Coulda, Shoulda--The Best Laid Plans

"Listen to the still small voice!  Listen!  Listen!  When you have to make a choice, He will guide you--always."  Children's Songbook, Hymn #107

". . . even so surely shall you receive a knowledge of whatsoever things you shall ask in faith, with an honest heart, believing that you shall receive, . . . Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.  Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; . . ."  Doctrine and Covenants 8:1-3

This is were we couldabeen today if I couldadone what I shouldadone.

See how the Irish Sea looks on our sat nav?  Yup, it was over on the right (last week).  That is how it shoulda looked today.

Colwyn Bay was where we shoulda been today.

Lovely plants in Colwyn Bay that we couldaseen again today

We couldabeen seeing beautiful buildings, like this one in Rhos-on-Sea

These people thought we were funeral directors!  They'd been to a funeral and were waiting for everyone to arrive for tea.

This fellow was guarding the tavern

We couldabeen seeing more interesting churches

As we know, all people can receive personal revelation by being prompted or enlightened about something.  Something was revealed to me at the start of this day and I am kicking myself for not listening to the prompting, even after I'd said a silent prayer for help!  It is so frustrating to pay a price for having ears but not hearing.  It is even more upsetting to not listen and act and then cause someone to miss getting help that is needed.

Today was the Dreaded Driving test.  Elder Blain did everything humanly possible to be prepared.  Our day was planned precisely around it.  Once he was done (and passed, of course), he was to get his hair cut in preparation for zone conference this week.  After that, we were going to the glorious coast of Wales to look at flats and get the one we want tied up.  But, alas, it was not to be!

The diary entry for today:  Elder Blain gets up at 6:00 a.m. to give himself time to be ready and clean out the inside of the car.  At 7:30, he comes rushing in and says there is ice all over the car, so I go out to help him dry off the windows and clean them on the inside and dry a spot for the big "L" to be placed in the back to show he is a "learner."  He tries to start the car and nothing happens!  I say a little prayer that it will start (I'm sure he is doing the same) and I hear him say the battery is dead.  A thought pops into my head that maybe it is the starter instead, but I brush it off thinking he has already considered the starter and is sure it is the battery.

Being without any tools to tinker with things and very disappointed, he trudges back into the flat to call the driver's test place and tell them he cannot make the appointment.  The first lady is nice and offers to reschedule and expresses sympathy for his plight and unfortunately, by the way, it'll cost another 61 British Pounds ($97.60), thank you very much.  Before she gets the rescheduling taken care of, our phone drops him.  He calls back and gets a lady with no sympathy, who reminds him again he has to pay and that he'll have to wait an hour and a half before he can reschedule.  She tells him to do it on the computer, which he cannot do because the computer won't accept his age as it only goes to 1941 for the birthday.  She won't try to check with the lady who already may have got the new time and date into the computer, so he proceeds to wait that out.

While waiting to call for a new test day, he calls AA service, which he used last night for a bad tire while we were in another town looking at flats.  They come quickly, hit the starter with a hammer and the car starts.  Then, Elder Blain remembers he used to do that when there was starter problems.  He knew that and didn't think of it.  He would have made his appointment if I'd said something when I was prompted with the thought!  He doesn't blame me (such a good husband) as he says all he had were pliers and they probably wouldn't have helped get it going again.  I bet they would have.  I could have saved him all that extra stress and having to go through it again on Monday when they have rescheduled him for the test.  At least he doesn't have to wait two months for another appointment like he waited for this first one.

It took all day to cancel all our flat viewings through to Friday and reschedule them to other days into Saturday, which would have been a free day to catch up any loose ends of the week.  I learned a very hard (and expensive) lesson to stay in tune to promptings and act on them instead of discounting or reasoning myself out of it.  Of course, we did have to get the starter fixed and that took all day, so we ended up with a P-day without wanting one.

Tomorrow, barring any unforeseen circumstances, like me being too stupid to pay attention to guidance, we shall leave for Colwyn Bay in Wales, then move on to Rhyl, also on the coast of Wales, and then go inland east to ChorleyChorley and look at more flats and then head home.  Saturday morning, we will leave early and head west again to a place called Runcorn (near Liverpool) to see more flats and hopefully drive around and see a few things in that area before we head home (unless we are so tired of driving we head home faster than you can say"couldadone," which is a word used here often.  I couldadone, I really couldadone . . .

We will have had all the notification deadlines passed by Monday next week, which means the pressure to find flats will lighten a little.  Good thing, since Monday is the Dreaded Driver's test, which (fingers crossed) shall take place at exactly 12:48 (talk about being precise!).  So, if any of you prayed for Elder Blain to pass the driving test today, it will probably carry over for Monday.  It won't hurt to put a wee bit of a reminder to Him upstairs if you think of it.

P.S.  Elder Blain walked 40 minutes to get the car tonight (it is now 5 p.m. and pitch black outside).  Not only was there a bad starter motor at a cost of 450 British Pounds ($720), but the battery was bad and replaced at a cost of 59 BP ($94).  A new tire (because of the one ruined last night) was 94 BP ($150).  THEN, he goes to get petrol and sees he has a front headlight out!  He just replaced the other one last week.  It didn't cost anything to have the Elders put a headlight in at the mission office, but we are supposed to be in Colwyn Bay by 9 a.m.!  No time to get a headlight in!!  We cannot break all those appointments again (or it will be like dominoes with all the other appointments), so we shall see if we can find a place to fix the headlight before dark tomorrow (4:30 p.m.).  Also, Elder Blain has to find a barber before zone conference on Thursday!  Oh, me, oh my, a lot of things have gone awry!  Pray for fix-it shops for a light (at a cost that isn't ridiculous) and a barber who can cut hair decently.  We're not asking much--just super duper beefed up prayers magnified and amplified so tomorrow is a better day.  Please?