February started off by finishing my six days of work in Milton Keynes with the DOV2 committee. Thankfully, this time I drove home without incident! I got home Wednesday evening and spent Thursday trying to catch up on work. That evening, we went to Harrison’s to play Magic, and I finally got to use my new playmat! It is so gorgeous and I absolutely love it.
On Sunday the 8th it was time for the Superbowl! So far we’ve made an effort to watch every year, despite it starting at 11:30 our time and ending sometime around 3 am. This year we had Ben over for the first time as he is randomly a Seahawks fan! I only have one blurry selfie of us in th emovie room that I sent to Amy, and then this one photo I snapped of the half time show, which I enjoyed more than I thought I would. I did not, however, make it to the end. I think I’m getting too old to stay up that late! Also, the commercials were not worth it this year.
There were a few nice days of weather here and there, so we went for walks around the castle when we could. With all the rain we've had so far this year, it was extremely flooded, even more than usual! The yearly moat had appeared, and the sometimes disappearing duck pond came back with a vengeance, overflowing its banks and blocking off a huge portion of the trail we usually walk.
On Tuesday the 10th, I attended a fascinating lecture giving by Kate Raeworth on her idea of “Doughnut Economics.” In her book, she argues that we need to be teaching and understanding economics in a radically different way than we currently do, in order to protect and save the planet. It tied in well with my UBI reading and research I’ve been doing over the past year.
Signs of spring were already starting to bloom - I always love the first sighting of crocuses!
On Friday the 13th, we went to Amy and Ben’s for a game night. They have a frame on the wall in which they rotate showcasing the kids’ artwork, and I was very tickled by this one for Valentine’s Day. It looks a bit ominous to me! For our Valentine’s Day, we kept it chill this year. I had a meeting in the morning and then we watched a rom-com on Netflix and ordered some pizza for dinner.
On Tuesday the 17th we had some pancakes for pancake day, then on Wednesday the 18th I got to lead my first every in-person Ash Wednesday service in the UK. In 2021, I led one online, then the last few years the churches I serve weren’t interested in having a service. This year I subbed for another minister at our church in Chepstow, and I really enjoyed getting to do the service.
I switched my day off to Thursday this week so I could go to Amy & Ben’s and help reorganise their kitchen. I had so much fun finally getting my hands on it! We got about half of it done and hope to get to the other half soon…but it may have to wait till the next half term! Then on Friday and Saturday I worked on my Q3 worship planning and managed to get all of my services mapped out through the end of May.
On Sunday the 22nd, I preached at Dan-y-Graig, and they sent me home with these absolutely gorgeous flowers. (But not the stunning pitcher they were in!)
On Tuesday the 24th, I attended a funeral at Chepstow, and saw something I’d never seen before - a motorcycle in the church! The gentleman had been a member of the Christian Motorcyclists Association, so it was a very moving tribute.
The last few days of the month were filled with work, catching some movies in the cinema, and a Magic tournament in Cardiff that turned out to not be a Magic tournament after all. It’s a long story, but Ben and Joel ended up playing in a Final Fantasy TCG tournament, because one of the prizes was a very valuable magic card. Thankfully, I had a meeting that morning and was planning to go late. Instead, I got to spend the rest of the day at home watching Bridgerton season four. I was not mad about that!
February was, as always, short but sweet!
XOXO, Bethany