Rain, Rain.... Go Away....

 Conference Weekend was such a highlight.  We had the opportunity to really listen with "Missionary Ears".  We enjoyed all of it.  Our "Conference Style"  is always.... "Have a nice breakfast while we watch Conference in our PJ's".  We have never dressed up and gone to Conference but we did just that for all the sessions.  Our new building had a good group of YSA's that gathered in the chapel and watched via BYU TV.   We watched the four sessions live at 5:00 pm and 9:00 pm both Saturday and Sunday.  Elder Pew went to Priesthood and drove missionaries to the Stake Center where it was re-broadcast on Saturday Morning. It was a different experience but we came ready with questions that we had pondered and it was an inspiring weekend for us.  

Getting ready for Conference to begin.

Manchester Rainbow..

I made a big batch of Homemade Macaroni and Cheese for between Conference Sessions. 

One of the things we are enjoying about our mission is teaching classes. We teach three classes and substitute when anyone needs us. 

Here is our Wed Night class, discussing Elder Bednar's Increase in Learning Book. 

Elder Pew helped Ally edit her paper for her MBA so she treated us to traditional Chinese Food.  No sweet and sour chicken here...We had a delicious chicken dish with rice and a Fish dish where the whole fish was covered with a yummy soup.  We were served the entire fish with head, tail, eyes and personality.  Hmmmm

  March 30th was Mothering Day here in the UK.  Elder Pew and I were asked to speak in the YSA ward.  It didn't seem much like Mother's Day but the Elder's came to talk to their mothers via Skype at our Flat.  We had Elder Greenland and Elder Robinson for dinner.  We will miss Elder Bytheway, Elder Greenland and Elder Robinson. They were all transferred to new areas last week. 

Elder Bytheway and Elder Chong were talking to their families for Mothering Day.  Elder Bytheway was planning his parent's visit to Manchester in June when they come to meet him.  Elder Chong's mother passed away after a few months of his mission.  His attitude is great although I'm sure it was a difficult day.

The Women's Conference Broadcast was held on Sunday evening at the Stake Center.  The Manchester Stake did a nice dessert get together first and then we enjoyed the broadcast.  I sat between Sophia and Leah and felt right at home.  Following the Women's Conference, there was a great fireside given by the Manchester Stake Presidency.  It was a long day but a good one.

Nearly every day we eat at the Noodle Bar because it is literally 50 feet from the new building. We usually order Chicken Pad Thai.  The servers know us quite well.

Last week we had a beautiful day and it happened to be PEW DAY.  We headed to Tatton Park, a 40 minute drive South in Cheshire.   Tatton Park is one of the UK's most complete historic estates.  It is home to a Neo-Classical Mansion, 50 acres of landscaped gardens, and 1,000 acres of deer park.  There are cute shops, a restaurant and a tea room where we had breakfast.

In England, they just let the daffodils come up in the grass wherever they want to. 

Cottage Tea Room

Hot Chocolate and bread.

Beautiful English Gardens

Sister Pew in the Japanese Garden

Japanese Garden

Elder Pew and a Corsican Pine Tree from Italy

Lake View

Daffodils everywhere !

Sculptured English Garden

The sun is finally shining ! 

The Mansion and grounds

The Italian Gardens...Reminds us of Del Mar with the Wrights

I loved the house because of it's use of color.  It wasn't dark and stuffy but cheery with lots of pink, blue and green.

Eternity Mirrors...Imagine that?

ornate ceiling 

The library 

Beautifully set table

Love these dishes ! 

We left Tatton Park and went 30 miles South and West to Chester, a cute little town filled with charm.  There was a city wall around the village and we walked about 1/4 of it to get a good look of the town. There were lots of cute shops and restaurants. 

We've been trying to get to know our YSA's better and we took two out on Tuesday Night for dinner. Dace Jansen from Latvia and  Lukas Huemes from Germany went with us to RED's a barbecue restaurant in downtown Manchester that people wait for 2-3 hours to get in.  We went on a weeknight and only waited a few minutes. Lukas graduates in May and will be heading back to Germany.  He is the YSA Elder's Quorum Pres. Dace is studying Health and Fitness and will be here for another year.  She is in the Relief Society Presidency.  And by-the-way, they are flat mates.  There is a lot of that here, even among church members.

Just a little insight on shoes and missions....pictured below is a selection of my daughter's shoes for her wedding. These lovely fashion forward shoes are cute, colorful and who wouldn't want to wear them?
Pictured below that are a row of sister missionary shoes.  They are are sensible, sturdy and not at all attractive.  Sadly...that is where we are all headed. 

Baking News: I made homemade cinnamon rolls for Institute this week. I also made Carmelita Cookie Bars for Family Home Evening.  Both turned out quite well.  Somehow baking makes me feel like home.  I really like the way the English package their flour.  It is in a cardboard box rather than a sack and it stands upright while measuring.  Brilliant! 

We took a walk this past week to see the newly refurbished library that has been under construction for the last four years.  It is quite interactive and has a very busy Family History Section.  I signed up for a library card.

The library ceiling.

Our walk ended with lunch at Pizza Express.  We will return here again.


Elder and Sister Hill from Bountiful come on Mondays to help us at the new building. They are a great couple. Sister Hill and I escaped to shop for Tenley's birthday.




On PEW day this week we traveled an hour to Liverpool. We have wanted to make this journey since we arrived but we were waiting for warmer weather and a free day.  It was a great city and a beautifully refurbished and clean downtown area.  We enjoyed walking along Albert Dock but were amazed by the cold wind...it literally nearly blew us over.  Since we grew up with the Beatles, the Beatles Story Museum was a must and we enjoyed that walk down memory lane very much.  Below are photos of the town hall, a Ferry Crossing the Mersy and the Beatles Museum. 

Liverpool's most famous offspring...The Fab 4

There was lots of talk, back in the day, about this album cover, Abbey Road.
Was Paul McCartney dead?

In 1964, I went to my friend Liz's house on a Sunday night to watch Ed Sullivan.  It was there that we were introduced to the Beatles and yes we did scream when they came on stage.

Every night I am so grateful to get into bed. Dead tired, I put on an episode of Downton Abbey. Unfortunately, I fall asleep before the episode is over and I have to re-watch episodes over and over.  Eventually I will find out what happens to Lady Edith, Mr Bates and to see what the plans are for Downton's future. Below is a rendition of our family in character at  Downton Abbey or Red Ledges created by our son-in-law Clark.  

We visited the Church Statue called the Emigrants.  This statue is on Albert Dock and commemorates the migration from Liverpool to the new world.  It was given to the people of Liverpool by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints as a tribute to the many families from all over Europe who embarked on a brave and pioneering voyage from Liverpool to start a new life in America. My Great Grandfather, George E Hyde, left for America from the Liverpool Dock.