Good Sleep, Happy Talking, Productive Research Day, and a Finish to the Transcription. 31 December 2016

I am so grateful that I was blessed with good sleep last night--close to 7 hours, I think.  That helped this day to be productive on many counts. Another boost was getting to talk this morning with my Sweetheart--Joy!

The person who was scheduled to give a spiritual thought for prayer meeting did not show up, so I volunteered to share what I got out of the thought one of the young elders gave yesterday. He referenced a popular song about just having 100 years to live, and that without goals, it is hard to recognize your accomplishments, as though the diamonds are lost in clutter.  Since the in-service lesson was on setting research goals, I thought it went along with that. I have been realizing that I have just four months left here with the amazing resources of the Library at my fingertips so I need to make the most of my research time.

After the prayer meeting I worked more than an hour with one of the missionaries who serves on the B2, British, floor at the Library. His research today was in an area which was sometimes German, and sometimes Polish. Although I was not very efficient [no, I did not use a Research Assessment Form, and I did not encourage him to switch to a Research Log from the multitude of quarter sheets of paper on which he was making his notes], I was able to share with him my knowledge of Hansen's map guides.  This enabled us to see that the locality mentioned by his relative was the neighboring community to where he found the birth record.  In fact, the various records had four or five localities, all of which were quite close together. I received a big blessing from this.  He did a Google search for the book, since he thought he might like to buy it. In looking at the ad, I noticed that it included the names of each of the localities which are identified in the book!  I suspect I will be able to make use of that information while leading the study group, while helping patrons, and while doing my own research.

Using one of those same books, I was able to confirm that another missionary and I have ancestors from neighboring communities, which are also very close to where my husband's ancestors came from.  Kreis Emmendingen records from Voerstetten were the very first records I researched four decades ago--and now some of those records are available online directly from German archives.

The last hour that I was on the floor I got to take part in the translation of an 1896 Jewish marriage record from a Polish area, amended in 1931.  I learned a little about the nuances of records in that part of the world from that time period.

At last it was time for a quick lunch, and then on to research! Unlike other Saturdays when I have eaten lunch quickly so that I could do my research and then go back to the apartment early, this time I knew I would stay almost until the last possible moment. I did not get sleepy, which was a big blessing, and I just worked diligently on descendants of my Eppingen ancestors.  Although I still do not set a specific research goal, I now have a method by which I can move through the process pretty efficiently, attaching existing records to my tree by searching, merging where possible, attaching sources whenever I can find them, and attaching photo-documents from the Ortssippenbuch. Even though the Ortssippenbuch is a secondary, and I have found a few errors [one I found today was one digit dropped from a Family number--but I was able to use sources from FamilySearch records to figure out that 655 should have been 6557!].  Anyway, I felt good about that work.

I knew that this evening I should be able to finish the transcript I have been working on, the last one from the 2016 FairMormon Conference, and as I accessed the Deseret News I noticed that Daniel C. Peterson, in his article on The Book of Mormon, referenced the work of the two scholars who made that presentation.  That was an extra incentive to complete the transcript tonight. I have asked for help with proofing from the other FairMormon volunteers, but if I do not get a taker by Monday I will submit it to be posted.  I am a fairly good transcriber, so I think I have caught most of my errors, but it always helps to have someone else look and listen.

Tonight I enjoyed another talk with my Sweetheart, and a nice text conversation with my youngest daughter.  I pray that 2017 will truly be a Happy and Blessed New Year for us all.

Sleep-deprived Brain is Forgetful. 30 December 2016

Last night I awoke after 4 hours--and could not get back to sleep until after 5 and had to get up at 6.  That used to be pretty typical, but I have become used to getting 6 to 7 hours of sleep each night, so less than 5 was not happy.

I was able to function OK at the Library, I think--a few glitches at times, like not remembering how to do the in-service lesson as a slide show.  But I got another in-service lesson completed, one which I had been struggling over.  In talking with two of the Church Service Missionaries I was led to say things that seemed to help them with some personal challenges. And I got several Eppingen relatives entered into Family Tree.

Today was the meeting of the committee for the reception for the couple who will be getting married in February. I am not sure that this will actually help me with my own reception, as my ideas about such things are not very typical, I think. It will be interesting to see how it all works out.

When my time at the Library was over, I wished I could take a nap, but a friend had asked to go to the temple with me, so I just had time to go to get her and get back to do the session my Sweetheart and I had planned for.  Things went pretty well--until we were walking back to the parking lot, and I realized that the key to get into the parking lot was in the car, along with my phone.  The other sister had a phone, but I had no way to access anyone's numbers out here, because my records have been transferred back to my ward in Missouri.

Blessedly, the person on whose window I knocked in the other apartment complex believed me even without seeing my missionary badge, and she came around to the entrance door and let us in.  When we got back to the car, I noticed that my Sweetheart had texted already--so I called him and our friend, whom he knows quite well, got to talk with him while I drove her home.  Then I was blessed to get to talk with him for a while, and we did get to pray together, which is such a tender mercy.

I am grateful that tomorrow I start an hour later than during the week.   I hope that, as is usually the case when I have been to the temple, tonight's sleep will be better.

Another Different P day. 29 December 2016

This was an unusual P day from the beginning, because the Trainers meeting was rescheduled due to the Monday holiday [which will happen twice more in the next month!!!]. I had asked for, and was given, 2 hours off on Tuesday, which was super. Today's meeting did not actually start until 3, which was a scheduling error.  I did not mind, really, because I came in about 12:30 to work on my Eppingen line, and I did not feel too badly about just continuing with that.

