Thanksgiving Week - I'm stuffed!

Three Thanksgiving dinners in one week, plus the Friday before we had a lasagna dinner with some very special Nauvoo visitors.  So here's the story:

The Friday before Thanksgiving Ethan, Itashka, and her mom visited Carthage and had dinner with us.  It was so fun to have friends from home.  We've made so many new friends here, but there is something about old friends that is so deeply satisfying.  We share so many experiences, and friends,  and know each other so well. The groundwork of our relationship was laid long ago.  We know exactly what we can say - anything with these particularly friends - and what subjects to avoid - none, in this case.  Make new friends, but keep the old ... so the Girl Scout song goes.

On Monday we had our mission Thanksgiving dinner in the Pageant Hall.  Each zone was given food assignments. We brought green bean casserole, one of our favorites.  Then we were assigned to get our food from the table without green bean casserole.  But everything was delicious, and we knew it wasn't really Thanksgiving yet.

Carol singing

Piano concert

 Afterwards Sister Mensel, our newest FM missionary, led us in Christmas carols.  She was accompanied by an FM employee, Marcus, who is a very gifted pianist.  After the singing, Marcus performed for us, on a piano he'd assembled. Here's the story. 
Nauvoo somehow acquired a baby grand cabinet, sans piano. The cabinet was so beautiful that Marcus couldn't allow it to be trashed, so he installed an electronic keyboard.  Now this isn't any old electronic keyboard.  This one plays beautiful orchestral accompaniment to Marcus' playing. Normally this piano sits in the FM break room where we have our morning announcements and prayer meeting.  I have to separate those two things because the announcements are a raucous affair with lots of teasing and one liners.  Then follows a hymn, usually played by Marcus  on his special piano, a spiritual thought and prayer.  But recently the piano has been missing, replaced by a standard church upright.  Where's the piano?  It's been moved to the Visitor's Center for our Christmas walk on Saturday.  But for the mission dinner Marcus had to bring his own piano.  Since it's really a key board all of this moving around didn't disturb the piano at all. After Marcus pulled a large pickle jar partially filled with dollar bills out of the piano cabinet, and then pulled another one out, we enjoyed a wonderful concert.  When President Lusvardi came up to thank him for the concert, he helped himself to one of the dollars in the jar.  That's how it is here.  There is much joking and teasing. 

Mary Lee enjoying the concert.

 Our next dinner was immediately after work Wednesday, also in the Pageant hall, so Tuesday afternoon I made a what could have been a delicious green salad, with lettuce, spinach, craisins, and red and yellow peppers. I planned to add the pears just before we went to the dinner on Wednesday.  Less than an hour after I'd prepared this beautiful, and not inexpensive salad it was announced that all Romain lettuce was to be thrown out! What!  And anything that it had been in contact with.  :-( .  We live 30 minutes from the grocery, so there was nothing to do but check our pantry for a suitable substitute.  I had the ingredients for three bean salad, so I brought that instead to the FM dinner.  They served ham because we'd already had turkey.  There was no entertainment at this dinner, except for the many children the employees brought.  It sounded like a good old Ward dinner. 

Finally it really was Thanksgiving.
We had been invited to one of the grounds crew for dinner.  Late Wednesday night we got a phone call asking if we could have the dinner at our house because they'd found bed bugs on their bedspread.   We have a nice dining room and we were glad to have it in our home.  Because the site missionaries had to work, we also had to work, even though the employees were off.  Dee and I worked together, changing out filters in the historic sites.  I loved going into the sites before anyone else was there.  I could really look around and imagine the families who lived there doing their daily tasks. After we got home, we had a grandchildren's hangout.  Each grandchild had been given two or three letters of the alphabet. They were to tell something they were thankful for that started with that letter.  It was so fun, even the babies participated - through their moms.  We do miss them so much, but thankful for technology that allows us to talk and see each other.
After our gathering,  Dee got called in to repair some heaters.  I got ready for our company. After lunch we went for a quick bike ride.  Dee hasn't been able to ride because of the carpal tunnel syndrome, but this week he started riding again.  It was a fairly warm day, nice for a ride.

