Eagle Days in Narnia

Finally I really have nothing new to write about.  This is the first time in the last 4 1/2 months.  I went to the same sites I've already been at, very few visitors.  It is so cold that even the eagles didn't come like they were suppose to for Eagle Days in Keokuk.  We did see a few perched in trees around the river near Keokuk.

Eagles and crows roosting near the river. 

There were a few highlights this week.
Sister Dare brought tatting to the site on Wednesday.  My grandmother tatted, so I was interested in how she did it. Not something I care to learn, but it is beautiful.

President Lusvardi taught us about inviting and promising in mission training.  Elder Barrow volunteered to show how he would invite and promise in the Brigham Young home. He stood up in front a screen depicting the council room in the Brigham Young home. Pretty brave for someone who had only done one tour there.  His efforts were greeted with tremendous applause.
After mission training we were asked to meet with President Thatcher, one of the president's counselors.  He asked us with the Davies to head up the Relief Society re-enactment in March.

On Friday Sister Grigsby and I made up a game in the John Taylor house.  We each studied the artifacts in a room and then we had to tell the other what we remembered.  It really helped us see some things we had not paid attention to.

Saturday we cleaned the Stake Center with our district and one other district.  Then I went to the Family Search Center and Sister Sweat helped me with some resource questions.  It was too cold and icy to be outside, so we stayed home most of the day and read.

Our bird feeder is very popular. 

Frozen Mississippi

Next week is suppose to be even colder. Our apartment is very cozy.  I can't imagine what life would be like in a log cabin with weather like this. 

Heat Pumps and Quilts

Jason, the HVAC employee in the attic.

The Mission is trying to make more housing to put missionaries into.  A hotel donated 14 small apartments to the church. They had a through the wall unit in the living room which is a large area with a kitchen at the other end. Off this area is a small hall; if you go straight you go into the bathroom, turn right and you are in a bedroom, turn left and you are in the other bedroom. People complained that the bedrooms were too hot in summer and too cold in winter. We are installing central air conditioning heat pumps in the attic.  Very little space, hard to walk from truss to truss, equipment too big to fit through any openings, impossible to stand up in attic.  We install them 2 at a time. We spent 2 days in the shop making duct work, then 2 1/2 days in the attic installing.  We have completed 4 just 10 more to go.

Add caption

Meanwhile I took some pictures of the quilt display in the Cultural Hall and learned a bit about quilt history.

The first quilts were actually appliqued onto woven bed covers.

Before the 1830s  people used woven lindsey woolsey spreads. 

This is the oldest quilt in the display that is an actual pieced quilt.  It is beautiful.  The card says 1835-1840.

Foreign missions and lots of snow

Our apartment (ground floor)

The natives say they've never seen it snow so often as this year.  Even the missionary branch canceled church. We did have the Mensels and the Flanders come for dinner - that wasn't cancelled. 

Monday morning, Jason came to help Elder Barrow get out of our driveway. 

 Monday I walked to the sewing room because the road were so snowy.   It is only two blocks.  I had a really good day, finishing both sleeves of the pre-fab dress I started on Friday.  Sister Hayhurst brought her bonnet she'd made in for us to see.  A lady in town has been giving lessons on making bonnets.  I have enough projects, and this one was expensive and time consuming, so I passed, but isn't it beautiful.

Some sisters are creating bonnets.

This is Sister Hayhurst's lovey bonnet. 

Monday after sewing Elder Barrow and I went on a sleigh ride.

Hitching up

Over the River

We aren't too good at taking selfies. 

Tuesday I served with Sister Baker at Brigham Young's house.  Sister Baker told me about her mission in Ghana. We only had one tour, a man from Fairfax County!  He had been in Nauvoo for a few days, and we were one of the last places he came, so we chatted with him about what he'd learned.  He said mostly he'd grown in appreciation of the sacrifices the saints made throughout this period of church history.

The council room is my favorite room in the mission.  

We also do Riser boot shop.  I can demonstrate how to make a boot. 

I walked home and took some photos.

This photo shows the three types of houses in Nauvoo in the 1840s.  Far left is a log cabin. In the middle is a brick home, and the frame home on the right.  There were 1500 log homes, 650 framed, and 350 brick homes.  Most brick homes were not real big, and often had a shop on the main floor with an apartment above.  