Today was also cleaning day, so I was at the Library for a half hour in the morning. I discovered after-the-fact that the cleaning slot I signed up for was not what I actually did--not quite sure why I could not remember for the 3 minutes it takes to walk from the break room to the computers, but today the memory just was not doing very well.  Blessedly someone who was not scheduled to help did the job I signed up to do, so it all got done.

I slept pretty well, so I was up early enough to ready the first half of Jacob 5 before going to clean. When I came back to the apartment I finished that, climbed the stairs for my 14 minutes, cleaned up, took a load of clothes to the laundromat. After breakfast I picked up the clothes and hung them up.  I do appreciate the dry atmosphere here for making it so easy to hang up clothes to dry.

While waiting for my Sweetheart to call I cooked the second hambone I got on Christmas Eve.  I just made broth this time, as I still have a fair amount of the beans I cooked the other day with the other hambone.

After talking with my Sweetheart I ate lunch and took off for the Library. I will get to talk with him again this evening.

One of the other newer Trainers asked if I expected to train anyone else to take over doing the in-service lessons.  We have a former Trainer coming back in a few weeks, after a leave of absense, and I think she used to prepare in-service lessons, so I do not think it will be a huge issue. But it got me to thinking that finishing up the five lessons on the Basic Training will take me into March, and if the other sister takes over, I would not mind. The Trainer who asked me does not want to do the lessons, I am quite sure.  It will be interesting to see what happens on that score.

I learned today that the Young Elder Dinners program will continue for a couple more weeks, but after that there may be a new system worked out.  I was able to find and pass on to the person in the other new branch the sign-up form that we use.  None of their people has been trained in the program.

The car came in useful again this afternoon, as one of the Japanese sisters needed to go to the grocery store.  I was planning to go anyway, so we had a good trip.  On the way home I went the back way, but a train was stopped on the tracks, so I turned around and was able to get back to North Temple.

Today!! New In-Service Lesson, Leading to Ancestry Sources! 28 December 2016

I woke up a little earier than usual this morning, which meant I could easily read 2 chapters in the book of Jacob--3 & 4--so that on my P day tomorrow I can tackle Jacob 5.  I really like that chapter with the allegory of the Olive Tree.  But it is the longest chapter in The Book of Mormon, so it is good to have a P day to enjoy it.

This morning was an early one at the Library, followed by 2 hours in the Training room. The happy news was that I had time to get started on an in-service lesson on Searching at Ancestry. Their methodology is somewhat different than FamilySearch.  In a way, I guess it is a little less professional library-oriented.  Instead of the extensive catalog which FamilySearch has, Ancestry does what they call a card catalog that is searched only by title or keyword.  I was trying to find a search that would not be too complicated, and my Eppingen relatives did not work, even trying several different surnames.

Then I thought of using my Dad's great-grandfather--and I actually was able to access records with my surname in the 1819 Mecklenburg-Schwerin Census.  I am not positive I found my second great-grandfather--the birth date is off by a month from family records, and his tombstone.  But it was exciting to find that there may well be a record for him.

Since there was not a firm connection on that line, I started working with my 2nd great-grandmother's family.  I spent several hours this evening attaching sources, cleaning up records, providing evidence of births and deaths, etc. It was a fun way to spend the evening while I waited for my Sweetheart to call.

I spent a couple of hours at the German--Slavic counter, and helped with some deciphering.  I also learned about a Swiss Gazetter I had not known about before, and I appropriately found neighboring parishes for on of the volunteers. I knew the German word for bachelor when another missionary asked me for help. So sometimes I am useful even out on the floor!

Since we did not have choir practice today, I got one load of laundry done.  I even got my coat washed!  Tomorrow morning when I go in for half-an-hour to help with cleaning, I can use the other Swap-Meet coat, and see how that works out. The snow is beginning to melt, but since we got about a foot on Christmas Day, I suspect it will not all be gone before the next possibility of snow on New Year's Day!

When Will I Get Time to Prepare More Inservice Lessons???!!! 27 December 2016

I was grateful today to have a 2-hour delay in the start of my work at the Library.  Not only did I get to wake up on my own without benefit of the alarm, but I got a brief, but happy call from my Sweetheart this morning.  Tonight we will only get to talk for a short time, so the extra call is extra nice! I had some sad news to report.  The father of my son-in-law died last night.  It was a blessing that the family was able to gather, but still it is a hard thing when a loved one dies.

I got another few minutes done on the transcription this morning.  I hope  I can  insert the PowerPoint slides from the presentation.  That would make the transcription even better.

Study group was the first thing on my schedule today.  This was weighing on my mind the past few days, as I really had nothing prepared to share.  I awoke this morning with the thought of  sharing the lesson from the Learning Center on Reading Polish Handwritten Records.  I probably made a mistake in skipping right to the third lesson, but I wanted to show the group the template that is available which makes at least some of the Polish records relatively simple to figure out.  Those of us who are full-time missionaries will not always have the resources at the Library available, so it is good to prepare to teach others how they can learn to do things for themselves.

I was scheduled for 2 hours in the Training room, when I had hoped to get started on another in-service lesson.  However, two of the new missionaries turned in  Level 1 work, so for the next two plus hours I reviewed their work and helped them with areas that were weak.  During the third hour I was supposed to be a Helper, so when I went out on the floor to try to find a leader I needed to talk with, I was asked to help two young German fellows.  They both were very fluent in English, so that was not a problem.  They recognnized that they did not have enough information to search effectively, but they indicated they would "talk to Mom" or "talk to Grandma". I trust that the one especially will follow up.  He was excited to see that he and his Grandma could access the FamilySearch site from anywhere with an internet connection, and that if he got a free account they could also use the Family Tree.  I taught him about attaching Memories, and how he could download apps that would make using the Memories features quite easy.

