Month: January 2026

There’s No Time Like the Present

| cnaglis63

I have been blessed with confidence to try new things, new experiences, new skills and this was not so early in my life. When I tell people that I used to be uncomfortably shy, they are in shock and can’t believe it because of how outgoing I am now.

I’ll share something that may make you uncomfortable but know that we all go through hard things in our lives. The first two years of my life were really rough with torture and abuse from my biological father. I quickly learned that if you tried to make yourself invisible, the abuse might not be so bad. If I cried out, it escalated but if I laid still, it might be the end of that session of beating.

My mom, who also was being abused by him, was able to get away from him shortly before I turned two years old. An unlikely person took us in and when my mom met a fellow who came to help her move, he told me that he fell in love with me when he saw me. He knew that I was his little girl. Yes, he married my mom and then adopted me. I was a scared little rabbit, afraid of loud noises and quick movements. I hid behind my parents at every outing until I was fourteen years old. Everyone always commented on how shy I was. In reality I was terrified of everything.

My friend, Opal, one day said to some people, “She’s not as shy as you think.” I went home and started thinking about my life and my fears. I asked myself, “Do you always want to be hidden away and never be brave?” It was easier to stay in the background and work hard at home and try to stay out of harm’s way. How was I to learn? How was I going to get out of this cycle?

I told myself that I was going to have to try something and be braver than I’ve ever been. Try talking to someone by initiating conversation, try learning something new. I remember in grade three, we had song books and they were full of folk songs of the day. I loved going outside behind the big propane tank and singing my heart out. After the age of fourteen, I started really breaking out of my shell and it continues to this day.

This past Thursday, our shift coordinator, texted me to see if I knew ASL (American Sign Language). I don’t but we had a patron coming to the temple who requested ASL. Here’s where my trust in the Lord comes into play. I told the coordinator that I would look after it. Then I contacted my friend, Margaret, who learned ASL in college. She made a video for me showing me how to do the signs for the ordinance so that I could interpret for the patron. I learned it in about 10 minutes and then that evening went to my assignment. I was able to interpret for the patron with no issues. Erik was very proud of me and the other workers were stunned that I only learned it that afternoon. I was pretty excited and thought, “HA, a new skill unlocked!!” Many thanks to the Lord for helping do His work.

This week I was working on special gifts for departing missionaries. My sewing machine broke down mid project. My frustration was peaking and I was plotting out a course of action to carry on. I started by taking the front case off of my machine to see what was the issue. Then I called Jon’s Sewing Machine Repair in Wolcott. They thought they knew what the issue was but I thought that it would be better to take it in for some spa time.

My sewing machine that I brought on our mission.

Here’s where the timing gets tricky. The USA was about to be blasted with a huge storm and Wolcott is 45 minutes away from us. This was Wednesday and Erik checked the highway cameras (later finding out that they were the wrong area for where we were going). It was partly cloudy skies in Palmyra and we jumped in the vehicle by 9 am. We headed north through Marion and by the time we were in Marion the snow was coming down quite heavily. The roads were snow covered and I was really rethinking our life decisions. We turned onto the 104 and were driving northeast. The snow came even thicker and after halfway to Wolcott, we made the decision to turn back. We were in whiteout conditions and there were other vehicles who also decided to get off the highway. We turned south onto highway 14 and pulled into someone’s driveway. Suddenly a snowplow was driving south and I told Erik, “Quick, follow that snowplow!” We followed the snowplow to Lyons and by then the snow had tapered off to nearly nothing. Erik said, “The things we do for quilting!”

On the 104 heading east and it got progressively worse.
Driving south to Lyons. Such a difference!

The clock is still ticking and I am not making progress on projects that need to be completed. I received inspiration to ask one of my fellow temple sisters, if I could borrow her sewing machine to get this work done. She agreed and low and behold, the machine is a Bernina which is the same brand I brought on our mission. Today I was able to use my walking foot on her machine to put the binding on Penny’s quilt. Tender mercies!

Penny’s quilt
Front of potholder
Back of potholder with my custom made temple fabric.

Whilst “Snowmageddon” is raging around us, I have inside work to be done and we are grateful for heat and power that has not waivered. Our landlord has a snow removal service clear our parking lot and he has been busy. I have run out of my Russian pickled cabbage salad and my herring potato salad, alas! It’s going to be time to try to get to a grocery store again.

