The Wheels on the Car Go Round & Round

May 12, 2026 | cnaglis63

We stayed in Santee, South Carolina for 3 nights. Erik went fishing on Tuesday for fresh water Bass. Erik learned many things about Bass fishing and the wildlife in the lake. There were alligators, snakes, so many varieties of birds. One morning, while using the Merrell App, I recorded 24 different species of birds all waking up and chatting with each other. Erik’s fishing guide had accidently snagged a Water Moccasin the week before. I was quite happy to stay at the lake house, crocheting in the screened in back porch, safe from the critters. Erik did have one incident where he lost his footing and ended up in the lake, hence the photo of the money drying on the table!

On Cinco de Mayo, we wanted to eat Mexican food but it turned out that so did everyone else in town and it was crazy at the restaurant. We opted instead to go to the restaurant across the road. It had golf and fishing decor and there were tables that had all fisherman and other tables with the golfers. I looked around and the tables were full of seniors, (the gray-haired crowd, not the high school graduates). All the waitresses were older too and I felt like I was in a retirement home!

We headed out towards Atlanta, Georgia on May 6. Driving west along highway 20, we passed by Augusta which hosts the Masters Golf Tournament each spring. Arriving in Atlanta was a scary ordeal because of the amount of traffic. At one point I counted the lanes just on our side of the freeway; there were 9 lanes! We arrived just before 3 pm and the traffic was already horrendous. I learned from a lady that travels from Wisconsin to Florida, is that the best time to travel through Atlanta is around 3-4 am. Our hotel was okay. I dressed to go to the pool and got there before Erik. As I put a toe in the water, I realized that this indoor pool was NOT heated. I was determined to do my workout so I carefully immersed myself. Then I got to see Erik’s face when he entered the pool, hahaha!

We had an evening appointment at the Atlanta temple and the sky was looking very dark and ominous. By the time we left the temple, my phone started pinging for Tornado warnings! It was a torrential downpour and were looking for a restaurant to eat at. Nothing gets between me and my Birria tacos.

The next morning the rain was still quite heavy as we headed out to Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was pretty tense driving in Atlanta with nearly blinding conditions. The farther north we got, it started to lighten and I could finally breathe properly again. We carried on in a northwest direction towards Nashville. I was so excited to see the Grand Ole Opry!!!!

Staying on highway 24, we drive into Kentucky and went through Paducah where the National Quilting Museum is located. Paducah has been part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the category of craft and folk art since 2013. We drove through at 3:30 pm and I didn’t feel like we had time to give proper attention to the museum; so we carried on.

At some point we changed to highway 55 to enter St. Louis from the south. We traveled west from Paducah into Cairo, Illinois. This town is now a ghost town. As we drove through it, it was terribly sad to see all the destruction and disrepair everywhere. It’s located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and was an important area for barges bringing goods up the river. Then when railways took over the major part of shipping, Cairo lost so many jobs. They also had a really bad patch with racial riots in the 1960’s and 1970’s. The history is very involved and really requires a person to study all sides.

We ended up in St. Louis for the night but in a suburb close to the temple. St. Louis sits on the Illinois and Missouri border. We did go on a river cruise on a steam boat called the “Tom Sawyer”. As we were walking to the dock, we met a gentleman who used to be a police officer and was now a tour guide. I had questions for him and in our short three minutes together he answered some of my questions. Why did St. Louis’ population go from 1.5 million to less than 300,000? Crime, violence and economic changes. This city ranks in the top five most crime filled cities in the USA. Where did everyone go? They left either to the suburbs or out of the area completely. As this city sits at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, we were able to see barges being moved around and unloaded. We sailed under magnificent bridges. The Eads bridge was built in 1874 and was the world’s first steel bridge. They have water markings in feet on the bridges as flooding does occur. The Dr. Martin Luther King bridge connects downtown to Illinois. The MacArthur bridge is used for freight railroads. Workers were repairing this bridge and all stopped to wave at us as we sailed under.

We were able to enjoy our time at the temple before moving onward in our journey. We carried along highway 70 towards Kansas City. I was really looking forward to this leg of the trip because we were going to see the Historic Sites of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We stopped in Independence first to go to the Visitor Center. We joined a tour and chatted at the end of the tour with the President of the Historic missionaries for that area. We finally got to our Airbnb by 5 pm after doing an Endowment session at the Kansas City temple. It felt good to be stationary for a couple of nights.

Liberty is a beautiful town to stay in. We stayed in the historic downtown area and it felt like being back in the Parsonage house in Palmyra; floors that creaked with every step and old door knobs and doors. We went to church in Liberty on Sunday morning. Sacrament meeting started at 9 am. Being Mother’s Day, the invocation and the benediction were given by young men. The young man giving the benediction said, “Please bless the mother’s that they can have a break from their children today.” It was so hard not to laugh out loud! Imagine the conversations in that household!

We saw a vanload heading out the same time as us and I wondered if it was a tour group. We passed them later in the day and then again today. We drove to Far West first to see the site. Amazing history here again to read about. From here we drove to Adam-ondi-Ahman. I absolutely love driving the back roads of America. I love seeing how people live and seeing the farms and little towns. Adam-ondi-Ahman is a sacred historic site in Daviess County, Missouri, identified by Joseph Smith in 1838 as the place where Adam and Eve dwelt after being expelled from the Garden of Eden. It is believed by Latter-day Saints to be a future gathering place for a major priesthood council before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. It was magnificent to stand there and look out over the valley and feel the sacredness of this site.

