Nauvoo

The last leg of the trip was to Nauvoo. We started with a wagon ride around the sites to see what was there. It was about 50 minutes and gave a nice overview of everything you could see. The church owns and maintains a lot of sites in Nauvoo, so it's a lot more than Palmyra or Kirtland.


After the wagon ride, we went to the Community of Christ sites. They own the Smith family home sites and the land where Joseph and Hyrum Smith are burried. One of the most interesting stories was regarding the bodies of Joseph and Hyrum. Emma Smith got their bodies and prepared them for burial after they were killed, but she was afraid that someone would come steal the bodies because there was still a $1,000 bounty on each of their heads, dead or alive, from Missouri. She first hid the bodies under the family home, but moved them from there when additional contruction was going to start on the home. She put them under the cold cellar outside the home and asked to be burried in a spot close to that. She kept the sites secret her whole life. The bodies were finally found in the 1920's when the RLDS church paid to have a dig to find them because of fears that the bodies would be lost with flooding on the Mississippi. When they were found, all three bodies (Joseph, Hyrum, and Emma) were burried together in the Smith family cemetary.


We had lunch at a small, sad deli and then did a session at the Nauvoo temple. That temple is amazing. I have not been in another temple, other than Salt Lake, that had more beautiful workmanship inside. It was awesome in the true sense of the word. After that, we took a nap. I was so tired this whole trip. In the evening we went to two shows. The first was called Sunset on the Mississippi. It was a fun variety show and we really enjoyed the fun. Then we went to the Palmyra Padgeant. It was basically the story of Nauvoo from the time it was settled until they left to go West. It was really well done and we thought it was great. I could recommend it to just about anyone.

On Friday, we went to several of the sites including the blacksmith shop, the print shop, the post office, and bunches of others. Except for the heat and humidity, it was really good. We also did some shopping before going off the beaten path. We went to a man's house outside town who has stones from the original Nauvoo temple. When the new temple was being built, the old rubble was dumped not too far from his house and he grabbed some of the stones and breaks them up and gives them to folks who stop by. We also went to a glass maker's studio where he showed us around and told us all about his shop and his work. We really loved those little side trips.


We also saw one last show that day, which was fairly entertaining, but not as good as the shows the day before. It was in an air conditioned building though, so we managed just fine. We also went to Keokuk, Iowa for dinner. The dinner was unremarkable, but the views of the Mississippi along the way, especially on the way home with the sun setting, were lovely.

On Saturday, we did some last-minute shopping, toured the Mason Hall, and headed for St. Louis so we could come home.

No matter how much fun the trip is, it's always so nice to get home and sleep in your own bed.

Kirtland

On Tuesday, we spent the day in Kirtland. I think I love that little town. We started at the visitor's center and historic Kirtland. The missionary that led our tour was so wonderful. She had a wealth of knowledge and was so sincere in her presentation that we all enjoyed her more than anyone else we heard in Palmyra or Kirtland.
We visited the K.N.Whitney store, the Whitney home, the saw mill and ashery, and an old hotel. We also heard about how the church acquired some of the property and got the road moved back behind the historic district.


After the historic town, we went on to the Kirtland temple.
The temple still stands as it was built and is owned by the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). The tour guide was great and he gave us a lot of information about the structure and history. He also told dad about a "behind the scenes" tour that you can get by special appointment if you come September through June. I'm betting on dad going back for that.

After visiting the temple, we had a great lunch at a diner reccomended by the temple tour guide. Who knew you could get such great food in Kirtland, OH? The food wasn't great in Palmyra, so we didn't have very high expectations.

After lunch, we went to another farm and heard about more of the history of the area. We had more interesting tour guides and enjoyed the experience.

All of the tours were so good that we ended up spending much more time than expected in Kirtland and so we weren't able to drive all the way to Chicago. We ended up spending the night in Ekhart, Indiana and driving to Chicago in the morning. We had a driving tour where we saw the apartment my parents lived in when dad was at Northwestern for grad school. We also saw the B'hai temple. It's quite an impressive structure.