On Friday, we decided to go to the temple to do work for our own ancestors. We printed out names and headed to the baptistry. After completing the work for those names we were able to head to an endowment session and get more work done. I was thinking about the timing of the next year and about where we will live. We will submit our next mission application later this year and the Lord told me that I was getting ahead of myself and not to worry.

I love our friends and family who send us real estate listings for us to ponder. Looking at listings and thinking if the layout suits us or would we need to to do extensive renovations. I look forward to the day when we will not be nomads. It has been ten years since we had a home base. For now, I will follow the Lord’s command and go where He wants me to go.

Okay, I have questions for you. Do you each have a book of remembrance for your family? I have to tell you about the one that made such a huge impact on my life. When I was 11 years old, a book was published called the C.F.B Lybbert History. This was the size of family tree sheets and was pivotal in influencing my life. In this book was a collection of impactful stories from members of the family and their downline. There were family tree sheets, photos, and important documents. It was truly a labor of love and it was published 52 years ago.

This is from the introduction to the book: Christian Frederick Bernard Lybbert (1834-1923) was born Flade, Horns herred, Hjorring amt, Denmark, the son of Joachim Frederick and Margarethe Elizabeth Wilhelmine Evart Lybbert. He joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1854 and served a mission for the Church. He married 1) Marie Anderson (1833-1906) in Denmark. They immigrated to Utah in 1865, with his mother. He married 2) Anthonette Marie Olsen (1845-1932) in 1866 in Salt Lake City. They had eleven children, 1867-1890, born at North Ogden, Spring City, Levan, Vernal, and Naples, Utah, He died at Logan, Utah. Marie Andersen Lybbert died at Naples, Utah; and Anthonette Marie Olsen died at Vernal, Utah. Descendants listed lived in Utah, Alberta, Canada, and elsewhere.

Includes ancestors, chiefly in Germany, and ancestors of Anthonette Marie Olsen in Norway.

Waldemar Christian Lybbert (1869-1944) was born at Spring City, Utah, the son of Christian Frederick Bernhard and Anthonette Marie Olsen Lybbert. He married Ella Dora Darnell (1875-1964), daughter of Martin Van Buren and Susan Katharine Nickles Darnell in 1892 at Logan, Utah. They had eleven children, 1893-1917, born at Naples, Utah, and Frankberg and Glenwood, Alberta, Canada. He died at Glenwood, Alberta. Descendants lived in Alberta, Washington, Idaho, and elsewhere.

There haven’t been any new books published that I know of and it made me consider that it’s time to make a new book that would include our family from my grandma Lois and all her progeny. My grandma had five children and there have been four more generations. Books of remembrance can include anything of importance to your family history. While watching “Come Follow Up” on BYU TV on Sunday, the lesson talked about books of remembrance. A guest author was on the program who was from Pakistan. He brought his book and showed parts of it. I loved that the Punjabi alphabet was illustrated like how we would do in English, “A is for Apple”, “B is for Banana” and so on. There was also a beautiful photo of his grandmother. I called my sister Tanya and asked what she thought of doing this for our family. She agreed and is going to produce a sheet of interest and get people’s juices flowing. We could include recipes because these are an important part of our family history.

The most amazing thing is that the Christian Frederick Bernard Lybbert book is available as a digital version on Family Search. I will enjoy reading through it as an adult. I really believe that it is important to record your life. I know that my children don’t know a lot about my life or their father’s life. I too have questions for people who are dead and it’s too late to ask. Okay, it’s not too late to ask but will you get the answers you are looking for?

There’s no time like the present to start preparing your life history so that future generations will know you better and have an understanding of where they came from. This summer I learned about my biological father’s side of the family. I have loved connecting with them and one of my cousins has been instrumental in helping me understand my ancestors. I understand on where I get some of my features, my likes of foods, my love of handwork.

Not everything is going to be wonderful and perfect and our progeny need to understand that we did not live perfect lives; that we had struggles and trials. There are many mysteries to be unraveled but that may be for the future after the coming of our Savior. This past week I received an incredible sacred experience in the temple. I know that He lives and that He loves us. Hold on tight to what you know as truth and righteousness.

