Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Three Strikes and You're Out - Not Really

In the dim light of the morning and through the rain we traveled up to a small town about 45 minutes from here to see one of our YSAs at the place where she works.  She is a sweet young woman and has been very busy as of late so we haven't seen her much.  She is a cake baker and so at this time of year her bakery goes nuts.

We went in and stood in a long line of people waiting for fresh bread and cakes.  As we waited, we chose a few bakery goodies to take home.  When we got to the front of the queue, we asked for her. She was off today!!!!  Strike One.

So we came straight back to the apartment and missed a package delivery....argh.....and we can't pick it up til tomorrow afternoon!  And I think we will have to leave earlier than the time to pick it up. Strike Two.

Not to have a total loss for the day, we headed out to the Costco Wannabe, which is going out of business.  December 31 has been advertised as the last day it would be open.  We thought perhaps we could find a few items at drastically reduced prices for the center.  It has sold everything and closed its doors forever.  Strike three.

The day was only half over.  But we didn't give up on it.  We shopped for 5 white elephant gifts, two gifts to exchange with another two people, and a hostess gift for the Christmas Eve dinner tomorrow night.  That was enjoyable, and we found a few funny things.  You won't be surprised when I tell you that somehow SK managed to find a plastic-encased scorpion for one of the white elephant gifts.

We talked to one lady in a little shop about why we are in Denmark....but I didn't have my purse with me, so I didn't have my "He is the Gift" pass along cards....that could be strike four, and there were several times I could have given them away.

SK's oldest living sister passed away last week, and her funeral was yesterday just outside of Salt Lake City.  She was in poor health and was more than ready to leave, but it is still difficult to say good-bye.  Lia was good enough to pack up her two little girls and go to the funeral.  She managed to record the talks and take a few pictures.  We have been listening to them.  We feel so blessed to be able to do that.  If we had been in Arizona, we would have gone up to the funeral.

We have been doing laundry, cleaning, ironing and wrapping ever since.  Even with all of our strike-outs, we feel that it was a sweet day.






Monday, December 22, 2014

Inching closer to the Big Day - And We still Have Shopping to Do!

Rain and wind made for an exciting trip to a town about 2 hours from here this morning.  We traveled there to inspect another missionary apartment.  Elder Peterson and Elder Zeweiki live on the third floor of an apartment building.  The first floor houses a small "church" for the branch there.  It is a lovely little place, and serves the branch of about 15 members who attend weekly.  In the summer, since it is closer to the German border, it can swell by as many as 50 members who have come to Denmark on vacation.

The only other tenant in the building is the landlord who lives one story up from the missionaries.  This was the third time we have inspected this apartment, and each time it has looked very different...reflecting the young men who live there.  I am always always always struck by how very young they are to be so far from home, living on their own and learning so much as they serve the Lord.  They express great faith in the Savior and a willingness to work.

Both young men were in their white shirts and ties with name badges.  They had plugged their Christmas lights in which were strung around the window and all around a small pile of wrapped Christmas gifts.  They were a little apprehensive ... as usual about if the apartment would pass muster.  It mostly did.  Their beds were neatly made, their closets pretty much tidy, the kitchen...well, the kitchen needed some surface cleaning, but not much.  I looked in their little food closet and was amused to see candy and a few other items.  They had more real food in the refrigerator.

We talked a little while and after going through the apartment, we took them to a kebab place for lunch.  That was fun.  They seemed genuinely excited about it.  I don't think it happens often here, as opposed to Arizona, where missionaries have dinner appointments every night of the week.

Another drive through the rain home and then we went to the center.  SK commented about how fun it is at home in Arizona to drive in the rain (not to mention so rare!), but it made him just a little nervous today with the semis on the freeway and the amount of rain that was pelting down on us.

At the center, I visited for nearly two hours with a sweet young woman about life, etc before anyone else came.  She is 19 and really very wise, with amazing insights into the gospel and the application of the gospel.  I know I was nowhere near that insightful when I was that age.

We had a great message from our young president Morten, and then played a game that had everyone laughing.  We ended up with hot chocolate - again - left over from Saturday, but it was an almost entirely different group from Saturday.

They each had a sign of an animal to make which they had to be ready to make on cue and then make someone else's sign.  It was pretty funny....elephant nosies, moose, cows, kittens....and they were going the rounds fast.  People were being eliminated pretty quickly.




