As I was going to St. Ives,
I met a man with seven wives,
Each wife had seven sacks,
Each sack had seven cats,
Each cat had seven kits,
kits, cats, sacks, wives,
How many were going to St. Ives?-
- There are differing views as to which St. Ives this nursery rhyme/riddle was referring to but many believe that St. Ives in Cornwall is a good choice because it was a busy fishing port and they would need many cats to help with the rats and mice destroying the fishing gear.
We took the advice of our friend who lived in Cornwall to take the train to St. Ives because it could be hard to find parking in this busy port destination. The day before had been so gloomy and rainy so when we woke up to beautiful sunshine on September 18th we let Jeeves lead us to the railway stop. We met up with quite a crowd who had the same idea as us and were ready to enjoy the seaside in the sunshine. Thankfully we found the last parking spot in the train waiting area.
Here we are waiting in the que for the next train to arrive.We had beautiful views of the sea as we rode the train on the short trip to St. Ives.
When we arrived our first order of business was to find the Tea Room where we had decided to eat a meal and enjoy our first Cornish cream tea.
Bliss! I have to admit it wasn’t easy to find the tea room in this bustling humanity filled town. With narrow cobbled streets filled to the brim we made our way to the end of the sea walk. When we finally spotted “the Tea Room” and got our seats we could finally…”Keep calm and carry on”
It’s amazing how a satisfying meal can make your outlook so much better and the crowds so much easier to coexist with.
The tea room was at the far end of the town and the next photo shows the view of the harbor with the tide out looking out from the tea room. I’ll be sharing photos of the harbor after the tide rolls in soon with more of the great views we enjoyed in St. Ives along St. Ives Bay.
I’m heading outside in the brisk sunny weather to try to gather up some of the leaves that fell over the weekend. The rains are headed our way again soon and I want to take advantage of this dry window before the leaves get real soggy. I’m hoping to get more creative mojo this week, too, with some final preparations for a get together at this old house on Sunday November 10th.
Blessings!
- There are differing views as to which St. Ives this nursery rhyme/riddle was referring to but many believe that St. Ives in Cornwall is a good choice because it was a busy fishing port and they would need many cats to help with the rats and mice destroying the fishing gear.
The Road to Porthtowan
After we finished at the Bishop’s Palace we traveled on the M-5 and A-30 south and found our way to the home we would be staying at in Porthtowan with the help of our SatNav Jeeves. It was a rough day of traveling because of a steady downpour of rain. The kind of rain that even the windshield wipers can’t manage. We sighed in relief while we unpacked the car and then made our way to the Tesco in Redruth for supplies for dinner and breakfast. We would be staying in Cornwall for three nights.
The view from our front porch was so calming and lovely.
After our trip to the grocery store we came back to the house and Josh made us a a wonderful pot of chicken soup. It was a nice change to eat a homemade meal and to have a kitchen at our disposal.
So happy to eat this bowl of goodness after our long day that I didn’t even stage it for the photo. This was Tuesday September 17th. On Wednesday we had a new adventure that would give us views of the Celtic Sea…
Back here in the Pacific Northwest we really had a rainy windy day here on Saturday. The leaves were blowing around with a vengeance. Most of our leafy trees are now bare which means our yard is full of leaves. The apple tree is still hanging on to it’s leaves and will be the last to let them go. The next dry spell here will be a fall clean up day at this old house. What’s happening the first full week of November at your place?
Rejoice Today With One Accord ~ Hymn
Rejoice Today With One Accord
Rejoice today with one accord,
Sing out with exultation;
Rejoice and praise our mighty Lord,
Whose arm hath brought salvation;
His works of love proclaim
The greatness of His name;
For He is God alone
Who hath His mercy shown;
Let all His saints adore Him!
When in distress to Him we cried,
He heard our sad complaining;
O trust in Him, whate’er betide,
His love is all sustaining;
Triumphant songs of praise
To Him our hearts shall raise;
Now every voice shall say,
O praise our God alway
;
Let all His saints adore Him!
Rejoice today with one accord,
Sing out with exultation;
Rejoice and praise our mighty Lord,
Whose arm hath brought salvation;
His works of love proclaim
The greatness of His name;
For He is God alone
Who hath His mercy shown;
Let all His saints adore Him!
Words: Henry W. Baker, 1861.
Timely Advice…
Several of these photos were taken from our stop at a roadside Inn on our way to Cornwall.
The rest of the photos are some advice from other parts of England…
My last bit of timely advice to you is this…Set your clocks back tonight or you will be way too early for Church tomorrow!
Faeries and Banners…
Our daughter made her face up to hand out candy to the little neighborhood kids that would stop by last night.
We finished the night off at 7:54 P.M. with 57 little trick or treaters. All very polite and gracious.
Earlier in the day I completed a little project for an upcoming event at our house in November. It was a simple cut and clip project but I was still proud of myself to get it done. Now I’m talking myself into making some napkins from some fabric I bought to go along with our theme. Once the event is over I’ll share the decor and the theme.