I feel this strongly! We are part of something greater than ourselves. I love my family and look forward to spending time with them again. Enjoy your week, staying warm as needed. My sister told me that they had an experience of living with no power for 12 hours and they see what they could do better if needs be.

Much love to all!

Gifts

| cnaglis63
Snow Squall blowing through
A respite from the squall

I love to give gifts and this past week had me reflecting on gifts of various types. Do you ever wonder about the gifts you have been given and want to know more about your gifts and abilities? I have been thinking about the gifts of the Spirit. Through the power of the Holy Ghost we can be blessed with gifts of the Spirit. These gifts are given to those who are faithful to Christ. “All these gifts come from God, for the benefit of the children of God” (D&C 46:26). They help us know and teach the truths of the gospel. They will help us bless others. They will guide us back to our Heavenly Father. To use our gifts wisely, we need to know what they are, how we can develop them, and how to recognize Satan’s imitations of them.

The scriptures mention many gifts of the Spirit. These gifts have been given to members of the true Church whenever it has been on the earth. (Mark 16:16-18).

  1. Gift of Tongues: I think about this and rejoice in my ability to learn languages. It does take effort and I am quite happy to practice and learn more.
  2. The Gift of the Interpretation of Tongues: I have experienced this while sitting with people whose language I do not know well but yet, I receive the message. It’s miraculous!
  3. The Gift of Translation: I think about my mom for this one because my mom is a rock star in genealogy. She prepared nearly 1 million names for genealogy. She told me how she specialized in German and specifically Old German Script. My mom could look at the script and translate it while to others, it looked undecipherable.
  4. The Gift of Wisdom: Of course, I immediately think of Solomon who was blessed with great wisdom and was world renowned for it. The first scripture that comes to my mind is from James 1: 5-7. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.“ But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. “For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord”. The Lord said, “Seek not for riches but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you” (D&C 6:7).
  5. The Gift of Knowledge: The Lord revealed, “If a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come” (D&C 130:19). One day I was sewing a complicated set of pillowcases for my sister. I struggled with the order of the sewing. The pillowcases had ties, ruffles and layers. That night I had a dream and the Lord showed me the method of creating the pillowcases. I got up in the morning and followed His instructions and they went together perfectly. I immediately gave thanks and said, “Heavenly Father, you REALLY do know everything!!”
  6. The Gift of Teaching Wisdom and Knowledge: President David O. McKay taught: “It is given unto some, says the Lord in the Doctrine and Covenants, to know by the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Son of God and that He was crucified for the sins of the world [see D&C 46:13]. It is to these I refer who stand firm upon the rock of revelation in the testimony that they bear to the world”.
  7. The Gift of Believing the Testimony of Others: By the power of the Holy Ghost we may know the truth of all things. If we want to know whether someone else is speaking the truth, we must ask God in faith. If the thing we are praying about is true, the Lord will speak peace to our minds (see D&C 6:22–23). In this way we can know when someone else, even the prophet, has received revelation. Nephi asked the Lord to let him see, feel, and know that his father’s dream was true (see 1 Nephi 10:17–19).
  8. The Gift of Prophecy: Those who receive true revelations about the past, present, or future have the gift of prophecy. Prophets have this gift, but we too can have it to help us govern our own lives (see 1 Corinthians 14:39). We may receive revelations from God for ourselves.
  9. The Gift of Healing: Some have the faith to heal, and others have the faith to be healed. We can all exercise the faith to be healed when we are ill (see D&C 42:48). Many who hold the priesthood have the gift of healing the sick. Others may be given a knowledge of how to cure illness.
  10. The Gift of Working Miracles: The Lord has blessed His people many times in miraculous ways. When the Utah pioneers planted their first crops, a plague of locusts nearly destroyed them. The pioneers prayed that the Lord would save their crops, and He sent seagulls to devour the locusts. When we need help and ask in faith, if it is for our good the Lord will work miracles for us (see Matthew 17:20; D&C 24:13–14).
  11. The Gift of Faith: Moroni promises, “Whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him” (Mormon 9:21). I love that promise and I believe that it can happen!

The Lord has said: “For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God. To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby” (D&C 46:11–12). I always wonder how I can help others with the gifts I have been given. Of spiritual gifts, the Lord said, “They are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do” (D&C 46:9).

