First Visit from Family!

My sister Lisa is on her way to India to spend almost five weeks there - three weeks helping at a girls' orphanage and two weeks participating in celebrations for a friend's arranged, Indian marriage. I'm so excited for her! Such an amazing opportunity and I can't wait to see the pictures! She paid the extra to have a stop-over in London for a few days. Her friend, Sarah, a Canadian living in Nottingham, came into town to spend Friday evening and Saturday with her and I arrived Sunday morning and stayed with her until she left for the airport on Monday morning. It was so fun to see family here and I loved having a chance to just hang out and catch up and talk about life.

Me and my big sister in Trafalgar Square.

Lisa took a similar shot to the one above on her camera and during dinner she started clicking through her photos and soberly said, "We're getting old. We're not 14 anymore."

She showed me one of her photos, a close-up of us together and it was strange to view it in that light. Already getting the beginning of "fine lines" - I just attribute it to lots of laughter. Most of the photos of us together are from when we were kids growing up. Here we are now, 28 and 30, not even close to being kids. All grown up and travelling the world. Our lives haven't turned out the way we thought they would when we were little, but the freedom to travel and go off on adventures is a wonderful blessing.

(As an aside, Lisa bought three of those scarves she's wearing and left one for me. She bought one for each of the Piechnik sisters, including Keri, soon to be the third sister!)

The Cenotaph.

The Remembrance Day celebrations are held here on the Sunday closest to November 11. We were hoping to avoid the chaos of the crowds out for the parade and ceremony and by the time we got into that area everything was over and the crowds had dispersed. It would have been fun to try to see the Queen, but not worth standing in a crowd for hours on end.

Lisa and the Parliament Buildings.

Lisa and Sarah visited Hyde Park, Portobello Road and Notting Hill, and had tea at Harrod's. Although Lisa was happy to just take it easy and visit at a cafe, she let me drag her around to see some iconic sites. I figure if you're in London for a day and you may never return, you have to get out and see the iconic sites. I basically did the same route Elizabeth took me on during my first day in London - Buckingham Palace, the Parliament Buildings, and Westminster Abbey.

The Parliament Buildings.

I got a good laugh when it started to rain and Lisa pleaded, "Can't we just find a place to go inside and wait it out?" without realizing it could take hours, days, or weeks to wait it out. It's still raining.

We attended Evensong at Westminster Abbey and got there early enough to go into the inner area and enjoy hearing the organ, the choir (men and boys), scripture readings, and a short sermon. The sun was shining just right on the stained glass on the walls facing us and we happened to sit next to a heater so Lisa was able to warm up a bit.

We headed back towards the hostel and tried to find a pub to order fish and chips for dinner (my first time ordering it in the UK!). We found a cozy-looking pub but it was full so we ended up sitting in the little restaurant area upstairs. It was empty when we arrived so we chose a little table in the corner with a view of the street below and quickly made friends with the waitress. We were curious about mushy peas so she brought us a little bowl to sample and she brought Lisa samples of some traditional British ale. Great service and we sat there for at least a couple of hours and enjoyed the chance to visit and eat yummy food. The fish and chips were delicious, but I still want to some day find a little mom-and-pop shop with "real" fish and chips. Something near the coast where the meal is served piping hot and wrapped in paper. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Some of you might remember my comment about how weird it was to see hotdog weiners in a jar at the grocery store. When we got to the hostel, I discovered this jar in our room on a desk piled with a bunch of other food obviously purchased by some guys.

It was my first time staying in a hostel and it wasn't bad. There were about 8 people in our room and I was thrilled that nobody snored. I didn't sleep well as there was a lot of noise from the street below and I think I was probably subconsiously nervous about sleeping in a room with a bunch of strangers. It's a bit of an odd experience, but at least I didn't have to see the naked guy sitting in our room. He passed us in the hall this morning and Lisa quietly murmered, "That's the naked guy I saw earlier."

This morning I tried not to think too much about Lisa leaving. I tried to just think about her trip to India and ignore the fact that I won't see family again for another three months. It's actually not that long, but Christmas is in the middle and I don't think that'll be easy.

After she left to head to the airport I decided to go to a museum - since I paid a lot to get to London, I figured I might as well stay as long as possible! I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum and went through the British Galleries, Fashion, Photography (most closed due to changing exhibitions), and bits and pieces of some other areas. It's an overwhelmingly huge museum (free admission) so I'll go back and finish some other day.

Along the walk to the station I went through St. James's Park and shot some photos of the autumn colours.

When I see these lamp posts I can't help thinking about the War Drobe in the land of Spare Oom.

Carol, I thought of you when I saw this little guy as I wandered through the park.

During the train ride on the way back to Hook a guy got on and sat in the row across from me - the way the seats are aligned, he was slightly behind me. He pulled out a sketchpad and I glanced over and saw some rough pen drawings of people and buildings. He flipped to the next page and I could see him repeatedly glance up at me as he sketched away madly. It was a weird feeling - it felt a little intrusive to think a stranger was looking at me so closely, but also flattering. Do you turn and let him know you can see him? Do you ask to see the sketch when he's done? My choice was to sit still and leave him in peace. I think I'll always regret not asking to see the finished sketch. And yet, if I had asked to see it and it was a horrible drawing, I would always regret asking to see it. It's probably better left to my imagination of being somebody's muse, if only for 15 or 20 minutes.

