Travel Abroad

These are some of the youth hostels that Melody is staying at as she hikes her way through Scotland and England. The castle looking one is from Scotland, and the brown-brick-townhouse-looking one is close to Yorkshire Dales Nat'l Park where part of Harry Potter was filmed. (The part where Harry and Hermione are out on a rocky looking landscape.) I haven't heard if Melo got to go there, but she said they would. She doesn't have access to a whole lot of internet, and it's quite expensive when she does, but I got to talk to her for a long time this past Saturday and she is doing really well and loving every minute. She said that when they pulled up to the castle hostel, the whole bus went silent in awe! She is currently staying in the white Victorian-looking hostel in North Yorkshire.

I really miss her. I have a map with all her destinations underlined so I can keep an eye on where she is, and I look up every hostel she stays at so I can envision her surroundings a bit. What an amazing experience she is having!

Gone to England

Off to Study Abroad in London, and throughout the UK. She's gone! Hope she has a wonderful time :)

Family Easter Party

Easter 2011 - picture slideshow

Strawberry Patch

I created a new strawberry patch yesterday. I found some June-bearing plants at Walmart and was very excited about it. I hate the everbearing strawberry plants--you never get a whole bunch at once. I keep remembering our legendary strawberry patch in Bountiful where we had a year of unreal production. That's what I'm hoping for. Keep your fingers crossed--I gave up a flowerbed for the strawberry patch.

Beginning Again

We've been to NC--to the Biltmore Mansion, to family gatherings, to Church in Mt. Airy, and totally enjoyed our time with Mama and Daddy. It was so nice to have them all to ourselves! Then John flew home and I went to Rachel's for 4 days of sewing, reading, visiting, shopping, and more sewing. I sewed 30 crazy flower blocks from a Buggy Barn quilt pattern. Ann came and joined Rachel and me one day, and we all had fun examining each others' fabrics and goofing off as we sewed.
Then home again. Time to watch Conference, see grandkids, teach at Newbold FHE, and watch basketball. Now it's a new week. I'm healthy and ready to get back into life. I'm on the treadmill again, but my energy level isn't long-lasting. The kids are closing in on the end of the semester, then one will head to England for Study Abroad, and the other to Brazil to old mission haunts. We all start this Sunday at our new BYU ward in Provo. So many new things.
I had to remind myself this morning of one old thing--the need to pray each morning for guidance so that I keep my priorities straight and do the right things first. I feel like I'm waking up from a 3 month illness, and I need to start fresh doing things right, so I need the Lord on my side. He always knows what's best, and I'm always happiest if I'm doing what He wants.

New Adventure

John and I will soon start on a new adventure. John was called to be the 1st counselor in a BYU singles' ward. Sid Mortensen is the bishop. John will be sustained a week from Sunday--while we're in NC visiting his parents, and the week after that is General Conference. We won't actually start attending the BYU ward until April, but I'm sure John and Sid will have alot of business before then.

This is something totally new and different for us. When the BYU Stake Pres, Pres. Ford, issued the call he said it would last 3-5 years. Our records will stay in our Pleasant Grove ward, but we won't be attending church with our neighbors. Weird! Pres. Ford said it would be the most fun we've ever had in a calling. John argued good-naturedly about that--he loves the Young Men. And I think Primary Chorister is pretty fun and hard to beat. But Pres. Ford and his counselor, Pres. Pearson were so welcoming and encouraging and positive about everything that their enthusiasm rubbed off on me. I'm excited! And Billy and Melody can choose to attend with us if they want!

We'll enjoy serving with Sid and Janice as well. John and Sid worked closely together in YM until a few months ago, and Janice and I served in the RS presidency together, being released about 16 months ago. We really like them.

The Culprit

We finally discovered the reason behind my aching joints and total lack of energy/strength: asceptic meningitis, plus an allergic reaction. Not as horrible as it sounds--not life threatening...just life-style threatening. John and I were both diagnosed with the meningitis, and he went merrily on his way to recovery while I kept getting worse. Turns out all that sewing I did wasn't very good for me as our practitioner traced a chemical allergy to all the dyes in my fabrics, and all the residue of softeners, sizings, and such. So, into the washer went everything I owned. John was so good to me in keeping my laundry going since I didn't have the strength to go up and down the stairs so much. And fabrics all have to be pre-washed again. And I have to wear cotton or latex gloves if I'm working on something in process that has not been washed. Phew!
End result: I'm improving, finally. Still weak, but my joints don't ache and I'm regaining a bit of grace in my movements. Resting this week, being careful next week, then I'm ok to do what I want. That's just in time for a fun trip to North Carolina for John and me! We're going to visit his parents and take them on an excursion to the Biltmore Mansion in Asheville. Then I get to stay a few days longer, with my freshly washed fabrics, and Rachel and I will have a quilt-fest!