Welcome to my new blog. This page will be much easier for me to use. Hopefully it will be a delight for you to navigate. To respond to my posts, comment on my xanga page. Enjoy! |
posted Jun 22, 2009 12:42 AM by Lizzy Wright
posted Jun 19, 2009 1:27 PM by Lizzy Wright
On Friday (12) I flew out of Manchester to Dusseldorf, Germany. Upon arrival I experienced the kind of shock that I was expecting -- it was the first time in ten years that I'd been somewhere that the language left me completely clueless. This was especially poignant when I was trying to figure out which train I needed. Afterall, I struggle with reading train schedules in English, nevermind German. I made it finally to Cologne where I met some missionary friends. Their two small children did not know that I was coming . . . and still the first thing they said was, "Hi, Lizzy. Where's Jahncke?" I was asked many times over the next several days, "Where's Jahncke?" I have to admit I was a little disappointed when H. didn't ask me the last day. Hehe. It was kind of fun to be asked every day where my boyfriend was; the implication being, "Why in the world isn't he with you???"
On Saturday (13) morning I was dragged against my will -- I mean, I went with A. to a baby shower for another missionary. I felt doubly disqualified to write a note with mothering advice since I am not a mother and I don't know this person. Therefore, while everyone else sat and wrote I crocheted on a project I had brought with me. Curiously, I was closer to finishing than I thought I was and managed to complete the blanket before A. and I left. I was doing a boy project and the expected baby has been identified as male, so I gifted the new blanket to the mother. Fun times. After leaving the shower, A. and I went shopping for some German souvenirs for myself and a few special people. We were taking advantage of the absence of children since they were home taking naps.
Sunday (14) involved church in the morning. I sat in the baby/small child room with A. and H. during the service. I felt terrible....weak and migrainish. I was tired and dehydrated -- not a good combination. But I sat there and crocheted. In the evening we took a train down to the end of its line and walked along the Rhine River. We also stumbled upon a playground complete with zipline. We spent at least 45 minutes there, after which we decided we needed some ice cream.
Monday (15) A. had to take her German class in the morning. D. and I took B. and H. to the Dom, which is the (ginormous) Catholic cathedral in Cologne. I'd already seen the outside, but now I got to go inside. Seeing the Dom was escepially exciting for me because ever since I had a history of architecture course in 7th grade, I've varied between majorly and mildly interesting in going to Europe -- just to see the buildings. After seeing the inside of the Dom and taking a picture (which I will post later) of the golden cask in which they supposedly keep the skulls of the three wise men who visited Jesus, we climbed 533 steps to the top of one of the highest bell towers. There were some beautiful views of the city and the Rhine River from the top; however, I do not have any pictures from the top because it was unfortunately raining while we up there. I didn't want to get the camera wet.
Tuesday (16) was the day I flew back to England. Thankfully I was flying out of a small airport. If it had been a big airport, I would probably have missed my flight. I checked in and got into line to check my luggage with 45 minutes before my departure time. Yikes! When I made it to the gate, they were not even boarding. In fact, the plane wasn't even at the gate. Praise God I made it. I had scheduled a flight not into Manchester, but into London so I could spend a couple days there. But that is not the subject of this post. However, there is one more thing to say about Tuesday. I discovered that when I'm tired and dehydrated, 20 ounces (an English pint) of 6.5% proof cider is too much alcohol.....actually, half a pint would have been much better under those circumstances. Oh well, I'll just stay clear of the Weston's Organic without having plenty of water earlier in the day....and only drink a half. |
posted Jun 9, 2009 1:54 AM by Lizzy Wright
Today we made a day trip to the Yorkshire Dales. Matthew planned a nice drive for us. Our first stop in the Dales was at Malham. We were thinking of hiking up to a very cool cliff face (of which I can't recall the name). But I went into the Visitor Center to look at the information and other stuff that they have, and what I found changed our plans. I found out that the Wensleydale Creamery is in Hawes, which is a town we were headed to. We decided that since we had another hike planned, we'd rather go see cheese being made. :-D Cheese! "How about a bit of Wensleydale, Grommit?" Yeh, good times. So we drove to Hawes and found the Creamery. There was a museum full of many items you would have found in a typical Dales farm home at various stages of the 19th and 20th centuries. Of course the main items of interest were those connecting with the making of Wensleydale Cheese. Also in the museum was a copy of the 23rd Psalm written out in the Yorkshire Dales dialect. It was cool! After walking through the museum, we were able to go watch the Creamery at work. We looked through glass down into the plant floor as people busied about with the cheese making process. I was exceptionally excited about this; when I was a kid I saw on TV how cheese is made, and I've been fascinated by it ever since. If I ever own a dairy animal, such as a cow or goat, count on it that I'm going to try to learn to make cheese. After leaving the actual cheese-making part of the premises, we went to the shop and restaurant. There I tasted what may have been around 14 different cheeses, most of them Wensleydale. Yup, there are that many different kinds of Wensleydale. I think my favorite was a kind with onions in it. :) Yum. I skipped the one with cranberries, because I already knew I don't like it. That's the only kind I can get in Chat., you see.