Final Day at the Cottage

Tomorrow I leave the cottage and return to my home base in Hook, Hampshire. Just as I finally figured out how to keep this place warm: keep the central heating on 24-hours and don't think about the cost. And it only took me three weeks and a direct invitation from the homeowner to make me willing to stop thinking about the cost! In spite of the cold inside the cottage, I've really been spoiled with amazing weather during the three-and-a-half weeks I've spent here. Lots of sunshine and more clear days than rainy ones!

It has been a wonderful vacation here - I feel truly spoiled to have had this chance to live in Wales. Part of my process in deciding to move to the UK involved a scene in "Miss Potter" where Beatrix is living on her own in the country. I wanted that moment but I never thought I'd really get it. But I did. I love it when God surprises me.

Some people out here thought I'd be nervous about staying out in the country - the intense darkness at night, the silence and the strange sounds, and being so completely alone, but none of those things ever bothered me. Although I've been getting tired of being alone all the time, it hasn't really bothered me in the ways people thought it would. Instead of feeling dark and lonely, the cottage has just felt cozy.

The little creek running through the cottage yard.

My next little adventure is that I get to hang out with my big sister in London on Sunday and Monday, November 9 and 10! I'm so excited! Lisa has a stop-over for a few days on her way to India (she's going there for five weeks). Then the following weekend I'm heading to Cambridge for a few days to stay with a couple who are relatives of friends back in Canada (I've never met them). I'm thinking of adding a few days to the trip to travel in the surrounding area but I haven't figured out where to go; if anybody has recommendations, pass them along!

I guess after Cambridge I'll have to settle down and start working.
Back to the real world!

Irish Sea, Floor, Graveyard, and Gregynog

Marijka and I had both been craving a walk on the beach so we decided that on Saturday, the last day of her visit, we would drive the 45 minutes to reach the beach in Borth. It was too cold to go wading, but we splashed around in our wellies, dipped our hands in the Irish Sea, and enjoyed the sand and salty air.

See those hills behind me? My first view of Ireland!

After our trip to the beach we returned to the cottage for lunch, loaded Marijka's luggage into the car, and popped by the neighbour's house so Marijka could see her floor. I know, sounds weird, but the floor was laid in the 1500's and is one of two indoor samples of this style floor in the UK and I think it's pretty amazing. There are outdoor samples of this style but only two protected by being indoors. The stones are stuck together with mud so cleaning is done by gentle vacuuming. The total area is about 10 feet by 12 feet and there's a massive fireplace at one end.

Stone floor created in the 1500's.

A nice little welcome sign at the graveyard in Carno.

"The place whereon thou standest is Holy Ground. Do no injury to tree or flower for they are dedicated to God and to the memory of the departed. Around thee sleep the dead - thou too must die. Consider the end and thou shalt never do amiss."

On the way to the train station in Caersws we stopped by the old church graveyard in Carno (less than 10 minutes from the cottage) to find Laura Ashley's headstone. The company started in 1953 and in 1961 she moved production to a factory in Carno as she was born and raised in Wales.

I had a wonderful visit with Marijka. We did lots of running around, made fun memories, and had many great conversations about life.


After church today I went for lunch at the home of the couple I sat next to last week. We had a delicious meal and afterwards I went for a walk with Halla while Mark watched Rugby. Our walk was at Gregynog, a property and home that were donated to the nearby university. Beautiful fall colours!


This is the home that came with the donation - it's now used as a conference centre. The builder apparently made his fortune by inventing a way to immitate the Tudor style of building, as evidenced above.

Cambrian Coast Line and Harlech Castle

Marijka and I decided to take the Cambrian Coast Line for a train ride around part of the coast of Wales on Friday. The mountains of Snowdonia could occasionally be seen through one side of the train and the ocean was on the other side. We received a fresh dusting of snow that morning - supposedly not normal for this time of year - and the hills were beautiful and white.

Marijka capturing a photo of some of the beautiful scenery.

We boarded the train at Machynlleth (called "Mach"), about a 30 minute drive from the cottage, and rode to the end of the line at Pwllheli, which takes about two hours. We figured out the time frame for the day and decided to ride to the end of the line, use the 15 minute break to quickly wander around town, then on the return trip stop first at our highest priority, Harlech Castle. We also hoped to stop at Barmouth for a walk around the beautiful town, through the marina and along the beach, but we ended up running out of daylight and only did the one stop at Harlech.

Our favourite train station name along the route: Penrhyndeudraeth
No clue how to say it.

Harlech Castle as viewed from the train station.

When they say the castle is built into the rock, they mean it!

A model of the castle.

The castle was originally three stories high - the fireplace openings can be seen above.

Almost all of the rooms and turrets are set up for exploration - wonderful to be able to just wander around and be able to touch things, walk anywhere, and not feel like somebody is watching your every move.

We climbed 142 spiral steps to reach the top of a turret and obtain a stunning view of the ocean, mountains, and fields stretching far below.

Staircase in the inner courtyard.

Inside the courtyard.

View from the walkway around the top of the outer walls.

This one's for you, Paul.

Marijka and I agreed that we enjoyed exploring the ruin more than wandering through the richly decorated castle at Powis. I think it's because there's so much more scope for the imagination, as Anne would say.

Although I've posted lots of photos, if you want more, click here.

Marijka reacting to some rather interesting tunes.

There was a guy sitting across from us on the train and he either didn't care that people could hear him as he sang along with whatever was playing through his MP3 player or he forgot that he was in a public place. Both irritating and amusing.

When we returned to the cottage we cooked up our Welsh lamb and a whole bunch of vegetables, bundled up against the cold, lit a few candles, and enjoyed our delicious meal!