Yard work ,New York, fall cruise to New England and Canada

Prior to going our mission to Mexico we took out many of the trees and shrubs from our yard.  After coming home we again  took out more shrubs and put up a new Trex fence and a new wrought iron fence.  With the new landscaping project we also needed to plant trees and do some major yard remodeling.  My hope was that if we could simplify living in that big house I could continue to live there. Dennis and I had been called to serve in the Draper temple.  One day as I was in sitting in the temple in the celestial room as part of my assignment for the day I prayed and asked Heavenly Father for help to how what he wanted me to do with my life.  I heard a voice say to me "move".  I thought to myself, really move? But I couldn't deny that was what I heard.  I started looking around at homes but could not find anything that would suit our needs.     

September 23,2017.  I loved watching women's conference with Candace, Tess, Jenny and Grace.  It was the first time that the young primary girls were invited to attend this conference.  We watched it at the church. These girls are going to grow up and become mothers.  Maybe a mission will be in their future.  Candace served in Russia.  

 

Tessa was born September 22, 2009.  She asked me to talk about the Holy Ghost at her baptismal and her grandmother Clark to talk about Baptism.  I'm so happy to see her make sacred covenants. 

  Dennis and I decided to go on a fall cruise to Canada with the Cruise Lady tour group.  We flew to New York a day early and did some sightseeing around  New York.  We had been with her on a cruise entitled "In the Footsteps of Paul".  I appreciate her respect for the Sabbath day.  I knew she would also show us the Boston Temple as well as have a speaker from BYU come along and talk to use during our down times on the ship.    Dennis wanted to see a couple of Broadway plays.  We saw Anastasia and also one Dennis wanted to see about the women singer and song writer Carol King.  The play was called "Beautiful".  

 Inside St. Patrick's Cathedral

The Rockefeller Center

We stopped at St. Patrick's Cathedral which is across from the Rockefeller Center.  Built in 1910 the cathedral is over 100 years old and is a very imposing site.  I wonder if the catholic church itself  is going to fall apart someday as it seems to be declining from corruption within.  We also stopped at the NBC today show plaza and saw Radio City Hall.  There is so much to see in New York.

We went to the Top of the Rock Observation Deck on the 67th, 69th and 70th  floor of the Rockefeller Plaza where we could look in a every direction.  

We went into Central Park and took this picture at an Alice in Wonderland statue. 

The building behind me is the Church meeting house in New York City.  

This was the stair case of the twin tower and the damage it sustained as a result of the

terrorist attack on 9/11 2001.   We also toured the 9/11 Memorial Museum which was very sobering to think that 2,753 were killed with just the attack on the twin towers.

One World Trade Center or Freedom Tower.  It is the tallest building in the US, the tallest in the Western Hemisphere and the 6th tallest in the world.  (94 floors) it was build to replace the twin tower and commemorate our drive to overcome the terrorist event.  

Rob and Rachel used to live in Boston so when we visited I walked in this neighborhood where the Old North Church is located.  It is very close by their old apartment.   

 Sunday, October 8th 2017 we were in Boston, Massachusetts.  We saw the Paul Revere monument, Old Boston where Rachel used to live, the Freedom trail. and the Old North Church. I am very grateful for men who were willing to fight for this country, Paul Revere, the minute men and the statesmen.  I am thankful for the women who raised their children while their husbands were working and fighting for a good cause.  Sometimes we seem to have lost the desire to defend our God given nation. We need more righteousness and commitment to God, liberty and the right for freedom. 

Our tour included the Boston Temple grounds but no time to go inside.  We also went by Kennebunkport and actually saw (from a distance) President Bush being pushed in his wheel chair at their summer resort home.  His wife Barbara would die that next April in 2018.

The autumn foliage in Canada was beautiful in October of 2017.  This was at Saint Martins.  If the tide is low you can go into the cave, but if you stay to long and the tide rises you would have to swim to the shore from the cave.   

I thought it might be fun for Thanksgiving to put on a play after dinner.   It was called Tucker's Turkey.  Michael Tucker Clark started as Tucker and Seth was a good sport and played the turkey.  Amy and Darren were in it also.  