Tomorrow I will have a few more hours in the Training room, so maybe I will get to work on the inservice lessons. I hope so.

When I was finished at the Library I went to the temple for a little while. That is always a very good place to be.

I hope to do a bit more transcribing while I am waiting to talk with my Sweetheart.  I got a card from him today--how blessed I am!

Ten Minutes Down, Ten Minutes to Go! 26 December 2016

The title of this post refers to the transcription I am doing.  I did not finish it by Christmas, but maybe I can by New Year's Day! I completed ten minutes today, working for a couple of sessions.  I think during the week I might be able to find four half-hour blocks to get it done. We shall see.

While I can only handle about half an hour to one hour at a time transcribing, doing family history work is easy for me to do for several hours at a time.  I am working at home on my Kalbfleisch line, as I have found that although I put the genealogical letters between my Dad and my Grandpa into Family Tree Memories, there is still information to glean from them. I almost despair of getting done all that is available in my lifetime! But I keep plugging away.

Of course, I prefer to talk with my Sweetheart--and I was blessed to do that this morning, and we will talk again tonight. This morning, as we have done on occasion before, we worked a bit on family history together.  What blessings our electronic devices are in this work.  We also are sharing the temple work, as he printed off three cards that he will do the work for me, and tomorrow I can print off cards that I can do the work for him.

This afternoon I ventured out after the big snow. My Ukrainian sister needed to go to the store I try to visit once a month.  She helped me dig out the car. I am amazed at how much snow was piled up on the car.  I am glad I got a broom at one of the Swap Meets--it definitely came in handy today!  I had thought that parking next to the shed on the parking lot would decrease the amount of snow that would accumulate on the car, but it sure did not seem to have that effect. When we came back from the store I chose to park in a spot that had been cleared, rather than back by the shed.

Sister M, as she likes to be called, was happy to find millet and buckwheat in bulk at the store we went to. She also stocked up on lots of fruits and vegetables and spices. I got some kefir, since that store has the least expensive regular price.

Sister M invited me to have supper with her. She was disappointed that the buckwheat she bought was not quite like the buckwheat she was used to in the Ukraine, but I thought it was fine.  We also had a cabbage salad made like a lettuce salad, which was quite good, and fruit salad and "Washington Apple Pie" ice cream for dessert.

I decided this morning to take a chance on cooking the ham bone [with a fair amount of meat on it] from Saturday's dinner with some of the beans I brought with me from Missouri.  The beans were packed in 2002, and were supposed to be used within 8 years--obviously that did not happen.  They did soften up enough for me to eat after about 6 hours of cooking.  I am glad I will have the chance to use them up.

Lots of Phone Calls and a Sweet Video Call for Christmas. 25 December 2016

The Tabernacle Choir pre-recorded their Music and the Spoken Word broadcast for today, so I did not have to get out until going to our last branch sacrament service at noon.  This was a blessing in that we finally got a big snow storm.  I do not know how many inches have been officially recorded, but there is a LOT of snow. It was not too bad walking, as the sidewalks have been pretty well taken care of here at the apartments, and at Temple Square.  I maybe should get some higher snow boots, but I will probably just opt for being out only when strictly necessary during subsequent storms. And I have now definitely experienced a Utah White Christmas.

I got to talk with all three of my daughters today, which has not happened for quite a while. My oldest was traveling with her husband and youngest daughter, and we all talked a bit on the speaker phone.  Their trip is bittersweet.  They had been planning all along to visit the North Carolina grandparents, but in the last couple of days Grandpa has taken a turn for the worse.  All the children are gathering, and we hope he will hang on until everyone can say their goodbyes.  End of life issues are something nearly all of us face, and that is not easy.  We pray for peace to rest upon them all.

I got to Skype with my Arizona grandchildren today.  It was very nice to see each of them, to wish them a Merry Christmas, and to talk for a longer time with my eight-year-old granddaughter.

A very sweet surprise today was to get to Skype with my Sweetheart!  We had not previously gotten the video calls to work on both ends, so this was an especially nice Christmas present.  We decided that we will do the video calls once a week, which will be a special treat to look forward to.

I spent some time today indexing German records.  Some of the batches were a little more complicated than usual, but one of them had an index, which is always helpful for checking my work.  I found a couple of names that I needed to fix.

At the Christmas Eve dinner last night I apparently ate something that did not agree with me, so I had some issues in the middle of the night.  I fasted until afternoon, and so far I am doing all right, for which I am grateful.

I hope all of you had a Blessed Christmas.

Christmas Eve on a Mission! 25

Yes, Christmas Eve was quite different this year--but very good, none-the-less. I had two nice talks with my Sweetheart, and he let me know the Christmas card I sent him had arrived!  I was glad that it had. We got to remember last Christmas Eve when a mutual friend invited both of us to a "make-your-own-pizza" party, and we were both overjoyed to see one another!  The two of us have such fun memories!

In the morning I was reminded that I still have some transcribing to do, so throughout the day I managed to do another nine minutes!  Yes, it is slow-going. I hope I have it done by New Year's Day.  Just 20 minutes to go [about 4 hours of work, not counting reviews].

I called and talked with several friends today, especially our special missionary from Wyoming.  He and his family are doing well. One of his daughters is moving to Iowa, in the same area where he served a lot of his mission.  Back in 1974, the mission covered lots of territory!

