each of us state our name and then list your favourite Lewis book and why."

This was the ice-breaker strategy of the guest lecturer for my afternoon courses here at Cambridge. He happens to be Dr. Michael Ward, Anglican clergyman, author of Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis, former President of the Oxford C.S. Lewis Society and administrator of The Kilns from 1996-1999. http://www.planetnarnia.com/

He recalled living there (The Kilns) before the reno when it was in a state of serious disrepair - when it was a "dung heap" as his friends were wont to call it.

My answer to his question you may already know if you're following this blog - my intro to Lewis was playing the part of the White Witch in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe so it naturally holds a special place in my heart. After that, A Grief Observed was an early influence and much appreciated source of comfort in the late 80's.

What's your favourite and what makes it so?

If I had my wits about me I'd create some sort of poll that you could sign into...alas, I decline for the sake of self-preservation. Some things on this computer still take too long and are therefore more trouble than they're worth!

The Planet Narnia is a work of genius, a breakthrough in the endless quest to understand the structure of Narnia's symbolism. The author demonstrates that medieval cosmology, a subject which fascinated Lewis throughout his life, provides the imaginative key to the seven novels. Drawing on the whole range of Lewis's writings (including previously unpublished drafts of the Chronicles), Ward reveals how the Narnia stories were designed to express the characteristics of the seven medieval planets -- Jupiter, Mars, Sol, Luna, Mercury, Venus and Saturn -- planets which Lewis described as 'spiritual symbols of permanent value' and 'especially worthwhile in our own generation.'

In The Discarded Image, Lewis' introduction to the medieval worldview, he repeatedly encourages his readers to take a stroll under the sky at night. Looking up at the heavens now, Lewis argues, is a very different experience from what it was in the Middle Ages.

Back then, in the nearest part of the sky our eyes would have seen--or, rather, see through--the transparent sphere in which the Planet Luna revolves, then the larger sphere of Mercury, then the still larger one of Venus, and so on through the spheres of Sol, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, each sphere rotating more rapidly than the last and each exerting a peculiar influence upon mundane people and events, and even upon the metals in the Earth's crust. Beyond Saturn's sphere we would have seen the heaven of the fixed stars, the Stellatum, and, beyond that, the Primum Mobile, the sphere which conveys movement to all the other, lower spheres. Further than the Primum Mobile we would not have been able to see, for that would take our sight outside the created order in the Empyrean, the very home of God and all the elect.

You might be asking yourself the question, "What exactly does astrology have to do with Christianity?"
And I will attempt to answer that in some future post...if you're interested, which of course, I won't know unless you comment. I would like to know what you're favourite Lewis work is and then I shall publish those results.
Right now I'm off to the Bag End Cafe where pilgrims/artists of many kind meet for fellowship and a pint of beer. I think Catherine might be presenting a poem and I don't want to miss it!
Luv y'll but feeling sad that this will soon be history...

About the heavens...

2008-08-06T01:46:00.000-07:00

I made a fascinating discovery today -- Of all the Psalms, the 19th was a personal favourite to
C.S.Lewis. Now I sit in a class called C.S.Lewis and the Heavens - Search for Meaning in the Sky and it's starting to come together...I have some eureka moments and many more slow realizations, moments where something just comes into a sharper focus like an automatic zoom lens sorting itself out.
I'm quite undecided about whether or not (or how much) to share the things I'm learning in class - it terribly exciting to me - yet I am fully aware it may not be of great interest to you.
Delving into the mysteries of medieval cosmology OR knowing how people viewed the heavens when they looked into the night sky (before all the light pollution of the Industrial Age and beyond! ) OR the many references to astrology in the Bible and the significance of the constellation mentioned therein.
....I shrug my shoulders with indecision dear friends.
here's the new ground covered in my attempt to memorize Psalm 19, picking up at verse 5:

In the heavens he has prepared a tent for the sun,

which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,

like a champion rejoicing to run his course. (what imagery!?)

It rises from one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other;

nothing is hidden from its heat.

Well todays circuit has begun, may the sun greet you warmly as it has for me.

Chilford Hall, Linton Cambridgeshire

2008-08-05T02:04:00.000-07:00

Monday in Cambridge dawned crisp and bright. A new route through shady parkland, along stonewalls and through ornamental gates needs to be learned...this daily 15 minute walk is refreshing and even more enjoyable than Oxford.

Pasty is an authentic local food. There's a sweet shop behind our main conference venue, Great St.Mary's that specializes in such fare and I simply had to investigate.

A sign next to the ceiling answers the question that must surely be asked endlessly by the curious like me.

T'was very good indeed... especially with a slowly savoured latte at a window booth.

I chose a pasty filled with chicken, mushroom & onion filling. They have quite the lovefest going on here for mushrooms! We get them at breakfast ALL the time along with the brown beans.

My palate is inquisitive but beans at breakfast doesn't appeal -- nor do the ever present pea mashers at lunch.

Drive-through ATM machines on a pedestrianized cobblestreet means bike or banen only.

Is that correct Dutch for legs?

This is Malcolm Guite (below) the fella that brings the wildness of John the Baptist to my mind.

Catherine sits under the inspiring tutelage of this fiery, pastor/singer/artist in her Poetry
Workshop here at Cambridge. Her assessment? "Oh he's crazy mom, crazy good. Yeah, I like him a lot."
I'll be searching out his recordings if any exist. His lyricism speak a theology thoughtful and profound.

They might even measure to the Giants of that category in my mind: Rich Mullins & Carolyn Arends.

Great St. Mary's of Cambridge:

Home of this weeks mass conference gatherings.

This is viewed from the back of the building. Across the street is the open air market. I climbed 123 steps of a ridiculously narrow spiral staircase to the tower peak for the aerial photos posted a few days ago.

I took the shot standing outside Paperchase, a card store that I lost an hour to reading all the cards...highly reminiscent of another time when me

and my bro were standing on either side of a Hallmark stand, unaware of each other, reading cards and laughing out loud at the good ones. Such a silly but fine memory for both of us!

Well then, there will be no such Romeo & Juliette re-enactments allowed here in college country.

Boys absolutely, not permitted.

The beautiful elegant Clare College, whose grounds we saunter through by special arrangement each day we head for Great St.Mary's.

The crowning glory of this College is her well-kept, formal gardens...

So I took this pic and thought to myself, "What a stodgy formal bunch they are...a tad excessive in their opinion of themselves as gardeners?

A wee bit overblown perhaps?"

But no, then I took my eyes off the view finder and turned my head for a change -- and there they were!

Yes, the garden is a haven and sanctuary after all.

One must simply look around and quit her unbending, strict stride to and fro.

(a more flowery version of: Stop and smell the roses lassy!)

I am rather proud of this shot. It's what I see from the pea-gravel path in the park en route to the city center.

Those are real cows, yes. Lazing about and chewing cud.

This pic is for sister Cathy who is the newest greenhouse authority on our country block.

I found this on site of the Chilford Country Hall - a dilapidated sorry sight in need of some love.

I just thought of you instantly sweet sis and wanted to say howdy, you're missed.

