446...

Claude was going to be gone from Tuesday morning to Friday evening. I had, and still have, a lot of things I was looking forward to doing with this time. Alas, other wonderful things would fill this time. Some were standard things, others were unique adventures. Here's the story...

Tuesday the weather report was for good weather all day. I determined this would be the best day to take Papa for a ride. Claude has been asked to look at a potential route for die-hard bicyclists to take from Sadieville to Stamping Ground and back. Claude asked me to consider the roads Papa and I sometimes drive and give him some suggestions. So, my plan for this drive was to 'kill two birds with one stone'. That is a strange saying. We would criss-cross Scott County and take mileage measurements as we went. This kept us on all very, very back roads which Papa loves. I'm praying for no one to be on some of those roads as there is barely room to pass on many of them. 

After our nice ride, I went to Arby's for dinner. Then to Lexington to pick up our two pieces of art we had framed. Then back to Georgetown to clear our grocery list before returning to Sadieville. 

My alarm went off at 7am Wednesday morning. My destination was LaGrange. Bailey called me the week before and asked if I was 'available' April 26th and 27th between 10:30am and  11:30am each of those days. I told her that, if I could only do one day, it should be Thursday as I had stuff in the afternoon and evening every Wednesday. I asked her what she needed. She told me her class would be dissecting sharks and her teacher needed several parent helpers. Andie and Michael can't because of work. So Bailey was asking me to fill in for them. Now, I ask you, who doesn't want to dissect sharks with a bunch of 4th graders?? Really! I assured her I would be there both mornings. So much for clearing some things off my to do list.

I filled up with gas on my way out of town and made it in plenty of time to Bailey's school. I checked in at the office and then went to her classroom. They were watching their teacher give a presentation about what they would be doing. I was glad to see this before we actually got into the process. Other parents showed up by 10:30am and we were ready to begin this learning experience.

Bailey's classroom has about 8 tables with four kids to each table. All of these we covered with a plastic tablecloth. Each table had a disposable pan that contained a tape measure and a set of utensils to cut and explore the shark. The kids and parents were each given disposable gloves to wear during this exploration. The kids also each had a worksheet to be completed, front and back. They each chose an old pencil that could be thrown away when the project was completed. The cute thing was the toothpaste smeared under each child's nose. This was to help with the odor for shark and formaldehyde. We were ready.

Two of the fathers went into the hallway and brought in another disposable pan that contained one shark, one for each table. These were set on the tables and kids started to gag from the odor and queezy stomachs at the sight of a little dead shark in front of them. Not so with Miss B. She embraced this opportunity but she has a soft spot in her heart for all animals and it was evident as she checked out the shark for their table for the first time.

But, that didn't last forever. She was ready to play.

The first day was just to learn about the exterior of the shark. The worksheets had them measure the length, circumference in several places, place labels they had previously made on the right body parts, and weight of the shark compared to their weight. Then they were to just explore the outside of the shark and list any questions they had for the next day.

Once they were finished, the shark pan was put in a plastic bag and left in the washroom between two classrooms. The table cloths and plastic gloves were carefully removed and disposed of. The kids had another hour of class before their lunch time. I brought Bailey lunch so I went to the lobby and posted pictures on Facebook for family to see while I waited for Bailey. The cutest thing was watching the 2nd and 3rd graders coming to the bathroom before going to their lunch time. They had their noses pinched to block the smell and were trying hard not to gag. This is only amplified because others are doing it and it seems the right way to react. I was in stitches watching these cuties. My desire was to tell them that, in a few years, they would be the ones working with the sharks. 

Bailey enjoyed her lunch and it was nice to do that with her again. Then I was off to Georgetown. Papa and I would go to the nursing home. I would also teach Institute. Got home about 9pm. Spent the rest of my evening getting things ready for the next day.

Thursday, my alarm went off again at 7am. I filled up my car on the way to LaGrange for day two with the shark. Got checked in at the office and on to Bailey's classroom. When all was ready and instructions had been given to the kids that only the parent volunteers could use the scalpel and scissors, the kids could use all other instruments. The only thing they had to do was identify the inside body parts before having their own exploration of the inside of the shark. Again, Bailey was hands on.

We found the heart.

We extracted the eyeball for Bailey and Will. Bailey found a very hard white ball on the inside the size of a sweet pea. She had a medicine bottle she brought from home and that eyeball went in there. Then she cut off part of the bottom layer of teeth and put that in her medicine bottle. I know she also took a piece of the fin. 

Our table was the first to find the brain. This is not easy to get at. It is completely surrounded by bone and very hard cartilage. 

