Off to Rochester we go! Early Sunday morning, I had a choir practice to attend. Erik decided to go to Rochester 2nd Ward for sacrament meeting while I was in choir practice. The dear man wanted a meeting in English. In choir, we are singing a Janice Kapp Perry number about mothers (My Mother’s Love). There is no Spanish translation so it’s a bit tricky. I was getting confused because we weren’t singing the correct notes at times and I was feeling lost and wondering what on earth was going on. It was a strange morning; I left the house without my name tag (no companion check), and Erik forgot to bring my sacrament bread.

One of the sister missionaries had some stains on her top down her left side and when her companion mentioned it, I said, “You obviously didn’t do your companion check before leaving the house!” My friend, Anne Dale always said to me that we needed to do a look over each other before going into public. She told me that if I look bad, it makes her look bad. If I look good then she looks good. Anne has given me some very sage advice at times. For instance, my eyebrows are thin and very blond so that it looks like I don’t have eyebrows. Anne told me that if I don’t look like I have eyebrows, then I don’t have a face. It’s true, that we look better if we have a border, so to speak, above our eyes. Thus, every morning, I make sure to put some eyebrow tint on my eyebrows to give me a face, hahaha! So, Erik didn’t do his companion check before we left the house.

We attended Spanish Sunday School together and it was a fun lesson taught by the Branch President. We all had to introduce ourselves and tell our names, where we were from and something that we like to do. I said my name and that I was from Canada. I told the class that I love to cook Mexican food. Erik introduced himself and said that he likes to eat the food that I cook. Then we were divided into 3 groups to decide what we needed for a trip to the moon. Afterwards, we discussed all the things that were needed and it was interesting that each of the three groups had some different items. A sister from Venezuela, who is very intelligent, gave a detailed answer to what one of the items was, that their group was bringing to the moon. The discussion led to Doctrine and Covenants sections 41-44, also discussing things that are needed in the members of the church, the laws that govern us and our responsibilities.

Then we moved on to Fast & Testimony meeting. Erik & I were asked to give the opening and closing prayers. I felt impressed to write some ideas down for testimony meeting. When you have a small branch, there is ample opportunity to share your testimony. Erik prayed in English and I prayed in Spanish. I was able to share my testimony:

Quisiera compartir mi testimonio de amor por nuestro Padre Celestial y su hijo Jesucristo. Se que Dios vive y que si hijo vivio y murio por nosotros. Se que mis bendiciones provienen de un Padre Celestial amoroso. Agradezco todo lo que el Padre me da, tanto en los momentos dificiles como en los buenos, para que pueda aprender y progresar y ser mas como Cristo. Agradezco a mi familia y amigos, y se que todos podemos ayudarnos mutaamente a ser mas como Cristo. En el nombre de Jesucristo, amen.

The more I try to speak, the easier it becomes. Reading the scriptures in both English and Spanish is very enjoyable for me because I am learning even more vocabulary.

There is a person with a good sense of humor who is in charge of the electronic signs along the highway in Rochester. Because it was May 4th (may the force be with you), a few of the signs read:

Han says, “Solo down!”

Light speed can wait, buckle up young Skywalker.

Slow down you may, Arrive safe you will.

Monday is laundry day. Our washing machine sounds and feels like it’s shaking the entire house. Our landlord bought some anti-vibration pads to put under the machine. Erik helped him get them situated and hopefully they will help.

I got rebounding and Erik went rucksacking. He was thinking that maybe he’ll order a heavier pack but came home huffing and puffing and I said that the 20 pound version is plenty of weight for him unless he shed 20 pounds of body weight and then he could add more weight. He agreed, thank goodness!

This year will be 43 years married and Erik noticed that we each have picked up traits from the other over time. Erik was the most shy person that I had ever met and it was painful trying to have a conversation with him when we were dating. Over the years I have watched him bloom and now he goes on his own to start up conversations with people and meets many new individuals. I have become more of a home body and don’t mind spending hours on my own, creating art, cooking, cleaning and sewing.

This was a great week at the temple. We were very busy as usual and had the opportunity to connect with many new people. Plus, we are able to train others and help them feel more comfortable in their assignments. We are starting to gear up for the summer season where the baptistry will be incredibly busy with patrons. Busloads of people will be arriving to come to the temple. Having the stamina to keep up is important. I tell people that rebounding has given me abs of steel and this week, I really noticed my obliques are tight and strong.

I had a really unusual experience this week. It all started when my biological father contacted me when I was 16 years old and I learned that I have a half brother and half sister who at that time where living in B.C. I never really thought seriously about the whole situation but a few years ago and decided to do a couple of DNA tests to see if anything pops up, family wise. If anything, I had more mysteries arise.

This week, I felt like I should check my lists as I received an email saying new relatives have shown up. If you have done any geneology, you understand that it’s like a rabbit hole. One discovery leads to another and you keep checking information. I felt impressed to look at my DNA matches with the highest percentage of match. I messaged one of the matches and received an answer. She is one of my cousins! It seems that the family had no idea that Ross (my biological father) had any children, let alone three. He left home young and no one heard much from him. Then that night I received another message from a lady, stating that we were cousins and our grandmothers are sisters. I was able to give them what information I knew and they shared what they knew. The family believes that he was killed in conflict in a foreign country. I know that he married a woman from Nigeria and he told me that he was moving there with her. In this day and age of information available, it is amazing that no one can find a trace of him. When his mother died, a private investigator was hired to look for him.

