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.

In the Kitchen…

…at the West Coast Women’s Show in Abbotsford, B.C.

After the Kitchen Demonstration on Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, Grilled Lattice Topped Apples, and French bread (all from our new cookbook, Celebrations) We headed back to the Winks Booth at the show.

I was happy that our daughter Katie was able to make the drive with me this time to Canada. It really makes the time go by faster when you have a traveling companion.

Before we headed to the show we stopped in at Lovella’s and she had a lovely table set for us and served us Roasted Butternut soup with homemade buns. Delicious. Then we even got a cranberry scone to top it off. Thank you Lovella. We appreciated your hospitality!

Today (Saturday) the girls will be demonstrating 5 different things to make from biscuit dough at noon in the Kitchen theater at the show. Make sure you stop by if you are in Abbotsford!

We are getting things ready at this old house for a little reunion of some of our daughter’s friends from high school. Dear and I will escape upstairs to our loft after the small reunion gets started later tonight. What’s on your Saturday agenda?

Well Well Wells!

There is still a lot to share from the Cathedral city of Wells before we move on to Cornwall. On Tuesday morning September 17th we found a parking spot in the market area of Wells and headed to the Bishop’s Palace. I was excited to see the moat around the Palace. I’m pretty sure this was the first moat I’d seen in person. Before we head inside the gates to the Palace here is one last shot of the Cathedral, some city views, and the moat.

The Bishop’s Palace is famous all over the world for it’s swans who ring a bell alongside the gatehouse when they want food.

Swans at the Palace were first taught to ring a bell for food by the daughter of Bishop Hervey in the 1870s and the tradition continues to this day. Bread is tied in clumps to the rope attracting the swans to nibble at it and pull it off, when they do this the bell rings. Gradually less and less bread is tied onto the rope as they begin to understand that by pulling the rope and hearing the bell means food will soon follow.

Surrounded by a breathtaking moat you can cross a flagstone drawbridge, under the portcullis and experience a true hidden gem in the heart of the City of Wells.

Next time we will go inside over the drawbridge to see the Palace.

It’s hard to believe we are still in our foggy pattern here in Western Washington. Ugh. The sun broke through beautifully yesterday afternoon and revealed all the dust I’ve been neglecting in the gloom. So many life lessons about the light and what it reveals and what darkness tries to hide. My sister will be visiting my pop tonight and she will take a photo for me of him in the new recliner we bought and had delivered to his apartment. He’s 90 years old and has never had his own chair let alone a recliner. He called right after it was delivered to say he really liked it. He said when he sat down in it he just started laughing from his joy. I love my pop…

Eating and Sleeping in Wells, England

After we enjoyed Evensong it was time to find our Inn for the night to check in and then to find a recommended spot for dinner.

The Inn was spacious but it wasn’t my favorite.

We had two of the larger rooms in the Inn.

My overall experience was lacking something.

We did enjoy the Fountain Inn Gastro Pub that was recommended to us for dinner. You could catch a glimpse of the Cathedral from the Pub.

The atmosphere, service and food was good.

We had a good nights rest and enjoyed our breakfast at the Inn before we headed further south to Cornwall.

Before we packed up I took a few more photos of the Inn.

While I was out back taking these photos I spotted Josh way up in his room at the open window. Of course I zoomed in for a shot!

Before we headed to Cornwall we drove back to the Cathedral to walk through the Bishop’s Palace and The Vicar’s Close.

Back here in the states Katie and I will be heading to Abbotsford, Canada on Friday. The Mennonite Girls Can Cook are joining the fun at the West Coast Women’s Show spending time at Wink’s Retail Space and on the kitchen stage. I’m happy to have a traveling companion for the trip back and forth.

Wells Cathedral ~ Somerset

The sun was setting with a lovely glow on the Cathedral as we left Evensong and stepped outside.

Wells lies sheltered beneath the southern slopes of the Mendip Hills, and combines a wealth of historic interest and beautiful architecture. Wells qualifies as England’s smallest, and Somerset’s only city.

Probably the finest national example of early English architecture, Wells Cathedral was largely built between the 12th and 14th centuries. The Cathedral is famed for its magnificent West Front, featuring over 300 statues and carvings; the inverted scissor arches of the nave, and one of the oldest working mechanical clocks.

We left the cathedral on this road to find our inn for the night. We didn’t leave Wells until later on Tuesday September 17th after we visited the Bishop’s Palace and the Vicar’s Close. I still have many posts from our time in England.

Oh boy, here in the Seattle area we are still in a foggy pattern. We were waiting for the sun to break through and dry up the lawn but that was not to happen yet so I had to mow the foggy dewy lawn today to match up with the yard waste removal tomorrow. It actually felt good to get some exercise after sitting all weekend. I’ve got a dental appointment and a fun trip to Canada planned this week with our daughter Katie. What’s on your to do list this week?

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage