Life Lately - a quick catch up!

 Here is a quick catch-up of life since we returned from our trip, and the pictures loaded totally backward... so we will start with today - I'm writing on Sunday evening! We are headed to our neighborhood supper club tonight. I am taking an appetizer - sausage and cream cheese pinwheels. A few minutes ago, I got a text from the hostess asking what I'm bringing for dessert. I pulled up the email chain, and I am not taking dessert. I told her we have some Costco popsicles we could bring!

Also, I have had laryngitis for five days! Isn't that ridiculous? I started on a Z-pack this afternoon, and I am hoping for a speedy recovery.

Yesterday, we met some of our young adults at the Lister Hill Library on the UAB campus. One of our young adults is a museum curator, and they have a new exhibit: House Visits to Hospitals. We had a private tour, and it was very interesting. I only took a few photos, and I have posted them below.

Our worlds collide -- we just saw a copy of John Wesley's book when we visited his home and gardens. The same book was on display in the museum exhibit.

Ella had also pulled several other interesting things for us to look at. She had an amputation kit from Japan. A US doctor came into possession of this amputation kit during the war. She had a centrifuge that had a handle like an antique egg beater!

On Friday night, we met Mark's siblings and their spouses at Giuseppe's for dinner. I had no voice, but it was good to be together.

Last week, our church hosted a conference - Common Table. We had wonderful speakers, great worship sessions, and breakout sessions.

I was busy working but was able to hear Kevin Muriel. He was amazing. He told us that he was used to a congregation talking back to him while he preached and that we were going to have to do that!

I led the volunteer hub. Our congregation stepped up and showed warm hospitality to all of the attendees. From the moment an attendee stepped out of their car, they were warmly greeted with a smile. One attendee said she had never seen so many happy people in her life haha!

I had schedules for everything and lists of time slots and names. All but one volunteer showed up!

I had snacks for them. I don't need that many snacks next year.

We had safety vests for the parking lot greeters. All volunteers had hot pink lanyards - How Can I Help You?

We hosted the young adults on Tuesday night. I made chicken pot pies and yes . . . I cut the crust into pumpkin shapes. We read scriptures about gratitude and talked about the things we take for granted.

On Tuesday, I voted! The polls were very crowded before work. I leave the office at 2:00 on Tuesdays and work from home while I cook for the Young Adults. I was able to swing by and vote on my way home - no line no waiting.

Monday was a really tough day at work. I drove home, parked my car, walked through the garage, grabbed a hard cider, and went out to the front porch.

Sunday, November 1 was All Saints' Day at church. I snapped a quick photo of the bagpipe player as he was entering the welcome center. He was excited to play during the service.

We have fewer deaths each year as our congregation gets younger. This is such a beautiful worship service. During the communion liturgy, the names are read of the members who died this year. A bell is rung after each name. It is a wonderful way of remembering.

Our son, daughter-in-law, oldest granddaughter, and our friend, Wynn, came over for Sunday lunch after church. I purchased a 1/4 ham from HoneyBaked and a pan of their mac and cheese. Glenn loves baby limas, so we put some in the crockpot before we left for church. On Saturday, I made homemade chunky tomato sauce. Mark's mother always served homemade tomato sauce (cold) on top of baby limas, and our kids love it. We also bought a couple of salad kits and mixed those up. It was nice to be together.

We are almost caught up -- we are all the way back to Halloween in the neighborhood. We gave out 1400 pieces of candy. It wasn't even dark yet, and the trick-or-treaters were out in full force.

This is our neighbor, Lu, dressed as a unicorn.

And this is Hannah. She comes every year to help me give out candy. She dresses as a different Disney princess each year and she speaks Spanish fluently.

We set up our chairs at the foot of the porch steps and give out candy from there. Our first trick-or-treaters arrived at 4:30 and we ran out of candy by 8:00. It was a steady stream of humans for most of the night.

On Friday, the 30th, I went to the hair salon for a trim and a root coverup.

The photo below is silly, but the cleaning crew came on Wednesday, the 28th. The lady who cleans the kitchen left a cute bow on top of the paper towels!

Martyr's Cross, Oxford, Harry Potter, and More Oh My!

What day is it anyway?

The day dawned crisp and clear and chilly! (crisp and chilly are sort of the same thing!)

We headed to University of Oxford. There is evidence that teaching was happening there as far back as 1096. That is a loooong time!

Oh - What day is it? This was Sunday, October 18.

Below: This is from a history of Oxford website:

In the sixteenth century, St Michael-at-the-Northgate Church in Cornmarket was at the extreme northern boundary of the city of Oxford, and the south side of Broad Street was just a ditch outside the city wall.

It was on waste ground beyond that ditch (now the site of Broad Street) that the three Protestant Martyrs of Oxford (Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer) were famously burnt at the stake.

Who were the martyrs?

In 1553 when the Roman Catholic Queen Mary came to the throne, Thomas Cranmer (Archbishop of Canterbury), Nicholas Ridley (Archbishop of London), and Hugh Latimer (Bishop of Worcester) were summoned to appear before a commission in the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Oxford to be examined for their alleged Protestant heresies. Unable to admit to a belief in transubstantiation, they were all found guilty. Ridley and Latimer were burnt at the stake on 16 October 1555. Archbishop Cranmer, who had been given longer to appeal, was forced to watch, and wrote a recantation. None the less he was taken from Bocardo on 21 March 1556 and also burnt to death.