Our house is in the woods on the right. 

I caught Sister Archibald skiing!

Tuesday night we had Family Search training.  This training has been outstanding. This week Sister Hatch from the Des Moines Iowa Mission helped us organize our cleaning up of our records before we start doing more research.  Following her plan I immediately discovered I'd missed a couple who were ready to be sealed.

Wednesday's sewing didn't go so well.  I sewed an apron and couldn't get the skirt to match the waist.  But with the help of Sister Warner it got finished by the end of the day.  We went to the temple Wednesday before Mission Training.   Mission training was sad.  The Halls had to leave for serious health reasons. The one hard thing about this mission is that we have to say good-bye to our friends. And it's especially sad when it's for health reasons.

Thursday I was in the Print Shop with Sister Rollins.  She served in the Philipines as a mission nurse and told me some of her experiences there.  She and her husband have also lived in Lumberton, NC! We had 3 tours, one right before closing, which happens fairly often.

Going to press. 

Judging by my expression I must be reading the comics. 

Friday I was back in the Bakery with Sister Childers, who had served in Russia.  She graciously let me do all the tours.  The last tour was a mom with two sweet little children.  The littlest one had been very somber until I gave him a ginger cookie.  That brought a big smile.  I do miss my grandchildren. 

 A beautiful lace goat hair  shawl from Russia

The bakery.

Friday night our MTC group met for a game night.  An MTC group is the people who came out about the same time as you did.  Like I mentioned, saying good-bye to friends is the hard part of this mission.  So if you have a group who won't leave until you do, it helps.

Setting up for Murder - telephone-charades

It snowed again Friday night, and got very windy and cold, so we stayed home on Saturday, even though it was Eagle Days in Keokuk.  Hopefully next year.

It was a quiet week in Nauvoo

After all the holidays this week felt routine. Although there is much I haven't experienced,  I'm not feeling new anymore.  The days are starting to get longer and the beginning of the week was windy, but mild.  The Heber C. Kimball home faces south, so the house blocked the north wind. We sat on the porch and watched the wind blow the leaves in great swirls. Sometimes after being in the buildings all day I get itchy to be outside, but by the time we are done it is getting dark. A few more weeks and I'll be outside all day.

I sewed pioneer dresses on Monday and Thursday. The sewing room has increased all of the sisters' want list.  The $70 irons are coveted as well as the 2 1/2 foot wide ironing board, which is really helpful when working on a dress that has 6 yards of fabric in the skirt.

Instead of pinning patterns, we weight them.  Much faster. 

Before sewing we serge the edges of all of the pieces.

Do you know what this tool is? It pleats the skirt.

And this foot is to sew buttons on.  Amazing. 

                                                     

In teaching others, we teach ourselves.  Written on the selvage of the material

I worked in the Scovill Bakery for the first time this week with, fittingly, Sister Baker.  We had three tours.  Just as we were closing up at 4:00 a grandpa came with his teenage granddaughter.  We quickly told him the Lucius Scoville story, then asked him if they'd heard it before.  "Oh yes, I live here in Nauvoo, and we've been here many times." I suspect he just wanted a cookie.




The bakery missionaries also take people to the cultural hall, which I thought wouldn't be that interesting, but turns out it has a really good story. The site book says there were 16 different activities that took place in the cultural hall.  The police and the legion were headquartered there.  Of course there were plays, art exhibits. and dances.  The Masons used the top floor. When the citizens of Nauvoo prepared to leave Nauvoo in 1845-46 the hall turned into a staging center for the exodus.  They built wagons and stored grain in preparation for leaving for the West.  I forgot to take pictures, but I'll be there again this coming week and I'll be sure to include some.

Elder Barrow had an exciting week installing heating units in some condos that were given to the church.  On Friday Elder Baker, who is from Idaho, treated everyone working on the condos to an Idaho lunch.

Yep, just french fries with ketchup. 

Friday I was back in the John Taylor home, which includes the print shop and the post office.  It was missionary day - we had two sisters visit who are leaving on missions soon and one sister who served here last summer.   She came back with her fiancee.  They are going to be married in the Nauvoo temple in the spring.  To have three tours this time of year is considered good.  Sometimes we sit all day with no tours.  What do we do?  Mostly talk.  We try to read, but it seems so unnatural to be with someone and not talk with them.  A lot of sisters crochet or knit.  I need to start doing that again.  Any orders?

