A Piece of Heaven on Earth

| cnaglis63

This past weekend was full of moments that brought me great joy. I had the feeling of being part of the greater wholeness this makes up our lives in this mortal existence. Despite our eminent departure from this area, with much work to be done, we decided to attend the annual Ward Camp. We prepared our trailer and headed out on Friday afternoon. This camp was set on an incredibly beautiful piece of property that belongs to members of our ward. They have 100 acres full of adventure and fun. There are trails to go travel on throughout their 100 acre woods. One year the family created a trail for their wife and mother and named the trail after her. The campers were gathered on a lower level surrounded by trees and not far from the lake. There was a mix of tents and trailers. I was especially proud of my friend Olya, who came to the camp with two of her children and set up tents. They had never camped before! My dear friend, Gordon also camped with everyone and slept in a tent brought by another family.

Brother Zobell and Brother Hatch sitting & visiting.
Oh, the ice cream!

We were in our own little world (encampment) hidden away from the world. There was no cell service and we all visited and played together. The host family had a gator to haul supplies and people as well as a barrel train. The barrel train took people all throughout the trails on the property. There were plenty of outdoor games brought as well. We started the Friday night with a potluck meal. This is where Erik and I made the Watermelon Feta Salad. I had to take a photo of a baby who had just celebrated his first birthday the day before camp. His mom had an ice cream cone and once he tasted it, there was no going back! There was a central firepit which we all gathered around in the dark. My cousin Kelly, had a bug zapper that was quite entertaining. He was trying to protect us all from the mosquitos. We headed to bed and I slept so wonderfully well.

Camp set up
The Candy Launcher sends candy flying everywhere.
The Barrel Train which eventually even the adults were riding.

Morning brought a pancake breakfast where after everyone was finished, a pancake eating contest began. It was only between Kelly and a newly baptized member who is a youth. The contest was won by Kelly with a margin of 30 to 22 pancakes. Imagine my surprise when Kelly’s gout started raging that day (totally tongue-in-cheek).

We were able to visit more thoroughly with members who we don’t get to see for as long a time on Sundays. The part that stirred my soul was how well the youth interacted with the adults. I was able to chat with several youth. One young man who is only 10 years old, said to me on Friday, “Here’s an easy way to get down to the lower level of camping…not that you’re old; because you’re not!” Such a courteous young man!

In the afternoon on Saturday, we felt a few drops of rain and thus the decision was made to get all the trailers up the hill and on the higher level. That became an adventure! Our Bishop had borrowed a truck and trailer for his family and he was struggling to get his rig up the hill. He backed up a couple of times and finally another plan was hatched. Two men had long pieces of 2X4’s to hold up the zip line so that the trailers could all pass underneath. One by one, the trailers all made it up the hill and onto the higher level to park. I don’t think a ward camp can go without some sort of adventure.

To keep the party going, the Ward Corn Bust was held at the same location on Saturday evening. We had a lot more people join us and it was a joy to visit with more people yet again. The Kites were visiting from Finland and we had good discussion on life in Finland, especially as Greg was called to be a Branch President. Greg does not speak Finnish but was told that the Lord needed him in that position. All in all, this may have been the best ward camp I have ever been to. It was definitely a piece of heaven on earth.

We headed home about 7 pm and got the trailer emptied and situated. The next morning we were headed to Olds where we had been part of that ward for 25 years. One of my little boys that I taught in Nursery and Primary was giving his farewell talk. I am watching all those little boys heading out on their missions. Miles Vendiola is serving in the Vancouver, BC mission. McKay Salmon is serving in Idaho Falls mission. Cooper Nielsen is going to be in Nashville TN mission in October. Kepler Fitzner is going to …? (I forget!). Dallin Nielsen is going to be serving in the Scotland/Ireland mission. It was like going home to see all our Olds family.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Amy Dudley at church. She was visiting with her family and I got to see her husband and children. Amy sat down beside me and said, “Do you remember who I am?” I gave her a big hug and said, “Oh, Amy, of course I remember you!” I also learned that one of our friends had moved to Olds with her family and live next door to her parents. The talks that were given by Mary Ellen Toker and Dallin Nielsen were wonderful and talked about the joy and love that we receive by knowing our Savior. Dallin’s high school friends attended the meetings to support him on his journey.

Afterwards a potluck lunch was served which gave me another opportunity to visit with friends that I haven’t seen since we moved away from Olds. The joy of the gospel which binds our hearts together is something that strengthens each one of us. We shared news of our families and of course, news of our move. Again, it was an experience of having a piece of heaven here on earth.

As we have tough times ahead of us as the we get closer to the Savior’s second coming, this past weekend gave me hope and joy that made my heart sing. We find our tribes, the people who we can rejoice with, mourn with, and grow together. There we can find strength and courage to face what the world throws at us.

Sharing memories of these youth when they were babies in my care was precious. To tell them about how they reacted to events when they were 18 months old and as toddlers was really cute. They have grown up into wonderful people who will influence for good where ever they go.

This week, we are again packing, sorting and tossing. We think we have a plan on how to do the move. I keep getting the impression that we need to be moved by September sometime. My next big sort will be my quilting books and patterns. I got ruthless today with some scrapbooking manuals. I was also able to gift a sewing machine to my daughter-in-law. That only leaves 9 more machines to move.

The meals that work well for us in the midst of chaos are one pan meals. Chop the veggies and the meat and put everything on a pan in the oven. I seasoned the chicken with taco seasoning and then made a hot honey barbeque sauce to baste the chicken with when it was nearly done. It was delicious and easy.

The time is ticking and I have learned not to do packing after 9 pm at night otherwise my brain hits second gear and doesn’t want to slow down for bedtime.

I really felt this throughout the past weekend. Such joy to be in the presence of wonderful people and experience the reconnections.

As we go throughout mortality, may we leave behind judgement and criticism and simply love as the Savior loves. Keep choosing Him!

The Art of Moving

| cnaglis63

Moving is one of life’s ways of testing your mettle and relationships. As we are downsizing yet again or I should say melding three households, we are being stretched to consider the necessity of our belongings. Eleven years ago, we sold our acreage and moved everything except some furniture to our cottage. We live with a crawl space of only 4-1/2 feet of headspace because of the wet year that we built the cottage. With an abundance of moisture, we were only able to dig down to a certain level and not as deep as we were hoping for.

Two things that I collect are Nativities and sewing supplies. We moved all of the Nativities into the crawl space and there they have resided for the past eleven years. It is far too much work for Erik who is six foot one inch to drag out the bins so that I can peruse my collection. Plus there is not enough display space to set them all up. I stopped counting at 200 sets. We lived here full time for two years and I would go and get a bin and use the Nativities that were in the bin for show. Being five foot one inch, it is far easier for me to get around down in the “pit” than Erik.

So, the crawl space aka the Pit has seen bins stacked away never to be unearthed until this summer. The year of 2015 was when we started our nomadic life and thus, “stuff” has been hidden out of sight for eleven years. Then we moved to Calgary for six and a half years. Rather than empty the cottage, we purchased more kitchen items to set up life there. Furniture was purchased, etcetera!

