Today is Tuesday, December 21, 2010. It is too early in the morning to know if the sun will shine or not. It looks clear and cold - well, only 32 degrees cold. That is balmy compared to some days here in Nauvoo.
Last night we had a special family home evening with the Temple missionaries at the Mission President's beautiful home. The house was decorated beautifully. A tall Christmas tree decorated with handmade balls, each with a folded star design. There were several huge, and I do mean huge, pots of poinsettas. Magnificient!! And many other beautiful symbols of Christmas. Our Temple President presented a most interesting lesson. And our Temple Recorder sang "O Holy Night" to begin the whole affair. Oh, he has a marvelous voice.
An interesting part of the whole evening was that when I sat down, the Temple President asked if I would accompany "O Holy Night." He had practiced with the soloist (and he is a wonderful pianist) but didn't want to be the "whole show." Oh, my!! Well, I looked at the music and said I would. Then I prayed like crazy. It was in a good key to read - B Flat Major. And after all, I am very familiar with that song - having sung and played it many times myself. But I felt some pressure. It went quite well, I thought. Probably not as beautiful as it was practiced but at least I didn't feel like I made a total mess of it. The soloist is so good I think nobody noticed much what I did. And I got to play the lovely grand piano. It is a gorgeous looking instrument as well as having a fine touch and grand sound. Wow! That will be my Christmas treat for 2010.
We have spoken much about the birth of Jesus Christ over these days in December - in Sacrament Meeting as well as in Preparation Meetings in the Temple each day. The Prophet Joseph Smith was born in Vermont on December 23, two days before the world celebrates the birth of the Savior. We learned some special things about him with this Family Home Evening Lesson. The President read Joseph's testimony from the Pearl of Great Price. He told about an extremely well educated man who said that when he read that testimony, he knew that Joseph was not a charleton. That he was a humble truthful man, sharing his special experience with God the Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ. I am very grateful that I have a testimony that he did tell the truth. And I am so grateful for all the feeling that I have for the restoration of the Gospel to the earth in this dispensation of time.
After the touching lesson, the Mission President's wife shared a favorite part of every family home evening, the refreshments. Yummy "apple blossoms" with ice cream. And there was much visiting before we all headed for our humble little apartments.
The beginning of this week has been joyous. Sacrament Meeting on Sunday with the songs and stories of Jesus's birth and mission. And the privilege to partake of the Sacrament. Then this special family home evening. Now we look forward to two days to be in the Temple, another day at the Information Center, caroling on the Temple steps on Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day Dinner with all the missionaries in Nauvoo. It will be a special Christmas. We all will miss families, of course. Will they miss us? Probably, but Glen and I are much closer than the Christmas we spent in India and the Christmas we spent in Greece. Phone calls and e-mails are much easier.
I just have to add the words of one of our family caroling songs -
C is for the Christ Child, born upon this day.
H for herald angels in the night.
R means our Redeemer,
I means Israel.
S is for the star that shone so bright.
T is for three wise men, they who traveled far.
M is for the manger where He lay.
A's for all He stands for.
S means shepherds came.
And that's why there's a Christmas Day!
That's all for today.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Friday, December 10, 2010
Random Holiday Thoughts
Today is Friday, December 10, 2010. The sun is shining but there is frost on the ground and it is about 22 degrees here in Nauvoo, Illinois. That is not as cold as it was the other day - 11 degrees and that day the sun was not shining.
I can't believe I did not post anything in November. I have written a blog - inside my head - almost every day. But somehow I did not get it put on this blog spot. Oh, my!!
Many things happened in November. The first thing was that we left Nauvoo for two weeks while the Temple was closed for maintainance Theoritically, it was to go home and get our winter clothes. Since we don't have "winter" clothes in California, it just gave us a chance to go home to visit family for a few days. Before we went to California we stopped in Denver for a reunion with my husband's brothers and the wives. We had a wonderful time together. We always do. We missed the two brothers and the one wife who have died since our last big get together. Who knows, from time to time, how the family dynamics will change? Only the Lord knows, I think. After those few days, we traveled on to Citrus Heights.
Home was good. Here in our apartment in Nauvoo, our bedroom is larger than our little bedroom at home. We joked some about that. Of course, I love my kitchen and miss the pantry and cupboard space but I can adapt for a year. And if I think about the places we lived in Pakistan and India and Greece, this little place in Nauvoo is just fine.
It was wonderful to see the family. We didn't get to visit with all of our children and grandchildren but our youngest daughter came with her two cute boys and the others that live close to us got together on Sunday. The members of the Ward seemed glad to see us and said they will miss us during the coming year. (Nice thoughts expressed.)
We were back to Nauvoo in time to prepare for Thanksgiving. The Temple opened on November 16 with our new winter schedule. Monday is our preparation day - we shop for groceries, wash our clothes, clean our apartment, and whatever else we need to do. There was shopping, of course, for Thanksgiving food. All the missionaries met together to have Thanksgiving dinner. Each of us had assignments. Mine was to bring four pies. I like to make pie. In fact, we volunteered for what we wanted to bring. I made pumpkin pie and cherry pie to take to the big dinner held at the Stake Center. And I made a cherry pie and a mincemeat pie for us to have a home. I was lucky to find Borden's Nonesuch Mincemeat at the Wal-Mart in Keokuk. The plain kind, not the one with brandy. Yeah!! I was so excited. Anyway, Thanksgiving Day reminded us of all the things we are grateful for. There would be pages and pages if I wrote them all down.
