Miracles Still Happen

The official weather forecast this morning said that the temperature would be 3 degrees (36 Farenheit) but with the wind chill minus 2.  I can attest that it truly did feel even colder than -3....the wind whipped at our hair and faces and blew right through our coats.  I was wearing my winter coat, gloves and warm woolen scarf.  SK on the other hand wore his rain coat with warm lining.

We took the 2 buses to get across town to another ward to hear Rebecca speak.  She will be leaving for the MTC in England Thursday morning.  It took 45 minutes to get there, and I think SK was sincerely repenting not wearing a hat and scarf.

Rebecca did a wonderful job of speaking about faith....stepping forward in faith and relying on the Lord.  After she received her mission call, she got quite sick and was terribly distraught wondering if the mission would happen.  After much prayer, she received the strength to go forward and she is now happily doing her last-minute packing.  Her mother gave a lovely talk, and then Rebecca sang "I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go."  She is a beautiful young woman, gentle and refined.  I know these next two years will be amazing for her.

We made our way back to the apartment after the meetings and had a late lunch and then prepared to go to the center.  We had a student council meeting at 5, and wanted to be there early.  Following the student council meeting was our monthly sacrament meeting.

As I was putting my scarf on, I glanced over at SK.  There he stood, scarf wrapped snuggly around his neck, coat lining zipped up over the scarf, coat buttoned up to the top button over his suit, and stocking hat with the rim folded over twice hugging his head and covering his ears!  I laughed in sheer delight.  It is about time he recognized that it is cold outside.

We walked to the center, and the wind was ferocious.  I must admit though, for now I find it delightful.  SK is longing for the desert.

The planning meeting was very good....December is going to be very busy....but it will be a month full of worth-while activities.  We had a little while to visit with young people between that meeting and sacrament meeting.  We had a few moments with Morten, our young president.  He is handsome, kind, spiritually very strong, with a delightful sense of humor and wit.  I think he was a bit discouraged this evening.  I would love to see him find his true love and begin making plans.  Another of our great young men told us today that he is getting close to purchasing a ring.

Morten was one of 3 speakers in sacrament meeting and gave an excellent talk about fasting.  I decided that I will make fasting the focus of my study during December.  He was inspiring!  Then Steven spoke and talked about fasting and prayer.  When he was on his mission in London, he and his companion taught a girl from Portugal....neither of them spoke Portuguese and she didn't speak much English, but they communicated in the most rudimentary fashion.

They took her to a meeting where the last speaker - who spoke in English - answered most of the questions she had been asking.  Steven and his companion had prayed their heartfelt desire...that a miracle would happen and she would have help to have her questions answered.  After the meeting ended they were a little disappointed because they hadn't found anyone who could tell her what was said.  She asked why that last speaker had spoken in Portuguese....they were astonished to find out that she had heard the whole talk in her own language.

The last speaker was our high councilor who also told of a wonderful miracle that occurred to him in France on his mission 25 years ago.  After being out for a year, he was discouraged and prayed to know why they weren't having more success....the answer came back that he wasn't paying the price...the price was sincere focused intense prayer.  The only way he could do that was to go out on their little balcony.  His prayers improved and his interaction with his companion led to more effective planning meetings.

After sincere prayers they had a strong feeling that there was a family who was ready to be baptized somewhere in their area.  They set to work searching and fasting and planning and praying.  They knocked doors in one area and after a couple of days arrived at and began knocking on doors in one particular apartment building.  The high councilor said to us, "When you are searching for something you know is there, you search differently.....more thoroughly....more intensely."

They found a family who welcomed them and listened to everything and then set an appointment for them to return.  On that second visit, they felt impressed to share how they had found them but before they could tell them, the father in the family said, "We want to tell you something...."  He told the missionaries that the family was feeling like there must be more knowledge about this life than they had, so a year before they had come to the conclusion they must read the bible.  They read as a family, and came across a scripture in Isaiah about fasting, and decided to fast for help.

They fasted for 3 days, and on the third day the two young missionaries knocked on their door.

During the sacrament meeting, Emilie translated for me....she is such a sweetheart.  But as the high councilor began speaking an investigator needed a translator...so I told her to go help him.  I turned my attention back to the speaker trying hard to glean what I could, and a little disheartened because I wanted so much to hear the rest of his talk.  Then a soft familiar voice whispered in my ear the translated talk.  It was SK!.....who has steadfastly said he can't translate....but he did a magnificent job.

This last month, SK has been talking more and more in Danish, even on the telephone and doing it with much more ease.  He has never even dared try to translate.  Wow....he was wonderful at it tonight.

Miracles....


For Erin, here is my cantankerous little Nisse

Strolling on Strøget

The temperatures have finally dipped into the 30's and it is chilly.  Today with the wind chill factor it was minus 2 C.  I didn't go out in it until after 3:00, after SK got home from serving in the temple.  He took the 45 minute bus ride both ways, with 2 hours serving in between.

We had lunch and then set out.  Since it gets dark at 4, you don't have to go out late to see Christmas lights.  It brings back memories of my childhood when my sister and I would take the bus into Salt Lake and then wander up and down Main Street starting at ZCMI.  It was usually very cold and often snowing.  I loved going into the warm stores and I loved the Christmas decorations everywhere.

Today, we went to the walking street.  Christmas lights with large red hearts lit up from within were strung from one side to the other.  Since it was a Saturday, the crowds were heavy.  SK was really patient and trooped nearly the full length of the street with me.  We walked in and out of stores and oohed and aahed at many wonderful things.  I was enjoying it too much to remember to snap a picture or two.  But before this Christmas season is over, I will take a bunch....I will need them when I am baking in Arizona a year and a half from now!

We wandered through a little Christmas village which was actually about 30 little temporary buildings open on one side to sell their wares.  Many had food...ableskivers being made hot right there in front of your nose.  Churros, hot dogs, hot chocolate, hot apple cider, jams and jellies, hats, gloves, Christmas ornaments and many other fun things.  We had a warm churro, purchased one grumpy- looking little Nisse man and then started back home, with a short stop at a grocery store.

Yesterday I was home all day while SK worked at the temple from noon til 9.  I usually work then too, but I somehow hurt my back earlier in the week and just couldn't do anything.  I rested most of the day and did some reading and writing, both of which rejuvenate me.

I took it easy this morning too, and so when SK got home, I was ready to go.  Being with him and strolling along with the Christmas crowds made me like young again!



p.s.  If you would like to see an especially good video....a bible story that is new from the Church, watch this one about Lazarus:

https://www.lds.org/bible-videos?lang=eng

Beward of Nisse

In Denmark....especially around Christmas, you must beware of the little Danish elves called Nisser. One little gnome is called a Nisse.  They are elves that live everywhere, but have long been known to live on farms.  They can be very helpful with chores, and are hard workers.  They also have been known to assist Juleman or Santa.  But they can just as well be full of mischief.  And if you don't feed them, they can be your worst nightmare!

