We had such a nice time with kids visiting, it was sad to see them go. They were a great help. Deborah kicked off the packing up of the downstairs. Dan helped Tom finish the fence, and Miranda made our front and side yard stick free.
Monday Miranda and I tackled the downstairs kitchen. We found space for some things in the pantry. We decided some things needed to be tossed, and we filled trays with things Tom needed to deal with or I needed to find places for. It felt pretty good to get most all the kitchen done.
The rest of the week was spent on more downstairs boxing and moving. Tom got some of the videos packed up. He pretty much cleaned out the linen closet and the Harry Potter (under the stairs) closet. We organized the food storage pantry better and made room for the sewing dresser to fit inside. I think we've emptied all the drawers in the suite.
We still have random boxes and bedding for when Andy and crew come. And we still have the antique settee that needs to have the springs retied ... still in all it's loose stuffing glory.
Mid- week I was feeling pretty overwhelmed, but by the end of the week things were looking better.
I had hoped to be entirely done with my writing by now. I'd sent off the Eagle draft two weeks ago. Done several followups, and finally got a message-- the editor who is looking at it says it needs a lot of work... and maybe we'll get it back to you by Tuesday. Ugh! They know I only have a week more to work on it. So that was a bummer. My hope is that with further examination, they'll say, "We'll fix what we don't like, consider it done." That's my hope.
My other job is winding down. Deborah did some copy editing for me and I hope that by Tuesday it can be on its way. Since this client likes most everything I do, I don't see a problem with this.
We had a session with a language buddy and our language coach and both were productive. We find that when we follow the study plan, we learn faster. We are learning.... but there's a whole lot to learn.
I spent time this week feeling sad for Cynthia and Jim. Jim has been slow to regain cognitive function. He's been frustrated and disoriented-- wanting to go home, right now. Our hope and prayer is that with time, he will return to normal. He is getting his strength back.
This week we checked three more health appointments off our list. I got a cavity filled. Tom got his teeth cleaned, and he had a small basil cell carcinoma removed from his back. Hopefully that's the last of the back procedures for a while. Today (Sunday) begins the prep for my colonoscopy tomorrow. Then that will be over!
Thursday we went to dinner at the the house of the bishop whom Tom replaced-- at their Carlton Resort. It was a delightful evening with good food and good conversation.
Friday we had a ward dance-- maybe a belated Valentine's dance. It was fun to go and visit and eat some tasty finger food and even do an occasional dance.
We've had an amazing amount of rain this week. Over five inches! Part of that was when Tom drove to Bentonville to see Katie swim in the state championships. She improved her time and in the relays they had faster times, too. So nice to see them working hard.
Sunday Tom and I both spoke in church. Tom talked about how small and simple things can create a big change in our lives. He showed how small things helped us join the church. And simple things like prayer, scripture reading and keeping the commandments keep us strong in the gospel.
I talked about the joy of missionary work. I went back through the blog book from our last mission and was impressed once again about the joy and fun we had on our mission. When I read the posts, I recognize that there were hard times. Times when we had no electricity, no water, no internet. Times when friends died and people disappointed. But through it all we were strengthened by the Lord and felt a true sense of joy and satisfaction.
People ask us if we are excited to go on this mission. The truth is... we're focused on getting through all the things that need to be done before we leave. I expect once we get on the plane to the MTC we will be excited to be going. Now, it just seems like there are too many hurdles to jump before that time comes. However, in reading the old missionary blog, it did make me excited to be going.
Sunday, February 25, 2018
Monday, February 19, 2018
Sunday, February 18, 2018
Hurrah for Family!
Our dryer has been making noise. More and more it's sounding like a rock tumbler. Tom found the warranty and we are still within warranty for the engine for the next few months. We called Shays and they came out and checked it out on Monday. Yes, it appears to be coming from the engine and there's one other place that could be causing problems.
They will order the parts. We will have to pay some of the cost, but should have a functioning, quieter dryer for a fraction of the price of a new one. In the afternoon, I went visiting teaching.
Tuesday morning we had an appointment with the attorney for new powers of attorney, living wills and durable powers of healthcare. It's a bit sobering to make end of life decisions. But better we do it than leave it for the kids to guess. We hope we've given the kids all the powers they need to take care of any affairs they need to in our absence.
I thought I'd be home sooner and made an appointment for my friend to come over and work on her website. But our appointment ran over. I called my neighbor to keep an eye out for her. And she arrived just a few minutes before I made it home. We were finally able to transfer her website to her domain. We'd been struggling with getting all the pieces together for weeks. After that I spend some time working on the Chad promo.