Now we are into December, anticipating this special time of the year when so many people remember the birth of Jesus Christ and all the He has done for the world and the teachings He has given to all the people of the world. Hearts are turned with more thoughts toward others and helping others. Isn't it wonderful? There are Christmas carols in the air and decorations on all the streets. Here in Nauvoo there is Christmas Walk on the first Saturday. All the businesses in town have decorated trees outside their buildings. Certain trees have angel tags with special requests on them. It's called the bright angel program and gives townspeople and missionaries the opportunity to help someone in need. On that day the Clydsdale horses pull the wagons filled with guests to some of the Old Nauvoo sites and back and forth up and down the city streets. Well, I guess you can say city - Nauvoo has population of 11oo people. That includes all the people in town and out on the farms.
The missionary numbers are about 250 for the winter months. In the summer that number will increase because Nauvoo has lots of tourists in the summer, especially at Pageant time in July.
The leaves have all fallen from the trees and it makes the Mississippi River seem very close to us. We can see all the houses on the next block and even the brick yard. We have an eagle's nest down in one of the trees by the river and the Red Brick Store. And there are hundreds of geese that settle out on the ice in the river. Such a strange site on the cold, cold ice. Once in a while we see a deer or two and someone said yesterday they saw a coyote out on the green.
The women's monuments are easy to see now that the trees are bare. I want to go take some pictures of them but I haven't done it yet. Morning time fills up and then when we are finished with our Temple assignment it is dark as midnight - even though it is only 8:30 PM. It gets dark, really dark, about 5:30.
We manage to keep busy and we are never bored, that's for sure. Each day we have one or two very special experiences, sometime more than one or two, but always something special about each day.
This is why I need to write more often. It makes a long blog when I write so seldom. My plan is to do better - to actually blog, not just in my head. I think that is all for today.
I can't believe I did not post anything in November. I have written a blog - inside my head - almost every day. But somehow I did not get it put on this blog spot. Oh, my!!
Many things happened in November. The first thing was that we left Nauvoo for two weeks while the Temple was closed for maintainance Theoritically, it was to go home and get our winter clothes. Since we don't have "winter" clothes in California, it just gave us a chance to go home to visit family for a few days. Before we went to California we stopped in Denver for a reunion with my husband's brothers and the wives. We had a wonderful time together. We always do. We missed the two brothers and the one wife who have died since our last big get together. Who knows, from time to time, how the family dynamics will change? Only the Lord knows, I think. After those few days, we traveled on to Citrus Heights.
Home was good. Here in our apartment in Nauvoo, our bedroom is larger than our little bedroom at home. We joked some about that. Of course, I love my kitchen and miss the pantry and cupboard space but I can adapt for a year. And if I think about the places we lived in Pakistan and India and Greece, this little place in Nauvoo is just fine.
It was wonderful to see the family. We didn't get to visit with all of our children and grandchildren but our youngest daughter came with her two cute boys and the others that live close to us got together on Sunday. The members of the Ward seemed glad to see us and said they will miss us during the coming year. (Nice thoughts expressed.)
We were back to Nauvoo in time to prepare for Thanksgiving. The Temple opened on November 16 with our new winter schedule. Monday is our preparation day - we shop for groceries, wash our clothes, clean our apartment, and whatever else we need to do. There was shopping, of course, for Thanksgiving food. All the missionaries met together to have Thanksgiving dinner. Each of us had assignments. Mine was to bring four pies. I like to make pie. In fact, we volunteered for what we wanted to bring. I made pumpkin pie and cherry pie to take to the big dinner held at the Stake Center. And I made a cherry pie and a mincemeat pie for us to have a home. I was lucky to find Borden's Nonesuch Mincemeat at the Wal-Mart in Keokuk. The plain kind, not the one with brandy. Yeah!! I was so excited. Anyway, Thanksgiving Day reminded us of all the things we are grateful for. There would be pages and pages if I wrote them all down.
Now we are into December, anticipating this special time of the year when so many people remember the birth of Jesus Christ and all the He has done for the world and the teachings He has given to all the people of the world. Hearts are turned with more thoughts toward others and helping others. Isn't it wonderful? There are Christmas carols in the air and decorations on all the streets. Here in Nauvoo there is Christmas Walk on the first Saturday. All the businesses in town have decorated trees outside their buildings. Certain trees have angel tags with special requests on them. It's called the bright angel program and gives townspeople and missionaries the opportunity to help someone in need. On that day the Clydsdale horses pull the wagons filled with guests to some of the Old Nauvoo sites and back and forth up and down the city streets. Well, I guess you can say city - Nauvoo has population of 11oo people. That includes all the people in town and out on the farms.