Our Patriarchal blessings are a font of knowledge for our lives. I remember our Patriarch from the Calgary West Stake giving us instructions on how to receive more knowledge and wisdom regarding our blessings. It was fantastic because it taught us to open ourselves to direct communication with God.

As we start the year, it’s a great time to reflect on what we would like to accomplish and better ourselves in. Are there gifts of the Spirit you would like more of? Are there skills you would like to learn?

This past week has been so wonderful with all the birthdays and anniversary of my parents. They celebrated their 61st Wedding Anniversary. My mama has had so many struggles in her life that this many years together is an incredible blessing.

Papa Moe & Mama Joan – 61 years together.

I like to sing birthday songs to my children and grandchildren. I record myself and then send it to them. The Primary birthday songs are so fun and personalized. I also give them a little message of love. One granddaughter turned 4 and their family has a delightful tradition of each member carrying a lit birthday candle into the birthday person’s bedroom to awaken them on their birthday. The birthday girl woke up and blew out all her candles; it’s very precious!

I was very grateful for all the messages and notes to wish me a happy birthday. As I think on each person, I love remembering our times together. This is a banner year; turning 63 and being born in 1963. Good things should be happening!

Yesterday, I sat beside the Espinoza family during compartir. They have three little boys, 8 years old and under. Those boys told me so much stuff; I learned a lot about them and their family. The oldest boy likes vegetables more than meat. The two youngest are not fans of veggies but love their meat. When their dad let them have some cake, the middle son, takes a bite and says, “It’s okay (chocolate cake) but carrot cake is far superior!” He turned to me and placing his hands on either side of his head, says, “My first time eating carrot cake…it blew my mind!” So, so cute to listen to them and get to know them better.

My sister-in-law shared a great recipe with me on my birthday.

https://www.everyday-delicious.com/herring-salad-with-potatoes/#wprm-recipe-container-9612

Renate told me that her and Hans eat this a lot. It’s a quick and easy recipe with delicious taste. If you aren’t a fish person (oh, well, hahaha). You could also substitute smoked salmon in the recipe. I am now on my third batch of the Russian Pickled Cabbage salad. I’m not tired of it yet. A loaf of bread was baked today as well, a batch of almond flour is in the oven, dehydrating.

Oh, the day to day striving! My big take away from the Come Follow Me lesson was that God didn’t create the world in one day or the snap of His fingers. It took days and in our time thousands of years. I shouldn’t get frustrated when I don’t achieve my goals in a short time. Line upon line and precept upon precept will get us there. Enjoy your week; stay healthy and chin up. Stand in holy places keeping your eyes on the prize.

We’re Not Trunky

| cnaglis63
The church we live behind; originally a Methodist church.

I have to laugh while typing the title of this post. I am starting to think about things at home that I have missed; king size bed, Soda Stream drink station, a sewing room and the list goes on. We have two months left of our mission. Our last shift will be on March 14. I was taking some salad over to Tonya (our next door neighbor) and Rick, Tonya and I were looking at the calendar at the dates of what we are doing in the next two months. They finish at the same time as us.

I have enjoyed having a dishwasher (our cottage does not have one). It is a Samsung brand and definitely has issues but if you hold your tongue right, the cycle might come out okay. The large capacity washer and dryer have been lovely. When the washer is on the spin cycle it sounds and feels like a Chinook helicopter is right over the house! We had an Electrolux washing machine and dryer in Calgary and it was the cat’s meow; I adored those machines. At the cottage we have a European stacking set but apartment sized, thus small loads are what we can do. Give and take…

