Llanvaches and Magor

The next morning, we were off to Llanvaches Baptist churchyard. Thank goodness for Geoff -this small church (Bethany Baptist Church) and cemetery would be impossible to find -driving down one lane roads with high hedgerows, hoping not to meet an oncoming car. The small church had just been whitewashed. We found the graves of Joseph and Susannah (after removing the overgrowth of ivy). Next to their graves were Albert, Edna (the daughter of Albert who died young) and Katherine (Albert's wife). In the same section were the graves of the Davies, Albert's in-laws. Albert was the only one of the Pearce's to stay in Wales- marrying Reverend Davies daughter, Katherine.

We drove into Magor and stopped at the Post Office, shopping at their little gift shop. We had a peek into the Ebenezer Baptist Church, but the doors were locked. This was the church of Reverend Davies and where Albert married Katherine Davies. The original church showed a date of Est. 1816, Restored 1906.

Just a short drive from Magor was the Undy Pill Farm, the home of Joseph and Susannah. The couple, Nicola and Sean, who bought the farm were charming. They are renovating the house and it's obviously a labor of love. Sean (named after Sean Connery) had a huge shed with all sorts of equipment and appeared to know every inch of the house. Nicola has created a beautiful garden, incorporating much of the original orchard. They live in the house with three foster children.

Sean pointed out the Magor Pill Farm, Mill Reen runs between the two farms. He also told us of a sister who died in the reen.

We stopped for a "cup of tea and a bun" or a "cup of coffee and a cake" and met Geoff and Kate's youngest daughter, Joanne, her husband Mark and their 11 month old son, Alexander.

That night, we walked into Cardiff city centre and had dinner on our own at Bella Italia- lasagna and a bottle of wine.

UK Route

Off to Jolly Old England

We arrived at Heathrow at 5:30 AM. We picked up our car from National Car and headed out on the M4 for Wales.

We called cousin, Geoff and arranged to meet him at the Magor First Services (the services off the motorway for Magor. We got a latte and knew Geoff immediately when he walked in. He gave us a preview of our Pearce Family History agenda before following him to his house in Cardiff. There, we met his wife, Kate and their adorable cat, Tess.

Geoff dropped us off at our hotel about 2 PM and we had a chance to get a few hours of sleep before our pickup for dinner. On the way to Usk, we stopped at the Caerleon Roman Fortress on the banks of the River Usk.

Our first stop in Usk was at the Usk Parish Church where Joseph Pearce married Susannah Rosser on November 14, 1837 and where Josiah was baptized. The church was closed, but we were able to wander through the cemetery locating several Pearce graves.

Dinner was at the Three Salmons, a beautiful old restaurant (with hefty dinner prices)

Note:
* Speed cameras are everywhere.
* Cost of gas - $8/gallon
* Dollar vs Pound exchange

Summer in Minnesota - The Perils of Lyme Disease

We left SLC for the long drive to Minnesota. Nothing can make that drive interesting…especially once you hit Nebraska. Miles and miles and miles of nothingness.

Our stay here is always relaxing – and a chance for me to reconnect with old friends. I had my annual girl’s lunch with Kathy and Jane in White Bear Lake. It’s great to get together and catch up on what’s new in their lives.

Mom and I had a wonderful lunch with some old and very dear friends, Judy and Delores. This goes WAY back. Mom and Delores were best of friends when we were living in Duluth (my years 1-3). Judy, Delores’ daughter, is only 12 days younger than me and we were inseparable when we were young. With one family upstairs and one downstairs in a beautiful old duplex in Duluth, we had a lot of great memories and it was fun to reminisce over lunch at Judy’s house in Minneapolis.

At Mom’s house on the lake –it was time to get the basement “resorted”. We spent days sorting through cabinets, drawers – rearranging and donating. Cases of wine and sherry from YEARS ago--- we even found small mini-bottles of Scotch from my trip to Scotland – in 1977!!! This was very well aged scotch.

After some convincing—I went back to Mom’s to paint the basement, leaving John at the motorhome in St. Paul. We finished the job after 12 hour days….exhausted. I drove with Mom to Minneapolis for her 5 year post-cancer checkup—all was well. But, she left and headed home, very exhausted. Something was wrong. We left Minneapolis and were heading toward Indiana. Something was not feeling right so we stopped outside Eau Claire, unhooked and I went back to Mom’s to take her to the doctor. The local doctor took blood work and did a general exam. He assured us that “It’s not Lyme disease”. Two days later- the blood work came back- with Mom’s white blood count way up. Knowing that something was off, Mom went to her regular doctor—one look and he diagnosed Lyme disease. He immediately put her on antibiotics—but it would still takes a month to get back to normal.

This whole experience gives you a new perspective on Lyme Disease. It’s certainly nothing to be casual about. Left untreated, infection can spread to the joints, the heart, and the nervous system. Living in Minnesota, we had always been warned to look for the “bulls-eye” indicating a tick bite. Well, in my mom’s case, the rash was everywhere. The good news- she got treated early – but only because of her persistence. I hate to think what could have happened if she had listened to the first diagnosis!