Merry Christmas!
The week of freezing nightly temperatures and warmer days. The anticipated sleet/freezing rain did not materialize in the local area, but it was enough of a threat that the grief support group was cancelled on Monday.
Tuesday was a busy day. Finished scanning the last major photo album (it had 400 pictures) so now there are a lot of miscellaneous items that need to be scanned and then added to the proper file. This exercise has helped my relive many choice and wonderful experiences we shared as a family over the past 50ish years. I also ran, then had an afternoon meeting with a ward member and the sister missionaries. Then there was dinner at the ward mission leaders home and a missionary correlation meeting following. Then I dashed off to church to catch the tail end of the relief society presidency meeting to discuss self reliance with them and the elder's quorum president.And Katie, who left after work, arrived before 10 pm. She came to visit for a few days before she travels to Memphis late tonight to catch an early morning flight to Okinawa where she will spend the holidays with Rebecca's family.
Over the next few days we were able to rake up the last of the leaves (at least the last of the ones I intend to rake this season), do some kitchen organization, rearrange the downstairs kitchen area, clean the house and do some baking. We made several loaves of cranberry nut bread and a chocolate truffle pie. Saturday was Silver Dollar City day. Miranda and her family, along with Jonathan and his, gathered at this family theme park to enjoy the beautifully wonderful sights and sounds. Over 6 million lights adorn the park; it really is amazing to see. It is tradition to watch Dicken's 'Christmas Carol'; and everyone had fun on the roller coasters. Katie and I left around 6 pm to head home. There is a young man who leaves on his mission the beginning of the year and had spent the week at the St Louis Temple and the family was having a Christmas reception at their house. So Katie went there while I came home.
Thursday morning Katie and I took the sister missionaries to breakfast and then helped them load their vehicle. Both were being transferred and are being replaced with elders. Evidently the number of sisters is diminishing. It was sad to see them go; we have had sisters for the past several years and they have always been delightful.
Today we had a wonderful sacrament meeting. Lots of Christmas songs, two numbers song by the choir and the story of the Savior's birth and life were shared. Beautiful spirit. And then it was over. And unlike other Sundays when church is over, this time people actually lingered to visit!
Hope all have a joyous Christmas!!
Sunday, December 22, 2019
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Happy Birthday Beethoven!
Had my annual meeting with my doctor to review the blood tests of the previous week. Only took me 90 minutes from my appointment time to see him. I found it interesting that he was very articulate in reviewing the various blood tests and what they all mean, but he did not ask anything about me. Makes me wonder: am I just a statistic or am I a real person? I did get out afterward to run.
Tuesday morning I was up and out the door by 605 am to attend the temple. I discovered I can get out the door faster if I don't eat breakfast, but swing by the local donut place and get an apple fritter. The local shop is owned and operated by a Cambodian couple. He was originally a Shipley franchise, but when they wanted him to purchase more expensive equipment in accordance with their business plan, he left them and went to Day Light Donuts; he continued to make donuts the same, just a different name. Just recently Day Light put pressure on him to change how he was doing things, and so he left them and renamed his store as his own business. Still the same great donuts. He and his wife were very poor when they arrived here and started their business; with a lot of hard work and perseverance, they have prospered.
I was able to spend five hours in the temple and accomplish several ordinances. I find being there very therapeutic. I tried out a new Comfort Inn and Suites and saved about $20 with their 'Mormon' rate. It was comfortable and the breakfast adequate. Even found a Five Guys to eat at, just like the old days; just didn't have anyone to share the fries with, though.
