How to spend a Saturday . . .

They say time flies when you're having fun and this past week has flown by like crazy.  I am not surprised as we have all been having such a great time.  Its been so wonderful for Todd to get to know Lura and John in person, and it has been so lovely to be able to spend this time together.

We decided to have another lazy day yesterday.  Lura was recovering from a bug she had picked up and to be honest I think both John and Todd were feeling it.  They did remarkably well all week with all of the activity.  On Friday evening we had introduced Lura and John to a show called Line of Duty on Netflix.

Todd and I have been watching the latest series of it on the BBC, and had not realised that there were any previous series.  We discovered that there were several the other day and on Friday Night we had watched the first episode together.  There was nothing for it now but to BINGE watch it before Lura and John went home and that's what we did yesterday!  We binged on it.  It was mesmerizing.  We watched episode 2, thinking they could watch the rest when they got back to California, but we were hooked, lined and sinkered and we just kept watching one episode after another.  It was totally mesmerising.  You need to watch it if you can.  You will be totally hooked, I promise!

Then last night we did the totally British thing for a Saturday night and we went to an Indian Restaurant for our supper.  The Amantola Restaurant is very near to where we live and they have an Indian/Thai/Chinese buffet and we decided to give it a go.  Todd and I had not ever been there, but we had heard some good things about it.  We all thoroughly enjoyed the experience and I think Todd and I will definitely be going back.  The food was delicious and the staff were so lovely and accomodating.  We all really enjoyed it.  It was really, really good.

This morning saw us up bright and early.  I got up at five so I could make them a packed lunch to take on the coach with them, and then everyone was up and eating and getting ready and before we knew it we were in the car and on our way to the coach station and what was a beautiful week was now over.   *sniff *sniff*

We thoroughly enjoyed having Lura and John with us this past week and we hope that it won't be 8 years until we get to see each other again!!  I hope they have a safe and uneventful journey back to their home, and that John doesn't pick up Lura's cold.  (Todd either for that matter!)

And that is how you spend a beautiful week.

Back to Normal

now.

A Lazy Day . . .

 

Well yesterday, we just had a lazy day.  A do nothing day.   A sit around day. That's how we all felt.  I think we have over-done it all week and yesterday we all hit the wall.  Lura has a cold.  John has leukemia.  Todd is recovering, and I am . . .  well . . .  just lazy, full stop!

 I made a Dutch Pancake for dessert, which we had with fresh berries.  It went down a real treat.  Nothing was left!

 Lura worked on her crochet socks.   They are just beautiful.  She crochets an edging on bought socks and adds beads.

 

Like this.  It is a pattern she made up herself.  She uses crochet cotton and these triangular beads that have a hole in the centre. 

 

 John keeping his eye on the pulse of everything that is going on . . .

 Todd just keeping his eye on, while he eats a banana . . . and thinks to himself, is there nothing that woman won't take a photo of?

 Mitzie loved having us around.  She loves having us around anyways.  Life is more exciting with US there.

 She is such a glutton for attention, lol.  She will take whatever she can get . . .

 The Elders stopped by, the Zone Leaders and they wanted to practice teach us, which was nice.  I am glad that we were home so that they could do that.  They are such great young men.

 

and I made a typical British dish for our supper, Bangers and Mash.  And we had leftover Victoria Sponge for dessert.  

And that was our 

lazy day

...

 I think we will go into Chester today and take a walk along the walls, or maybe we will have another lazy day.   Today is their last day with us.  We will be sorry to see them leave us tomorrow.

 

Whatever we do, we will do it together.

This week has passed by far too quickly.  I can't believe it is almost over!!

 

Thursday Tea Parties

The day dawned bright and beautiful for our Tea Party yesterday. Actually it was a bit showery here and there, but we were going to be indoors so that was fine.  Poor Lura, however, woke up feeling quite poorly with an upset tummy, etc.  She spent the morning in bed trying to recover.   I got the tea things set out (because the trooper that she is did not want to cancel.)  I baked the Victoria Sponge, and went to the shops to get a few last minute bits and set everything up.  Thankfully by noon she had started to feel a lot better.  Whew!

