Konold Chronicles

Today, I predict, is the beginning of Spring.  Although the week started cold (and snowy), we ended the week at a high of 14.5 C (about 57 F).  Here is what the beginning of the week looked like:

One of the great things about living where we do is that we can get up on a Saturday morning without a clue what we are going to do and, within an hour, plan, drive and be surrounded by some impressive antiquity or beauty.  February 27th was one of those mornings and we headed for the west coast area of Cumbria.  We started with Furness Abbey–another of those peaceful places.  The abbey dates back to 1123 and was once the second wealthiest and most powerful Cistercian monastery in the country, behind only Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire (as everyone knows, one of our favorite places in No. England).  The red sandstone distinguishes Furness Abbey from other abbeys we have seen.

We ended the day at Cartmel–which has a three story toy store which makes no sense for a very small village close to nothing.

On March 9th, we and the Backmans hopped on a plane and flew to Dublin for the weekend.  I had always wanted to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College.  The book (3 volumes) is an illuminated manuscript of the four Gospels in Latin.  It is believed to date from 800 AD. This is some of the art work surrounding the text–which is in perfect calligraphy.

 
     

I’m not sure whether there is a modern counterpart to this kind of effort.  I suppose some of the sand-art by Tibetan Monks might rival the Book of Kells.

The rest of Trinity College and neighboring Dublin Castle and St. Patrick’s Cathedral were impressive.

When we visited Dublin on vacation several years ago, we found an Irish pub by the name of the Merry Ploughboy.  A family has been putting on an Irish meal and entertainment every night for over 25 years.  We decided to share it with the Backmans and had a very enjoyable evening of Irish folk songs and dance (River Dance-style).

On Sunday, we attended Church in Dublin and made contact with John and Eileen Connelly (who were just released from the temple presidency and returned to Dublin).  We had dinner with them at their home that night.  We also visited the Malahide Castle.

Our trip home Monday morning was an event we hope to forget, so I will not save it here.  I think IKEA designed the Dublin airport.  It forces you to wind your way through every duty-free shop you can imagine.  As we were doing this, our names were being called over the loud speaker as we were late to the gate.

They day after our return, mom and I got extremely sick (first time on our mission).  It turned out to be a one-day flu and we were both back to work on Wednesday.  A short, but very powerful experience.

On Thursday, it became necessary for us to head off at a minute’s notice to help some sister missionaries in the Leeds mission with a legal matter.  We took off at about noon and drove for almost 3 hours and got home after 10:00 that night.  We took them to dinner at the end of the day.  I did not know that one of their rules is that they cannot eat at a restaurant that serves alcohol.  That pretty much limits them to fast food joints. We ended up eating at the cafe in a grocery store. These sisters had been through an extremely harrowing experience and their only worry was that their time was being diverted from their investigators.  Such focus and commitment. I admire them and just seeing their faith made our efforts seem so minor in comparison. We went to help them and we came back uplifted.

On Friday, mom passed her driving test (with flying colors).  I am very proud of her. As you might imagine, she denies she has her license.  Tomorrow is a big test as she has to drive to Manchester for an activity for sister missionaries in the mission.  Keep tuned.