After the driving tour,
we went to meet our friends Liz and Darrin Jensen for lunch at Giordano's for deep dish Chicago style pizza. We had a great time catching up and having yummy food.

After lunch, we drove on to Carthage, IL where we saw the jail where Joseph Smith was killed. It was a short tour, but pretty powerful.

Finally, we landed in Nauvoo, IL. More on that later!

Palmyra

After arriving in Rochester, my parents picked us up and we traveled to Palmyra where they have been volunteering during the Palmyra pageant. On the way from the airport, we went to the Martin Harris farm.


It's out of the way, so we didn't want to have to drive all the way back out there on Sunday. Later that evening, we went to the pageant and it rained on us more or less the entire time. Good times in the rain. It was pretty close to the Manti pageant that I saw a couple of times twenty years ago. We also enjoyed great BBQ at the pagaent. The Rotary Club in town makes food for sale and gives all the proceeds to several different charities. It was great to see them getting so many hungry customers and the food was great.

On Sunday, we went to church and then visited the historical sights in Palmyra. We went to the Johnson farm, the visitor's center, and the Smith Farm. The Smith Farm is where mom and dad were volunteering. We loved the presentation by the missionary at the log home. She was fabulous. We also enjoyed the walk through the grove out behind the buildings. After Saturday's rain, the weather was cooler and not so humid. We had a really nice time and chatted with a bunch of other people visiting the sights.

On Monday, we went into town and shopped for half an hour and then went to a temple session at the Palmyra temple. After that, we got in the car and drove to Kirtland, OH. It was only a few hours to our low-rent hotel. We really enjoyed Palmyra and would highly reccomend it.

I almost forgot to mention that we took a side trip to Niagra Falls after leaving Palmyra. I had never seen the falls and they were spectacular. We had a great view from the American side and had a nice walk around the park by the falls.

The Happiest Place on Earth

Last week, I got to go to Orlando for a conference for work. It was my first time in Florida and was not prepared for the humidity. Who knew my hair could be that curly (or frizzy, depending on your perspective)? Then when you go inside, it's always cold with the air conditioning. It was kind of odd to be wearing a jacket a good part of my stay in the state.

I got to go to Epcot center (but not really DisneyWorld) and watch fireworks and ride a few rides. It was great to soar over California, go on a mission to Mars, and test drive cars for GM. I only got a little motion sickness on the trip to Mars. Not bad for a beginner.

I also had a great time going to the town of Mount Dora and eating dinner at Pices Rising. Let's hear it for Andrew for picking the restaurant and Ray for driving us there. It really was fabulous food and great company.

Of course, nothing beats leaving a business trip and meeting up with the DH again. The Rochester airport was the best part of the trip.

Beautiful Music at the Winery

The DH and I had the most wonderful experience last night. We went to see Bruce Hornsby at Chateau Ste. Michelle winery out in Woodinville. The venue is beautiful, the weather was perfect, and the music was first rate.

I have to admit that the DH picked the music. I couldn't even tell you what Bruce Hornsby is known for (though a few of his songs, like The Way It Is and Gonna Be Some Changes Made, were familiar). What a great surprise to hear that he is an amazing pianist and plays with some wonderful musicians.

There was no opening band, so it was just two hours of lovely music from someone who can really play and arrange and sing.

We also enjoyed a really nice picnic and found many of the other concert-goers very entertaining. It's fun when the people-watching is almost as good as the music.

Now Taking Recommendations

The DH and I are quickly coming upon our first anniversary. It’s mere weeks away and we’re very excited to have made it through the “toughest year of marriage.” In anticipation of a fabulous anniversary, we’ve both taken time off work. Unfortunately, we haven’t done much else in the way of planning. The DH was given a recommendation for cabins in the Sun Lakes area, but, alas, they are all booked at the end of August.