Well, I am really moving out of my comfort zone this visit.  Me, who hates having her photograph taken is being snapped and snapped!  That is from left to right, Tina, Carolyn, Miriam, Moi and finishing off with Shirley.  What a fun bunch!  Lura was taking the photo here.

We talked and talked and talked and laughed and laughed and laughed.  What a great bunch of ladies!

We really did have a great time and everyone got on like a house on fire.  We talked and had a good laugh about the difference in English "English" and American "English," and all sorts.  I don't think there was a subject we didn't sort out!

There was far too much food. (There always is.)  We had scones, clotted cream and raspberry jam (of course), a Victoria Sponge filled with yet more clotted cream, raspberries and jam, carrot cake, a bakewell tart, small quiches, brownies, sandwiches, sausage rolls, French Fancies and macarons, oh and I put some potato chips out just because.  I know they are not regular tea party fare, but people like them. It was all so good.  We also had an assortment of beverages.  They all laughed at my tea pot with the tea cosy I knitted for it.  Especially since we are all Mormons and none of us drink real tea, lol.  I told them I knit the cosy and then had to buy a tea pot to put it on, which is true. 

What can I say?  

I love tea cosies and

I love Teapots.

But then you all already know that! The macarons were so easy to make.  Did you know you can buy not put together macaron bits?  You can!  I discovered them yesterday when I went to the shop.  A box filled with macaron halves, lime, strawberry and lavendar ones.   I put them together with bits of jam and buttercream.  They worked out beautifully!  I put lemon curd and the buttercream on the lime/green ones, strawberry jam and butter cream on the pink ones and blueberry jam and buttercream on the purple ones.  Everyone loved. 

And there was plenty leftover to feed the 

guys with when they got home.

The End.

The most important thing was that we all had a lovely time and Lura got to meet and socialise with some of my good friends over here in the UK.  Oddly enough she and Miriam are both flying over to SLC at the same time next week.  Small world eh?

I am not sure what we are going to do today.  It is quite overcast at the moment so I expect we won't be going very far, and of course a lot depends on how Lura and John are feeling.  Todd and John spent the whole afternoon in town yesterday and walked their feet off taking in all the things there are to take in in Chester, the museum, the Groves, the park, the abbey ruins, roman garden, ampi-theatre, etc.  We were all pretty zonked last night.  I hope they slept well!

And that was Thursday!

Oh, I am so going to miss her

when they leave on 

Sunday 

...

Wednesday in Llangollen

 

 The sun was shining brightly again yesterday and so we said, cold wind or not, we are going to Llangollen and the Horseshoe Pass!  As you all know Llangollen is one of my favourite places.  It is such a pretty little Welsh town and we love it there.  We could not let this week pass without sharing one of our most beloved places with Lura and John!

And guess what, they loved it too.  Even if it was a bit on the chilly side!  There is so much to see in Llangollen.  That beautiful river, the rapids, the train station, the architecture, the history, the canal, the acquaduct . . . the list goes on and on.  Cold as it was we still treated ourselves to some great Ice Cream in sugar cones.  My phone is taking such bad pictures.  I don't know what I am doing wrong!

 The whole of Denbighshire is such an area of stunning beauty.  I think it is one of my favourite counties!

 I also love the Horseshoe Pass.  The scenery is so stunning.  I don't think I have ever been able to get a decent photo of it.  I can't even begin to describe how beautiful it is to be up so high and looking down on those gorgeous Welsh valleys.

 

We didn't waste a lot of time outside the car as it was sooooo cold, but what a view.  I think they were both most impressed.  Everything is so green to a Californian! 

 

 Of course while we were there, we had to have lunch at The Ponderosa Cafe.  It's not a fancy place but the food is sure good!