December 2017 For a Christmas present to me.  Amy brought her family over and polished all the silver in my china closet.  years before it used to be a job that the girls helped me do about every six months.  Thank you to Amy and children.

Surely Christmas is for Children.  Jonathan delights in the Merry-go-round.

We went with Janiel Benson and Linda Harston to the Manheim Steam Rollers Christmas Concert 

at the Eccles Theater in Salt Lake City December 2017

Outside of London

This is the old Ely Dispensary in the town of Ely.  It is very significant to Rachel because ancestry on Rob's side of the family are connected with town of Ely.  The inscription on the door says:
        Ely Dispensary
             1865
        Heal the Sick

The Ely Cathedral is old and large (built in about 1000 AD ).  I was so glad we could see it, particularly because Rachel and Rob named their son after the Ely's.

















        The Cathedral is well maintained and still in use.

We also visited the town of Harston.  Dennis is not sure that he has any family connection with ancestors there but it was fun to look around and feel like there could be a connection.


The Harston village Hall.






                                                                                        A Harston Coat of Arms we saw in the town

This was a fun old tower restaurant with an interesting entry.  

                                        

We stayed at a bed and breakfast that had an creative back yard.

The woman was kind and gave us an English Tea (herbal tea for us) of cookies and tea.  The next morning when we ate breakfast with some English guests their dislike for President Trump was quickly made manifest.  

This was in the side yard.  It is a castle for their grandchildren to play in.  

The bed and breakfast was in the town of Kineton.  

We drove on, with Dennis at the wheel, driving on the wrong side of the road, 

at least from the American perspective.  

The Ann Hathaway Cottage is the birthplace of William Shakespeare.

Stratford-Upon-Avon town square

The Great Garden of New Place.  An English garden now, the place where Shakespeare is buried.  

The Avon River by the city of Stratford-upon-Avon.  Rachel and I had stopped 

at a dress shop there in town and each of us bought new dress.  

The city of Bath and the North East of Somerset was next.

There is so much old history in England whereas American is a relatively young country.  

This was a particularly beautiful bridge and river of Bath. 

Jane Austen lived in Bath.  We visited the house she resided in.  

Ahh, the Roman baths for which Bath is named for.  

t

One of our places of lodging was just inside and up the stairs.  It was a small apartment 

that we didn't spend much time in because there was so much to see and do. 

Stonehenge, so old. 

I really enjoyed walking around Windsor Castle and the grounds.  

I loved these back stairs and all the greenery around them.  

We all had our own headsets to listen to and learn about Windsor.

The English guards and all their regalia.

How I loved visiting England.  

England with Rachel

 In August 2017 Dennis and I went to London with Rachel.  We drove to Seattle and stayed there one night and then flew out from there for our trip together.  I was delighted that Rachel would be willing to go with us.



We flew overnight and arrived on Saturday August 5 and immediately began touring and seeing the iconic red English telephone booths.  Since Sunday was the next day we needed to know where to go to church. In pursuit of the church we stopped at the Victoria and Albert Museum, saw double decker red buses, black taxis and Harrods department store.




The church was walking distance from where we were staying.

Hyde Park




















             



                       Westminster Abby

                                       Westminster with the tower of Big Ben off to the side. 

 I love the charm of the black wrought iron fences, the geranium boxes and the red brick buildings.  

The London Bridge was  not what I envisioned it would be after singing "London Bridges Falling Down" so many times as a child.

London's Tower Bridge was the old bridge I had pictured as London Bridge.

Another iconic sight is the mounted guard.

A close up of the Buckingham Palace gates.

Kensington Park

 Kensington Park

Royal Albert Concert Hall nearing dusk.

 

Kensignton  Palace where Prince William and Kate live.

 Princess Diana memorial garden remembering the 20th anniversary of her death.

            British museum lobby

The Elgin Marbles (statues and  sculptures carved from marble) taken from the Parthenon and Acropolis by the Earl of Elgin.  Unfortunately when Rachel and I read in the British Museum guide book it told us to make sure we saw the Elgin Marbles.  We both though that meant something different, as in marbles a child would play with. We were a little taken aback when a museum guide told us otherwise. 

More of the marble statues from the Parthenon.

The London Eye. One of the world's largest ferris wheels.