Cambridge to Ely

Continuing our travel journal from our trip from the Danube to Cambridge in March of 2026.

On Wednesday morning March 11th we walked to Bill’s Cambridge restaurant for breakfast before our train ride to Ely.

I know those are poached eggs but I honestly can’t remember what I ordered that came in that skillet…maybe potatoes of some kind. Oye.

After breakfast we called a taxi to take us to the train station for a short trip to Ely. Once we arrived we walked over to another taxi to take us to the cathedral. When the taxi driver asked me where we wanted to go, I said, “Ely”. He said, “Well you are already in Ely so where else would you like to go?” Ha! We talked about soccer and his favorite team that wasn’t doing too well, Spurs.

  • Ely is the second smallest city in England. The small town grew up around the monastery and Cathedral which dominated the Isle of Ely for centuries.

I’m sharing the outside of the cathedral first and the inside will be another post.

The history of Ely can be read here.

 

Why were we interested in seeing Ely Cathedral? We first heard of Ely through the author Elizabeth Goudge.

Elizabeth Goudge was a celebrated 20th-century English author who spent her formative years living at Ely Cathedral, where her father served as a canon. This historic Cambridgeshire setting deeply influenced her writing, inspiring her iconic 1960 novel, The Dean’s Watch as well as A City of Bells.

We both read The Dean’s Watch and it was one of my favorites of Goudge’s books.

flight-souvenirs2

We bought this copy of The Dean’s Watch in a used bookstore in Chipping Campden in September of 2013.

A quote from The Dean’s Watch by Miss Montague,

“How much more friendly it is when you cannot see, thought Miss Montague, and how much closer we are to Him. Why should we always want a light? He chose darkness for us, darkness of the womb and of the stable, darkness in the garden, darkness on the cross and in the grave. Why do I demand certainty? That is not faith. Why do I want to understand? How can I understand this great web of sin and ugliness and love and suffering and joy and life and death when I don’t understand the little tangle of good and evil that is myself? I’ve enough to understand. I understand that He gave me light that I might turn to Him, for without light I could not have seen to turn. I have seen creation in His light. He shared His light with me that I, turned, might share with Him the darkness of His redemption. Why did I despair? What do I want? If it is Him I want He is here, not only love in light illuming all that He has made but love in darkness dying for it…And she said, I will learn to pray.”

My next post will be of the inside of this magnificent cathedral.

Hello Summer Hodgepodge

 

Summertime at our Country Bungalow.

Hello Summer Hodgepodge. Thank you, Joyce!

1. Summer’s here!  In the northern hemisphere anyway. If you’re in the southern hemisphere substitute winter for the word summer. What do you love most about summer? What’s your biggest summer pet peeve?

I love summer fruits like nectarines and peaches and plums and watermelon!

In our neck of the woods mosquitoes and mean bugs like wasps are a nuisance!

2. What song always reminds you of summer?

The Beach Boys ‘California Girls’. I was born and raised in Southern California and my early days were filled with music by this classic group.

3. What’s something you remember about your childhood summers? Do you think kids today get to enjoy summer the way you did as a child? Elaborate.

Honestly, I don’t remember specifics about summer versus other times of year. We were outside a lot. We would go to the beach with other relatives. I do remember getting the worst sunburn of all time and our mom soaking rags in vinegar to put on our burns.

Our summers as kids were very much unplanned by our parents. It seems like parents nowadays are more hands on and do more planning for summer activities. Summer camps and summer sports, etc.

4. We celebrate Fathers Day on June 21st. Do you favor your dad in looks or temperament? Tell us something about your dad. Or your husband as a dad. Or a son/son-in-law as a dad. Or your grandpa.

Our Pop worked hard to support his family. He was a man who loved His Lord and Savior and was faithful to our mom and us. He was punctual to the point of being early especially for church. He loved jigsaw puzzles and in his old age worked on them to pass the long hours of the day.