(How was the metrical rhythm of that?....I best not share it with Catherine the Poet just yet eh?)

Okay, okay, the shutter speed was all wrong. But you get the picture right?

75 conferees of various age and ability swirling around to the traditional English dance tunes of the Mellstock Country Band.

Catherine and I went for an evening stroll the first night in Cambridge and our over-active imagination thought we heard the incessant hoot of the owl.

We soon discovered it was merely an oversized version of the morning dove -- y'know?...the sort you want to obliterate with a BB gun after the first ten minutes?

Commiserating with fellow dinner

attendants in the statuary gardens of Chilford Winery.

www.chilfordhall.co.uk/

The Mellstock Country Band. Of course I bought their music books and Cd's! Look out next Vanderkruk family function! www.whitecottagewebsites.co.uk/mellstock/members.htm

Catherine and her chosen dance partner, Elizabeth.

It was obvious they had a blast!

They took the last bus back if that's an indicator.

To Worship at Ely

2008-08-03T23:33:00.000-07:00

This blog is under construction and due to time constraints, I can only post pictures for now.
(No longer true. It cost me "time travel" into the wee hours o' the mornin' but the dirty deed is done!) Which goes against my grain totally -- I want to walk you through my incredible Sabbath rest here in Ely of Cambridgeshire - one delightful step at a time - ...*sigh*
But enjoy the visual side first then. I will definitely add more and perhaps change some, having a mere 137 chronicling shots to choose from! Digital immortalization...wow. Suffice to say - this cathedral stunned me. Check out the video clip at the end of this post for a dramatic audio experience.

We woke on Sunday morning to a slight but persistent drizzle again. Catherine decided it was a perfect morning to sleep in since we would not be leaving for worship till 1:30pm.
The dormitory of Robinson College was built 1981.
I confess, it's NICE to stay in something 30 years old as opposed to 300. Medieval architecture is a wild and wonderful thing to behold but I have no illusion as to the comparative convenience of amenities between our eras and the impact it has on daily life.
The splendour of the Oxford Dining Hall has been usurped by modernism here in Cambridge (a precursor to postmodernism perhaps? :)
Cafeteria style food service did allow me to stow a yogurt and banana up to sleepyhead for breakfast all the same.

Ely Cathedral should be counted as one of the seven wonders of the world. Five coaches left Cambridge to transport about 250 of us o'er hill and dale and since I had forgotten both book and ipod, I determined to simply admire the changing landscape outside my window seat.

The landscape was mile after mile of alternating flat wheat fields and heavily treed sections that were so close to the roadside, it made one want to duck for cover.

Quite suddenly, this mysterious monstrosity loomed large on the horizon and soon, everyone on board was agog & a buzz with it...

I would say, this would be the moment our jaws went slack to the kneecap and we pretty much stayed in that position for the next hour.

Sarah the housemaid here at Robinson offered me this anecdote when she saw what I was working on.
"Wherever you went in the Fen country you had only to look up and see it there, riding the sky like a great ship"
It's noted on the Ely website too...

Thus we roamed and wandered within and without for the next two hours.

{Our call to worship being 4pm, allowing us time for "due process" uhm?.....Not!}

Choir(s) were practising somewhere inside; we were treated to the distinct pleasure of roaming these grounds serenaded by something I can only classify ethereal.

I haven't been on the inside of too many cathedrals in this lifetime but I can say now that I would die a content woman having toured this one!

Words fail me.

The video clip at the end of this post grants you a similar if somewhat "diminished" experience - I thought the tour under the spell of music was the ticket...please enjoy.

What is to be seen beyond the castle walls?

Ely is considered originally to be a Norman castle of the 7th century...
People often ask why such a vast church was built in such a small town.
In fact the Cathedral came first. When it was built Ely was only a small settlement, the town grew up around the Cathedral.
The Benedictine monks only concern was to glorify God, and nothing less than a building on a majestic scale would do.

Understated in the purest sense of the word.

Mind-boggling rings in me ears...

Gargoyles. What hideous beasts, really.

(Do that in your best Brit imitation :)

Many medieval cathedrals included gargoyles and chimarae. The most famous examples are those of Notre Dame de Paris. Although most have grotesque features, the term gargoyle has come to include all types of images. Some gargoyles were depicted as monks, combinations of real animals and people, many of which were humorous. Unusual animal mixtures, or chimeras, did not act as rainspouts and are more properly called grotesques. They serve more as ornamentation, but are now synonymous with gargoyles.

Catherine is convinced the human race was smaller in stature at one time.

We have a good collection of the most ornate doors -- some of which she has to literally duck under and through.

In the video you get a sweeping glimpse of this marblized sleeping bishop.

We zoomed in on this curiosity -- is it symbolic of satanic forces nipping at our heels all the way to our eternity rest?

I've not taken the time to research its significance.

Or is it simply symbolic of death, that last enemy?

Cambridge, England

2008-08-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

It's Saturday morning and we'll be soon be boarding...
One last toot around the quad taking the pic's I think I may have missed.
I didn't make it to prayers in this chapel more than once -- I had the naive notion I could sit in the still cavernous cathedral for my personal prayers but no, I discovered about twenty others being led by a volunteer reading and chanting from the Anglican Book of Prayers.
It was a delightful experience and would have been even more edifying if I had thought to bring my reading glasses.
Those little prayer books induce blindness!

It was drizzling when we left Oxford and it was still drizzling when we entered Cambridge three hours later.

Not to worry! We suck it up true Brit style and whip out the ever-present compact/wind-resistant umbrella and carry on per usual.

Our walk from the dorms of Robinson College to our main venue (pictured left) Great St.Mary's is reduced by five minutes from the Oxford experience. The stroll through scenic paths, over rivers by bridge and aside parkland is MUCH more relaxing however and as such - it seems to take no time at all.

Note the tower of Great St.Mary's.

I paid a token of two pound sterling to climb its one way only spiral staircase to the lookout for some aerial photography.

Half way up the 123 steps, a group of five foreigners (they sounded dutch/german actually) were brazenly calling out their descent -- 'coming down'! they repeated in their thick accent.

At five to one my options were few, but fortunately, only a few steps down again there was this teeny tiny crevice I could stand in while they all passed by. Talk about intimacy.

My aerial shots were worth the effort however. The sun broke out just as I reached the pinnacle. :)

The famous King's College is pretty much across the street from this weeks main venue,

Great St.Mary's. Here's some fun facts about the beautiful building that dwarfs the landscape here:
College name: The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge
Latin name: Collegium Regale Beatae Mariae et Sancti Nicholai Cantabrigiae Motto Veritas et Utilitas(Latin: Truth and usefulness)
Founder Henry VI
Named after The Blessed Virgin Mary Saint Nicholas
Established 1441
Location King's Parade
Undergraduates 392
Graduates 280
Sister college: New College, Oxford
Official website

Hurry up mom! The open air market in the town center runs

every day of the week rain or shine --- Which is a moot observation here in merry old England eh?

We enjoyed a late lunch since we are basically free now till attending church on Sunday afternoon.

