Last Friday, temperatures were in the 50’s and the sun was shining bright and it felt like spring had finally sprung. I went on my first bike ride of the season around our “country block” which is 9.3 miles. We start at our house and ride north, then east, then south, then west back home…we are out of town within a mile so we are mostly riding in the country, on paved roads. It felt wonderful.
The name of the bike is Verve, made by Trek.
The best part of this first ride of the season…I was on my new electric bike! I was surprised on my birthday when I unwrapped a box with a picture of this bike I’ve wanted for a season or two. We picked it up in town on Friday. The bike is a beautiful coral color. I’m excited and I look forward to this biking season. Thank you Gary.
Light, space, zest – that’s God! So, with him on my side I’m fearless, afraid of no one and nothing.
The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?
When insecurities start to surface, when thoughts and comparisons attack me, I will turn them over to the Lord.
Though troubles rise up against me, my heart will not fear. He will change my name. My new name shall be Confidence.
One thing I ask of the Lord that is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to gaze upon the BEAUTY of the Lord and to seek him.
For in the days of difficulties he will keep me safe in his arms, he will call me Friend of God and lift me high upon a rock.
God holds my head and shoulders above all who try to pull me down.
My head will be exalted above the inner enemies and I will be called overcoming one. I will sing and make music to the Lord.
Hear my voice when I call, O Lord; be merciful to me and answer me.
My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek.
Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior.
You are a faithful God. The Lord will receive me and fill me with joyfulness.
Teach me your way, O Lord; lead me in a straight path. I acknowledge your wisdom.
Do not turn me over to my own understanding, for false lies rise up within me, breathing out untruths.
I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living and he will change my name.
Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage and wait for the Lord.
Stay with God! Take heart, don’t quit and stay with God!
Before we left Minnesota we decided on what play we would like to see while we were in London.
A promo for Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” hanging in tube station.
We chose an Agatha Christie murder mystery, The Mousetrap. playing at St. Martin’s Theatre. It happens to be the longest running play in London…It’s first performance was in 1952!
St. Martin’s Theatre in London.
We enjoyed the play and didn’t know “who done it” until the end. I was so worried I would overhear someone talking about the ending… and I didn’t want to know! But I never heard any clues… and we were surprised when the murderer was revealed. I like surprises.
Anticipating the murder mystery.
At the end of the play, as the performers were taking their bows, the culprit stepped forward and said now we were all partners in crime…and he asked us not to disclose the secret of “who done it” to anyone, so as to preserve the suspense of the play.
On a street corner in London is this memorial to Agatha Christie, an English author who wrote over 80 mysteries.
This request must work…it’s been playing for 67 years, and we didn’t know “who done it” until the end of the production.
Another place I wanted to visit while in London was St. Paul’s Cathedral. We saw St. Paul’s from on high, from the Sky Garden. St. Paul’s Cathedral is one of the most famous sights in London. It has a long and rich history. The current cathedral, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, was built in the 1700’s, but there has been a church on this sight since 604. St. Paul’s is England’s national church. After leaving the Sky Garden we walked towards this majestic building.
Outside the front entrance of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Little did we know it would be closed to tourists that day, however, “if we wanted to participate in an Ash Wednesday service we were invited to enter and join in”. Of course, we would love to participate in a service there, especially for Ash Wednesday!
Inside St. Paul’s Cathedral.
It was a gift to worship in this magnificent cathedral. There were ongoing services held throughout the day with different leadership. Our sermon happened to be on The Light of the World, a painting by William Holman Hunt, which was hanging right in the cathedral so we were able to see it after the service.
“The Light of the World”, by William Holman Hunt.
There is a lot of symbolism in the painting, which was addressed in the sermon. And Rick Steves explains it this way: “In the dark of night, Jesus – with a lantern, halo, jeweled cape, and crown of thorns – approaches an out-of-the- way home in the woods, knocks on the door, and listens for an invitation to come in.”* It was inspired from Revelations 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock…”
St. Paul’s Cathedral 365′ dome.
It was meaningful…and remarkable…and memorable to experience one of Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpieces, and most famous churches, in this way…an authentic worship service.
