A Week with Family & Friends...

This was Thanksgiving Week. We filled it nicely. 

Monday morning, November 21st, we got up and I went to work cleaning bathrooms, changing bed linens and setting some things in order in our home in preparation for Thanksgiving. Claude went to Kroger to pick up the last of the fresh things we would need for Thanksgiving. When he got home, we packed our suitcase and loaded our car. 

You see, our son, Jake, moved into an apartment on Saturday, November 19th. He had taken a job at the Chelsea Hospital and was rooming with a friend. His former landlord, Parker, contacted Jake and let him know he had an apartment coming available. It was the first apartment Jake ever rented from him. He knew Jake was back in Chelsea and wondered if he was interested in that apartment. Jake asked to think about it overnight. He called Parker the next morning and said he would take the apartment. Since Jake's things are stored in our shed and home, we needed to get the first carload of things he would need up to him. Monday and Tuesday were our days to do that. 

The drive to Chelsea went really well for the most part. We left our home about 11:30am. All was fine until we hit the Toledo area. There was a warning sign that traffic was missing a lane and to expect delays. I quickly check Google maps and the delay was only 8 minutes. The alternate route offered was WAY out of the way. We opted to drive in heavy traffic. It seems they were adding lanes to this busy freeway section. It ended up being a one hour delay for us. We had no time commitments to keep that evening as Jake was working. So, it was not an issue. 

We got to Chelsea and opted to have dinner at Coney Island before checking into our hotel room. We checked in and I had a room with an enormous hot tub. Claude has a very sore shoulder and I hoped this treat would help him to feel better after a long drive that afternoon. It was a good treat for him. 

Tuesday, November 22nd, we agreed to have breakfast on our own and meet Jake at his apartment at 10am. We did that and unloaded our car full of treasures for him. Then we all got into my car and drove to Meijer's. We were in search of a television. Our television in our guest bedroom had given out. We had Jake's television in the shed. We borrowed Jake's to use in our guest bedroom. We felt Jake should get a new television and us keep his television in our guest bedroom. Jake was agreeable to that idea. I had researched and found that Meijer had a pre-Black Friday sale on Visio televisions. They were normally almost $400 and were now on sale for $200. It took some doing to find a manager who could get one out of stock in the back but eventually we got one.

Next we went to an upscale used furniture store to see about a nice chair for Jake. We found one but the leather on it was a bit worn for the price they were asking. Jake is a big guy and really needs one good chair for him to sit in, in this apartment. We'll keep looking. 

We went back to Chelsea and ate lunch at the Mexican restaurant. Then we went to the grocery store and got a good grocery run to stock Jake up a bit. He had a list on his phone and it went very well. Claude really liked Jake's grocery store and found three items he wanted for our home. 

We had Jake back to his apartment by about 2:30pm and then we headed back home. Jake would have to work that night. It was a very quick visit but a really good visit. Loved seeing our son with a new job and his own apartment, renewing old friendships and making some new ones.

On the way home, I saw a truck that looked like it was full of enormous ping pong balls. As I was amused with this image, Claude wondered how big the ping pong paddle was. I posted the picture and this dialogue on our family Facebook page. Quickly got a response from our daughter, Andie. Turns out the world's largest ping pong paddle is in Dayton, Ohio. It is 11.5 feet long!! So, there you have it.

When we got home, Claude made tuna salad and deviled eggs in preparation for Wednesday. I unpacked. Whew!

Wednesday, November 23rd, would be our Thanksgiving Day this year. Hayden has taken a job at a movie theater. They had him scheduled to work on Thanksgiving Day. All of us are adults and we just moved our Thanksgiving to Wednesday instead of Thursday. Claude smoked a turkey and all kinds of lovely side dishes. I baked a chocolate pudding cake and lemon Cool Whip cookies. We had a pumpkin pie. It was delicious. The Marx family would spend the night and leave in time to get them home so Hayden could drive himself to work by 10am. 