The Cambridge Chophouse was a good experience...but when I ordered a glass of wine, he brought the entire bottle to our table.

I did my best to pass off as much as I could to my dinner companion but there was still a bit left :) MORE than a bit and way too much to leave sitting there -- (my bill made it clear that I was charged for it). So. Into Cath's purse she went and here beside the computer to help me wile away the hours, she keeps me company. A very tasty Aussie Shiraz called The Beak. It'll do matey, It'll do nicely.

Have I told you of the myriad bookstores?

I have already bought four and refuse to buy any more at this exchange rate. The boon would be getting penalized for overweight baggage on top of it all!

Amazon.com here we come baby!

I found this poster ironic and redundant.

Do the English not know that Darwinism is passe by now?

This type of militant secularism is precisely why the C.S. Lewis Foundation insists on setting up shop in Oxbridge.

FYI: Oxbridge refers to the combined territory of Oxford and Cambridge.

Punting on the River Cam.

We've decided to give this a whirl tomorrow afternoon - and pay a guide to do the dirty work & save myself some potential embarrassment...

(I think being chastened by a bronzed statue is enough humiliation for the week)
What is a punt?A punt is a narrow flat-bottomed boat that somewhat resembles a Venetian gondola with the curve removed. Punts generally seat up to four adults while a fifth person stands at the rear and propels the boat with a long pole.
The design was developed in the medieval period to allow for easy navigation in areas with shallow water. Until recently punts were used by commercial fishermen working the fens of East Anglia, but today they are almost exclusively used for recreation.
Poling along the river looks effortless and easy; a relaxing way to enjoy a quiet summer afternoon. Looks can be deceiving however, as steering a punt is neither as easy or effortless as it looks. For one thing, the pole can get stuck in the mud of the river bottom, and steering from the rear of a punt takes skill and dexterity.
Unless you are remarkably well co-ordinated, your first few attempts to direct a punt in a straight line will provide some entertainment for onlookers on the banks. Don't worry, it doesn't take long to get the hang of things, and it really is a great deal of fun!
Punting along the River Cam is one of the traditional delights of visiting Cambridge, and something that should be tried - at least once - by everyone! Punts can be hired at Silver Street bridge, Mill Lane, Magdalene Bridge, Jesus Green , Trinity College, or Grantchester.
The cost is in the £8/hour range, with a damage deposit generally required. If you are feeling flush in the pocket you can hire a chauffeured punt and relax while your paid punter takes you along the Backs, past the historic colleges of Cambridge University. often the chauffeurs are students at the university, and you'll be regaled with tales of Cambridge past and present.

The parkland is abundant.

It's so Narnia - the stimulus for Lewis' active imagination are everywhere present.

Barry, is this the Barberry hedging plant material that is banned in North America?

I think it has wee red berries on it and oh so delicate waxy fern like sprigs.

The wrought iron fencing along the walk is covered with this stuff.

Soon we board a coach for worship at Ely Cathedral.

Ever since first viewing the You Tube Video on Oxbridge 2008, I've been in great anticipation of singing inside this...this church (which hardly fits as descriptive).

I shall certainly make a separate post on Ely Cathedral.

The Kilns

2008-08-01T06:43:00.000-07:00

This post is under construction until I can address the details. *12 hour time lapse*

This post is now deemed complete and includes a video at the very end of it for your viewing pleasure. It's a YouTube creation and I can't be sure that I've successfully placed it until I publish the post. I'll keep the fingers crossed.

I confess, that while keeping the blog is time-consuming, the time I spend here is therapeutic for me. I feel connected with you at home and I am simultaneously keeping my pledge to carefully journal this trip...thanks again for coming along and esp. for sharing your comments. If you have specific things you'd like me to cover, by all means, ask. I am more than happy to play historical buff wanna-be or adventurous tourist on your behalf.

Catherine and I are boarding the coach after breakie and setting out across to Cambridge (reportedly two and 1/2 hours away). I thought it appropriate to post our farewell photo to the Oxford dining hall -- a place we've called home for this week. What a week this has been!
We also enjoyed a lovely farewell service in the incredible cathedral of St.Mary's as well...but more about these things later. Catherine hogged the computer all night last night and alas - I am behind! I confess however, that being in bed with a good book wasn't a bad trade-off for a change. Looking forward to walking you through our next medieval city...stay tuned!

I went to the Kilns yesterday.

Sans Catherine who didn't want to sacrifice her concluding session in the Persistence of Vision Session. Whereas my concluding session with Dr.Mark Reynolds in the Christian Apologetics in the Spirit of C.S. Lewis was a wash-out by that point for me. The first class was spell-binding. The second class I simply had a horrible time staying awake, much less focused!

This old bird needs her sleep after all :)

Not only that, I had the chance to hear Reynolds' idol, Richard Swinburne, at the morning plenary session and I kid you not -- if 25% of the people understood a word he said, it would be a generous count. Here's a daunting curriculum vitae if I ever saw one....

Richard Swinburne, perhaps the most significant proponent of argumentative theism today, studied philosophy and theology at Oxford University. After teaching at the University of Hull (1963-72) and the University of Keele (1972-84), he recently assumed the position of Nolloth Professor of the Philosophy of the Christian Religion at Oxford University. He was selected to deliver the prestigious Gifford Lectures in 1982-83 and 1983-84. Among his many books are Space and Time, The Concept of Miracle, The Coherence of Theism, The Existence of God, Personal Identity, and The Evolution of the Soul.

I'm quite serious about not being able to follow him -- I tried with everything I've got and I kept it up for the entire torturous 40 minute spiel. When the floor was opened for questions, a stream of young philosophy students came to the mike asking equally unintelligible questions. It was then that I threw up the arms of despair, in my mind. I shall bring the CD recording home and you can decide for yourself if it is circumstantial evidence of the impossible to dissect.

It was a 15 minute bus ride from Keble College. I must say, all this bus business is a novelty for one born and raised in the Canadian "country" ....aka uncharted territory for public transit.

The Kilns is the home of Lewis and his brother Warren and also Mrs. Moore and her daughter Maureen. They represent the widowed mom and sister of Paddy Moore - dear friend to Lewis who was killed in action during WWI. Lewis was honouring a pact made with Paddy to care for each others' families in the event of death.
Speaking of the Inklings, perhaps an explanation is in order. Catherine and I started our free Friday afternoon with good 'ol English Pub style Fish and Chips (oh yeah, and a pint too!) in the old haunt of the Inklings....

Here's what I dug up on that:

The Eagle and Child Inn (1650) is one of the most famous meeting places in literary history. Its peculiar name comes from the family of the Earls of Derby who who originally owned it and on whose crest was an eagle and child. The pub sign shows its origins in mythology, with Zeus as an eagle abducting the infant Ganymded. The pub is familiarly known as "the Bird and Baby".

It was here on Tuesday liquid :) lunchtimes that the Inklings met from 1939 to 1962.

The Inklings were comprised of Lewis, his brother Warnie, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, Hugo Dyson, Owen Barfield and I think one other whose name eludes me. No girls allowed, she sniffs.

The Brits can be a brute sort eh?