We had a fun moment this past week when we went shopping. We first went to BJ’s for bulk items (it’s like a Costco style store) and gasoline. Then we went to Wegman’s for things we had on our shopping list that weren’t available at BJ’s. Finally, we ended up at Walmart to get windshield washer fluid and a couple of grocery items that Wegman’s didn’t have. Three stores!!!!! The fun part was seeing missionaries in Walmart. There were two sister missionaries and I went up to them to say hello. They serve in the Palmyra area. Then Erik came up and asked the sisters if we could buy their groceries for them. They were hesitant and graciously thanked us but no, they were fine. We insisted and I told them the story of when our son, Lyndon was on his mission in Arizona and was approached by a lady who wanted to buy groceries for him and his companion. Lyndon ran off to grab a jug of chocolate milk and a bag of cherries, while his companion grabbed some cereal and milk. When they met back up with her, she looked at what they had chosen and said, “Oh, no, that’s not nearly enough!” She grabbed them each a cart and then went up and down the aisles filling their carts with groceries. She explained that her husband played NFL football for the Cardinals and they could certainly afford to buy these missionaries groceries. At the check-out, she also purchased gift cards for restaurants for them. What a huge tender mercy! So, I told the sisters that we wanted to pass along this kindness to them. Thanks to the example of Deuce Lutui and his wife, other people are being blessed. It was fun, to shop with the sisters as we headed to the cosmetic area for face cream and sugar scrubs. I acted like a Mama Bear and tried to influence the girls to choose better quality products with less chemicals. They were worried about cost and I was telling them that it doesn’t matter; buy what’s best for you.

We had some beautiful weather this past week and the snow has mainly melted. A cold front is moving in and this week on my birthday it will be forecasted for -4C. I say, it’s in honor of the Canadian living in New York state, hahaha!

One day when it was 9C, I told Erik that I was going for a walk and he decided to join me. It was brisk at first because of the wind but as we moved along, it was just fine. We love looking at the historic homes in Palmyra and especially the big ones with carriage houses in the back. It’s fascinating to think about life here 150 years ago.

We stopped in at the T-shirt printing shop and I had questions for them about what they can print and how they do it. I have so many ideas spinning through my head and if I want to implement anything, I need to step on it and get cracking.

Walking past a tattoo shop, I had a good giggle at their sign. When Erik texted it to our daughter-in-law (a tattoo artist), she said, “Yup, those are the rules!”

Them’s the rules!

At the Palmyra temple we do training meetings for the workers for two weeks at a time. Everyone gets the training and it leaves out very few people. This session is about emergency procedures and practices. When it comes to dealing with a tough situation, I could imagine my husband saying, “Let my wife, the wolverine, deal with it!” I realized how well trained I am because of all my leadership training with being a Girl Guide leader. They had a comprehensive training system to help leaders be great with the girls and keep their health and safety at the forefront. I had to be trained to be able to take girls camping and so on. Many of the practices meld well with my life in working with the public. I have great understanding of how to deal with emergencies and how to stay calm.

This past week, my cousin, Crysta gave me some more information about my ancestors. This brings up a point where I have so many questions and all the people to ask are dead. Ask the questions while your relatives are alive!! There are gaps where I don’t understand or know where or why this person lives here or what they did with their lives. It’s so important to keep a journal of your life.

A really exciting and cute piece of news came out of our temple this past week. Brother and Sister Pace have been called to be mission leaders in Guatemala City Center, starting July 1. Also Brother and Sister Mayo are called as mission leaders in Sweden. In the locker room at the temple, I asked Sister Pace to later tell me the details of her call. There was a lot of excitement in the locker room. Suddenly she turned to me and said, “When you are finished with your mission, you can apply to go to Guatemala City for your next mission!” I said, “I see what you’re doing there!!” Sister Pace said, that now that the news is out, she is shamelessly going to be recruiting people to serve in Guatemala.

We are excited to serve again. Who knows where it will be but we will be happy to be out serving again. Being late to church on Sunday was so bizarre because that it not how we operate. We have the sister missionaries back in our Branch and I was super excited to see Sister Parr again. There is a sister from Washington state who is a “visa waiter” going to Peru. Her last name is Law and when we checked our Family Tree app, it seems that we are 3rd cousins! Next week is Compartir and I signed up to bring a salad.

It’s a lot of fun to be good and do good.

Have a happy week of service where you can. Today as I was cutting my husband’s hair, he had a smile on his face. I asked him why he was smiling and he said, “It makes me happy when you are doing something for me.” It doesn’t have to be a grandiose gesture of service; any small act affects in big ways that you may not see. Love to you all!

Tick Tock

| cnaglis63
Peter Whitmer farm

We realized that we only have a short time left on our mission. Before we know it, we’ll be packing up, sorting our belongings and trying to fit everything back into the car. We have purchased a roof top carrier to help with our packing. When you move out of your normal surroundings, you quickly discover the creature comforts that you use to make your life easier or just what you are accustomed to.