 Todd and I each had the chicken dinner.  We could not finish it!  John had fish and chips. (He has had that everywhere we have gone.  I think he must be related to my family. That is a very Villeneuve thing to do!)  Lura was very brave and had Steak and Kidney Pie.  And she loved it!  Brave woman to have that!

 As women do, we needed to use the loo.   I could hear Lura laughing and laughing.  I said, Lura are you okay, and she was laughing so hard she could barely speak.  The TOILETS were so cold to sit on, that she was having a fit of giggles because she said it was a miracle that none of it froze!  I said it was a miracle that we could go pee at all because everything was in shock after sitting on the thrones.   Seriously freezing!  I can't begin to explain.  BRRRRRR!!!!!

They have a beautiful gift shop up there.  Lura found her postcards she wanted to send home and wrote them up.

 Todd fails to understand our need to photograph everything.  LOL  He was eating his lunch and telling me not to take his photo while he was eating.  So many giggles.

Last night we were still so stuffed from the dinner we had up there and the ice creams, we just had hot chocolates (I think Lura was still recovering from the cold toilet seat) and toast, and I got to introduce them to this  . . .

 

Inspector George Gently.  They both fell in love with it.  They love One Foot In The Grave Also. 

  

But seriously girls . . .  Martin Shaw . . . 

Nom Nom

Yum! 

 

Lock us up Inspector Gently because we are 

feeling rather

naughty!

Yes, John liked it too.  In fact I think he wrote down the name of the series because he wants to try to get it in America.  So well done.  

And that was our day yesterday!  Today we are Tea Partying with the girls and the guys are going into Chester to do their man thing!

I wish I was taking better photos to share with you all!  We seriously are having a great time and the week is passing far too quickly.  

One final thing . . .  Book titles.  Which one do you like best.

Number 1 option:  The English Kitchen: An Anglophile's Love-note to English Cuisine

Number 2 option:  The Full English: Classics of English Cooking

Number 3 option:  The English Kitchen: Classics of English Cooking (An Anglophile's Lovenote to English Cuisine)

Have a great Thursday!  We shall raise a cup to all of you!(And take photos, hopefully!)

Love and hugs, 

Tuesday at Erddig

 

Having had another dry but very cold day yesterday we decided to take Lura and John to Erddig, which is in Wales.  Erddig is a stately home owned by the National Trust. It was originally built in 1682 for a man named Joshua Eddisbury, who had been appointed as the High Sherrif of Denbighshire.  Unfortunately he bankrupted himself in beginning the building of this property and so his debts were bought by another man, a successful lawyer named John Meller who set about furnishing and adding to the property.  He died without a successor and to the property went to his Sister's son Simon Yorke, and the property stayed in the Yorke family right up until 1978 when it was left to the National Trust, who took upon themselves the restoration of the property.  It is a beautiful example of how life would have been for a wealthy family and their servants during the Edwardian Era. 

 

I am not sure if I will ever catch the hang of this selfie business! I try however and this is a photo of Lura and I in the main dining room. What a marvelous house this is, filling with many antiquities and oddities.  Todd and I have been here many times and we just love it.  We always discover something new. 

 For instance this portrait of Queen Victoria which I had always thought was just a pencil portrait of the Queen, but then yesterday I discovered  that it was much, much more!

It has been created totally of writing, depicting the story of her life.  I have been here so many times, and yet had never noticed that until yesterday.

 

I tried to do a close up of it with my phone, but you can't read the words.  It gibes you some idea of the uniqueness of this portrait however.  Simply Fascinating. 

  

On the grounds there is a thatched Molly House, complete with stained glass windows and a thatched gull sitting on the roof.  We made the boys pose for us here! 

 

I am sorry for the dullness of the photos.  I took them all with my phone, and clearly it doesn't do such great photos for some reason.  I must need to adjust something on it  Anways, the grounds, although very early in the season, were also quite beautiful. 

