Two Weeks

It’s been a busy/happy/sad two weeks. All good things come to end and it ended with Rebecca and family leaving. But in the meantime, it was good and busy.

July 31 (Monday two weeks ago) Rebecca and kids, Andy and Family and Deborah and kids and Tom and I went to Silver Dollar City for the day. The older kids ran off to do the more exciting roller coaster rides. Tom and I hung out with the parents and the little kids. So we mostly visited while they went on rides or became the accompanying adult for the kids on rides. It was fun to see everyone.

Deborah came to Mountain Home after Silver Dollar City, so we had a chance to visit with her and Ian was able to come up for part of the week as well. Deborah and Rebecca had some bonding time and the cousins played well together. We got some needed rain— one of the reasons Ian was able to come. He had grand plans to sand and paint their shed… but with the rain….

Deborah’s house had also come up vacant and she and Tom had decided that the next time it did that, they were going to renovate the kitchen. This was a complete gut and new cabinets, flooring, sink, countertops and stove.


And Tom decided the house needed painting inside as well. So Deborah’s visit to Rebecca actually became more of a work effort. Rebecca and I became the babysitters for the days when she went out to help. Fortunately her kids are pretty good. Ian went out and helped as well and they got a lot accomplished.

I spent some time working on my cannabis Initial Coin Offering white paper and some other stuff they wanted done. And I worked on a brochure for Exceedia, an Equifax partner that helps banks and credit unions use data to target loans and bank services.

The General Relief Society President and some of the counselors from the general board of the Young Women and Primary were going to be in Miranda’s stake over the weekend. They were going to have a meeting for all women ages 8 and up on Friday night (a broadcast) and then leadership training on Saturday. It was for the Oklahoma and Northwest Arkansas area, but I wanted to go and learn. So with my stake president’s approval I went to the meetings. I left on Friday about noon. This was the same time that Deborah and Ian were leaving to go home. It was also the same time Rebecca and family were packing up to go to Jonathan’s house. CHAOS!

However Rebecca did her usual marvelous job of shrinking her footprint until there’s nothing left. Tom went off to work at Deborah’s house with 16 people in the house and came home to a totally empty house. We had a little laundry to do and a few beds to remake.

The women’s meeting and training was excellent. We were reminded of the need to leave the 99. They have a good support group and can take care of themselves. Go show the Savior’s unconditional love to each one that has strayed. And be grateful for the 99. They are the ones that inherit all the father has. We were invited to ponder on “Why has the Lord called me to this position? And listen for the answer. I came up with some insights, and even weeks later, they continue to come. The overall message? Prepare sisters to be confident to meet the Savior.

It was fun to visit with Miranda, Dan and the boys. I got to see a little of Nathan too. Most of our visiting took place at 1:30 am when the tornado sirens went off and we stood or sat in the living room waiting to make a beeline for the under-stairs closet if we heard a tornado. It was really blowing rain! Nathan seems to like his job more. The warning expired, and we crawled into bed only to be awakened by a flash flood alert on the phone. Grumble. I’m on high enough ground I don’t have to worry about that!

After church I grabbed a quick lunch and drove back home. That is why you didn’t get this letter last week.

Monday I played catch-up. It’s been nice that the jobs I’ve been doing are hourly. So if they ask for more revisions, no problem. I turn on the clock and start working. However, I did feel like I needed to be accessible to get the work done promptly. In the afternoon we had the carpets cleaned and then in the evening we went to our Empty Nester’s family home evening group.

Also, our neighbor, Ernie, has had some health issues, cancer of the gall bladder. He also has family that seems to drain his account when they stay with him. A few weeks ago, our other neighbor saw him at the mail box. He looked terrible. Said his family had left him with no money and nothing to eat. So she took him in and doctored him. Made sure he took his meds, took him to the doctor to find out what was really wrong and how serious it was, (Ernie had thought it was liver cancer.) and learn what his prognoses was. (He should make a full recovery.) It was left to Tom to talk with the family and say, no, he doesn’t want you in the house, please move your stuff out. And to Tom to help him with his finances and get his bills paid off and back on track. Monday afternoon was the time he and Ernie and family met. After some yelling, it seemed to work out okay.

Tuesday I went to help Tom at Deborah’s house. We installed the cupboards, upper and lower. We put on some of the countertops and some of the soffit or box above the cupboards to the ceiling. It made a big difference.

Later in the afternoon I had a phone call with a new client, doing a brochure for a business broker (he helps people sell their businesses.) Then I went out with the missionaries to teach an investigator.

We felt sad that Rebecca had left on Friday and it was a rush. So we drove to Silver Dollar City and spent time there with them on Wednesday. Then she took a child on to White Water and we took Marian and Callie back to Jonathan’s and Kristy’s. We had a delightful visit with them, spent the night, and canned 21 quarts of peaches the next morning.

 

We left before noon on Thursday to head back to Mountain Home. Tom had a mole biopsied about 2 weeks ago and it was cancerous. So he went back for a 3pm appointment to have them remove all the edges. We thought we’d timed it better, but we actually drove directly to the appointment. No time to go home first. The doctor said the cancerous part was very thin, a good thing, and this should take care of it. However since he’s had one episode, they will follow him much more carefully for the next few years.

 

Tom thought it wouldn’t be that much- maybe an inch. after all, it was a pretty small mole. However, they make a diamond shaped incision so it can be stitched and hold better. And thus he has a 3.5 inch incision on his back with 13 stitches. It’s a bit ouchie. However, he was glad he wasn’t in Kristy’s hands. On Thursday morning, he’d watched her castrating piglets.

It’s been nice to have these jobs where I can do a little bit here and a little bit there. Fixing and correcting things doesn’t take as much time and concentration as creating the piece in the beginning. But I was a little concerned I’d spent 3 days doing other things. I got mostly caught up on Friday. I spent some time working on the Nauvoo trip our Relief Society has coming up in October.

Rebecca had brought home some rabbit livers from the Maples. (They grow and butcher their own rabbits.) Um. Tastes like chicken. So we cooked the livers and they did taste pretty much like chicken livers.

That evening we watched a movie Deborah had recommended. The Queen of Katwe is a story of a Ugandan girl from the slums of Katwe and how she became a chess champion. It brought back many memories of Kenya. And it renewed my appreciation for the gift of being born when and where I was born. We have such blessed lives!

Today we had a farewell from Gerry Rasumssen who is going on a mission to the Church Headquarters in Salt Lake City. Sounds like an interesting mission. She could serve at the museums, the headquarters building, family history center, etc.

Tom had Bishops Youth Discussion after church with 21 youth in attendance. Last night we prepared the ham and cheese sandwiches with the sauce of yumminess to go on top of them. They were a great hit.