On the way back to Liberty, we drove through Hamilton, Missouri. This is where the Doan siblings founded the Missouri Star Quilt Company to fulfill their mother’s dream and in tribute to her talent on producing videos on Youtube. Jenny Doan and her husband Al are serving a mission in Ghana now and will be home later this year. Erik drove around downtown twice so that I could look at all the storefronts. MSCQ owns 26 buildings in Hamilton and is part owner in three restaurants. It’s too bad it was a Sunday!

One of the things that I discovered is that driving for too long makes both of us cranky. Our trip from Atlanta to St. Louis was a 10 hour day and that ‘s far too long to be sitting in a car with the occasional stop. We won’t be doing that again!

It’s a time to be grateful for those who have gone before us. I am at an age where many of my friends have lost their mothers and it being my first Mother’s Day without my mom here on earth, it gave me pause to think on her influence in my life. My heart was so blessed to talk with my oldest daughter on Sunday. She has a very compassionate heart and is kind and loving. She is not a mother but definitely has a mother’s heart with her traits of nurturing and kindness.

Remember who you are, a divine child of our Father in heaven, with divine attributes that can bless the lives of those around you. Enjoy your week!

On the Move

May 5, 2026May 5, 2026 | cnaglis63

Our last week at the Palmyra temple was filled with joy and sadness. The most important thing that I learned in the past week is that when you have a celestial view, goodbye isn’t forever. My friend, Sandra Woods said, “If I don’t see you again here, I’ll see you on the other side!” My friend, Lynae Wozniak said, “We’ll meet in the south-east corner of the celestial kingdom.” A dear friend from my quilting life said at each trade show, “Meet me in the middle on the left!” One way or another, I will see everyone again.

Our Tuesday shift coordinator gave me a bracelet with the words “Think Celestial” engraved on it. When you have a mindset of the next life, it makes saying goodbye so much easier. When my mom passed away in March, I didn’t feel like she was dead because she’s just on the other side of the veil. I can’t see her right now but I know that she’s “right there”!

We were shift coordinators on both Wednesday and Thursday. When you talk about finishing and living your mission right to the very end, we did just that. Keeping your heart in the service of God to the very end is the thing that brings us joy. Knowing that we are going to serve another mission is an exciting thought and we look forward to all the possibilities and wonder of what the Lord has in store for us.

Erik and I were packing, sorting and cleaning around our temple service. We were so grateful that Deb and Bruce Allred were able to take food off our hands; frozen food, spices, fridge items. We were also able to gift them other items. A friend from the temple told me that she had Lyme’s disease and needed to clear her lymphatic system. I told her, “Well, I have a gift for you!” Erik dissembled my rebounder and packaged it up to bring to Lisa. Bounce, my friend, bounce and clear your lymphatic system!! Erik was in panic mode because he didn’t see how we were going to fit our belongings in the car. He told me that we were going to have to make some hard decisions. That meant that “I” was going to have to make some hard decisions. Well, the stand mixer did make it into the car.

It was a surreal moment to leave the temple on Thursday night. Deb and I held each other and sang, “I Need Thee Every Hour” in unison. She and I are peas in a pod. As I stood in the foyer, I had a receiving line of people to say goodbye to. The people that you serve with are celestial friends; the cream of the crop, the best of the best. This is because we have seen the dedication and sacrifice given by the members in the Palmyra temple district to serve and help others along the covenant path. I had given my gifts to the temple presidency on the Monday night potluck.

Because I had forgotten my water bottle at the temple on Thursday night, Erik went back Friday morning to pick it up and he got caught in the morning devotional for the cleaning crew. He shared an experience of miracles because it was a miracle to get everything in the car and then he got serious and shared that Zion is when we are united and working together.

Our newest neighbors, the Hollands, in the annex took a little bag of produce that I had left and then I was able to tackle the dreaded fridge cleaning. When you are fluffy, it’s not that easy to get to the back of North American side by side fridges. They are narrow and deep. I had the oven on self cleaning and when it was finished, I was very disappointed in the job it did. The Allred’s were happy with our cleaning and said that everything looked good. Bruce even pitched in and ran the steam mop. We were done!

WOW! To be on our way, felt strange. We drove the same route that we took to go to Washington, D.C. and sure enough, the Allegheny mountain range delivered rainy weather. I was in shock that the farther south we went, it wasn’t getting remarkably warmer. We pulled alongside a Coca-Cola truck with the cursive title; it looked old school to me and cute so I took a photo and sent it to Joel Dayton who is a fan of this beverage.

We made it to Frederick, Maryland by the first day. Taking the I-15 south took us past Gettysburg. Frederick is west of Baltimore. We stayed at a Country Suites hotel. It had great reviews so, I thought why not? Well, the only thing going for it was a comfy bed. We had a tiny cramped room and poor Erik was not excited about all my bits and pieces he had to bring into the hotel room. Did I ever tell you that I’m like my mother in that I love tote bags. I will designate items to certain tote bags. The good thing is that they are easily packable and stuffable but the downside is that they aren’t zippered and if they fall over, it can be a disaster. We slept well enough because we were exhausted.