They like a basic rice dish, so you must not forget to set it out for them, otherwise, you will find yourself the object of all kinds of tricks....having your keys misplaced, your namebadge and other items.  And that is just the beginning.

They are very very short, and just like us start out as children.  But even the adult Nisser are very very short.  They generally have tall red cone hats and knitted stockings and wear clogs.....but these days, they are seen in grays and blacks and whites as well.  Their tempers are roused easily, so don't offend one of these little guys.

I had all of this on good authority from one of our YSAs last night.  If you happen to have one or more of these little fellows in your house....get the rice ready.

They are very active in December and no doubt hungry.

I know they look mild-mannered, but you must not rile them.

Thanks Giving

Thanksgiving Day for us started with an hour of pure thanksgiving.  We sang a hymn, prayed and expressed our thanks for the many blessings we have been granted.  Then we read letters from children and grandchildren listing the things in their lives they are grateful for.  I read them aloud and SK cried...I read and he cried, and I read and he cried.

I actually get broken up too.  The lists reflected their heart-felt thoughts and feelings.  The lists were absolute treasures.  I put them in plastic pages and we will save them to read again.  For all the Thanksgivings we have had, and considering how much we miss our family, that little "devotional" we had this morning was one of the sweetest.

We went to the center early to get started on the great and wonderful broccoli soup.  Lea, one of dear young friends and called to say that she had a ton of food left over from a luncheon served to her father's employees.  The food was catered by the father of another one of the YSAs, and he makes delicious food.  She wanted to bring it for dinner....I said absolutely.

SK and I wondered what we ought to do with all the fresh broccoli.  Finally we decided to make the soup, freeze it and serve it in the coming months.  SK and I peeled and chopped and put together broccoli soup and I thought it was excellent.  Then the girls came in and shooed me out of the kitchen.  I attended SK's class and just sat and relaxed with everyone else.  It was wonderful.

By the time class was over, the smells coming out of the kitchen were divine.  I went in with everyone else to dish up my plate.  I wish I had snapped a picture.  The table was covered with beautiful and exotic dishes.  The main dish was duck.  There was also duck pate and many other delicious foods.  I loved every single one.  It was a feast.  I had no idea that duck was so delicious!  I am going to order it the next time we are in a restaurant and see if it is as good as it was tonight.

By the time the girls had cleaned everything up in the kitchen and everyone had said their goodbyes and departed, we checked the soup to put it in containers and in the freezer.  We were properly sad to see that it had been completely overcooked and burned on the bottom and was in a word - lousy.  So it was all tossed....so much for the good deal on 10 heads of broccoli.

While in SK's class, a young woman who is here from Portugal and working for an international company made some absolutely wonderful comments, that illustrate to me great faith and a depth of understanding of the gospel.  We were talking about the process of repentance and that, when properly done, the Lord will remember our sins no more.  A young man said that we must remember our sins so that we will not repeat them.

She answered that she doesn't want to remember her sins.  What she wants is to come to love the Lord so very much that sinning is not tempting to her.  She elaborated on it, and did so articulately.  I was inspired by her comments and by her ability to express herself...in another language!

Rebecca was there tonight....she is the one who will be leaving for her mission in England next week before Institute.  She will be speaking Sunday in Church.  I expressed surprise that she would sacrifice the time to come tonight when she will be leaving so soon.  She said she felt that it is more important now than ever to make that effort now that she is practically a missionary.  The full-time sisters called her yesterday and asked her to go with them to teach an investigator.  She had a lot of other things to get done, but she felt she couldn't say no since the whole focus of her life right now is the Gospel and sharing it...so she went.

We are so blessed to be able to work with these amazing young people.  I am thankful for them.  I am grateful for our dear family who have been so encouraging and supportive, and for friends who are constant.  I am grateful for the Gospel and the beauty and strength it gives to life.  I am grateful for a companion who loves what I love and who is a constant in my life.

I love Thanks Giving.

Still Trying with Danish

Ah shopping day!  Wednesdays now will forever be associated with compiling shopping lists, pouring over grocery store ads and wandering store aisles comparing prices and amounts.  We did a fair amount of that today.

However, Wednesdays have been changed somewhat from this point on.  I went at 1 in the afternoon for week 2 Danish lesson with the temple sisters.  They are a really nice group of women.  There are five of us with the teacher.  She pushes us!  I think this will be very good.  We have lunch first - and we have to converse in Danish!!!!!  Do you know how slow-going the conversation can be?  

Lunch is followed by 2 hours of Danish study.  We are reading a very well-know children's book which is adorable.  It has a lot of words on each page, and would by no means be considered a beginner's book.  I think it is meant to be read aloud.  Today the teacher had each of us read a page and then translate.  Ugh.  It is a good thing that we are all at about the same place in reading/understanding/translating Danish.

They all live across the street from the temple, but we decided that they will come here next week.  It will be a little bit of a trip across town for them, and they have to get back to the temple to serve at 3:30 or 4, so they will have to leave early.

So I need to think of something luncheon-y to serve my friends.  I think white chicken chili....hey....I'm from Arizona!  You didn't think I was going to do American did you?  I'm going for Mexican/American.  If not that wonderful soup then quesadillas.  And maybe a pumpkin pie for dessert!  

When the class was over, SK picked me up and we did some more shopping...first at a store close to the temple.  We came home, parked the car, picked up our handy cart and went over to Fotex for the last of the supplies for broccoli cheese soup and small tuna sandwiches.  Broccoli is as low a price as it has ever been, and we got tuna at the going-out-of-business sale at the Costco wannabe for a smoking good price.  It should be an economical meal......except for the brownies.....oh my.

Last year at this time, the young women quit eating dessert....saving themselves for the feasting that will go on at Christmas time.

After taking all of the stuff over to the center (no room in our refrigerator), we had dinner and then walked over to Tivoli to enjoy the Christmas decorations.  We wandered around for an hour and came home.  

The brownies are in the oven, and I am going to settle down and read for a little while before going to bed.  I have been reading the "Crucible of Doubt" by Terry Givens.  I love the way he writes....I have read several of his books.  He uses poetry, great literature and thoughts from philosophers and great thinkers as well as prophets both far past as well as living.  He comes from a strong position of faith and his writing is not only a pleasure to read, but inspiring too.

Happy Thanksgiving one and all!

Just Think....Only 29 Days til Christmas!

We awakened to the glorious sunshine again today.  I opened all the blinds and gazed out from the loft.  The lake was a sea of glass with the two parent swans swimming majestically not far from my windows.  Farther out, seagulls and pigeons dove for food.

I got laundry caught up and some cleaning done....that feels good.  I also got some letters written.

It is still very cold....in fact in the winter time, cloud cover generally makes it warmer.  The weather report said that it was 7 degrees C. but that it felt like 2.  With that in mind, we bundled up in several layers of clothing before donning our coats.  OK, I bundled up.  SK doesn't know that it is winter yet.  He wore his rain coat with the lining in...no scarf around his neck, no gloves and no hat.  What are we going to do with him?

