This past week, a couple who have been serving as Facilities Management missionaries completed their very long mission and headed home. The Dabb’s were first called to Oklahoma to a church ranch to serve. They spent two years there and then were moved to Palmyra to the Syracuse New York mission, serving a year here. They are very hardworking and we will certainly miss them. We will also be losing the Christiansons, who served a six month temple mission here and returned for July and August to help out at the temple. Then the site missionaries will be finishing some of their missions; the Defords and the Grows will be heading out. There is a couple serving at the Church Distribution Center and they have extended their mission by a year. They have decided to move to Penn Yan after that and maybe in five years or so, returning to the west. Senior missionaries are at a lot of crossroads in their lives. Many have decided to downsize their homes or at least move to a single story home. A few couples are not returning to the place they left from. It’s fascinating to me to hear everyone’s story and learn about their decisions. We still are undecided as to where we will go after our mission. We thought that we would return to Mexico for an extended stay but then again, maybe we will just go on another mission. The Lord has something in store for us and time will tell.

Our family is having some momentous occasions soon. We will be blessed with another grandchild in a couple of weeks and also a wedding next month. Erik keeps reminding me that I have a quilt to make. It’s just that we are extremely busy with our shifts at the temple and also trying to stay healthy with exercise and good food. Neither of those magically appear and take concentrated effort. My sister, Tracy, called me last night and she gave me some good insights into things to take into consideration with my body. I find it supremely easy to look after others and help them but then disregard helping myself. I did a little exercise last night upon going to bed and it was very eye opening!

On Monday the 4th of August, the Wayne County Fair started up. It brought back so many memories of the Mountain View County Fair in Olds, Alberta that our kids grew up with. As I homeschooled the kids, I was always looking for interesting projects for them to be involved with. When the bench show book was available, I would sit with each child and make a list of which entries they would like to make a project for. The incentive was that if they earned a ribbon, there was a monetary reward and thus they would have money to spend at the fair. They worked hard and our house was a “Fair Tornado” the week before the fair. All baking items were done the day before fair entries had to be submitted. It was a crazy zoo with all five children at our house but we were really productive.

The Wayne County Fair book was 177 pages long so I had high hopes to see some amazing entries. Erik went on his walk-about on Monday morning and the gates were open for free, so he decided to take a look around. He sent me some photos and I was thinking, “That rascal!!! Going to the fair without me!!” There were a lot of rabbits and chickens entered. One barn of cattle was available. Our friends, the Stevens asked us to go to the fair on Friday at 5:30 pm. The plan was to see a bit of the fair and then attend the demolition derby. Wanda’s sister, Joyce flew into town for a visit and she came with us. As we entered the building for the bench show, my hopes were dashed as the entries were few and not the quality that I was expecting to see. Joyce and I both wanted to see quilts and it wasn’t inspiring to see what was on show. Mountain View County put on a well oiled production for the bench show with security for the precious work on display. My brain immediately starts thinking of ways to improve the show. My thoughts then led me to say, “Stay in your lane, Girl!”

We then headed to the cattle barn and I saw a few breeds of dairy cows that I had never seen before. When I saw the Herefords near the back of the barn, my heart leapt because these were cattle that we have in Alberta. The show cows are very pampered with special feed and fans. The teenagers standing on guard with pitchforks to immediately scoop cow piles as they emerge was really funny, because one girl got a pile right on her boot as she was scooping another pile. But, hey, a cow’s got to go, right?

The only horses I saw on show were a mama Percheron and her two month old foal. The weather has been in the 32-33 celcius range and mama, Trudy was standing oh, so still, while her foal was napping in the straw.

From there, we saw a small riding ring with a junior barrel racing event going on, so we stopped to watch. You can tell when a horse hasn’t run a circuit and the rider is taking everything nice and slow to teach their horse the pattern. Others were zipping like they knew what was expected from them.

We stopped at the US Army display and they had swag that they were giving away. I picked up a ball cap for my dad. He started his military career in Alabama and I thought he would enjoy this cap. The men loved that I was a Canadian military brat. When you know, you know!