When Tom came home he went to the neighbors and with another friend, got the last of her leaves collected and hauled off. Tom's project for the week has been to work on the fence along the back of our property. He bought some hefty wooden posts and has been out digging, leveling and pouring cement. In the afternoon, I went out and helped him for a little while.
That evening our friend John came for scripture study.
Wednesday morning, Tom had a re-check at the dermatologists. He thought the incision from the last melanoma looked good and was healing well. However burned off a few suspicious spots on Tom's face and he found another small mole that looked suspicious and biopsied it. It turned out to be a basil cell carcinoma-- not so bad... but still needing some additional attention.
We were supposed to meet with a Croatian speaker over Zoom a bit later... but we never got a way to connect. We've been trying to be a little more diligent with our language training... but it's easy to find other things that seem more urgent. Wednesday I felt like I made serious inroads with the Chad promo. Wednesday evening I started feeling really puny.-- headache, stuffy nose, cough. Even a little achy. Gakk. I had to be healthy for when the grandkids came.
So I started taking Inner Defense every 4 hours. When I got up in the night I took it. And I put Oregano on my feet... as I prefer that to diluted drops in the mouth.
Thursday I finished the hopefully last draft of the Chad promo and sent it to my copy coach. I soaked in the tub for a while. Margaret came over again and we spent about 3 hours working on her website. We finished just in time for our meeting with our language coach. We seem to have a hard time getting the time right-- our time or Mountain time. So we called an hour early. That was good because his other couple he was coaching at that hour was ALSO going to the Adriatic North Mission. And we will be in the MTC together. We are about the same level on the language, so we all worked together.
The hard part was that Miranda arrived just as our coaching session began. So we said a delighted hello, and then abandoned her for an hour.
The good part was that I was feeling better by that afternoon.
Another good part was that I was scheduled to have my colonoscopy on Thursday, but it was postponed because the doctor was sick. I'm so grateful it was postponed. I don't think I could have done the prep while feeling sick. On the other hand, it would have been nice to have it over.
So the fun began! We got to hang out with Miranda, Rachael and Alex Thursday evening. It was so nice to see them.
Baby Rachel is such a happy baby. She smiles at everyone and the boys love her.
Friday Miranda raked up sticks in the front yard, while Alex helped her pick up sticks. While we were away, strong winds blew them down.
The cow's owner came over and he and Tom put in 200 feet of fencing along the back. He was a great help man-handling the roll of fencing and putting it in place. I went out and helped a bit.
Then on Friday afternoon, about 4pm, Deborah and kids arrived. We had been trying to finish up food in the freezer. So Friday we had hamburgers... 12 gone! Dan and Miranda's last two boys arrived later on Friday evening.
Saturday Tom wanted to continue with the fencing, but it was raining when we awoke. So we worked inside. We went through the food storage closet and some of the kitchen cabinets to see what canned goods we were not going to use in the next few weeks. We found some OLD stuff that no one should ever use and tossed that out.
Deborah was a big help packing books from the downstairs book shelves. We have three of them... plus a few other photo albums hiding here and there. She was a careful, orderly packer. I know we will appreciate that when it's time to put them back on the shelves.
We had a turkey in the freezer for a while..... Somehow, with turkeys things always get out of hand. We decided it made sense to have turkey for Saturday lunch when we had invited Vela over to visit with Miranda and the rest of us. But if you have turkey... you need to have potatoes and yams and desert and... So Miranda made rolls and funeral potatoes... which were delicious! But somehow the blackberry cobbler didn't get into the oven until just before lunch. So things were a bit hectic and the stuffing never got out of the package.
However, we had a delightful lunch with Vela and spent hours catching up on things. Then Tom and Dan went out to work on the fence. After lunch was cleaned up, Deborah went back to book boxes and Miranda and crew went out for more stick picking up. I went out to help with the fencing.
Ummm. I forgot to mention that Tom invited the sister missionaries over for dinner at 5:30. As I was coming back from the fencing area to check on Deborah, I realized it was 5:10! I walk in the upstairs and there's monopoly, Jenga, and connect 4 on the floor in the living room. The dining room table has two trays of plastic beads and trays (the iron to set kind) plus string and beads on the other end for stringing necklaces. Not to mention the legos and card games on the floor downstairs. AKK!
I called all the kids in to clean up. And they did a really good job! Good thing we'd decided to have turkey sandwiches for dinner. But then I realized some of the kids wouldn't like that. So I took a count of those who preferred quesadillas for dinner and was in the process of making them when the Sister missionaries arrived. Everyon pitched in and soon dinner was on the table. Dan took a hit for the team and went off to buy milk and ice cream to go on the blackberry cobbler we did not eat at lunchtime since Vela brought wonderful chocolate chip cookies.
