Month: June 2026

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.

The Adventure Continues

| cnaglis63
Cold Lake marina

Staying in Bonnyville was a wonderful opportunity to see a few family members. On Monday we drove to Cold Lake to walk the pier and eat some lunch. We found a Latino restaurant and I tried some pupusas. Erik enjoyed fajitas and we had the best server. This young man came from Nigeria when he was seven years old and was raised in Cold Lake. He had his Bio Chemistry degree and was about to walk in two weeks. Then he was accepted into Pharmacy and was working hard at this restaurant being the sole server. He was delightful and I tested his Spanish but he said that he probably should be learning it.

We headed back to Bonnyville to see how my dad was doing. The smokers are just outside the doors of the hospital and I feel like you have to run the gauntlet to get through the doors. The culture of smoking has been strong in Bonnyville and I wonder if it’s because there are so many French here who smoke. Total supposition on my part but it’s been my experience. Dad was doing slightly better today. My sister Tracy showed up after her work and she was a great help for dad.

French Bay

On Tuesday, we went to French Bay which is the bay of Cold Lake that we grew up swimming in. Now, to give you some clarity, Cold Lake is on the 54th parallel; we’re 300 km north east of Edmonton. The lake has that name for a reason but French Bay has a shallow shelf that allows the water to warm a little more than usual lake temperatures. Cold Lake was first recorded on a 1790 map by the name of Coldwater Lake. Around 1877, the Hudson Bay Company established a fur trade post at Cold Lake. They traded with the Chipewyans from the Cold Lake First Nation. When we lived in the Cold Lake area, there were three distinct communities; Cold Lake, Grand Centre and Medley (the CFB Airbase). In 1996, the three towns were joined to form Cold Lake North, Cold Lake South and this area is known as the Tri-Town. But, in my brain they will always be the original names.

In the water of French Bay on Cold Lake

I removed my sandals and decided to dip my toes into the water and feel how cold it was. Considering that this was May 26, it wasn’t too bad. Erik convinced my to go farther in and I did it. For someone who is spoiled by the waters of southern Mexico, this was a big deal! This was most likely the earliest that I had ever been in the lake. When we had walked the pier in Cold Lake, you could feel the cold coming off the water. The ice has just left the lake and there were only 3 or 4 boats in the water at the marina. Both Erik and I would love to have a boat there to explore the shores of Cold Lake. This lake sits partly in Alberta and partly in Saskatchewan. It is one of the deepest lakes in Alberta with a maximum depth of 325 feet. Fishing is a big deal on this lake and the species here are: walleye, sauger, yellow perch, northern pike, lake trout, lake whitefish, cisco, burbot, white sucker and longnose sucker.

When I was 14 years old, our Young Women’s camp was a canoe trip for a few days leaving from French Bay. We camped at this one beach that was pristine sand and the Bishop came out with a ski boat to take us girls waterskiing. I received a fine sunburn on my backside because I fell asleep on an air mattress in the water. That made life uncomfortable for a few days. My partner on the air mattress was laying face-up and she burnt the front of herself. What a pair!

We drove the back road to Cherry Grove and as we were cruising past the new chapel, I said that we should go to the cemetery. Well, one house that we drove past, the people waved to us and I realized that they were relatives. So, Erik turned the car around and we pulled up to their house. It was Shay and Maria Hatch with their parents, Dennis and Merlene Hatch. We got out and had a lovely visit with them as they showed us the drawings for an addition that they are building onto their home for Dennis and Merlene to live in.

Stopping at the Cherry Grove Community Center was fun because it was the Farmer’s Market and we were able to see our nephew, Kyler. He was selling bison meat that their family raises. We also saw my cousin Kirby Claybert and had a quick chat.

We carried on our way back to Bonnyville and completely forgot to go to the cemetery. As we hadn’t seen my sister Patti yet, we went to Extended Care, where she lives. She was in a chair outside the nurse’s station having a snooze. We were able to visit for awhile and then we headed over to the hospital to see my dad. While we were there, we were able to also see my nephew, Kevin and his fiancé, Thea. Having these visitors was good for dad and he enjoyed having conversations with us all.