I am a believer that when your kids are adults, they take possession and full ownership of their belongings. Eleven years ago, I made five boxes of belongings for each of the kids and handed them off. That felt good and that was also when the Marie Kondo book came out about how to downsize and free yourself from belongings that weigh you down. I would come across a document that I would take a photo of and then get rid of the actual document. That really helped to reduce our belongings. A great strategy from Marie Kondo was to be able to let go of items, that you hold it in your hand and give thanks for it’s presence in your life and then say to the item, “It’s now time for you to go and bless someone else’s life.”

Rather than going room by room, she suggests following categories. Marie says to tidy in strict order, starting with the easiest items and finishing with the most emotional items.

The Five Decluttering Categories

  1. Clothes: Gather all clothes from the entire house into one huge pile. Sort through all clothes at once. When we left the acreage, I did this very thing with my own clothes. I ended up with only enough clothes to fill one suitcase.
  2. Books: Gather all books to one place. Touch them to see if they spark joy instead of sitting down to read them.
  3. Papers: Collect all loose papers, bills and documents. Discard almost all of them unless they are actively needed.
  4. Komono (Miscellany): Sort through your miscellaneous items. This includes kitchen items, electronics, cosmetics and trinkets.
  5. Sentimental (Mementos): Save photos, childhood keepsakes, letters for last. These are the hardest to part with, so you need to practice with the above steps. I love to keep greeting cards and thus I need to go through these as well.

Core Rules for the Process

Commit and visualize: Commit to the tidying process and imagine your ideal lifestyle before you begin. For us, this move is costing one dollar per pound; that is pretty good incentive to dejunk.

Spark Joy: Hold each individual item in your hands and keep only what brings you a thrill of happiness or a clear sense of joy.

Express Gratitude: Thank items that you decide to discard for their service before letting them go.

I have found this methodology to really be a help in moving items along. I grew up in the military and we moved every three years. This helped to keep clutter under control. When I remember cleaning out Erik’s parents house, it was a different story because they lived in that house for 60 years. We found three dead microwaves in the storage room. There were many runs to the dump to clear out the house.

Of course there are other authors who have exceptionally good arguments for moving your household goods along. “Your Kid’s Don’t Want Your Stuff” by DJ Anderson is one book. “Nobody Wants Your Sh*t – The Art of Decluttering Before You Die” by Messie Condo (Heather Margaret). Of course there is always Swedish Death Cleaning! There is a lot of advice to help us.

That being said, Erik has different ideas about what should be kept and what needs to make the cut than I do. My sewing supplies absolutely bring me joy and if anything doesn’t, I will happily let it go. I was chatting with the quilt shop owner, Carol, in Lacombe. She told me about helping a lady downsize to a condo and she offered the same deal to me. Any quilt books or patterns that I want to get rid of, she will take it into her store in a Give-Away bin. This will help because there are books that I know that I won’t use anymore.

Today was the first of our virtual tours to get a moving quote. The gentleman on the other end of the line said that we really needed to start packing. In my sewing room this past week was three projects that needed to be ready for quilting. One was for my grandson, Carter, who turned 16 this week. The other two quilts are for two cousins on my dad’s side of the family. These sisters needed help to finish quilts and I offered. I will tell you that I definitely received help from the other side of the veil because I was able to design, cut and sew each quilt top in one day each. I haven’t done that in years! Today I was fixing a quilt that had seams coming apart. Now I am ready to start the packing in my sewing room.

My friend Cheryl, has the same brand of long arm quilting machine that I have and I was able to get the quilts to her for quilting. I have the bindings made and will leave one machine unpacked to get the bindings attached. It’s coming together!

Facebook Marketplace is one tool that I have been using to try and move stuff along. I did sell a fur coat! More listings will be coming along.

One of the things about moving is that laundry still needs to be done, dishes still need to be done, meals still need to be thought about and prepared. Floors (or what you can see of them) still need cleaning. The basic needs of life are still required and interfere with my sorting, packing and finding joy.

I wondered if I should do a side track and call it Tales from Nursery. Serving in the nursery is quite funny and definitely an eye opener. One of our children sits on his chair and “helicopters” on his chair whilst eating snacks. Imagine legs in the air and spinning. No accidents have occurred. This same child was singing a song to me this past week, “Have you ever seen a bear wearing BIG underwear?” The song carried on with several verses. The two of us just laughed and laughed!

We had a couple of families visiting our Ward who used to serve in the Bishopric. The youngest McMurray is a miniature of his dad but way cooler, hahahaha! This kid rocks the best hair I have ever seen on a toddler. It really is fun in the nursery, helping them learn to self regulate and watching them make choices and wondering what the thought process was. Like any calling or work to be done, when you love the people you serve with and for, it is quite fulfilling.

Before we know it, summer will be drawing to a close and within 6 weeks, we will be moved. It’s a lot of hard work and feels daunting some days. I have printed an August and a September calendar so that I can write down my goals and see the progress. Because it was made sure to us that we are doing the right thing, I know that we will have heavenly help as we face this latest challenge.

A favorite scripture comes from 1 Nephi 3:7 “And it came to pass that I Nephi said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord has commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.”

This is one of those scriptures that has a song made from it, and every time I read it, I sing it!

Another favorite is from Philippians 4:13 ” I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

We can remind ourselves that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. We are stronger than we think. Caveat here: the older I get, I need a little more rest periods to keep me going.

Have courage and remember that if your belongings don’t spark joy, let them go live somewhere else. It is freeing for your mind and your spirit to be unencumbered.

We are off to a Ward Camp-out and then a Corn Bust so I think that this salad is something that I will bring. It’s a Watermelon Feta salad which doesn’t have a creamy dressing to go sideways.

Ingredients

  • Watermelon: 1 medium seedless watermelon, cut into bite-sized cubes.
  • Feta Cheese: 1 cup crumbled or cubed feta cheese (block feta in brine tastes best).
  • Fresh Mint: 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced.
  • Red Onion: 1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced (optional).
  • Dressing: 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil and 1 lemon juiced, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 2 TBS honey, 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper
  • Sunflower Seeds: 1/2 cup

Instructions

  1. Chill: Make sure your watermelon is cold before cutting.
  2. Combine: Toss the watermelon cubes, sliced red onion, and fresh mint in a large serving bowl.
  3. Dress: Drizzle the the combined dressing gently over the top.
  4. Finish: Fold in the feta cheese last so it does not turn pink from the watermelon juice, then sprinkle the sunflower seeds over salad.

Enjoy the rest of your summer and stay safe out there!

Families Can Be Eternal

| cnaglis63
Using my rebounder while we are camped at my sister’s house.

The month of July was full of travel, family and making new connections. We experienced the Lord’s hand in our lives in a miraculous way. I love the feeling of calm assurances and knowing that we are on the right track. Along with that comes the stress of what lies ahead. How do we make our transition to another province? It’s the logistics that are enormous because of our circumstances.