After dinner Deborah bathed her kids, put them in pajamas and headed home. It was one jam-packed day. On the plus side, we had lovely visiting, we met a new sister missionary, the kids played well together, and Tom and Dan strung another 200 feet of fencing. We watched just a little bit of the Winter Olympics before crawling into bed.
Today there was no choir practice. Tom went in early for meeting and later was released as Young Men's president. For the first time in 7 years, he will not need to go to church on Wednesday. Still, he has worked with the youth for all that time and has a great love for them.
We had good talks on keeping the Holy Spirit in times of trial. Our Stake theme for this year is becoming perfect... eventually. It was encouragement to work toward perfection, but recognize that it's a more-than-a-lifetime goal. To not get caught up in looking at others seeming perfection-- as shown on Facebook and twitter. And to recognize this is just their best side... not necessarily their real side. We can't compare ourselves with others. Only with where we've been and where we want to go.
They will order the parts. We will have to pay some of the cost, but should have a functioning, quieter dryer for a fraction of the price of a new one. In the afternoon, I went visiting teaching.
Tuesday morning we had an appointment with the attorney for new powers of attorney, living wills and durable powers of healthcare. It's a bit sobering to make end of life decisions. But better we do it than leave it for the kids to guess. We hope we've given the kids all the powers they need to take care of any affairs they need to in our absence.
I thought I'd be home sooner and made an appointment for my friend to come over and work on her website. But our appointment ran over. I called my neighbor to keep an eye out for her. And she arrived just a few minutes before I made it home. We were finally able to transfer her website to her domain. We'd been struggling with getting all the pieces together for weeks. After that I spend some time working on the Chad promo.
When Tom came home he went to the neighbors and with another friend, got the last of her leaves collected and hauled off. Tom's project for the week has been to work on the fence along the back of our property. He bought some hefty wooden posts and has been out digging, leveling and pouring cement. In the afternoon, I went out and helped him for a little while.
That evening our friend John came for scripture study.
Wednesday morning, Tom had a re-check at the dermatologists. He thought the incision from the last melanoma looked good and was healing well. However burned off a few suspicious spots on Tom's face and he found another small mole that looked suspicious and biopsied it. It turned out to be a basil cell carcinoma-- not so bad... but still needing some additional attention.
We were supposed to meet with a Croatian speaker over Zoom a bit later... but we never got a way to connect. We've been trying to be a little more diligent with our language training... but it's easy to find other things that seem more urgent. Wednesday I felt like I made serious inroads with the Chad promo. Wednesday evening I started feeling really puny.-- headache, stuffy nose, cough. Even a little achy. Gakk. I had to be healthy for when the grandkids came.
So I started taking Inner Defense every 4 hours. When I got up in the night I took it. And I put Oregano on my feet... as I prefer that to diluted drops in the mouth.
Thursday I finished the hopefully last draft of the Chad promo and sent it to my copy coach. I soaked in the tub for a while. Margaret came over again and we spent about 3 hours working on her website. We finished just in time for our meeting with our language coach. We seem to have a hard time getting the time right-- our time or Mountain time. So we called an hour early. That was good because his other couple he was coaching at that hour was ALSO going to the Adriatic North Mission. And we will be in the MTC together. We are about the same level on the language, so we all worked together.
The hard part was that Miranda arrived just as our coaching session began. So we said a delighted hello, and then abandoned her for an hour.
The good part was that I was feeling better by that afternoon.
Another good part was that I was scheduled to have my colonoscopy on Thursday, but it was postponed because the doctor was sick. I'm so grateful it was postponed. I don't think I could have done the prep while feeling sick. On the other hand, it would have been nice to have it over.
So the fun began! We got to hang out with Miranda, Rachael and Alex Thursday evening. It was so nice to see them.
Friday Miranda raked up sticks in the front yard, while Alex helped her pick up sticks. While we were away, strong winds blew them down.
The cow's owner came over and he and Tom put in 200 feet of fencing along the back. He was a great help man-handling the roll of fencing and putting it in place. I went out and helped a bit.
Then on Friday afternoon, about 4pm, Deborah and kids arrived. We had been trying to finish up food in the freezer. So Friday we had hamburgers... 12 gone! Dan and Miranda's last two boys arrived later on Friday evening.
Deborah was a big help packing books from the downstairs book shelves. We have three of them... plus a few other photo albums hiding here and there. She was a careful, orderly packer. I know we will appreciate that when it's time to put them back on the shelves.
We had a turkey in the freezer for a while..... Somehow, with turkeys things always get out of hand. We decided it made sense to have turkey for Saturday lunch when we had invited Vela over to visit with Miranda and the rest of us. But if you have turkey... you need to have potatoes and yams and desert and... So Miranda made rolls and funeral potatoes... which were delicious! But somehow the blackberry cobbler didn't get into the oven until just before lunch. So things were a bit hectic and the stuffing never got out of the package.