Next we drove up and over more exciting hills to a tiny (don't blink!) village called Hardraw. We were wanting to go see a waterfall called Hardraw Force. It is apparently the longest single drop waterfall in the UK. We weren't really sure how to find Hardraw Force, though. We reached the other edge of the village -- remember, if you blinked, you'd miss it -- and had to turn around, looking again for any sign or indication of were to set off to find the waterfall. I managed to read a sign which said "Hardrow Force Entrance through the Inn" (yes, they spelled "Hardraw" wrong; I checked on other signs). So we found a place to park, paid a little to gain entrance, since the waterfall is on private property and hiked....ahem, strolled maybe a quarter mile to the base of Hardraw Force. The sound was incredible. It was difficult to hear what anyone was saying. The way the rock had been hollowed out behind the waterfall created a natural amphitheatre for the roar. Also, we got quite wet. The mist from the waterfall itself was impressive. Water sprayed out from the sides of the waterfall and from the pool below where the torrent met the rocks. Some mist contacted the rock face behind and to the sides of the waterfall and fell from the heights surrounding the creek. In all, as we stood there, tiny water droplets were approaching us from three different directions. Yeh, we were wet. The only person who didn't take much notice -- no, she didn't notice at all -- of the waterfall was Rosie.
After visiting the waterfall, we went in search of the Buttertubs. I don't know exactly how to describe the Buttertubs. They are sink holes in the peat of the moors. Inside these sink holes are pillars of ... limestone, I think. They are very deep. One that we saw had a small waterfall dropping to the bottom. I suppose it disappears underground somewhere after that. The Buttertubs got there name because they are the perfect temperature for storing butter so it will not melt. Apparently it was often used by farmers on their way to market. I suppose perhaps they stopped for a while there to have a bite before continuing and lowered their butter and cheese into one of these gaping holes while they stopped. The funny thing is that the Buttertubs are almost inconspicuous. No kidding. They're on the side of the road, but there's no sign and not much parking. It's hard to see them because of the way the ground slopes up away from the road. We missed them the first time over the moor. I had seen what looked like a minuature Buttertub and thought we were getting close. Little did I know that we had already passed them. The funny part is that I had seen, the first time past, the fences around the Buttertubs and had seen that there were sink holes there. I didn't think anything of it. I just thought, and said, "There are fences around those sink holes so the sheep don't end up down in them." Wow. I'm special.
I need to go back to the Dales someday. :) Add that to the list. |
posted Jun 6, 2009 1:37 PM by Lizzy Wright
Today's major event was the Highland Springs 4 Mile (Highland Spring is a water bottling company). I ran with only 20-something other people. I knew little to nothing about this race, so I was moderately surprised to find that it was a very technical (lots of roots, puddles, and rocks) trail race with some grueling hills. Needless to say, my time was much slower than I had hoped for. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. :) Oh yeh, and it was cold and windy. Being in the woods was a pleasant experience because it was warmer in there, and the trees protected us from all wind. |
posted Jun 6, 2009 1:37 PM by Lizzy Wright
Today I made a trip to Lancaster. I spent between 30 and 45 minutes in the Priory Church next to the castle. I really enjoy castles. Unfortunately, I started around this church in the "wrong" direction. This is what I mean. The church was full of ... I can't remember what they're called in church ... stations. The first one had water; you were supposed to scoop some up into your hands. It was a time for reflection, but since I didn't go the "right" way I didn't pay a lot of attention to what you were supposed to be reflecting on exactly. The second stop was in the military chapel. This was interesting. You were encouraged to pray for healing of some hurt in someone else's life (presumably caused by you). After you prayed, you were supposed to pick up a "blood-stained" bandage and push it into a whole in a board and watch it turn into a poppy. I don't know what the third stop was; I didn't see it. The fourth stop was a place to pray asking the Holy Spirit to work in you and to shine through your life. You were then supposed to light a candle to symbolize the light of the Lord shining out from you (made me think of "This little light of mine/I'm gonna let it shine"). I didn't spend much time at these stations, since I didn't realize they were there. I have done something similar before and it's really interesting how they tie things together. Participating in the "stations" at a church was like listening to a pastor give a "meditation," only there was more actual meditation because you silently read what the station was about and the passages you were to think about. Then you meditated and prayed. Finally you did something related to that part of meditation which made you remember it better.