A funny thing that I noticed was my dad’s feet. I realized that I don’t ever remember seeing them before. Dad told me that the last time he had bare feet was probably when he was twelve! As much as I don’t like touching feet, I pay attention to feet. One day, I saw my brother-in-law’s feet and was shocked because they are exactly like my husband’s feet. Strange; I know, hahaha!

Wednesday morning, we packed up and started our journey south to Leduc to go to the Costco there. I had a Zoom appointment, so Erik went in to do the shopping. With a tank filled up with gas we were ready to go the last hour to home. Unpack again and do more of the unpacking from Palmyra. One day, we’ll have some sort of order in our little cottage.

We had an appointment with our Stake President on Thursday evening to be released as missionaries. It was great to see President Higham again. He told us that he received our packet twice because our original date to return was two months ago. I had received a concerned email and a call from the Stake Executive Secretary about our return and that the Stake President needed to release us. I had told him that we were still actually on our mission. Our temple president has authority to extend us by one month and that meant that Salt Lake didn’t know that we weren’t home yet either. President Kimbler wrote a lovely letter to President Higham telling him what we did and how we served while in Palmyra. As we left the office, there was a group of young missionaries sitting and waiting. I told them that we had just been defrocked and were ready to start the next mission application.

One thing we discovered on our journey home was that we would do better in an RV for travelling. Being celiac, it is much safer to cook my own food, which is hard to do while travelling for any length of time. On Saturday, we decided to go to Red Deer to see what the options are. It was an eye opening trip. I did make Erik get in one of the RVs that had a wet bath. He couldn’t even turn around in it. I told him that my caboose certainly wasn’t going to get in that space capsule!

Our Red Deer Stake had an Emergency Preparedness Fair on Saturday and we decided to attend. There were booths set up all around the cultural hall with a great variety of topics and demonstrations. Outside, Brother and Sister Coutts were doing Dutch Oven cooking and had samples for people. The Stake was serving hot dogs for lunch and Erik made sure to get in on that. The fair was very well done with a lot of information to help encourage people to be prepared for any eventuality.

Whilst on a mission, you receive a protection from the world to a degree. On Friday, I had my own adventure in the Co-op in Lacombe. After shopping and heading to the till, I unloaded my cart and suddenly heard a commotion behind me. I looked and saw the store manager and an assistant manager as well as a couple of other people. Voices were stern and I was wondering what was happening. I turned back to the cashier and suddenly I was being leap frogged over by a man. I know that I’m short but seriously! There was a man trying to get out of the store and I realized that he was a perpetrator that was cause of the stern voices. I paid my bill and headed out to the foyer. There was a slew of store employees gathered around and I made a comment about the peanut gallery showing force. The perpetrator was on a bike and they weren’t letting him leave as the police had been called. I loaded my car and heard sirens heading my way. Two police cruisers arrived on the scene and dragged the perp off his bike. Then as I was driving away, two more police cruisers arrived. I thought, “It must be a slow day in Lacombe if four police cruisers show up for a bandit on a bike!”

My favorite “Welcome Home”

Sunday was a great day to be in the Lacombe Ward. They had a special sacrament meeting where different members who spoke a foreign language were asked to give a short testimony in the language. We also had two members use ASL to give their testimonies. You can feel the spirit despite maybe not knowing that language that they were using. Erik and I were asked to share a quick testimony about our mission as well at the beginning of the testimonies. At the end of the meeting, we were again brought up by the Bishop to receive our plaque commemorating our mission. We did learn that we will be giving talks on June 14th to share about our mission experiences.

Having the opportunity to be with family members near and extended was a blessing to me. My blood sugar settled down and my body was at ease. My nephew, Kevin gives such good hugs! A good hug can help you in ways that you may not know that you need. Being given the opportunity to visit with my dad when the health professionals thought he was done, was a wonderful blessing. Even though I feel my mom is calling for him, his time on earth is not quite done. Our cousins, Dennis and Merlene gave Erik and I a tour of the new chapel. We received that blessing because we stopped to visit and their calling is as the facilities managers of the building. Family is everything! We receive their love on both sides of the veil and what a blessing that is! Another nephew is the maintenance man for the hotel we were staying in and we were blessed to have a chat with Alex too. The Lord filled my cup and I am grateful for that.