The missionary numbers are about 250 for the winter months. In the summer that number will increase because Nauvoo has lots of tourists in the summer, especially at Pageant time in July.
The leaves have all fallen from the trees and it makes the Mississippi River seem very close to us. We can see all the houses on the next block and even the brick yard. We have an eagle's nest down in one of the trees by the river and the Red Brick Store. And there are hundreds of geese that settle out on the ice in the river. Such a strange site on the cold, cold ice. Once in a while we see a deer or two and someone said yesterday they saw a coyote out on the green.
The women's monuments are easy to see now that the trees are bare. I want to go take some pictures of them but I haven't done it yet. Morning time fills up and then when we are finished with our Temple assignment it is dark as midnight - even though it is only 8:30 PM. It gets dark, really dark, about 5:30.
We manage to keep busy and we are never bored, that's for sure. Each day we have one or two very special experiences, sometime more than one or two, but always something special about each day.
This is why I need to write more often. It makes a long blog when I write so seldom. My plan is to do better - to actually blog, not just in my head. I think that is all for today.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Everyday Experiences - October 4 2010
Today is Monday, October 4, 2010. The sun is shining here in Nauvoo and the grass in our back yard is beautiful and green. There are no geese in the yard this morning but the sky overhead is filled with jet streams. They go every which direction over the city. Is there an air show somewhere? I wonder.
We need to go grocery shopping before too many days pass. And shopping at Duck's is a favorite experience. Duck's is a small, locally owned grocery up on Mulholland Street. One unique thing about the store is that they sell sandwiches - hot barbequed beef or pork, taco salads, and sloppy joes. Oh, let's see, I think they sell hot dogs, too. Of course, we always buy the barbequed pork. It is such a good sandwich. We recommend it to everyone we talk,too. (It was recommended to us when we first got here by our neighbors across Parley Street.)
"Where's a good place to eat in Nauvoo?" someone will ask. Our reply "There's Grandpa John's, Dottie's Red Front Dining and the Hotel Nauvoo. (During the summer there are several other places open. Oh. yes, I forgot to mention Nauvoo Mill and Bakery.) We think the best thing in town is the Barbequed Pork sandwiches at Duck's Grocery Store." Then we explain how to get to the place. We plan on trying a taco salad sometime but for now just give us that yummy sandwich.
I decided several years ago that I like shopping in a small store. Of course, while we were on our mission in Pakistan and on our mission in Greece, we only had small stores. Let's see, I guess I need to clarify about Greece. There was a big store, Carrfours, but we had a little store just up on the corner. We shopped there most of the time. Anyway, I can walk through a small store with no pain. That's not true if we go to a big store.
And for the things we buy, the price is not much higher, maybe a few pennies on some things but if we travel somewhere then there is the cost of gas to figure in. Mostly we buy the same things every week anyway.
Our main staples are milk, eggs, butter, cheese, V-8 juice, some meat once in awhile and of course, ice cream and graham crackers. We add to that some canned veggies, or frozen, and fruit, fresh or canned. I also pick up potatoes, onions, lettuce, celery and carrots. Then we add cottage cheese which is my nighttime protein snack. Each week we add some variety to the staples list. As you can see, we use many milk products.
Well, last week we volunteered to feed the Young Sister missionaries. We said we could fix dinner for 4. I planned the menu - crockpot enchiladas, lettuce salad, and ice cream and cookies. Then I found out that one of the sisters was lactose intolerant. That made me totally aware of how much I cook that has milk and cheese in it. I went into high gear to figure out a meal not using any milk products.
Here's what I did and I think it turned out to be a tasty meal. My rice and chicken casserole calls for Cream of Mushroom Soup. That's out. I tried it using chicken broth instead. Glen and I liked it and I thought they would, too. Green beans always seem to be a bit. Lettuce salad would have been okay but I decided to do jello and fruit instead. Then I started thinking about dessert. I wanted to do strawberry shortcake. Strawberries were okay but what about the shortcake. Well, I went to work. I substituted apple sauce for the butter and used water instead of milk to make the sweet bisquit that I always use for shortcake. It worked beautifully. Then I made gravy. That's easy without milk. We did buy some whipped cream, you know, in the squirt can, just in case the other sisters wanted it on their strawberry shortcake.
I think the day was a success. And who knows, maybe I will need to make other meals for someone who is lactose intolerant. At least, I have one meal under my belt. (In more ways than one.) Well, two meals, since I did an experimental meal with the two of us before I made it for the sisters. I know somewhere there is a cook book with lots of recipes for lactose intolerance. That's just what I need!! Another cook book!!
That's all for today.
We need to go grocery shopping before too many days pass. And shopping at Duck's is a favorite experience. Duck's is a small, locally owned grocery up on Mulholland Street. One unique thing about the store is that they sell sandwiches - hot barbequed beef or pork, taco salads, and sloppy joes. Oh, let's see, I think they sell hot dogs, too. Of course, we always buy the barbequed pork. It is such a good sandwich. We recommend it to everyone we talk,too. (It was recommended to us when we first got here by our neighbors across Parley Street.)