Anyway, I really enjoy churches. The architecture appeals to me and has ever since I studies architecture as a required part of an art course in 7th grade. I like arches, high ceilings, stone work stained glass windows, and carved woodwork. Additionally, I think in churches and castles there's reason for it. I wouldn't want the inside of my house to look like that parish church in Lancaster. But for a church, I think it's phenomenal. I don't think it's necessary; in fact, I might feel weird attending regularly in a church that's decorated in such a way. However, I've been reading through the book of Exodus and chapter after chapter is taken up in describing the plans God made for his own place of worship and the robes of his priests. It is unbelievably intricate. So I think there's some precident for fancy places of worship. I'll tell you one thing; walking into an empty...or mostly empty ... church that's ornate and just a little dark causes an incredible hush to come over me. I am not a quiet person. I am when I'm in a church like that. Some people who read this may say that I'm responding emotionally to my external circumstances and that it has nothing to do with God's presence. Now, I am a person who thinks that the Church is a group of believers, not a building. However, I'd like to point out to those who are skeptical about my response to fancy churches being only emotional and external that I'd don't get quiet like that in fancy castles.
After viewing the church, I wandered about the Town Centre and bought some lunch at a bakery. I then ate in the vicarage field. Afterward I was afraid I was being followed by some guy. Creepy. Turns out he wasn't following me. Phew. It wasn't a good time to head to the castle for a tour, but I did anyway. I looked about the gift shop and didn't find anything worth buying (surprise...not) then bought my ticket for the two o'clock tour. I sat in the shop for a while and a lady waiting for her husband to come out of the tour made conversation with me. I got tired of sitting around so I went to explore outside and I took some pictures outside the castle.
Lancaster Castle is still a working prison with two court rooms. This limited the amount of the castle we could see because clearly they couldn't take us into the working prison. However, there were no cases in the courts today, so we could see both court rooms. On the wall in one room was a large collection of heraldy. The queen's coat of arms was in the middle, as were other people currently holding certain positions such as High Sheriff. Other than that they are arranged in chronological order. I learned some interesting things in what's called Shire Hall, the court room with the heraldy. For example, I learned that "brock" is the Gaelic word for badger. I also learned that English people like bad puns...kind of like my friend B. For example, the Standish family coat of arms had three standing dishes on it. *sigh* Here's something else I learned. If someone had a job such as High Sheriff or something else that allowed them to have their heraldy on the wall, and if their family didn't have any, they had to make one up and pay for it.
One feature of the tour was getting to go in one cell and think about what it must be like to have to stay in there. Of course for dramatic effect, the guide went outside, bolted the door, turned out the light, and opened the little light hatch (for lack of a better term) above the door through which he shouted at us the most encouraging things like, "Lots people died in there, you know. They say these cells are haunted."
Ok...I'm done. I will eventually post some pictures. I'm several days behind in my posts (it's actually Saturday, not Thursday). However, this is about all I can write tonight. If I write more I think it will be rambly and will have bad grammar. Who knows, maybe this post is terrible also. Goodnight, all. |
posted Jun 1, 2009 2:25 PM by Lizzy Wright
Today's major (and interesting to others) event was the trip to a concert/competition of young people this evening. These young people are in ordinary schools, but as a part of their schooling they are studying one or more instruments. Tonight's concert/competition consisted of traditional (Scottish) music. There were a lot of fiddles, some (bag)pipes, the accordion, and the piano. A neighbor of E and M's was participating in the competition. She did very well, but somehow didn't win anything. I'd have to say it was a hard decision for the adjudcator (I know I didn't spell that right!). I thoroughly enjoyed all the music...although I didn't think the accordionist was very good. |
posted Jun 1, 2009 2:12 PM by Lizzy Wright
It's amazing to me that no matter where I go on the weekend, when I get to church, no matter how good the church is or how much I like it, I miss GBC.