After two days of graduation activities we started exploring the different sights we wanted to see while we were in London.
The “Walkie Talkie” building and an iconic double decker bus.
One highlight for me was the Sky Garden on top of the skyscraper nicknamed the “Walkie Talkie” (because that is what the building looks like).
A view of the Sky Garden on the 35th floor of the”Walkie Talkie” building, which offers scenic overlooks of London.
The elevator quickly brought us to the 35th floor, to the viewing platform where you see terrific views of London from on high. There is also an indoor garden on top, which was very pleasant.
On a side note – I asked a question of a man standing next to me looking out over London, and after talking awhile I found out he grew up in Northfield! And the amazing thing is, the last time I was in London in 2013, when I was still working at St. Olaf, a student recognized me on a street corner in London, and came up to talk with me. It’s a small world.
Buckingham Palace.
Outside the gates of Buckingham Palace. The Queen was not in this day.
On this trip we also visited Borough Market, the oldest fruit-and-vegetable market serving the current community for over 800 years, but it started in a different location over 1,000 years ago*. There were many stalls with all different types of food offerings, in addition to fruits and vegetables. It was a great place to walk around and buy lunch before going to the Sky Garden.
We also walked to Buckingham Palace, toured Westminster Abbey, rode the London Eye and went to the Natural History Museum.
A partial view of the front of Westminster Abbey (north).
Inside the north door of Westminster Abbey.
The London Eye is a “revolving observation wheel.” The glass enclosed capsules move slowly and continuously. As a capsule reaches the bottom platform there are two sides: on one side people enter the capsule and on the other side people exit the capsule, without it stopping. It’s an interesting experience and offers more unique views of London. It is on the Thames River.
The London Eye.
A enclosed capsule on the London Eye.
The Natural History Museum is mammoth (it holds 50 million specimens) and is housed in a beautiful Victorian, Neo-Romanesque building that was built in the 1870’s specifically for the museum. Although it’s been awhile since I’ve toured a natural history museum, which I enjoy, seeing this magnificent building was the highlight of the museum for me. It was stunning.
The magnificent Natural History Museum building.
An interior door in the Natural History Museum.
The kids looking at a display in the Natural History Museum.
Additional Photos:
The changing of the Horse Guards, a daily ceremony before heading to Buckingham Palace.
In Covent Garden market.
A view of the Tower of London, along the River Thames, from the Sky Garden.
I like the University of London’s branding: The world’s largest classroom Studied anywhere, valued everywhere.
We managed to get to the Barbican Centre in downtown London during rush hour traffic on Tuesday morning, via the Tube. Our son was participating in graduation ceremonies that day. This was our reason for being in London in early March. Tim earned his Master of Science degree in Public Health and graduated “with distinction”. We met up with our older son who flew in Tuesday morning for the special event. It was good to be together.
One of the many colleges comprising the University of London.
Our first two days concentrated on this special occasion…we were invited to tour buildings of the University of London, which were opened to graduates and their families, and our son attended a special reception for his college.
Ezra looking up at his daddy. One of my favorite graduation photos.
On graduation day we attended two ceremonies: one for the University of London and the other for his specific college, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Tim and his beautiful family.
Our two sons.
After a full day we had a delightful dinner celebration. It was wonderful to be in London to witness and commemorate Tim’s special achievement.
We left Minnesota’s record-breaking winter snowfall and cold temperatures and flew to London for a trip we planned months ago. It was refreshing to be in a place where the grass was greening up, buds on the trees were popping open, and flowers were blooming. The sun shone some, usually in the mornings, but the temperatures were in the forty’s and some days the wind made it very chilly indeed, and it rained a few times, but… that is London…and London is where I wanted to be!
We walked by this corner flower market every morning on our way to the Tube.
Outside Russell Square – these iconic telephone “boxes” are found in sporadic spots throughout London.
We had rented a house for the week…it was very unique: tall and narrow, with creaky, wooden steps and large windows in the stairwells. The first floor had two bedrooms and a bath. Our son and his family stayed on that level. Two flights up were the kitchen and living area. Two flights up from there were two more bedrooms, and the final flight of steps took you to the second bathroom at the top of the house. A very funky setup but it worked well. There was a lovely, enclosed patio off the main level but it was too cold to enjoy during our stay.