"Where's a good place to eat in Nauvoo?" someone will ask. Our reply "There's Grandpa John's, Dottie's Red Front Dining and the Hotel Nauvoo. (During the summer there are several other places open. Oh. yes, I forgot to mention Nauvoo Mill and Bakery.) We think the best thing in town is the Barbequed Pork sandwiches at Duck's Grocery Store." Then we explain how to get to the place. We plan on trying a taco salad sometime but for now just give us that yummy sandwich.
I decided several years ago that I like shopping in a small store. Of course, while we were on our mission in Pakistan and on our mission in Greece, we only had small stores. Let's see, I guess I need to clarify about Greece. There was a big store, Carrfours, but we had a little store just up on the corner. We shopped there most of the time. Anyway, I can walk through a small store with no pain. That's not true if we go to a big store.
And for the things we buy, the price is not much higher, maybe a few pennies on some things but if we travel somewhere then there is the cost of gas to figure in. Mostly we buy the same things every week anyway.
Our main staples are milk, eggs, butter, cheese, V-8 juice, some meat once in awhile and of course, ice cream and graham crackers. We add to that some canned veggies, or frozen, and fruit, fresh or canned. I also pick up potatoes, onions, lettuce, celery and carrots. Then we add cottage cheese which is my nighttime protein snack. Each week we add some variety to the staples list. As you can see, we use many milk products.
Well, last week we volunteered to feed the Young Sister missionaries. We said we could fix dinner for 4. I planned the menu - crockpot enchiladas, lettuce salad, and ice cream and cookies. Then I found out that one of the sisters was lactose intolerant. That made me totally aware of how much I cook that has milk and cheese in it. I went into high gear to figure out a meal not using any milk products.
Here's what I did and I think it turned out to be a tasty meal. My rice and chicken casserole calls for Cream of Mushroom Soup. That's out. I tried it using chicken broth instead. Glen and I liked it and I thought they would, too. Green beans always seem to be a bit. Lettuce salad would have been okay but I decided to do jello and fruit instead. Then I started thinking about dessert. I wanted to do strawberry shortcake. Strawberries were okay but what about the shortcake. Well, I went to work. I substituted apple sauce for the butter and used water instead of milk to make the sweet bisquit that I always use for shortcake. It worked beautifully. Then I made gravy. That's easy without milk. We did buy some whipped cream, you know, in the squirt can, just in case the other sisters wanted it on their strawberry shortcake.
I think the day was a success. And who knows, maybe I will need to make other meals for someone who is lactose intolerant. At least, I have one meal under my belt. (In more ways than one.) Well, two meals, since I did an experimental meal with the two of us before I made it for the sisters. I know somewhere there is a cook book with lots of recipes for lactose intolerance. That's just what I need!! Another cook book!!
That's all for today.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Everyday Experiences
Today is Tuesday, September 21, 2010. The sun is shining and the grass is green and beautiful.
Yesterday we got an e-mail from one of our sons about school expenses when all our chidren were in school. As we reflected on our activities with them over the years, I was thankful that I had always stayed involved in PTA. PTA is a national parent - teacher association which has been around for more than 100 years. As I was involved with PTA at Pioneer School, I had good experiences. I graduated from college with a degree in elementary education because I wanted to teach school. Over the years I did teach some but most of my contact with schools was as a parent. Each local PTA unit gets involved in helping with certain finances at the school level. We had activities which earned money to help the local school program. My favorite fund raiser was the Annual School Carnival. How many years was I the chairman of that event? I also liked the Book Fairs we sponsored and the Santa's Secret Shop. These were services for the school children and the teachers as well as earning money to provide a few extra books for the library or special assembly programs for the school clientele.
When I first got involved, nearly every school had a PTA, a part of the national organization. Then bit by bit, local principals encouraged their parent groups to disassociate with the National PTA and form PTC's or PTO's or some other name. The rationale was that PTA required the local group to send a certain amount of dues off to Council, District, State, and National. If you were just a parent group, you could keep all the money at your own school. That sounded pretty good to me, too, at first. Thank goodness, I worked with school principals who understood the broader expanse and encouraged me to stick with PTA. PTA offered a wide range of individuals who knew much about school governance and how parents could help make better schools, not just by earning money but in other ways as well. I will ever be grateful for Mr. Handley, Mr. Thoman, Mr. Pruitt, and Mr. Jacobus for their advice and counsel.
No questions, every school could use more money. Couldn't everyone? Parents can absolutely work themselves to death with fund raisers to provide serious school needs. And they always want to do what the Principal and teachers ask them to do. Do we really want our children always involved in selling stuff for the school? I certainly didn't. And, certain school areas could never raise as much money as other school areas. It's the dynamics of neighborhoods that one school is in a more affluent area than another school. Therefore, if you stick with PTA, the whole group can encourage the school district to look out for the children in each school in the District.