The next morning, we repacked the car and headed to Richmond, Virginia. We learned that they have endowment sessions running every hour except when there is a shift change. Of, course we showed up during a shift change. That gave me time to talk with the brother shift coordinator for the morning. Brother Perry has been a trainer in a few temples in the northeast area. The Richmond temple was dedicated in 2023. If you paid attention to industries during Covid, you know that a lot changed in quality, workmanship and availability of products. This affected the Richmond temple and they had to have an early shut down to fix some major construction issues. This temple plan was the first of it’s prototype and of course, had to have bugs worked out. The decor is stunning with lots of navy, maroon and teals. They have four endowment rooms and we did a session. I loved their chapel’s artwork. It depicts the Savior’s life from being in the womb of Mary, to being born and then the artwork of Simeon blessing him as an infant. The final painting was of Jesus staying behind in the temple when he was twelve years of age and Mary falling to her knees at finally finding her son. It was a beautiful experience and plus I did the endowment session in French as I love the translation to French.

One of the things that I love about travelling is seeing the names of places that I never thought I would see in real life and not on a television or a book. Driving past Quantico, well, my inner spy was thrilled!

We drove on to Dunn, North Carolina and spent the night in a different hotel. I went to the hotel pool for a little workout and laughed and laughed because the pool was so small and so shallow. I managed to pull it off though. We had food in our cooler so we ate some of that and then after my language lessons, headed to bed. My darling Erik, had a terrible night. In the morning, I looked at him and asked how he was and he proceeds to tell me of his night. He wondered if he had food poisoning because he was up in the night purging his system. He was exhausted and said that he needed to sleep more. I never heard a thing because I wear ear plugs! He still wasn’t out of the woods and needed more purging. We never made it to church and instead he slept and then we quickly realized that we needed to check out just as eleven am was making itself known. As it was, housekeeping entered our room as we were saying our morning prayer. The sun was shining so we were hopeful that the day would be okay.

2 cats were at the rest stop and a few of us were feeding them.

We carried on the I-95 until we hit our next destination of Lake Marion, South Carolina. Oh, hey…they have accents here! I am having so much fun meeting people. In the grocery store, I talked to a lady who told me that her husband died of Covid pneumonia in 2023 and now she lives with her aunt. This darling woman was 81 years old and her name was Annie. We discussed the state of the fruit before us (strawberries and blueberries). We talked about Christ and our love for Him. We also promised to pray for each other. It doesn’t get any better than that! Another lady explained to me about collard greens and how to eat them. NO, they aren’t used in salads because they are too thick and heavy.

We have a lake front Airbnb for a couple of days near Santee, South Carolina. We have seen herons, turtles, and fish in our little bay. The GPS took us down a goat trail to get here. I’m not a fan of the car’s GPS. We are loaded to the gills and the car’s suspension is being given a workout, never mind having to navigate a goat trail (quad trail).

I still love this quote because this sums up how I have been feeling for the past two months. My friends are eternal as is our families. I have great respect and love for missionaries who pour their hearts into relationships and build eternal lives with their souls. We look forward to the next mission and building yet again, new eternal friends.

What Day is It?

March 24, 2026 | cnaglis63

When your schedule changes and the days go by, you may start to wonder what day it really is. When there is no clear purpose in your days, one slides into the other, leaving you in a puddle of where am I and what am I doing? I experienced this the past week because the temple went into maintenance for two weeks. Two times per year, each temple has a two week break from normal duties to attend to bigger maintenance items. Erik went over to see if they needed his help and sure enough they did. Similar to the September maintenance period, he put his skills to use. He met the upholsterer again that came in September. As you know, every building has wear and tear from use or even non-use. The Palmyra temple floor plan was used 43 times to build temples around the world. This floor plan has now been retired. The standardized plan built a building that was 10,700 square feet. So, even though it is a small temple, we receive a lot of patrons and the building gets a lot of use.

Erik helped the upholsterer by breaking down four arm chairs that needed to be reupholstered. They weren’t on the original schedule to be done, but Erik & I noticed that the chairs had worn in places and shouldn’t be left in that state. With Erik’s help, the upholsterer was able to complete his scheduled work as well as these four chairs. We will have visible changes in the decor when we return on March 31.

In the meantime, I am trying to keep track of the days so that I don’t mess up my medication. I tried to motivate myself to sew but that didn’t pan out. I managed to cook our meals and get my exercise done each day but it was like my body needed a big rest. We received another invitation to try extending our mission for six months. The couple that they thought would come have been assigned elsewhere. Our offer to stay was turned down again. Personally, I know that we are needed somewhere else. We do need to do some regrouping upon returning home and get our next mission application ready. I am working on my A1C to lower it so that I will be able to serve again.

We had our first week at the Auburn Ward. It was lovely to see familiar faces that we have seen at the temple. It takes us approximately the same amount of time to get to the building in Auburn as it did to get to our Spanish Branch in Greece.

I started prepping food for our trip this week. I made the Grillo Dill Dip. Erik cut up tons of veggies to eat it with. Two types of muffins and some Chocolate Date Balls were also on the menu.

We loaded the car and hopefully we didn’t forget anything crucial. Our morning started with a remote (online) doctor’s appointment for me and then we had our prayer and started the journey. As we headed south, the route was a reminder of our journey to Nauvoo a year ago. You are cruising down the interstate and then the GPS sends you on a small farm road and we really thought that the GPS had lost it’s mind. No, it’s just in the middle of Podunk-nowhere! Today was the same experience and instead I relaxed and enjoyed the view of rural New York and Pennsylvania. As you journey into Pennsylvania you notice the rock formations have changed. Coal mining is a big deal in PA. As of 2022, there were still over 100 active mines. Anthracite is found in the northeast and is known as “hard coal”.