In the meantime, we also prepared to attend a family reunion. My great grandparents on my dad’s family are Victor and Susan Hatch. My grandmother (dad’s mom) was Lois and she was the fourth of twelve children to Victor and Susan. I bear the distinction of the being the oldest grandchild and the oldest great grandchild. This put me in an awkward position age wise. I often felt, especially in the teenage years that I was between generations. I was too old for the babies and too young for the next generation.

It is so interesting to me that we all have different memories and versions of our ancestors. On my mom’s side of the family, her grandmother was widowed at 35 and was pregnant with baby number six. My grandparents took her into their home for the last 30 years of her life. Whenever we went to visit Grandpa and Grandma Dennison, Great Grandma Mitchell was also there. I was always a little afraid of her; she came across as very stern to me. On the other hand, my next younger sister, Patti, had a fabulous relationship with her and has very fond memories of Grandma Mitchell.

Victor & Susan Hatch Family

I have a few memories of Great Grandma Susan. She had beautiful gardens and so many colorful flowers. Great Grandma was a prolific canner of foods and loved to make quilts. She had buckets of stretch candy in her freezer. It was in a multitude of colors and flavors. I did not grow up with treats in our house and I was astounded that there was something besides the bare necessities in a house. When I was twelve, we stopped to visit our great grandparents. I had cut off shorts on and Grandma Susan commented as she was wondering if I wasn’t too cold in those shorts; they seemed a little too short. I felt like I didn’t measure up and not having enough self esteem, it was not a good memory to have. Yet, other members of the family have very fond memories of Victor and Susan. I loved great grandpa Victor. He was gentle and kind.

Grandma Susan pulling candy
Grandpa Victor breaking candy into pieces

There are three remaining children from Victor and Susan; Edith Claybert, Opal Greep and Neldon Hatch. They are the three youngest. Neldon’s wife Priscilla would do a demonstration of making stretch candy at each reunion. Everyone looked forward to this treat.

Stretch Candy

2 cups sugar, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup vinegar, 1/4 pound butter for greasing surfaces and hands.

Instructions

  • You will need a candy thermometer for this recipe.
  • 1. Stir together the sugar, water and vinegar in a heavy saucepan. Clip on candy thermometer and don’t let it touch the bottom of the cooking pan.
  • 2. Heat the sugar syrup until the candy thermometer reaches the hard ball stage or 260-265 degrees. Don’t stir while it is cooking.
  • 3. Slowly pour the syrup onto a buttered surface like a large cutting board. Be very careful — this is a molten mass of hot syrup. DO NOT scrape bowl. Just let whatever candy comes out, come out. Allow candy to cool for a few minutes.
  • 4. As soon as the syrup is slightly cooled, scrape it into a large ball. If you are going to add any flavorings like vanilla or peppermint, now is the time to do this. Flip the ball of candy over several times using some sort of scraper like a candy scraper.
  • 5. When it is cool enough to handle, gather the ball of candy into your well-greased hands and pull the candy using both hands until you have reached as far as you can. Fold the pulled part over and repeat. Do this for about 4-5 minutes or until the candy is getting stiff and has turned a beautiful white color.
  • 6. Once this happens, pull out a long rope of candy about 1/2″ thick. You can twist this if you want a twisted look for your candy. Lay it out on waxed paper to cool.
  • 7. When it has thoroughly cooled, break it into 1 1/2 ” pieces. Wrap each piece of candy in waxed paper and store in airtight container. If candy is sticky, store it in the refrigerator.

Notes

This candy is messy to make – but it is worth it. There also seem to be MANY different Pull Candy recipes on the internet, and they are all a wee bit different.

This summer is to be the last reunion for the Victor and Susan Hatch clan. It seems that some of the twelve kids have been having their own reunions because of the large number of people now as generations have come along.

We have been having reunions for as long as I can remember. Our family moved back from New Brunswick when I was eight years old in 1971. In 1972, we had a reunion in the Okanagan valley. We were at Camp Woods on the lake and it was idyllic for the family. My grandma told my parents that I needed to get out of the water but they said, “Oh, she’s having a good time, she’ll be fine!” Well, blond, blue-eyed me, didn’t fare so well and I ended up with sun stroke and my grandma Lois thought that I was a goner. We also had Sacrament meeting in a cherry orchard amongst the trees on a hillside. It was so wonderful!

In 1974, we had our reunion in Cherry Grove and MacLean’s magazine sent a writer to do an article on the Hatch family. We are in Volume 87 No. 9 issue in 1974. I love seeing the photo that was taken of the family. My great grandparents must have been so proud of their progeny and their ability to gather together. The article is called, “The Hatches of Alberta”. The writer was Herbert Harker and he had been a neighbor and had watched the mass exodus of the Hatch family as they left Glenwood and headed to the Cold Lake area. They had nine children at that time and drove five wagons. They also took 17 horses, 25 cattle, 300 sheep, 2 pigs and 12 chickens. I do remember seeing a photo from the start of their journey and they also had dogs and cats. They were headed out on a 600 mile journey to homestead in a new area. Their whole entourage was a quarter of a mile long. They left on May 1, 1933 and it took them 60 days to get to Cold Lake.

Their family endured many hardships but persevered and came out the stronger. There are so many stories about growing up in that family. Aunt Edith has told the story about the gas powered iron.

She was a teenager and needed to iron her skirt. Her mom warned her about leaving a window open to do the ironing. Well, she fell asleep and ended up blowing the roof off the house. Thankfully, no lives were lost in this incident but definitely the house suffered structural damage as well as a fire that started in the clothes that needed to be ironed.

On my great grandparents 55th anniversary, all twelve of their kids made it home to celebrate. When Aunt Edith asked if they needed to go to church on Sunday, her dad replied that it was not often you saw a couple with all twelve of their adult kids at church and he was able to introduce them during Sunday School.

The legacy we carry is enormous and I am proud to be adopted into it. I remember two years ago when the reunion was held at the Spring Glen campground. I heard some voices tell me as we were packing up, “You are coming home.” I replied, “I have never lived in southern Alberta!” The next day as we were driving into Glenwood to buy ice, my relatives again said, “You are home.” I replied, “You know I’m adopted, right?” They said to me, “You are sealed to us in the temple and you are ours!” Okay, they had me there!

So, this was to be the last reunion and I wondered who I would see again because some of these cousins, I only see at reunions. We all live far apart and these reunions were great at bringing us together. My grandma worried that her family would drift apart after she was gone and she started having her own family reunions with her 5 children and their families. Between health issues and age, things are changing for each family. As I attended church at Cherry Grove ward on Sunday, I wondered when I would be here again. Seeing family with memory loss and the effects of illness is hard but still having compassion and love for each other softens the effects.

I know that our family is eternal and through Christ and His resurrection we will be renewed and shed the perils of our earthly probation. We are here to learn and become more like our Savior.

When I am with my family, the joy and love definitely transcends everything else. It is wonderful to spend time together and catch up on each other’s families plus meet with new little cousins. I met two beautiful little girls from the Stonehocker/Low family. Penny was 2 years old and such a sweetheart. Her sister Pepper was also beautiful and they were such a delight to be around at the reunion. I will miss seeing all the new members of the family as they continue to grow. Those who have passed through the veil get a view of us all, coming and going!