An exciting piece of news is that my great-grandparents came from Belarus and farmed in Saskatchewan. Now I know why part of my DNA is from Eastern Europe. Plus it’s probably why I find it easy to learn Russian. I had a hard time going to sleep that night because of all the excitement.

Every week here in New York state, another type of tree is in bloom. I did learn about some of the trees. This week, I identified: Norway Maple in both green and red leaves, Japanese Maple, Japanese Cherry, and Evergreen Azalea. It’s really interesting to see so many colors at the start of the season. Imagine what the fall will bring!

The birds this week were: Yellow-rumped Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, American Robin, and Northern Cardinal.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Chipping Sparrow

About an hour away from us is Cornell University and the app, Merlin was developed at Cornell Lab. We have plans to go to the Corning Museum, where if you make an appointment, you are able to create a piece of art from glass. There is a lot to see in New York state besides the glorious countryside. Some days this week were chilly and I even put my fuzzy jacket on to go out. By this weekend, we will have weather in the higher 20’s. Someone told Erik that Mother’s Day seems to be a turning point for weather here. After Sunday, warmer temperatures should be gracing us.

We hosted a dinner for our friends, Mark and Wanda (who are from North Carolina). We had enchiladas and Mexican chopped salad. For dessert, I made a chocolate Tres Leche cake.

Ingredients for the dressing:

• ¼ cup fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons honey
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• freshly ground black pepper
• taste and add salt if needed

Ingredients for the tortilla strips:

• 6 6- inch corn tortillas
• 1 ½ tablespoons canola oil
• ½ teaspoon sea salt

Ingredients for the salad:

• 1 medium head romaine lettuce, chopped in approximately ½ inch pieces
• 1 medium bell pepper, diced in ¼-inch pieces, any color (I used orange)
• ½ medium red onion, diced in ¼-inch pieces
• ½ medium jicama, peeled and diced in ¼-inch pieces
• 1 medium zucchini, diced in ¼-inch dice
• 4 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced into ¼-inch dice
• 4 ears corn, if fresh corn is not in season, substitute 1½ cups of sweet, tiny frozen corn
• 1 ½ cups canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• ½ cup finely chopped cilantro, plus whole cilantro leaves for garnish, if desired
• instructions

Instructions 

• For the dressing, combine lime juice, honey, cumin garlic and salt.
• In a slow, steady stream, add the oils, stirring continuously with a fork or small whisk.
• Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed. Set aside.
• For the corn tortilla strips, preheat oven to 400˚F.
• Stack corn tortillas on a cutting board. Cut in half. Cut each stack of halves into thin strips, widthwise, about ¼-inch thick.
• Transfer tortilla strips to a sheet pan. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt and toss to coat.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, or until light golden brown and crisp. Set aside to cool.
• For the salad, place corn, two ears at a time, in the microwave and cook for 3 ½ minutes.
• Remove from microwave with a hot pad and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
• After cooling, cut bottom end of corn off, about 1 ½ inches from end. Pull back husk and silks (almost all of the silk should easily pull away). Cut kernels from husks and set aside.
• Combine corn and other salad ingredients in a large bowl. Stir to combine. Add dressing and stir to coat all ingredients. Garnish with cilantro leaves, if desired.
• Serve with tortilla strips on top or place a bowl on the side and let guests help themselves.

Side note: I’m not a fan of Jicama in Canada or USA, so I substituted radishes. Mexicans eat a lot of radishes in Oaxaca. The salad was sooo very good and we had left overs to eat for lunches. I was able to find corn chip strips at a grocery store, so I didn’t have to make them. I will be making this salad again and again.

Erik found a little Mexican grocery store in a small town 6 miles north of Palmyra. It’s called Ranchis Fiesta and it felt like I was walking into a little tienda in Mexico. I was super exited to find Jamaica leaves to make Agua Fresca de Jamaica. I was able to buy the ingredients to make salsa verde. They have a food truck outside and the young man running it, who didn’t speak english but no problem. I found out that he was from Mexico and I told him that I was too, hahaha!

Some really good news is that I was able to connect with a clinic in Canadaigua and get an appointment with a nurse practioner who can write prescriptions. I was able to get sensors to moniter my blood sugar. Freewheeling is not for the faint of heart!

Canadaigua is on one of the finger lakes and is so beautiful! Erik discovered a steam paddle boat that does tours of the lake. We’ll definitely be doing that excursion.

We packed so much into this week that it feels more like 2 weeks worth of news but I am one day late in posting because of Mother’s Day.

Here is a quote to remind yourself that courage is what counts. Each day, I pray for my family to have courage to do the hard things and choose the better way. Life can be hard and full of things that challenge us in the most unimaginable ways. We are children of the most High God and because of that, we are capable of so much with His help and guidance. Face forward and let the shadows fall behind you; have a fantastic week!