After everyone left another young woman sat in the kitchen with me for an hour and we talked about - boys!  Well, young men to be precise.  She has a crush on one guy who comes to the center....and she is dying to make her feelings known, but she is so unsure about his reaction.

Spiritually, she is amazing and so mature, but when we talk about boys, I am reminded about how young she is.  I have nearly forgotten that nervous feeling of being around someone you really like, and how frightening it is to hope he pays attention to you at the same time you hope he doesn't.  I am sworn to secrecy, so I can't intervene, but she is so cute, I hope she is able to figure out a way to spend a little time with him to see if there is anything there.

Just between you and me, I am glad that I don't have that to worry about!

Sunday, December 21, 2014

8:37 - 3:38

This was the day....or should I say "night."  The shortest day of the year, clocking in at 8:34 a.m. and checking out at 3:37 with the official length of 7 hours, 1 minute and 15 seconds.  Of course it begins to get dark earlier than 3:37, especially on a rainy day like today.

In our special Christmas sacrament meeting one of the members with a marvelous bass voice sang "In the Bleak Midwinter" (in Danish of course)....and it is in the hymnbook!  It is such a lovely song, one which I came to love after hearing Sissel, a singer from Norway sing it with the Tabernacle Choir.  If you would like to hear it, go to this site:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6yevmluq2M

It seems particularly meaningful here where it is dark and cold.  But I would never use the word "bleak."  I think I would say it is cozy.  It will be more than a few days before the days actually get longer by any recognizable difference.

The music in our little branch sacrament meeting was exceptional and the testimonies and talks were so beautiful.  There was a beautiful spirit there and I felt a wave of emotion sweep over me.  I love this little branch and I love the members, their enthusiasm and joy at being together to worship, and the way they welcome everyone into their fold.  In a little branch, you have more opportunities to get to know the few others there, and it has been choice to be one who feels their acceptance and love.

After our meetings everyone in the branch (about 40) were invited to Sebastian and Christine's home for an afternoon meal.  It was potluck and it was a marvelous marvelous meal.  Sebiastian and Christine have been entertaining all week...we were there Wednesday evening with other missionaries, and they had their extended family there last night (about 50 people), and oh by the way, did I mention that Christine is expecting their second child in early Febraury?

See all those little signs?  Everything was homemade....and exceptional!  Do you see the salad in the 9  13 pan in front....with tomatoes all over it?  That is my salad....which for a salad was pretty good....see the recipe below.
 
You can't even see the homemade frikadeller and sausage.


Christine's mother said that Sebastian and Christine are two peas in a pod....they both love to fix food and serve it with flair....it is their hobby.  Well, I am only too happy to aid and abet that hobby.  They are really such good people who love our little branch with all their hearts.

We spent a quiet evening at home....going up to visit with the Thornes for a little while and then returning to our cozy apartment.  I have been playing quiet Christmas music and have had some candles burning.

I love this season!


Seven Layer Green Salad

In 9 X 13 pan, layer:

2 heads iceberg lettuce, chopped
1 pound frozen peas
1 large thinly sliced red onion
1 can sliced water chestnuts
1 cup thinly sliced celery
Salad Dressing
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
4 hard boiled eggs,sliced

Cover and refrigerate at least 4 to 5 hours, then top with:

8 slices of cooked and chopped bacon
4 tomatoes, chopped and seeded

(all of these items and amounts are negotiable depending on what you like)

Dressing:
1 1/2 Cups Mayonnaise
1/2 Cup sour cream
2 tsp. sugar
3 to 4 Tablespoons Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix

Saturday, December 20, 2014

I Do Believe it is Winter

I got up this morning and immediately went to work on the cinnamon rolls.  I am sure that when Melissa makes them, she does 3 loads of laundry, vacuums the house, cans five tons of peaches and takes a meal to a neighbor.  When I make cinnamon rolls, I am pretty much stuck close to the kitchen for over 3 hours.  But it is worth it.  I made a double batch for tonight's Christmas activity at the center.

We scheduled two apartment inspections in Slagelse, a community about an hour's drive west of here. It was a pleasant drive.  At one point the sky darkened dramatically and suddenly we found ourselves in a real downpour of rain....which then turned to icy slush!  The car's thermometer said 2 degrees C, but it must have been a little cooler above us.

We arrived at the sisters' apartment in good time and sat and visited with them for awhile and then inspected their apartment.  They are cute young women who live on the second floor of an old quaint building...I should have taken a picture, but I just wasn't thinking!  We delivered a lot of packages to them that had been mailed to the mission office.  They excitedly put them under their tiny little Christmas tree.  We did the inspection, and gave them a few suggestions, then wished them Merry Christmas and left.  They are delightful young women, so cheerful and excited about Christmas.