Grow Through What You Go Through

| cnaglis63
Witty’s Beach

I have been seeing this quote in multiple places and to be honest, I have to groan because I know what this means in my life. This month has been a month of huge change for us. We somehow decided to relocate our lives and I’m not really sure how we came to that decision except that we both feel good about it. We attended the temple last week and we both received sure assurances that we are doing the right thing. Change does not come without effort. Two years ago, the Lord told me that I needed to get moving and walk everyday. In hindsight, I see that He was preparing me for a mission where we were on our feet on marble floors each day. Our legs and joints needed to be strong and resilient. We purchased a treadmill and both of us used it until we moved to Gull Lake. At our cottage there was no space to set up the treadmill and we were walking through the trails of the Provincial Park. Eighteen months ago, I purchased a rebounder to continue my strength training and core building. All of these choices led us to change what we had been doing previously and to try and better ourselves. I remember my first day on the rebounder; I only bounced for 5 minutes. My experience taught me that if I go too hard and fool myself into thinking that I can do much more, the pain that ensues stops me from progress for a few days. After a month on the rebounder, I could go for 20 minutes and after two months, I was doing 40 minutes.

That must be growth! I have learned to take baby steps and build myself slowly rather than have the expectations of an eighteen year old. Our brains aren’t interested in living in constant pain. How do we accomplish this? The term “Grow Through” is a way to reframe “Struggle”. It’s a shift in perspective. Instead of viewing obstacles as unfair setbacks, you treat them as catalysts for self-discovery. We can embrace the duality of life; we have both joy and pain. While pain is uncomfortable, it teaches us empathy, deepens our understanding and builds emotional stamina.

Active participation involves doing the work. It is the active choice to no longer be incapacitated by pain, but to let it shape and mold you. Every time I encounter adversity, I stop and say to myself, “What do you need to learn from this?” There is a mantra about pain, “Name it to Tame it!” Taking the time to recognize what emotion the pain is been driven by, will aid you in building your emotional stamina.

Driving home from British Columbia, we decided to stop at Three Valley Gap for the night. It is a beautiful spot and was an adventure all on it’s own. For most of our lives we have driven past this quaint little spot as it is along highway 1, as you drive from Alberta to the coast. We have stayed in Chase a couple of times and this time decided to try Three Valley Gap. It is incredibly picturesque with lakes and surrounded by mountains. Behind the hotel was a spot on the mountain where rock climbers were trying their hands at conquering the mountain. A number of guests were watching the show. We didn’t have time for the Ghost Town experience but did go to the restaurant in an attempt to find food that wouldn’t kill me. An amber alert sent everyone’s phone off in the restaurant. Our waitress was kind and we enjoyed our time. The things that I found funny were that there were no restrooms in the lobby. There was no Wi-Fi in the rooms but there was Wi-Fi in the lobby. There was no air conditioning in the rooms either. It was like a person stepped back in time.

I found the bed very comfy but my dear, husband struggled with the light coming in the room and when we set up the fan with the sliding door open, there was a lot of train noise and traffic noise coming in the room. My ear plugs saved me!

When we were children, one of my sisters was complaining that she couldn’t go to sleep because it was too light out. This was in Cherry Grove, where the sun doesn’t set until well after children’s bed times. My dad’s response was, “Well, you have to close your eyes to go to sleep!” Soooo, you know that I tell Erik the same thing!

On our way home from Vancouver Island, we received a message from Meaghan, who sent a link to a listing for a house in the area that I would love to live in. Erik looked at me and said, “Should we turn around!?!” I said that we should just keep going and think on it. We were driving through dense smoke because of a forest fire and I wanted to get through it.

I liked the look of the house and we made arrangements for Meaghan and Dallin to go look at it for us and see what they think. During the viewing, they both agreed that the house would work for us. If you don’t know, I have an industrial quilting machine and her name is “Miss Elaine”. Even the realtor learned this and was asking us during house tours if “Elaine” would fit in the house. Miss Elaine needs a LOT of space; at least 20 feet by 12 feet. Dallin made us a couple of videos to show us the house as well. It was really difficult to get the full scope of the house and we agreed that if we made an offer it would be contingent on us going back and viewing it in person.

Last week on the way home from Edmonton, we were passing a semi truck hauling a backhoe. A sizable rock loosened from the track of the backhoe and struck our windshield leaving a huge mess. I used a German word to express my dismay; Scheiße! I should have used Sheibenkleister! Unfortunately, I learned some bad words from my dear mother when we lived in Germany. There are days where everything seems to go sideways and I want to say, “Alles Kacke!” Yes, there is pain and joy because the rock didn’t go all the way through the windshield and kill us. We’re still here to tell the tale.

We booked flights back to the island to see the house. We flew out on a Friday and flew back on Saturday. The small airports make flying reasonable and everything went smoothly. The tiny glitch was the window seat occupant. She had perfume on and I couldn’t sit next to her so Erik did and I used the emergency procedure card as a fan to blow the air away. Our realtor picked us up from the airport and we stopped at a farmstand along the way to pick up fruit. Then we met up with Dallin to see a boat that he was interested in. At last we made it to the house for the viewing. After our time there, we walked down to the ocean to get a view of what we would be living next to.

Meaghan and Dallin took us to Witty’s Beach. The tide was out so we made our way down from Tower Point to the beach. This is an expansive beach and we were able to walk through tide pools and watch people with their dogs. It was windy but I believe that any day at the ocean is a good day, wind or not. I am looking forward to bird watching there. Witty’s Lagoon is a designated bird sanctuary with over 160 species of birds documented there including the Great Blue Heron. At Tower Point we saw so many harbor seals basking on an island taking in the sun.

Dallin and Erik enjoying the view
Harbor Seals

At the Edmonton Airport, we met the mission president and his wife from the Edmonton Mission. I guessed that they were headed to Yellowknife to meet missionaries. When we passed in the line up again, they did say they were headed to Yellowknife. We had a lovely visit with them before heading to our gate.

Dallin drove us back to the Victoria airport and we had lupper (lunch/supper) before boarding. The plane wasn’t as full so Erik and I had our row to ourselves. I sat in the window seat and all was well until I heard the pilot talk about preparing for landing. I looked out the window and saw tornado skies. I had been receiving notifications on social media about what was coming up through Rocky Mountain House, weather wise. As we hit the big cumulous clouds, I knew that we were about to go on a roller coaster ride. The turbulence was fun. Erik could see everyone’s heads going up and down throughout the plane. I was laughing and the lady across the row was also smiling. I did learn that airtime is from wheels up to wheels down. We were scheduled to have flying time of 1 hour 21 minutes but did the trip in 1 hour 10 minutes.

The drive back to Gull Lake was like being pushed around because of the strong winds coming from the south west. We watched the skies and by the time we got home there was another wave of the storm coming through. Our home was safe, praise the Lord! There were trees down along the highway in the morning on our way to church. We were so grateful that we followed the prompting to take out some big old trees on our property.

Now Erik has some tree sections to split to make room for moving our trailers back onto the property. The time has come yet again for more downsizing. Marketplace will be my friend again.

