Wee Pause

Tante Marianne

Dear Valued Reader:

This blog is going on a wee hiatus.  

I apologize, but my life is a bit cRAzY at the moment. 

(Yes, I have lost my mind, but I expect it will return shortly.)

  

In the meantime, talk amongst yourselves, 

find other ways to amuse yourselves, 

go Christmas shopping (!),

attend a holiday party or two,

... and I'll return with new blog posts as soon as possible.

Thanksgiving With the Saints

The Pickering Ward Gang

For Thanksgiving Day, I was privileged to be invited to a special ward Thanksgiving.  This was held for all the singles and others who had no place to go for the big day.

I thought there would be a couple of singles there, but to my delight there were all kinds of people, more than 40 individuals, including a few families that I love very much.

I was very thankful!

Darryl and the tables set beyond.

In fact, there were so many people, they had almost not set up enough chairs for everyone.

(L to R) Nancy, Vicki and Karin listening to people in the group introduce themselves

There was a lovely appetizer table set up with crackers, cheese, olives and all kinds of sliced fruit. That was really yummy!

Karin and I posing

Karin and her husband Darryl are wonderful friends.  I was so happy to see them there!  I wore my Thanksgiving Turkey pin for the occasion, even though it clashed with my sweatshirt.   Some things are tradition!

The appetizer table was depleted after the grazing!

Our beloved missionary couple, the Allens, and our good Bishop Prescott and his wife presided over the kitchen.

These people are always in motion!

The meal itself consisted of turkey and all the fixings!  There was a huge tossed green salad, two kinds of sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy and, of course, stuffing and cranberries!

Everything was very yummy.

The tables had been so very nicely decorated.  There were butter and rolls on each of the four church tables that had been set up, and large pitchers of water.

It was a serve yourself kind of set-up, but that didn't detract from our enjoyment of every little thing.

I had two the Bishop's children at my table

 The food was very good.  The conversation was fun!

David and Brother Allen deep in conversaton

Everyone seemed to happily stuff themselves.

The gravy and cranberry station

I really enjoy Thanksgiving.  It was fun to spend it with some of my Ward members.

My plate - lots of yum!

Later, there were four or five different kinds of pies.  I chose a delicious pecan pie and ate half of that before I slipped into a food coma.  That was the perfect ending to a splendid meal.

Hope your Thanksgiving was as enjoyable as mine was!

Thanksgiving with the Office

Walter, taking a panoramic photo of our party, while Joel and Stephen look on

I love my co-workers.  There.  I've said it.  I enjoy them very much and am happy to come to work every day.

One KOA tradition, started many, many years ago, is having a Thanksgiving luncheon the week prior to Thanksgiving.

This year, instead of bringing food in, we opted for going out to Marie Callender's for lunch instead.  It was a lot of fun.

Gerry looks like he is sitting alone, but he isn't!

The food was yummy and good spirits ran high.

Danika, Carmen and Sabrina

Danika, smile at me!

These photos were taken on the sly, so some are better than others.  At least you get the idea of what it was like.

There were several tables and people seemed to really enjoy themselves.

Eric smiles for the camera as others are lost in conversation

Well, except for one person who had an unfortunate accident when the new, and very nervous, waitress dumped not just one, but two large, iced drinks down his back.

I didn't get a photo and names are being withheld to protect the innocent... and the guilty.

That part wasn't very fun.

Yummy turkey and stuffing!

The food was great, however.  We had our choice of traditional turkey, a chicken/broccoli pasta dish, or the all-you-can eat salad bar.

I believe most of us chose the turkey.

My only complaint was getting my piece of pumpkin pie sans whipped cream!  That was a sacrilege!

What is wrong with this picture?

This was the first of two Thanksgiving meals for me.

So you see, I am very Thankful.

Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving

May you be able to enjoy this holiday with family and friends close by!

An Heritage in the Lord's Service

These are my four nephews.  From left to right:  Daniel, Nils, Anders and Christian.

They are handsome dudes.

But more importantly they are intelligent, kind and good people.

They are men of valor and integrity.

I love them!  A Lot.

Daniel served as a Latter-day Saint missionary in Germany and Austria.  Nils served in Mexico. Christian is still too young  and Anders... he's coming home today.

This (below) is the boys' great-great-grandfather Nils.  He was the one who set the pattern on our Dad's side of the family.  He served two missions in his native land of Norway for the Lord. What's more, he served 'without purse or scrip'.  That's an old-fashioned way to say he had no money and no printed materials, like books and pamphlets, to help him.  He was a man of great faith, as was his wife.

My great-grandfather Nils (above)

This is my dad's family (below)

My dad, middle row, far left; my grandfather Axel, front right

My dad is in the middle row on the far left.  He served as a missionary to Norway, too. 

My brother also served as a missionary.  He broke with tradition when he was sent to the country of Sweden.  We forgave him!  (That is a joke.  He had no control over this.)

He sent me the selfie below last month:

He likes to play with funny settings on his camera.  This is supposed to look like a photo from the 1950s, and it succeeds very well!

Today Anders, my third nephew, returns from serving an honorable mission to the great state of Texas!

Anders, far left, attends a baptism

On Monday, my brother, Anders' father, wrote in his last letter to Anders:

Well, this is it. You have served faithfully for two years. You have blessed the lives of many people in Texas. I know this from the things you have told me and the photos you have sent. People's lives have been changed forever, and that would not have happened if you hadn't come on a mission. There is nothing better you could have done with your life the past two years. I am proud of you, son. I know the Lord is proud of you, too. I hope you feel the calm assurance of a job well done. 

I wish I could be there today as Anders arrives home and steps off that plane from Texas.  

There is nothing better than serving and helping our Heavenly Father's children wherever they may be in the world.

We currently have three young men serving our congregation in Whittier, California.

As they taught us on Sunday, I couldn't help thinking of my family's heritage of faith in God and service to His children.

Pickering Relief Society

It's something I'm very grateful for.

PS:  As I was finishing up this post, I got the word - He's HOME!

Elder Anders at Salt Lake Airport

Riding Rickshaw

My neighbor attests to the fact that Japanese Rickshaw drivers are amazing athletes! They are able to pull people around in their vehicles all day without complaint.

They also know their way around town well and at times can a be a good resource for information about the city they serve.

Rickshaws cater mostly to tourists these days, but there are locals who still use them to get around in, as they are much more maneuverable in heavy traffic than a car.

George had fun talking to these Rickshaw drivers.

These guys were not only highly physically fit, but they were charming representatives of their culture and city.

Seems like a crazy, but honorable way to earn a living.

Have you ever ridden in a Rickshaw?

Jack is Helping

This is Jack.

He is helping me to box up some books.

He thinks the boxes are a fort.

He is also protecting us from evil monsters.

Oh.  Hi, Mom.  Just keeping us safe from scary monsters.

Have a great weekend, everybody!  And stay away from scary monsters!