Thursday, November 24th, the Marx's left for LaGrange without Bailey. Claude had suggested on Monday that, since we were having Thanksgiving early, we might have a Harry Potter Marathon on Thanksgiving Day. I love that he enjoys these movies as much as me. I responded that was an excellent idea. I also told Claude that Bailey really loved these movies. Maybe we should see if she would like to watch with us. A text was sent to Bailey. Here is the girl's response: OH MY GOSH HECK YES ID LOVE TO!!!!!! I sent Andie a text and told her we were keeping Bailey on Thursday. I sent Bailey another text asking what she wanted for snack foods. She requested some chocolate, Starburst, popcorn and beef Ramen. Claude picked all these up when he did grocery shopping on Monday. I hid the bag of Bailey treats in my closet until everyone left on Thursday. Then I pulled them out and gave the bag to Bailey. She was very happy and thought we were clever to hide them till then.

Bailey set up the sofa and the coffee table as her little nest for the next two days. We watched the first five movies on Thursday. Claude and Bailey would have steaks for dinner that night. Bailey is a careful eater but she is a carnivore at heart. I'm not a steak eater and Claude is always happy to enjoy a steak with someone else who relishes them as much as him. 

We went to bed about 10pm.

Friday, November 25th, we were up and watching movies by 10:30am. We watched the last three movies and it was about 5pm. We asked Bailey if she wanted to go home then. She said she didn't want us driving home in the dark so she would stay the night and we would return her home Saturday morning. She quickly picked out two Tom Hanks movies for us to watch that evening. We watched A League of Their Own and The Da Vinci Code. Bailey picked out a frozen pizza (Supreme) and we had that for dinner. Off to bed at 10pm again. However, I could not sleep. I got up and sat on the sofa in the study to read a bit. I could hear Bailey talking on her phone in the guest bedroom till about 1am. I'm sure she and Jake were catching up with each other. Jake is her boyfriend.

Saturday, November 26th, we took Bailey back to LaGrange with a stop in Shelbyville at Taco Bell for some lunch. While at the Marx home, Claude got a text from a friend alerting us that other friends were in town and would like to visit with us. We let them know we were in LaGrange and headed to Georgetown. 

Dave and Kerry Rennick got to our home right after we got home. What fun to see these sweet friends. The Rennick's lived in Mallard Point just outside of Georgetown about 10 years ago. We were their Home Teachers with church. We enjoyed many a meal at BD Mongolian Grill. In fact, the Rennick's are the ones who introduced us to BD's. They have one son. He married a Louisiana girl whose father actually knew my parents from when I was a kid. Tiny world. When Dave retired, he and Kerry moved to Louisiana. It was so nice to visit and catch up on our families and lives. They were off to visit other friends from their days in Kentucky. 

Claude and I quickly did the dusting, sweeping and vacuuming. Then we went to the grocery store to buy refreshments for Sunday evening. 

Sunday, November 27th, we awoke to wet streets. We had rain overnight and would have a bit more during the day. The wind was really strong. I looked out in our back yard and our little windmill was turning big time. I grabbed a quick video clip of it. It was great fun to watch it throughout the day. 

We had a good Sacrament Meeting. Primary went well. Jenny Squires, our chorister, worked with the kids learning all three verses to Away in a Manger. It was such a delightful way to do this. She drew on the chalkboard the baby in a manger, a star overhead and a shepherd. As they kids learned a line, they drew the piece of the picture Jenny drew on the chalkboard with their finger in the air. When they finished all the verses, Jenny erased the chalkboard and gave each of the children a piece of paper and a color. Then they all sang the lines and drew the picture on their paper as Jenny redrew it on the chalkboard. The kids were so attentive. It was a great way to learn this song.

Claude and I got Panera salads for our lunch. Claude took a nap and I worked on making refreshments for the evening and then some time on my laptop. 

At 4pm, our guests started to arrive. This was the 10th and final lesson in our Self-reliance course on Emotional Resilience. We had veggies and dip, a fruit salad, and rolls for our guests when they arrived. We got the Barney's three little kids settled in Sandiland. Then we had our final lesson. Such a good group of people. I had Archer, the Barney's oldest, take this picture of our group.

Back Row: Cameron Stephenson, Ryan Barney, Rick Snow, Claude Christensen

Front Row: Janick Stephenson, Brianna Stephenson, Heidi Barney and Sandi Christensen.