In the evening at the church I attended today, the pastor was preaching from Job 11:1-9. In this chapter Zophar is speaking for the first time. At one point (in our modern Bibles, the end of verse 6), Zophar says to Job, "Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin." What he was saying was that God wasn't even punishing Job for ALL his sins, so Job should stop complaining. In case you're not familiar with the book of Job, I'll spoil the story a little and explain that Job's sins weren't the cause of his suffering at the time. That's all I'll say; you have to read the rest for yourself. When the pastor came to this verse, he made it very clear that God doesn't ever forget "some of your sin." And I quote: "God either forgets all your sins, or he forgets none of your sins." He also explained that when God forgets sins, it's not like when we forget something. God isn't in heaven saying, "Oh no, she sinned again...now where is the list of her sins so I can write it down. Oh...she sinned again; now what was that other sin I was getting ready to record. Oh well, there are too many sins; I just can't remember them all." I repeat, this is not what it's like when God forgets sins. In another place in the Bible (forgive me, I can't remember where), it says that God "remembers your sin no more." He chooses not to remember our sins if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and our Lord.
"God either forgets all your sins, or he forgets none of your sins." |
posted Jun 1, 2009 2:03 PM by Lizzy Wright
Yesterday we drove to Esther and Matthew's home in Scotland. As we drove along the motorway, at one point, the Lake District was to our left and the Pennines (hills) to our right. Beautiful. I'm looking forward to driving back through on Tuesday. After we exited t he motorway we drove through lovely Scottish countryside. In the village of Sorn we took a brief detour (diversion, they would say here) to drive over a steep, narrow bridge. It was thrilling. There was barely enough roo mor our car and when you started onto the bridge, you couldn't see the top, although it was only a few yards away. We continued up a hill to reach a vantage point to view the exterior of Sorn Castle. We didn't sitck around, though, since we really needed to complete our journey.
Today wasn't terribly eventful. I started out for a walk this morning. I wandered further in Irvine, to the Town Centre, in fact. I got kind of excited and decided I really should run around a bit. Thankfully it was a gorgeous morning (much like a morning in TN at this time of year) and I was properly dressed for a run. That was fun, but, as I said, uneventful. Thankfully. :)
We basically worked in the garden, went shopping, and hung around together today. Esther said she's pleased with how much we got done.
The most significant thing to report about today is that I miss Josh more than I have so far. I talked to him for quite a while this afternoon and this has made me homesick for him. |
posted May 28, 2009 4:48 AM by Lizzy Wright
My adventures for today started with an exciting run through the surrounding areas. I traipsed about for a while in Bamber Bridge, but a public footpath took me toward Lostock Hall and I continued that direction after I found myself back on a road. I really only puttered about in a residential area before turning back. Of course I didn't take the footpath back to Bamber Bridge, though. I had seen a road sign for Bamber Bridge and due to the glorious abundance of sidewalks over here I ran along that road. This unfortunately brought me to a non-pedestrian roundabout....I didn't know what to do and somehow made it to the other side alive. This was more challenging than you can probably imagine and than I care to explain in detail. I proceeded to run along and find a street sign for a road I had recognized while running in Bamber Bridge yesterday -- Duddle Lane. I ran to the end of Duddle Lane, but it was my misfortune that I didn't recognize the road where I came out. I hadn't landmarked that intersection especially. Even if there had been a street sign, it wouldn't have helped me at all because this is apparently one of those confusing roads that although nothing visibly has changed, the name of the street has. I decided at this time to turn around, thinking I had turned the wrong way onto Duddle Lane. I was immensely relieved when I came out at the other end staring at a store called Gee's Tees. I had seen this store twice yesterday and Esther had pointed it out to me especially when we were walking together. From there it was only a few blocks back to the house. Hooray! I haven't been this glad to be alive and in the right place for a long time.
After my roundabout adventure and my Duddle Lane turn-around, I cut through the yard of a Catholic church. I didn't dare find out if I could explore the church itself -- I really wanted to see the monastery -- in fact I didn't even get too close to the church building. You see, I was hot, sweaty, smelly, oddly clad for church visiting, and muddied by the paws of some friendly dogs I met on the public footpath. I didn't spend long in the graveyard; I was too anxious to get back to the house and had no idea how long it would take given my chosen trajectory. However, I stopped to read some of the gravestones. First of all, have I never been in a Catholic graveyard before?? I don't remember ever before reading "Of Your Charity Please Pray for the Souls of [long list of related people, how they were related, when they died, and how old they were]." Second and more importantly, there was a poem etched into one stone. They didn't seem to have enough space, because the lines weren't separated properly which made it more difficult to understand. However, I remember this part: "The Cross comes often Joys alas! are few." I thought it was quite interesting and true. On the other hand, I'd like to point out that the joys of walking with Christ are innumerable; these are simple not the type of "Joys" the poem was referring to.