Don't forget, girls weren't even allowed to apply at Keble College till the 1970's???

....Don't even go there Joanne.

Here's the original pub sign which the C.S. Lewis Foundation gratefully rec'd from the proprietor's garage at the time they committed to cleaning up the Kilns and making it a heritage site.

It rests on the wall in the reconstructed library room and its a painting on tin.

His brother Warren did a lot a typing for him -- an understatement
to say the least. After retiring in 1932 to live with his brother in Oxford,
he was one of the founding members of the Inklings, an informal Oxford
literary society. He wrote on French history, and served as his brother's
secretary for the later years of C. S. Lewis's life.

The gardens are well-tended, much as they were during his lifetime.

This intellectual giant had a great fondness for wildlife & the outdoors

When Lewis (the confirmed Bachelor)got married to Joy Davidman, an American divorcee with two boys -- he insisted on reconstructing his favourite childhood spaces...deserted dusty attics one could call his own - private space to draw, read and create!

Lewis wrote many of his books, including the Narnia stories and some works of theology, in his study at the house.
It was here he married the American Joy Davidman in a late flowering romance - commemorated in the play and film Shadowlands. Lewis died in one of the downstairs rooms in 1963.
When Lewis lived in the house it had eight acres of garden. Now it is tucked away amid an estate of executive homes, built on plots sold off by Warnie after his brother's death.
The house is now in rather better shape than in Lewis's day, when friends used to call it The Midden. When Davidman arrived in the 1950s she found the brothers had spent nothing on it for a quarter of a century. It had mould on the walls, wartime blackout curtains still on the windows and decades of cigarette ash trodden into the carpet. She persuaded Lewis to spend money on the property.

The marriage certificate. I think you can see my reflection in the glass.

Well then, I guess now you know I was actually there!

Lewis and Joy met by correspondence first -- she was an acclaimed poet and writer in her own right and came to Oxford to meet Lewis and sit in his lectures.

Watch the movie Shadowlands (with Anthony Hopkins) to get an excellent notion of this romantic story....

I'm beginning to understand the wonder and intrigue of Lewis land. So much of it is wood and walking and talking with friends and thinking....

I should really have been in Diana Glyers' session about Doing what the Inklings did - How God uses small groups to encourage and transform us.
Ah well, there's always next week at Cambridge.

C.S. Lewis and the Heavens - Search for Meaning in the Sky

Sweet.

Formerly, this 9acre property was a brick making factory with two large kilns forging the clay dug from this pond. The regard and care it took to become the wildlife sanctuary it is today certainly found its' beginning with the Lewis family.

An aside, completely unrelated....

As part of my devotions here in England, I have committed to return with Psalm 19 memorized.

Here's what I have secured so far:

The heavens declare the glory of God

The skies proclaim the works of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech

Night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language

where their voice is not heard
Their voice goes out to all the earth

their words to the ends of the world.... *sigh* so true, so awesome.

Cathedral Concert Comin' at Ya!

2008-07-31T09:42:00.000-07:00

Well then...what a treat I've had to share!

One of my England dreams was to sit still in a cathedral and listen to sublime music. That aural feast was delivered in tandem last night in what is known as the University Church of St.Mary the Virgin. An exquisite 13th century building with a rich history - it was the site of the 1555 heresy trails of the Oxford Martyrs including Archbishop Thomas Cranmer who was subsequently burned at stake just outside the city walls to the north.

www.sacred-destinations.com/england/oxford-st-marys-university-church.htm

Each evening following dinner, we are treated to some organized literary or musical celebration.

Of course, the insidious plan is to feed us like kings and queens of academia and then like a glorified form of bootcamp, force us all to trudge back downtown - this time forging straight ahead on High Street.

On High Street we pass through various stone edifices including the famous Bodelian Library, Radcliffe Camera and the Hertford Bridge.

First (pictured below) we pass on our left, the Hertford Bridge.

Hertford Bridge in New College Lane, Oxford, England is often referred to as the "Bridge of Sighs" because of its supposed similarity to the famous bridge of the same name in Venice.

The bridge links together the Old and New Quadrangles of Hertford College.

Then on the right, the entrance to Bodelian Library, the main research library of the University of Oxford and of which the Radcliffe Camera (pictured below) is a later extension.

The circular dome and drum of the Radcliffe Camera is one of the most distinctive landmarks in a city full of distinctive buildings. The camera (the word means simply "room") was built 1737-1749 with £40,000 bequeathed by Dr John Radcliffe, the royal physician.
The Radcliffe Camera was intended to house a new library, and designs were called for from several leading architects, including Nicholas Hawksmoor (responsible for much of All Soul's College) and James Gibbs.
It was Gibbs who won the competition, with his elegant Palladian design, though his final plans drew heavily on earlier work by Hawksmoor. Gibbs was also responsible for the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, in Trafalgar Square, London.
Originally the library in the Radcliffe Camera held both scientific and general books, but those collections were gradually moved to other University libraries, so that today the Camera functions as the main reading room of the Bodleian Library. The finished building holds some 600,000 books in underground rooms beneath Radcliffe Square.
Sadly, the Radcliffe Camera is not open to the public.

Then --- drum roll please....

This massive bell-tolling 13th century tower envelopes the entire horizon from that point, spiraling heavenward, luring us in.

The only sense offense I can fault this cathedral for, is smell. It smelled distinctly of must and mold. We sat in the balcony for a premium view and top rate acoustics. I could actually hear the muffled conversations of the orchestra members below as they warmed up pre-concert, and you can see with your own eyes that I was the furthest removed from them.

Programming included Handel's Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, Mozarts' Symphony No. 40 in G minor, Opera selection from Mignon (with the richest velvet sounding mezzo soprano ever!) two baroque selections from C.W.Gluck and four choral selections by the C.S. Lewis Institute Chorale which culminated in what is surely, the most gloriously orchestrated version of that classic hymn: Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (a personal favourite).

I am convinced heaven's music is orchestrated,

employing the gifts of myriad musicians...none of the least will be singers like you and I!

After intermission we enjoyed the three movements of Mozarts' Piano Concerto No.17 in G Major, K453

performed by Paul Barnes whom Catherine and I met personally on the quad deck of our building where he was typing out last minute program notes.

He's crazy aka eccentric, and played like one possessed :)

It was great fun.

On a silly side note (punny!)

Today I fried my hotrollers to death. I had it set up with the convertor and then the adapter and then a few minutes later -- a whiff and puff of smoke alerted me to the fact that it was now history.

Endless ponytails here we come. We have alternating humid damp and sunny dry days. It's either improving or Cath and I are simply adjusting.

My pedometer reads 3389. I have no idea what that means. Miles? LOL. It sure is starting to feel like it!

On our daily jaunts we see increasing numbers of buskers. Guitar guys, violin duets, flute solo's each with their donation hats at their feet.

Yesterday, in my "brisk trot" to class, I absentmindedly plowed over a bowler hat of coin and sent it spewing forth over a ten foot radius. In a horrified panic, I ran after all the rolling coin and with the help of a few bystanders, managed to restore most of the contents to the hat.