Wednesday I got there when their first session started and was able to get two completed before heading home. Of course there was the stop at Aldis in West Plains. I had stopped by the library earlier in the week to obtain a book on tape and found that to keep me awake on the drive. On one of those lonely two lane roads in the dark, the tire warning light came on; not a good sign. I was only a couple of miles from a small town, so I pressed on hoping the best. Didn't happen; about two miles from a better place to pull over, the road noise changed and I knew if I didn't pull over right away, I would ruin the tire. Fortunately there was a place to pull over. It was a beautiful night with a full moon. But I needed the flashlite on the cell phone to find all the tools, get the car jacked up and remove the lug nuts. Unfortunately, one nut had rounded corners and would not loosen. It was just about that time that a pick up truck stopped and asked if I needed help. He was able to get the lug nut loosened and we got the spare mounted. He said he was on his way to church (it was a Wednesday night) and he thought: if God was driving by he would stop to help. I was most appreciative of his assistance. I drove the remaining 30 miles slower than normal. And when I stopped by the tire place the next day, they were able to repair the leak.
Thursday I attacked more of the leaves and was able to get the worst area cleaned up and the leaves burned. Also went running.
Friday I made rolls for the ward Christmas Brunch on Saturday. It has been years since I made any bread, and it was probably the first time doing so without any adult supervision. While they were tasty, I think I did a 'Miranda'; the water may have been too hot and over cooked the yeast. Need to try them again soon.
With five roosters and nine hens, those poor ladies were getting too much of a workout, so I separated them and the hens were much happier. I had previously confided with my neighbor that I was willing to part with the chickens, and on Friday she called to say a friend would be by shortly. He took one rooster and all nine hens. He has lots of acreage and they will be able to free range. Now to find a home for the four remaining roosters.
Saturday I helped a ward member briefly with his yard sale and then took my rolls to the ward brunch. There was a good turn out, lovely decorations, lots of food and good visiting. I had signed up to be on the clean up crew and started putting chairs back in the relief society room (it had been transformed into the North Pole). Then I grabbed the large vacuum and started on the hall ways. I left the vacuum to moved the cord out of the way. When I returned to power the vacuum forward I noticed flames leaping 4-5 inches high from where the cord was plugged into the outlet. That caught my attention. I regret not pulling out my phone and snapping a picture first, but instead I pulled the cord out of the outlet and flames extinguished. The flames blackened the wall and melted the outlet. The vacuum plug was unusable. And I was able to go run in the afternoon, in 42 degree weather!
Earlier in the week I had taken a laptop computer in to see about retrieving data; it was diagnosised with a corrupted operating system but all data was still intact. Unfortunately, it did not contain the Kenya Mission files. I was starting to panic since I had looked everywhere else for those files which contained my journal of that mission plus 10,000 photos. Then a voice said: check out the computer in the office, the one Mom used for her writing. Sure enough, they were there. But the question is: how did they get there? Sandy would know, but she isn't saying... So I immediately backed those up.
The reason why I was motivated to find them is that the area self reliance person's son was recently called to serve a mission in Kenya. I connected with the family and we coordinated meeting after church so I could show them some of our pictures and explain about the traditions, culture and growth of the church. She was able to coordinate with the bishop and the ward council received about 40 minutes of training on the self reliance program. Her boss, from Las Vegas, joined her to do the training and then both spoke in sacrament meeting. She was on the program, and he because the visiting high councilman was weathered in. Good counsel from them both.
After church we enjoyed lunch and then shared experiences and photos. the visiting brother had served as a mission president to Ghana 10 year ago and had traveled a lot in Africa, so he was able to add insight into what to expect.
Looks like we are in for a couple days of cold and rain
Tuesday morning I was up and out the door by 605 am to attend the temple. I discovered I can get out the door faster if I don't eat breakfast, but swing by the local donut place and get an apple fritter. The local shop is owned and operated by a Cambodian couple. He was originally a Shipley franchise, but when they wanted him to purchase more expensive equipment in accordance with their business plan, he left them and went to Day Light Donuts; he continued to make donuts the same, just a different name. Just recently Day Light put pressure on him to change how he was doing things, and so he left them and renamed his store as his own business. Still the same great donuts. He and his wife were very poor when they arrived here and started their business; with a lot of hard work and perseverance, they have prospered.