It was time to experience the demolition derby…doo, doo, doo! Neither Erik or I had gone to one so we didn’t really know what to expect, except for cars crashing into each other. The grandstand seats were nothing like the Olds grandstand. There was no overhead cover, just jimmy-rigged collapsible risers. We were able to procur seating on the second row from the ground but that put us closer to the action. The derby was to start at 8 pm and we all agreed that it should have started at 6 pm. The carnival rides were going on behind us and the track of the infield was where the derby was to take place. Firetrucks were stationed on the other side of the track; two from Palmyra and one from Sodus. As the sun was setting, the lighting was not very bright and it set the stage for what was about to happen. I am always scouting my surroundings and looking for potential trouble. There was a lot going on with so many people trying to find seats and then people getting up to go get food and drinks. The cars eventually paraded past us as some were going to enter from one side of the track while other cars would enter from the opposite side. The derby field was basically a section of the race track; like a big rectangle. Mark and Wanda had been to derby’s before and were excited for the event. Erik is looking for food; I’m scanning for danger, Wanda and Joyce are exhausted from their trip to Niagra earlier. Mark is sitting to my right and was trying to explain what was going to happen.

Then it felt like all hell had broken loose! The 4-cylinder heat was lining up and the klaxon sounded and my head didn’t know where to look because it was craziness in all directions. The fellow to our lower left was so excited and loves demolition derby. He jumped right up and was cheering it all on. You can see him in the video. After all the crashing came to a stop, the heat was over and the heavy equipment came in to remove all the vehicles and smashed up parts. What I learned from the first heat, is that if you are ever driving through a zombie apocolyps, just keep going, even if your wheels are falling off or you lost your bumpers and don’t have a trunk left anymore. JUST KEEP GOING!!

Heat two was the 8-cylinder cars; the big boats from the 80’s. In the middle of that heat, I see a fellow off to my right about 20 feet away. My spidey senses immediately went off and I knew that something was about to happen that wasn’t going to be good. Sure enough, a fight starts and more people get involved and then the crowd surges. My thoughts were, “The crowd will start moving and they’re coming my way and we’re about to be trampled and that’s how people die!!!” Thank goodness, the police were at the ready and quickly stopped the commotion. They hauled a few people away. Is this just another night hanging out with the rednecks? After all, we are rural New York State and it’s looking a little rough. By 10 pm, we all decided to head home. All in all, it looked to me like a scene from Dante’s Hell; dark, smoky, angry people screaming, garbage strewn around, dirt spraying, fires starting in cars, and drivers being taken out by ambulance crews.

It turns out that this is not a typical demolition derby. Mark and Wanda had never seen such goings on before. My lesson was that I don’t ever have to do that AGAIN! My sister and others concurred with that sentiment. In this day and age, it’s probably not a good idea to be where crowds gather and danger is lurking around the corner. My guardian angels were probably shaking their heads.

The interesting story to come out of the fair was the chicken that Erik took a photo of for me was of a chicken that belonged to someone I know from the temple. That beautiful chicken was named Cherry Pie but was formerly known as Buttons. How curious that Erik managed to take a photo of that bird!

We went to BJ’s Wholesale club in Victor and I saw a robot going up and down the aisles taking inventory of the shelves. It made noise as it moved along, so customers didn’t get run over, I’m sure.

After our Saturday at the temple (Erik and I worked a double shift), we headed home but the parade was just starting and we couldn’t get to our home. Everything was blocked off so we headed to Marion to Casa Mexicana for supper. It was so delicious and I was obviously starving because I cleaned my plate. Erik ordered the Molcajete and it looked amazing. He had some to take home for lunch another day.

We are continuing our heat wave. I am ever grateful for air conditioning in this old house. Erik walked down to the lock (29) and was able to see a couple of boats going through. He talked to one of the owners that was moored at Palmyra and they were doing the Great American Loop in their boat.

I am getting close to redoing my scripture study. On August 15, I start the Old Testament and will finish it on February 14. I have lost track of how many years I have been following this schedule that I set up for myself. I am finishing the Pearl of Great Price and the Book of Mormon this week. I will start the Book of Mormon again and I always do a 90 day reading schedule with it. I do have my Spanish scriptures to use as well for this year’s study. I know that I received the greatest peace through studying the scriptures. Everything else falls into place because I make this a priority in my life.

I too, add my testimony to this advice. I have learned and continue to learn so much from the scriptures. Many years ago, I wanted to know more about Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father and I decided that the best way to do that was to study the scriptures to learn their ways. So, I buckled down and became a diligent student of the word of God. I love to listen to what other people learn and to be able to share insights is so much fun.

Go to your scriptures for answers and insight into what God wants you to know. You may be surprised at what will come into your mind as you work out your mortal probation.

Carry on, do well, and above all, be kind and compassionate.