The Rasmusens in Oxford

   Today was  sunny and warm, and lots of people were outdoors.  We went to church in the morning, where Faith walked up front to get a book in honor of her 2nd birthday.  Elizabeth went to Farmer Gow’s and Benjamin to the Ferry sport center for birthday parties. Mama had the idea to go out for a picnic at 5:45 after picking up Benjamin. She put two steak pies in the oven at 5, and Dad went jogging. He ran through the Trap Grounds, up the bridge over the railroad, and across Port Meadow to the Walton Well parking lot, checking to see if we could park there. Then he ran back, stopping near the bridge to talk to Joshua G. and his 8-year-old daughter Esther.

When he returned to the house, everyone got in the car, with coats and a soccer ball.  While Mama got Benjamin and the others stayed in the car, Dad went to the Co-op and bought groceries. Then we went to the Walton Well parking lot. Immediately Mama saw a  lady she knew. Amelia and Liz went to find a picnic spot. The rest followed. We put out a blanket and the two steak pies. Dad poured lemonade for those who wanted it, and a Karlsberg lager for himself. He had bought a good ale,  but we had no bottle opener. We sang a prayer, “For health and strength and daily food we praise your name O Lord”.  Mama cut the two pies into quarters. We had plastic forks, but no plates, so we sat around the pies.  We also had sesame rye crips. Everyone ate happily. Lizzie didn’t like the flavor of the lemonade, though.  Then, for dessert we had clementine oranges and a raspberry sponge cake that Mama cut into pieces and handed around.

There were horses grazing in Port Meadow in the distance, and lots of people walking and jogging. One family had a yellow radio-controlled airplane. A young man and woman walked by with their soccer ball. Most of us had light jackets, but Amelia went back to the car for hers, and brought back tissues and the soccer ball too.  She had brought her new Greek myths book, and was reading it.  The kids started playing.

Then we saw Nina, Amelia’s friend, and the rest of her family, out for a long walk. We shared our rye crisp bread and played soccer with them. Nina didn’t want to leave when they had to.  Dad joined Ben and Lizzie and Amelia. A patch of dirt was Lizzie and Dad’s goal. A patch of high grass was Ben and Amelia’s.  Amelia played very aggressively, and Dad chased around with her. Ben and Lizzie cautiously stayed near the goals,but kicked the ball when they could. Ben was good at wipe-out saves. There were little nettles starting to grow, though, and his hand was stung. We had lots of fun.  Mama and Faith and Lily finished Ben’s birthday cake from the party while the others played soccer.

Finally we had to go, because 7 was approaching. The Time Change (Spring Forward) had happened the night before, so it was surprisingly light, which was part of why people were in such good spirits.   I wish I could describe better what fun we had.

We’ve had an active week. Maundy Thursday there was a good church dinner-communion at St Ebbe’s. We split across two tables so our family wouldn’t fill up just one. On the way home, we had a flat tire, and the spare wouldn’t come off its attachment. We called an 80-pound breakdown service, and the mechanic had a very hard time with it too– half an hour, perhaps, fiddling with screwdrivers and trying this and that. It was a good adventure and fittingly, reminded us of Jesus waiting on God in the garden of Gethsemane.

Then snow fell for the first time this winter (though it’s spring now). It was so warm, though, that it instantly turned to water on hitting anything.

Saturday night we went to evensong at Christchurch. Dad had gone alone to hear St. John’s Passion (Bach) there on Wed. night, and the light on Tom Tower was sublime. Evensong was impressive too, but Lily and Faith had a hard time–Lilli especially.

Easter we went to St. Ebbe’s for church, then home. Amelia and Lizzie danced around arm in arm singing one of the hymns from church holding the bulletin– a song that has Alleluia after every other line (Christ the Lord is Risen Today).

Amelia and Lizzie Singing Alleluia after Church

We went to Grace’s apartment for a big dinner with a total of 18 guests. Helen made green beans and a mix of swedes, carrots, and potatoes all mashed. We brought a very good Cotes du Rhone (not expensive, but memorable).

The Children’s Table

The children were very good at their table and had a great time playing with each other.

All the Children except Faith

The food was great. Both ham and turkey, and good gravy. Lots of chocolate eggs.

Follow the Leader–Joy, Amelia, Elizabeth

Other people there were Sam the PCA pastor and his wife Annie and kids; Imran and Aemilia; Annabel H.; and Hannan from Hong Kong/USA/India.

Children on the Grass

Here are some old pictures I just got round to processing. We were thinking of going back to Portsmouth yesterday, but were too tired to.

The Whole Family on the Victory

This next picture is a typical scene in our car.

Kids in Car

Faye, a cello-playing college friend of Helen’s, lives in Hampshire. We had a wonderful dinner there at her house, after which we went walking around the old ships, and returned back to play Brahms’s E minor. What a treat to play together after all these years, and such great music too.

Faye and Helen

Dad and Benjamin were alone at home one day, and after doing some Architecto, Dad suggested going out to Port Meadow with the soccer ball he and Lizzie had found in the quarry. It was a warm day, and they didn’t really need their coats. They walked through the Trap Grounds woods to see what had been done by the Parks people, who had cut down lots of trees near the stream, cleared brambles from near the path, and put down wood chips. On the road next to the canal bridge was a long row of garbage cans, and some oldish people were carrying garbage bags and pushing wheelbarrows. It was a grand clean-up morning for all over Oxford, and they were cleaning up the Trap Grounds. Dad and Ben walked along into the woods a little, and then Dad decided to help. He crossed the stream on some branches, signed in, and was given some gloves. Ben and Dad started looking for trash, of which there was plenty. People had been dumping garbage there for a long time in the past. Some trash went into the plastic bag; glass, tires, and big items were piled up by the side of the path to take away later.

After a while, they decided to keep going to Port Meadow. Dad left his gloves and the bag full of trash. They walked on the “secret path” behind the school.  There were two soccer balls in the bushes there. One Dad retrieved and threw back to the school; the other was too deep in the brambles.   Then they went up over the bridge, kicking the ball. On the way down, though, the ball went through the wooden fence, down the slope, and into the stream, almost to the other side. That was that, it seemed.

At the end of the bridge, they looked back,though, and the ball had returned to their side of the stream. They carefully picked their way across the muddy grass and retrieved it.

On Port Meadow, people were picking up trash too. Ben and Dad took off their baseball caps and their jackets and put them down for goals, being careful to choose an area relatively free of cowpats. Then they played soccer. Ben scored a point almost immediately. He raced around, falling often, out of breath. Dad aimed his shots carefully, and some got through, but Ben was good at blocking. It was fun.

After twenty minutes or so they started home. In the Trap Grounds they met the neighbor girl Hazel and her father, picking up trash. Ben and Dad retrieved gloves and Ben wore them so he could pick up too. They found lots of glass, and Ben was very careful. Then they carried the trash back to the trashcans and went home for a lunch of peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches. It was a good outing.