In the late morning I worked on preparing fruit salad and Waldorf Salad to take to the Christmas Eve dinner in the late afternoon. Then I went over to help with set-up.  Lots of sisters were already there. One fun thing that happened was that several of those who were helping set up really enjoyed some of the tangerines I had brought that I did not include in the fruit salad. Actually, of the four types of food I brought, the tangerines--all 80 of them--were the only items completely devoured!

The Branch President asked me to bear my testimony during a short program after the meal.  I was glad to do that, and I told of my first Christmas memory when, all alone in the living room, lit only by the lights on the tree, I came to believe in Jesus. As I put it in my testimony, I also felt a relationship with Heavenly Father--until it was taught out of me. But in 1974, when I was humble enough to listen to the message of the Restored Gospel I learned that Heavenly Father loved me, and He had a wonderful plan for His children--and I could help!  I am so happy I got to bear my testimony, for in the new branch meetings, many of my friends will be elsewhere.

I pray we will all have a Blessed Christmas!

Racking up a Few Miles for the New Tires. 23 December 2016

I am not sure how I managed not to post yesterday, but when I opened the browser tab, there was my writing from yesterday!  So today will show as two posts, but the Elijah day happened on the 22nd.

Last night I did not sleep well, so it was really nice not to have to get up to an alarm this morning.  During the night when I could not sleep I was able to attach some titles to pictures and documents in Family Tree Memories on one of my tablet devices. That was nice, but during the day I did the same on the laptop, which was a little easier typing.

Yesterday when I was getting the tire papers out to the car I noticed [blessedly] that I am supposed to drive on them 25 miles, and then go back to get the connectors tightened. I had not figured out how to build up those 25 miles, as the trip back to the shop is only about 6 1/2 miles. I was sitting in my car trying to decide what to do when I got a call from my youngest daughter, so I was glad I had not yet started driving.  We talked for quite a while--I went back to the apartment.

The property managers had posted a notice that at noon there would be a Jingle Mingle--whatever that was--in the neighboring apartments.  I did go there with one of the Japanese sisters, and we had a little bit of cheese and sausage and crackers.  I passed on the cookies, and the apple juice.  Only a few other people came while we were there, so we were able to leave after just a short time.

The Japanese sister mentioned she was going to take the light rail to a store to get her food to take to tomorrow's dinner--so I offered to take her, since that would use some miles, so that worked out well.  I told her I was going to the temple in the afternoon [as my Sweetheart would be in the St. Louis Temple at the same time], so she decided to go also.  There were some other missionaries we knew in the session, so that was pleasant.

I am waiting now for my Sweetheart to call, and then I will probably call it a night. Tomorrow will be somewhat busy with preparations for the branch dinner, which should turn out nicely.

I Like Elijah Moments--or Hours! 22 December 2016

Sometimes Heavenly Father must send angels to make up for my lack of togetherness, as in "having it all together".  Yesterday I had a plan to get some of my own work done during the last half of my lunch hour and the time another certifier had taken my spot so that I could get to mission conference on time.  I have been feeling a bit guilty as I have neglected in recent months to make a written record [aka research log] of the searches I have made.  So I picked up one of the notebooks I had used a few months ago to record family numbers I needed to check out in the Eppingen book. When I left the Library I realized I had not brought the notebook along, but I was not concerned about it, as I figured I would stop by today, or just wait until next week.

Imagine my surprise this morning while I was doing my stair-climbing when I saw, leaning against the building, a notebook.  Curious, I checked it out--and it was mine!  I am grateful for whichever angel made up for my irresponsibility.

This turned into an Elijah moment or day when I actually looked at the first part of the book.  This was not about my Eppingen family, but my Merlau, Hessen-Darmstadt family--and I realized I still had work to do on that line, since I had not made very good notes, and I had not taken any photos to attach to my FamilyTree memories, so I needed to redo my research. As it turned out, I now have improved my skills in reading the German records enough so that I realized there were more children that needed to be found in that family!  Ancestry was also a help, as they had indexes of some records that FamilySearch has only on microfilm.  Using the tools from both sites, I found 3 more children to add.  I do not know if the children lived long--I will check out the death records later--but I was surprised that they had been overlooked in the compilation that the minister had sent to my grandfather back in the early 1960s.  Anyway, it was a really rewarding couple of hours.  I am so glad I had the time to do it, as this is my P day.

My other main objective today was to get new tires for Cricket.  I went to the place that my daughter prefers, as there is free tire-rotation, etc., for the life of the tires, and she will be the one to do most of the driving in that car once I get back home.  At first the counter person said they would have to order the tires I wanted--but then they found they had a set of four that had been ordered a while back but never picked up.  So instead of having to go back on Monday, I got them today!  Also, the person said it would take almost two hours, but instead it was just a tad over one hour. I indulged in a Polish dog and root beer at another place close by while I waited--the root beer was definitely my downfall, as I enjoyed two big cups of that!

I enjoyed a good talk with my Sweetheart this morning, and then talked with both my youngest daughter and my oldest daughter.  I learned that my grandson who has been working on a farm in Virginia for the last couple of months is planning to go to Hawaii to learn more about farming--what fun!  I applaud him for this ambition, and hope he learns much! We actually come from long lines of farmers--and back to basics and roots is a very good thing in my opinion.

Meetings, Conference, Practice--a Long Day. 21 December 2016

I just realized how blessed I have been to only rarely been required to be part of a committee.  After just one hour in the Training room this morning I went to a committee meeting.  According to the printed agenda, my presence was not really anticipated, nor required, so I think I will be able to decline participating in this .

