Conwy

One of the fun parts of having visitors is getting to explore a new place together.  When K.J.'s parents came over in March, K.J. planned a little family history exploration.  He's been volunteering at our local North Yorkshire library this year, and one perk of that is having free access to online ancestry records.  You might be interested to know that according to some research, K.J. can trace the Pugh family history to Welsh kings who supposedly were descended from Anna of Arimethea.  You know, Joseph's daughter.  😏  I'm unconvinced about that.

On the more accurate and reasonable side of things, K.J. was able to trace his family line back to the Pugh who left Wales for the new world in about 1660, immigrating to what is now Pennsylvania.  And that is cool enough for us.

We made our way to the town of Dolgellau (which of course is not pronounced the way it's spelled) with a stop in Conwy (pronounced Con-way) to explore the amazing castle there.

It is a very cool, impressive castle built by Edward I in the 1280s.  

There were some stunning views from the towers.

I loved the stained glass window with the couplet:

At the altar they heard estuary birds

cry over the kiss of salt and river water.

It's a perfect and beautiful description of the place.

After we explored the castle, T and I did a quick little walk through the town.  I love ducking into charity shops.  You see so much of the stuff life is made of that way.  Plus, as they say, One man's trash is another man's treasure.  And it's just delightful looking at all the colorful doors.

A Welsh Sunrise

We had such a lovely trip into Wales with K.J.'s parents last week.  The weather was gloriously sunny and beautiful, and the view from our living area where we stayed was just the same.  Our last morning there I recorded a video of the sun coming up over the distant hills.  It's not a dramatic sunrise, just really peaceful.  And if you look closely at the bottom half of the screen you can see sheep grazing.  

Ella and I have been really encouraged by Ellie Holcomb's music lately, and we agreed this snippet from her song, As Surely as the Sun, was a perfect accompaniment.

Welsh Sunrise from Lynn Pugh on Vimeo.

Quite out of the Everyday

March is a month for having house guests for our family, which has been a delight in so many ways.  Here's a list of 5 out of the ordinary things having guests from home with us for the past two weeks has added to our lives.

1.  I went to Betty's twice!

If you come visit us and you want to do something very English, I'll probably take you to Betty's.  I took Seth and Lua, and then we had a girls' outing to celebrate their marriage and ostensibly to give some good advice on marriage to Lua.  All she walked away with was "to kiss a lot," but I think that should serve her well, right?

Your tea will come in a perfect pot with both white and brown sugar cubes, and you will feel very proper.  Ella highly recommends the Fondant Fancy.

2.  I visited York twice in one week.

This post is highlighting the things we like to do with guests.  If you go with me, as Seth and Lua did, you'll get the second-hand bookshop tour.

If you go with K.J., you'll get a little more focus on the York Minster and spend more time on the city walls.  I'm a fan of those places, too.

3.  I went out for dinner!

We very rarely, i.e. almost never go out to eat.  It's just never been something we do very often, and we've done it even less since moving to North Yorkshire.  We're slowly learning good places to go when the occasion arises.

4.  I photographed a bride.

I love this new friend.

5.  I went on a road trip to Wales.

This is the view from where we're staying.  Isn't it so peaceful?  It's been quite windy at times, but the sun has shone all day long today, and it's been so lovely.

I hope March has held some out of the ordinary events for you, too.