However, we had a delightful lunch with Vela and spent hours catching up on things. Then Tom and Dan went out to work on the fence. After lunch was cleaned up, Deborah went back to book boxes and Miranda and crew went out for more stick picking up. I went out to help with the fencing.
Ummm. I forgot to mention that Tom invited the sister missionaries over for dinner at 5:30. As I was coming back from the fencing area to check on Deborah, I realized it was 5:10! I walk in the upstairs and there's monopoly, Jenga, and connect 4 on the floor in the living room. The dining room table has two trays of plastic beads and trays (the iron to set kind) plus string and beads on the other end for stringing necklaces. Not to mention the legos and card games on the floor downstairs. AKK!
I called all the kids in to clean up. And they did a really good job! Good thing we'd decided to have turkey sandwiches for dinner. But then I realized some of the kids wouldn't like that. So I took a count of those who preferred quesadillas for dinner and was in the process of making them when the Sister missionaries arrived. Everyon pitched in and soon dinner was on the table. Dan took a hit for the team and went off to buy milk and ice cream to go on the blackberry cobbler we did not eat at lunchtime since Vela brought wonderful chocolate chip cookies.
After dinner Deborah bathed her kids, put them in pajamas and headed home. It was one jam-packed day. On the plus side, we had lovely visiting, we met a new sister missionary, the kids played well together, and Tom and Dan strung another 200 feet of fencing. We watched just a little bit of the Winter Olympics before crawling into bed.
Today there was no choir practice. Tom went in early for meeting and later was released as Young Men's president. For the first time in 7 years, he will not need to go to church on Wednesday. Still, he has worked with the youth for all that time and has a great love for them.
We had good talks on keeping the Holy Spirit in times of trial. Our Stake theme for this year is becoming perfect... eventually. It was encouragement to work toward perfection, but recognize that it's a more-than-a-lifetime goal. To not get caught up in looking at others seeming perfection-- as shown on Facebook and twitter. And to recognize this is just their best side... not necessarily their real side. We can't compare ourselves with others. Only with where we've been and where we want to go.
Sunday, February 11, 2018
February 11, 2018
I just spent time on Savannah's blog reliving our trip to Disneyland. There were fun memories! This was such a good picture of Tom I wanted to remember it.
We came home to no internet. I called on Saturday and the final step was to reset the modem. Still didn't work. But I got something that popped up on the computer saying "knock, knock. Let's connect." First try didn't work. But on Monday I tried again and ... it worked! So once again we are in the land of the living.
We got a signed contract back from the Stephens... so we for sure have tenants in the house when we are gone. They will not come until after we leave, so we won't have a turnover time. However, Tom has written out detailed instructions on everything from chicken care to generator... so I think we will be good.
The first of the week was spent running around doing all the things that had been hanging while we were gone. I got my new glasses... and later in the week Tom ordered a new pair. I picked up things from the cobblers and dropped off new items to be cleaned or fixed.
Tuesday, I had an appointment to schedule a colonoscopy. Bahh.. not my idea of fun. I also got my hair cut. We planned on having our friend, John over for a missionary lesson that evening, but the weather turned cold with a little ice... so we put it off til next week.
Tuesday, Jim, Cynthia's hubby, went in for arthroscopic heart surgery. It didn't go as planned. It punctured an artery and ended up in open heart surgery. They resolved the problems in the heart, but Jim had a lot of bleeding. He has been in ICU since that time and only now (Sunday) is he slowly coming out of a medically induced coma. Our prayers have been with them both. We've appreciated Cynthia's daily updates.
It will be a slow recovery for Jim with weeks spent in the hospital before going on to rehab. What a shock it will be for Jim. He assumed he'd wake up Tuesday evening with the procedure over... and now it will be close to a week later! All your prayers are invited as well.
Wednesday I spent a good bit of time on the Chad promo. I also had teeth cleaning and they found a small cavity. So I need to return to have that filled. That evening we had the sister missionaries over for dinner and then Tom went to his Wednesday night Young Men's meetings. He has also been spending time putting together self-reliance classes. We have facilitators for most of the classes, but he needed to get books and get them distributed and get the names of people in the classes to the facilitators so they could schedule the classes. It took some time.
Tom also spent much of the week working on the downstairs of our midway duplex. This is the one where the lady with stinky cats decided she'd rather fling cat feces all over the house and leave... instead of cleaning up the mess and staying. Our manager and her husband went and cleaned up most all of it and ripped out the carpet (only had it in the bedroom). Tom came in and finished wiping down walls and baseboards. Then he painted it all with a fresh silver-gray paint.