Friday night we enjoyed a session at the temple. Then it started to snow.  It snowed for 24 hours, so we enjoyed a quiet Saturday at home, cleaning, studying, and weaving.  I think there is about 12" of snow on the ground.  Our upstairs neighbors, the Bakers,  came down and taught us how to play Rook.  They have served 2 other missions, and I got the impression that they didn't have time to play games in their other missions.

That will all change when summer comes. I'm enjoying this respite between the busy holidays and the coming Spring when everything comes alive again here in Nauvoo.

We took a little walk in the snow. 

Looks like we will get  a sleigh ride this week. 

 

FM challenges

 This is old news, but a month ago Elder Barrow came into the FM break room to see this.

People know that the FM missionaries can fix and make anything.  In this case, the HVAC people had more pressing matters. So it is still in the FM break room waiting. 

Happy New Year!

We've received a new assignment for the New Year - we will go to Burlington Ward from now on for church.  I will miss the missionary branch.  We sing in the choir under the most amazing choir director, Sister Flanders.  The sacrament meeting talks are note taking worthy, and the lessons are well prepared and the comments are so insightful.  But we are excited to go and be part of a family ward again.  Today was our first time and guess what, the testimonies were wonderful, and the comments in Sunday School were worth taking notes on.  And this ward has a primary, which the missionary branch does not.  Burlington looks like a strong ward, and four senior missionary couples are assigned here.  Two are temple couples.  One couple know Joel and Elana.  The wife of the other couple is from York, England, where Grandma Violet Barrow was from. The third couple is FM missionaries, who we already know. I know we are going to love serving here.

Burlington's Snake Alley. This is the most interesting road.

Going back to the beginning of the week.  Monday we only worked until 2:00 because we had to get ready for our big party. Sister Bramwell was in the Family Living Center with me.  She spins, so she helped me remember how to drop spin.  I also wove two feet on the loom.  Very productive day.

Drop spinning in my new pioneer dress that I sewed. 

Our spinster, Sister Bramwell

 We were in charge of the drinks for the NYE party.  We made homemade root beer and Crystal Light lemonade.  The root beer was a hit.   With the clock set on Buenos Aires time, we enjoyed cowboy poetry recitations, dulcimers, fiddles, and a wonderful poem written by Sister Whiting about Nauvoo.  Then we walked through square dancing steps, circled danced, and ended with dancing to the oldies.  Some chose Bingo instead of dancing. Elder Barrow and I are not that old!  Shortly before midnight, Buenos Aires time, noise makers were handed out, and bubble wrap rolled out on the floor.  At "midnight" all made merry, and we cleaned up and went home. We were home by 9:30 - Nauvoo time.

Root beer maker and me. 

Elders provided drinks for a NYE toast.

Tuesday we enjoyed the quiet, the Rose Bowl parade, and every bowl game available.

Wednesday I served in the Visitor's Center.  I loved it. So far my favorite site, because each group that came in needed something different and there were so many things to choose from.  A few people just wanted to look around by themselves. Others wanted me to tell them anything I could.  One pair just wanted to talk about their life.   32 people came through the door.  I think I gave pretty good overviews of the Visitor's Center.  I've learned a lot about Nauvoo in 3 1/2 months and it was sort of like a test to see how many of their questions I could answer.

Wagon display in Visitor's Center

Relief diorama map of Nauvoo

Thursday I was back at Lucy Mack Smith's house.  We had no visitors.

Mother Smith, aka Sister Archibald, wasn't home, but this is what she looks like when she is. 

Friday I served with my old ground's crew friend, Sister Grigsby.  We gave three tours.  Because the John Taylor house includes the Post Office and the Printing shop, each tour takes awhile. We shared the tours and had a lot of fun.

Saturday the weather was around 50 degrees and sunny, so we rode our bikes down to the old Stone Bridge, which was built around 1850 to go over the canal the Saints built to drain the peninsula. Then we rode around the Community of Christ part of town, reading the signs.  We did this after we first got here, but now I can put the information into more context than I had back then.

Near the Old Stone Bridge

The Old Stone Bridge

Hiram and Thankful Clark home

Under restoration