Shortly after coming back to the house, I left again to go walking to a couple shops with Esther and Rosie. No particular events to mention there. We managed to get back the house just as Rosie was trying to fall asleep. That was good because we could then take her out of the pram and keep her awake. It wasn't nap time, you see.
This afternoon's adventures including taking Rosie to the pool. I didn't really swim at all, because I was too busy watching my niece be very excited and genuinely look like she was swimming while we held her in the water. We also introduced her to going under the water. It was nothing but the quickest dunks, but she really enjoyed it, until she started getting tired from all that swimming. Now, if you think we're crazy for dunking a 4 month baby, I'll just let you know that the instructor teaching the 4 month and up baby swimming class told the parents to dunk them, so we imitated the class.
I am beginning to hash out plans for my gallavanting around the country. We've pretty much set the dates for our trip to London. Unfortunately, it appears that my brother-in-law will still be working those days. Oh well. Girl time!! :) You may wonder why I didn't hash things out before I got here. I'll explain. Several things I'm going to do will be done with my family. I wanted to consult them on what timing will work for them and on what places they want to go. For example, Esther has already experienced certain things in London which I won't do with her so that she can do new things; I'll do those other things after she has gone back home, since I'm staying in London longer than she and Rosie. I also will using some of the UK resources that I didn't/couldn't access at home to fine tune some plans and add others -- like the county library. :) |
posted May 27, 2009 12:48 AM by Lizzy Wright
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updated May 27, 2009 1:25 AM
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At the end of this post you may find a post from May 5 which somehow made it onto my xanga but not onto my website.
As you can see on my "count down" sidebar, I have already arrived in England. It is possible that the best part of my trip from Dayton to Bamber Bridge occurred when we arrived at the Atlanta airport and were able to get out of the shuttle van. Every available seat was in use...I was sitting between two middle-age men. I'm excited that I was able to get a non-stop ticket to Manchester from Atlanta. I can't tell you how nice it is not to have to sit around in two airports or to worry whether I'll make my connection. The landing in Manchester was the most exciting thing that happened en route. The winds here were something like 15mph with gusts up to 37mph. That's excitement for you! Additionally, the entire descent and entry were bumpy, it sounds like they always are, because of the Pennines and another set of hills that I don't remember the name of. I enjoyed myself completely and wondered if it would get bouncy enough for me to feel sick....since I've never been motion sick before. :) The happiest part of the trip was seeing Esther, with Rosie in the stroller, on the platform to walk with me to the house from the train. The most frustrating part was trying to decide what to have for breakfast in the Manchester airport.
Now, about my niece. For the first time, yesterday she acted shy. She was smiling at me, then turning to hide closer to Mommy. It was quite funny. Since she had never done it before with anyone, I wondered if she was confused because I look so much like her mommy and she's never seen that before. I think she kind of likes having her aunt around. We certainly are having fun together -- you know, when she's not eating or sleeping or any of those other things babies do a lot. I don't think she looks exactly like her pictures. Her pictures may look exactly like her, but not the other way around. I'll explain. A picture is nothing but a representation of a person frozen at a second in time. A person is constantly in motion, constantly changing. Until yesterday, I had only seen fragmented seconds of this child's life and personality. Now that I can observe the complete personality, I can say that the pictures respresent her well, but I didn't really understand that representation until I actually saw her.
Close to house where my sister and her family live is a nice little park. We walked around it once yesterday afternoon and put Rosie to sleep in the stroller. Soon after returning I left again to run in the same area. This morning I will be leaving to do so again, this time in the rain -- or between drizzles, I'll see when I get out there. There is a lot of green in the park. This will definitely be helpful to me. :) There are fields full of buttercups and daisies (the small ones they have over here that look like miniature Ox-Eyes) growing between the grasses. There are also numerous trees, bushes and shrubs. There is even a small duck pond with a lot of lily pads on top. I didn't hear any frogs. We'll see if I find any. There also may be newts. :) Also in the park is located what must be the world's coolest playground. Unfortunately, I can't really go play in it. It's an idiosyncrasy of English life.
On Friday we go to Scotland. :)
The Verdict (May 5)
My doctor is not the least bit concerned about me getting rabies, just so everybody knows. He gave me an antibiotic because apparently if you get bit by a dog and don't take them, you're guaranteed an infection. It hurts like crazy. I was bit on the calf and every step I take is painful. Good thing pain is no stranger. :) No, I don't expect any spectacular battle scars. Thankfully it was only one bite and there's one hole in my leg and one little titsy bitsy insignificant place where the skin broke. However, the bruise right now is pretty amazing...for those out there who get excited about those kinds of things (I know you exist; don't deny it).
I'm not running today. :( |
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