Thursday we went to the attorneys to set up power of attorney for while we are gone. We are also trying to finish getting the last of our accounts into our trusts and with the correct beneficiaries. And we're trying to get the last of the tax stuff done so it all can be signed and such. We finally reconnected with our language coach. We developed a training plan to help us learn the language in an orderly manner.
In the afternoon, Tom went out to lay vinyl planking in the bedroom floor. I had someone coming over to help with a website... but we really didn't have everything needed to move forward. So after she left, I went out and helped Tom finish the last half of the floor. It looked nice! We celebrated by going out to dinner.
This week my goal was to work on the Chad promo and try to get that well moved along. I did a new middle-of-the-promo outline and sent it off. Got back comments and did some research of facts, charts, expert quotes, testimonies and other kinds of proof that will support the things I say. Saturday I spent time starting to put it all together. It always seems to go slower than I think it should.
I was a bit reluctant to set aside the Chad promo on Friday. But Tom wanted to drive to Bentonville to see Katie and Aaron compete in the regional swim competition. So we left about 10:30 and drove to Deborah's and visited with her for a little while. Then we went on to the swim meet. I'd forgotten just how noisy they are! It was very much fun to see Katie win in her division and see Aaron shave so much time off his races. I think both had improved since the last time we saw them. Russellville Girls took the regional meet and the Boys team came in second place. So proud of them!
Butterfly above, and 100 medley below.
The meet went from 3:30 to nearly 9pm. I had been fighting a cold again... or still. And by the end of the meet was feeling a little under the weather. Fortunately Tom drove the nearly 3 hours home and I slept part of the way. Also, it was a long time from our 12:00 lunch of PB&J in the car until a 10 pm dinner at McDonald's. Perhaps that's why it tasted so good! We got home at midnight. Crashed. And slept until 8am.
Saturday Tom worked around the house and I focused on the Chad promo. It's been a bit chilly here with lows in the teens and 20's and highs mostly in the 30's. We had a warming trend and Friday got up into the 60's before Saturday night's freezing rain.
It wasn't bad enough to put ice on the streets, but Tom had to scrape off a lot of ice from his windshield before he could drive to church. And the back steps were slick as snot. Today I still had a cough and a runny nose. I went to church and sang in the choir, but then came home. With all the sickness going around, I figured I really didn't need to spread more.
In Sacrament, we had some sweet talks on teaching children by example when they are young and on how small things can make a big difference.
We came home to no internet. I called on Saturday and the final step was to reset the modem. Still didn't work. But I got something that popped up on the computer saying "knock, knock. Let's connect." First try didn't work. But on Monday I tried again and ... it worked! So once again we are in the land of the living.
We got a signed contract back from the Stephens... so we for sure have tenants in the house when we are gone. They will not come until after we leave, so we won't have a turnover time. However, Tom has written out detailed instructions on everything from chicken care to generator... so I think we will be good.
The first of the week was spent running around doing all the things that had been hanging while we were gone. I got my new glasses... and later in the week Tom ordered a new pair. I picked up things from the cobblers and dropped off new items to be cleaned or fixed.
Tuesday, I had an appointment to schedule a colonoscopy. Bahh.. not my idea of fun. I also got my hair cut. We planned on having our friend, John over for a missionary lesson that evening, but the weather turned cold with a little ice... so we put it off til next week.
Tuesday, Jim, Cynthia's hubby, went in for arthroscopic heart surgery. It didn't go as planned. It punctured an artery and ended up in open heart surgery. They resolved the problems in the heart, but Jim had a lot of bleeding. He has been in ICU since that time and only now (Sunday) is he slowly coming out of a medically induced coma. Our prayers have been with them both. We've appreciated Cynthia's daily updates.
It will be a slow recovery for Jim with weeks spent in the hospital before going on to rehab. What a shock it will be for Jim. He assumed he'd wake up Tuesday evening with the procedure over... and now it will be close to a week later! All your prayers are invited as well.
Wednesday I spent a good bit of time on the Chad promo. I also had teeth cleaning and they found a small cavity. So I need to return to have that filled. That evening we had the sister missionaries over for dinner and then Tom went to his Wednesday night Young Men's meetings. He has also been spending time putting together self-reliance classes. We have facilitators for most of the classes, but he needed to get books and get them distributed and get the names of people in the classes to the facilitators so they could schedule the classes. It took some time.
Tom also spent much of the week working on the downstairs of our midway duplex. This is the one where the lady with stinky cats decided she'd rather fling cat feces all over the house and leave... instead of cleaning up the mess and staying. Our manager and her husband went and cleaned up most all of it and ripped out the carpet (only had it in the bedroom). Tom came in and finished wiping down walls and baseboards. Then he painted it all with a fresh silver-gray paint.