Dinner was wonderful - three grandmas know how to cook a Thanksgiving dinner.  And there was plenty of green bean casserole. Both couples work with us on grounds and FM, so we are well acquainted and a good time was had by all.

The big white triangle behind Elder Christensen is my shawl weaving loom. 

Friday I worked with Dee again.  Friday night after the grandchildren were in bed, we had a group visit with all of our children.  We used to do this more frequently.  Now that it's dark early we will try to do it more often.  Young missionaries aren't allowed to contact parents so often except through a weekly letter or email.  But Senior missionaries are parents and grandparents first, full time missionaries second.  So we are encouraged to keep in touch with our families.

Now you can see why I didn't do a mid-week post, as I usually do.  I've been too busy eating.  I barely had time to be thankful, so I'll save that for another post.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

With the holidays approaching, things are getting busier and busier around here.  Today Dee and I taught Elder's Quorum and RS respectfully - so we won't have to do that again.  Everyone gets one time.
 We have our mission dinner Monday night, our FM Thanksgiving lunch on Wednesday, and then it's Thanksgiving for real!   Plus the mission is making quilts to give in December to various people in Nauvoo.  I'm head of one of the quilt committees.  So we have to get going on that.
  I may not get another post in before Thanksgiving, so I will say Happy Thanksgiving now.
This past week the grounds crew was asked to help the conservation department decorate the homes in Nauvoo.  What fun.  The church history department approved all of the decorations for authenticity, then photos were taken to show us where to put each decoration.  Sometimes it was a scavenger hunt to find the artifacts we were to decorate, but it was fun just poking around these homes, going behind the ropes.  We weren't allowed to touch any artifacts; only the site managers can do that and the conservation people.  So here are some of my favorite decorations.

This is some of the grounds crew.  Sister Grigsby, me, Emma, Sister Archibald, and Sister Christensen.  Emma is an employee.  Sister Nelson works at Lands and Records sometimes, and Sister Dare had family in town.  It was really cold this week, so we were glad to help the Conservation Department decorate. 

Surprise! Early Winter

Friday, November 9  High 32 SNOW

It was too cold to work outdoors.  Richard brought in boxes of long pine cones.  Not North Carolina little pine cones, but Northwest big pine cones.  Earlier in the month we made ribbons.  Now we tied the pine cones to the ribbons.

Bows filled these shelves. 

Sister Dare attaching a cone to a bow. 

We also dumped coleus that Sister Archibald and Sister Christensen had nurtured all last year.  We had a funeral for them. It was so sad.

Sister Christensen saying good-bye.

Coleus dumped

Saturday, November 10 High 31  windy
Saturday the snow was beautiful, but it was too cold and windy to be outside. We could hear the wind blowing around the house.  I took a short walk to the library to get some Thanksgiving books to read to my 3 year old grandson, Gideon.  He calls while his mom is making dinner and we read stories.  Then I baked chocolate chip cookies and Dee made his first from scratch hushpuppies.  I told him I'd bake cookies whenever it snowed. As you will see, I may not follow that plan.

Sunday, November 11  High 31 sunny
Sunday was cold and sunny.  Where did Fall go?  What has Mother Nature done with it?  But for the first time we could see the temple and the river from our house.

From our front porch

Our front yard.  

From the FM compound

Fall and Winter collide

Last week we had regional conference, so this was our first Sunday without the young sister missionaries  (YSM).  Church seemed so empty.  Since we came in September many senior missionaries have gone home and now the YSM are out serving in proselyting missions.  I wondered what Sunday School and Relief Society would be like with the YSM making comments.  The meetings were slower paced, but the discussions were still good.  I think we'll be OK until they are welcomed back in the Spring.  We also became better acquainted with a new missionary couple.  As we talked Dee and Sister Mensel discovered they grew up in the same ward!

The Flanders, from Farmington UT,  invited us to a delicious roast beef dinner Sunday evening.  They are living in one of the original Nauvoo houses.  On the outside is German writing.  I'll get a photo of it  soon.