I know that we will be facing more adversity but as we approach it wisely, we will receive grace and happiness.

In honor of our pioneer ancestors, I found a quote from James E. Faust. “In the heroic effort of the handcart pioneers, we learn a great truth. All must pass through the refiner’s fire, and the insignificant and unimportant in our lives can melt away like dross and make our faith bright, intact and strong. There seems to be a full measure of anguish, sorrow, and often heartbreak for everyone, including those who earnestly seek to do right and be faithful. Yet, this is part of the purging to become acquainted with God.

Stay strong and remember that adversity is not disfavor from the Lord or a withdrawal of blessings. We all must pass through the refiner’s fire and emerge stronger and brighter.

Making Friends and Memories

| cnaglis63
Black tail buck in the back yard.

Life for me is much more fun and fulfilling with friends and great memories. I do love my alone time to reflect and listen to inspiration but I also enjoy meeting people and creating memorable times in my life. I have learned that every person has their own unique story and it’s fun for me to listen and learn about people’s lives.

One of my favorite things to do is watch and learn from other cultures. I enjoy seeing how and why people do the things they do in their day to day lives. The interesting thing is that, for the majority of us, we want the same things in life. We want a safe place to live, education for our children, happiness, security, health, peace of mind, relationships, a sense of belonging, having fun, knowing that your life has a purpose, continuous growth and financial stability. We may prioritize these things differently but we share a commonality in these needs. Where ever I have travelled in the world, I love to watch and learn.

My first foray into a Spanish speaking culture, I decided on day two that I would learn five Spanish words per day. We were in the Dominican Republic on a humanitarian trip. As we landed in a little airport in Santo Domingo, I was held back by one of the officials. He was asking me where I was from (in Spanish). I told him that I had just flown from Miami and he said, “No, no, no!” Ahhh, I realized he wanted to know where I was from. I replied, “Canada.” He was satisfied and let me go but in the meantime, he was holding onto my arm and looking at it. Of course, I thought that this was really strange. My travel partners, who were much more knowledgeable in the traditions and ways of travel, explained to me that the locals don’t often see someone who is so blonde and has no hair on their arms. They said that locals where ever we go will want to touch my hair. Once I understood that, I was okay with it. Sure enough, all along our journey through the country, I was approached by people.

Our eyes have been opened as we have journeyed through the southwest area of Vancouver Island. Seeing how people have a home perched on a rock or new friends of ours explaining that there was blasting on their home site for 33 days to create a spot to build a homestead. It is beautiful here and I have been loving the beaches and the hiking trails. It’s a grand thing to place your bare feet on the sand or rocks and ground yourself to the earth.

Weir Beach
Albert Head Beach

We don’t have enough time to do all the things that we would love to do here. Vancouver Island is a haven for outdoor enthusiasts. The vistas are amazing and the scenery takes your breath away. I enjoyed chatting with a few ladies at church on Sunday. The Victoria Stake was having a special fast for missionary work and world wide we were having a fast for religious freedom around the world. It was great to get to know these ladies a little better. I met some serious quilters!!!!

When we took the ferry from Tsawwassen terminal to Swartz Bay terminal, I met some short term exchange students from Japan. There was a little group of girls huddled together and I knew that they would love to practice some English. I approached them and said, “Hello, Girls!” They all turned around so quickly and started talking. They were so excited and one of the girls was braver than the rest, so she lead the pack. I asked them where they were from and other questions. Some of the girls had to use a translator on their phones to communicate but here’s what I learned.

  1. It was only a 5 day exchange (homestay).
  2. They were from Tokyo.
  3. They were going to Butchart Gardens.
  4. They were 16 years old.
  5. Almost all of their parents both worked; only 1 mom was a homemaker.
  6. They all had different favorite classes at school.
  7. They had a least 1 other sibling. One girl had 3 other siblings.

They wanted to make a TikTok with Erik and I and I could see the unease in Erik’s face and so we settled for photos instead. They were so much fun and will be a memory that I cherish.

New Friends

We have been to Weir beach twice and to Albert Head beach with the family. At Albert Head, we brought barbeques to the beach along with umbrellas, chairs and paddle boards. Leah and Cory have chairs for their paddle boards and they looked super comfortable. I met a couple who had really interesting boards that were really thin. Of course, I had to go talk to them and ask about their boards. It turns out that they are great training boards for surfing and are very popular in California and Hawaii. They are called Prone Boards. You lay on your stomach and paddle along with your arms. They zoomed along quite nicely. My grandson, Carter went out to a kelp bed on a paddle board and pulled up a Bull kelp and brought it back to the beach. Two little girls saw it and started dragging it away. The older sister kept stepping on the kelp and that brought upset from the little sister.

One day we went on a drive to get the lay of the land and happened upon a development that had an open house for one of the condos. It was a two bedroom unit with a great layout. The realtor offered to take our photo on the deck.

Sooke Point

In B.C. there is a boat load of yard work to be done. Dallin invented his own ladder with the direction of his wife Meaghan to be able to reach the tall hedges. He also built a tripod to hold a cocoon swing. He’s a handy guy to have around!

Dallin doing some trimming.

Yes, we all walk different paths. We can help each other along the way.

This has been a hard one for me because of being the oldest in the family. I was always cognizant of trying to be an example for my sisters. Along the way, it is easy to get lost in perfection and forget that the Savior covered all our imperfections with His Atonement. It’s our intentions that lead us to do good and be good is more of what counts. May we all have joy in our journeys, where ever they take us. Make good memories, love where you are and love who you surround yourself with. As Elder Holland said, “Think the best and hope the best and have faith in the future.”

Health & Healing

| cnaglis63

The older we get, our focus can be on our health as we find that we don’t have the same agility or abilities in movement as we had previously in our lives. I still remember two years ago the Lord told me to get walking everyday not just three or four times a week. As I look back, I see the wisdom in this as our mission required stamina and strength. I wasn’t comfortable walking in Calgary in our neighborhood at certain times as well as the winter months. Erik and I went treadmill shopping and came home with a beautiful unit that made walking a delightful exercise. We both used it until we moved into our cottage and there was no room to set up the treadmill. We walked around the provincial park even on days that were bitterly cold. I remember a week that it was -37C and all you could see of us was the slits of our eyes because every other body part was well ensconced in winter gear. After 45 minutes of walking, we returned home with eyelashes covered in icicles.

While in Mexico, we go to the beach every morning where I love to do deep water fitness. Erik will swim along the coast of the bay while I am doing my exercise. Sometimes the jellyfish are in the bay and you will feel zaps of stings when they brush up against you. I wear full rash guard clothing and I only feel the zaps on my feet and my hands. I talk to the jellyfish and say, “You and I can get along because I need to get my exercise in and you can be here too without zapping me.” I stay in the water for my full 45 minutes but my dear husband needs to get out of the water earlier than me because he is being stung.