So, here’s the deal-i-o. I’m putting it out there to all you great blog-reading friends to give us recommendations. Here is the criteria:

• No more than a 3-hour trip from home with no plane trips involved
• A place to stay for less than $150 per night (we have some class, but don’t want to blow our wad in one place)
• A few activities in the area that you would recommend

See, we’re not too picky. And maybe there can be a prize for whoever picks our anniversary destination. I’m sure I could come up with something worth your effort!

Turning 40 (ARGH!)

Well, I did it. I turned 40 on Tuesday. After spending the weekend with Granny, who just turned 90, I should feel young. Too bad it doesn't actually work that way. We had a great time seeing the entire family (except for Sean and his wife and kids, since he's stationed in Italy now). It was also nice to see how many people came to see Granny and wish her well. She really is well-loved and has a pretty amazing legacy. I could only hope for such a life.

After celebrating with Granny in Idaho Falls, we headed back to Boise to celebrate my birthday. We enjoyed pancakes at the sister's ward breakfast and then had cake and ice cream at Mom and Dad's house. It was yummy and fun. When the dh and I flew back to Seattle, we were no longer in a mood to BBQ, so we went out to dinner for the birthday. It was really nice to spend time with friends and family. Plus, the dh found me a fabulous pair of earrings in white gold with diamonds and rubies. They're divine and I LOVE them. Too bad I couldn't find a picture of them online to show you all.

Run for your life...

On Saturday, I ran in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. It was a 5K (3.12 mile) race, but I was just in it for the experience. I’m far from competitive in the foot race.

I’ve been working on being healthier lately and I think it’s working a little. I work out with a trainer three days a week and I’ve asked him to help me with running. It’s actually working. I ran the race in 39 minutes, which averages out to a 12.5-minute mile and average speed of 4.8 miles per hour.

This is not fast. This is pretty slow. But for me, this is fabulous. I actually ran a good part of the way. I was really tired after the race, but I felt great about what I had done.

It’s pretty amazing how one slow race can make you feel like you accomplished something great. It really was great for me. I think I’ll even do it again some time and see if I can shave a few minutes off that 39-minute race time.

Plumbing woes -- and I mean WOES

I’ve now realized that I take drains for granted. I just expect them to drain. No worries, no woes. I’m learning to appreciate a good drain now. After spending two weekends with plumbers in the house, I’m really ready to have it done.

Last Saturday I was cleaning the bathroom toilet and it just wouldn’t flush. (Thank heaven’s there was really nothing in there except clean water or this story would be much more colorful. Perhaps that a disappointment to you though.) As every good woman of independent thought and means, I got out the plunger and plunged. I didn’t work. I called in the DH. He plunged. After we had both plunged to no avail, we realized that water was seeping out from under the toilet every time we did anything. That’s a bad thing, if you were wondering.

Patrick has a plumber friend who happened to be at a party nearby with his plumbing truck. He came over and snaked, replaced the honeycomb seal, and put the toilet back in place. All was well – for a week.

On Friday, the woes came back even better than before. The toilet still flushed, but nothing else seemed to drain. The DH took a shower and I did laundry, and it was a bad combination. I’d noticed the sink in the bathroom not really draining, but that’s fairly common, so I didn’t think much of it. Then the DH took a shower and it didn’t drain at all. And my laundry bubbles started showing up in all the wrong places. We knew it was real drainage woes when that happened.

We called the plumber friend again and he recommended someone to call. For a measly $200, we got the big drain (from the outside) snaked with the really big (think anaconda) snake and now we know why plumbers get paid well. It was gross – not just a little gross, but make-you-want-to-hurl gross. He pulled up things people just shouldn’t have to see. No more details will be given, but I think you can use your imagination and get close enough.