We walked quite a ways looking for a plumbing supply store, which turned out to be a store for plumbers.  We were not allowed in.  Next stop, Inco....which is the next best thing to our Costco wannabe.  It is large...it is a warehouse type of store.  In fact, it is a restaurant supply company.

It almost seems as if it had been built a large room at a time.  Each room connects by two doors on each wall to other rooms, and we can make no sense of it.  We wandered from room to room but bought nothing today.  We looked at prices and amounts.  We were looking for vanilla, which I had been told by a company rep in an email was sold at Inco.  They did have the brand, but not vanilla...chocolate flavoring, almond and rosemary????

They also had green chilies!  That was a find.  We were tired before we got through and I am sure we didn't see everything there was to see.  We left with two stops to make before arriving back in our apartment....the whole day probably wasn't more than 4 miles, if that much....but it seemed like ten.  That is the one real problem with walking.....however far you travel, you will have to retrace your steps to get home.

By the time we got home, it was dark and Christmas lights were twinkling on in windows and on balconies.  Delicious scents wafted out of doors and windows as we passed.  Christmas is definitely in the air.

I love this time of the year.

Giving Thanks - Around the Corner

I think it is getting colder....by a few degrees ever couple of weeks.  We have had temperatures in the upper 40's for some time now and I have been loving it.  Today, after a long hiatus, the sun came out and stayed for several hours.  As we were running some errands, the sky was a beautiful blue with storm clouds threatening.  Days like this always remind me of Dutch and Flemish landscapes from the seventeenth century.  Now when I see those paintings, I will realize they ring true.

We went to the center at 3...well at least I did.  SK drove me over - along with supplies that needed to be delivered to the center...then he drove back to our apartment and walked back.  While he was home he took the opportunity to take a 45-minute nap!...which I don't begrudge at all.  I would have been tempted to do that myself.

Before Family Home Evening began we had three visitors.  They are not of our faith....not of the Christian faith.  They were invited by one of our YSAs and decided to come and see what it was all about.  SK talked to them for half an hour.  I think he explained a lot about the Church.  They made the point that the name of Jesus Christ is mentioned more times than any other in their sacred book of scripture.  But they left before the meeting got underway, explaining that they were very happy with their religion and just curious about ours.

You never know what may come of it.

We had a "Name Extractions" evening.  Jonathan, our returned missionary who is so talented at so many things...including family history and extractions gave a beautiful message and then helped all of the young people gathered around the pool table with their computers doing name extractions.

Jonathan and Helene busily engaged in indexing.

Jonathan told something really interesting.  He comes from a very strong family who loves being together.  The farthest anyone lives away is an hour, and that is a grandfather.  Otherwise, everyone lives within 10 or 20 minutes from the parents.  Spiritually, each child is well-grounded and has served a mission and is moving forward with a life of faith.  They love celebrating traditions as a family and enjoy a family Thanksgiving feast every November.  They will have one coming up.

They gather around and make a feast....everyone doing their part.  Jonathan will make dinner rolls (yes...from scratch and with yeast!) and sweet potato casserole. Others will roast a turkey, make potatoes and gravy, dressing and all the other familiar traditional food. After the meal is over, they have what he described as an "almost testimony meeting" where they each speak of what they are grateful for.  Isn't that wonderful?

This Thursday before we report for duty at the center, SK and I will do something similar.  The family sent gratitude notes on Fall paper (beautiful orange and yellow and red leaves).  Each individual had his/her own sheet and has listed or written about what they are thankful for.  The papers came in a package, and when we realized what they were, we immediately tucked them into a folder.

We will have a little family devotional - just the two of us - we'll sing a Thanksgiving song, have a prayer and a spiritual thought, we will read the letters from our children and grandchildren and then we will tell each other what we are grateful for.

It may take awhile.

Open House II

A beautiful mist hovered over the city and surrounding areas all day.  

It is so pleasant to look out over the lake on a day like this day.  People are bundled up, clothing is limited to dark colors and boots, hats and scarves are the order of the day.  We are still in the 40s day and night.

We left for Roskilde at 9:30 to attend the sacrament meeting for Mikael who will be leaving in a couple of weeks to serve a mission in......drum roll..........Salt Lake City!  He will have a much different mission than those who are currently serving in South Africa, Scotland, France and Australia.  I am positive it will be a good mission for a number of reasons....one, because the people of Salt Lake love the missionaries, and two, he is well-prepared to work, and three, he has a strong testimony.  

It was a wonderful sacrament meeting.  We just happened to have the stake president, the new stake president from the other stake in Denmark, the temple president, the mission president and the area seventy at our meeting.  They were meeting the rest of the day for planning and correlation apparently.  Mikael had to cut his remarks short....so that they could fit several other talks in.  I would have loved to hear all of Mikael's talk, but the other talks were very good too.

Mikael talked about having the full-time missionaries visit with his non-member friends and him over dinner.  He loved how they answered every question.  He told several little stories that had a lot of human interest....and great gospel applications.  He is going to be excellent....Salt Lake....you are in for a treat!

I attended the YSA Sunday School, and the YSA Relief Society and enjoyed them thoroughly.  Even after all these months, I still feel a little awkward walking into the YSA class with my silvery hair. But they are always welcoming.

After the block, we went to his open house....at his family house!  It was a 25 minute-drive over gently-sloping hills with sleepy farmhouses nestled among trees and verdant fields......with a soft mist veiling everything in sight.  

At the open house (lasting from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.) we visited with a lot of different people, ate open-faced sandwiches and cookies.  (I took a large platter of chocolate chip cookies)  We left after only a couple of hours....people were still coming and we opened space for them!....actually our motives weren't entirely so kind....we are both tired.

Driving back into Copenhagen at 5:00 was dark, and it was fun to see all of the Christmas decorations up and twinkling.

We came home, made a warm dinner, and I think we will retire early.  It has been a good week, but a tiring one, and I will be grateful to fall into bed tonight.

Open House!

Sitting here writing tonight I feel worlds better than last night.  It has been a very nice day....varying from 40 degrees up to 48.  Have I ever told you that the temperature is seldom more than 5 or 6 degrees different at night than at the warmest time of day  Sometimes it is the same.  Coming from a place where the day/night temperatures can shoot 30 or more degrees in a 24-hour period makes me expect it to get cold at night....and it seldom gets much colder.

After sleeping in and relaxing I made cinnamon rolls....they turned out great (thank you Melissa).  We left at 3 for Rebecca's open house.  It said on the invitation that it would go from 4 to 8.  As an American, we logically assume that means drop in sometime during that 4-hour period, but that is wrong.  And open house here comes with the assumption that you will come at the beginning and stay until the end.  So....

We got there at 4:05 (we got lost!) and stayed until 7:30.....it seemed OK to leave since half the people there began donning coats and hats and saying their goodbyes.  We left too.  We stopped at a grocery store to replenish my supply of eggs, flour and sugar so that I can make a double batch of cookies for another missionary open house after the ward block is over ....it too, is at least a 30-minute drive to get there.  Sacrament meeting starts at 10, and the open house will start at 2 and last until 8!  I think we might leave that one a little early too.