The kids really got into exploring with the shark. They were all over the bad smell and disgusting thought of a dead shark. I'm not sure what all they each learned but I know they had some kind of interesting learning curve with this experience. Bailey put something in my purse which I pretended not to notice. She likes to do these secret things.

We cleaned up the room and I was off to the Middle School to have lunch with Hayden. He was very happy to have me come to have lunch with him. I shared pictures of the shark experience. He shared pictures of their cats. We plotted my picking him up to take him to his track meet after school.

I left the school and headed directly to Walmart. You see, that pesky shark squirted some shark juice on my t-shirt while cutting him for the kids. I knew I smelled like formaldehyde and shark and it was not pleasant. I did go to Applebee's for Wanton Chicken Tacos for my dinner. When I went outside the wind had picked up and it was decidedly cooler. I did not have a jacket. When I checked the forecast before leaving Sadieville, I had no concerns about this. So, back to Walmart I went and found a thin, inexpensive sweatshirt that was perfect. Now I was ready to stay outside for Hayden's track meet in the evening. 

I had about a hour to myself at the Marx home. I changed clothes and felt much better not having so much of a shark experience odor about me. Then I left to pick up Hayden and take him for his track meet. When Andie got finished with her after school meetings, she picked up Bailey and joined us. Michael would also come after work. It would be a family affair.

Hayden ran in three races. The 400 which is one lap around the track. He would do two relay races: the 4 x 100 and the 4 x 400. I could not believe how long it takes to get through a track meet. We were there from 4:30pm to 8:30pm. There were still events going on after Hayden finished his last event and we left. That is a lot for a school night. 

Michael had a great suggestion for dinner. He led us to a place called Blaze Pizza. It was a fun experience as well. It is like the Chipotle of pizza. You choose what type of pizza you want and then go down a buffet line of toppings to get it put together. Then they cook it very quickly and, voila, you have pizza for everyone. We ordered one large Caesar salad to share. It was delicious. We must take Claude back there some time.

I also brought the souvenirs for everyone from China. After sharing those, I hit to road for Sadieville getting home at 11pm. Whew!!

Friday morning I slept in a bit. Then off to Lexington and back to Georgetown to visit Papa. Claude was to have been back to Lexington by 6pm. Turns out Pres. Trump was speaking in Atlanta and that backed up all the flights. He made it home closer to 9pm. But he was home and I was happy to have him back again.

Just out of curiosity, I set my trip meter in my car on Wednesday morning. From Wednesday morning when I left my home to Friday when Claude got home, I drove 446 miles. Yep, it was a very busy 3 days. And, those to do list items are still waiting for attention a little longer. But we built some good memories and that is way more important.

From Bridges to Diamonds...

Friday, April 21st, Papa had a doctor's appoint with Dr. Thomas, his cardiologist. It was at 1pm. I got him to the doctor and he did fine. In fact, Dr. Thomas said he doesn't need to come for 6 months this time. Yippee!! 

Friday is the day I usually purchase more bananas, milk and/or bread for Papa to get him through the weekend. He only needed bananas this time, so I asked Papa if he would mind sitting in the car so I could run into Kroger and get him some bananas. No problem at all. He loves anything that takes him out of the apartment. As I went into the store, I felt that I should take Papa for a little drive. It was about 2pm now and Claude was going to pick me up at 4pm. So, I didn't have much time. Where could we drive for a brief ride. Then it occurred to me, Claude has been asked to suggest a route the bicyclists could take from Sadieville to Stamping Ground on back roads. Claude knows Papa and I drive those roads a lot and he asked for my help. I would just drive some of those and get some ideas.

I got back out to my car and suggested to Papa we go for a brief drive. I had to emphasize 'brief' because he likes the rides that are 5-6 hours. Papa was very happy with the idea so we set out on an unplanned drive. I decided about half way through to take Switzer Road. We had actually done this road on our last ride a week before but going the opposite direction on it. In doing that, I missed this great photo moment with Papa. But Friday, I did not miss the photo op and it was a very nice one for him.

Franklin County has only one covered bridge left. There used to 400 in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. I found a website that showed 12 in Kentucky now. I think I'll make that a potential driving tour for Papa and me this summer. The Franklin County covered bridge is in Switzer. 

We did a brief walk from where I was able to park to the bridge. You can't drive over. My hope was to get Papa to stand by the bridge for a picture. He is very unsteady on his feet and I didn't want him falling. We got him up the little hill to the end of the bridge and I turned to go back out enough to get a picture of him and the bridge. When I turned around to take the picture, He was already starting to come down that hill by himself. He didn't seem to remember I asked him to stand still for the picture. I quickly took a picture and then ran to hold him arm and walk back to the car with him. He loved the spot though.