We drove down the east side of Canandaigua Lake as we wound south along little rural byways. It is unbelievably picturesque. Soon the leaves will be making their appearances and the views will change yet again. We saw maple sap collections with tanks near the road for easier pick up. Little road side stands selling maple syrup were also seen.

As we came into Corning, I was reminded that we never did get to the Corning Glass Museum in the past year. As we carried on, the temperature was dropping and as we looked south from atop of a crest of a hill, we saw white dusted trees in the distance. We hit the Blossburg pass and at 2270 feet of elevation and found snow melting on the road. The temperature was below 0C.

A large part of our journey took us along the Susquehanna river. I have talked about this river in the past and as we have seen more of it, we gain a greater appreciation for it’s history. We reached Harrisburg and were amazed at the mansions lining the river. We drove past the Governor’s mansion (Harrisburg is the state capital).

Located in the Dauphin Narrows stretch of the Susquehanna River, stands a mini Statue of Liberty that is a 25 foot tall replica of the original. Technically it is a replica of a replica. The current statue is the second little Lady Liberty to hold her torch high above the old railway piling in the middle of the river. The first was 18 foot tall and made of plywood and venetian blinds. It was erected in 1986 as a patriotic prank to commemorate the centennial of the original Statue of Liberty. No one knew who made it or how it got there, and no one would come forward to take the credit/blame.

This first replica was blown off her pedestal and destroyed in 1992, a surprisingly long run considering its construction materials. However, in the six years since she first appeared, the people of Dauphin Township had grown rather fond of her. Money was raised to erect a heavier, sturdier 25 foot version of the statue, this time constructed from metal. This one was put in place in 1997 by a helicopter and lashed to the piling. It still stands today.

It wasn’t until years later in 2011 that local lawyer, Gene Stilp finally owned up to not only orchestrating the making of the statue but also taking the daring trip into the dangerous river water to climb the piling and help erect the statue. Little did he know his prank would become a permanent monument for the people of Harrisburg, PA.

Being a lawyer Stilp also pointed out that the statute of limitations for prosecuting the crime of illegal statue placement has long since passed.

We saw so many law practices along our route, hahaha!

We were also impressed by the Jewish presence in Harrisburg. They immigrated in the 1840’s from Germany and England. Another wave of immigrants came in the late 19th century and early 20th century (they were from Lithuania). We drove past two big buildings and one was Temple Bethel El and the other may have been a community center. They have been vibrant community in Harrisburg.

This isn’t in the right order but, we stopped for gasoline at Hilsher’s General Store. I chose it because I was pretty sure that it was a Mennonite store (and it was)! It was at Port Trevorton, north of Harrisburg. It is over 20,000 square feet of fun; bakery, deli, meat processing, clothing/footwear, hardware, home decor, housewares, sporting goods, and toys. Erik picked up a slice of Shoo-fly pie and I bought a little bottle of Bronner’s baby soap along with dark chocolate almonds. I am a huge fan of the Mennonite stores. They make my heart sing!

We made it to Gettysburg and Erik had downloaded a driving tour of this historic site. I will tell you about it next blog post.

Despite not knowing what day it was last week, I know that I have a purpose. Keep smiling and keep your heart ready to hear your next steps or deeds that God has in store for you. We all don’t do great heroic things each day. It is in the little steps, day by day that we show our true selves. So, with that twinkle in your eye, carry on and be joyful.

Tick Tock

January 6, 2026 | cnaglis63

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.

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.

A Spring In Our Step

April 20, 2025 | cnaglis63

Well, today was the day to go to our assigned church congregation…Rochester 5th Branch. Driving on highway 31 and then took an exit to highway 490. Then onto the 390 and then exit onto Vintage Lane. We drove past a big wooded park. It takes us about 45 minutes to get there. The building is shared with the Rochester 2nd Ward. We have Relief Society/Elder’s Quorum first and then have Sacrament meeting. There were very few members today in attendance. Upon entering the building, we stopped and talked with the sister missionaries. One sister is from Texas and has been on her mission for three months. The other sister is from Utah and seems well-seasoned in her service.

In Relief Society (a meeting for adult women), we discussed a talk by Elder Holland given in October 2024 General Conference, titled, “I Am He”. We took turns reading paragraphs from the talk. The gist of the talk was Christ’s charity – evident in complete loyalty to divine will – persisted and continues to persist.

One of my favorite paragraphs: “Whom seek ye?” With all our hearts we answer, “Jesus of Nazareth.” When He says, “I am he,” we bow our knee and confess with our tongue that He is the living Christ, that He alone atoned for our sins, that He was carrying us even when we thought He had abandoned us. When we stand before Him and see the wounds in His hands and feet, we will begin to comprehend what it meant for Him to bear our sins and be acquainted with grief, to be completely obedient to the will of His Father—all out of pure love for us. To introduce others to faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and receiving our blessings in the house of the Lord—these are the fundamental “principles and ordinances” that ultimately reveal our love of God and neighbor and joyfully characterize the true Church of Christ.

