February 21, 2008

• Tuesday Treat
  
  On Monday, a new friend from church called me up and asked me to lunch at her apartment for the next day.  I said, “Yes,” of course! Her name is “M,” and she and her husband are here through July while her hubby does military research things.
  
  She picked me up at my house, and we drove to her apartment, which was about 15 minutes away. It was just neat to be in a car, traveling down the foggy, cold country roads of England.  We got to her place, and the first thing I noticed was a stone on the side of the house which said “1687.”  “You live in a house that is almost 90 years older than America?” Wow.
  
  The house was beautiful, but in a country/yard sale/bright colors sort of way. One would feel very comfortable there.  The owner has a small bed and breakfast, and I got to see the two bedrooms. M and her husband live on the second floor (which is the third floor to Americans). It was tiny and charming. There were exposed beams and sloping ceilings (real head bumpers for the tall). It was obviously an attic refurbishment as there were also huge beams sticking up out of the floor about every four feet!  They were about 12 inches high, so quite a bit of stepping was needed. 
  
  But, the real treat was yet to come. M had set her table with her best china, fresh flowers, candles, and everything nice that I don’t tend to do for guests. She grilled salmon and had a lovely salad and an assortment of bread. She put on some classical music, and we chatted about church, international women’s groups, our families, and this and that. She is also an English teacher person and has done ESL work, too.
  
  Over a dessert of shortbread and homemade lemon pudding, she told me that her 10th-great grandfather was the Bishop of Ely (remember that cathedral), a tutor to Edward VI, and part of the court of Henry VIII! And she had relatives who moved to PA, were captured by Indians, escaped and settled in VA, immediately joined up with the Revolutionary War, and then got big VA land grants. Her family (brothers) still have a big beef cattle farm on the land.  Wow. 
  
  When it was time for me to head back to my real homeschool mom world, she gave me a quilted trivet she made and a “Warm Hug.”  It’s a bag filled with rice that you can put in the microwave and use as a heating pad. It’s a nice, big one, too–perfect for warming up my whole lap!
  
  Yes, I’m making some lovely friends here.
  
  P.S.–And happy birthday to another new friend, Lisa, who will be 40 on Friday! She’s not a Xangan, but you can still wish her happy birthday if you want. Go HERE.

  • 3:27 pm
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