The next hour was supposed to be one of my Skill Development hours, but I ended up being needed by some of the missionaries in training, which was not a problem for me.  Because I work so seldom with guests anymore, I am somewhat inclined to let myself be distracted by training needs.  The same is not the case with my research hours.  I feel that I have so much to get done on my family lines in the next four months, that I want to spend my time doing that when I am scheduled, and sometimes even when I am not scheduled--like during part of lunch time today, and also during a time when I did not have to be certifying, due to Mission Conference.  I had figured out a way to clean up the mess made when brothers were merged inappropriately--but the person in escalation counseled me to just wait until the team that works on those records could complete the unmerge.  So now I am checking some of the other lines.

I am hoping that the Japanese sister who is in training is actually understanding some of the more complicated things she asks me about.  Today the question was about viewing a collection which has been digitized, and is searchable online--but the microfilm is no longer in circulation.  This will increasingly be the case, as we get more collections indexed [we are always pleased to get new indexers!], and more microfilm digitized--and fewer and fewer working microfilm readers.  Apparently no companies make microfilm readers anymore, as the digital industry has made microfilm obsolete.  I believe it will be less than a decade until the all films will be digitized--and hopefully contracts will allow nearly all the digitized records to be searchable and viewable.

After Mission Conference the Elijah Choir had a practice, our first on our director's favorite hymn, "Behold the Wounds in Jesus' Hands''.  That is quite a touching piece. Then our triple trio practiced a piece we were scheduled to sing on January 8--but various circumstances will change that date to January 15.

Back at the apartment I ate supper, and then had a nice talk with my Sweetheart.  I have been dozing over this post for the past hour, so I guess I need to wrap it up and head for bed.

Isn't Love Wonderful?!!! 20 December 2016

During this morning's prayer meeting we had an emotional treat--one of the Church Service Missionaries, a widower of four years, gave one of the full-time sister Missionaries the engagement ring they picked out yesterday!  The zone leader prefaced this by letting everyone know that the couple had gone through proper channels to get approval not only from the Mission President, but from higher officials, who were happy to give approval.  The couple would have waited until she is released in December of last year, but now they will marry February 1!  I am so happy for them.  The first time I had a conversation with the elder I thought--"He ought to get remarried."  And the sister is so very sweet, and I think she has been alone for many years. I am certain they will be very happy together.

Yesterday my Sweetheart and I celebrated the 8 month-anniversary of our engagement, and today is five months until our wedding.  Like I said "Isn't Love Wonderful?"

I spent the last half of my lunch hour at Escalation, turning over the messy situation with my almost last-generation Frey line to those who can untangle the merges. I also found that there are even more duplicates in that line that hadn't been merged, and the Escalation person suggested that I go ahead and merge them while he watched.  I got quite a few done, so I feel good about that.

I was out of the Library at 4--but not until I had eaten more goodies.  Then I went to the temple briefly, since my Sweetheart was in the St. Louis Temple at the same time. Once I got back to the apartment I ate supper and then decided to do a load of laundry, so that on my P day I can get new tires.  Then my youngest texted me with her new phone--and I called back.  We have been talking ever since about this and that. I will enjoy a second call with my Sweetheart later this evening, when he is finished with his temple shift.

Too Many Goodies, and a Trip to the Dollar Store. 19 December 2016

The Christmas program that the Elijah Choir presented during the Christmas Mission devotional was well-received.  In the past few weeks our choir director told us that music is the language of feelings, and that seems to be true.  My favorites of the pieces we sang were Carol of the Bells, The Glory of the Lord from Handel's Messiah, and Mary, Did You Know?

During my first hour at the Library I was on the phone with four different tech people to try to regain my mission email.  I am grateful that this was successful, although apparently I lost a week's worth of mail--oh, well! I imagine if there was anything of great importance a different way to contact me would have been found.

Several missionaries brought in goodies today.  The problem with being in the training room a lot is that one has to pass through the break room with all the goodies to go anywhere else.  Then one of the other trainers brought me a container of homemade candy--it is good it is a small container, because the candy is half-gone already!

I took time to go downstairs to escalation this morning and learned they can help untangle some FamilyTree merges. Then during lunch I stayed at the Library to share my sweet story of my Sweetheart and me.

One of our newer missionaries needed to go to a store for gift bags, etc., and I offered to take her.  Another sister came along.  The low tire pressure light went on, so I stopped at a gas station, and we ended up going tp the closest dollar store. While there my youngest called me, and I asked her to check if the place she suggested earlier still had them on a pretty good sale. It is good for the rest of the week, so  I should be able to get there OK.

Mission Changes! 18 December 2016

Our mission, the Family and Church History Headquarters Mission, had a special meeting this morning.  I suppose I should have figured out that this meant organizational changes were in the works.

As of January 1, 2017, the name of the mission is being changed to Utah Salt Lake City Headquarters. Like the other missions in the Church the missionaries will still be members in the wards or branches they came from [Yay! I will be able to look up phone numbers and addresses of my friends back in Missouri!]--so my records will be returned to my ward.  The two missionary branches will be reorganized, based on the zone one is in, not the month one arrives in.  There are some other organizational items that I am not clear on, but pretty much life will continue as usual for me, since I do not have leadership responsibilities. I do wonder if I will still be teaching a Relief Society lesson in February--I expect so, which is not a bad thing.  I wonder if I will still be assigned to the tasks for coordinating the Young Elder Dinners--probably so.