How did things go at your place last night?
It’s November and I finally got the Thanksgiving bin down from the attic. We will be celebrating two Thanksgivings this year. One early on the weekend of the fifteenth with our kids (that’s the weekend our son and his girlfriend can join us) and one with friends on the actual day set aside by the U.S.A.
The Vicars Close
Vicars’ Close next to Wells Cathedral is a stunning medieval cobbled street. It is said to be the oldest continually occupied street in Europe. It was built in 1360s as an extension of the cathedral by Bishop Ralph of Shrewsbury. He built the Vicar’s Hall and Close to give the men of the quire secure accommodation away from the temptations of the town. The Close and Cathedral are linked by a bridge.
It still houses members of the choir today and has remained unchanged in nearly 700 years.
This door intrigued me so I tried it and it opened. It was the entrance to a small chapel. Later I found this description on line.
The quadrangle was finally completed with the building of the Chapel at the north end in the early fifteenth century. The Chapel was dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Katherine, and it is first mentioned in a charter of 1479, but shields on the Chapel door carry the arms of Bishops Bubwith and Stafford, suggesting that the chapel was begun in the episcopate of the former and finished under the latter, giving it a date of c.1424-30. A room over the Chapel served as the Vicars’ Library.
We were constantly amazed at the history and at how old things are in England compared to the United States. We were happy to find the Vicars Close and walk along the cobbles of the oldest continually occupied street in Europe!
My back is all better with a day of rest and thank you for asking! Today is Halloween and I’m already wondering if I have enough treats to go around. I have a package of goodies with 60 individual treats. We’ll keep count and let you know how many little trick or treaters we get at our door. Katie is with us this Halloween so she’ll be the treat giver and she’ll be dressed as a faerie. I’ll take a photo…
Do you get Trick or Treaters at your door?
A Walk About the Palace…
Back to the Palace with some of my favorite views before we move on to the Vicar’s Close…
Oh my aching back! I managed to mow and rack up the current leaves in the yard on Tuesday. Everything looks so nice until the next wind blows through and deposits more leaves in our yard. Our apple, pear, Chinese flame tree and our neighbor’s maple still have enough leaves to make a few messes before we move on to not needing to mow the lawn again till Spring. Do you live in a climate where you mow all year long or do you get the winter off, too?
Head on over to MGCC blog today to see my rustic roasted butterflied chicken with vegetables.
I Can See Clearly…
I’ve been moaning so much about the foggy pattern we have been in that I could not delay in showing you the turn in our weather. It will not last forever or even until Thursday so I had to hurry up and post the photos of the beautiful light in my corner of the world.
Romans 13:12 (ESV)
The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Of course you notice that all the leaves I picked up in my mower last week have been replaced nicely by my neighbor’s huge maple. Today I hope to vacuum mow the latest fall leaves up again. Seeing the leaves that still remain on the trees we’ll have to mow at least 2 or 3 more times before we retire the mower for the winter months.
Instead of cooking today I’ll be mowing.
If it’s Tuesday, it must be La Corona.
On Tuesdays at this old house we go out for Mexican food.
Do you have traditions at your house each week? They don’t have to revolve around food, either.
Bishop’s Palace Windows
Within the Bishop’s Palace there is a small chapel. Most of the windows in this post are from the chapel. Reconciliation is an important theme in the Chapel. The five icons behind the altar tell the Biblical story of God’s reconciling love for humanity throughout the ages. The Celtic knot under the altar also reflects this symbolism. I posted the icons with my Sunday Hymn here.
The Chapel was restored by Bishop George Henry Law in the nineteenth century. In the windows he used fragments of French medieval glass from churches in the Rouen area, which were destroyed in the revolutionary era.
We are finally getting some sunshine streaming into our windows at this old house. It really lifts the spirits! As I look out my windows today I’m seeing a steady stream of leaves falling and birds are pecking about in the lawns. What are you seeing out your windows?
All Mankind Fell in Adam’s Fall ~ Hymn
All Mankind Fell in Adam’s Fall
All mankind fell in Adam’s fall,
One common sin infects us all;
From sire to son the bane descends,
And over all the curse impends.
Thro’ all man’s powers corruption creeps
And him in dreadful bondage keeps;
In guilt he draws his infant breath
And reaps its fruits of woe and death.
From hearts depraved, to evil prone,
Flow thoughts and deeds of sin alone;
God’s image lost, the darkened soul
Nor seeks nor finds its heav’nly goal.
But Christ, the second Adam, came
To bear our sin and woe and shame,
To be our Life, our Light, our Way,
Our only Hope, our only Stay.
As by one man all mankind fell
And, born in sin, was doomed to hell,
So by one Man, who took our place,
We all received the gift of grace.
We thank Thee, Christ; new life is ours,
New light, new hope, new strength, new powers:
This grace our every way attend
Until we reach our journey’s end!
Words: Lazarus Spengler, 1524.
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 