Of course, all of this was in Spanish. I sat and prayed for understanding and help in discerning the meaning of the lesson. I started to recognize the difference in the Puerto Rican accent. At the end of the lesson, I was asked to give the closing prayer. If you could have witnessed the sheer panic on my face as I had never given a prayer in Spanish before. But I slowly got up and said, “Okay.” I managed to say some things and everyone was grateful that I did it. I told them that it was my first prayer in Spanish in church. Another hard thing done! We moved on to Sacrament meeting and they were having a testimony meeting, where anyone who felt moved upon, could go to the pulpit and share their feelings of the Saviour. It was a very sweet meeting. Erik used Google Translate with the transcript function to translate the meeting. It was a very humbling experience to know that the Lord wants us to be there, knowing that one of us needs a lot more Spanish in their life. It will give me the opportunity to have more conversations in Spanish.

The day was absolutely gorgeous and sunny. After a snack break, we went for our walk through Palmyra to the Prospect Hill. I made us take a slight detour so that I could see the lady walking her four dogs. I was able to pet and coo to them and then covered in dog hair, we moved on. I started searching for a path to connect to the path that Erik had been on, but ended up bushwhacking through the woods to get to the path. It was a good hike up there. According to climatologists, the Wisconsin Ice Advance, 15 to 10,000 years ago, covered what is now Wayne County with an ice pack about 5,000 feet thick. As a result of the progression and recession of the action, Wayne County contains a number of unique hills call drumlins; for example, Prospect Hill in Palmyra and Hill Cumorah are among the numerous drumlins in our area. At the top of Prospect, stands a tall telecommunication tower and a massive water tank. As we made our way down the trail, we took a one way street back to the downtown area. The houses are of spectacular design and landscape and are a joy to observe.

We watched an uncle teaching his nephews and niece how to use a wiggle board. He said that they have been around for many years but I have never seen one before; fascinating! A person very carefully gets on and then wiggles themselves to create a forward motion. That will develop excellent core strength.

Moving Day!! It’s time to pack up and move one block over. We are moving from a one level apartment to a two-story apartment. I jokingly call it the servant’s quarters. The photo shows the back view of the house. The little set of stairs is the entrance to our place. Our friends, the Gurr’s, moved into the front part of the house. The church that you see used to be the First United Methodist church. It went out of business and the building was sold in 2019. Our landlord, Jeff bought the church and this house which is known as the Parsonage House. Our little apartment has a renovated kitchen. You go upstairs to the bathroom, laundry and bedroom. As the Gurr’s and ourselves started the moving process, we also visited each other’s units. I was gobsmacked by how large their unit is; three bedrooms upstairs! Plus, I was struck by the beautiful staircase and millwork going upstairs. Our staircase is narrow and steep, hence, why I call it the servant’s quarters.

Erik had started bringing our belongings over while I worked on packing and cleaning the previous apartment. Remember how I said that it wasn’t very clean? Well, I was about to rectify that scenario. I took the screens off the windows and scrubbed the window sills and screens. I pulled the bed apart (quite literally) to move it all and clean along the wall behind the head of the bed. Oh, the lovely things I found! Vacuuming and washing baseboards was very satisfying.

Laundry was going on and then Erik suggested that I come to the new place and start organizing our belongings and the kitchen. With another car load, I arrived and started the work. I couldn’t understand the flow in the living room, so I jumped up and started rearranging the furniture. Our landlord said the we were free to do whatever we wanted. Every couple seems to like it a different way.

My haha moment of the day was right at the beginning. When I got up to deal with my hair and get ready for the day, I found a big twig in my hair! All the bushwhacking yesterday gave me a “friend” to bring home. I slept all night with it. I’m just becoming one with nature, haha!

We were both pretty exhausted at the end of the day and were looking forward to a good night’s rest.

I had an excellent night’s rest in a lovely comfortable bed. We have accordian blinds on the bedroom windows and poor Erik was awaken by a bright sliver of light beaming through the edge of the blind and going right onto his face. He complained about it and said that we need something to cover the edges of the windows. I told him that he simply needed to roll over and face away from the light; just like I have to when he is reading his Kobo at night, tehe!

More sorting today and finding places for our belongings as well as trying to decide how we want to live here for a year. It would be delightful to find more comfortable living room furniture. Rob Fergus told Erik that he should try thrift stores because that is how he furnished his home office. Another search party will be organized.

It was raining by the time we left to drive to the temple. Thank goodness I had put my rain jacket on. We met more new people and also are starting to recognise people from the past two weeks. I told workers that tomorrow is Erik’s birthday and I will be bringing cake and ice cream to the temple for everyone to share. I was told that Wegman’s has a good bakery and does nice cakes.

On Wednesday morning, we drove to Fairport where the Wegman’s store is. We stopped at Lowe’s to buy a little tape measure for Erik. I was stunned because people are allowed to bring their dogs in with them. We saw a short haired red dog going into the store. Once we entered, we saw a Great Dane checking out the red dog. Then after wandering looking for organizational items and the tape measure, I saw a white Golden Retriever. I told her what a pretty girl she was and I was rewarded with the Golden butt wiggle. Her dad said that everyone always tells her that she’s pretty and she knows it!

Upon entering Wegman’s, I headed to the bakery department to find out about cakes. Erik chose a chocolate cake and I had them write, “Happy Birthday, Erik”. I’m pretty sure that you can’t have cake without ice cream so we bought a couple tubs of vanilla ice cream.