When he was done the shower drained, the toilet flushed, and the washer drained. It was a beautiful thing. Now, two days later, the toilet flushes weird, the shower drains slow, and I’m worried that I get to see a plumber every Saturday for the rest of my life.

What a Wreck...

I meant to post on this earlier, but time just got away from me. Wednesday was kind of a bad day. I started from home right around 5:00 and SR520 was already super backed up. In a moment, I adjusted routes and headed for I-405. I seldom go that way, but it looked like I might get home faster and I needed to get gussied up for the opera that the DH and I had tickets for that night. 15 minutes can make all the difference there, you know.

As I was heading North, minding my business and feeling quite bored with the stop-and-go traffic, I stopped in one of those slow-downs, but the car behind me forgot to. The car rammed into me, pushing me into the car in front of me. The impact was enough to throw my glasses off my face and open covers and empty the two console cubbies of lipstick, dental floss, and sunglasses. It even knocked the phone book from under the seat.

The three of us made our way to the side of the road and traded vital information. I was quite shaken up and the man in the car in front of me was quite concerned. I thought I was coping quite well, but maybe not. It’s hard to keep the perspective in such a situation. I was grateful to the front driver as he drew a diagram of the accident, took down license numbers and car models, and collected our insurance information and phone numbers. We all had everything we needed.

I checked the damage to my car and saw that the bumpers, front and rear, were damaged. I didn’t discover the rest of the damage until I got home, but it’s mostly cosmetic. Except that the trunk won’t close now. It’s my Joad car now, I guess – at least for a little while.

Because it was rush hour and there were not injuries, we didn’t call the police. Don’t worry. My insurance agent said it was fine. They wouldn’t come out anyway. That’s who I called first, then found out that I should work with the instigator’s insurance agency unless they gave me grief.

So far it’s been quite a bother, but not much more than that. I called the instigator’s insurance company right after the accident and they’ve called me back every day with updates. It looks like it won’t be much of a problem to get taken care of, but it will take some time and a loaner car for me.

After getting home and getting a grip, I was really grateful that I wasn’t hurt and that the airbag didn’t deploy. Considering that it was on the freeway, it could have been much worse and I feel pretty good about having only the inconvenience. Of course, I could do without that too, but it’s minor in comparison to what could have happened.

Mas Que Nada

I love NPR just like Annzy does. I especially like it on the morning commute. It's kind of funny, because it's a 2-hour loop and I usually get in my car after the gym exactly two hours after leaving it to go into the gym. I just pick up right where I left off.

This morning, the story I heard arriving and leaving the gym was about Sergio Mendez. You may or may not know that he's a family favorite. We heard his work while driving to Burley, Salt Lake, San Francisco, L.A., Tucson, and everywhere else we ever drove as a family. It was one of the few things we all liked (and we only ever listened to anything that Dad liked, so this is saying a lot).

You can listen to the new album Timeless here. Somehow, I don't think my Dad would buy this one. I couldn't even recognize Mas Que Nada (which is one of my favorites from the Best Of album). E Menina is totally old school though. Maybe Dad would like three or four of the songs.

Blue, Blue, My Eyes are Blue

I think I can tell how old you are by whether or not you recognize the title of this post as song lyrics. Just a thought to start this post, but really not what it's all about.

It's really all about wasting time (even at work). If you haven't taken any of the Blogthings Quizzes, you're really missing out on a fabulous time waster. Today, I found out what color my eyes should be. Lucky for me, they should be blue. And they are. Coincidence? I think not! I was at the mercy of the quiz. Here's what it said...

Your Eyes Should Be Blue
Your eyes reflect: Innocence and sweetness
What's hidden behind your eyes: A calculating mind

Cool, huh? I have a calculating mind. Who would have known if I hadn't taken the quiz? Who needs a mirror or introspection when you have online quizzes?

You can take the quiz too. Even better, when you take that quiz, then you can chose from a variety of other time wasting quizzes to take. It's a thing of beauty. Take the quiz here: What Color Should Your Eyes Be?