Our bodies are meant to move and so I am always thinking about what I can do to improve my flexibility and strength. I was inspired to purchase a rebounder 18 months ago and I absolutely love it. Ten minutes on the rebounder is equal to 33 minutes of running. I have built my core back up and I am happy to say that I have abs and obliques again that are strong. I had to leave my first rebounder in Palmyra with my friend Lisa and she has been using it; I am so proud of her! I purchased a second rebounder upon returning from New York and it sits in my living room where I use it and look out our rake windows to enjoy the scenery. I am still waiting for great weather to take it out to the covered verandah to use with fresh air.

You all know the saying, “Use it or lose it!” Seniors who are fit have a much better quality of life. One of my purposes in staying fit is to be in the service of the Lord; to be able to go and do whatever He needs me to do. It’s easier to go and do when you have mobility.

We came to Vancouver Island to house sit but in reality it is to pet sit our grand-cat. Her name is Inky and she may be the most delightful cat I have met. She is sweet and loving and gentle. She has an automatic feeder and we get her water and wet food in the evening. We found her cat brush because one day she came into the house full of burrs. She loves being groomed!

Last week we drove to Weir Beach and walked the length of it. It felt so good to get my feet in the sand and get grounded with the earth. We went to a couple of open houses to look at property but neither suited us. Should we move to the Island or not? That is the question on our minds. I said that I would never move to the Island because there was no temple but now the Victoria temple will have it’s groundbreaking ceremony on August 22. It won’t be a big temple so I don’t think that construction will take too long. We have been praying for clarity to know what is best to do. Two of our daughters live here and it would be nice to see them more often than once a year.

We attended the Sooke Branch on Sunday and we have met with them a few times when we’ve been on the Island. This Sunday was incredible because there was a missionary farewell and I turned to Erik and said, “This is Michael Murray’s nephew!” We knew a number of people who were there and had a wonderful time with them and catching up. We met the Stake President who has an acreage for sale and the Branch President has been doing renovations for 50 years. Then I saw that there was a Senior Missionary Fireside at the Stake Center at 6:30 pm and said, “We should go to that!” I learned from the Stake President’s wife that the Sooke Branch has a group of quilters….oh, boy, right up my alley! A couple, the Beaumont’s came from Abbottsford to do the fireside. They are in charge of the senior missionaries all over British Columbia and the Edmonton region in Alberta which includes Red Deer. We were able to talk about our mission experience and share information that they did not know.

Like Newfoundland which is lovingly called, “The Rock”, Vancouver Island is also rock. Vancouver Island is mainly made of Wrangellia, an ancient island chain that drifted across the Pacific and slammed up against North American about 100 million years ago. It’s landscape is shaped by hard volcanic mountains and soft coastal sandstone, all sitting above an active fault zone that causes earthquakes. The interior mountains are made of basalt and limestone. In Relief Society, we passed around a piece of basalt which they called the talking rock as each person shared a 30 second answer about the council question.

I was reading this week that being amongst trees is very good for your health. All along our drive, I watched the road side and imagined just walking amongst the trees. There were a number of Bear Signs warning of bears in the area as we drove. Between a serious accident and a few construction sites, we were delayed on the first leg over an hour. My patience was worn very thin with the waits but then, we were able to get out of the car and walk a bit. B.C. has stupendous forests and their majesty takes your breath away.

I have noted that when we are in Mexico, my health is very good. I attribute that to the negative ions from the ocean as well as the natural food. This trip I have noticed my health improving each day as well. Is it the ocean effect? Blood sugars are within normal range and I am thrilled about that! Could it be that I am petting a cat and listening to her purr? Whatever it is, I will take it.

I have discovered that a person needs to be proactive about their health. It doesn’t just take care of itself. I unfortunately, did not receive great genetics for some things, but on the other hand, I have great teeth and great sturdy bones. My bone density is off-the-chart high. Those Scottish and Russian ancestors were sturdy folk! Yes, there are days when I am exhausted and then I don’t push myself so hard but I never go a day without movement. My friend, Pam Lacusta, told me that she has used her Apple watch to govern her activity and I decided to take a page from her book and I have also made sure that I am moving enough according to Apple metrics. As silly as it seems, the little awards that Apple gives out for effort, I’m all over that.

There is a tapping song, that goes to the tune of “Mamma’s Little Baby Loves Short’nin’ Bread. I tap my forehead and my chest and my abdomen while I sing this little song. It goes, “Every single cell inside my body, every single cell is happy and well.” (repeat again). Then sing, “I’m so glad every single cell, every single cell is happy and well (repeat again).” Doing this has helped calm my body and helped me feel better. For a 30 second ditty to do good things is not hard at all.

We bought a grounding sheet before our mission and I really missed it while we were gone. It lays on our mattress and we place a 100% cotton sheet over it. My sleep was uninterrupted during the night and my sleep quality improved. Another factor leading to helping us have better health is our sleep.

It may be a blessing that I have celiac disease because I haven’t eaten fast food in 20 years. It’s difficult to find quality food in restaurants where they don’t use seed oils and other harmful products. By eating natural foods (fruits, vegetables, legumes and meats) we try to keep ourselves on the right path.

I love this quote because it sums up how I feel about health. Small changes can lead to big improvements but consistency is the key as with everything in our lives. I am blessed with a companion who willingly goes along with my changes in lifestyle so that we can become better people who love others more easily and in turn this shows our dedication and love to the Lord. Keeping my eye on the prize of being closer to God is my governance. Think on things that you can change or do differently to make you feel better and healthier. It is so worth it!!

Inspiration

| cnaglis63
The Sacred Grove by Greg Olsen

Where do you get your inspiration from? What inspires you? I think about my day to day life and think about the instances where I get a jolt of joy. Yesterday was a day where I was wondering if and when the ground breaking will happen for the Victoria, BC temple. Shortly after thinking about it, I read the announcement! August 22, 2026 will be the groundbreaking ceremony for the temple. What a joyous time for the saints on Vancouver Island!

On Saturday, I headed into Lacombe for some groceries. I decided to go to No-Frills (it’s never my first choice) but felt impressed to go there. As I was going to get a cart, I realized that I didn’t remember what coin I needed for a cart. A family gave me their cart and said that it didn’t use a coin. As I entered the store, I went past a couple in the produce area. The husband was trying to pick tomatoes for his wife and she was looking a little exasperated. I could hear them speaking Spanish so I threw myself into their presence and asked the woman, “El es tu jefe?” (Is he your boss?) She looked at me and said, “No, el es mi esposo, no es mi jefe” (No, he is my husband, not my boss). Then she started laughing because she understood what I was inferring. Her husband looked at me in shock and said, “Tu hables Espanol!?!” (You speak Spanish!?!) He asked me if I just heard him yell out, “Algunas personas aqui hablan Espanol?” (Does anybody here speak Spanish?) I told them that I had just entered the store and missed his announcement. We were laughing and getting to know one another. It brought me so much joy. We exchanged phone numbers and they have invited Erik and I to their home. Marco is from El Salvador and Gineth is from Venezuela. I look forward to getting to know them better. My many years of daily work on learning Spanish has paid off in many ways. Marco asked me how I learned Spanish and I was able to tell them about our mission and being assigned to a Spanish congregation. The hard part for anyone is trying to speak out loud in the language you are learning. People don’t want to feel like they are making fools of themselves and thus don’t want to speak. My strength is that I don’t care if I make a mistake in speaking another language, I just want to try. My inspiration comes from wanting to talk to people and get to know them; basically it’s my love of people that drives me.