I posted on the Elkhorn Creek Facebook page and the Lexington Kentucky North Stake Facebook page the above picture with this comment: "Tonight our Self-reliance Group finished our Emotional Resilience class. Such a good group of friends we now have. Self-reliance is the Lord's way. Emotional Resilience is His hand to support us in the day in which we live. I testify that this class is important for each of us. When offered the opportunity to attend, please say yes. It will bless your life and the lives of the friendships you make in your group. Thank you to each participant. You helped me be a better disciple of Christ." 

What a good week with family and friends. Now, on to get our home ready for Christmas!

A Short Sabbath Day Blog Entry...

What can be said about this week? We are trying to get back to our schedules. The days all fuse together. 

Claude came back and got a cold. I am trying to get it now. Ugh. Such is the nature of leaving a very hot, very humid climate and returning to high temperatures in the low 30's and snow on the ground. Albeit a little bit of snow, but still cold enough to snow and stick and stay. We decided to test ourselves for Covid on Wednesday. Figured we had been home long enough to show the signs if we were going to get it again. We both tested negative. So, we are sure this is our bodies dealing with the change in climate.

I spent lots of hours combining pictures from my cellphone, camera and Claude's cellphone into one great set of pictures. These were all divided by the days and the directory was set up for the trip with a sub-directory for each day of the trip. I am happy to report all pictures are in their correct location and labeled. I have also posted a lot of my pictures to Facebook so that family and friends who are interested may enjoy them. I also spent time creating a Blog entry for each day of our trip. Now, I await Claude's notes and then I can make our PowerPoint for the trip in lieu of our scrapbook of the trip. 

We were able to perform some service on Thursday. We drove to Louisville to pick up an order of food for the month for an elderly lady in our congregation. We then drove that food to her apartment in Lexington and delivered it into her home. It seems she had been roughed up by a neighbor and was looking for another place to live. My heart aches for her. My prayer is that Claude and I do not get in that position as we age. Grateful for our tiny home and the peace and comfort it brings. Grateful we can still afford groceries for our nourishment. We are richly blessed and it felt good to help someone not in that circumstance.

Friday night we were to see the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band perform at the Lexington Opera House. Received an eMail in the late afternoon saying the concert was canceled. One of the band members was sick. They will reschedule and our tickets will be valid for that rescheduled date. Hope it is a day we can attend.

Claude was called Saturday evening to be the Stake Communications Director. He was serving as a Specialist on the committee already. Now he will direct that committee. 

We attended Stake Conference this weekend. The meetings were all very good and we enjoyed attending and filling our cups a bit more.

Our son, Jake, has secured an apartment for himself in Chelsea. We are so happy this seems to be working for him. He loved living in Chelsea and we hope his return is just what he needs. We'll be making a few trips to take some of his belongings to him. 

I have also purchased three books to read before we go to New Zealand. Now that I have finished the pictures from Manaus, Brazil. I feel like I can start to immerse myself in New Zealand to be ready to visit that country. 

This evening we will attend Tithing Settlement. I will have a temple recommend interview. And, we will facilitate a Self-Reliance course. 

It has been a good week, a full week, and we feel good about what we have accomplished. Now...on to fill another week with good things.

Our Trip to the Amazon...The Journey Home, Saturday

Saturday, November 12th, found us at the Manaus Airport waiting for our 3:49 flight to Panama. 

LV MAO COPA Airlines #0140 3:49am ARR PTY 6:28am. Seats 29 E&D
     3H 39M 1571 miles
LV PTY COPA Airlines #0360 7:59am ARR LAX 12:07pm Seats 24 B&C
     7H 8M 3010 miles
LV LAX Delta 881 11:50pm ARR CVG 6:55am (Sun) Seats 16C&D 
     4H 5M  1900 miles
 

We made it to Panama only to find our plane from Panama to Los Angeles for 1 1/2 hours late. We had a very long layover in Los Angeles so it was not a problem for me and Claude. Lindsey and Mary had to buy tickets on another airline in Los Angeles as they missed their flight home. 

Once we were in the air, the flight went well. Claude was given a form to fill out for Customs in Los Angeles. He dutifully filled it out. We got off the plane and down to Customs. We went through Customs and no one took our declaration. We decided we would get our luggage and they might scan it again for US purposes and take the form then. We got our luggage and proceeded out of the secure area and followed the masses out of the International Terminal. No one took that declaration of money spent. 