Anyway, change is about the only constant, isn't it? I was glad that my Cuban sister is now safely at home in Florida, as we would have been in different branches, and I think the change would have been difficult for her.

The special meeting interfered with our branch choir practice, so we never did get to run through the entire special Christmas program--but the angels probably helped out because our director and the congregation were touched by how well we did.  After the service the choir was asked to stay for a few minutes so that our picture could be taken, as this was the last time the Salt Lake 2nd Branch choir would be together.  About half of us will be in the new City Creek Branch, and the other half will be in the Ensign Peak Branch.

Talking with my Sweetheart was very nice tonight as we had plenty of time. Friday night he will be helping with his ward's youth temple trip, so I sent him a list of names to have them do for me.

I got one batch of German indexing done today, but the other two batches will go back into the system, as 5 a.m. will come way too early in the morning!

Frozen Gate and An Additional Ortssippenbuch. 17 December 2016

On my way to the Library this morning the gate out of the apartment complex was frozen shut--at least neither I nor several Young Elders could get the handle to budge.  One of the other sisters was able to give the elders a way to get out through the car gate, which did operate properly, while I went around to a different gate to get out.  I also called one of the other sister missionaries and asked her to report that the gate was frozen.  By the time I returned in the late afternoon, all was back to normal.

I did not go back to the apartment for lunch because today was my research afternoon. I took a little more time over lunch than usual, as some of the other missionaries were in the break room, and there was some interesting conversation going on.  But I did get started on my research early enough to feel ok about leaving a bit early.

I actually had the opportunity to help a guest after spending an hour as Greeter.  Her research needs taught me not to make assumptions, as I had looked at the name of the small place her ancestors came from and thought it was the name of a parish.  Instead it is a village named after a Saint. When I finally figured it out, because some of the records had been indexed, I found there were indeed church records from that place. This helped me to think about some of the villages that are mentioned in the Eppingen Ortssippenbuch, and when I looked up one of those villages I found there is also an Ortssippenbuch for it--so now I have two of them to look through! And I found that the lines are quite jumbled on Family Tree. I did get started during my 3+ hours of work on them.  There is much left to do.

I enjoyed talking with my Sweetheart this evening, and then had a long talk with my youngest.  Missouri is having some severe weather, so I was glad to learn that services were cancelled for tomorrow for both of them.  Once I am assured that my Sweetheart made it to work tonight and then back home tomorrow, I will relax a bit where travel is concerned. I am grateful that here the snow we got last night was just the powdery kind.

Different Perspectives. 16 December 2016

There was an interesting conversation between two young elders that I heard.  The one from Alabama was saying that the one from Idaho was crazy because he was rejoicing that we were having rain and sleet [or hail--I really was not sure which term would fit when I walked back to my apartment for lunch], because that meant there would be moisture for next summer's crop.  I am on the Idaho side of the debate, having observed the damage that a lack of ground water from the winter did to my garden a few years ago.  I learned in the spring that an umbrella is an essential piece of equipment here. A small price to pay for famine-prevention.

My Book of Mormon reading today was in 2 Nephi 24, which speaks of famine [and the unforgettable German term in Das Buch Mormon:  Hungersnot!]. We have been so blessed in our country not to have suffered famine so far, but one wonders if and when that will happen.  I am grateful that my Sweetheart does not mind that I want to make sure we have plenty of food stored!''

Early today I checked to see if there was any way I could manage a trip to see my Arizona family over the holidays.  But requests for permission to leave the mission boundaries are supposed to be submitted, I learned, a month before the time requested.  Even an expedited request takes two weeks.  So sadly my plan would not work.

I received some positive reinforcement today for the  in-service PowerPoints I am putting together. My zone leader had asked me to simplify the language on a couple of them in order to help one of the missionaries for whom English is a second language.  I had just finished one of them yesterday, and today that missionary asked for help with that particular one.  I went over the presentation with her, then we did an impromptu exercise on the internet, and then she went and did one on her own! I was so pleased that she "got it", because she had struggled to understand the concept from the materials she was working on.  In addition, she came up with a simpler definition of a word than I had thought of [even after searching an online thesaurus!]. To me this is evidence that what I am preparing really will be useful long-term.

I had to stay late at the Library to try to get my mission email working again.  Unfortunately that was unsuccessful.  Then, since we may get snow tonight I went to grocery stores--I wish I had not done that, since it really diminished the time I got to talk with my Sweetheart, since the weather in Missouri is icy also, which impacted his drive to work, and almost caused him to fall.  He did get safely in to work, which I am grateful for.

My daughter is on her way home, and the icy conditions are impacting her travel also. I will be glad when I get the word that she is safely home.

Indexing, Post Office, Temple, Phone Calls, Transcribing--Full P day. 15 December 2016

 I started out the day indexing one batch from Germany while waiting for a phone call from my Sweetheart.  I downloaded 10 batches on Sunday, and had only done five of them so far. Two of the remaining ones were sequential, which is really nice, because the surnames tend to be the same--this cuts down on the puzzlement factor.

After a nice talk, I ate breakfast and then took off for the post office where I had just a few items to mail.  While I was in line, my youngest daughter called from Disney World. Free parking at the post office is limited to 30 minutes, so I drove to the nearby market, and picked up some apples while talking with her.

Once I got back to the apartment it was time to leave for the noon session at the temple. That went well, and then back to the apartment where I made more phone calls, mostly back to Missouri.  Several people had sent me Christmas greetings, so I called to thank them and to catch up a bit.