Thursday we went to the attorneys to set up power of attorney for while we are gone. We are also trying to finish getting the last of our accounts into our trusts and with the correct beneficiaries. And we're trying to get the last of the tax stuff done so it all can be signed and such. We finally reconnected with our language coach. We developed a training plan to help us learn the language in an orderly manner.
In the afternoon, Tom went out to lay vinyl planking in the bedroom floor. I had someone coming over to help with a website... but we really didn't have everything needed to move forward. So after she left, I went out and helped Tom finish the last half of the floor. It looked nice! We celebrated by going out to dinner.
This week my goal was to work on the Chad promo and try to get that well moved along. I did a new middle-of-the-promo outline and sent it off. Got back comments and did some research of facts, charts, expert quotes, testimonies and other kinds of proof that will support the things I say. Saturday I spent time starting to put it all together. It always seems to go slower than I think it should.
I was a bit reluctant to set aside the Chad promo on Friday. But Tom wanted to drive to Bentonville to see Katie and Aaron compete in the regional swim competition. So we left about 10:30 and drove to Deborah's and visited with her for a little while. Then we went on to the swim meet. I'd forgotten just how noisy they are! It was very much fun to see Katie win in her division and see Aaron shave so much time off his races. I think both had improved since the last time we saw them. Russellville Girls took the regional meet and the Boys team came in second place. So proud of them!
The meet went from 3:30 to nearly 9pm. I had been fighting a cold again... or still. And by the end of the meet was feeling a little under the weather. Fortunately Tom drove the nearly 3 hours home and I slept part of the way. Also, it was a long time from our 12:00 lunch of PB&J in the car until a 10 pm dinner at McDonald's. Perhaps that's why it tasted so good! We got home at midnight. Crashed. And slept until 8am.
Saturday Tom worked around the house and I focused on the Chad promo. It's been a bit chilly here with lows in the teens and 20's and highs mostly in the 30's. We had a warming trend and Friday got up into the 60's before Saturday night's freezing rain.
It wasn't bad enough to put ice on the streets, but Tom had to scrape off a lot of ice from his windshield before he could drive to church. And the back steps were slick as snot. Today I still had a cough and a runny nose. I went to church and sang in the choir, but then came home. With all the sickness going around, I figured I really didn't need to spread more.
In Sacrament, we had some sweet talks on teaching children by example when they are young and on how small things can make a big difference.
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
On the way home
The week of January 29th,
began with my trying to get over a cold. I had a long list of things to do and
didn’t get a lot done. We learned that our marriage certificates had been sent
to the home… but with no one to sign for them… they were about to be sent back.
So we called a friend and arranged for him to pick them up on Tuesday.
Our neighbor said our
internet had been out since the day we left. I called to see if they could
troubleshoot it even though we were not there. No. They could not. Bummer. I
suggested our neighbor call and see if she could be me and get it done. [But
she did not.]
I worked on my email
series and in the afternoon Mom, Tom and I went shopping at Costco. In the
evening we had delicious hamburgers at Cynthia and Jims. Cynthia and Jim both
are having heart issues. Jim went in for testing and later in the week went
back to see if his test showed he’d be a good candidate to have his heart valve
repair done as a “procedure” with an arthroscope… or as open heart surgery. Fortunately,
it will be the former… and he will have it done February 6th. So
keep him in your prayers. Once he’s healed, Cynthia will go in to have her
periodic a-fib resolved.
Tuesday we left at 6am
to drive to the LA temple. The Newport Beach temple was closed. I am surprised
at how many temples are closed either for cleaning or renovation…or complete
reconstruction. The 1 hour drive took two in traffic and we missed our planned
session. So we did initiatories and then went to the next session. In the LA
temple they have rooms depicting parts of the plan of salvation. It was
interesting to move between the rooms.
In the evening we
fixed dinner and Cynthia and Jim joined us for dinner. Mom bought a monstrous
apple pie to take for dessert to C & J on Monday night. We continued to
devour it on Tuesday for dessert… with a little ice cream to help it slide
down. Afterwards we watched the State of the Union address of President Trump.
It’s been a long time since I watched one start to finish. I thought he did a
pretty good job. It was nice to see it myself and not just hear the sound bites
filtered by those who loved it or hated it.
Wednesday we got up early to see the Blood Moon. It was a blue moon (since it was the second full moon of the month. It was a bright moon, since the orbit was closer to the earth. And it was a lunar eclipse because the earth's shadow covered the moon completely at 5:30 am. Even mom came out and took a look and then... wisely... went back to bed.