We walked back to the terminal for Delta flights and tried to check our luggage in. It was way too early for that. Our flight wasn't due to leave until 11:50pm. The ticket agent said he was afraid, if the luggage were checked in too early, it ran a higher risk of being lost in the shuffle. This made so much sense to me. I asked if there was a place we could get something to eat and sit. Not in this terminal. He suggested going to the International Terminal. We were not going to walk back there. We found a spot to sit in a window sill.

We sat there till our bodies wouldn't take it anymore. Then we went back to baggage claim where we now found a real bench with only two people on it. There was room in the middle for two more people. I asked if they were holding it for someone else. Neither person was. We gratefully took a seat with a real back on it for the next gazillion hours! 

At 6pm we went back to the ticket counter to check in our luggage. They took it and we made our way through security and to where our gate would be. Once we had our bearings, we made our way to a restaurant we saw and had a bite to eat. Then we went to the shop that sold snacks. I found a wonderful Mountain Dew and a bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I was now officially back in the United States!

Back to our gate and the wait until 11:50pm. The flight actually ended up being pushed back about 15 minutes. It was a good flight though. We got home to find snow on the ground. Not a lot but there was snow.

Coming from heat and humidity to 30 degrees and snow on the ground was an eye opener. The Jeep heated up quickly and we were off for Georgetown.

We had such a good trip. It was good to be traveling like this again. So grateful we can do this. We both noticed a lessening of our abilities in traveling on this trip. We felt the age in us. But we felt good about all we were able to do and look forward to going again. 

Obregada Brazil. You made us happy!

Our Trip to the Amazon...Manaus, Friday

Friday, November 11th, would prove to be a very, very full day. We disembarked the Iberostar at 8:30am. Our tour bus was waiting to take us to lots of places in Manaus. As we hiked up the walkway from the ship to the port, I got this picture of a sign with the years imprinted on it. Each year is at the high water mark for that year. Another reminder that in a few months the water will over this sign.

The first stop would be the Banana Market. This is the newer market for fresh fruit and veggies. They eat lots of bananas in this part of Brazil. I marveled that, in America, we only want bananas with no bruises when we purchase them. When we visited a banana plantation in Costa Rica, they were very careful with their bananas to not get any marks or bruises on them. This did not seem to be a concern at this market in Manaus. Here are pictures of the different foods found in the Banana Market.

I must comment on this food item. I don't remember what he called it. I believe it is made of several ingredients. Our guide said they like to eat it in the morning for breakfast. It gives you great energy and helps you not be hungry for a long time. In my Lord of the Rings brain, I translated that to be the Brazilian version of Lembas Bread that the elves made and gave to Frodo and company for their journey. 

We would then walk to the second building that makes up the complex. It would also have some veggies and then open up into the meat and fish market. I asked about refrigeration. Our guide said many of the locals do not have refrigerators. They come to the market every day to get food. Here are pictures from the second building. 

This huge fish in the pictures if a staple in this area. Our guide held up this picture and then showed us how they use this fish. The second picture is one scale from the fish. The third picture our guide is holding up the tongue of the fish which has been dried. It is used for a grater after it is dried. In the fourth picture our guide is holding up a root. When it is grated, the powder is used to made a nice beverage they all love. The fifth picture is our guide grating the root with the tongue of the fish. 

Now we would enter the fish and meat section of the market. The aroma in this area was less than desirable. We always marvel that they leave this meat and fish out in the open air, unrefrigerated, for extended periods of time. 

This fish is named after the meeting of the waters because the top is dark and the bottom is light.

Piranha

We would walk outside along the dock area. There was this walkway down to the ground. It goes down partway, turns a very sharp U-turn and then on down to the land. There was no railing. At one point I saw people walking down on the right side by the wall while others pushed big carts up using only one wheel on the outside of the wall. Ugh! The tents at the bottom are where the fishermen from across the river come and set up to sell their fish. When the river is flooded, they will simple bring their boats to the place where we are standing and sell their fish from their boats. 

Our group would walk from here to the building that was the original market. It is now a market for vendors to sell their handcraft items.

