meals and medicines was fascinating . We were privileged to see a family of long horned sheep running and jumping over the rocks .
1st January2017 we headed for Pasadena . We were going to see the Rose Parade which was absolutely fantastic . It was attended by thousands of people .
On 3rd January we took a flight back to Seattle . It was a rough ride but we landed safely . Snow was lying thick and freezing temperatures greeted our return .
The rest of my time was spent with friends and family until I headed home on 9th January 2017 .
Gladys
Thanks to Gladys for rallying to the plea in every magazine searching for items of interest to readers .
You may have thought that flying across the pond and to the western seaboard of the United States of America was a bit too far , but perhaps you will change your mind when you read about ( and see the pictures from ) Seattle , Palm Springs and Pasadena on the back cover of the StOM .
SAINTS COMMEMORATED IN JUNE
5 June Saint Boniface : The Apostle of the Germans , born Wynfryth in the kingdom of Wessex ( c . 672 ), probably at Crediton ( now in Devon , England ), was a missionary who propagated Christianity in the Frankish Empire during the 8 th Century . He is the patron saint of Germany and the first archbishop of Mainz , He was killed on 5 June 754 in Dokkum , Frisia , buried in Fulda , which became a site of pilgrimage . Facts about his life are well documented , ‘ vitae ’, legal documents , sermons and letters are preserved . In 723 he felled the Donar Oak near the present-day town of Fritzlar in northern Hesse . He called upon the god to strike him down if he cut this holy tree , but his vita told that a great wind arose and blew the oak down , but did not kill Boniface , so the people were amazed and converted to Christianity . He built a chapel on the site from the wood and dedicated it to St Peter , today it ’ s the site of the cathedral in Fritzlar . He enjoyed the personal protection of the Carolingian kings , and was made papal legate to Germany . Some traditions credit him with the invention of the Christmas tree ( although this is not mentioned in the vitae ). Through his efforts to reorganise and regulate the church of the Franks , he helped shape Western Christianity .
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