I saw a recipe that I thought Erik might like for his birthday meal. Lemon Ginger Chicken with Pineapple/Mango Salsa. I made some coconut rice and spicy mayo to accompany the dish. The part I loved was that this recipe too, can be made vegetarian by substituting ingredients. Erik loved the meal and then we headed to our shift at the temple.

Lemon Ginger Chicken with Pineapple Mango Salsa

Workers at the temple were happy to see a birthday cake for Erik and told me how tasty it was. Wegman’s makes good cakes (is what I am told). I did purchase a gluten free piece of cake to join the celebration and it was very nice. I did meet a father and sons who came to the temple from Minnesota. I learned that they had lived in Canada for 20 years. For 15 years in the Red Deer Stake! He had gone to Canada (Ottawa) to go to law school and ended up practising in Red Deer. He knows my cousin, Todd Law. I asked what took him to Minnesota and his boys said, “You won’t believe what he did!” He left law and became an organic farmer in Minnesota!

Thursday brought a little bit warmer weather. Erik was finishing up little details at the other apartment and I was doing my workout. By the time we left to go work our shift at the temple, I was feeling a little tired. It’s not exactly a good way to start things. I kept nodding off during our preparation meeting before our shift. Our leftover cake was kept in the break room fridge and Erik made sure to have a piece before it was all gone.

Friday morning was a different type of morning. We donned our white scrubs to go help clean the temple. I’m not a real social morning person. I’m not grumpy but I like to start my day slowly and let my body get used to the day. There are squirrels in the area and I could see that some of the spring bulbs were being unearthed by the critters. There was a pansy that was nearly all the way out of the ground. I couldn’t leave it like that so, I dug a better hole for it and replanted it. Erik suggested that maybe I should be helping with the gardening. We had to fill out a form letting the temple maintenance people know what our skills were and also what we liked to do. My eyes hadn’t woken up yet and I couldn’t read the paper without some reading glasses. Erik filled in my paperwork for me. I was laughing because we had to rate everything from 1 to 5. I told Erik to put a 0 for me on a bunch of things. I really don’t know anything about commercial HVAC or boilers and pumps. Cleaning is my forte. After a couple of hours, we left to go home and figure out the rest of the day.

I wondered because of it being Good Friday, what would be going on in the area. Our landlord, Jeff, said that nothing should be different. Nothing except my heart as I pondered the Saviour’s crucifixtion.

“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

— John 15:12–13

INGREDIENTS

1 dozen white, organic eggs
Skins from approx. 10 onions
2 Tbsp. vinegar
Approx. 2 quarts water
String
Clean cheese cloth, gauze or nylon stockings cut into 4” pieces
Herbs, leaves, flowers and other botanicals to decorate

INSTRUCTIONS

Place onion skins in large stockpot.
Make sure eggs are clean. Dampen eggs slightly and apply leaves, flowers and botanicals to decorate. Place inside of piece of nylon stocking and tie both ends. Make sure the egg is wrapped tightly so that the botanical decoration stays in place.
Place prepared eggs into the pot with the onion skins.
Cover with water so that it is 1” above eggs. Add the vinegar and place the pot over medium-high heat.
Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Check eggs for desired color.
Remove from heat, let cool and store in fridge overnight.
When ready, carefully remove eggs from the fridge. Next, remove the stockings and design pieces. Dry off and oil if desired for shine.

I was reading about the Latvian Easter tradition of using natural botanicals and onion peels to dye eggs. These eggs are beautiful and a lovely tradition of using what God made for us. I enjoy researching culture from Latvia and Germany because that is where Erik’s parents were born.

Holy Week is known as “Quiet Week” in Lativa. I love that because it reminds us to be still and contemplate the life of the Saviour and what our relationship is with Him.

Saturday morning was so lovely and warm compared to what we had been having for weather. Very cloudy but warm. Threatening looking clouds that would have us checking for tornado warnings in Alberta were swirling all through the sky. Today we were working a double shift at the temple. I was determined to stay awake for this preparation meeting. The temple was full today of patrons and we were kept hopping. Erik was concerned because I didn’t get a break and ended up working the entire day without a break. My legs started complaining and I noticed that one ankle was swollen. Hopefully, a good night’s rest will help a lot.

I hope that you feel and enjoy the blessings in your lives. I know that we all will experience hard times and pain. I rejoice in knowing that Jesus Christ suffered for all of us and took upon himself our sorrows, pains and all hard things. Through the atonement, He brought the opportunity for exaltation and eternal joy. Have a blessed week!

Finding Our Way

April 6, 2025April 14, 2025 | cnaglis63

Monday the 30th of March came and I realized that we have been in Palymra for seven days. I like to start my day by drinking two cups of water and settling in to read my scriptures. Reading each day gives me strength and courage to go forth and try to be a better person. My personal reading schedule finds me in Alma in the Book of Mormon and in Acts in the New Testament. Plus I am studying the Come Follow Me program in the Doctrine & Covenants this year. It’s a lot to take in and process but I love being able to disect gospel principles and receive a confirmation.

Today was the day to meet the temple presidency. President and Sister Kimbler are from the Rochester area. The counselors are President and Sister Wozniak as well as President and Sister Lau. We met at the Kimbler’s home (the temple presidents have a home close to the temple) and Sister Kimbler made a beautiful luncheon for everyone. It was lovely to meet everyone. Brother Fergus, the temple recorder was also there and the Gurr’s. We were able to chat a little over lunch and afterwards we headed over to the temple for our orientation.