Wed I was bummed. I
was about to review the 10 email series as I had revised it all. Then… I could
NOT find the revisions I’d done for the third letter series. Oh! I was so
bummed. But rather than screaming… which I have found to be less effective… I
started revising it again. But mid-afternoon, I’d finished revising that and
reviewing all the letters. As I was putting it all together for Tom to
proof-read… I found the missing revision. Sigh… again. I blended the best of
both and gave it to Tom to read.
I took a break at 9:30
and went off for a chat with Cynthia. We try to get away for a just-us-two chat
at least once. This time I helped her get a new email and PayPal account so she
could start listing some of her extra stuff on eBay. Sally also came down to
visit with Mom and work on her paperwork. Tom and Mom left to go mattress
shopping as Sally and I worked on our stuff.
We ate leftovers. Sally
had volunteered to drive us to Union Station in LA, so we didn’t need to catch
a train until 10pm (instead of 5:50) Thus, we had a chance to spend more time
with Mom. Once traffic cleared, Sally drove us north and dropped us off.
It was nice to get on
board the train and into bed at a more reasonable hour. However, the rocking
back and forth still took some getting used to. We found that limited internet
actually meant NO internet. When we were stopped close to stations, we could
sometimes grab a little. So Tom finished proof-reading my emails and at a
station, I had a short window and sent them off! Wahoo! I hope they don’t need
extensive revisions.
Then what to do? Sally
had given me some books to read and Tom brought a fat one. So mostly we read
for the next few days… with a few games of Five Crowns thrown in. Of course
meals took a bite out of our day.
Crossing the Rio Grande from New Mexico into Texas
We had community
seating, so again, we got to meet some interesting people. And there was plenty
of time for conversation. Most meals took a good 45 minutes from sit-down to
food on the table. And if we had a salad course, then dinner, then dessert, it
was over a leisurely time. So when meals take up six hours… that’s a chunk out
of the day. And when the train would stop for more than 5 minutes, we’d get out
and walk along the train station.
We had a few delays
along the way. Got behind a slow freight train… and I don’t know what all else.
But we ended up coming into Little Rock at a disgusting 1:30am instead of a
somewhat more reasonable 11:30 pm. However our trusty son Andy was there to
pick us up and schlep us back to his house, where we actually slept in until 7am!
Katie and Aaron had a
swim meet. Andy was helping to time the events. So we went along to see them
swim. They asked Tom to be a lane timer as well and he graciously agreed. I sat
on the sidelines and cheered. Kera, Grandpa McClellan, and the little girls
came later to cheer and I left early with them. Katie had told Tom to stand
back from the edge during turns and finishes. But he wanted to be close to see
the touches and so came home with soggy shoes and pants from the splashing.
Katie and Aaron both shaved time off their events. They are great swimmers… and
great kids.
We left early
afternoon and drove home, stopping to pick up milk, bread and fruit on the way.
It’s good to be home. We unpacked and opened three weeks’ worth of mail. I also
called CenturyLink to see why my DSL light was red. After an hour on the phone
and trying to work through different fixes—including a hard reset— I have a red
internet light and the advice that I probably need a new modem. L
Sunday was fast
Sunday. We had good meetings. After Sacrament, we went to a self-reliance
devotional. This introduced the self-reliance program to most of the remainder
of the ward members—including youth. I sat at the table with 6 teen-aged boys
and it was an interesting combination of attentiveness and light-saber pen
antics. I love the message that the Lord loves us. He is aware of our situation
(financial, physical, spiritual, all of it.) He wants to help us become better.
When we turn to him with our problems and ponder, he will show us how to
improve.
Tomorrow we start on
the toboggan ride toward our departure date. I expect there will be bumps,
turns, and speeding up toward the finish line.
Disneyland in Pictures
Fun time at Disneyland.
Monday, January 29, 2018
Disneyland!
We had a lovely time at Disneyland with Adam, Savannah, the kids and the other set of grandparents. Savannah was our guide and organizer and we kept together most all the time. We went on several rides more than once because they were fun.
I wasn't a fan of the rollercoaster rides, so I sat out with Miley. One time we went on the steamboat and enjoyed a trip around the lagoon while others rode. Miley was fascinated. Another time while Miley slept, Tom watched her and Piper and I went on bumper cars and on the Hungry Caterpillar ride through all the partly eaten apples, watermelon and such.
I think my favorite rides were Soarin, the Matterhorn, and cars. But really the most fun was watching the kids have a good time.
It was a sad parting on Tuesday evening. It will be a long time before we see them again. We actually woke up Wednesday morning thinking about going back to Disney to be with them on their final day... but decided that would just prolong the sadness for another few hours... and then we'd have to be sad again. This is the hard part about going on a mission.