There was a lovely display of food....a healthy table with salads, cheese and fresh vegetables and an unhealthy table with desserts.  There were tiny Danish and English flags stuck in most of the dishes (she is going to England on her mission).  I paused for a moment or two and stuck one of each in the cinnamon rolls.  (There wasn't an Old Glory there.)

There was a nice program partway through with family members singing and playing instruments and one of Rebecca's sisters performing a beautiful ballet.  As part of the entertainment we were given a little quiz about England.  I was happy to say I only missed one...."What is the population of England?"  I guessed 50,000,000.  It is 53,000,000.  Otherwise I got the name of the British flag, the first woman prime minister, the name of the capitol city, and others.  I am sure you are shaking your head saying, "Hey I know those answers!"  Well...I guess we both get a star.....OK so it was kind of easy.  I need all the high marks I can get.

Rebecca will make a great missionary.  She is beautiful, she is articulate in English and she has a bright happy smile...which she is not stingy with.  She is going because she wants to serve the Lord.  She already is a good missionary.  Most of our YSAs around here go to school or work and are the only Mormon anyone has ever met.  So if they are brave and willing to speak up, they have missionary experiences.....and most of them can tell you about several.  She is our third of seven to leave within the next 6 weeks.

Missionary service is alive and well in Denmark!

Isn't she beautiful?

Time to Budget

I am sorry to say that I do not even remember what the weather was like today...I don't remember how the lake looked, I don't remember if it was windy, rainy or cold.  I am spent.

Have you ever been in a situation where you spent every last penny in your purse?  You rummaged around in every corner and pocket and retrieved every last cent and handed it over in exchange for something.  I did that today with my energy.

We slept in but it wasn't enough.  I made two large desserts, then showered and packed up and went to the center.  For several hours I helped one of our young women put up decorations at the center.  We talked...she is a sweetheart.

Then I began dinner.  People started coming back from the temple at 7:30, but the young woman in charge wanted everyone to wait to eat until everyone was there (many went on a session)...so that was nearly 9:30.  In the meantime, the small kitchen filled with hungry people who were laughing and talking.....and sampling the food that was set out.  All of the food was eaten....and had there been more, it would have been eaten too.

By the time we served dinner and dessert it was nearly midnight.  Games were played, great conversations were engaged in (I had several...one with a young man who is working hard and saving for a mission, another with a young woman who is trying to keep a sure footing when her world is shaking to the foundations), food was eaten, and some helped clean.  But at 12:30 I was still cleaning, and left some things undone.

We came home because I had spent all I had.

Great Danes and Great Danish Food!

Long long day!  I made an apple dessert and then went to the center....carting half the kitchen from our apartment with us.

Matti...a young man who volunteered to be the guest chef of the week was there when I got there.  I helped him prepare a very Danish dish....creamed potatoes with a ton of chopped bacon.  He layered sliced potatoes and chopped raw bacon twice and then poured a mixture of milk, heavy cream and flour over that....then baked it for nearly an hour.  It was very tasty.  He was a wonderful companion for several hours as we worked on that meal.

Everyone was enthusiastic about the very Danish meal.  We sliced French bread, lathered it in butter and Penzey's Sandwich Sprinkle....and boiled a ton of broccoli and served it like that.  Everyone loved the broccoli too!

We cleaned up and now we are home....ready to do it again tomorrow.  I'll go to the center, where there will be a couple of young women decorating for the evening.  Everyone will go to the temple and then back to the center for dinner followed by games.  It could be a late night tomorrow night....kind of the last big celebration for 5 of our young people who will be leaving on missions.

Well....I'm off to bed....see you tomorrow night!

One Fine Day

What a grand day!

We started out at the Costco-wannabe-which is going out of business.  That means that there are some good sales going on.  Unfortunately, the really good sale prices are for items that we would have to abandon in 9 months.  Right now the sale is up to 40 % off items...depending on the item.  Most food items are not quite that good, and the perishables are only 10% off - and they weren't low to begin with.

I was very happy to find the very large cans of black, white and pinto beans at 25% off and that was a good deal.  I stocked up so that we can have white chicken chili and regular chili at least a couple of times each.  We wandered around for awhile looking.....and then bought as much as we could for the meal tomorrow and the meal Friday.

After a quick lunch, I cut and wrapped our first attempt at caramels......and they are good!  It is quite an easy recipe....if you have a candy thermometer.  I have one, but it is suspect.

This is about one fourth of the pan of caramels!

 I put a few in several baggies to share with Sister Williams, (our Temple Matron), Sister Hansen and Sister Hodg (temple workers), and Sister Paulsen (our teacher).....yes, our teacher.  I am now taking a wednesday afternoon class to practice on my Danish.  Everything was very enjoyable, from the hearty vegetable soup to the chocolate chip nut bread, to the Danish lesson.

I learned something disheartening though.  For some time now, I have been laboring under the delusion that with the surname of Madsen...I had - in a sense - come home.  I thought that we would fit right in with the Danes.

Sister Paulsen said that "-sen" names are passe....and no one really wants them anymore.  If one of the parents has a more exciting name, the offspring will use that as a last name.  She looked around the table at each of us...with either the Danish last name of our husband, or a Danish maiden name.  She said Christensen, Paulsen, Hansen....all are not desirable names...then she looked at me and said, "And Madsen is really boring!"

Oh Well....maybe now is the time to pull out Checketts....that is not boring.

This evening we went to dinner with the Brookes, Thornes and Parkers and Sister Hamblin.  It was great fun.  We went to a Chinese Buffet.  Let me say up front that I have always been suspicious of Chinese Buffet, but I was very pleasantly surprised.  It was very good.

Then all of us except the Thornes went to see "Beauty and the Beast" at Det Ny Teater which is a five minute walk from our apartment.  Thomas Kofod is starring as the Beast.  I was enthralled from the very first notes that rang out over the old ornate interior of the theater.  There was a live orchestra and every cast member was a strong singer/actor.  Gaston was a swaggering and self-centered semi-villain.  Mrs. Potts was charming as the singer of the theme song.  Belle and the Beast were both wonderful.  The sets and the costumes...everything.  When the curtain finally went down, I couldn't have been more satisfied.  I love that fairy tale, I loved the Disney movie and the broadway version is the best.

The picture doesn't do justice to this beautiful old theater.

It looks like a dumb selfie that so many are indulging in....for all you can see, we might be in the train station.  But we are in the theater, 10 rows back from the stage.

We came out in a wonderful rainstorm and put our hoods up (SK is the only one around here who doesn't believe in hoods or hats....he just toughs it out) and hurried home through the crowds leaving the theater.

A fine fine day.

Picture Night

Just to catch you up on a few pictures of the last week.....

The super-duper handy carry almost anything (except SK or me) cart....collapsed and fully ready to go.

Panoramic shots of Tivoli

There is a little room right next door where people take stuff they no longer want or need.  We found this two days ago, and it heats up nicely....for which we are very grateful.  Remember the framed big scorpion on the wall a few weeks ago?  SK put that in the little room, and it was gone within a couple of hours.  Who actually wanted that thing?  SK has been wishing he had kept it....he was growing fond of it.