Of Birthdays and Breakdowns

As you may have read in the previous post, it was the nephew's birthday. It was actually last week, but the family celebrated it on Sunday. My brother created a fine Bob the Builder cake. Of course, it was yellow cake baked in a bowl (trust me – it's the best cake you can have). He cut off the top inch of about half the cake to make Bob's face smaller than the hard hat. It seriously looked just like Bob. It was brilliant.

When we arrived, there was one whirling dervish nephew with dark circles under his eyes. At 3 years, the birthday joy was apparent and the kid was totally high on adrenaline and sugar. He ran, he hardly ate (except cake), he got excited about presents, he hated curling ribbon on packages, and he loved the huge Tonka dump truck he got. It even came with a hard hat. Now he has two hard hats, so his cousin could wear one too and they were ready to work.

The best part of the party was that the nephew, in spite of his energy and sleep deprivation, seemed to have a great time. He didn’t have a meltdown (while we were there at least – who knows what happened after we left). He didn’t cry. And, he shared his toys (mostly). I think he even liked the Cootie game I gave him, but who could tell after the Tonka truck arrived?

I, on the other hand, have been a bit sleep deprived for a few weeks now and had to have my own breakdown. I think I need to call in sick to work and just sleep all day.

Fly Like an Eagle

Sunday was the nephew's birthday, so the DH and I drove from our place in Seattle to the nephew's place in Redmond. We went over Lake Washington via the SR520 bridge. On a Sunday afternoon, it's usually a breeze (unlike my commute, which is never a breeze). This time was different. I've had a lot of experience in how SR520 backs up and we had the oddest slow-down. On a Sunday afternoon you wouldn't expect any slowing at all, in the first place. In the second place, it doesn't usually happen when you're already two thirds of the way across the bridge.

As the traffic slowed, the DH and I commented on what a strange place it was for traffic to slow. We could see out ahead and there were no accidents and it didn't look like there was anything in the road that people had to drive around. Nothing. Until we got even closer. It looked like a big seagull at first, but as we got near, it was a young bald eagle. The eagle was riding the wind right above the bridge and it was breathtaking. Traffic slowed considerably in both directions to view the amazing bird just hovering not more that fifteen feet from where we were in our cars.

The most astounding thing to me is that this eagle spotting was in the middle of a rather large city. It was the same feeling as seeing a flower growing out of a crack in the concrete. So beautiful and so unexpected that it just makes you feel privileged to see it.

The Buzz on Movies

I've seen a couple of movies since the DH had his surgery, but I think I like the one we watched last night better than most. We watched Elizabethtown even though he thought it sounded suspiciously like a chick flick (and he outright refused to watch Pride and Prejudice even though I batted my eyelashes a whole bunch).

The story is about a guy who creates the worst shoe fiasco in the history of making shoes and decides to kill himself over it. Unfortunately, his dad died in Kentucky, so he has to go take care of his dad's funeral plans instead of dying. It's then about his road to self discovery. (Sorry if that sounds like it wouldn't be any fun to watch -- I promise it is.)

We both really enjoyed it and have looked into getting the soundtrack. It was really good too.

We also watched The Brother's Grimm, which was only mediocre and Serenity, which was very cool. If you like Asian films, you'll love Serenity. It was also just beautiful to see. I would have enjoyed seeing it in the theater.

What's in a Name?

So, after reading annzy's last couple of posts, I realized that the part about blogging that I like the most is naming the post. I secretly think this is the only reason Ann blogs too. It's cathartic and fun to write, but it's even better to come up with a clever tag line. It was the same way when I wrote for a living. I was writing technical documentation and my favorite part was naming the chapters or topics. I was really good at it too. All the clients loved me. It's good for your self esteem. (Not quite as good as cleaning someone's kitchen, but almost.)

Now I think I'll have to write more often so I'm forced to think of more clever names. Of course, this could backfire and cause the mother of all writing blocks, but I don't think so.