I looked up at this bronze statue which suddenly turned its head to me, nodding its thanks - but first it pointed to its eyes which I think translated into: Watch where you're going!

I think my two pound coin might have repaired the damage. At least I'm hoping so.

The Daily Jaunt to St.Aldate's

2008-07-30T06:01:00.000-07:00

This my friends, will be the most comprehensive pictorial guide of the twenty minute walk Catherine and I make each day (a number of times!) from our dorm at Keble to our conference location at St. Aldates.

I will make a serious attempt to be specific about what you are looking at so it doesn't become a mere tour of dusty streets lined with very old buildings.

Above is the arched entrance to our temporary home - an impressive building of Gothic architecture founded in the 1870's in memory of John Keble whose aim it was to re-establish the Catholic heritage in the Church of England. It opened to a mere 30 students with express intention of a career in the Church and only recently (1979) admitted women undergraduates...it is no longer tied to the Church of England and in fact has itself moved clearly into the realm of secularism.

The door is locked every evening so if you forget your key, you'll be knocking for some time in the hope that some kind soul in the Porter's Lodge (on watch duty) hears you and bids you entrance.

We make our way along endless ivy-covered stone walls lined by massive specimens of two of my favourite trees:

the London Plane and the Copper Beech. As such, I feel as if I could be in my own front courtyard - the similarities are so great.

Wadham College (pictured below) is on the left a block or two down Parks Road. It's Oxfords largest College and has been holding open air professional theatre since 1992.

We would have loved to catch a show of Shakespeare's Twelth Night but alas, our tight schedule hardly allows any extra's.

As it is, I have to give up the concluding session of Christian Apologetics in the Spirit of C.S. Lewis tomorrow afternoon for the highly popular (and this weeks final) tour of the Kilns.

A tough choice but I cannot see sacrificing this once in a life-time opportunity...and my brain is starting to hurt anyway. http://www.oxfordshakespearecompany.co.uk/

We are now at the end of Parks Road and are about to make a right on Broad Street to the city center...

King Arms Pub Circa 1606 was the landmark to look for when we first navigated our way from the Gloucester Green bus-stop.

Toting our luggage and backpacks, complete with camera swinging from the neck, we looked every bit the bedraggled lost tourist -- and we certainly could have used a pint of frothing Guiness!

BUT...I used discretion and we plodded past, settling for water from the bathroom tap. *sigh*

Y'know beloved, how I've always talked about replacing our front door with a wooden one?

I found this rather appealing.

What would you're opinion be?

Catherine long legs walking fifty paces ahead again...

But I have this to say:

I am not the one rapidly depleting the bandage box to cover the blisters!

And this tidbit is for Diana back home;

my beautiful newly acquired Sketcher's from SportCheck are behaving admirably for me. I must have put thousands on the pedometer already with not a single outbreak on my heels. What a well-made walking shoe that is, and the bookish owl monogram on the heel is so...so Oxfordish. :) I just love them!

Broad Street is often closed to vehicles and it's a good thing too, since it is quite enough having to look out for the myriad bikers who recklessly exercise their right of way. Canadians just don't get it eh?

But where might I ask, are the warning bells I heard so much of in Amsterdam? -- (the only other European city I've been in where my life was constantly at risk with my regular wanderings into the bikers lane)?

Bikers lane, smikers lane. Pfft!

This pic is for Tracy.

Starbucks abound. I pass at least three of them on my daily jaunt.

The line-ups are usually out the door so my latte fixes have been few and far between.

It's Tea for Two in England anyway is it not? and have I not faithfully practised that switch for months prior to this trip?

Besides, Green Tea boosts metabolism and I consider that a definite priority these days! :)

The Oxford Museum.

Explore the wonders of Oxford’s long history at the Museum of Oxford. Before the first student took his first lesson at the University, saints walked here, kings were crowned here and parliaments debated here. Discover the city’s earliest residents, medieval crafts, Civil War stories, Oxford’s famous literary connections and the growth of the modern city.

http://www.museumofoxford.org.uk/

I can't really give you any authentic history of this wall motif. But we pass it every day and it makes me laugh.

It's the Boys Bell Ringers and I thought it was kinda cute.

Speaking of ringing bells -- what a constant and glorious sound that is around here! Often you can hear more than one sounding the hour. In fact, as I type this I can hear one tolling midnight. Yes, it's midnight right now and I sincerely hope you appreciate my sacrifice in updating this blog. It can be tedious only because the visuals are so overwhelming. I know if I don't keep current, I will simply give up. Here's a great bell trivia:

Great Tom is the bell that hangs in Tom Tower (designed by Christopher Wren) in Christ Church, University of Oxford, England. It is the loudest bell in Oxford, and measures seven feet one inch in diameter and five feet nine inches in height, and weighs six and a quarter tons.

Great Tom is still sounded 101 times every night, which signifies the 100 original scholars of the college plus one (added in 1663). It is rung at 21:05, which corresponds to what used to be "Oxford time" (when different parts of the country set their clocks according to their distance from the Greenwich meridian), and was at one time the signal for all the Oxford colleges to lock their gates. The bell is only rung by swinging on very special occasions.

T'is a wistfully sad observation, but after a while - it's just another regular wooden arched door with bikes parked nearby...

I think I need to take the walking tour with a well-informed guide who can enlighten me with historical significance...so much to do, so little time.
By the way, at this point we've passed four major book stores and turned left on Cornmarket Street.

(also deemed a pedestrian only thruway at certain hours)

I simply cannot believe how many people around the world have followed us into Oxford this summer!

It's a good thing I'm lugging this oversized laptop bag on my back -- people tend to move out of the way -- it'll be good protection for my first hit and run bike incident too.

I nearly plowed into these two waltzing around the corner with camera lens attached to my eye.

When I asked permission to immortalize them digitally, the one turned to the other and said in a most delightful accent:

"Ah, the lass wants a pic o' us, let's straight and smart then...'ere ya go luv!"

Is this the place we mused?

What an interesting concept mummy!

she said.

How Inkling is that? we thought.

But no, a few doors down on the same side we found the correct St.Aldates.

...and once again, practised discretion.

It was 8:45am after all.

During breakout time when we are advised to stretch, "caffienate" ourselves and stroll out the side door for the sunniest side Oxford has seen for a while, we stare open-mouthed at this architectural masterpiece.

Tom Tower is a bell tower in Oxford, England, named for its bell, Great Tom. It is over the main entrance of Christ Church, Oxford in Tom Quad, on St Aldate's. This square tower with an octagonal lantern and facetted ogee dome was designed by Christopher Wren and built 1681–82. The strength of Oxford architectural tradition and Christ Church's connection to its founder, Henry VIII, motivated the decision to complete the gatehouse structure, left unfinished by Cardinal Wolsey at the date of his fall from power in 1529, and which had remained roofless since.

Inside the church we convene.

Next post will include specifics on the dynamic speakers we've heard and their invigorating messages but for now...

Catherine and I are agreed, today was the most amazing morning session yet. Diana Glyer talked about the Algebra of Friendship based on her book The Company They Keep

Her message was timely, timeless, powerful and ever so inspiring.