My Pop and me camping in Southern California. He is working on a jigsaw puzzle.

Our dear Pop was called home to heaven June 24th, 2018. Eight years ago today.

I’m a combo of our Pop and our Mom. I do enjoy jigsaw puzzles and I’m punctual to a fault.

5. Let’s wrap up with a summer this or that-

  • flip flops or sandals
  • beach or pool
  • watermelon or peaches
  • shorts or sundress
  • iced coffee or ice cold lemonade
  • amusement park or water park

Sandals, beach, watermelon, sundress, iced coffee. Neither an amusement park or water park are on my list ever for the summer. 🙂 I’d rather go to a place like Disneyland in the cooler months.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

We are getting ready for the 250th celebration of the USA at our house. Here are some initial decorations to mark this epic event.

A lot more will be coming out of my red, white and blue bins.

Our schedule is not our own this week and it will be hit or miss as to whether I can visit as usual. If not, I will catch up next week.

Happy Summer everyone!

Cambridge – King’s Chapel

Our travel journal from our visit to Cambridge in March 2026 continues.

This is still from our Tuesday March 10th in Cambridge. Warning: There are a lot of photos in this post!

Our guide got us into the grounds of King’s College and then said her goodbyes while we enjoyed the Chapel.

The college quad. The chapel is on the right.

The fountain (1874-1879), with a statue of the College’s saintly Founder, stands in the centre of the Front Court.

King’s College Chapel is the oldest surviving building within the College site and perhaps the most iconic building in Cambridge. Work on this Chapel only started five years after King’s College was founded by Henry VI in 1441.

King’s College Chapel is the chapel of King’s College in the University of Cambridge. It is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture and features the world’s largest fan vault.

It took 5 kings to finish this structure. 

26 windows chronicling scenes from the Old and the New Testament.

Adoration of the Magi

The three wise men have brought Jesus their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. At the front in red is the oldest man, holding a container of frankincense; frankincense was burned in sacrifices to God by the Israelites in the Bible, so it came to be a symbol of Jesus being God. The man behind him is holding a jar of the perfume “myrrh”; this was used in embalming corpses, so it became a symbol of Jesus’ death as a sacrifice for mankind. The third man, often called the “Black Magus”, has brought Jesus gold, a symbol of the fact that Jesus is a king.

It was painted by the artist, Peter Paul Rubens, who born in 1577, in what is now Germany. He was one of the most well-known and successful artists of his time. He didn’t usually paint pictures in order to later sell them in a shop or a gallery: most of his paintings were commissioned by groups who wanted his pictures in their churches. This one was originally painted for a convent of nuns in Antwerp, Belgium. It only came to Cambridge in the 1960s.

King’s College Chapel escaped unscathed during wars including the Second World War, when the glass of most of the windows was removed for safety. The opportunity was taken to clean, repair and photograph it. Only the West Window remained in place, appreciated at last in the absence of unfair competition.

Carved Tudor Roses are seen and they, too, have an extensive history.

The Tudor Rose, was created in 1486 by King Henry VII. It symbolizes the unification of the House of Lancaster (red rose) and the House of York (white rose), bringing an end to the brutal civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses.

 

Built as a house of God it draws your eyes up.

We left the chapel and enjoyed some scenes from the grounds of the college.

It was time for some refreshment after all the walking and viewing. We decided to try The Mitre for our main meal of the day.

We bought a famous Chelsea Bun from Fitzwilliams and enjoyed that later in the evening at our lodgings. We were content to stay in for the evening.

This ended our Tuesday March 10th in Cambridge. We had plans for Wednesday that took us on a train ride out of Cambridge.

Father, Lead Thy Little Children ~ Hymn

Father, Lead Thy Little Children

Father, lead Thy lit­tle child­ren
Very ear­ly to Thy throne;
We will have no gods be­fore Thee;
Thou art God, and Thou alone.