I was able to spend five hours in the temple and accomplish several ordinances. I find being there very therapeutic. I tried out a new Comfort Inn and Suites and saved about $20 with their 'Mormon' rate. It was comfortable and the breakfast adequate. Even found a Five Guys to eat at, just like the old days; just didn't have anyone to share the fries with, though.
Wednesday I got there when their first session started and was able to get two completed before heading home. Of course there was the stop at Aldis in West Plains. I had stopped by the library earlier in the week to obtain a book on tape and found that to keep me awake on the drive. On one of those lonely two lane roads in the dark, the tire warning light came on; not a good sign. I was only a couple of miles from a small town, so I pressed on hoping the best. Didn't happen; about two miles from a better place to pull over, the road noise changed and I knew if I didn't pull over right away, I would ruin the tire. Fortunately there was a place to pull over. It was a beautiful night with a full moon. But I needed the flashlite on the cell phone to find all the tools, get the car jacked up and remove the lug nuts. Unfortunately, one nut had rounded corners and would not loosen. It was just about that time that a pick up truck stopped and asked if I needed help. He was able to get the lug nut loosened and we got the spare mounted. He said he was on his way to church (it was a Wednesday night) and he thought: if God was driving by he would stop to help. I was most appreciative of his assistance. I drove the remaining 30 miles slower than normal. And when I stopped by the tire place the next day, they were able to repair the leak.
Thursday I attacked more of the leaves and was able to get the worst area cleaned up and the leaves burned. Also went running.
Friday I made rolls for the ward Christmas Brunch on Saturday. It has been years since I made any bread, and it was probably the first time doing so without any adult supervision. While they were tasty, I think I did a 'Miranda'; the water may have been too hot and over cooked the yeast. Need to try them again soon.
With five roosters and nine hens, those poor ladies were getting too much of a workout, so I separated them and the hens were much happier. I had previously confided with my neighbor that I was willing to part with the chickens, and on Friday she called to say a friend would be by shortly. He took one rooster and all nine hens. He has lots of acreage and they will be able to free range. Now to find a home for the four remaining roosters.
Saturday I helped a ward member briefly with his yard sale and then took my rolls to the ward brunch. There was a good turn out, lovely decorations, lots of food and good visiting. I had signed up to be on the clean up crew and started putting chairs back in the relief society room (it had been transformed into the North Pole). Then I grabbed the large vacuum and started on the hall ways. I left the vacuum to moved the cord out of the way. When I returned to power the vacuum forward I noticed flames leaping 4-5 inches high from where the cord was plugged into the outlet. That caught my attention. I regret not pulling out my phone and snapping a picture first, but instead I pulled the cord out of the outlet and flames extinguished. The flames blackened the wall and melted the outlet. The vacuum plug was unusable. And I was able to go run in the afternoon, in 42 degree weather!
Earlier in the week I had taken a laptop computer in to see about retrieving data; it was diagnosised with a corrupted operating system but all data was still intact. Unfortunately, it did not contain the Kenya Mission files. I was starting to panic since I had looked everywhere else for those files which contained my journal of that mission plus 10,000 photos. Then a voice said: check out the computer in the office, the one Mom used for her writing. Sure enough, they were there. But the question is: how did they get there? Sandy would know, but she isn't saying... So I immediately backed those up.
The reason why I was motivated to find them is that the area self reliance person's son was recently called to serve a mission in Kenya. I connected with the family and we coordinated meeting after church so I could show them some of our pictures and explain about the traditions, culture and growth of the church. She was able to coordinate with the bishop and the ward council received about 40 minutes of training on the self reliance program. Her boss, from Las Vegas, joined her to do the training and then both spoke in sacrament meeting. She was on the program, and he because the visiting high councilman was weathered in. Good counsel from them both.