I had decided that since I have not heard back from the person who was transcribing the last 2016 FairMormon Conference talk that I should probably get that started.  Transcribing is interesting to me, but it is fairly slow going.  In an hour I got about six minutes completed--with a little over half an hour to go. If I can discipline myself to do an hour each day, I will have it done before Christmas! That would be a very good thing.

Very late in the afternoon I got to talk with my Arizona daughter. Then I cooked a batch of wheat, and some red lentils.

I worked on sorting out clothing to put back in the Swap Shop. The sudden departure of my Cuban sister reminded me that putting off decisions is not a very good idea, and I now have an over-abundance of clothes, with no need to take the extras back to Missouri with me.

I also figured out what fruit I need to buy next week in order to make a nice fruit salad as my contribution to the Christmas Eve dinner for the branch. I keep thinking that I want to put in avocados, but maybe that should be saved for another occasion.  I suspect that even though most young men will eat just about anything, avocado in the fruit salad might be pushing the limit.

I will enjoy one more phone call tonight from my Sweetheart.  Then it will be time to get ready for an early morning at the Library, including an in-service lesson at 7:45.

4 X 4 interview, and Christmas Mission Devotional. 14 December 2016

I was so involved in my duties as Trainer that I almost forgot I had my "4 months till I leave" interview with a member of the mission presidency and his wife!  I did make it one minute early, so it worked out OK.  At the interview I was able to express some concerns I have had.  I feel better about those concerns now.

Lunch was in the Conference Center, after a Christmas devotional in the Conference Center Little Theater.  We sang several Christmas songs, and learned of the Christmas traditions of some of the leaders of the Family History Department.  The luncheon was quite delicious.

I only had one 20-minute certifying session, and it went well.  Most of the rest of my day was spent of Training.  I had forgotten that I had been given Level 2 worksheets by two of the Church Service Missionaries last week, so that is what I worked on the most.

This afternoon our Elijah Choir practice went pretty well. We have only one practice, early Monday morning, before our Christmas program next Monday.  It has been such a delight to sing "And the Glory of the Lord" from the Messiah, "Mary, Did You Know?", and "The Carol of the Bells."

This evening while eating my supper of nice soft kidney beans I realized that a chip in one of my front teeth was back!  I do not know if there is a dentist I can go to here in Salt Lake City, or if I will just live with this until I get back to my dentist in the St. Louis area.

I got a brief phone call from my Cuban sister to let me know she got home to Florida OK--although the plane was delayed more than an hour.  I assured her we would stay in touch.

Goodbye to my Dear Friend. 13 December 2016

Life can change very quickly. My Cuban sister is leaving tonight! Apparently one of the mission doctors saw her yesterday when she was having some difficulties, and decided, after consulting her other doctors, that she should fly back to Florida--tonight!

It was through a series of minor miracles that I learned this was happening. I was told she was too overwhelmed to have a visitor, but I am very glad I called to see if I could come to say goodbye. I sat in her apartment as she called a few people and rested up for her flight. One call was to her brother, and he and his son and daughter-law came to spend a little time with her. This provided me with an opportunity to learn that on my iPad I could copy an image from Facebook and save the image. Now I can show my friends here the picture of my Sweetheart and me in front of the St. Louis Temple on the day we got engaged!

Today was  a good day, despite some left-over anxiety from yesterday, and then finding I had lost several files!!!! As I mentioned to one of the other trainers, I have heard that people rise to their level of incompetence--and that is how I feel at times!

One problem was resolved today when another person came to me and apologized--and I felt I needed to apologize instead! Anyway, it helped to get that resolved.

Because I am now starting my shifts so early I will only get to talk with my Sweetheart tonight. He sent me two videos, though, one is a lovely version of Away in a Manger, and the other a song by Julio Iglesias. I will be so glad to talk with him even though it will be brief as  tonight is his shift at the temple.

Unexpected Support in Two Places. 12 December 2016

This morning on a group list for apologetics [defending the faith] I occasionally take part in, there was a question which was basically answered in a way that said, "This is not a topic for discussion."  Since it was a topic I have seen addressed in scholarly works several times, including by one of my favorite authors, Hugh Nibley, I responded to this by saying that such a response would have us throw out much of Nibley's work, or never discuss it.

The unexpected support came from another member of the list whose writings and also his discussion on the list I learn a great deal from.  I was very pleasantly surprised.

Later in the day I attended a meeting of several trainers concerning a certain training situation--and while the majority of the trainers were very positive about the situation, the one elder in the group voiced many of the concerns I have had.  Because of that I spoke up about other issues which I had not been planning to voice.  Still, since I feel strongly about these things, I should have realized that I would not keep quiet. Although the group really does not, I think, have any power to change anything, at least the issues are out in the open.

In our zone trainers meeting I was asked to redo some of my presentations to make them more understandable for missionaries who are not native speakers of English.  This needs to be done pretty quickly, and I am finding that putting the presentations together takes many hours. I hope I will be able to do this in a timely manner.  The good news at the meeting is that some of the other training presentations will not need to be ready until mid-to-late January.

Our choir director seemed pleased with the progress we are making with the music for the Christmas program on December 19.  We have just two practices left, so that is a good thing.  Today we sang a version of Away in a Manger, and I think we stayed pretty much on pitch during the last verse which we sang without accompaniment.

I was pleasantly surprised when I got back to the apartment late this afternoon to find a door tag from maintenance with the note that the toilet had been replaced.  Yesterday I had mentioned to my friend who is in charge of mission housing here that the old commode was quite cracked--although it did not seem to be leaking.  Now there is a brand new one!  Amazing!

