Family and home

We started the week singing church hymns together as siblings plus Mom. It was delightful! Then we listened to alphorns.  And finally we packed.

Monday we breakfasted and made lunches. Except for the pickles.  The ones in my hand one minute... and on the floor the next.  I think we got up all the glass.  The smell?  Well, it was a fair trade.  The place smelled strongly of bleach when we first got there.

Cynthia, Sally, and I drove home in one car, and Steve, Mom and Tom drove in another.  Sue and Steve took their car back to Brentwood.  We hugged them tightly good-bye. We wish them well on their mission... and it will be a long time before we see them again.

We had a nice visit on the way back and took turns driving.  We got back only a little sooner than Mom and her group. We did some laundry.  That evening, we went out to the best Chinese food I think I've ever eaten! My tummy was so happy.  Then we stopped for a last shopping at Trader Joe's before leaving California.

Steve took us to the airport bright and early.  We had a three hour layover, so the trip took all day. We got to North West Arkansas airport about 8:30pm and home about 11:30.  We went from summer to deep fall. The trees are still full of lovely leaves and daytime temperatures are not bad. But the nights are nippy.  We've enjoyed the fireplace.

Wednesday I dove into my writing.  I really felt blessed to be able to nearly finish my newsletters.  They went much more quickly now that the template is in place. And I'd tried to write some of the article on the plane. I'm still revising chapters for the Infinite Banking book. I THINK we are making progress. Wednesday night I taught institute class. Tom was busy with his Bishop things.

Thursday Tom and I went out shopping and running errands. I got some work done. In the evening we went to a play put on by the Junior High.  One of the church kids was in it.  It was surprisingly well done. The props were impressive.  It was a musical and we could hear all the words. The play, called "Into the Woods" revolved around fairy tale characters. Our member played Little Red Ridinghood. We also met Rapunzel, Jack-- of beanstalk fame, his mother, and his cow.  The cow stole the show.  Fun antics while others were saying their lines.

Friday we went to take another look at a house we may want to buy and flip.  We've never done that before.  So we're trying to evaluate what it will cost to fix, what we might get when we flip it, and what we can afford to pay for it. It really looks solidly built.  But we can't get a second opinion on the possible sale price because another Realtor won't look at it til we own it.  A recent appraisal and the tax records offer a favorable price.  So this week we may be making an offer.

Saturday Tom had two baptisms to attend. One in West Plains and one here in Mountain Home.  I had a meeting in Branson for seminary training.  I took the car... Tom drove the truck.  I had a great meeting.  Not a lot of attendees, but good dialogue, good teaching and learning.  This was my last training before the stake splits.  Who knows what I will be doing three weeks from now.

In the evening I was able to chat with Bobby Rice about infinite banking, our insurance policies, and the book I'm writing for them.  It was an educational call.

When we got home, I decided to start a lemonade cleanse.  I've had some rashes on my body that the essential oils were not knocking out.  Since the liver is the first line of defense, and the skin is the second way of getting rid of toxins, I thought I'd do this for a week.  It's a little tough, but better than I'd expected.  I don't know that the rash is disappearing, but I'm shedding a few pounds.

Today we had 5 new people moving into the ward.  That's always nice. Got to visit with some of them. The stake president visited... one last time for him to make that 2+ hour drive.  He's such a good man.

Hope you all are doing well.