 

 

There were swans by the lake, but they seemed a bit annoyed we were there, so we didn't approach them any closer than this!

 

Lura with her selfie stick, lol.  I love Lura and her selfie stick!  We had a really good time despite all the stairs and the cold wind.  (Brrrr . . .  it was cold, but at least it wasn't raining!)

I think today we might hazard a trip to Llangollen, but we will see.  Tomorrow is the tea party!  Can't wait!  

Hope you are all well.  I will have a lot of catching up to do after Sunday!  Love you all!

 

Monday with Lura and John

 

 Hi Everyone!  We had a lovely day yesterday.  It began with me making my Hot Cross Bun French Toast for everyone, which went down a real treat!  (No surprise there as it is really good!)  It was quite a cool day, sunny and dry, but with a cold wind.  Thankfully I have an extra coat that is heavy so Lura was able to borrow that and so we were both toasty warm.  We were going to be going to catch the bus and go into Chester to have a little tour.  Lura and John are just bowled away by the history that they are seeing over here, first in Bath and then up here in Chester.  Of course the Cathedral was top of the list and we spent almost the whole morning in there, which is very easy to do, as it is stunning and filled with antiquities!

 This is a selfie Lura and I took of ourselves in front of my ancestor (Sir Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, the first Duke of Westminster.)  I call him Uncle Hugh, lol  We were trying my friend Di's advice on double chins in photographs, and had a good laugh about that.  Of course the coats help!

 Here is a closer look at the profile Of Sir Hugh.  He was quite handsome man I think!  Its too bad some of his money didn't filter down to me as he was very wealthy and the present Duke of Westminster is the richest man in the UK!  

 

This is a not very good photo of Lura and John in the cathedral.   My phone wasn't taking that good a shots yesterday for some reason.  In any case they both really enjoyed the cathedral very much.  I am not surprised as it is completely stunning.

We also took a walk around Chester, on the cobbled streets, showing them some of the finer points, the Victoria clock, the Cross, etc.  The wind was cold though and we didn't stay outside for long.  We ended up having Fish and Chips at Blackstocks which was really delicious.  I did not know they did a baby fish and chips and so that is what Lura and I had.  I will order that from now on!  It's a lot cheaper and had just the right amount of chips and fish.

After that we came home  and John and Todd had a lie down each, and Lura sat and crocheted her socks.  (She makes the most amazing socks with beautiful crochet trim and beading on them.) 

We had invited our friends Sheilagh and Ralph over for Family Home Evening, so I got busy making some sandwiches and deviled eggs for that, and before we knew it they were here and we got on with the business of a thoroughly delightful evening spent with some of the people I love most.  We played a really fun game called Apples to Apples, which Lura showed us and we all laughed and laughed when we were playing it.  It was a delight.  And then we had refreshments and just talked and well, we just had a really, really good time! 

 

Sheilagh had brought a gift for each Lura and I, naughty girl.  She had made us each a beautiful pack of cards and they are just gorgeous!  I love them!  She is just so talented. 

  

What a laugh we had.  It was such a great time.  Here we are, all of us trying to look thinner for the camera and laughing.  I think I was saying "Suck it in Girls!"  when this one was taken, lol  If this is sucking it in, I dread to think what we would have looked like had we let it all hang out! haha

We just had a really, really

good time.

I am enjoying having Lura and John here very much and so is Todd.  We are hoping to go for a drive into Wales today to show them some stunnning scenery!  The sun is shining so far so fingers crossed it will continue!

Thanks everyone for your lovely comments yesterday.  I haven't been able to respond to each one individually, but do know that I loved and appreciated each and every one!  Love you all to bits.  Blogging friends are the best of friends.  We were just saying yesterday how we had never met anyone from our blogs that we did not love, and that includes each of you.  Maybe we are just lucky that way.  You do hear horror stories but that has never been our experience.  But having said that I think I am very lucky (And Blessed!) because I just have the bestest blogging friends ever!