After church we enjoyed lunch and then shared experiences and photos. the visiting brother had served as a mission president to Ghana 10 year ago and had traveled a lot in Africa, so he was able to add insight into what to expect.
Looks like we are in for a couple days of cold and rain
Sunday, December 8, 2019
8 December 2019 Letter
Monday was a busy day. It started with going to the doctors to have blood drawn for a lab work up prior to next week's doctor's appointment. There was another grief support group to attend (again nothing exciting to report); a quick run; green bean casserole to make for that night's empty nester activity and house cleaning to accomplish. Scott Kelley, a long time friend, drove in from Ohio and was able to join us for our empty nester's dinner and gift exchange.
During the week, Scott was a big help in many ways. We cut down a dead fir tree at one of the rentals, put it on the burn pile and proceeded to burn the pile. He helped rake leaves on two separate occasions and burn them. He was able to communicate with this computer and restore the settings that had disappeared. He helped get some things on my phone straightened out as well. It was nice to have another adult in the house to talk with; he was a good emotional support. Unfortunately, he had to leave early Friday morning to return home for a church activity that night.
On Friday, I ran and tackled more of the leaves.The wind graciously blew the majority of them to the eastern half of the yard, so I concentrate my efforts where the leaf population is denser.
This past June we had 7 chicken eggs hatch; five of them are roosters and they are terrorizing the other 7 hens to the point that they stay on the roosting bars so the roosters can't get to them. That means they don't come out much to eat or drink. And it means no eggs. I don't want to go through the effort of killing, de-feathering, etc these chickens. so I am looking at other options to rid myself of these roosters and possibly all the chickens.
Saturday I was up early (0345) to ride to the temple; it was our stake temple day and we had many from our ward there. I have come to appreciate my visits to the temple more these past few months.
Today two of our sacrament meeting speakers addressed the new children and youth program; we heard both a youth and adult leader perspective. The emphasis is on the youth leading and working with their family to devise their own plan; and there are no set rules. In elder's quorum we addressed how as ministers we can relieve much of the burden of the bishop as we establish relationships with our families and then do those things necessary to assist them instead of them going directly to the bishop. This will be a paradigm shift for many.
Quote of the week on a Christmas card I received: "Joy is the serious business of heaven", C. S. Lewis. I suspect that Sandy is heavily involved in that process and that I should be practicing for when I get there too.
Have a great week!
During the week, Scott was a big help in many ways. We cut down a dead fir tree at one of the rentals, put it on the burn pile and proceeded to burn the pile. He helped rake leaves on two separate occasions and burn them. He was able to communicate with this computer and restore the settings that had disappeared. He helped get some things on my phone straightened out as well. It was nice to have another adult in the house to talk with; he was a good emotional support. Unfortunately, he had to leave early Friday morning to return home for a church activity that night.
On Friday, I ran and tackled more of the leaves.The wind graciously blew the majority of them to the eastern half of the yard, so I concentrate my efforts where the leaf population is denser.
This past June we had 7 chicken eggs hatch; five of them are roosters and they are terrorizing the other 7 hens to the point that they stay on the roosting bars so the roosters can't get to them. That means they don't come out much to eat or drink. And it means no eggs. I don't want to go through the effort of killing, de-feathering, etc these chickens. so I am looking at other options to rid myself of these roosters and possibly all the chickens.
Saturday I was up early (0345) to ride to the temple; it was our stake temple day and we had many from our ward there. I have come to appreciate my visits to the temple more these past few months.
Today two of our sacrament meeting speakers addressed the new children and youth program; we heard both a youth and adult leader perspective. The emphasis is on the youth leading and working with their family to devise their own plan; and there are no set rules. In elder's quorum we addressed how as ministers we can relieve much of the burden of the bishop as we establish relationships with our families and then do those things necessary to assist them instead of them going directly to the bishop. This will be a paradigm shift for many.