Refrain

Lead, O lead Thy lit­tle child­ren
Very ear­ly to Thy throne;
We will have no gods be­fore Thee;
Thou art God, and Thou alone.

In the Bi­ble Thou hast taught us
All our thoughts to Thee are known;
Thou canst see us in the dark­ness;
Thou art God, and Thou alone.

Refrain

Though the hea­then bow to id­ols,
They have made of wood and stone,
We have Christ­ian friends to tell us
Thou art God, and Thou alone.

Refrain

Thou dost give us all our com­forts,
Everything we call our own
Comes from Thee, our heav’n­ly Fa­ther;
Thou art God, and Thou alone.

Refrain

Words: Fanny Crosby, 1883.

Puzzle Me World Cup

Josh and Laura gifted me this puzzle on their last visit and it was a fun one to put together during World Cup Fever here in the USA/Canada/Mexico and the world!

The World Cup posters for each city hosting games are so clever.

Seattle

Boston

Atlanta

Miami

Vancouver

Houston

Dallas

Los Angeles and more…Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterey, Toronto, Philadelphia, Kansas City, San Francisco, and New Jersey.

The USA played Australia yesterday in Seattle and Josh and Laura were able to be there and enjoy all the glory of World Cup Fever with a 2-0 win for the USA. From the fan excitement in the stadium, the patriotic clothes and costumes worn (Uncle Sam, Eagles, Lincoln etc.), 60,000 people singing the National Anthem the cheering was deafening. And then when the game was over the whole stadium sang ‘Country Roads, Take Me Home’. It was a blast of energy that was so refreshing to see and hear!

What a joy to vicariously enjoy being at the game with these two!

Hope all is well in your corner of World Cup Soccer and that your team is performing well!

Truth for Today #192

Friday June 19th

On Fridays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like to share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s continue to dig deep into God’s truth.

The verses that you share are appreciated and so encouraging, I’m thankful for them and for each of you! 

Note: I will be away from my computer next Friday so there will not be a Truth for Today post Friday the 26th.

Hebrews 6:4-8

For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

Hebrews 10:26-31

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgement, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has se aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or more witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

From Vera:

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Open the gates, that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in. You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” ‭‭

From Maristella:

1 Timothy 6:11

But you, man of God, flee from all of this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

 

 

Cambridge – Tuesday March 10th

Our travel journal of our time in Cambridge continues here from March 2026.

It was nice to enjoy our French press coffee on this morning before we headed out for breakfast at The Copper Kettle on King’s Parade in Cambridge.

It was a lovely morning and I took some photos along the way to breakfast.

We would sign up for a tour of Trinity College later in the week.

Looking out the window of the Copper Kettle.

I’ve never met a scone I didn’t like.

Greg went for the full English.

The Views from breakfast were lovely. This is the college and especially the chapel that would be part of our tour on this day.

This cafe was used in some of the filming for Grantchester. (Possibly as a tea-room?)

After breakfast we met up with our alumni tour guide and group for a 2 hour tour that would include King’s Chapel.

St Bene’t’s church on Bene’t’s street was one of our stops.

St Bene’t’s has been a place of Christian prayer and worship for nearly a thousand years. The exact date is in dispute; estimates vary between the tenth century and the reign of Edward the Confessor, but there are good grounds for placing it in the reign of King Canute about the year 1020. More history at this link.

St. Catharine’s College.

We continued on Silver Street to Queen’s college where the famous Mathematical Bridge spans the River Cam. I was chuckling here as I remembered the new quirky Ludwig murder series filmed in Cambridge. One of the episodes featured the bridge, the building on the left which is part of Queen’s college and a chapel. Have you watched the series. I highly recommend it.

The bridge was designed in 1748 by William Etheridge (1709–76), and was built in 1749 by James Essex the Younger (1722–84). It has subsequently been repaired in 1866 and rebuilt to the same design in 1905. More info here.

We continued on Silver Street to Queen Street on ‘the backs’ with some nice views of King’s College Chapel.