Monday, November 12.  TODAY - still very cold, high 32.  AND MORE SNOW
But this time no chocolate chip cookies. I'm counting this as the same snow.

Notice how bundled up we are. 

Ice from wheel barrows left outside.

Grass in the snow

The forecast says it will start to get back to normal fall temperatures by the end of the week.  I love winter, but I wasn't quite ready for it.  Come back, Winter, in about 6 weeks please.

First full week of November

 On Sunday Elder Barrow and I served in one of the funnest sites in Nauvoo - The Family Living Center.  We only had two families come by, but they stayed a long time exploring the 7 centers.  One family came from Colorado and the other was a local family, whom we met during Bootiful Nauvoo.  We had regional conference that morning, and their kids didn't want to go home yet, so they came to the Family Living Center. The mom is French and it was fun to hear her talking to her girls in her native language.  I explained the spinning and weaving centers, and the candles.  Sister Cornwell explained the bread baking and part of the weaving.  I had a lot of fun. Elder Barrow did some rope work. He's getting quite expert at rope making.  On Sundays we don't produce anything in Nauvoo, but we can demonstrate how to make things.  And we don't dress in costume, but just in our Sunday clothes. 

As winter approaches there is a lot happening behind the scenes in Nauvoo this week, but not much to photograph.  For instance, we planted the last of the 30,000 bulbs! Richard requested that we remind him next September to not order so many.  When I first heard we were going to plant that many bulbs, my muscles quaked.  After the first day of planting they went into total fright. The first day we planted in a very rooty garden and it was difficult to get a hole dug the required 6" deep.  But that was the worse day.  After that we planted in well-tilled beds and I learned to slip those bulbs into the ground without much pain and suffering. And now that is done for another year. And Spring promises to be splendid here in Nauvoo.  Come and see.

We also put a few more gardens to bed for the winter.  We aren't done with that project yet, but taking the gourd arbor down was sort of fun, even though I ended up with lots of itchy things in my hair and down my shirt.

We start undoing the gourd archway.

Sister Grigsby and Sister Archibald inside the arch.

The grounds crew - all done. 

The harvest.  There were three large buckets of gourds.

Just like the bulbs, no one sees the holiday preparations going on.  December 1st is the Christmas Walk. The whole mission is preparing to sing "Light Up the Tree", which requires lots of practice to get our flashlights to light up at the right time.  A live nativity and stories about the Christmas carols in several sites will round out the night.  Dee and I are singing in the angel choir for the live nativity. Practice is every Friday morning at 7:15.   That is great for the FM missionaries, but hats off to the few site missionaries who show up, because they don't have to report to their site until 9:45.

We are also making bows for the garlands on the fences.  Currently we are out of ribbon, but by next week we will be back in full bow production.  Sister Dare grew up on a flower farm and florist shop. She is teaching us the art of bow making.  I've been a slow student, but I think I have the mechanics now. The artistry still eludes me.

And today I received a golden ticket.  It didn't come with a Wonka Bar, but rather a package of M&Ms.  Our assignments to speak in church, or teach a lesson, come on gold paper, delivered by always good-natured President Williams. These little notes are called Golden Tickets.  He delivered mine while I was raking leaves on Main Street. Dee and I are to teach Elder's Quorum and RS, respectively, in two Sundays.  Teaching this group of well seasoned members of the church is a little intimidating, but I just have to come up with the right questions to ask that will stimulate thoughtful discussion, and they will take care of things from there. I hope.  One thing I'm interested in - the Young Sister Missionaries are now gone, and they made most of the comments.  Sunday will be our first Relief Society without them. Will the Senior sisters step up?  Stay tuned.

