WONDERFUL AUTUMN NAUVOO AIR……..ACCHHHOOOOOOOOO

So we are coming to my favorite time of the year.  I love the fall. I love the cooler air, the beautiful colors, the food, the celebrations.  I just love FALL.

Achooooooooo………………………………………………………………….

Honestly, for every blessing there seems to be a trial. After the hot! summer, I have anxiously awaited this time of year

. Achooo…… A few weeks ago, I started sneezing, nose running, itchy throat and eyes. By the time you reach my age aren’t you supposed to have outgrown a few things? Not my need for my parents, not for anything that blings, but hayfever, come on!

Achooooo…………………………………………………………………………….

I have taken everything I can get my hands on from Zyrtec, Benedryl, Chlorton, etc. but nothing seems to help.  I can remember as a little girl, laying with wet rags on my eyes, absolutely miserable.  As an adult, I took allergy shots for five straight years, week after week. 

Achooo……………………………………………………………………………..

All I know  for a  certainty is that,, I WOULD HAVE MADE A LOUSY PIONEER!!!!

AAACCCCHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I’m Late, I’m Late, I’m Late

I thought it would be a piece of cake to be able to write on my blog every night.  Surely you wouldn’t be so busy on a “Senior” mission that I wouldn’t have any free time.  Richard fed me a line, there seems to be no free time, I am meeting myself coming and going.  Yesterday, I changed my clothes no less than four times.  I know the neighbors think we are totally crazy. Rush, in looking one way and rushing out looking another.  Saturday I got up and went over to Jann and Jill’s and we did some crafts.  I taught them how to make the necklaces, and then we moved on to the scarves.

I have to mention how blessed I am to be able to call these two wonderful women, my mostly life long friends.  I first met them when I moved to Kansas City as a little country bumpkin.  Their family was so good to mine. I have been blessed to keep in touch with them all of these years and periodically we get to see each other.  Jann came to be with Jill for their birthdays. They are twins by the way. I was blessed enough to help them celebrate. They treat me like a pseudo sister and I am grateful.  Ran home and cleaned my house baked some cookies, and then met them at the temple at 4 o"’clock.  We went through a session at the temple and then President Condie let Kyle take us all through the temple.  We even climbed past the bell tower, into the clock tower, and up to touch the bolts that the Angel Moroni is hooked on with.  We could see all over the Mississippi River and it was beautiful.  Nauvoo really is a peninsula, so, so pretty.  Too bad we weren’t allowed to take our camera. They even have false bird distress calls that play up there so the other birds won’t build nests.

From there we went to Fort Madison to the Tri-State Rodeo!!!  I love rodeos! I can’t believe how many people were there.  It was really quite good and so much fun.  But let me tell you, walking into a crowd of thousands being the only four people with a missionary badge on and dresses (with no bling I might add) is a little bit uncomfortable.  Needless to say, our section wasn’t too rowdy.  We did the wave and it went around the stadium 10 times with everyone standing up.  The announcer said that was a record.

Dropped the American flag in………………………………………………………..

Large and in charge cowboys.  (Did I mention I LOVE COWBOYS?) Their relatives probably ran the Mormons out, but Oh, Well………………

Bucking broncs…and yes, that blur right above the horse is a cowboy that didn’t make it and is about to land on his head!

Bull riders………………………crazy……………………………………………

Mutton bustin’ won by a four year old…………………my favorite…………

Barrel racing………………………………………………………………….

and BEER everywhere.  I’m starting to feel like I lead a sheltered life.

On the way home, the bridge had been opened for a barge coming down the Mississippi River.  It is the largest swing bridge in the United States A huge barge was coming through and I tried to get a picture.  It was so interesting but it didn’t show up very well.

Then on Sunday we had church and we leave by 7:30 and went to Sacrament, then on to Relief Society.  From there we served in the Seventies Hall and I think Richard really enjoyed it.  We ran home and got dressed and went to Jill’s to eat supper, then ran on to the fireside put on by President and Sister Condie.  She was a young girl in Germany during the 2nd World War.  Her experiences were amazing and then he has been in church service for years.  He was talking about Gordon and Margie, Frances Monson, etc.  Quite the people, so many around here with so much service and experience.  I worked today at Brigham Young and had 9 tours which is really good for this time of year.  I had several non-members and they were all kind and interested.  They are not sure what brings them to Nauvoo and then the members were great as well.  We are on our way to Rendezvous.  I guess we got an assignment to teach RS and Priesthood on the 28th of October.  Lesson is on Charity, start praying………………

CARETAKER

We went to training meeting this morning and were given instructions on how to care for the sites. The winter is going to be long and it will be a mental and emotional adjustment to sit for hours waiting on people to come through. The thing that I need to remember and that I am taking away from our meeting is this………………………………………………………………..