We decided to drive four hours down to the Little Bow Resort east of Champion. Erik found a travel trailer that he felt was a good buy. It was owned by a lovely couple who absolutely babied the trailer. It was in pristine condition and we decided to purchase it. Something important to me was that they were gluten free and the trailer didn’t have gluten being used in it. She even had a bread maker that she used to make her loaves in the trailer. Having celiac disease, I go to extreme lengths to make sure I don’t accidently ingest gluten. I feel like a hawk sometimes watching food to see what happens. Cross contamination is a hard issue to explain. So, once again, we have a bug-out trailer and now comes the part of learning the trailer and finding our supplies to stock it with.

Our house on wheels
A very long day of driving!

On Thursday evening, we gave our mission report to the High Council. We weren’t sure what exactly we were supposed to do or say but then we were asked to tell a little about the mission and how our testimonies grew from serving. Afterwards, we answered a couple of questions and then we were done. One thing I told everyone was how shocked I was about the busloads of youth coming from all over the USA to the Palmyra temple. In Canada, we don’t load our youth up and send them off across the country. I said, “We can’t even take our youth out of the Stake boundaries for camp!” I knew that they would totally understand that. There were some chuckles and remarks made about that. One of the Stake Presidency is from our home Ward and on Sunday, he told us that we did a great job. I was a little surprised, considering that we had never done it before or seen a report before. He explained that we really inspired people to want to serve a mission. There we were being the inspiration for others.

Saturday was my baking day; cinnamon knots, hamburger buns and a large loaf of bread. I had not made the cinnamon knots since 2010; pre-celiac days. It was fun to recreate them. I learned the technique from a Bosch dealer in Calgary, where my great-aunt Opal worked. I discovered that my really old Bosch mixer easily handled two loaves worth of gluten free dough. My kitchen Aid could only do one loaf at a time without a struggle. The dough itself reminds me of whole wheat dough. I use millet flour and sorghum flour mixed with tapioca starch. Psyllium husk is what I use to form a gel and this mixture replaces the gluten in regular bread.

Smoked Pineapple with Ribs

For Father’s Day, we did smoke the pineapple wrapped in pork ribs. Erik wanted the pineapple leaves cut off to make it easier to wrap, so it wasn’t pretty. The acid from the pineapple tenderizes the meat and gives it a lovely flavor. Braeden stopped by on his way to Edmonton and had a plate with us. We gave him a tour of the new-to-us trailer. We all had a laugh about the trailer mattress that was stocked by the manufacturer. The previous owners simply put one of their own queen mattresses in it and we will do the same.

Today we can get inspiration from many places and people. Pinterest has become my go-to to look up recipes and instructions. Just “Google” it has become a world wide phenomenon. I am grateful for technology, for the good that can come of it. I was reminded of some quotes that speak truth to me.

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” Maya Angelou

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” Winston Churchill

“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” Amelia Earhart

“You do not find the happy life, you make it.” Thomas Monson

We have survived the rains of June thus far. Some communities in Alberta have had very hard times with flooding. I am reminded that not everything is in our control but we can act. When the waters of life keep rising, we need to learn to tread water and rise above. Last night at Family Home Evening, we talked about our battles and how we handle them. Mostly, we handle them the best by turning to God and getting His help. In 1 Samuel 17, these verses talk about the faith of David who was just a teenager offering to face Goliath.

45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

46 This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

47 And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.

Thus, our battles are the Lord’s battles. We can think on David and he only used one stone to kill Goliath but he was prepared with five stones! Sister Andrea Munoz Spannaus gave a talk in General Conference April 2024 and she thought about the possibilities of what those five stones could represent for her.

What if each of David’s stones represented a strength we need to be triumphant in our lives? What could those five stones be? I thought of these possibilities:

  1. The stone of my love for God.
  2. The stone of my faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ.
  3. The stone of the knowledge of my true identity.
  4. The stone of my daily repentance.
  5. The stone of my access to God’s power.

These stones represent inspiration to guide your life. Determine your inspiration and then remember to act on it. Have courage to act, and you will find new possibilities opened to you that provide you with growth, strength and stamina. Enjoy the sunshine where you find it!

Preparing for the Better

| cnaglis63

We attended our first Family Home Evening group last Monday at Harker’s home. They are the grandparents of one of our nursery children. We enjoyed talking about the Come Follow Me lesson and later shared refreshments. One of the couples, the Walkers, have their mission papers in process and are waiting to hear where their next assignment will be. I am so excited for them.

Our days are spent sorting and organizing. Erik discovered that the trim on our chimney chase has rotted away because of water dumping onto the cement board trim. Now, he is on the hunt for new trim to replace it with.

We have two printers and both seemed to be dead in the water. My approach to everything is to have a chat with the Lord about stuff that I need help with. So, after praying and what I call, laying on of hands, I got the Epson Ecotank printer running again. If any of you know, if those printers aren’t used regularly, the print head clogs up and needs some work. Well, this printer has been sitting idle for 14 months! With prayer and effort, that printer is working. Then, Erik was struggling with his printer. I ordered more ink cartridges and he was installing them. Trouble came knocking and he gave up in frustration. I knew that it was going to be a job for me, hahaha!

Thursday was a very busy day that ended strangely but well. Erik had our new over-the-range microwave being delivered, we also were waiting on another delivery and thus the day began with Erik dismantling the old microwave. My darling man, lowered all the cabinets in the kitchen when we built this place because as you know, I am vertically challenged. That meant that the microwave was closer to the stovetop than we would have liked. The plastic housing on the door of the microwave started breaking down because of the heat from the stove. Plus I couldn’t use my steam juicer on the stove because there wasn’t enough room. I ended up using the side burner on the barbeque to use my juicer and my can cooker. After 15 years, it was time to replace it. He found a slim model that gave more space between the microwave and the stove. He also needs to redo the tiles of the backsplash. Thankfully, Erik bought extra tiles and edging, so we are good to go. I say that like it’s a team effort, but the reality is that Erik will do the tiling job.

We also had a computer technician come to our house with Erik’s fixed laptop and to have him take a look at mine. I am typing this blog on a loaner laptop while mine is getting a spa treatment. Jason the computer guy, was also trying to help Erik, the house was a disaster with the vacuum hose out while Erik is cleaning up all the dust and wood shavings as the job progressed. At long last the microwave was installed, Erik had his laptop up and running and mine was packed away for it’s cleaning.

After having supper, we headed to Red Deer to give our mission report to the High Council for the Red Deer Stake. I messed up the dates and we were a week early. Dressed up with no place to go, because anywhere I would want to go was closed, so we drove home. It was a lovely evening and as we drove we saw storm clouds rolling around but what a day! We will go back to report this week.

Erik decided to do something that he said he would never do and that is: install air conditioning in our home. It turns out that we really enjoyed the air conditioning in New York. On Friday, the installers came and we had a day of our home getting an uplift of cool air. As the warmer weather comes, I will really enjoy sleeping in a cool bedroom. The past couple of nights, I have woken in the middle of the night and found the air way too warm.

