Pressing onward!

I'm just about to tackle the ironing! If I get all the "possibly takes" and pile them up it should be easier when we get to packing.I hope!
While I am blogging about ironing I want to recommend my iron - it really is fabulous and although it wasn't cheap it was, and is, worth every penny. It's one of those turbo steam ones, mine's a Tefal and not the one in the picture above!I just used this one to get your attention!
Ironing really is so much easier with the turbo steam as you don't have to exert nearly as much pressure.So I'd better go and plug it in and get going.

Once an English Teacher...

We went to Dewsbury today to see Michael to have a last hair cut before Cape Town. He's a great hair dresser and has become a friend over the years and is well worth the drive from Luddendenfoot!
While parking up I noticed a new cafe had opened close to the salon and saw the following advertising banner:

"A Sign of Great taste. Grill's Panini's Baguettes Curry's"

How could anyone get it so wrong with the poor old apostrophe?

There is no logic to the errors either.Why are the baguettes singled out for the correct punctuation?

When I was teaching I always told the kids they would make fewer mistakes if they left out the apostrophe altogether : If in doubt,leave it out!
This cafe may be a sign of great taste but not,sadly, of great punctuation!

And yes, it does matter!

How on earth did we get here?

To depart is to know that you have belonged. To say 'goodbye' means that somewhere earlier there was a 'hello.' We travel through life together and grow desperately used to each other, our country, our county, our street, our house. These are the things Jesus says to hold lightly. It is not always easy to do this. It isn't always easy to remember we are citizens of heaven and our first allegience before all this things is to the King. When we get confused about what is happening to us on planet earth, it is always good to remember the King. He gives the orders, he commands and rewards. We can work for other earthly rewards, or obey other worldly commands, but ultimately, his will be the only one than counts eternally.

Nearly every other day now, I think to myself: 'How on earth did we get here?' To this point in time, to the point of travelling across the world? The question is better phrased: 'How in heaven did we get here?'

It is God's orchestration. He did it. He brought us to this point in time because he is the Ancient of Days. He did is because he is the Sovereign Lord over all. I tell you we are going to Cape Town. The sentence is strange on my lips, but it is the command of Him whom we serve. We are not greatly holy, or spiritual. There are days when we are far from this ideal, but we go because of the one we love: Jesus. We go because we have come to know him and to know and trust his command.

We believe the life he has for us is the very best possible. Who wouldn't want that?

Mr and Mrs Ellis

Here's Alison and Matthew. They are our hosts next Friday and we're really looking forward to seeing them again!

Here's Margaret!

Here she is, She who must be obeyed!

As you can see we've caught her mid-flow, but as she still hasn't worked out how to make a comment, we can't hear what she is saying.

Probably just as well!

Looking forward to seeing you on Friday, Margaret!

Lesson 1 : A Goodbye Will Usually Involve Food!

I am going to have to cut right down on what and how much I eat when we get to Cape Town. I'm hoping the excess weight will just roll off due to nervous energy being expended!

We have just spoken to our good friend Margaret who has invited us for a meal on Friday evening at Alison's - who is the cook for the occasion! This will, I know, be a lovely,if a little sad, evening and we will laugh a lot as we always do. And we will eat a lot too! Red wine may well flow...

We have been friends with Margaret and David, Alison and Matthew for some years now but it seems like they have always been our friends.

Last Summer, Duncan performed the marriage ceremony for Alison and Matthew on their back lawn and this was a wonderful time of love and friendship.

We will miss them all very much. Margaret has an uncanny habit of knowing things before we tell her; important decisions in our lives have been revealed to Margaret before we could get there, so to speak.

Like the time we went over to tell them we were leaving Dewsbury. As she combed her hair in the mirror before we arrived, the Spirit whispered to her :"They're coming to tell you they're leaving!"

Then, when we were with them to tell them about Cape Town, she jumped in with: "You're going to Africa aren't you?!"

Margaret is also one of my real blogging buddies. I'm told she has read every blog twice! But unfortunately she hasn't managed to find out how to make a comment yet! I need her input so I'm now praying that she will get another 'whisper' that will lead her through the procedures of adding a comment. Either that or Pam will give the necessary advice!

Missing You Already!

Going through the painful process of saying goodbye to those we love is slightly offset by thinking of the things we won't miss. For example, the all-too-regular appearance of sofa ads on TV! I cannot believe their frequency. The inane families doing Mexican waves, the girl poking her boyfriend (what's that all about?!) and as for the woman with the chocolate! Has she got some incredible co-ordination disability? No-one makes that much mess eating a bar chocolate for goodness sake! She might well say "What?"

What indeed!