Gardens in St. James’s Park, on the way to Buckingham Palace.
Blooming flowers in a garden in Russell Square.
The house was just a half block to the London Tube system. The Tube system is so efficient. We bought a Tube Pass on the first day and took the Tube from the airport all the way to our rented house, transferring once. It took over an hour but was so easy. During the week we took the Tube everywhere we wanted to go.
A replica of a Tube car, made of Legos, in the Lego Store on Leicester Square.
One morning we did have to ride the Tube during rush hour and it was crowded! People were nose to nose…with more and more people squeezing in at each stop. We made it to our destination on time that day, but were thankful the Tube wasn’t crowded like that all the time. The Tube is used by many Londoners and it is a very good thing. We rode the Tube mostly during non-rush hour times. We “minded the gap” and rode it all around town.
Forget-Me-Nots in Russell Square.
Daffodils in Russel Square.
White and yellow daffodils in St. James’s Park.
London is a busy city but there are a lot of parks and green spaces. It was nice to see many flowers blooming…especially the daffodils. I love perky daffodils and am always reminded of the poem by A.A.Milne (who was from London) called Daffydowndilly. In part it reads:
“She wore her yellow sun-bonnet, She wore her greenest gown; She turned to the south wind And curtsied up and down…”
A beautiful green bird (many in the area) in St. James’s Park.
It was fun to be in London with our son and his family. The kids, ages 4 and almost 3, were good travellers. Traveling with children puts a different spin on things… it’s fun to see things through their eyes and with their excitement and enthusiasm. What joy to be in London with them.
First we get a wound: stabbed, cut, or an incision, and it hurts.
The wound will get better…it will heal…but not instantly. It takes time – and it depends on the severity of the wound. But, most often, it will heal. Our bodies are amazing that way…truly amazing when you stop to think about it.
The saying goes “time heals all wounds”…this I believe, but the question is…will it leave a scar? Some do, others do not. You never know, you just have to wait and see.
Not only does this apply to our physical beings but our emotional beings as well.
Atlantic Ocean, Nazaré, Portugal. 2016
I have always liked this quote by Isak Dinesen, “The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea.”
Although those three elements are not a cure for everything physically, I think it may be true for emotional healing.
This idea is goes along with a haiku my friend and writing partner, Sharon Ginter Eichhorn, wrote on healing and nature:
Healing is aqua Corralling the sky and sea Into gentle hope.
St. Olaf College built a spectacular ice arena on campus. It opened in January. Many hockey games have been played on the rink already. I believe it’s the end of hockey season but hopefully next year we can attend a game.
The new ice arena is housed in the Tostrud building at St. Olaf College.
The ice arena is used for several other events too…there is a Figure Skating Club that meets weekly and I know it offers Open Skate on Sundays.
It’s a great place for families with little ones learning to skate. It’s an indoor rink so it’s much warmer than skating outside. Our son and his family gave it a try. My son retrieved his skates from our basement and he rented skates for the rest of his family at the rink. Rental skates were available in all sizes.
Learning to skate.
It was the first time my daughter-in-love tried ice skating. She moved to Minnesota last December and is embracing winter, although it’s been a tough one, even for Minnesotans. Of course, their children tried skating for the first time too.
When we stopped by to see them skate, the 4 year old and 3 year old were resting on the sidelines, enjoying watching the skaters go by, after their initial attempts at skating. They got back on the ice and when they arrived home they were so excited for this new adventure.
Having fun watching the skaters from the sidelines.
Ice skating on my neighborhood rink was an activity I enjoyed a lot when I was much younger. I still have the only pair of skates I’ve owned, from high school. I have used them many times over the years. They are very thin leather, and unlined. I believe my toes may have been near frostbitten back when I was young, because now when I go outside in wintertime my toes get cold quickly. I love the invention of toe warmers!
My vintage skates.
Maybe I should try skating again….my rational self wonders if I’m too old. I don’t want to fall. But I am tempted. I don’t want my physical age to get in the way of my youthful memories of skating.