We are caretakers of sacred sites! We are servants of the Lord and have been entrusted to watch over this legacy. So as I gear up for a slower season, I need to keep reminding myself, very few people get this opportunity, I am blessed indeed.

SOMETHING FOR ME TO PONDER

One of the sisters shared this with me the other day. I have been thinking about what it says. Overwhelming to say the least, if you think about it. Where am I in my progression of trying to be a good missionary? Where am I in my progression of trying to be a good person, a disciple of Christ? I believe that we all have a personal road to walk, the Lord is trying to help us learn who we really are and what we can become, and how much He loves each one of us. I have a saying on my wall here, “Happiness is not a destination, it’s a way of life.”  Maybe so is being a good person, a disciple of Christ, a good missionary. One step, one day, one thought, one good deed, one prayer, one forgiven, one encouraged, one trial, one loved at a time. What kind of missionary I am remains to be seen………………….

TODAY IS LABOR DAY…..KEEP ON LABORING…………..

No picnics, family gatherings, or fireworks for us. I worked today in the Brigham Young House, must have taken at least four groups of non-members through. I gave away two pass along cards, and my companion gave away a Book of Mormon to a woman whose son was a Methodist preacher! Wahoo! I also broke another rule today but in my defense, it was an instinct that I have refined to a science. Broken, rule #24!

Yes, I got to hold a real live baby!!!!! Oh. how I miss my grandchildren.

Richard brought home the mail today and I got two very sweet cards from sisters here in the mission.  One is from my good friend (sister in another life) Jeanne Openshaw. She is so kind, I keep thinking she will get tired of me soon.

Another one was from a sister that is leaving this week! She has been one of my heroes here, always doing her best, smiling, acting and really contributing to the success of the shows in particular.  She plays the piano for Rendezvous with vim and vigor. So I am documenting these here in the blog.

Tonight is our last show with the man that plays my “doctor.” He is really so much fun and I hate to see them go.   I am trying to think of something cute to do during the show.  I think that I am going to put a note under the chair that I pick up to hold him back with so that only he can see it. Wish I was much more creative but ……….

Another thought for the day.  There is a man here that has Lou Gehrig’s disease.  It is heart breaking.  You can watch the effect that it is having on him.  I think his doctor gave him 18 months to 2 years.  He is the one responsible for my tomatoes! I served with his wife today and she talked about this mission being a gift to them! Who else would say that! In their 37 years of being married she says that they have lived basically parallel lives. He is an old farmer out of Cleveland, Utah. That is way outside of Price in the boonies. Here they get to be together quite a bit, here he has a mission full of friends and angels to support him in whatever may come.  Here he has a chance to be surrounded by the Spirit on a daily basis. Here he has the opportunity to make us better people.The mission is moving them into a very nice house, garage, garage door opener, a house like you and I are used to, but that they have never had.  You should hear them talk about how lucky and blessed they are. It would make you weep.

This is my little friend from Rigby, Idaho. She is the person that I have talked about earlier in my blog.  She is 74 and her husband is 80. They are here on sheer grit and determination.  She has had a very HARD life.  It would also make you weep if you knew what all she has been through. She once told me that she had had a hard life but that was okay, the Lord knew what he was doing! We have been friends since the MTC. She struggles with Dyslexia. We have practiced dances together until she felt brave enough to go on stage. We have read and gotten scripts down, tonight I was teaching her how to crochet these necklaces that are so famous here in Nauvoo. If she has any trouble mechanically, Richard is the first one she calls. She was at our house using our phone to call her daughter to wish her Happy Birthday. Richard was fixing her phone at the time. 

Notice I am  in my moo-moo, I wasn’t expecting company.So we made a deal, she had crocheted me a collar, I finished her necklaces. Both happy!

Marriage of the Cheese and the Wine………….