Oh, I've heard the idea that after all, you need to watch out for your own children. That is true but boy howdy, I think we are taught to watch out for each other, too. If you are involved in a parent group, seriously think about it. It gets quite easy to become a yes man to those who influence your children. It is helpful and more productive in the long run to listen to the counsel and advice of those who have been over the road before you. I enjoyed working in PTA in the unit, at district level and on the state level. I've learned a great deal.
Thank you, wonderful principals concerned about all children, for your encouragement to stick with the PTA.
I wish I were more eloquent in writing but I've tried to speak out from my heart.
I guess that's all for today.
Yesterday we got an e-mail from one of our sons about school expenses when all our chidren were in school. As we reflected on our activities with them over the years, I was thankful that I had always stayed involved in PTA. PTA is a national parent - teacher association which has been around for more than 100 years. As I was involved with PTA at Pioneer School, I had good experiences. I graduated from college with a degree in elementary education because I wanted to teach school. Over the years I did teach some but most of my contact with schools was as a parent. Each local PTA unit gets involved in helping with certain finances at the school level. We had activities which earned money to help the local school program. My favorite fund raiser was the Annual School Carnival. How many years was I the chairman of that event? I also liked the Book Fairs we sponsored and the Santa's Secret Shop. These were services for the school children and the teachers as well as earning money to provide a few extra books for the library or special assembly programs for the school clientele.
When I first got involved, nearly every school had a PTA, a part of the national organization. Then bit by bit, local principals encouraged their parent groups to disassociate with the National PTA and form PTC's or PTO's or some other name. The rationale was that PTA required the local group to send a certain amount of dues off to Council, District, State, and National. If you were just a parent group, you could keep all the money at your own school. That sounded pretty good to me, too, at first. Thank goodness, I worked with school principals who understood the broader expanse and encouraged me to stick with PTA. PTA offered a wide range of individuals who knew much about school governance and how parents could help make better schools, not just by earning money but in other ways as well. I will ever be grateful for Mr. Handley, Mr. Thoman, Mr. Pruitt, and Mr. Jacobus for their advice and counsel.
No questions, every school could use more money. Couldn't everyone? Parents can absolutely work themselves to death with fund raisers to provide serious school needs. And they always want to do what the Principal and teachers ask them to do. Do we really want our children always involved in selling stuff for the school? I certainly didn't. And, certain school areas could never raise as much money as other school areas. It's the dynamics of neighborhoods that one school is in a more affluent area than another school. Therefore, if you stick with PTA, the whole group can encourage the school district to look out for the children in each school in the District.
Oh, I've heard the idea that after all, you need to watch out for your own children. That is true but boy howdy, I think we are taught to watch out for each other, too. If you are involved in a parent group, seriously think about it. It gets quite easy to become a yes man to those who influence your children. It is helpful and more productive in the long run to listen to the counsel and advice of those who have been over the road before you. I enjoyed working in PTA in the unit, at district level and on the state level. I've learned a great deal.
Thank you, wonderful principals concerned about all children, for your encouragement to stick with the PTA.
I wish I were more eloquent in writing but I've tried to speak out from my heart.
I guess that's all for today.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Just A-ramblin"
Today is Sunday, September 12, 2010. The sun is shining in Nauvoo, Illinois.
I decided to write a blog today and it took me forever to get on my blog to make a new post. Some days I wonder how come this computer does what it does. Surely it can't be all me that creates the challenges. Anyway, my thought for today is - I wish I could think of a clever name for this spot instead of Barb's Babblings. Maybe something I might write would be more than just a "babble." In the Bible it talks about babblings. And it doesn't seem they are very desireable. I desire to write things that might be desireable to someone, even if it is only to me.
If I try to rename this thing, will I have to start all over again or can I just rename it. Oh, help!! Where is one of our intelligent daughters or our savy internet son-in-law to give me counsel and advice? The other day I thought I could call it Barb's Everyday Experiences. Not very clever but at least not just "babblings."
In my mind I create all kinds of writings - just don't get them written out.
Nauvoo is noted for its Connections. Nearly everyday you meet a person who knows someone you know. The newest connection took us back to Greece. One of the men we work with here in the Temple is a brother to a wonderful woman we knew when we were serving a mission in Athens, Greece.
Have you heard of the six degrees of separation? That is the theory that all of us are connected by only 6 degrees (6 persons, basically). That theory has proved itself in my life many times. And usually it has been with only one person, or two, at the most. I have come to believe that it is a true theory. Think about it applies in your own life.
Well, I have put myself on a tight writing time schedule for this afternoon. My time is up. We will go out and about the city to see if we can get a phone connection to touch base with our family who are not here with us in Nauvoo.
That's all for today. Look for more Everyday Experiences in the future.
I decided to write a blog today and it took me forever to get on my blog to make a new post. Some days I wonder how come this computer does what it does. Surely it can't be all me that creates the challenges. Anyway, my thought for today is - I wish I could think of a clever name for this spot instead of Barb's Babblings. Maybe something I might write would be more than just a "babble." In the Bible it talks about babblings. And it doesn't seem they are very desireable. I desire to write things that might be desireable to someone, even if it is only to me.