Claude came and picked me up at Papa's and we headed out for our date. Claude had picked a place for dinner and kept it a surprise until we got there. There is an Outlet Mall in Simpsonville, Kentucky. They have a Johnny Rockets. This is where we had dinner. Look at these cute bowls placed in front of us for our catsup!

We browsed a store in the Outlet Mall for a bit and then headed to Louisville. We had tickets to see Neil Diamond. The concert was to being at 8pm. However, this is lead up to Derby Day and Louisville was having Thunder Over Louisville this weekend. Several roads we might normally take to get into downtown and the Yum Center were noted on the Thunder Over Louisville website as being closed Friday and Saturday. We left ample time to wander until we could get to a parking spot which might be a bit of a struggle with all that would be going on. That went well and we found a great spot and had 45 minutes till concert time.

We went in and found our seats and were very pleased with them. When it was time for the concert to begin and the lights went dim, this huge Yum Center was packed, cell phones came out with their flashlights shining and everyone stood up as Neil Diamond entered.

He had all of us from the very beginning. He sang for two straight hours with no intermission, just him and his band and two sisters that are the backup singers. It was a bit of heaven.

When he finished, he came back for an encore of four songs. The first was Sweet Caroline. He must have done the chorus three times at least, maybe four. We all just sang and repeated phrases. It was great. He also did Coming to America. 

Neil Diamond is still in great voice. He can still fill a huge venue. His music seems perfect for that large a group. It seems even better in that setting. 

We left the Yum Center and it was starting to rain. Claude drove in rain back to Georgetown where I had to pick up my car from Papa's. I had a break in the rain getting home from Papa's. Then it started up again. But we had a wonderful day on Friday.

Easter Prayer Answered...

My drive from Sadieville to Georgetown for Church is about 20 minutes. On Sunday morning as I drive I like to use that time to have a little talk with Heavenly Father. No radio, just quiet and time to pray. One of the things on a Sunday I ask is to have at least one good moment when I feel the Spirit. As I get to Church, I know what I have asked for and I try to put myself in the frame of mind and heart to receive an answer to that prayer. Easter Sunday morning I talked with Heavenly Father on the way to Church and asked for that blessing. It was answered many fold for me. 

The talks were absolutely wonderful. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the members are invited to give the talks on Sunday. This time they speakers were asked to speak about the Atonement and specifically the 'enabling power' of the Atonement. This helps us to accomplish more than we ever could on our own. This is the mercy of Christ in our lives. 

The Primary children sang a beautiful special number. When all those little children under 12 years of age come and fill the stand and sing the words of gospel truth, there is always a strengthening of the Spirit. Even Papa, who can't understand the words they sing due to his deafness, is always touched deeply by the children singing.

And, for me, one of the most tender moments in that meeting was the Sacrament. We have the Sacrament every Sunday. The young boys 12-13 years of age are deacons and they pass the Sacrament. The young men 16-17 years of age are priests and they bless the Sacrament. Easter Sunday there were two Down Syndrome young men passing the Sacrament. I remember a time in my life when it was felt you couldn't do much with a child with Down Syndrome. And, yet, here were two young men passing the Sacrament to each member of the congregation. Spencer had the assistance of one of the other deacons to be able to know exactly where to stand and what to do. Jack had the help of an older priesthood brother that is called to be Jack's helper every Sunday. Jack loves Joe Morey. Joe is the father of four daughters. He has no sons. And yet, in his infinite wisdom, the Lord has provided him with an opportunity to help a young man learn to officiate in the office of deacon in the Priesthood. Very, very tender. Sis. Gibert was sitting in front of Papa and I and was wearing a large brimmed white hat. Jack was doing everything just right, which is amazing in itself as Jack is really full of energy and it takes a lot for him to stay focused. He has a great zest for life and it just spills over in everything he does. He stood at the end of the pew while the Sacrament was being passed down the short pew and as he stood there he realized Sis. Gibert had on this great white hat. He looked at it for a moment and then his zest for life took over. He patted Sis. Gibert on the head and said, "Nice hat!" We all smiled and Jack went back into reverent mode to continue his service passing the Sacrament. One of the priests is severely Autistic. A couple of years ago he might not even have come to Church. But he has embraced his Autism and is working very hard to deal with it in a way that he learns to interact with people. The young men are super at including him and helping him with this very hard goal. Ian was kneeling giving the blessing on the bread or water. I was just touched at what a miracle the Church is for people. These three young men simply helped me to see how the Church enables us to be more that we possibly could without it. How the love and care of other members supports us in our struggles to become what Heavenly Father wants us to be. It is a Church of miracles. 