This is Trinity College Bridge.

St. John’s with the clock tower without an actual clock.

This bridge might be the Kitchen Bridge.

Working our way back to the King’s Parade to King’s College where our tour began and would end except for those of us who paid extra to go into King’s College to be able to visit King’s College Chapel.

The Chapel deserves a post of it’s own and that will come on another day.

World Cup Fever Hodgepodge

Ole Ole Ole, it’s time for World Cup and for Wednesday Hodgepodge! Thank you, Joyce.

1. June 17th, 1994 was the day of the infamous O.J. Simpson car chase. What were you doing in 1994? I’m guessing somebody is going to tell me they weren’t born yet but that’s part of the fun of the Hodgepodge. Lots of generations are represented here. 

In June of 1994 we traveled to Southern California to stay with family and take in all we could of the World Cup. I’m sure we were on the same freeways O.J. was on during our time in L.A., the Santa Ana freeway and the 405!  I know we watched it on TV.

Back to the more important reason we were in the greater LA area. Our boys and I found the USA World cup training center and met some of the players. Then we found the hotel the team was staying in and our sons worked hard to get signatures on the team poster our oldest son bought. They managed to get every signature of the people in the poster except for one trainer/coach who wasn’t in Southern California.

If I remember correctly Josh got a 3 or 4 game package deal and Dan got 1. The prices were very reasonable compared to today.

2. What’s your favorite summer salad that isn’t the traditional tossed green lettuce kind of salad? 
Click below to see the recipe.
Do you like fresh fruit in a salad (other than in a fruit salad of course)?
I enjoy strawberries or pears in a green salad with the right dressing and cheese to compliment and roasted walnuts or shaved almonds…
3. Is chivalry dead? Should it be? 
~
No and no. It is always a pleasure to enjoy chivalry or witness it.
~
4. Would you rather spend a week of your summer vacation in Hawaii or Alaska?
I’ll say Hawaii because there are fewer bugs.
Have you ever been to either?
We have been to Hawaii but not Alaska.
Are they two places you really would like to see?
No
How do you feel about ‘Hawaiian pizza’ aka pineapple on a pizza?
Nyet, No, Nine
Have you ever eaten Baked Alaska?
I think I have but I couldn’t tell you where or when.
~
 5. World Cup play is happening now…are you interested?
Very interested. And for the record I’m interested in soccer all the time not just for World Cup.
Watching any matches?
I’ve watched them all to one degree or another. Some I’ve watched every minute others I watched parts of .
Did you or your children play soccer/futbol?
All three of our children played. Our sons played for their school varsity teams and on traveling teams, too. Our sons also worked as referees for our community leagues and for indoor games, too.
And now, our Grands are playing soccer.

There are eleven US cities hosting matches-

–Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York with the stadium in NJ, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle
 along with  three cities in Mexico (Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey)
and two in Canada (Toronto and Vancouver)-

You get free tickets to one of these matches. Which city do you choose? Tell us why. 

Seattle, because it would be the easiest stadium for us to reach.

Our son and daughter-in-love are attending the USA v. Australia game this Friday in Seattle!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Dan’s ticket that he purchased from his soccer coach was for a game in Stanford. Dan and I traveled from the LA area up to Stanford for the game. The game was on June 24, 1994. And yes, we traveled those same freeways O.J. did. 🙂

I’m behind and the way things are going it will be a while for me to get my mojo back.

I hope to get around to see y’all.

Playing Soccer in the Rain

In honor of World Cup Soccer 2026 being played in the United States/Canada/Mexico, I’m reposting this poem written for our sons by their

Great Uncle, Arnold.