Wednesday we went back to picking up the pieces of life. Working on my writing projects to finish, trying to learn the language. Tom and I went clothing shopping. We checked out the sales at Macy's, Ross Dress for Less, a shoe store, Nordstom's Rack. I was mostly looking for comfortable dressey shoes. Didn't find them. Did find a cool summer blouse. And we lunched at In n' Out burger to get our fix there. We also found the Sees candy store and bought some crispy mints. Mmmm.
Mom's old upstairs neighbor's husband passed away and his funeral was held on Thursday. It was up near Griffith park in the Mt. Sinai Cemetery. He was Jewish and it was interesting to see the Jewish ceremony. Very respectful with good memories shared... and keeping him alive in your heart. But not much about living after death. However, they place a little soil from Jerusalem beneath the head of the deceased, so he can feel close to his homeland. And when people come to visit the grave site, the place a stone on the grave-- for permanence-- or a lasting memory. And these stones typically come from Jerusalem. How important this land is to them!
It was an hour plus drive each way and we stopped to visit Sally on the way home and eat a 3pm lunch. So it took most of the day.
Thursday night Tom started feeling crummy-- sore throat... then sneezles... then runny nose and cough. He used lots of oregano, slept a lot, and felt much improved by Sunday. While he slept, I got a lot accomplished on my writing. Sally came down on Friday and we had a nice visit as she helped Mom.
Saturday, I started with a sore throat. I've been babying myself and took a long Sunday nap. Actually we all did. Tom and I went to a 9 am Regional conference. It spoke a lot about prayer, scripture reading and service. We were encouraged to find and keep joy in our lives through gratitude and service.
After our conference we went to pick Mom up from Church... since Cynthia and Jim have also been under the weather. She had a congregational meeting and lunch. I stayed with her for that... Tom went home to study and rest. We had a Choirfest we'd planned to attend at 2, but instead we all took naps for a few hours!
For dinner we had worst with sauerkraut, red cabbage, and potatoes. Mmm good!
I wasn't a fan of the rollercoaster rides, so I sat out with Miley. One time we went on the steamboat and enjoyed a trip around the lagoon while others rode. Miley was fascinated. Another time while Miley slept, Tom watched her and Piper and I went on bumper cars and on the Hungry Caterpillar ride through all the partly eaten apples, watermelon and such.
King Arthur's merry-go-round and tinkerbell and Snow White.
Sleepy Miley
It's a Bug's Life
Christmas Themed It's a Small World
I think my favorite rides were Soarin, the Matterhorn, and cars. But really the most fun was watching the kids have a good time.
It was a sad parting on Tuesday evening. It will be a long time before we see them again. We actually woke up Wednesday morning thinking about going back to Disney to be with them on their final day... but decided that would just prolong the sadness for another few hours... and then we'd have to be sad again. This is the hard part about going on a mission.
Wednesday we went back to picking up the pieces of life. Working on my writing projects to finish, trying to learn the language. Tom and I went clothing shopping. We checked out the sales at Macy's, Ross Dress for Less, a shoe store, Nordstom's Rack. I was mostly looking for comfortable dressey shoes. Didn't find them. Did find a cool summer blouse. And we lunched at In n' Out burger to get our fix there. We also found the Sees candy store and bought some crispy mints. Mmmm.
Mom's old upstairs neighbor's husband passed away and his funeral was held on Thursday. It was up near Griffith park in the Mt. Sinai Cemetery. He was Jewish and it was interesting to see the Jewish ceremony. Very respectful with good memories shared... and keeping him alive in your heart. But not much about living after death. However, they place a little soil from Jerusalem beneath the head of the deceased, so he can feel close to his homeland. And when people come to visit the grave site, the place a stone on the grave-- for permanence-- or a lasting memory. And these stones typically come from Jerusalem. How important this land is to them!
It was an hour plus drive each way and we stopped to visit Sally on the way home and eat a 3pm lunch. So it took most of the day.
Thursday night Tom started feeling crummy-- sore throat... then sneezles... then runny nose and cough. He used lots of oregano, slept a lot, and felt much improved by Sunday. While he slept, I got a lot accomplished on my writing. Sally came down on Friday and we had a nice visit as she helped Mom.
Saturday, I started with a sore throat. I've been babying myself and took a long Sunday nap. Actually we all did. Tom and I went to a 9 am Regional conference. It spoke a lot about prayer, scripture reading and service. We were encouraged to find and keep joy in our lives through gratitude and service.
After our conference we went to pick Mom up from Church... since Cynthia and Jim have also been under the weather. She had a congregational meeting and lunch. I stayed with her for that... Tom went home to study and rest. We had a Choirfest we'd planned to attend at 2, but instead we all took naps for a few hours!
For dinner we had worst with sauerkraut, red cabbage, and potatoes. Mmm good!
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