The Palmyra temple is one of what I call, “The Hinkley Temples. President Hinkley had built many temples according to this floor plan. They were called the small temples, usually just over 10,000 square feet. The Palmyra temple is all on one floor and is 10,900 sq. feet. There is a window in the main reception area that overlooks the Sacred Grove. I can’t wait to see it when the trees are leafed out. The trees that are there are a variety of the following: Sugar Maple, Tulip Poplar, White Ash, Black Walnut, Norway Spruce, Douglas Fir, Hemlock, Catalpa, Kentucky Coffee Tree as well as a variety of Oak species. Basically a hardwood forest covers the area.

The stained glass work in the temple is so beautiful. Looking back towards the main door, you see through a series of stained glass that looks like you are looking through the local forest, as to being in the Sacred Grove. This is the grove where Joseph Smith as a 14 year old boy, went to pray and ask God what to do as to religion. There were many different religions vying for members at this time; a religious revival. Joseph received his answer and it was not what he expected but he had been reading in the book of James. Chapter 1, verses 5 & 6. 5 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.

6 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.

I love his faith, being of a young age of a boy. I love these verses and from these I know that God loves us all and wants us to receive knowledge and understanding. Thus in 1820, he went to this grove of trees on the family farm and knelt to pray. In the Pearl of Great Price (a book of scripture), Joseph recounts the experience in the grove. It is titled Joseph Smith History. To be here in Palmyra where this account occured as well as other important events in history is inspiring and touching.

We received our missionary name badges and temple name badges as well as our scheduling for working. This week we will work 3 days. Our neighbors teased us about having a 4 day weekend. We finished orientation and left to go home and absorb what is ensuing for us.

Tuesday dawned and we checked outside to see what the weather is bringing. So far, spring season seems to be typical. Showers and clouds, wind and not yet warm enough to do short sleeves. I seem to be missing my Alberta blue skies. Sister Kimbler reminded me to take my vitamin D. I did my workout on the rebounder and then Erik decided that we should go shopping so that he could find some hiking shoes. We drove some back roads to a mall. The landscape here is stunning, beautiful acreages and homes, surrounded by woodlands. We reached the mall, parked and entered the mall to find shoes. Immediately, I found Williams Sonoma and told Erik that I needed to go in. It was heavenly! Erik spots a $400 toaster and says, “This is not a store for us!” I was not to be deterred, haha! I perused the knife section, drooling over the knives that I could imagine cooking with. Our little apartment has 3 knifes, dull as anything. Then I moved on to the rest of the store. I did purchase a couple of Victorinox knives and a micro-planer. We taste tested their Bunny Bark; quite delicious.

Walking on, we cruised the entire mall to find the shoe store that he wanted to go to. He found a pair of Merrell hiking shoes, and off we went for lunch. Finding a Mexican restaurant, we decided to try it. It was okay, but the horchata was exquisite. I had Erik drive me to the Hobby Lobby so that I could get embroidery floss for my Nauvoo cross stitch pattern. I can’t say Hobby Lobby without saying it like my friend, Carol Keller. It’s her midwest accent that I will never forget.

Arriving back at the apartment, I was feeling exhausted and wondered if it was wise to do a workout and then walk all over the mall and now have to work a shift at the temple. Maybe a nap? Erik got his nap in while I sat with my feet up. We packed a protein bar to go the temple and headed there. It’s a four minute drive; pure bliss! It was wonderful to be welcomed to the temple family and learn the procedures that the temple uses. Can you say, completely shattered? That’s how I felt after completing our day. Because of our jaunt around the countryside, I hadn’t done my Spanish lesson and had to do it at 10 pm that night. Lesson learned both ways; do it much sooner in the day.

Wednesday was a rain day; all day long and into the night. We went looking for a couple of items and ended up driving to Newark which is east of Palmyra. The highway travels alongside the Erie Canal. I spotted a Tractor Supply store which is just like Peavey Mart in Canada (the Peavey Mart that went into bankruptsy and is no more). I helped me feel like home and was able to find a shoe horn for Erik. I had the opportunity to chat with a couple of ladies in Marshall’s because they asked me about my name badge.

Spanish lesson was done early! We decided to do an early supper because we need to be at the temple by 4:30 pm. Discovering that our shifts do not have lunch/dinner breaks, we decided to change up our schedule. I am including the recipe for our supper. Adapt as you need for dietary needs.

https://eatwithclarity.com/white-chicken-bean-chili/#wprm-recipe-container-47154

The temperature was dropping and the rain was slushy and collecting in the spring plantings at the temple. I must invest in a umbrella as I learned that it rains frequently here. We met a whole new shift of workers. When you are an Historic Site missionary, you are able to work 2 to 3 shifts per month in the temple. We also were able to meet Sister Lau, as she had been in Idaho visiting grandchildren. Erik and I were also able to meet President and Sister Hall, who attend the Spanish Branch that we will be in. They were very excited that I spoke Spanish and already told us that we will be speaking in May. Jump right in with both feet. I had told Erik earlier that I can help him with translating a prayer and a simple testimony into Spanish and that he could have it at hand to go when needed. President and Sister Hall loved that idea. That idea was thanks to President Spackman from the Calgary temple. He told me that when he was a mission president in New York, he had a missionary translate a prayer for him so that he could memorize it and use it when needed.

