TGIF everyone. I hope each of you will find time to enjoy your weekend and experience a little relaxation and a lot of fun. Most of our family will be witnessing our niece, Jenna, and the love of her life, Drew, exchange their wedding vows. The festivities began today with the bridesmaid’s luncheon at Joneal's house, the rehersal dinner is tonight at our house, and the grand finale, the wedding, on Saturday night at White's Ferry Road. We are sad to miss this beautiful event with our family, but send our love and prayers for a beautiful wedding and a blessed life together. Also, today was Grandparent’s Day at OCS so you know who is feeling a little sad. But, with modern technology, I will still see the program, just not in person. I have already heard that my little cuties all performed perfectly. Kids, I AM PROUD OF YOU! Now the holiday can begin—schools out for THANKSGIVING!
Back on the ranch in Oxford. Yesterday, we got home from Bath in time for 2 Papa’s meeting at 3:30. That gave me time to get that looooooong blog written and to dress for the evening activities. The first of which was a lecture by Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Dr. Amartya Sen. It was held in the remarkable Sheldonian Theatre. (Just a brief history note that I’ve said before— just read quickly so you won’t be bored: The Sheldonian was finished in 1668 and was built to accommodate all events of the University, including graduations, in order to keep the fun stuff out of the church buildings. Good job!) It seats 1000 people in rows up very steep stairs and all around the semi-circular design. It’s an incredibly impressive sight to see it filled to the top, with everyone basically looking straight down. Last night’s lecture drew such a crowd that the room was completely full and a hundred more were waiting outside. The chancellor did something extremely unusual, as Oxford is very proper about such events, and invited everyone in. People were literally on the floor right in front of the speaker, sitting on steps, and standing in every available space. Dr. Sen has over thirty published works to his credit and has received over eighty honorary degrees. His book, Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation, demonstrated that starvation wasn’t the absence of food, but the result of ineffective distribution of food. He is credited with changing the world view of famine and mass starvation and many polices have changed based on his findings. Last night’s lecture was concerning social injustice, which is his battle cry. Very interesting!
After the lecture we went to dinner with Tim and Jules Pottle. Tim has been our “main man” since we first arrived. He is the one who picked us up from the airport and continues to be our “go to” person with any question from “Should we take the train or the bus?” to “What’s a jumper?” (By the way, that’s a sweater.) His adorable wife, Jules, teaches school. They have two children. We’ve tried to take them to dinner since our first week to thank Tim for all he’s done for us and it’s taken us this long to find a date that worked for all of us. We were joined by Isabella Bunn and had a fun evening of food and fellowship. I even got to show off grandkid photos and brag about all my sweeties! Such fun!
Today, we just stayed in, which was nice. I did a little laundry (easy to do since our machine is little) and little housework (easy as well, since it’s so little) and a lot of Christmas shopping (easy to do since I have lots of kids). I have never shopped on line, but it seems to be the answer when limited shopping time is the concern. To my surprise, I loved it! WalMart.com was a wonderful website and will deliver to the store nearest me for free. All I have to do is pick up the items when I get home. By picking the toys up, I will feel like I’ve been shopping, but I won’t really have to shop. It’s a WIN-WIN!! 2 Papa has always been the catalog ad ordering junkie, but I may have found my calling.
Briefly--- tonight—formal dinner—conversation with an incredible, multi-talented, multi-tasking woman from India who works with women in need and is also a publisher. Thank you, God, for America. In spite of its imperfections, it’s still a land where opportunity and education are available to all.
Well, better go for the night. It’s after ten, which isn’t too late, but last night I was up until three. I still have a few other things to do this evening, and then, some sleep. Sometimes we forget to thank God for the gift of rejuvenating sleep.
“The wise counsel God gives when I'm awake is confirmed by my sleeping heart. Day and night I'll stick with God; I've got a good thing going and I'm not letting go.” Psalm 16:7
Photos above are from our visit to Bath: Jane Austen center, view fromt the bell tower, and a live scene at the Roman Bath. (That guy really hasn't been here since 70AD, but he looked pretty authentic.)
Have a great weekend!!
Hugs, 2 Mama
No comments:
Post a Comment