Quote of the week on a Christmas card I received: "Joy is the serious business of heaven", C. S. Lewis. I suspect that Sandy is heavily involved in that process and that I should be practicing for when I get there too.
Have a great week!
Sunday, December 1, 2019
December has arrived
Monday I attended my grief support group; did not walk away with any profound thoughts this day; maybe I expect each session to have great ideas that will comfort me. I did manage to run and do some leaf mulching. And then strong winds over the next couple of days did a wonderful job of rearranging the leaves. The trees are devoid of leaves, so that is good. Now the leaves just dance around in the yard, moving from one place to another.
Tuesday I got in a short run and then joined the sister missionaries as they visited a single sister. Our goal was to help her input some of her family history into Family Search, but she had trouble with her log in; so we watched the new 'Nativity' video instead. The local appliance repair man arrived with a new control board for the dishwasher. It wanted to wash according to the dictates of its whims and not according to the buttons pushed. It now cooperates.
Wednesday was a busy time; lots of last minute items to complete so I could be on the road by noon to journey to Jonathan's house in Missouri for the holiday. Driving to their house takes me by Branson, which entails a stop at Harry and David's for some house warming contributions; this time it was truffles. I arrived in time to visit before dining; Jonathan made a wonderful dinner for Kristy's birthday, along with a decadent chocolate cake (not what it really was, but I can't remember the correct name). Andy's family drove up from Russellville later and there was much rejoicing between the cousins, and lots of visiting by the adults.
Thursday morning was the day of the Mountaineer 5 K race in Mt Vernon. The weather was a chilly 41 degrees with an occasional drizzle. Fortunately the rain held off until the end of the race. While they had approximately 280 sign up for the race, I don't think there were that many who showed up. Andy, Katie, Aaron, Matthew, Isabelle and I all participated.
They changed the race course from last year and I was thrown off at the finish; coming up an incline last year we turned left and then right through the finish line Thinking it was the same this year, I was ready for the final sprint (I use this term loosely) only to discover that this time we turned right and ran around the court house, at least 200 yards further than anticipated. I survived anyway. We waited inside the court house until they handed out the awards. Andy was 3rd in his age group and I was 2nd in the over 70; age does have its advantages. Matthew was first from our group, followed by Aaron, Andy, myself and then the two teenaged girls. We were glad to come home and take hot showers.
Jonathan and Kristy traditionally invite one or two families for Thanksgiving dinner. This time they had two church families over; there were a total of 21 of us for dinner. Everything was delicious, the turkey was moist and yummy, the stuffing and potatoes, green bean casserole were all tasty. Kera made lots of rolls and two pecan pies. I brought a chocolate truffle pie and there were apple, key lime and pumpkin as well. We did not want for food. And by having lots of people come, each brought something to share so Jonathan and Kristy did not have to slave over the stove providing everything. Then the adults stayed talking and visiting until 9 pm. It was a long and enjoyable Thanksgiving in so many ways. We truly are a blessed family!
Some family photos:
Friday Andy, Jonathan and I installed a new mail box, complete with hole digging in rocky soil. Kera had painted them a 'Fox' mail box patterned after the one she painted for me earlier this year. And we worked on some plumbing and electrical issues as well. In the afternoon we drove to Monett to watch 'Frozen II'. All seemed to enjoy this movie. I was intrigued with the previews; there were at least five shown, all of them animated. Don't they have any movie with real people as actors?
Andy and family departed home after dinner; I left Saturday after lunch. On the way home I stopped by Harry and David's again to collect the annual gift basket for our property manager. Opps, all the shoppers were out in great abundance; nothing wrong with our economy based on the number of shoppers at the mall! Rather than deal with heavy traffic looking for the lone parking space, I drove to the far end of the mall and parked there. That meant a 1/2 mile walk to and fro; but the weather was nice. And I found that their truffles and Moose Munch were 50% off!! So I now have a good stock pile of goodies for anyone who wishes to visit. I got home in time to do the evening choirs and prepare for Sunday.