Yes....like everyone else here, I have begun my Christmas decorating.  I love this little scene.

Tivoli is never more charming than on a cold frosty night with all the Christmas decorations lit up.

SK and Robert playing a friendly game of pool....SK won....at least once, which pleases him since he says Robert is the better player.

The pool table will be gone within a few weeks...gone forever....it is just not right for the center.  Poor SK will have to compete in Settlers of Catan or something.

The highpoint of this day was dinner with the Knudsens.  We have missed a few lately because of things going on at the center, and trust me....this is a meal you would never want to miss.  Brother Knudsen is a cook, and he delights to cook, and he is an excellent cook.  They generally invite the seniors over once a month for a feast, and then have the Copenhagen young missionaries over on another evening.

Tonight it was a turkey dinner with potatoes, gravy and a meat dressing that was incredible.  The dessert was a huge pie topped with whipped cream and cranberry sauce.....heavenly.  The table fills the living room, and the kitchen is barely big enough for two people to work in together, yet he manages to serve the most amazing culinary creations.  At one point, there was silence as we all sat savoring every flavor.  Most of the evening there was a comfortable level of talking and laughter.

Sister Hamblin told me to do  my best imitation of a viking with my turkey leg.

Candles are used at every meal we have been served here.  It is a charming tradition that I will have to carry on....if we ever serve a meal after dark in Arizona....does it get dark there?

Brother Knudsen is at the head of the table on the left, his daughter on the right and Sister Knudsen next to their daughter.  Sister Knudsen says she used to cook, but not anymore....she has forgotten how!

Can you believe this pie?  The size of a large pizza....it had an apple filling, and the crust was thick on top and bottom and was somewhere between pie crust and a sugar cookie.


Elder Thorne thought we ought to all walk around the lake for 4 hours to walk off dinner.  He is right.....maybe tomorrow.

A Dying Practice

Does anyone write real letters anymore?  With pen and paper?  Actually, I have some grandchildren who do, and the letters are delightful...someday they will enjoy reading them.  But otherwise, who communicates that way?  With iphones and text messages and emails, why bother.

I spent the morning writing letters....with a pen....on beautiful little cards.  We have 6 missionaries who will be leaving within the  next 6 weeks, and we have a whole bunch who are out right now.  Before the outgoing missionaries leave, we wanted to write something special to each one, and we are trying to get a letter written to each of the ones in the field before Christmas.  Understand that I am using the royal "We."  I am trying also to get a sort of newsletter typed to go in the handwritten cards, telling about mission calls, marriages and other YSA stories of interest.

It felt good to get that done.  I delivered two of them (to outgoing missionaries) at Family Home Evening tonight.  It is getting very close to their departure dates and I am sure the reason the others weren't there was because it takes them an hour to get here, and an hour to get back home, and they don't have that kind of time to burn.

We had a good turn-out at the center, with a lesson from the missionaries and an activity that was engaging.  Then tables were set up and board games were brought out.  It got noisy with laughter and guffaws.

Before the evening began, I had a Facetime call with a dear friend.  Isn't it lovely when time and place don't change the comfort of conversing with a friend?  Later in the evening, we Facetimed (I think you can use that as a very!) our youngest daughter and youngest granddaughters....nice way to end the day.

A brisk walk home through Rodhus Plaset and through the crowds at Tivoli put us in our apartment before midnight.  It was about 45 degrees with so much water in the air I thought it was raining.  The mist is a beautiful thing.  I understand there is a chance for sunshine tomorrow.

I think I could deal with that.

Angels Among Us

These leaves are beautiful!  They are falling like rain, drying up and rustling as we walk through them.  The Fall season is so beautiful.

Tis the season for Primary Sacrament meetings. Ours today brought back memories of last year's sweet program.  I was enchanted, not only by the miniscule size of the Primary, but by the children who sang their hearts out and recited talks.

The meeting was beautiful.  If you look at the picture, you see four children....this was taken right after it ended.  There was actually a fifth one who is about 10 who had to leave immediately after the meeting was over.  So we had the President, her counselor, the chorister, and the nursery leader...and the pianist.  

They sang like angels, they looked like angels (in fact, the little boy leaning on the lecturn reminded me of the Raphael paintings of cherubs - He often leaned his head on his arms like the angel on the right).

They each got up several times to recited a line or two from the program, and they each gave a short talk which they wrote themselves.....well except for little Birk (who stood up with Sister Hamblin and a picture and kind of repeated after her).

I couldn't help but think of our home ward where there are well over a hundred children in the Primary and they have to rehearse and rehearse to get everywhere in position to give their lines and back to sing in the most efficient way.  They have always been among my favorite meetings.  

I guess numbers don't matter so much....it is the beautiful spirit that these little ones bring.

A meeting afterwards where we did Family History over sandwiches was also very inspiring.

An evening game of Nines with the Thornes and Sister Hamblin rounded out a beautiful day in the company of friends and angels.

Not Exactly What You Expected When You Sent the Papers In.....

On this very windy and gray afternoon, another senior couple dropped in for a brief visit.  They had to catch 2 buses to get across town.  They were coming this way anyway....but two buses is a typical journey on public transportation....and usually involves at least a half hour.

So it was lovely to open the door and see two bright shining smiles.  They came in for a little while and then left to do other things.  But in that little time, we got to know them a little better.  They are here for 23 months - like us.  They had never been in Denmark before arriving here a month ago.  They are working at learning Danish.

Have you heard of a "Records Preservation" missionary?  They spend their days in the archives of city  hall digitally photographing vital records.  They were trained to use special equipment which they brought with them.  Page by page, all day long, they snap pictures.  The Church receives a copy and it goes online - along with records from all over the world, where anyone searching for ancestors can find them.

Actually....first, they (the photographed images) go to the indexing department where at least three individuals type up what they see on the hand-written record (to make it even more accessible).  If all three agree on what has been typed, it is put online.  I think I have that right.  People who do the indexing are doing an invaluable service....and they can do it anywhere at anytime.  Erin downloaded records to index on her flight to and from Denmark....she also worked on it here.  You can work for 5 minutes or 5 hours.

An image of the highest quality is also given to the government of Denmark.  So it is a win/win situation for everyone.  Many countries can see the value of having this work done, and of course all the Church asks is the opportunity to do it.

Elder and Sister Brookes are excited and happy about their mission.  They said something that touched me.  They have been here a month and have settled comfortably in the archives where they work.  They are getting better acquainted with other Danish workers in the building, and are enjoying frequent visits in their workplace from their fellow workers.  They come to see the Brookes because they want to practice their English!  Of course, what follows is a great visit about what they are doing in Denmark, why the Church is interested, and etc.  (and you know what all the "etc." entails!)