Elder Barrow's post

           Thoughts about Nauvoo by Elder Barrow

As I serve in Nauvoo as a facilities management missionary, I find that I am gaining an appreciation for more than buildings, HVAC systems, and their general welfare.  Nauvoo is a special place because of the people who created it and lived here.  A lot of these people came as refugees from a hostile Missouri environment.  They had to leave practically all their earthly possessions behind and were for the most part destitute.  Kindly Iowans andIllinoisians took them in and sustained them until they could get back on their feet and support themselves.  By following their prophet leader, Joseph Smith, they once again established the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by making covenants with the Lord and keeping them.  They created a beautiful city out of a waste land and members of the church from all over the word, began to gather there.  They were a different people and as their numbers grew outsiders with selfish worldly concerns became concerned that they would lose power over life style and these strangers would begin to dictate how they should live.  This was never in the hearts of the saints because they knew what it was like to live under the rule authoritarians who used the threat of physical harm to force their will upon others.  They also learned that it was better to follow the dictates of Christ and love their neighbor and enemies rather than fight them.  As pressures were put upon them to leave they resisted and stayed because they had promised the Lord that they would build a Temple to His name.  In turn the Lord promised that he would give unto them sustaining eternal blessings in the temple.  They stayed and constructed a grand and fitting house of the Lord that was worthy to have His name upon it, knowing that they ultimately would have to leave it.  They did it to fulfill their word to the Lord and to receive His blessings.  Ultimately they received those blessings and they abandoned the temple they loved so much because their sweat, fortune of both money and time, went into its’ construction but the blessings they received from the Lord were grand and eternal and they sustained them through the next period of hardship they would have to endure to follow the Lord and His prophet.

            There is a special spirit here that endures and is part of the heritage of every member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  As you walk the streets of this place you can feel the love those people had for the Lord.  Gratitude overcomes you as you look at their example on how to follow the Lord. A feeling of inadequacy is also present when you realize that you need to do better to live up to the standard they set.  At the same time there is a loving feeling here that says you can do it, because they did it.  Trying harder is the way of the Lord.  Nauvoo is a great place, you should come and feel it.  You might want to look at the buildings also since I’m spending so much of my time taking care of them, so you can.

A little history

Today is our two month mark.  16 to go. We have a lot more to experience and service to perform.

This week in 7:00 prayer meeting we all did "relative finder" on our Family Search app.  Dee has several cousins descended through the Cluff line serving in FM with us.  David had 12 children, only one girl.  So that's why there are so many Cluff descendants. David Cluff owned a nice piece of land in the northeast part of Nauvoo. On one of our runs Cousin Sister Christensen showed me the marker. She and Dee are third cousins.  They come through David's son Benjamin. . It is Benjamin's son, Benjamin Jr., who was the first president of BYU.  Dee descends from a sister who married Alma Hobson.

Marker for gggg Grandpa Cluff

The Cluff land

  I have one through the Crowell line.  Several go through the Griffith line, but too far back to be sure.  George has been connected to several mothers and I don't see documentation for any of them. So I dismiss these 11th and 12th cousins for now.  Dee is one of them.

After work on Friday, before we went grocery shopping, Dee indulged my curiosity by driving us up the Mississippi road to Montrose. The Hobsons and the Barrows settled here across from Nauvoo. Before the dams the river was much narrower, so we suppose their homes are now covered with water.  Look closely and you can see the temple across the river.  This is the place the Saints crossed to when leaving Nauvoo, and looked back to see the temple they had labored so hard to build.  It would not survive for long.  Fire destroyed most of it in 1848, and a tornado finished the destruction in 1850. In 1999 reconstruction of the temple was started.The temple was completed 2002.

The sign wasn't in good condition but the history that we could read was interesting. 

NOVEMBER!

November 1st has long been on of my favorite days of the year.  It represents back to normalcy and anticipation for two of my favorite holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  But before we return to normal I have to share this Halloween house.  Unfortunately I didn't hear about it until October 31 - and you might say, soon enough, but not in Nauvoo.  Instead of trick-or-treating on Halloween, some of the mid-west towns do their begging the night before. They call it appropriately Beggar's night.  In Des Moines the children have to tell a joke or sing a song, do some trick before they get candy. So on October 31 we drove up to see the house. It wasn't lit up, but we went the next day and took this picture.  Next year we will know. Decorated from rooftop to front yard.

This week we settled down to hard work, bulb planting, digging up iris, and generally cleaning up the fall gardens.

Bulb planting in Carthage. These are the fine women I work with. 

Digging Iris behind Browning Gun

Hard work