It'll be fun. Really.

Beetlemania

Since the DH has been laid up with tummy incisions, we’ve watched a lot of movies and TV. He loves CSI and I think it’s a little too gross, but that’s part of our charm as a couple. One thing we’ve both loved is watching Beetles Anthology. I can’t rave about this enough. It’s eight 70-minute segments, so it took us a while to get through it, but I loved the whole thing.

Having grown up with only the aura of the Beetles and never experiencing the mania first-hand, it was very eye opening and fascinating to watch. I didn’t realize that the Christian right in the Southern US had Beetles record burnings after John Lennon’s offhand comment about someone telling him the Beetles with more popular than Jesus. It was also interesting that it didn’t mention the rift between the band and Yoko because Yoko had to approve all the video footage in order for them to use John’s image. I also got some great insight into how the Beetles revolutionized rock music in the 60’s. The pioneered things I just take for granted as part of rock and roll now.

The long and short of it is that I would give Beetles Anthology five stars and highly recommend it.

Are you HIGH!?!

The answer to that question, if you are my DH, is "why, yes, I am high." It's really funny. He doesn't think he's impaired at all, but he is. The Vicodin makes him a tiny bit grumpy, a little loopy, and very forgetful. Today, I went to work for the first time since the surgery. I talked to him on the phone this afternoon and he had slurred speach, told me one story twice, and over-shared about his bowels moving. It was such a treat. The funniest part is that he doesn't think it's funny at all. He's especially grumpy when I laugh at how loopy he is or how he just told the same story twice.

The good news is that he's getting around a bit now. He's not in bed all day and he's able to sleep on his side. For anyone who might wonder, he's recovering quite well. But, he's still high.

Now, that's gross...

You know what's gross? Oozy incisions, that's what.

The DH had surgery today. It was for two hernias he's been carrying around for a while. It's a good thing to have taken care of, but not very fun right after. All I can really say is that I'm super lucky he didn't have too hard a time of it. There were no fainting spells and no puking. He has good drugs and can sleep now. (Oh, yeah -- he's lucky too. It's just the blog that's all about me.)

I love modern medicine. The surgery was done laproscopically through three tiny (about an inch across) incisions. Two below the belly button and one above. This reduces recovery time from 4-6 weeks down to 2-3 weeks. He won't be able to go to work for three weeks because it's heavy labor, but I'm still amazed out what can be done. The other cool thing is that they repair the hernia and then put Gore-Tex on it to keep it from herniating again. I love Gore-Tex! Who knew it could be used for such cool stuff?

The only funny part about the laproscopic surgery is that they fill the cavity with CO2 gas to do the surgery and it can make things puffy or cause pains in weird places, like the shoulders. It can't get out of the body like normal gas, so it goes crazy places. It's harmless, so we can laugh about it.

Are you OK, ma'am?

I think I broke my toe, but I didn't admit it right off. That would have been too humiliating.

So, when the security guard heard a huge BIFF just behind him, he stood up and took notice. That's what happened yesterday. I was at a conference center with one of my co-workers, walking through the lobby, when I did a little face plant. I just tripped over the transition from tile to carpet. (I know most of you can't even imagine, but those transitions are hard to get over.)

I was carrying a laptop, notebook, and my wallet. All of them went flying. I just stayed on the floor for a few moments while I checked to ensure that nothing was broken. My co-worker and the security guard were very concerned with my well-being. I said I was fine, got up, and walked out with my head held high. I got a good laugh out of it with my co-worker as well.

When I got back to my office, the throbbing started in my toe. It's the one next to my baby toe on the right foot. It just kept hurting worse and worse. Then I started getting concerned that I wouldn't be able to drive home. I sucked it up and got home just fine though.

Then I told the DH about it and he got a good laugh about it too (after the obligatory sympathizing). Now he knows how really clumsy I am. And I really am clumsy.