SK and I were talking about the many kinds of missions for seniors.  We have people who do typical office work all day in the mission office, people like the Brookes who snap photos all day, others take care of housing and cars for the mission, people in Nauvoo who drive a horse and wagon all day, people who work on Church pageants, couples who work in temples, missionaries who spend their days organizing humanitarian service, some who teach others how to do family research, and yet others who cook and clean and hang out with the YSAs...like us!...and the list goes on.

They are all opportunities to serve.  There is something deeply rewarding about being tired at the end of a day of service.

And doesn't it make putting your feet up and resting with a cup of hot chocolate nice?

What's Not to Like?

SK made the comment today that we still have a month to go before the shortest day of the year....and once again, it seemed that the "day" never fully arrived.  It was another day of twilight.  Looking out across the lake, I could see lights on in many windows, twinkling across the mist.  He asked, "Were we so enamored with everything last year that we didn't notice how dreary it is?"

I know we were enamored, and still are.  I wouldn't describe it as dreary.  I must confess that I love it.  I love the cold and I love the dark days....even days like today with 100% humidity.  There isn't a bit of Danish in my ancestry - that I know of - but maybe it is the Welsh/Scot in me.  I understand Wales and Scotland are pretty dark and stormy.

We walked to the post office, did a little shopping (butter is less than half price so I have been buying a couple each time we go and putting it in the freezer.) and then came home.  SK went to the temple for the remainder of the day and I stayed home for a much-needed rest.

I love serving in the temple, but sometimes Wednesdays and Thursdays can be stressful, especially if we stay late.  So it was lovely to have that quiet time with nowhere to go today.

SK said it was beautiful at the temple today and that 11 of our wonderful YSAs were there on the last session.  They love the temple and they are dedicated to going regularly.  Isn't that inspiring?

Within another 6 weeks, 6 of them will all be out on missions and I think the personality of the center will change.  We have a core group of nearly 50 or 60, who come at least a couple of times a month, but not every week to every event.  These five who will be leaving are almost always to everything.  They are good strong young people who will be excellent missionaries but we will miss them.

One of them is going to Scotland/Ireland.  I hope she likes dark days!

You Don't Need a Badge

It was Thursday.

I think we have a routine going here.  As soon as I got up, I began preparing food.  By 2:00 I had most of it ready to put in the oven.  I showered and cleaned up and we headed for the center.

It has been dark all day....it really looks like twilight out there, and I am not talking about vampires.  I am using the word the way it was originally meant to be used.  It looked like the sun had dropped below the horizon for the night and we were left with the last vestiges of daylight.  It really is very pleasant.

We had all the lights on at the center, and when we turned the oven on and started to bake, it made it especially nice to come into.  I had 6 nine by thirteen pans to bake, and it took a few hours to get everything heated up and baked. But everything was ready to eat by the time they finished the Institute classes.

We had a large turn-out tonight....over 40, which is good.  They come through the door laughing and talking as they peel off coats, hats and boots.  I think they enjoy coming in out of the cold to something that smells good in a warm kitchen.

I spent some time with a stunning young woman from Germany.  She has a porcelain complexion with a smattering of attractive freckles and beautiful red hair.  She is well-grounded in life and in the Gospel.  She is here for another year as an au pair.  As soon as she got here, she got involved in Church and the Institute program.  She speaks four languages and is learning Danish.  She has had some great discussions with other members of her class about her religion.

I talked with a young woman from Brazil who is also here as an au pair.  She works for a wealthy family here in Copenhagen and they love her.  They are a prominent family in Danish society.  They are wonderful to work for and treat her with great kindness and consideration.  She will also be here for at least another year.  They appreciate her high values and goodness.

Another young woman I visited with is one of my dear young Danish friends who spent a year in the States as an au pair.  It was an amazing year for her since she was with a very affluent family and the opportunities were marvelous.  She traveled a fair amount in the States and enjoyed the children in her charge.

It is interesting to consider the impact these young women may have had on the families they were with.  They all live their religion and are trustworthy and impressive to look at and speak with.  They are great ambassadors for their beliefs, the Church and their countries....and missionaries.

On the other hand, other very effective missionaries are the host families to foreign exchange students.  One of our very sweet young women lived with an LDS family in the states for a year, attended church with them, seminary, YW and participated in family homes evenings, family scripture study and prayer.  She sought out the missionaries when she returned to Copenhagen and got baptized and is amazing.

We have heard of several others who have done the same.  They had such a terrific experience for that year and they have kept in touch with the host families....establishing long-lasting ties.

Missionary service comes in many different job descriptions and can be done anywhere.  The rewards are sweet.

Hot Chocolate on Hold.....

It was another "Stay-indoors-sip-hot-chocolate-and-read-a-good book day.....dark and dramatic, misting and misty, cool with icy blasts of wind.  I have the hot chocolate, and the good book (The Crucible of Doubt, by Teryl Givens), but today was Wednesday - all day, so it was a day to be out and about.

We started out at Metro....which is going out of business at the end of the year.  They had up to 30 percent discounts on many things, most of which were items not needed.  We got a fair amount of shopping done and even found some sales that were just too good to pass up.  We bought two large (probably 2 pounds each) bags of fine Belgian chocolate chips....for the price of one.  So we bought four and will store them in the Thornes second freezer.

We got some bottled and canned goods that will help in making a taco soup in the coming weeks, as well as some of the ingredients we need for this week's meatloaf, funeral potatoes, mixed green peas and carrots, and Rolo cookies.

We got home in time to clean up and get ourselves to the temple.  President Sederholm likes to have every missionary come into Copenhagen on the one-year anniversary of their arrival in Denmark. They attend the temple and have lunch before returning to their assigned area. There must have been close to twenty men and about 9 women.  There were no young sisters....all of the sisters there, as well as 5 of the elders were senior missionaries.

Have you ever been in a session with a group of young elders?  The spirit is very strong....I don't think they are even aware of the feeling that settles in a room where they are.  All of us seniors felt it and so enjoyed being with them.  SK and I were the temple workers on the session, so I had a good seat to observe them.

After getting home, we walked to our nearby Fotex grocery store where we finished up the shopping.  SK declared that we could carry everything home ourselves, but I pulled out our super duper new and improved cart, and we were off.  We had to get a lot of milk as well as other things.  We got to the check-out and I packed it all up in the cart.  It was almost full.  SK was most happy that I had brought it!

The older we get, the more grateful we are to have help like that.

Well....it is late.  I think the hot chocolate and good book will have to wait until Friday!

Honey Bee

I think our weather has officially crossed into 40+.  We have always been surprised by how few degrees it varies from day to night time.  The slightly distressing thing to me is how very pleasant it feels to me when it is 48 degrees outside.  I am still wearing my raincoat and a scarf and when we walk, it keeps me sufficiently warm.  I am wondering how we will acclimate to 110 degrees.  The good news is that we will be home at the end of summer, when it is beginning to dip below 100 during the day!

SK went to the monthly planning at the center this evening.  We are still a work in progress.  There are so many things that must be decided for the center here in Copenhagen instead of relying on guidelines from anywhere else.  We are currently using the center 3, 4 and sometimes 5 days a week.