I think the standing ovation confirmed that sentiment.

Do the only right smart thing and google An Interview with Diana Pavlac Glyer at,

www.tolkienlibrary.com/press/The_Company_They_Keep.php

You won't regret it.

Okay folks, time for beddy bye. My baby is whining about lights out.

(insert rolling eyes smiley here :)

The doors will soon be locked!

Reflection - in both verb and noun

2008-07-29T23:32:00.000-07:00

Many of you have asked, what exactly is the C.S. Lewis Summer Institute?

Typically, my sorry attempts to explain have left you wondering and still in want of a decent answer. May this post be a redemption of sorts. :)

The Mission statement of the C.S. Lewis Foundation (instituted 1972)

Inspired by the life and legacy of C.S. Lewis, we seek to advance the renewal of Christian thought and creative expression throughout the world of learning and the culture at large.

Every three years, the Institute has welcomed "students" of the Christian faith to the distinguished College residences of Oxford and Cambridge - the Alma mater of Lewis, under a specific theme. Once environments of great and stimulating Christian thought, Oxford in particular is now considered to be thoroughly secular. It is home to the worlds foremost militant atheist, Richard Dawkins.

Oxbridge 2008 runs under the theme Imago Dei? The Self and Search for Meaning

The idea is to provoke our intellect and spirit to greater heights by means of fellowship, discourse and sitting under a lot of good old fashioned tutelage by scholars in the field of study we pre-selected a number of weeks ago.

Apart from being a pathetic junkie of all things C.S. Lewis, the specifics of this years theme struck a gong in my head and a flutter unlike others in my chest.

It simply but surely resonated with everything that had ever confounded me AND with all I had ever considered "profound".

It instantly brought to mind three highly revered points of reference that have greatly influenced my life as a pilgrim on this earth...

1. Ecclesiastes 3, my favourite scripture passage

2. The powerful lyrics of a highly esteemed Christian singer/songwriter, Carolyn Arends

3. The incredibly illustrated book, Dangerous Journey

Bear with me as I elaborate on these three things and you will understand how they came together so forcefully the moment I laid eyes on the conference promo material...

I have seen the burden God has laid on men.

He has made everything beautiful in its time.

He has also set eternity in the hearts of men;

yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecc.3:10,11

He has set eternity in my heart --- I mulled that one over for years, I loved the sound of it but it scared me too. Over time I found it answering many questions of faith for me, perhaps it would be more correct to say that it settled many arguments in my own rebel mind.

Carolyn Arends is a singer/songwriter of note and an artist I promote unashamedly to my choir students. If we are what we listen to, then this woman is nothing short of a God-send to the shallow, impoverished smorgasbord of what now passes for Christian Contemporary music.

Here are the words of Reaching, found on her album Seize the Day:

There's a time I can recall, four years old and three feet tall

trying to reach the stars and the cookie jar

but both were out of reach...

Later on in my highschool, it seemed a little cruel

how the right words to say always seemed to stay

just out of reach.

Well I should not have thought it strange

that growing causes growing pains 'cause the more we learn

the more we know --- we don't know anything!

Still, it seems a tragic fate, living with this quiet ache

...the constant strain for what remains, just out of reach.

We are reaching for the future, we are reaching for the past

and no matter what we have, we reach for more

We are desperate to discover what is just beyond our grasp

but maybe...that's what heaven is for.

There are times I can't forget -- dressed up in my Sunday best,

trying not to squirm and to maybe learn, a bit of what the preacher preached.

And later, lying in the dark? I felt a stirring in my heart

and though I longed to see what could not be seen

I still believed!

I guess I shouldn't think it odd -- until we see the face of God,

the yearning deep within us tells us, there's more to come!

So when we taste of the divine, it leaves us hungry every time

for one more taste of what awaits -- when heavens gates are reached.

We are reaching...

and I believe -- that's what heaven's for.

Now I know one is more struck by music than the other, but this song is signature for me.

It blesses me every single time I hear it and curiously, as if on cue, it also conjures up images of my all time favourite book - Dangerous Journey, the beautifully illustrated adaptation of John Bunyan's classic, Pilgrims Progress. If you don't know about this story, please make it your mission to own a copy and by all means, read it aloud to anyone who will listen!

These three things are representative of what has most certainly shaped me and I have just made myself transparent to you in sharing them. I know I am not unique in this. We all alike have experiences and influences that remind us of who we are and who we are becoming in the hands of the Silversmith. Refiners Fire...hey! there's a song in there somewhere :)

Since nothing happens by chance, I feel blessed beyond measure to be here at Oxford, immersed in the stuff of Imago Dei.

....man, am I ever tired. Time for a break. :)

Come along on a walk with me....

2008-07-29T11:26:00.000-07:00

I've decided that if you truly are going to experience Oxford vicariously, then the kind and proper thing to do is give you a pictorial guide of my daily 20 minute jaunt from dormitory (at Keble) to conference location (St.Aldate's). And since I cannot seem to fix the error on the previous blog (body text) -- and somehow erased the only pic posted of Keble in my efforts, I shall start with a more panoramic scope of Keble College, our headquarters for the week in Oxford.

This is Catherine holding my laptop hostage for the evening...and that would be about the size of our room - two single beds pushed against the other, I'm taking the photo standing in front of our exit and beside the pint-sized "loo". What you see is what you get, or conversely, what we get. I've decided I could never endure dormitory life for any extended period.

Yes, I am a pampered spoiled brat and I know it. :)

Our building is tucked behind the majestic main college building and is definitely more modern. We even have an elevator to service six floors -- no other accommodation offers this luxury. There is also no such thing as air conditioning here in England....a broad and sweeping indictment, yes -- but we've been in countless places already, none of which are comfortable in the face of this unseasonable humid summer.

Fans are a hot commodity - and in short supply.

We have a key that opens the glass door into our corridor

and then the same key opens our dorm door. So please know beloved -- we are practising safe study and are well protected. :)

If we pass through this gate and walk straight ahead...

...we end up at the chapel entrance - the place for the optional 7am morning prayers -

a well established anglican practise I would do well to make my own.

Going into the "inner sanctuary"... massive doors that defy description.

This is a place that truly inspires reverance and meditation

In the Reformed tradition, we play the iconoclast with a fierce and proud vigilance and I know of course, there was a time and a place for that. Sitting in the quiet of such an environment for the express purpose of communing with the God of all true Beauty however, I can't help but think we've thrown the baby out with the bathwater.

hmmm....pity that.

Well I have much much more to share but I have to be kind and share this computer with my sweet travelling companion. I shall write today's story in longhand first then, while she updates and perhaps I can blog again.

Lovely talking with you all, thanks so much for tagging along!

The Eye of London

2008-07-28T13:05:00.000-07:00

A British Airways Boeing 747 took us across the Atlantic without incident. I have high praise for the airline - it's equipment and service is of the refreshingly old-fashioned type. Customer service is not dead and gone after all!
World Traveller Plus means you get a few extra inches of leg room and while it certainly beats the cramped quarters of a chartered flight (can of sardines anyone?) the seat is still not a bed.
Yeah, revelation, I know.
I "stole" this picture having secured permission from some security personnel and then was promptly chastised by a BA female rep. who suggested that photography of their planes is a security breach. What a load of hooey.