Next, we visited Elder Ogden and Elder Madsen, the district leaders.  They got to their apartment as we arrived.  They were in jeans, t-shirts and muddy shoes. They had spent the morning digging up sidewalk tiles and repositioning them for a member of the ward.  They didn't look any worse for the wear...in fact they both were so cheerful, you would have thought they had just been to Disneyland!

Their apartment was clean and well-organized.  It had a nice feeling about it.  Their food was stacked neatly on the shelf, their freezer and refrigerator looked spotless, and their oven even looked clean.  I am not sure if one of them is very neat or if the combination makes it easy to keep their place clean.  But they were a lot of fun to visit.  They both went to the same high school in Utah but didn't know each other! 


Are they cute or what?  Ogden on the left, Madsen on the right....and no he is not related to us!


We got back just in time to frost the cinnamon rolls and get over to the center to set up for tonight.I fixed hot chocolate, and put out tangerines and simple gingerbread Christmas cookies that are so pervasive you even see small bowls of them in the banks.

At the center, we had a Christmas program....several YSAs read the Christmas story from Luke, we sang Christmas carols, a young woman and I shared a favorite Christmas memory, our high councilor shared a very nice Christmas message, and then we watched "Home Alone."  I can see how a young adult would think it is very funny.  For a parent or a grandparent, (even though a comedy), it is sad to think of a little boy being left all alone, and scary to think of him trying to defend the family home from invaders.  Oh well....I guess the best comedies are based on bad dreams!

As I write, I hear the fireworks going off at Tivoli.  We will hear more and more fireworks as the week progresses, culminating in an absolute over-the-top night of continuous fireworks on New Year's Eve.  

I want to enjoy every moment of the coming two weeks....I will probably never experience Copenhagen like this again.

Friday, December 19, 2014

No Better Place to Be

In preparation meeting today at the temple, our cute temple matron shared with us the thought that celebrating birthdays is something we all love to do.  We love to go to our friends' homes and wish them "Happy Birthday."  She continued on by saying what better place to go to think about and commemorate the Savior's birth than His house...the temple.

Friday night of the week before Christmas is possibly not the best night to go to the temple, but there were a few intrepid souls....Kasper among them.  The spirit inside that peaceful place is well worth the effort when almost everywhere else, there is much bustle and hustle.  We spent the better part of our day there, since we have to allow an hour -one way - to get there on the bus system.  It is always such a lovely contrast to step through the doors into that haven.

At one point during the evening, SK and I served as proxies for sealing families together.  The gentlemen who performed them is Swedish, a former stake president and patriarch.  He has snow white hair and a rugged face....kind of like Burt Lancaster.  He spoke in Swedish, and I understood next to nothing of the words he said, but my heart understood everything he said.  He spoke with feeling as he read the names from years past and repeated the ordinance that unites families.  He got a little teary-eyed a couple of times.  It was a sweet experience.

That experience always makes me think of our family so far away....I see individual faces and hear in my mind their voices.  Images of them at various activities flicker through my thoughts.  I think of one here or there who may need a little help and send up prayers on their behalf.

Except for a few conversations, I listened to most everything in Danish, and was shocked to realize that I am getting more and more of what is said.  I have a long way to go before I will ever be carrying on conversations with ease, but it is exciting to comprehend more.

Well....I'm off to bed.  Got to get up early to make cinnamon rolls for tomorrow evening's Christmas get-together at the center before we take off for points west to inspect young missionary apartments.  I love doing that because it gives us a chance to visit with those kids and see how they are doing just before Christmas.

Good Night!


Thursday, December 18, 2014

A Hero in an Apron and a Red Baseball Cap


The big news of the day was dinner....once again Kasper came through as the hero.  He said once that food is his passion.  He is right.  He did everything tonight with relish.  He seems to enjoy it - and he is very good at it.  

While SK went to get snow tires put on the car (just in case we ever have snow - it actually got up to a balmy 45 degrees today!), I was at the center getting things ready for this evening.  Kasper showed up at 4 with large bags full of supplies.  He set about like a team of 5 men.  