One of the temple workers has a quirky sense of humor. While I went to the break room for a drink from my water bottle, he opens the freezer section of the fridge, looks in and then closes the fridge. He looks at me and says, “The temple missionaries always keep the freezer stocked with Turkey Hill.” I asked him what that was. It turns out that it’s ice cream. Haha, good luck with that! His wife told me at the end of the evening that she’s too cheap to buy that expensive brand of ice cream. It was nice to go home and put feet up. The rain was still coming down and in the middle of the night, the wind had to have been blowing fiercely because the building was shaking. Thunder, lightening and sirens, oh, my!

The weather forecast for Thursday was bringing warmer temperatures. It was going to be 20°C and still cloudy. I had a slow start to my day; standing on the marble floors for 3 hours straight made my bones a little achy. But after getting moving, life started to feel better. Erik wanted to do some ruck sacking while he was trekking around Palmyra. I remember Lyndon doing it when he lived in Calgary. He would load up a backpack and head out for a walk. There is a company that actually sells supplies to do rucksacking but Erik says they are very expensive. Rucksacking is just walking with weight on your back aka backpacking. I never wanted to be a Sherpa thus I never was interested in doing backpacking. It reminds me of Sister Marjorie Hinckley when she said that both her and her husband Gordon wanted to do different things for vacation, so she went off doing what she wanted and Gordon did his choice. She said that it made for a happy marriage. So, I bounce on the rebounder and have a little dance party all by myself, six days a week.

Pounding bass music was coming from a pickup truck parked across the street. It went on for what seemed forever. Dare I ask the Lord again for the favor of making the music stop? Well, I did, and it did too. We prepared for another evening shift at the temple. Yet again meeting new workers and missionaries. When I put my water bottle in the break room, it seemed that every surface was covered in some kind of treat. There was a really big cake on a table, decorated with the 25th Anniversary of the Palmyra temple, April 6, 2000. There were donuts, cookies, etc. When I opened the freezer to tell the tale of Brother Wilson’s request, There had to have been 7-8 tubs of ice cream in the freezer! Brother Wilson was going to be thrilled. He came in shortly and made himself a plate of cake and ice cream.

After a lovely evening working in the temple, it was time to head back to our apartment and have a snack and prepare for bed. We have the Canadian Government sending us voting ballots to mail in. Hopefully it doesn’t take too long. Everyone needs to use their voice in the election.

On Friday, April 4th, Erik made some plans after his walk-about, to take a drive to see Sodus Point. I had done my rebounding and thanks to my friend, Janet, I added a song to my playlist. It’s called, “Good Day” by Forrest Frank. He does worship music and this song is a great way to start our days.

We stopped at the Martin Harris farm on our way. There isn’t a building to tour but there is a monument with a map of the farm. He was an early supporter of Joseph Smith. He lived on a 300 acre farm outside of Palmyra. He received this portion from his father’s original 600 acres.

Martin mortgaged 240 acres of his farm to be able to secure payment for the printing of the Book of Mormon. Martin authorized E.B. Grandin to sell the land at auction to cover the debt if Martin defaulted. Eventually, he was required to sell 151 acres in order to pay the debt. This home in the photo is not the original but was rebuilt and is privately owned.

We headed north of Palmyra to get to Sodus Point. In 1794, this was the first settlement of European-American. Before the settlers came, the area had been for centuries, the territory of the Onondaga Nation. During the War of 1812, the village was burned by a British raiding party. This left only one building but the village was rebuilt. This village is on the shore of Lake Ontario on a point of land on the northeast edge of Sodus Bay. The name was derived from a native word meaning, “gleam on the water.” Another possible origin is from the Iroquois, “Land of silver waters.”

Lighthouse monument within the original footings.

Volunteers look after the gardens at Sodus Point.

The area became an important port on Lake Ontario in the 19th Century. As the Erie Canal shifted state transportation patterns, the village’s function as a port declined. In the later 19th century, it became a popular vacation resort, especially for people from Chicago and other cities during the summers. We really noticed this as we were driving around. There were a lot of vacation homes and vacation rentals. It was fun to see all the boats in the shipyard. The museum was not open yet for the season but we took a few photos and tried not to freeze to death. The wind coming off of Lake Ontario was frigid but the view was beautiful. Erik brought out his binoculars so that we could see the Chimney Bluffs, which were spectacular.

Chimney Bluffs (not for scaredy cats like me)

This area is also known for it’s apple orchards and is only second in production in the USA behind Yakima County in Washington state. They call it the Finger Lakes Apple Country. We saw so many orchards being prepared for the coming season. It looks so different than anything we’ve seen before in Canada.

Leaving Sodus Point, we went to the Chimney Bluffs State Park. I went to the beach to see the stones, while Erik went up the hill to the cliff edges. Some of you may know that I am not a fan of heights and Erik even said that I wouldn’t have liked it where he had gone. The stones are famous here for buildings. If you look closely at the Martin Harris farm house, it is built in that manner. It was amazing to see them up close because of the colors.

Heading back south we made it home and then I realized that we needed some groceries for the weekend. Off to Wegman’s we went to procur nourishment to sustain us during General Conference. For my gluten free/celiac friends, I may try a recipe from the Loopy Whisk for a baking project. I used to always make cinnamon rolls (it feels like a million years ago) for General Conference weekend. I’m feeling brave. We’ll see how it goes. Most importantly we are looking forward to the messages. Oh, I just realized that we are not in the same time zone. It’ll be odd but it’ll be awesome to be fed spiritually and feel the joy of the gospel.

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