Here's the fella that relieved us of 70 pounds to transport us from Heathrow to the city center.
It was nice to sit comfortably and get a Londenderry visual but I already think cab drivers are suspect for seeking out and finding the heavily congested areas. Curiously, the meter does not stop and crawl like we did through much of the city.
London is dirty I'm afraid. Dirty and frenetic.

This is Big Ben. I'd love to give you a host of details about these sites but alas, the cutsie little tour guide I purchased at the kiosk went missing from our Capsule -- probably sometime during the extra 15 minutes we were held hostage due to technical difficulties. This was much to the chagrin of my travelling companion whom I discovered, does not pull off all-nighters very well. Just when you'd want them to act their age for a change....

A statue outside of Buckingham Palace - I admired its' Aslan'esque' appearance! If I find out its true significance I'll let you in on it. The changing of the guard apparently takes place every summer morning at 11am. We drove through that ceremony in the second cab drive back to Victoria Station to catch a coach to Oxford. It was then I started to suspect the cab drivers propensity for choosing congested routes -- the direct route was pointed out to us by cabbie #1 and #2 definitely did not use it! *sigh*

Buckingham Palace from the backseat window, leaning over Catherine. Just austere looking, really. Hate to sound so unimpressed, but if I were Queen of England, I'd look for another piece of real estate. :)

From the beginning of our capsule rotation which incidentally takes 30 minutes. Turtlenet speed. Fortunately, I could keep busy snapping photos, I've decided I don't like it much when I can't see the ground anywhere beneath me. The para-sailing dream just died.
This is the renowned London sky-line - Westminster Abbey with the Tower of London sporting Big Ben atop and Westminster Bridge running along the side....

this is...uhm...yeah...little tour book missing

My little forlorn looking daughter looking out over the vast River Thames

Keble College is headquarters for the week here at Oxford. We have only just begun to explore it's nooks and crannies...
The exquisite dining hall where we supped with about 200 conferees. Catherine schooled me on the Latin inscribed in the numerous stained glass windows. I shall try to snag a close-up of these inspiring Letters of Light in the near future.

And now my dear friends, I must go to bed. I shall reunite at day's end tomorrow. Luv y'all!

C.S. Lewis and the Heavens - Search for Meaning in the Sky

2008-07-26T19:24:00.000-07:00

Apparently, Mr. Lewis spent a good deal of time pondering the heavens.
This title of this post is my afternoon elective for week two in Cambridge.
Recently I came across these words from the book of Isaiah and my curiosity is provoked even more:
"To whom will you compare me?"
Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One.
Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name.

I anticipate a bible study like no other!

Robinson College is headquarters for our week in Cambridge...our daily walk there will lead us through the famous gardens of St.Clare's College built 1638-1640 and pictured above.

A concert of the renowned King's College Singers and Orchestra awaits us here, on their own turf. King's College was built over a span of nearly 70 years 1446-1515.

If all goes well, my next post will be a pictorial summary of our "flight" on the Eye of London. We are due to arrive on English soil at 8:30am tomorrow and hope to make our way over to the city center for that particular treat before boarding the Oxford Express to our conference destination (an hour and a half away).
Fasten your seatbelt; we're off!

Women Traveling Solo but Savvy

2008-07-23T16:11:00.000-07:00

In my zeal to be a well-prepared traveller in Europe I've enjoyed pouring through this terrific site: www.ricksteves.com It has been informative in the extreme and on the subject of women travelling alone in foreign countries -- even comical.
Under the heading of Dealing with Harassment I discovered this gem:

Wear a real or fake wedding ring and carry a picture of a real or fake husband. There's no need to tell men that you're traveling alone, or whether you're actually married or single. Lie unhesitatingly. You're traveling with your husband. He's waiting for you at the hotel. He's a professional wrestler who retired from the sport for psychological reasons.

So, what do you say folks? Got anything more compelling to offer me?

Medieval Oxford

2008-07-22T13:09:00.000-07:00

It's been strongly suggested to us that punting on the river is a must...we can either hire someone to navigate those gondola-looking contraptions while we sit and take photos OR we could simply rent one and fend for ourselves...yeah, my thoughts exactly. I'll pack the wetsuit.

I'll be conferencing at St.Aldate's, a brisk 25 minute walk from the Keble College dorms where I sleep. So my next thought was of runners....hmm....

why not the rollerblades she wonders?

Oh.

That brings my health coverage to mind...

So there you have it. Five more sleeps and I've started packing.

Christian Apologetics in the Spirit of C.S.Lewis

2008-07-18T14:57:00.003-07:00

That is the subject of my afternoon courses the first week at Oxford.

Here is a taste of his writings:
If you asked twenty good men today what they thought the highest of the virtues, nineteen of them would reply, Unselfishness. But if you had asked almost any of the great Christians of old, he would have replied, Love.
You see what has happened? A negative term has been substituted for a positive, and this is of more than philological importance. The negative idea of Unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily of securing good things for others, but of going without them ourselves, as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the important point. I do not think this is the Christian virtue of Love. The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial, but not about self-denial as an end in itself. We are told to deny ourselves and take up our crosses in order that we may follow Christ; and nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so, contains an appeal to desire.
(An excerpt from the Abolition of Man)

Yes...I shall have to rest up for this.

Ten more sleeps...

2008-07-17T04:40:00.000-07:00

The Legendary Eye of London is the only way to see all of London in one fell swoop!

What was once just fanciful thinking is soon to become reality. The day we depart for England is looming large and I am excited to be sure. But really, "deliciously frightened" (in the words of Anne of Green Gables) would be more accurate. :)
My daughter will hear nothing more of my immature quaking so this will be the last public expression of that sentiment no matter how overwhelming it becomes.
Oh,to have the naive confidence, nay, obliviousness of youth!

On that note, three of my grandbabies are celebrating their second birthdays this week. This event alone gives reason for pause and moments of sheer amazement...and lest you think me ungrateful, I hasten to add: It's a blessing like none other and words fail me when I try to talk about it. (okay, okay, you're surprised to hear this?...just wait your turn!) Here's a poem that will have to speak for me until I find something better.

Motherhood's Reward
She rocks another baby...
hums an age-old lullaby.
She hopes no one is watching
as with thanks, she starts to cry.

Remembering the time
when the babies were her own,
And her mother told her gently
too soon they would be grown.

Lots of bedtime stories,
skinned knees, and tears to dry,
Teddy bears, toy trucks and dolls
and kites up in the sky.

First days of school, first loves, first cars,
the proms, the wedding days,
Sand castles and snowball fights
and teaching them to pray.

Now, as she holds her grandchild
and gives thanks unto the Lord,
She knows to be a grandma
is motherhood's reward!

And now to refute the simpering jellyfish sound you think you may have detected in this post, please be advised that it is my full intention (DV of course) to board the Eye of London since we have but a single day to visit the city...

