Picture this...

Artist Chuck Close is famous for his prints which are built on a grid that is used to represent an image. His colossal face portraits may be his most famous pieces. The portraits are made up of tiny squares-each hand painted. Some ads feature such images, where each square is actually a tiny photograph. When combined, they make up a larger recognizable image. It's interesting to think about everyone who ever lived and how each life contributes to make the giant painting that is history. There is so much that's happened just in our own lives that we don't understand. It helps me to realize that there are dark patches in life that don't make sense right now because at the moment I'm standing too close to the painting.

The crowd goes wild for....

Wimbledon has begun here, and I had to wonder if I heard correctly, when the name of a new tennis player was mentioned on the radio the other day. That's right...this year there's a new kid named Andrew Murray. Today, I noticed an article on a sport's page in one of the papers here with the huge headline: "Don't worry, Here's Murray". It described how the eighteen year old Scot had won one of the sets. It gives me a little thrill when I think that a crowd has been shouting and cheering for Andrew Murray. I have very little interest in tennis, but as long as there's any athlete playing anything, anywhere..... with THAT name, I will watch and cheer him on!!

Always Alive in Our Hearts and Minds

I have this poem up on our frig under a picture of Andrew in which he is sitting on the beach looking out at the ocean. In the distance you can just make out a sailboat.

Gone From My Sight

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength. I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.

Then someone at my side says: "There, she is gone!"

Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side and she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port. Her diminished size is in me, not in her. And just at the moment when someone at my side says: "There, she is gone!" there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout: "Here she comes!" And that is dying.

Henry Van Dyke

Return of the furry fiend

Yes, you guessed it! We have had some sultry days lately, and he/she returned last night (through the open kitchen window). This time it happened around 11pm. Charlie and I were sitting in the living room, and I had just finished a sentence when I heard a kind of clattering noise coming from down the hall in the direction of the kitchen. Charlie went to investigate and found that the feline had indeed paid us a visit. Of course, Lexie had to choose almost that precise moment to squawk from her bed. I don't even think it was a full moon...anyway...Charlie got the magic cat repellent stuff out (not sure what it's called) and sprinkled it liberally on the fence area where they come from, and we had a nice quiet night thereafter....

Question...

I haven't been able to figure out (through the settings) how to make my blog read in paragraphs that have line endings that end neatly. Can anyone help??

Women's Work

I ran across this quote on a website the other day, and thought it was worth sharing... "To be Queen Elizabeth within a definite area, deciding sales, banquets, labors, and holidays; to be Whitely within a certain area, providing toys, boots, cakes, and books; to be Aristotle within a certain area, teaching morals, manners, theology, and hygiene; I can understand how this might exhaust the mind, but I cannot imagine how it could narrow it.  How can it be a large career to tell other people's children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one's own children about the universe?  How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone and narrow to be everything to someone?  No, a woman's function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute." -G.K. Chesterton

Only in England

Imagine sitting down to breakfast on your birthday, turning on the radio and hearing the radio announcer wish you a Happy Birthday. Well, it really happens if you are a Queen or Prince...at least here. As I sat Lexie in her high chair last Friday morning, at precisely 8 am, I turned on the radio, and the BBC newscaster or 'reader' as they call it here, announced that it was Prince Philip's birthday. "Many Happy returns of the Day" he said, and then played the national anthem.

A Bouquet for Her Majesty

A Bouquet for Her Majesty
Originally uploaded by yankeegal.

Reflections on Seeing HRH

Lexie and Arthur have an Aunt Claire, an Aunt Liane, and an Uncle Andrew who lives in Heaven. Lexie knew Uncle Andrew, but Arthur never had the chance. After seeing the Queen, I can't help but reflect on how much better it was to see her in person, than simply to read about her or see her in one dimensional photographs. It sounds so obvious, to say better but it's just very real to me since I've just seen her and can't think of a better word. And of course, I couldn't help but think of Andrew. Little Arthur will grow up hearing about him and see him smiling downfrom his picture on the wall, or in photograph albums. But I can't wait for the day when He will get to meet his Uncle in the flesh and have the chance to hear him laugh and maybe see him run.

Worth the Wait

It's not every day that you come face to face with a queen, and I'll have to say it has given me pause for thought....It was a very real and colorful reminder that the day is coming when with our very own eyes, we will see a Heavenly Monarch. Ive been thinking about parallels between our memorable day and the even more Memorable Day which is to come. Considering the age of the children my friend and I had with us, the waiting was relatively easy, as they were basically well behaved. It did get more and more challenging though as the minutes went by, keeping them quiet, and under control. Every once in a while, the police would make a comment about how it wasn't long now, or ask the crowd to move back to a certain point--all clues that we wouldn't have to wait much longer....After a while, my arm ached from holding Arthur, I got hungry and my stomach felt tight from all the excitement....We wait, and wait for His coming, and it's all too easy to get bogged down with the aches and pains, duties and responsibilities which seem to fill our vision, every waking moment, blocking out any other reality.. Once in a while we perk up when we see or hear about this or that world event, and think any time now...His coming can't be long...and then we wait some more and wonder what's taking so long. We waited and waited, and then, in an instant there was a flurry of movement and before I knew it, the Queen was emerging from the building and walking towards us, closer and closer. I felt an overwhelming rush of emotion like I was about to cry. She stood there within inches of us. I could see the lines on her face, and hear her talk. It will be worth it all when we see Jesus, and then when we see his face, we will say to ourselves...what were we ever doing before this?

How do you do, Your Majesty?

Yesterday, June 8th, was a day that we will live in my memory for many years to come. An American friend and I heard that Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were coming for a Royal visit to the University, and we decided to see if we could catch a fleeting glimpse of them. Charlie knew that Prince Philip was coming at 11:30, to the Classics Faculty site, and he had also heard that the Queen was to visit the English Faculty which is right nearby (the word faculty is used over here but is the same as Department). My friend Heidi and I left to walk up to where they were arriving at around 11 am and hoped for the best! We had very low expectations, since security would be tight. We set out for our walk (about a 15 minute hike) on the most beautiful cloudless sunny day we've had this year. Heidi has 2 kids and she brought along 3 bouquets for the kids to present to the Queen should the opportunity present itself! We soon spotted a small crowd and parked our strollers and began the wait. It was about half an hour before she arrived and then we had to wait another half an hour before she emerged again from the building. We had two things going for us...children and flowers, and so to make a long story short, when the Queen emerged we were ushered up right to the door practically, closer than any of the crowd, and Lexie, Hannah and Jonny all got to present their flowers to her. As we knelt there (appropriately:)), I couldn't believe what was happening and suddenly felt incredibly overwhelmed! There she was right before our very eyes... We heard her say "Thank you very much indeed, they will make a lovely bouquet (emphasis on the boo:) Then we sat there and watched her talk with various University 'bigwhigs', and before you knew it, along came Prince Phiilip to meet back up with the Queen before setting off for lunch at another location, and away they went. WOW! We could hardly believe what had happened.... Needless to say I floated for the rest of the day, in a happy dream like daze....

We're off to see the Monarch

We're off to see the Monarch
Originally uploaded by yankeegal.

Arthur EATS!

Arthur EATS!
Originally uploaded by yankeegal.

Lexie feeds Arthur his first solids with relish (not literally)