If I try to rename this thing, will I have to start all over again or can I just rename it. Oh, help!! Where is one of our intelligent daughters or our savy internet son-in-law to give me counsel and advice? The other day I thought I could call it Barb's Everyday Experiences. Not very clever but at least not just "babblings."
In my mind I create all kinds of writings - just don't get them written out.
Nauvoo is noted for its Connections. Nearly everyday you meet a person who knows someone you know. The newest connection took us back to Greece. One of the men we work with here in the Temple is a brother to a wonderful woman we knew when we were serving a mission in Athens, Greece.
Have you heard of the six degrees of separation? That is the theory that all of us are connected by only 6 degrees (6 persons, basically). That theory has proved itself in my life many times. And usually it has been with only one person, or two, at the most. I have come to believe that it is a true theory. Think about it applies in your own life.
Well, I have put myself on a tight writing time schedule for this afternoon. My time is up. We will go out and about the city to see if we can get a phone connection to touch base with our family who are not here with us in Nauvoo.
That's all for today. Look for more Everyday Experiences in the future.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Beautiful Nauvoo
Today is Sunday, May 23, 2010. The sun is shining in Illinois. And it is quite humid.
I cannot believe it has been this long since I last wrote on my blog. What are my reasons? Who can really tell? Anyway, here I am - back again.
What thing shall I write about first? I think I will talk about rain storms. When it rains in the midwest, it really rains. One night we had such a thunder storm. Now a thunder storm in this area usually means plenty of lightning, too. And that night the lightning played all over the sky and the thunder claps nearly shook the house. And the rain poured down. Someone said they thought there was 5 inches of rain. A neighbor tried to measure the rain the next morning (by the way it was still raining the next morning) but couldn't wade through the water puddles to get to the back of their pick-up truck.
So we have the lightning and the thunder and the rain. Then about midnight it began to hail. It sounded like the hail stones were pretty good size. Next morning someone heard on the news that the hail was as large as marbles. I think the ones on our house were like big, big marbles.
All this moisture keeps the grass green and the trees all beautiful and green. Driving around Nauvoo is like driving around in the Garden of Eden. The flowers, at least those, who weren't beat to death by the rain and hail, are in beautiful bloom. Each day when it clears a little the gardeners plant more and more flowers.
We love to drive down the river road. The Mississippi is a beautiful wide river. About every day there are barges going up and down the river. That is quite a sight.
Yesterday we drove north along the river road to a place where there were dozens of turtles sunning on the logs in the shallow part of the river. And lo and behold there were two pelicans there also! I was shocked to see pelicans. I think I will have to study about pelicans. Glen said I could find out more if I read "The Pelican Brief." Too funny.
It's a beautiful day here in Nauvoo. Wish you were here.
I cannot believe it has been this long since I last wrote on my blog. What are my reasons? Who can really tell? Anyway, here I am - back again.
What thing shall I write about first? I think I will talk about rain storms. When it rains in the midwest, it really rains. One night we had such a thunder storm. Now a thunder storm in this area usually means plenty of lightning, too. And that night the lightning played all over the sky and the thunder claps nearly shook the house. And the rain poured down. Someone said they thought there was 5 inches of rain. A neighbor tried to measure the rain the next morning (by the way it was still raining the next morning) but couldn't wade through the water puddles to get to the back of their pick-up truck.
So we have the lightning and the thunder and the rain. Then about midnight it began to hail. It sounded like the hail stones were pretty good size. Next morning someone heard on the news that the hail was as large as marbles. I think the ones on our house were like big, big marbles.
All this moisture keeps the grass green and the trees all beautiful and green. Driving around Nauvoo is like driving around in the Garden of Eden. The flowers, at least those, who weren't beat to death by the rain and hail, are in beautiful bloom. Each day when it clears a little the gardeners plant more and more flowers.
We love to drive down the river road. The Mississippi is a beautiful wide river. About every day there are barges going up and down the river. That is quite a sight.
Yesterday we drove north along the river road to a place where there were dozens of turtles sunning on the logs in the shallow part of the river. And lo and behold there were two pelicans there also! I was shocked to see pelicans. I think I will have to study about pelicans. Glen said I could find out more if I read "The Pelican Brief." Too funny.
It's a beautiful day here in Nauvoo. Wish you were here.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Pretty Pens
Today is Tuesday, March 9, 2010. The sun is shining. I am so happy.
I picked up my journal this morning to write about yesterday's experiences. I also picked up the beautiful silver pen I bought at Christmas time. It was supposed to be a present for my husband. He needs a nice pen to have at the Temple. I thought this one would be just what he needed.
He opened the box on Christmas Day and we both were quite happy. However, when he tried to write with it, it didn't work out so well. This beautiful silver pen is too fat to hold firm. And he needs to be able to hold a pen firm. With his shaky hand he must have a firm grip.
I was disappointed. And he was disappointed. "Oh, well," I thought, "I can use this beautiful pen."
I took it in my hand and tried to grasp it - Guess what? It is too fat for me to hold firm, too. I wrote with it anyway and I am all over the lines. It is hard to control it and write neatly.
"I will conquer this pen," I said. "I will learn to hold it correctly and write neatly."