My UV resistant flowers arrived from Amazon and I was looking forward to a nice day to get them installed in our front planters. I discovered this type of flower while we were living in Calgary. Our front planters received zero rain and full sun. I ordered some and loved that it looked pretty and required no effort besides arranging them. Our home is navy blue so I ordered flowers in pinks and purples. The packages also came with greenery.

Sunday was our day to speak in sacrament meeting. I was so grateful for those who came to listen to our talks and to those who joined in on Zoom. The opening song was, “This Little Light of Mine” and that made me think of letting my light shine where ever I go. It’s not good when the tears start and you haven’t even started your talk. Dan Nabrotzky sang an opening number and then I spoke. There was an intermediate hymn and then Erik spoke. We were glad that another task was completed. From sacrament meeting, I headed to nursery and Erik was whisked away to Elder’s Quorum to participate in “Pies for Guys”. The Relief Society made savory and sweet pies for all the men. I was fortunate to have a few Young Women come into nursery to help me.

After church, Erik and I were set apart for our Primary calling. Then we headed home with Rocky, Teresa and Annalisa Martin. We had some lunch (well, us girls did because the boys had already eaten) and then went for a walk down to the lake and through the campground. It was so wonderful to catch up with the Martins and see how grown up that Annalisa is.

We looked at some of the trees on our property and have decided that it is probably time to remove a couple or three of them. The biggest spruce tree is now leaning towards the house and we can see that the roots are changing. It’s time to do something before disaster happens. I would like to plant a more appropriate tree on the south side of the yard.

I’ve been thinking about what to prepare, food wise, for Erik this week. I saw a really interesting recipe that has a whole pineapple with pork ribs wrapped around the peeled pineapple. Then after the seasoning, the whole business is placed on a smoker for a few hours. I will let you know how that goes. Last week, I used a lot of zucchini to make muffins and one loaf. I was reminded of making zucchini loaf and then once cool, slicing and freeze drying them. They turn out like biscotti and are delicious!

Sometimes, we may feel like we aren’t doing enough but then I am reminded about not running faster and farther that you exhaust yourself. Everyday there are chores and things to do that may seem onerous but when you have God as your partner, life goes much smoother. We are pleasantly surprised by the way things turn out when you least expect. About 6 weeks ago, I was feeling sad for a moment because the acreage that I thought would be perfect for us was sold. I quickly thought, “Oh well, God has another plan for us.” A few days later, I was thinking about it again, and the Lord told me, “Oh, I have something far better for you!” I look forward to that but in the meantime I will continue to give myself to God and wait upon His instructions.

Choices

| cnaglis63
Sunset at Gull Lake, Sandy Point

We have been given a life full of choices. President Monson often framed the doctrine of choice around the three “R’s”.

  1. The Right of Choice: Heavenly Father gave us agency which is central to the plan of salvation.
  2. The Responsibility of Choice: Because we are free to choose, we are also accountable for our actions and must use tools like prayer and scripture to guide our decisions. Every man is given the Spirit of Christ, that he may know good from evil.
  3. The Results of Choice: Every decision has consequences. While the wrong choices lead to captivity and misery, obedience and righteous choices yield peace, joy and eternal progression.

We are deciding on what order we need to be doing things right now. We know that we will go on another mission but the arduous task of the medical evaluation stands before us. For me, my doctor retired when we left Alberta. That means finding a new doctor and that is no mean feat. As I phoned around central Alberta, no clinics were accepting new patients. After being brought to tears, I had to remind myself that God knows what I need and He will supply. Last week, I tried anew to find a clinic and found one in Red Deer on the north side. Erik and I loaded ourselves into the car and headed to this clinic. The doctor that I saw was doing walk-in appointments and I was able to procure new prescriptions and the opportunity to make another appointment for a “Meet & Greet”. Erik went to Canadian Tire to get hot tub supplies and then came to pick me up.

My stress levels dropped immensely after this appointment and I expressed gratitude for being able to find a clinic. Erik’s doctor is in Airdrie and that will take him 1-1/2 hours to get there. This is one of those cases where I know sacrifice and constant trying will yield blessings in the long run.

After serving a temple mission, we are missing our time in the temple. We are not close to a temple and need to sacrifice time to make the commitment to attend. On Thursday, we made an appointment for the 11:30 am session at the Calgary temple. It felt like coming home! We met up with people that we knew. Peter Walton was celebrating his 80th birthday by spending time in the temple for his ancestors. Being able to visit with June Stanford and catch up on the latest happenings was delightful. We were able to go out for lunch with President and Sister Olson from the temple presidency. What a lovely time to hear what each other’s families are up to and to share temple experiences!

On Saturday, we were back in Calgary to visit our daughter, Kaitlin and her family. Our grandson, Finn is celebrating his 6th birthday soon and we were able to take gifts for him. It was so fun to go to the park with Finn and Ainsley and play some T-Ball. Ainsley is a really good runner and she was willing to chase after the ball when Finn hit it.

Ready to play ball
The littlest cousins together

We are trying to decide what to do about an RV. We are needing to do repairs and upkeep at the cottage. Thus it is with every property; they all need work. Erik is determined to get us more organized at the cottage. For instance, our spices are out of control. Combining two households did not help. I took a page from my friend Deb Allred and told Erik that he needed to check expiry dates on everything which will determine what gets the toss.

The tent caterpillars are roaming everywhere and they are trying to get into buildings as well as certain trees. I’m not a fan but I believe that these creatures serve some sort of purpose. They usually have a ten year cycle but birds are great at eating them. Speaking of birds: we have a crazy robin here that runs into our windows constantly and poops everywhere. Personally, I feel like this bird may have fallen out of his nest and has brain damage. I do think that he can do us a great service by munching all these caterpillars.

Sunday was a fun experience at church. Erik and I were called to work in the Primary. What is the most fun and best calling at church? Do-do-do….the NURSERY! We headed there and found only three little darlings in the nursery. It didn’t take long and I struck up a wonderful conversation with the two boys who are three years old. James told me so much information with such earnestness. I think that he was so excited to find someone to sit and listen to him and was willing to answer my questions. I am totally enamored with this child; he is so fascinating! His mind is full and he’s always thinking. Erik helped with snack time and then it was singing time. Years ago when I was the Nursery Leader, nursery lasted two hours. Now it is only 50 minutes and there is a lot to fit in in that short time.

A week full of driving, sorting, trying to make decisions and get back into some sort of a groove. We got to see three of our little grandchildren and that is certainly a blessing. The regular June weather of plenty of rain makes it a little dreary but you have to make the best of it when you can.

When I think of Hannah in the Old Testament. She endured so much and eventually was blessed with a child. Her choice was to dedicate his life to the Lord after he was weaned. That choice lead to him becoming one of Israel’s greatest prophets and first king. The moral is that we ourselves need to have deep trust in the Lord, experience Divine intervention and receive remarkable redemption. We all have trials and hardships; thus is our earthly probation. How we choose to navigate this life will determine our blessings. Stay blessed, my friends.