Well, today I want to tell about last weekend. We went up to Huddersfield (by Manchester, sort of) for the weekend to see my mission companion, Mary Walker. Mary and I served together in Texas over a decade ago. Mary was 61, I was 22. We've been able to keep in touch through the years, and even have managed a few visits while we've lived here in London.
We wanted Mary to meet Spencer, and get to know Samantha a little better, so we made another trip to see her. It was such a nice little getaway. Sammie and Mary fell in love with each other within 5 minutes. Although she has no children of her own, Mary is AMAZING with little ones! It was so fun to watch her get down and play with Sammie.
Samantha spent the entire weekend following Mary around, telling her all kinds of fun details, "helping" her with dishes and meals, etc. Mary got a kick out of Samantha constantly singing "Mary had a little Lamb" every two or three minutes. She also sang "Give Said" (the little stream), and "Twinkle" since she had such a willing audience.
If you ever want some GREAT English hospitality, Mary's place is THE place to stay! She's always hosting people in her little bungalow -- even up to 8 or 9 guests at once. She put us up in her own bedroom, and she slept on the futon in the conservatory. How nice!! She made us delicious English breakfast each morning -- eggs, ham, tomatoes, toast, porridge, etc., -- and yummy Yorkshire pudding (little bread cups filled with gravy, onions, and meat) for Sunday lunch. And she took us out on the most beautiful drive in the country all day on Saturday. I do believe I've found another favorite spot in England -- Yorkshire...
We drove across the lonely moors -- sooo beautiful. I can hardly imagine what it must be like in August when the heather is in bloom.
We also went to this great little castle that has been turned into a kind of children's museum and mini zoo. Sam loved looking at the animals and running in the garden best.
Of course, it was hard to say goodbye when we left. Mary just made us feel so welcome -- hard to leave her. Samantha talked about her all week long. We hope she'll make it to our place for a visit sometime soon, either here or in the US.
3 comments:
That Yorkshire countryside is just GORGEOUS! It reminds of the beauty in the Costwold area! What fun, fun pictures!! Thanks, Kam, for this wonderful post! I'm just delighted that you got to go be with Mary again and that Sammie liked her so well. ...And that you got to see that fantastic beauty there!!
I enlarged each of these pictures (by double-clicking on them), and seeing Sammie's darling little happy face, just made me want to hug her and be with her again so that I can enjoy her sweet ways. She is SO pleasant-natured usually. (I guess we all know the old saying...When she's good, she's REALLY, REALLY good....and I guess we'll leave off the rest of it for now. ---I'm thinking of your "Bad Day--Not Tough Enough" write-up!) :) But she looks SO happy and sweet while she was there with Mary. Thanks for sharing this with us. Love, Mom
I LOVE that area! My first trip to England we were mainly in the north among the beautiful countryside. How fun that you were able to see sis. walker. :) You are so good at keeping in touch with people! I must say, I'm very envious of your adventures! Spanish Fork doesn't have that much history and culture to experience. :D
That is so neat that you went to visit Mary again. I bet she was thrilled to have you all. The pictures are BEAUTIFUL. What a wonderful place to live. I'm glad you got to spend some time with her and that Samantha made a new best friend.
- Alicia
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