We were given one hour to shop. Claude and I found a place that sold cold water, found a nice bench, and waited while others shopped till they dropped. One advantage of moving to a much smaller home is you don't feel the need to buy a bunch of things to dust. 

Back on the bus and off to adventure two for this day, the Centro Cultural Palacio Rio Negro. This was originally built by Karl Waldemar Shulz as his home. He made his money in the rubber period. For a good period of time, this area was the only source of rubber in the world. That is why Manaus grew so large in the middle of the Amazon. Eventually they took plants to other places and the rubber boom ended. Karl Shulz eventually sold his home and it would become the Palace of Government and also home to governors. Later it because the Cultural Palace of today. The furnishing are original to the home.

The floors are a reminder of the meeting of the waters with light and dark woods. This was also in other buildings we visited.

The wealthy people wore the fashions of the day in Paris. It didn't matter they were in the Amazon heat and humidity. Looking good was important.

This is a picture of Manuas on November 28, 1909.

We returned to our bus to find we had a different bus. We got on what we thought was our bus and our backpacks were not the ones in our seats. We got off the bus and started to get on the other bus only to find they were unloading the things inside and moving them to the bus we just exited. Say what?? For some reason, their dispatcher sent them another bus and, while we were in the Cultural Center, they moved all our luggage from the storage to the new bus and were moving our items from inside to this new bus. Some items went to wrong seats but we got it all straightened out in the end. Never found out the need for switching buses. 

Our next stop turned out to be a highlight of the trip. We went to visit the Manaus Opera House. It is also called the Teatro Amazonas. This building harks back to the age of wealth due to rubber. It is a beautiful building and we would be able to watch a bit of a rehearsal. 

Lego built and donated a replica of the Manaus Opera House made out of Legos. (3 pictures) 

Watching the rehearsal.

This is the Mirror of Beauty. It is said that, only if you are beautiful, can you see your reflection in the mirror. I peeked around the edge and, sure enough, I saw myself. I am beautiful!!

This is 'courting chairs'. It was inappropriate for a young man and young woman to be seen together when not married. The young man would sit on one side chair. The young woman would sit in the other side chair. The parents of one of the young people would sit in the middle. 

There is an elegant ballroom in the opera house. It has inlaid wooden floors, a beautiful painting on the ceiling and a collection of spittoons at one end. 

This is the ceiling on the outside portico. 

The next two pictures are what the dressing rooms would be like. 

This Allen organ was donated by the United States. It was only played a few times. Turns out the people of Brazil did not know how to play with all the stops and pedals and layers of keyboards. 

Inside the theater is stunning. The center of the ceiling is painted to look like you are standing under the Eiffel Tower. Every column has a theater masked person with the name of a composer on it. The most expensive box seat was right by the stage. It was also the worst view in the house. It was better to be seen than to be able to see. The Governor's Box is at the center back of the theater. No one but the Governor or his guests are allowed to sit in this box. 

Across the street from the front of the Opera House is a beautiful plaza with this statue. It is the Monument Abertura dos Portos. The sculpture is an allegorical representation of the 4 corners of the world, Asia, America, Africa and Europe, which are presented by ships at the base of each side. The tile flooring is another representation of the meeting of the waters.

On to our last tourist stop for the day, the City Museum. This was the old city office building. This was a neat museum with several very clever exhibits. 

This room featured portraits of all the Mayors.

This was neat. They have a tree stump and they project a map of Manaus over the rings to show the age and how the city has grown and changed over the years. The first is the 1890-1912 and the second is 1990.

One room had glass floors so you could see the excavation of ruins under the building.

Talk about information overload. Our poor minds were full and our bodies were weary. Back on the bus we went to find Florentina's again for a nice lunch. After lunch, it was finally late enough to get our rooms at the hotel. We would have these rooms until we left for the airport.

Claude and I chose to take the bus from the hotel to the Manaus Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Roxanna and Bruce and Nataniel would also go. Shari and Mark went and stayed to do a session. Shari speaks Spanish. The grounds are beautiful and peaceful. I never saw a palm tree with red trunks. 

We went back to the hotel. We opted out of dinner in the restaurant and polished off some cookies we had instead. We showered and went to bed about 7pm. We had to be back up at midnight to get dressed an checked out for a 12:30am bus ride to the airport.