This was a great Sunday. Not because it was Easter, although that helped I am sure. But because the answer to a little prayer on the way to Church was answered on so many levels in such a profound manner. Filled my cup and I still am uplifted every time I think of it. 

The Journey Home...

We slept in on Monday, April 10. We left the Beijing airport without Alan. He got us all checked in and then he stayed as his wife was bringing their next group to China. Somehow we all made it to the gate which took a train and a bus to get to. But everyone found their way even with the gate change. 

We flew out of Beijing at 3:00pm. We arrived in Los Angeles at 12 Noon the same day. Yike. This stuff messes with one's head. We lost Thursday flying over and add 3 hours flying back. Claude and I would stay in the Los Angeles airport until 10:45pm before our flight would leave for Cincinnati. We arrived in Cincinnati at about 6:00am Tuesday morning. Our suitcases all made it with us. Yippee!!

When we got home we unpacked everything and I started laundry. Then we set our alarm so we could get 1 1/2 hours sleep. We would stay up the rest of the day and go to bed at a normal time. It is one week later and we still are not right with Kentucky time. But we are getting there. 

This was another good trip. We learned a lot. We saw some amazing things. What an amazing wonderful world we live in. Now...where do we go next year?

Last full day in Beijing...

It is our last full day in Beijing. We started it by going to Church. How nice this was for each of us. The drive over we saw another very unusual building. I got three pictures while the bus was moving. What do you think of this engineering job?

This two pictures were taken near where we attended Church. Beautiful.

After Church we visited the Yuan Long Silk Store. As usual they taught us about the silk worms and making the thread and then the fabric. This prepares you for the store that is right there. The first picture is the stages of the larva. The second is Claude holding a cocoon. Usually there is one pupa in a cocoon. Sometimes there are two. If there is one, the single thread that makes up the cocoon can be softened and unwound. If there are two, the cocoon cannot be unwound. So the double cocoons are used to make the batting like filling for comforters and pillows and things. In the third picture she is holding a cocoon by its single thread and explaining just how strong this thread is. The thread will be unwound and several threads will be twisted together to make the thread used for embroidery and weaving into silk fabric. The next picture shows the stretching of the double cocoons so they can be used as the batting for the comforters. And the last picture shows just how light weight that silk batting is. There, we are all trained and ready to shop. 

There was one showroom filled with comforters. They come in weights and you buy according to where in the world you live and what weight is needed for that country. And they come in sizes to fit queen and king and super king sized beds. Now, we didn't go expecting to buy anything. But everyone else seemed to have been intent on buying at least one comforter. One couple bought six of them. Alan and Ida Mae sleep year round under one and it warms them in the winter and cools them in the summer. The use no other blankets. They live in Ogden, Utah. You never, ever run them through the washer. Just take them out in the sun to air out every few weeks. Bugs do not like them so you never have to worry about bed bugs. You could purchase a silk duvet to cover your silk comforter. Or, you can buy the silk comforter and take it home, go to a store and buy two cotton sheets the right size, stitch them together on three sides and slide your silk comforter down in that for a duvet. Claude and I ended up purchasing two, one for each of our beds. We did not purchase the silk duvet for it. That is just too slippery. Buying them in China was very inexpensive. The store squeezes them down so they are easy to pack in your luggage and they just don't add much weight. I'll have to let you know if they work great. Oh the education we received on things in China!

Hanging on the wall for decoration were silk garments like what was made for an Emperor and Empress. Sitting on the ground was an old loom for making silk fabric.

Silk shopping accomplished we were off to walk some more. A lot more. 

First we visited Tiananmen Square. Here is a map showing the square and how it adjoins the Forbidden City. The square is outlined in red. We walked all over it. You must go through security to enter the area of the square though.

Our bus dropped us off across from the original train station. Henry the 9th had us all look below our feet. There were places in the pavement where the 'sewer' was right beneath our feet. These were covers over the holes for squatty potties, the favored potty of the people in Asian countries. When they have a big event on Tiananmen Square, these are uncovered and buildings are placed over them so there are bathroom facilities for people. After the event the buildings are removed and the potty holes are covered again. The last two pictures are the bell tower and the first gate for the Forbidden City. 

As we lined up to go through security, we were across from Chairman Mao's Mausoleum. The story goes that he wanted to be cremated and left instructions to that effect before he died. However, the people felt he should have a place to be remembered so they went against his instructions and buried him here. It is open for people to view him at certain times.

We crossed from security into Tiananmen Square. It is really big.