Each day I tried to use it to write in my journal. And each day, after writing a few lines, I would set it aside, take up a less beautiful pen and finish the entry in my journal. And feel a bit sad.
Just this morning I took up the beautiful pen to try again. Same thing happened as before. And added today is that I have ink all over my fingers. Where did that come from? I can't see any ink on the pen but I have it all over my fingers. Darn!!
Why does this pen, more expensive than a BIC, cause such a problem with writing? Oh well, give me a cheap-o pen that writes neatly and is not too fat. Live and learn. But why does it have to be expensive to live and learn?
I guess that is a fact of life.
That's all for today.
I picked up my journal this morning to write about yesterday's experiences. I also picked up the beautiful silver pen I bought at Christmas time. It was supposed to be a present for my husband. He needs a nice pen to have at the Temple. I thought this one would be just what he needed.
He opened the box on Christmas Day and we both were quite happy. However, when he tried to write with it, it didn't work out so well. This beautiful silver pen is too fat to hold firm. And he needs to be able to hold a pen firm. With his shaky hand he must have a firm grip.
I was disappointed. And he was disappointed. "Oh, well," I thought, "I can use this beautiful pen."
I took it in my hand and tried to grasp it - Guess what? It is too fat for me to hold firm, too. I wrote with it anyway and I am all over the lines. It is hard to control it and write neatly.
"I will conquer this pen," I said. "I will learn to hold it correctly and write neatly."
Each day I tried to use it to write in my journal. And each day, after writing a few lines, I would set it aside, take up a less beautiful pen and finish the entry in my journal. And feel a bit sad.
Just this morning I took up the beautiful pen to try again. Same thing happened as before. And added today is that I have ink all over my fingers. Where did that come from? I can't see any ink on the pen but I have it all over my fingers. Darn!!
Why does this pen, more expensive than a BIC, cause such a problem with writing? Oh well, give me a cheap-o pen that writes neatly and is not too fat. Live and learn. But why does it have to be expensive to live and learn?
I guess that is a fact of life.
That's all for today.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Time
Today is Monday, March 8, 2010. It looks like it might be sunny today. I can just see the beginning of sunlight on the tip of the roof of the house next door. I hope the sun shines today.
It's about time I wrote something in my blog.
Where has the time gone since the New Year started? Here we are into the third month of 2010 and I have written nothing. Oh, my! So much has happened in these first two months. I have accomplished a few things (are they of any worth? that is the next question.)
For Christmas one of my granddaughters gave me a plastic canvas kit of a darling snowman, a wall hanging. I started right away on it and once it was completed, I decided I wanted to do some more canvas stitchery. I went to the fabric/craft store to find some patterns. I bought a book about a plastic canvas village. Let's see, I made three of those cute little houses. The roofs make a lid and you can fill them with candy, jewelry, or whatever else you might want. Oh, sure! I need three plastic canvas houses to fill with candy, jewelry, or whatever. I had fun making them, though. And I could use them as gifts. (Who wants a cute little house filled with candy or whatever?)
Then I decided I should try to do something more useful. I read an article about knitting hats for newborns. That might be a useful project. For years I have wanted to try those circular looms. I went back to the fabric/craft store to check out the looms. I decided to buy the whole kit and kaboodle - a blue (small), a red (just a little larger), a green (larger yet), and a yellow (large). Now, who do I know that wears a knitted hat? I could think of no one. Oh, well! My whole purpose was to knit a hat for a newborn.
I went right to work. It wasn't as quick and fast as I thought it would be. The crazy tool they supplied to move the yarn off the pegs - well, I won't talk about it. I found that the plastic needle they supplied to close the top of the cap was way more effective than the crazy tool. (Stick this out, Barbara, you WILL complete a cap!) (These projects also give me time to watch my favorite shows on TV - In The Heat of the Night and Bonanza. I also like to watch old movies - the ones I like, that is.)
Anyway, I finally completed one cute little cap. It took me a long time. Well, at least several hours. I thought I could knit a little cap faster on needles. I searched out my knitting needles and started a little cap that way. Guess what? It wasn't as fast as I thought. And then when I finished knitting I had to close up the top PLUS sew the side seam. I went back to the little blue round loom.
Just a side note about the cute little loom. In my grandmother's day, they would place little nails around the hole of a spool of thread and use the same process to "knit" a necklace - tiny little beads strung on a thread, twisted around the little nails and pulled over - just like this little loom idea for a hat. Amazing to think about! I have bits of one of those necklaces that she made so long ago.
Back to the knitted hats - As of today I have made 4 little caps for newborn babies and am working on the fifth one. Just so you know, I have done a few other things during these two months of the new year. I have indexed over a thousand names, been to my Temple assignment at least 18 times, been a docent at the Old Sacramento Schoolhouse at least 4 times, totally emptied and cleaned out the pantry, made a trip to Seattle to visit our youngest daughter and her family, spent a day in the hospital with another daughter while she had surgery, plus a whole bunch of other things, like go to Church, practice the piano, cook meals, wash dishes, wash clothes. You know, regular routine stuff. Looking back over the days, maybe I have used my time to be of some value.