I sat at the table peeling 30 pounds of potatoes.  Meanwhile he made frikadeller.  He used the largest mixing bowl we have and filled it up.  And it is BIG.  He put about 8 pounds of veal and pork in, added eggs, grated onion (he stood grating onion for about 10 minutes, while we both sniffled), flour, milk, a ton of salt and pepper, and then let it rest in the refrigerator while he worked on other things.  We had Rødkål  which is a very danish Christmas dish...red cabbage....I can't even begin to describe it but it is waaaay good. 

I must tell you here that the frikadeller were out of this world delicious.  He fried them in butter....very Danish and wickedly good.

He fixed what they call brown sauce (we call it gravy) and it was fun just to stand back and watch.  Once you have had tasted that gravy, you'll never be happy again with American gravy.  This has rich thick cream in it, among other things.  Towards the time the meal was to be served, he was rushing around the kitchen like a mad man....and his brother Joakim had come in to get a firewall up on the internet...so he was helping too.





At one point, the gravy boiled over and then burned!!!! It was five minutes from time to serve, and Kasper said it was ruined and threw it down the drain.  He started on a second batch....and had it ready in 10 minutes and it was outstanding.  How does he do that?  

It was a magnificent meal.  We fed over 30 people....probably about 35.






After everything was cleared up, three final games of CRUD were played.....the very last in the center.  Yes, tomorrow the CRUD table (by popular vote) will be taken apart and disposed of.  It was too big and too noisy.

The kitchen was somewhat of a disaster, but several YSAs pitched in to help clean it.

After fixing a meal on Thursdays I go home completely worn out. 

For several hours, he worked hard, but after it was all over, Kasper put on his coat and laughingly went out the door with a few other young men to chill out and have a soft drink.

Wow...watching him make everything tonight was fun.  Our son-in-law cooks like that.  It takes someone special to be able to do that, and I have always been so happy that he is willing to share that gift with us. 

And I am so happy that Kasper is too!!!


Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Celebrating Christmas for the Rest of the Week

The Turpins had a lovely day to travel....38 degrees to 40 day and night today with an almost heat wave coming tomorrow of 44 degrees.  They got away late in the morning and traveled approximately 2 hours to arrive in Odense, where they will serve.  If you are familiar with Denmark, you may remember that Odense is the childhood home of Hans Christian Andersen, who by the way, was born in the same year as Joseph Smith.


I went to my Danish class today.  She is barreling ahead and I feel like I am learning so much better with the way she teaches and the materials she is using.  We began a classic Christmas children's book today which is in rhyming verse.  I know few of the words but we are going through it a little at a time. It was first published in 1866 and the newest edition has the original illustrations which are charming.

I enjoy the other 4 ladies immensely.  We have lunch first and try to speak only Danish as we eat.  Mette, our teacher patiently listens as we struggle to communicate and corrects and assists when necessary.  She took us through a list of verb conjugations and assigned homework.  We finished our last children's book, and began "Peters Jul"  - I think Danes don't have an apostrophe to show ownership.

In the evening, Elder and Sister Thorne and Sister Hamblin, SK and I went to Christine and Sebastian's home for a Swedish Christmas dinner.  It was delicious with Swedish meatballs, a wonderful Swedish potato dish, pickled cucumbers, lindonberry sauce and the best gravy I have ever had.  Sebastian said that in each bite you had to have a bite of everything, which I did.  It was incredible.  Ahhhh.  For dessert we had wonderful rich hot chocolate and Christmas cookies (they are available in stores everywhere this time of the year and are generally variations on gingerbread cookies).

At one point, we were gathered close around the family room talking in the lowered light with candles glowing all around us.  We talked of many things but turned to our branch.  Sebastian and Christine both declared how very much they love our little branch.  They do so much for everyone in the branch and they seem untiring in they way they serve.  Christine is about 6 weeks away from delivering her second child and it hasn't seemed to slow her down.  I have long called them our fairy tale couple, and it seems more like that than ever....they are wonderful.

The young elders serving in our branch were there also.  After the meal they gave us a beautiful message about the birth of Christ and what happened then with the believers on the American continent.  Those guys are so cute.  Eighteen and Nineteen year olds who enjoy every bite of the meal and then ask if they can share a message.  Then they hurry out, according to mission rules to another appointment or to knock doors etc.

I enjoy the young missionaries every bit as much as the YSAs....even though technically that is what they are.

Great week.....tomorrow night, Institute and dinner, Friday...temple day all day....Saturday Christmas party at the center.....Sunday....Church and the ward Christmas party at Sebastian's and Christine's home, and back to Family Home Evening at the center.