Brother Andersen is still hoping to having it open at least 12 hours 5 or 6 days a week.  Since it is in such a great central part of Copenhagen, it would seem that it is easier to get to for many of the young adults who work and go to school here.  His vision is that it would be a place for them to drop in and relax or study or just get away from the world for awhile.

He is hoping to set up at least one or two classes on other nights, perhaps a "Preparation for Marriage," or "Missionary Prep" class.  The council listened, but no conclusion was met as yet.  If that is decided, it would be a good thing for the center, and certainly make more use of it.  It would mean that we would need to be there earlier in the day every day, but I don't think we will be expected to spend 12 hours a day 5 days a week there.

Whatever is decided will be great with us, and hopefully will give us stronger direction in what we do here.  We have spent many long afternoons at the center with no one there, but with a new push and more classes offered, perhaps we could draw more people to join us.

I went to Relief Society.  It was a card-making meeting where we made Christmas cards.  The lady who taught it is somewhere around 80 years old and an amazing woman who has raised an incredible family....two of her children live in the branch and 4 grandchildren.  She has done tremendous work in family history, and she is a historian (you can ask her anything about Copenhagen and she will give you the full story).  She is fluent in English and teaches Relief Society once or twice a month.

We had about 9 or 10 there and it was warm and inviting and enjoyable.  I love our branch.

On a completely separate note, 35 years ago just past midnight a little girl came into this world.  She was born on the day that we expected her, and she was born on the birthday of a sweet older friend of mine, who helped me in the early months of pregnancy when morning sickness sapped me of strength and motivation.  When my friend heard that I was expecting in early November, she said "Have that baby on my birthday!"  And we did.

After she was born, she was brought to me all bundled up with a little knit cap on.  It made her sweet face look all the rounder.  The nurse held her almost upright in her arms and cradled close, yet Melissa was straining to see everything.

She is still where she is supposed to be early (usually), or at the very least on time.  She is still taking great joy in discovering what the world has to offer.  She is still mindful of friends and their needs, and she serves....with joy and compassion.

She is well named.  Melissa means honeybee.  She is industrious.

Happy Birthday to our little honeybee.  We love you.

What a Headache!

I awakened before the sun came up (practically everyone does since the sun doesn't get up very early) with a migraine.  The ones that wake me are the most tenacious.  I took something and puttered around awhile until it started to work....then went back to bed!  It is never a good thing to start out the week by sleeping in.

But by the time I got up it was gone.  The blessings of living in today's world. Imitrex is right up there with deodorant....air conditioning....pest control....washing machines....you get the idea.

Other than squandering the first half of the day....it was a good one.  Our time at the center was spent with several good young people.  I am positively delighted by them.

Our Family Home Evening lesson was given by Robert, a young American here until the end of the  year studying and seeing the world.  He is nice-looking, intelligent, spiritual and so pleasant.  He has been coming consistently to the center for several months and fits into the group well.  They all seem to enjoy him....he has a wonderful sense of humor...a very quick wit.  He spoke about prayer and fasting and inspired me to want to do better at both.

Afterwards, tables were set up and games scattered around.  One young woman put out a 1000-piece puzzle.  I couldn't resist sitting down and working on it with her.....which coincidentally gave me a ring-side seat to see and hear several young people playing a loud game of something or other.  They were cracking jokes so fast I almost didn't get them.....and some (I must admit) I didn't get.  In case you are wondering, they were speaking English because Robert was there.

A few games of CRUD were in order, since the table will not be removed for a couple of weeks yet.

Their laughter is fun.  They were having a great time, they were entirely sober and it was all clean and good-natured fun.  Sometimes on the late-night walks home, I see people who have been out having "fun" and are drunkenly staggering home or somewhere, looking like they are having anything but fun.

Waking up with a headache is no fun.  Why would you drink knowing you will wake up with that kind of pain?

The Sabbath - A Day of Rest and Worship

Stake Conference today was beautiful.  We were in our seats in the auditorium of a large school at 10:15....so that we would be settled and ready to listen to the half hour prelude.  A combined stake choir sang several beautiful arrangements of hymns and childrens' hymns, and an outstanding pianist played arrangements of a couple of hymns.  By the time conference began, we were already spiritually fed.

Right after the preliminaries, Lea, our YSA co-chairman (who has received her mission call), and then Jonathan, who recently returned from France spoke.  Both are amazing...spiritually very mature and both articulate in expressing their faith and testimonies.

Another young wife of five years told about her courtship with her husband.  On the first date, he asked her how she felt about getting married, having a bunch of kids and staying home to raise them.  She responded that is exactly what she had in mind.  They have had to sacrifice much to have her stay home with their two little ones, but they count the sacrifice worth it.

Two of our outstanding young men have at various times mentioned that they were looking for a young woman who would be willing to stay at home and raise their kids.  As a rule, that just isn't done here in Denmark.  Women are on an equal par with men, and fill many key positions in society.  That is good.  But in the past generations, it has become necessary for women to return to the workplace.  Two wage-earners are needed to maintain the family.  So it is pretty normal to have young children in daycare.  I am certain they are excellent institutions, just like everything else is around here.

What our two young men have expressed is concern about what their children will learn and how well they will be cared for.  Both of them grew up in a home with a mother present throughout their childhood years, and both express great appreciation for fathers who were willing to work extra hard so that could happen, and for mothers who sacrificed their worldly careers to be able to guide and teach their children.  In this ever-changing world, with values that we hold dear spiraling downward, that may be our greatest hope....mothers who are willing to serve on the front lines of what seems like a thankless, glory-less battlefield.  But their impact is eternal.

After conference we came home and put our meal together for our friends.  We enjoyed a lovely candle-lit dinner with Elder and Sister Brookes, Sister Hamblin, and Lone.  We laughed a lot, talked about great missionary experiences and ate.

Lone told about an incident with a friend who was looking into the church.  Lone has been a member for about 20 years.  She told him about the very tender and strong feelings she has for the Book of Mormon and the Gospel.  He later got baptized.  Even the retelling of that experience left us knowing the power of her testimony.

I can't remember a time in my life when I have enjoyed the Sabbath more.  Everyone ought to be a missionary at least long enough to experience the Sabbath in that role.

Faithful Everyday Heroes

SK served in the temple this morning for a couple of hours....taking about 45 minutes to get there and 45 to get back on the bus route.  He came home both energized and weary.

Energized because of the many beautiful experiences he had there.  He served in the baptistry and it was unusually slow.  They generally stay open until noon for anyone and everyone who wants to go in and do a few baptisms.  Of the ones who were there, YSAs were the majority.  Finally at eleven a.m. the temple president announced that they might as well close down since it looked no one else was coming.  SK said, "I'll stay for awhile just to make sure."  A couple of others stayed too, and pretty soon Lea, the young woman who just got her mission call came in.

She did baptisms for 75 individuals.  She is such a faithful young woman and no doubt after the excitement of opening that mission call needed to seek the peace of service in the temple.  I was so glad that SK felt the need to stay just a little while longer.