Interesting things you never knew about the London Eye
A TEAM EFFORT
It took seven years and the skills of hundreds of people from five countries to make the London Eye a reality

A VIEW FIT FOR A QUEEN
You can see around 40KM (25 miles) from the top as far as Windsor Castle on a clear day

FLYING HIGH
The London Eye welcomes an average of 3.5 million customers every year. You would need 6,680 fully booked British Airways Boeing 747-400 jumbo jets to move that number of fliers!

DING! DING!
The London Eye can carry 800 passengers per revolution - equivalent to 11 London red doubled-decker buses

HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION
Each of the 32 capsules weighs 10 tonnes. To put that figure into perspective, it's the same weight as 1,052,631 pound coins!

SLOWLY BUT SURELY
Each rotation takes about 30 minutes, meaning a capsule travels at a stately 26cm per second, or 0.9km (0.6 miles) per hour - twice as fast as a tortoise sprinting; allowing passengers to step on and off without the wheel having to stop

THE ONLY WAY IS UP
The circumference of the wheel is 424m (1.392ft) - meaning that if it were unravelled, it would be 1.75 times longer than the UK's tallest building - One Canada Square in Canary Wharf

TONNES OF FUN
The total weight of the wheel and capsules is 2,100 tonnes - or as much as 1,272 London black cabs!

UP, UP AND AWAY
The height of the London Eye is 135m (equivalent to 64 red telephone boxes piled on top of each other) making it the fourth tallest structure in London after the BT Tower, Tower 42 and One Canada Square in Canary Wharf

BLAST OFF
The spindle holds the wheel structure and the hub rotates it around the spindle. At 23 meters tall, the spindle is around the size of a church spire and, together with the hub, weighs in at 330 tonnes: over 20 times heavier than Big Ben

Who I am

2008-06-27T10:40:00.000-07:00

Assuming you have spent time reflecting on one of the deep questions of faith/life i.e. Who am I? What am I doing here? Where am I going?....you will understand how difficult it can be to articulate. I mean, at least in a manner that is honest & doesn't bore your audience to death.

For one thing, I am a choir teacher. I followed my children into their gradeschool environment, working as a volunteer...a position which developed over the years into resident choir teacher.

This is the type of "job" that gives me so much pleasure and satisfaction, I am still there though my baby has graduated long ago and is now entering university. A good friend uses this to define me:

Two years ago something amazing happened to me which radically altered my station in this life. In one unforgettable summer weekend, I suddenly became the mother of two mothers.
This event instantly and singularly changed the status of my life to Grand.
While I am eternally grateful for this gift and choose to happily dedicate the remainder of my days to wearing this mantle with humility, pizzazz and God's good grace (!) it remains a transition that requires some effort - a deliberate shift in my view of things.
It means taking a fresh look at myself and my new role.

My girls call me Marmie, in the tradition of Louisa May Alcotts' Little Women...a moniker I wear with a bit of trepidation knowing what little semblance I bear to the author's central figure.
It follows does it not, that the advent of grandchildren should augment that name to Grandmarmie? Now it is true of course that the four little lambs whom the Great Giver of Great Gifts has so lavished upon our laps, are all still too young to wrangle such a name from their mouths. But the day is coming and as we await one still in the womb and remember the two we have in heaven, yet to meet someday....gamma and baca will do.

Grandmarmie X 7 with two in heaven. Yeah. I quite like the sound of that.

Oh, and my dear friend who has thus defined me above? She's offered an update...

Clive Staples Who?

2008-06-26T23:22:00.000-07:00

Incredulous though it be, there are some in the world who have no inkling :) of C.S. Lewis.
When I try describe to such a person, my great enthusiasm for Oxbridge 2008, I often wish to simply press play on a portable video player and have YouTube say it for me.
Impractical. I know.
So, I heave a heavy sigh and offer my "condensed" verbal definition:

Oxbridge 2008 explores the deep questions of faith in a two-week feast of nourishment for mind, body and spirit with renowned scholars from the arts and sciences, leaders in ministry and the major professions and an array of literary, visual and performing artists.

Insufficient. I know. *!?!!* So go watch the video.

The War Hero's Offspring Becomes a Hippie

2008-06-25T14:12:00.001-07:00

My daughter and I just recently completed the agonizing task of settling our preferences within the Afternoon Electives for the upcoming conference in England. *sigh*
...or perhaps that should read *shudder* http://www.cslewis.org/programs/oxbridge/2008/index.html
A brief glance at the link above may help clarify the angst that particular activity has produced. Increasingly, I vacillate between delight and terror at the whole notion.
Delight for the chance to travel and experience this with my offspring whom I thought, was pretty much like me in many respects.
Terror at the depth and challenge of the material we'll be exposed to.

My dining room table is littered with conference paraphernalia crying to be organized and I, the overwhelmed/random shuffler of paper, found a copy of Pegasus 2008: Verse and Prose by students of Guido -- AND a contribution signed by someone with my daughters name!
Of course my attention was immediately diverted...wouldn't yours?
In the third re-reading of it, something new about my offspring began to dawn on me...something that inspires me to reflect on her uniqueness and to praise God for making each of us, special & distinctly-gifted bearers of His image.

Strange, how that reflection launches me straight back into that silly cycle of delight and terror!

THE WAR HERO'S OFFSPRING BECOMES A HIPPIE

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree,
Or so it's been said.
But what if, say
That old fruit-bearing tree is
Perched
On the edge of a
Sheer drop
Cliff
And that little apple
Just falls and falls --
Splash
Into a steady stream in which
That little Red Apple
Just bobs along, ends
Up in the hands of some
Tourist
Who takes it back to Georgia on the
Jet plane
And places it lovingly
on his fireplace mantel?

If you ask me, that apple sure
Fell
Far,
Awfully far
From the tree.
by Catherine

Now I understand why our conference choices have led us in two opposite directions.
She's mine alright, but she's also totally herself. Me thinks this is going to be an interesting ride!

You Tube Video

2008-06-10T19:37:00.000-07:00

I'm terribly excited about this latest post which my dear friend Lilly has helped me attach.
No. Actually, she did it for me and I have no idea how she did it.
I watch this video and it makes me fairly jump out of my skin with anticipation...I can't believe what is in store for us!

Self and the Search for Meaning

2008-06-05T20:14:00.000-07:00

A confession of sorts...

I've been a nut for all things 'C.S.Lewis' since grade 11 when I played the White Witch of Narnia in a drama production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Incredibly, though I had been a lifelong voracious reader, I had never come across the Chronicles of Narnia or its' prolific author.
But since that delightful experience?

Clearly, the number of hardcover (denoting highly prized) books in my library collection of the life and work of Clive Staples easily betrays one besotted!

Now, with the generosity and blessing of my beloved one, my baby girl and I are headed off to one of those C.S. Lewis Summer Institutes that I had previously only dreamed of attending...and in the prodigious cities of Oxford and Cambridge no less!

And hear this! We're to stay in the campus dorms on the grounds of the very universities he taught...to which my Catherine says "Crazy man" and her mom says "Surreal man".

Yeah, we're excited.

only 48 more sleeps... ;)