Author’s Note: I stopped blogging regularly in 2020, but now in 2024, I am using Google Photos, Google Maps timeline, and my old planners to recreate a post about what we were up to each month!
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Hold onto your hats, this is gonna be a big one!
On the first Saturday this month we decided to finally check out Raglan Castle. I drive by this one often on my way to one of my chapels, so we wanted to check out the inside! It is a really cool, classic looking castle…
With amazing views of the countryside from the tops of the towers…
And the day we were there some interior portions of the castle were set up for filming! We asked the staff what was filming there but they weren’t allowed to tell us.
On Friday the 8th I got to attend another event as the Mayor’s Chaplain. The bell from the HMS Monmouth was being presented to the Town Council. The ship was decommissioned in 2021 and the bell gifted to the town to commemorate their relationship with “The Black Duke.”
On the 9th I got to practice my multi-tasking as I worked in the kitchen for Monmouth’s Easter Fair whilst also attend the Wales Representative Synod on Zoom. Thank goodness for Zoom!
The 10th was Palm Sunday and I managed to squeeze a Sound of Music rehearsal in between leading two worship services. As we got closer to the show it started to become clear that it would be difficult to continue fitting this in and around work - they kept assuming Sundays were free days for everyone! (Fun fact: I believe I took this photo while sitting on the floor playing with Amy’s kids for the first time ever!)
I ended up taking the Thursday of Holy Week off as we weren’t having a service and more normal day off was going to be a rather busy Good Friday. So this day we went to Newport to eat at a restaurant I had been wanting to try ever since I first spotted it - Holy Cheesus!
They exclusively serve grilled cheese sandwiches and it was as delicious as you would guess. We went with Steve and Rachel and Joel talked them into us order four sandwiches and then splitting each of them four ways so we could all try different kinds.
On Friday we held an ecumenical outdoor service in town. We started with a “Walk of Witness” where someone carried the cross and we all followed from St. Thomas around and across the new bridge and then we ended at the old bridge where our musicians were playing. I got to preach and we had a great turnout.
In the evening we also did a traditional Tenebrae service at Monmouth.
I didn’t take very many pictures on Easter morning, though I led services at Monmouth and Trellech. Here is the flower display from Trellech this year.
And then I was off to the United States! I took my “fit to fly” Covid test on Easter evening and flew out first thing Monday morning. After a long 20+ hours of travel (Bristol to Dublin, Dublin to Chicago, Chicago to Des Moines) my parents and brother met me at the airport with some cute homemade signs.
My mom also had a bouquet of asparagus ready for me at the house - it is so expensive in the UK and is my favorite springtime vegetable.
We spent a few days together just enjoying each other’s company and crossing a few things off mom’s to-do list - going through old stuff I have stored at their house, things like that. I also wanted to get a United Methodist hymnal to bring back with me to the UK so we took a trip up to the church to look for the one that our family had donated in memory of my grandparents. I was prepared to spend a long time looking through the 300+ hymnals in the church, but I decided to start with where we used to always sit - the second row on the right. Lo and behold this was the first hymnal I picked up!
Then I spent two days running around to see friends. I started by picking up all of our old LuLaRoe inventory (which was with a different person than we left it with, haha) and it ended up being pouring rain while I did that. It’s been a long time since I had a car stuffed full of LuLaRoe!
Then I stopped by Ames to see the game store, which Brian has expanded quite a bit, check out my old church stomping grounds, and of course have lunch at The Cafe with Nicole and Fred. Somehow I took a picture of my pizza but not one of the three of us! So here’s the game store for you.
Then it was up to the Magnuson’s to give them all the LLR to sell off, but not before letting everyone go through and pick out what they wanted. Grace was very excited for basically a whole new wardrobe! We also played lots of Dominion and had so much fun I barely took any photos.
I managed to squeeze in some time with my covenant group as well, we met at a random UMC that was fairly equidistant for all of us. It was good to see the girls and some of their babies.
Then it was back to my parents for a Sunday service at my home church and I don’t know exactly what we did the rest of the week as I didn’t take very many pictures or write anything in my planner - but the photos I do have are almost all of food! We made homemade pasta for mac and cheese.
And of course I couldn’t be back in the USA without getting proper Mexican food! I asked mom to take me to her favorite place and it did not disappoint - look at that cheese dip!
My dad and my brother did quite a bit of cooking outside as the weather was starting to get really nice, and I enjoyed watching my dad play with the neighborhood kids that know they can come see “Mr. Roy” for some fun digging in the pea gravel!
I also enjoyed plenty of time cuddling with my parent’s cat, Callie.
After a whirlwind 12-day trip it was back to Wales via three different flights and when I landed late Friday night I’m pretty sure I just crashed and rested as soon as I got home until it was back to work - but that is the start of May so I’ll share about that in the next one!
XOXO, Bethany