Richard and I of course, had church this morning.  It was testimony meeting and so many people are leaving that it was sad.  I have to get over this feeling of abandonment. We came home and I baked cookies to take to the friends that keep giving me tomatoes, and to take to the Openshaw’s for supper.  It is really nice that we eat together so often, it feels like we have some family here.  I guess our meeting in the MTC was MEANT TO BE!

Then the big parade was today.  Isn’t today Sunday?  When did towns have parades on Sundays? Richard and I nevertheless, took our chairs down and sat on the street right down from our house. The boy scout troop started out the parade and I swear we were the only ones standing up!!

! Come on America! (Please, please, vote for Romney!) Then the veteran’s float came by and I stood up and cheered, and I got rewarded with about five guys throwing me candy!

This is small town America at it’s finest. All of the town’s fire trucks were in the parade and actually, started and ended up picking someone up on the parade route and took them to the hospital!

Demonstrating someone on the way to heat exhaustion!

Tractors, and ATVs, were the choice of vehicles for today's event.

Biggest, sweetest tractor I have ever seen. I think they serve drinks on the inside.

1928 truck. Sweet!

The door on this one wouldn’t even shut.

There were two school marching bands,

with the tallest drum majorette I have ever seen,

a drill team,

a float from the Appanoose township Presbyterian Church,

a motorcycle stunt team ( translates as teenagers who are fearless and crazy) and a baton twirler that was no less than 60 years old, tattoos and all!!!!!

Eternally young, she even had blinging red shoes!!!! Notice the lovely tattoos, you should have seen her from the back…..I’m not making fun, I admire her youthful spirit.

Then comes my favorite part……THE HORSES!

I think this is the chief from the halfbreed tract land across the river.

Hi ho silver!

Fun spirited woman in the horse brigade, with her horse! I want to be like her.

She marched in formation!

Nauvoo police now and then……

bringing up the rear!

I have to admit, I enjoyed this parade, I can still see myself in Liberal, standing and crying as my Uncle Gary carried the flag in our parade. Nothing like small town America in the 60’s. Things have changed a little since then.

Followed by a huge car show that I am sure Uncle Gary would have gotten a kick out of.  Ah, the memories that flood back to me. Granddaddy, Uncle Gary and cars. 

Saturday……………………..

Today is our last preparation day on a Saturday.  Boo, Hoo!  I really love having Saturday off and will surely miss it.  Our P-day will now be on a Thursday. Random………So today I slept it.  I admit it.  I am exhausted here. It seems as if I can’t get enough sleep.  I think the week stresses me out so that I just need sleep. So I got up, took a shower, cleaned the house, did the laundry, and then we went to Burlington.  I shopped at Hobby Lobby while Richard went to Walmart and bought us new bikes.  The ones we had here were a little dangerous in Richards’ estimation.

As I strolled through Hobby Lobby wanting to buy everything, I know it’s a weakness. but I would decorate anything and everything that didn’t move, I was homesick.  If I was at my house I would be decorating and thinking about the fall, which is my favorite time of the year. I would be getting excited thinking about Halloween and making my house feel homey. Our little home here is alright.  I would do more to it if Richard didn’t have a fit but it will do. I was thinking of Thanksgiving and Christmas and how hard it is going to be. I guess today, I feel a little sorry for myself.

Last night I took Sister Brown, Openshaw, and McKnight over to Fort Madison for dinner.  We were celebrating Sister Brown’s birthday. It was really fun to just be out as girls.  We laughed and enjoyed one another’s company and it was over too soon.  I will have to make a point of trying to do things with other women, so that I am not so lonely.

This weekend is the Grape Stomp here in Nauvoo.  At one time, as I mentioned, there were 450,000 grape vines in this area.  It is a big deal here. There is a little carnival in the park and tomorrow Richard and I will go walk around and see what we can see.  There is supposed to be an old antique car show here as well.  Stay tuned for pictures.

This coming week we have gone to an Autumn Schedule.  That means that the houses won’t be open as long.  Just five hours instead of six and that makes things a little different. 

Last night after Rendezvous, Richard and I were huddled around the computer like they used to do in the olden days around the radio, trying to hear Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech.  I am adding to my prayers now that the Lord will bless all people everywhere to choose the right.  Our country is in desperate need of a good man.