I did some shopping for tomorrow (we are having the other senior missionaries over for dinner and a dear lady who is a member of the branch).  I went alone.  You have heard the saying, "His eyes were bigger than his stomach."  ...I have a new version of that:  "Her eyes were bigger than her arm muscles."

I went up and down the aisles picking up things I needed (and I few things I didn't....but the deals were too great to pass up on things we will be needing!).  I got to the checkout and paid, and bagged up all the loot.  It was then I realized without the great and wonderful cart or the great and wonderful SK, I had a pretty heavy load to carry.

I made it home, but it was heavy, and I did some serious repenting for not taking one of the two items mentioned above with me.

At three we left for the leadership meeting in Roskilde.  It started at 4.  I was not supposed to be there, but it was either go with SK or take a bus, a train, 2 more buses and walk to get there later.  Our Saturday night 7 p.m. meeting was also there.  So I took something to read, and sequestered myself away in a little classroom.  Fortunately, it went by faster than I thought it would.

Among other speakers, the stake president called up Brother Andersen, our Institute Director to bear his testimony.  He is a magnificent speaker....he probably took up about 5 or 6 minutes speaking about Jesus Christ and what he has done for us and why it is important to know.  He referred to the very difficult time they are experiencing with the death of their daughter....he said they are in a state of mourning.  He was simply eloquent......and eloquently simple.  It was a beautiful meeting....the church was packed and the spirit was strong.  All the young missionaries stood and sang "Called to Serve" in Danish....they boomed it out, and they all looked so happy....how can you not be moved by something that wonderful?

Our fairy tale prince offered to give us a ride home, for which we were very grateful.....what would have been an hour and 45 minute commute on the bus/train/buses was a 40 minute very comfortable ride with him.  Isn't that, after all, what fairy tale princes do....go around rescuing people?

Mission Calls and Memories

First, good news/bad news:  Lea, our wonderful energetic sweet beautiful young co-chairman of the YSAs, has received her mission call....to Scotland/Ireland!  The only place better than that is Denmark!  We are excited for her....she is leaving on our Lia's birthday, January 15.

We have several others who will be leaving within the next couple of months, and a few who have submitted papers and are waiting for their calls.  It is exciting just to watch as they begin the process and then wait expectantly for their very important day to arrive....the day they open that call.

It has now been around 2 years since we began that process ourselves.  We were surprised that it took so long to fill everything out and have all the necessary exams and appointments.  After the stake president pushed the button it was another 3 or 4 weeks before the call came in the mail, then it was another few weeks before we were scheduled to go to Sacramento to apply for visas.  After that little trip, it was nearly 5 months before we entered the MTC.  In some ways, it seems like we have already been on this mission 2 years!

I enjoyed the day yesterday, and I enjoy fixing the meals, and I enjoy being with the YSAs, but Fridays are always hard for me.  I feel like I am moving around in quicksand.  I am tired!  So that always makes serving in the temple a little more difficult than it would be normally.

After getting up this morning, I worked on things that required the least amount of energy.  We took the bus to the temple at 1, stayed until nearly 9 and then took the bus home.  It is getting a little more chilly each day it seems.  It may be nearly time to break out the winter coats, but since I almost always have a sweater and scarf on, the layering has been working out great.

Our time in the temple was beautiful.  There is one stake on Zealand or Sjaelland - as the Danes say...the island upon which we live.  The wards/branches are spread all over the island, yet everyone seems to know everyone.  We are beginning to know more and more people from other wards and branches, and as a result, when we serve in the temple, we see a LOT of people we know.  It is a sweet experience to greet so many friends.

I did the work for a woman named Gertrude Caroline Van Drimmelen, born in 1900 in Dallas, Iowa.  I came home and looked on Family Search to see if she was related to my dear Aunt Adell Van Drimmelen's husband, but could find no immediate connection.  It is a rare name, especially in the States, and filled my heart with sweet memories of my aunt.  I guess there is no better place to remember someone you are close to.....since so much of the work that goes on there is for those who have moved beyond our mortal lives here.

Thornton Wilder said something about "The highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude."  The older I get the more gratitude I feel for those dear people who have meant so much to me and who are gone from this life.

Yes...the temple was a good place to be today.

Help on the Horizon

As far as Thursdays go, this was a typical one.  I was mostly on my feet from 8 a.m. until 11 p.m. this evening.  I need to plan better.  I spent a lot of time at the stove.  It was a comparatively easy menu, but time-consuming.

We had chicken pot pie, bread, sliced apples and cinnamon rolls.  My own cream of chicken soup (for the pot pie) takes an enormous amount of time since it has to be baby-sat.  It needs stirring....and I can't get too far away from it lest it burn.

I had a long conversation with a young man who loves to cook....and it sounds like he knows a fair amount about it.  He is busy with work, and he just moved into new apartment which needs a considerable amount of repair/remodeling, which he will do.  He sounds like a hard worker and an ambitious one at that.  I thoroughly enjoyed talking with him.

He said he would love to come in on a Thursday sometime and help me.  I jumped at that!...and invited him to come two weeks from today.  I talked to him about what kinds of things he likes to cook so that we can make a meal he enjoys.

From that point on, I hope to get a guest chef on a regular basis.  I will shop and assist, or the other person could assist...whichever works out best.  Melissa is down for May.

I think this could be the beginning of some very good friendships!

A Blustery Day

I believe the sun came up at some point today but we never saw it.  The interior of the apartment looked like it does at sundown - all day.  It was raining, windy and cold.  It was stunningly beautiful!

I walked to my appointment with Lone (pronounced Loan-uh) to get my hair cut.  I had her chop it short.  I have been heartily sick of it.  And it is short.  Oh well, I will wear a pretty scarf everyday and no one will notice.  It looked terrific when she finished, but by the time I got home (even with the Mary Poppins) I looked like someone had sprayed it with wax and then stirred it up.  I just look like I am trying to be stylish!

SK and I shopped for tomorrow.  It is getting more fun by the day....all the Christmas stff is coming out, and there is merchandise that must be looked at....even as SK is pulling me by the sleeve of my coat.  We got everything done without ever even entering Metro (number 1 Costco Wannabe - which is going out of business in December).  I am trying to figure out how to get him to settle down and actually shop for some Christmas stuff.  If he thinks it is for one of our daughters, he may do it.

I cooked the turkey carcass through the night, strained the broth this morning and added vegetables and got a lovely soup for dinner.  I took some to Elder and Sister Thorne and Sister Hamblin and attempted to get some to another senior couple who have been ill (but they didn't answer)....we'll try again tomorrow.  SK and I gulped some down before beginning to do some preliminary cooking for dinner at the center.

With the kitchen time, I listened to some wonderful CES talks....one that was especially nice (they are all especially nice, but the one that was especially especially nice was the recent one by Elder Christofferson.

Well....can you even think of a nicer way to spend the day?  Good things coming out of the kitchen, wonderful scents wafting through the air, wind/rain/cold outside, listening to inspiring talks from our leaders, hot chocolate.

Hot chocolate?  I'll go take care of that right now.