He wrote this poem in a letter to Greg’s mom, Verna, about our boys playing soccer. Verna was living with us at the time in a daylight apartment Greg built for her in the basement of our home. Verna was the oldest of her siblings born in 1918 and her brother Arnold was born in 1920 on Christmas Eve. Verna passed away in 1997 and Arnold passed away several years later. This would have been written in the early 1990’s while we were living on Norway Hill in Bothell. Uncle Arnold was a letter writer and he wrote several poems. Letter writing at it’s finest in beautiful handwriting. 

Playing Soccer in the Rain

It’s raining steadily and hard,
So puddles, growing in the yard
Spill over, and run down the street
Past where this street and others meet.

The boys play soccer in the rain
They run and strive with might and main
To kick the ball into the net
In spite of getting soaking wet.

The teams they play on won 1st prize
It’s good that they could realize
Success for all the joy and pain
Of playing soccer in the rain.

Written by Arnold August Moline

Road Trip 19761

Uncle Arnold is in the upper right hand and lower right hand photo with the darker hair. His brother Clifford is in those two photos along with me on a visit to see Greg’s grandmother in Englewood, Colorado in 1976. Upper right is in the kitchen of Greg’s grandmother’s home. Clifford had made a rhubarb pie. He was the cook for himself, Arnold and Grandmother Agnes. Arnold and Clifford never married. The photo in the upper left is of friends from my side of the family who lived in Denver, the Semenchuks. Lower left is another of Greg’s Uncles, Chester, who everyone called ‘Red’. Greg is in that photo with him cutting logs for firewood at their cabin outside of Denver.

Thank you for reading this nostalgic memory lane post. Enjoy your day!

Busy Days Behind Us

June 7th through the 9th was filled with family activities and gatherings.

Josh and Laura started the drive across the mountains early on the 7th to make it to JJ’s Taekwondo exhibition at Town and Country days in Kettle Falls.

The sun heated up those mats and they had to make the presentations fast so the soles of their feet wouldn’t burn!

Yep the mats were hot. I’m pretty sure there will be discussions for next year to have the presentations from our group and the gymnastics group for performing on the stage instead of in front of the stage!

A snow cone and ice cream made things better.

From Town and Country Days we all gathered at our country bungalow for a Taco Salad meal. After dinner we all made our way back to the Woodland Theater in Kettle Falls for The Haran Dancers recital.

Addy performed beautifully.

On Sunday after church Josh and Laura traveled back home.

They won’t be back for Father’s Day so Laura took an early Father’s Day photo.

On Father’s day weekend I’ll share the very thoughtful gift our kids and grands gave their dad/gramps.

Very early on this same Sunday morning (2:00 am) our Niece, her hubby and our grand niece found their way to our home from Boise, Idaho where they had attended a wedding. They let themselves in and found their guest rooms without waking us up. They slept in on Sunday and we managed to get ready for church and leave without waking them up. We left them at Bedside Baptist and returned from church in time to make them fresh coffee.

Sunday afternoon we were at the Woodland Theater again with this new crew who wanted to see Addy perform with the Irish Dance group.

It was a great matinee performance and once again we all headed to our country bungalow for a meal.

Pulled pork sandwiches with homemade coleslaw and not home made beans. There were homemade desserts.

Fun and goofy times.

The fun continued on Monday at Bayles Mountain.

Cousins once removed making memories.

The California crew left about noon on Tuesday June 9th after enjoying Uncle Greg’s famous Swedish pancakes. They headed for Josh and Laura’s home for another week in the Pacific Northwest.

And while the westside crew were on the Olympic Peninsula we were back in Kettle Falls at JJ’s Taekwondo Promotion.

We also participated in a community garage sale on Thursday and Friday. We were happy to get rid of some large items that were getting in the way around here. So thrilled we didn’t have to haul them back home.

I’m watching World Cup Soccer games while I work on posts and visiting blogs. It’s no secret that I’m a soccer fan. It’s been an exciting start in the group stage. It’s been fun following fans that have traveled from around the world and who are soaking up the food and experiences unique to the USA!

Thankfully we have a relatively quiet week ahead of us. We need that. Have a good week y’all.