Today was fast and testimony Sunday followed by Sunday School. Then home to read, scan more pictures and stay inside where it is warm. Tomorrow Scott Kelley will join me for a few days; looking forward to his visit.
Tuesday I got in a short run and then joined the sister missionaries as they visited a single sister. Our goal was to help her input some of her family history into Family Search, but she had trouble with her log in; so we watched the new 'Nativity' video instead. The local appliance repair man arrived with a new control board for the dishwasher. It wanted to wash according to the dictates of its whims and not according to the buttons pushed. It now cooperates.
Wednesday was a busy time; lots of last minute items to complete so I could be on the road by noon to journey to Jonathan's house in Missouri for the holiday. Driving to their house takes me by Branson, which entails a stop at Harry and David's for some house warming contributions; this time it was truffles. I arrived in time to visit before dining; Jonathan made a wonderful dinner for Kristy's birthday, along with a decadent chocolate cake (not what it really was, but I can't remember the correct name). Andy's family drove up from Russellville later and there was much rejoicing between the cousins, and lots of visiting by the adults.
Thursday morning was the day of the Mountaineer 5 K race in Mt Vernon. The weather was a chilly 41 degrees with an occasional drizzle. Fortunately the rain held off until the end of the race. While they had approximately 280 sign up for the race, I don't think there were that many who showed up. Andy, Katie, Aaron, Matthew, Isabelle and I all participated.
They changed the race course from last year and I was thrown off at the finish; coming up an incline last year we turned left and then right through the finish line Thinking it was the same this year, I was ready for the final sprint (I use this term loosely) only to discover that this time we turned right and ran around the court house, at least 200 yards further than anticipated. I survived anyway. We waited inside the court house until they handed out the awards. Andy was 3rd in his age group and I was 2nd in the over 70; age does have its advantages. Matthew was first from our group, followed by Aaron, Andy, myself and then the two teenaged girls. We were glad to come home and take hot showers.
Jonathan and Kristy traditionally invite one or two families for Thanksgiving dinner. This time they had two church families over; there were a total of 21 of us for dinner. Everything was delicious, the turkey was moist and yummy, the stuffing and potatoes, green bean casserole were all tasty. Kera made lots of rolls and two pecan pies. I brought a chocolate truffle pie and there were apple, key lime and pumpkin as well. We did not want for food. And by having lots of people come, each brought something to share so Jonathan and Kristy did not have to slave over the stove providing everything. Then the adults stayed talking and visiting until 9 pm. It was a long and enjoyable Thanksgiving in so many ways. We truly are a blessed family!
Some family photos:
Friday Andy, Jonathan and I installed a new mail box, complete with hole digging in rocky soil. Kera had painted them a 'Fox' mail box patterned after the one she painted for me earlier this year. And we worked on some plumbing and electrical issues as well. In the afternoon we drove to Monett to watch 'Frozen II'. All seemed to enjoy this movie. I was intrigued with the previews; there were at least five shown, all of them animated. Don't they have any movie with real people as actors?
Andy and family departed home after dinner; I left Saturday after lunch. On the way home I stopped by Harry and David's again to collect the annual gift basket for our property manager. Opps, all the shoppers were out in great abundance; nothing wrong with our economy based on the number of shoppers at the mall! Rather than deal with heavy traffic looking for the lone parking space, I drove to the far end of the mall and parked there. That meant a 1/2 mile walk to and fro; but the weather was nice. And I found that their truffles and Moose Munch were 50% off!! So I now have a good stock pile of goodies for anyone who wishes to visit. I got home in time to do the evening choirs and prepare for Sunday.
Today was fast and testimony Sunday followed by Sunday School. Then home to read, scan more pictures and stay inside where it is warm. Tomorrow Scott Kelley will join me for a few days; looking forward to his visit.
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