If you stand in the middle of Tiananmen Square and turn to face Mao's Mausoleum, then you turn right around the Square, this is what you will see. The first three are of the monuments on either side of Chairman Mao's Mausoleum and the Mausoleum. Continue turning right and you see another huge building that is the Great Hall of the People. This is really like their Capitol Hill where congress meets. Turning right again and opposite Chairman Mao's Mausoleum is the Tiananmen Square Gate. Going through this gate puts you in the Forbidden City. It was on this gate that Chairman Mao told the citizens that the Forbidden City was now open for them to visit. To the right of that gate and in front of the huge viewing platform is where the young student was supposedly run over by a tank. That is an iconic image in history. Now there is uncertainty as to whether he died or not. If you make one more turn and face the street we entered the Square on you see the National Museum.

In the center of Tiananmen Square is a tall monument which is the equivalent of our Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Here are some other pictures we took will visiting Tiananmen Square. The first is from one side of the monument to unknown soldiers flanked by Chinese flags with Mao's Mausoleum behind it. The second is me and Claude with Tiananmen Gate in the background. There are guards in front around the base of the flag. The last is a picture of a flag from another country flying with the Chinese flag. There were two different flags from two different countries flying with the Chinese flags. These are put out as a courtesy when a foreign leader is visiting China. So they will change depending on which foreign dignitary is in Beijing or China.

Time to enter and walk through the Forbidden City. We would enter through an opening to the left of Tiananmen Gate as you face it. This leads into a beautiful garden area named Zhongshan Park. One of the purposes for taking us here has to do with our Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many years ago, David O. McKay (who would later be a prophet of the Church) and his companion went to China to dedicated it for missionary work. The exact location of where this was done was drawn on a map. In the second picture from the bottom is a tree that looks dead by the moat around the Forbidden City. That is the tree the two men stood beside when this dedicatory prayer was offered. David O. McKay is a great, great, uncle of Alan (I'm not sure how many greats should be there). Nice bit of Church history for us.

This last picture taken in Zhongshan Park is of paper laying on the ground with poems painted on them. These poems are descriptions of their daughters and they are trying to find marriage partners for them. When I paused very quickly to take this picture, it was the only time I receive a bit of chastisement for taking a picture. I'm not sure if he was afraid I was stealing something with this picture. My intent was just to remember the moment. But, here it is and this is what we were told they do with these poems.

Now we would exit the garden and enter the Forbidden City proper. It was called the Forbidden City because the people were forbidden to enter. Only the Emperor and Empress, concubines and eunuch were allowed to be in the Forbidden City. We didn't go through all 9,999 rooms. That would take days and days. But here are some of the buildings we saw.

The carved marble paths between the stairs were only for the Emperor and Empress. They were carved out of one piece of marble. This same type of stair was in the Temple of Heaven. Did you notice the pictures of the mythical animals on the turned up corners of the roof? Count them. If there are 9 creatures between the first and the last, that is where the Emperor resided. 

We would visit the residence of the Dragon Queen or the Last Empress of China. Her furnishings for her home have been kept and put in the rooms. There are glass windows on the front so you can see into the rooms and what they looked like. There is a center courtyard and the furnished rooms are around the outside of it.  

As we exited this residence, I took a picture of the door. We saw several of these but I didn't remember taking a picture. The number 9 is an important number in China. It is considered lucky. The studs on these doors are in 9 rows top to bottom and with 9 studs in each row.

The next garden was full of limestone rocks. They were placed in the garden as they came from the mountain, holes and all. In the feng shui layout of things you need four things, water, rock, trees and architecture. This would definitely fit the bill for the rock piece of the pie.

Then a few final pictures as we left the Forbidden City. The red flower is a Red Rose Peony just getting ready to blossom out. It is the flower of China. The pink is a Tulip Magnolia.

What a great way to finish off our trip the China. 

Our final destination was one last shopping experience. We would be taken to Yashow Market and left to shop one final time. This building has 6 floors. The top is an eatery. Every square inch is full of shops with an escalator through the middle to get you up and down the floors. This is called a 'knock-off market'. Everything in there is fake. It looks like the real deal but it is all fake and can be sold for a song. All our haggling experience came to bear for those wanting to shop here. Our need was another suitcase like a carry-on size to be sure we had everything within weight limits for our luggage going to America. Other than that, we were really not interested in shopping for silly things. So, we got our suitcase at a very good price, then we exited the building and hiked around the corner where we enjoyed our last dinner in China at a Subway with dessert at a Dunkin Donuts!!! We are so cool.

Time to get back to the hotel and be sure everything was packed correctly for the flight home the next day. We would get to sleep in really late in preparation for that journey.