How many times have I said in my life, "I don't have time." My mother used to say to me "You have as much time as the President." What does that have to do with anything? Did she mean the President accomplished a lot of good things or what? I would think, "Well, the President has many helpers to accomplish his goals."
My grandmother used to say "You can make time for what you really want to do." I think that is a fairly true statement. Granted, you can't make time for EVERYTHING you really want to do, but somehow, each of us do a bunch of rearranging our time to do some of the things we most want to do.
Right now, I need to use this month to get ready to go to Nauvoo, Illinois, for 6 months. Most of you already know that we have been called on a mission to serve there in the Temple during the busy season. And we are very excited to have that privilege. Nauvoo, the beautiful! That is how the early members of the Church spoke of it. It is beautiful. I know that our time there will be a special part of our lives. As we reflect on this new mission assignment we also reflect on our previous missions. Those were the "best of times."
Speaking of time - it is time to move away from the computer and go get some breakfast. I hope all of you have a good time today and take time to do something for someone else and then some time to do something just for yourself.
That's all for today!
It's about time I wrote something in my blog.
Where has the time gone since the New Year started? Here we are into the third month of 2010 and I have written nothing. Oh, my! So much has happened in these first two months. I have accomplished a few things (are they of any worth? that is the next question.)
For Christmas one of my granddaughters gave me a plastic canvas kit of a darling snowman, a wall hanging. I started right away on it and once it was completed, I decided I wanted to do some more canvas stitchery. I went to the fabric/craft store to find some patterns. I bought a book about a plastic canvas village. Let's see, I made three of those cute little houses. The roofs make a lid and you can fill them with candy, jewelry, or whatever else you might want. Oh, sure! I need three plastic canvas houses to fill with candy, jewelry, or whatever. I had fun making them, though. And I could use them as gifts. (Who wants a cute little house filled with candy or whatever?)
Then I decided I should try to do something more useful. I read an article about knitting hats for newborns. That might be a useful project. For years I have wanted to try those circular looms. I went back to the fabric/craft store to check out the looms. I decided to buy the whole kit and kaboodle - a blue (small), a red (just a little larger), a green (larger yet), and a yellow (large). Now, who do I know that wears a knitted hat? I could think of no one. Oh, well! My whole purpose was to knit a hat for a newborn.
I went right to work. It wasn't as quick and fast as I thought it would be. The crazy tool they supplied to move the yarn off the pegs - well, I won't talk about it. I found that the plastic needle they supplied to close the top of the cap was way more effective than the crazy tool. (Stick this out, Barbara, you WILL complete a cap!) (These projects also give me time to watch my favorite shows on TV - In The Heat of the Night and Bonanza. I also like to watch old movies - the ones I like, that is.)
Anyway, I finally completed one cute little cap. It took me a long time. Well, at least several hours. I thought I could knit a little cap faster on needles. I searched out my knitting needles and started a little cap that way. Guess what? It wasn't as fast as I thought. And then when I finished knitting I had to close up the top PLUS sew the side seam. I went back to the little blue round loom.
Just a side note about the cute little loom. In my grandmother's day, they would place little nails around the hole of a spool of thread and use the same process to "knit" a necklace - tiny little beads strung on a thread, twisted around the little nails and pulled over - just like this little loom idea for a hat. Amazing to think about! I have bits of one of those necklaces that she made so long ago.
Back to the knitted hats - As of today I have made 4 little caps for newborn babies and am working on the fifth one. Just so you know, I have done a few other things during these two months of the new year. I have indexed over a thousand names, been to my Temple assignment at least 18 times, been a docent at the Old Sacramento Schoolhouse at least 4 times, totally emptied and cleaned out the pantry, made a trip to Seattle to visit our youngest daughter and her family, spent a day in the hospital with another daughter while she had surgery, plus a whole bunch of other things, like go to Church, practice the piano, cook meals, wash dishes, wash clothes. You know, regular routine stuff. Looking back over the days, maybe I have used my time to be of some value.
How many times have I said in my life, "I don't have time." My mother used to say to me "You have as much time as the President." What does that have to do with anything? Did she mean the President accomplished a lot of good things or what? I would think, "Well, the President has many helpers to accomplish his goals."
My grandmother used to say "You can make time for what you really want to do." I think that is a fairly true statement. Granted, you can't make time for EVERYTHING you really want to do, but somehow, each of us do a bunch of rearranging our time to do some of the things we most want to do.
Right now, I need to use this month to get ready to go to Nauvoo, Illinois, for 6 months. Most of you already know that we have been called on a mission to serve there in the Temple during the busy season. And we are very excited to have that privilege. Nauvoo, the beautiful! That is how the early members of the Church spoke of it. It is beautiful. I know that our time there will be a special part of our lives. As we reflect on this new mission assignment we also reflect on our previous missions. Those were the "best of times."
Speaking of time - it is time to move away from the computer and go get some breakfast. I hope all of you have a good time today and take time to do something for someone else and then some time to do something just for yourself.
That's all for today!
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