This past week we had a phone call with the missionary sister who will be moving into our apartment. She was interested in knowing what was in the apartment and what she needed to bring. Her husband is trying to wrap up his law practice and she is doing the leg work for preparing to leave on their mission. I remember feeling that exact same way last year. Because I love to cook, I was worried about the kitchen appliances and what would be available. Fortunately for us, moving to the USA proved to be an easy switch for the most part. Electric tea kettles are an anomaly here, whereas I like my kettle that has different temperature settings for the water. Certain herbs shouldn’t be brewed with boiling water. It’s what you are used to.

Our New Year’s Eve party with the senior missionaries was fun. We played a couple of games and me not being a game person, I’m not sure that I can remember what they were called. I think one of them was “Ranter-Go-Round” or could be “Chase the Ace”. The second game was “Left-Center-Right”. Lo and behold, I won that game! Of course, there were plenty of treats to eat and then we broke up the party early because the snow was really starting to come down thick. Two sets of Historic Site missionaries live 45 minutes away at the Whitmer Farm and we wanted them to get home safely. I brought Canadian treats to share with everyone.

This was week two of shortened work days at the temple. On Saturday morning Erik and I were baptistry coordinators and then for the second shift we were the shift coordinators. I wanted to apologize to the workers because the regular shift coordinators bring a picnic each time they work. I wanted to say, “Sorry for not bringing the Pierce Picnic!” Rene outdoes herself with two types of chicken salad, various cookies, and crackers and tortilla chips for dipping into the salads and during Christmas, she brought 4 different types of fudge as well. Her dad was the master fudge maker and Rene wants to get her fudge as good as his. The workers are very well fed during that shift.

I realized that I may not need my winter parka that I brought with me. Palmyra sits at the 43 parallel and we have pretty nice temperatures in the winter. The snow on the other hand can be ridiculous in New York state. Up along highway 104 which is close to Lake Ontario, they received between 4 and 6 feet of snow last week. Lake effect snow is no joke! I have been wearing my fleece jacket this winter and I have been plenty warm. Our friends, the Rutkowski’s, are serving their mission in the Historic site of San Diego, California. Their winter is all sunshine and roses, haha! Oh, and they have a hot tub at their apartment building.

Study Guide

I love January because we start a new round of “Come Follow Me” at church. This year, the church is studying the Old Testament (Antiguo Testamento). I really enjoy the Old Testament. Every year I start reading it on August 15 and finish it on February 14. The thing that I love about the Come Follow Me program is that it encompasses scriptures from other books as well. I purchased a study guide developed by Shannon Foster (The Red Headed Hostess). It’s called Seek. Plus there are other authors who give their own perspectives and knowledge on the history of the Old Testament which I look forward to reading. At Deseret Book, they have so many resources for studying the Old Testament and one that I haven’t read yet is about “Seeing the Women in the Old Testament”.

My mind has been swamped with feelings of wonder as I learn more about my ancestors from my biological father’s family. I have learned where they settled when they came to Canada and am getting help from cousins with information about the family. I still have cousins in Kyiv, Ukraine. Our great grandparents were Doukhobors in Russia and were pacifists who ate a plant based diet of Russian and Ukrainian foods. One of the grandparents told the family that they were White Russians, the ethnic Belarusians.

Ethnic White Russians (Belarusians)

  • Historical name: “White Rus” (Bela Rus) was a medieval term for the lands of modern Belarus, differentiating it from “Great Russia” (Muscovy) and “Little Russia” (Ukraine). 
  • Modern identity: Today, they are known as Belarusians, with their nation being Belarus (meaning “White Rus”), and speak Belarusian. 

How fascinating! I have been studying their culture to gain more understanding of how it affects my life and gives me knowledge of my forefathers. In the meantime, we are eating our way through some fantastic Slavic recipes. Oh, the Russian Pickled Cabbage Salad was incredibly good! I bought more ingredients today to make it again. I did add an onion to mine. It keeps really well and we were eating it with nearly every meal.

Russian Pickled Cabbage Salad

I bought some smoked salmon today to make another Russian salad, called Shuba. I will let you know how it goes.

Here we are starting anew again. That’s the part I love; through Christ our time to repent and renew is unlimited!

Go forth, my chosen friends! Have a beautiful week and live well; sending you love across the miles.