Popular Norfolk Hybrids?

I was a little concerned the first time we drove past this sign

- then I worked out what it meant!

A Light For My Path

On Thursday, the day after Bob's hospital visit, we went for a walk after lunch. This little path runs parallel to the main road through the village, behind the houses, and coming out near the village school. It was so beautiful to see the dappled light of the afternoon sun shining through the trees. It reminded me of that verse in Psalm 119 "Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path"

When I was 9, I started using Scripture Union Bible Notes every day. There is a short Bible passage to read, then helpful notes, questions and prayer suggestions. 

I still use the SU notes [but have moved on from the children's ones, to the more age-appropriate version] and Bob and I read them together each morning after breakfast.

Here's the tiny little SU badge I was given back in 1964. If anyone asked about it, I could explain that reading God's Word every day helped me to follow Jesus. The old oil lamp was a reminder of the Ps 119 verse.  I found the badge recently, in a tin of random bits of jewellery. 

Years ago, somebody gave my dad this oil lamp. It's a 1st century bronze Roman lamp. 

I like to think that maybe 2000 years ago, someone else read God's word by the light of this lamp. 

I'm wearing the badge again, and maybe somebody will ask me what it means. None of us can see the future, where the path will lead us - but I am grateful for the the daily light, hope and encouragement I find in reading my Bible. 

Gastropod/Gastropub

Following diligent reading of Huw's book [helpful advice from lots of you, thank you] I have upped my Slug Defence Measures. Along with the Slug Pub, I have added an Eggshell Border and a Grapefruit Igloo**. I have yet to see any slugs on the raised bed [the teetotallers are avoiding the pub, the vegans are avoiding the eggshells, and those on statin medications are avoiding the grapefruit]

The various salad crops are coming along a treat - and I'm able to harvest the bigger outer leaves. I was excited to see Monty Don advocating the Mustard 'Red Frills' variety. Yes, they do taste good! Every day we are having some of these salad leaves, or a few of the herbs from my little trough in the back garden with our meals.

Did you know that in Australia, they have a bright pink slug which is 8" long? 

And the correct name for a person who studies slugs is a malacologist?

**I am not sure if igloo is the correct spelling anymore, now we properly refer to Eskimos/Esquimaux as Inuits. I understand that the word iglu simply means house, so it can be made of ice or grapefruit skins. For more in this subject check out here

And I Will Walk 500 Miles...

first I have to say thank you - we've been truly overwhelmed by all the kind words on and off the blog. It really helped to know so many friends were thinking of us on Wednesday. We're having a few Very Quiet Days now. Such events are physically and emotionally draining. But I hope things will drift back to some sort of normality eventually [whatever that might be] but there's no rush! Maintaining good health is still high on my priorities list however.  

Oh I love this song! When we retired, I was determined to walk more- and set myself a target of 10,000 steps a day, and 1000 miles in a year. I knew it was important for my health to  deliberately incorporate exercise into my routine. Six months in, and my daily average is over 10K paces [some days less, but then I make it up with extra later] and my total distance is already around 600 miles. We are so blessed in having lots of different walks which we can do from our front door - east, west and north, down quiet roads or footpaths - round the village and through the village. Last Saturday, despite my cold, we took a new route, and foraged* some late blackberries and three apples. It wasn't far [6500 paces, around 2 miles] but we enjoyed the sunshine and the scenery.

In case you are wondering about foraging*,  Section 4 (Property) of the Theft Act (1968) (England and Wales only, though similar in Scotland) says...

“subsection (3) A person who picks mushrooms growing wild on any land, or who picks flowers, fruit or foliage from a plant growing wild on any land, does not [although not in possession of the land] steal what he picks, unless he does it for reward or for sale or other commercial purpose.”

This means that you can pick anything growing wild (the 4 f’s: fruit, flowers, fungi and foliage) on any land as long as it is for personal consumption. However, picking cultivated crops or collecting wild food for commercial purposes would be considered theft. [This provision does not apply to seaweed or if the plant or mushroom in question is listed as endangered species. And you certainly cannot uproot plants, or chop down trees!]

Happy Birthday Steph

 

Two of my favourite photos - above my daughters and granddaughters this summer, below Steph, Gaz and George last summer. Today is Steph's birthday. Hope you have an absolutely fabulous day. 

With Grateful Thanks

 

UPDATE : Bob has had his angiogram. No sign of coronary disease. They think the pains relate to the Atrial Fibrillation and hope they can be managed with medication. I'm collecting him from the hospital at 3pm.

Thank you everyone for your kind words and prayers. Thank you NHS. Thank God. 

 
I will keep you updated, when I have news to share

At The Heart Of It

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I was going to an online Art workshop   along with a load of other Ministerial Spouses. This was run by my mate Chris Duffett, Baptist minister, artist and more [ check him out here ] As instructed I had a canvas and some acrylic paints and brushes at the ready. I've never used these before, in fact I haven't really done 'art' since O level in 1971 ...

First Chris asked us to read some selected verses from Psalm 18.

I love you, Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
    and I have been saved from my enemies.
The cords of death entangled me;
    the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me…
 In my distress I called to the Lord;
    I cried to my God for help….
From his temple he heard my voice;
    my cry came before him, into his ears.
He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
    he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me… He brought me out into a spacious place;
    he rescued me because he delighted in me.

Then we had to select a verse which really spoke to us and sketch something [an image, not words] about. I was drawn to v19, where it talks about being rescued into a spacious place. I envisioned a dark and stormy night at sea - but at the heart of it, God's love and peace. We only had 45 minutes, and this is what I painted

When we had all finished, we were each asked to show our picture and give any explanations. I said that in recent weeks, there had been some difficult issues but even in the darkest moments, I knew God was there for me.

Then Chris said that we were not to keep our pictures, but ask God to show us who we should give them to. 

I decided to pass mine on to Bob. Recently he has had chest pains, and the GP acted really quickly [Bob has an ectopic heartbeat, and 2 years ago had a TIA] She sent him straight off to the cardiac unit in Norwich for further tests. They were so efficient and kind, and tomorrow at 7.15am he will go into hospital for an angiogram, and if necessary, an angioplasty procedure, and stents fitted immediately,  depending on what the angiogram reveals . He has been told to expect everything to take between 3 and 4 hours.

This is run-of-the-mill, everyday stuff for the medical team. But it is not so for us. It is a huge, unknown experience. To be honest, it is quite scary, when I think about what is involved. 

The picture is on the table in our study, so we both see it when we come in here to work on our computers. 

It is a reminder that nothing can separate us from God's love. And that is what is keeping us going right now ...