The records of the City of Oxford show that the Bailiffs of the city petitioned the Archbishop of Canterbury for the payment of the expenses incurred in dealing with the three martyrs. Oxford had looked after the former Archbishop, Thomas Cranmer, well: his expenses included the cost of wine, figs, oysters, veal, and almonds, as well as his barber and laundry charges; but the last items on this list were the hundred wood faggots and 50 furze faggots that formed his living pyre… (source: https://www.oxfordhistory.org.uk/broad/buildings/martyrs.html)

I loved looking up at the chimneys and towers - especially against a bright blue sky.

We looked through these gates at something very important haha! What? I just googled and still am not totally sure. Guess what I did next? I showed ChatGPT the photo and here is the answer I received (which might be right!)

The gates are on Beaumont Street, and they're part of the original design of the museum, dating to approximately 1845. 

What were you looking through them toward? The Ashmolean Museum, one of the world's oldest public museums, founded in 1683. It houses extraordinary collections of art, archaeology, and antiquities.

And here's an interesting connection to your Martyrs' Cross visit: the Ashmolean actually has artifacts associated with the Oxford Martyrs, including a key to Bocardo Prison, where Cranmer, Latimer, and Ridley were imprisoned before their executions

I loved this red ivy/plant growing on the buildings - so beautiful.

Our friend, Randall, wore shorts almost every day . . .maybe every day . . . even when it was cold.

I love walking from place to place. I think that is why I want to live in a little English or Irish village - so I could walk everywhere.

Aha! Here are the famous Emperor Heads of Oxford, and the building behind them is the Sheldonian Theatre!

• There are 17 stone heads along the railings surrounding the Sheldonian Theatre and neighboring History of Science Museum.
• They're popularly called the Emperor Heads, but nobody knows exactly whom they represent. They may depict classical philosophers or wise men.
• They were originally commissioned by architect Sir Christopher Wren, who designed the Sheldonian Theatre.
• The original heads date to the 1660s. The ones you saw were carved by sculptor Michael Black and installed between 1970 and 1972, replacing deteriorated earlier versions.

And here's why the building is important: The Sheldonian Theatre was built between 1664 and 1669 for the University of Oxford. It is where the university holds major ceremonies, including degree ceremonies (graduations).

One more interesting thing: Wren designed the building with inspiration from an ancient Roman theatre.

Another view of the Sheldonian is below.

I think this connecting bridge is so cool.

The building below is really unique. It is called the Radcliffe Camera (there is no camera). It even has a secret underground tunnel connecting it to the library . . .supposedly.

When you travel, you use a lot of public toilets. In the US, the word "occupied" would show. At Oxford, it is "engaged." 

Since it was Sunday, we visited with the kind congregation of University Church of St. Mary the Virgin usually shortened to University Church or St. Mary's. It is an Anglican church and I was pleasantly surprised at the similarities between worship there and our own United Methodist worship. There were two main differences - they burn incense. Y'all know I have horrible allergies, right? Oh my goodness. I don't think I could attend a church where incense is used. I will say that it was beautiful seeing the smoke rise because it made me think of the prayers of the people rising toward God (yes, I know he isn't sitting in the sky). The other main difference is they use a common cup. If we use a common cup, we use intinction. The bulletin stated, "no intinction." They also use real wine (which tasted very strong to me!). It was a beautiful service.

We also don't have a free-standing circular stair pulpit.

Once again, I love the ivy on the walls.

I was out voted and we headed to a great Indian restaurant. The name of the restaurant was The Permit Room. There were twelve of us so we sat outside. Even though it was cold, there were tower heaters which made it quite pleasant.

I ordered a mild shrimp dish that was delicious. Mark stated that this was the best Indian food he has ever eaten.

Nancy and Randall, Ian and Nathan, Terrie and Duane, Mark and me, Brian, Tempy, Hal and Anne - great food! I probably already said this on another day - we had heard that we could get the best Indian, Thai, and Chinese food EVER while in England. We weren't disappointed.

I love that building below - so cute!

Then we headed to the Dining Hall at Christ Church College at Oxford. I felt like we stepped right into a Harry Potter movie.

This is such a cool space! We were able to walk up and down between the tables. Wow! Once again, there were "influencers" trying to get just the right photo. The next few photos are mixed up and I am tired of trying to get them in the right order. Sometimes photos load in the exact order . . .other times they don't. Why is that??

John Wesley's painting hangs in the Great Hall. He was a student there from 1720-1724. Harry Potter and John Wesley collide.

Below is the First World War Memorial with a list of those who lost their lives. You have always heard of Mr. Right and Mr. Wrong  . . .the list has Mr. Wright and then Mr. Wrong listed right below him. Our tour guide pointed that out to everyone.

We also toured Christ Church Cathedral, where John Wesley was ordained.

We were all so tired by this point! I think we went back to the hotel and crashed!!