Thanks to the early morning reminder of Hugh Nibley, I spent some time this evening reading one of his essays on the temple, and then one of Kipling's stories from The Jungle Book, book 2.

My Sweetheart called and we talked quite a while. He is pet-sitting while my daughter is off on a short trip.  What a blessing he is to us!

Powerful Singing, Good Dinner, Assignment Finished for the Year! 11 December 2016

 I was grateful that the first indexing batch I pulled up reminded me to look at German marriage records for legitimization of children as well as for the marriage information.  I sometimes wonder if I really should do the German records when I have forgotten about things like that.  But I console myself with the knowledge that the arbitrator will probably catch what I might miss--and now this particular item is on my radar.  In addition, the previous indexer had made a different error b y identifying the first image as a duplicate--and it might have been from a previous batch, but that does not count.  So as long as I remember what I was reminded of, there is a net gain in indexing.

Music & the Spoken Word presented music which was quite emotional for me.  Some of it was from the Concert that was given last week Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and some of it was of Christmas songs that I remember from my childhood. So the nearly two hour was quite powerful for me. Thpere was a special recording of the Luke 2 Christmas story in Spanish and German at the end, so that was a treat.

The longer time meant very little time before I was off to choir practice, as we were starting 15 minutes early.  Then there was a special practice during Sunday School, but we got preempted by a different branch, so we did not make it through the entire program for next week.  The angels will probably help us--they usually do.

After our meetings my Cuban sister and another sister and I hosted two young elders for dinner.  The elders were very complimentary about the food, even though one of them has had much the same dinner the other times he came.  The other elder has only been here a month, so he did not realize that they are only supposed to stay for an hour.  He said, "You have good food, and what you have to talk about is very interesting!"  [I gave a short version of the miracles that brought my Sweetheart and me together!]

After the elders left, the three of us prepared the signup sheets for January's Young Elders Dinners, and took them to the sister who distributes them.  She had the sheets for me to process and pass on for next week's dinners, which I just completed.  Since we will not host the young elders on Christmas Day, and not on the first Sunday of the month, my duties are completed for the year!

Too Much Fun! 10 December 2016

Is there such a thing as too much fun doing family history?  Probably. This was one of those situations when I am having a hard time letting go of my Eppingen relatives to write this post and then head for bed.  Not that I have added much new to my lines--just one child who had been confused with his brother.  Of course, they had nearly identical names, which is so common in Germany.  The older brother died as a 2 year old, but his death was not in Family Tree. So the computer program, or someone else, decided he must be the husband and father instead of the brother who was not yet entered into Family Tree.  That mess is now straightened out, along with several other items, especially involving merging records.  One merged I had to undo and then redo--I thought I told the program to save the marriage date and place, along with the names of the parents.  Apparently not.  But now it is all fixed, so I should be able to let go for the night.

This morning I went early to the temple to take care of a few ordinances, and then I return in the late morning and stayed to get some later work done.

I had two lovely conversations with my Sweetheart, and an interesting phone call with my oldest daughter. mostly concerning the refugee family she has been helping.  I am proud of her for her concern for this family.

I experimented with making peanut butter balls today--using hot chocolate mix!  Interesting, but we will see how they go over with the Young Elders tomorrow!

Sleep-deprived Day. 9 December 2016

Last night I had an extremely hard time getting to sleep. I tried my usual strategies, and nothing worked.  I decided that maybe I needed to send a reply to a young man who had questioned why an organized Church is necessary.  I testified to him that we are under covenant to provide saving ordinances for the whole family of Adam--and that takes a lot of people working together.  Individuals just can not do this work by themselves.

When I finished that post it was about 11:30, and I decided at midnight to read scriptures--2 Nephi 17, one of the Isaiah chapters. After I finished that I did fall asleep, but woke up about 5, and never really fell asleep again, although the 6 am alarm was really hard to respond to, so that put me a little behind in my usual morning routine.

When I got to the Library I was scheduled to play the keyboard and give the in-service.  Sometimes on Friday morning everyone has had the in-service, but not today.  I was Greeter for an hour.  The rest of my time until afternoon prayer meeting, when again I played keyboard [Christmas songs!] and gave the in-service lesson, I was in the Training room.  There were only a few times when anyone needed help, so most of those five hours were spent refining an in-service lesson.

I brought my lunch, which was probably not the best thing to do for the sleepies. I had some microfilm I wanted to revisit, and for the last 20 minutes or so I did that [finding that  a couple of the films had gotten mixed up in their boxes--probably my fault, as I do not think anyone else is working with these films--so at least that issue got fixed], but the record I wanted did not show up.

Back in the Training room I did dose off a couple of times. But I think that presentation is finished, and next week I will go on to the next topic.  There are 7 topics left in the series I am doing, and I need to finish them by mid-to-late February.

On my way back to the apartment I tried getting my voicemail and was denied access without a password.  I did not think that I ever did have a password.  Turns out I was correct about that, but getting the mess figured out took my daughter's help.  Then I discovered that I had left my flash-drive in one of the computers, so I made up for not walking at lunchtime!

Once my Sweetheart calls and we have prayer together, I suspect I will be off to bed!

Phone Time and Shopping and I Am Happy a Dear Granddaughter Went to the Temple. 8 December 2016

I am delighted that my Virginia granddaughter went with her youth group to the Washington DC Temple for the first time this evening.  I am glad she and her friends were able to do the baptisms for several of our relatives.  It is so nice that these are recorded and posted in real time.  I just looked and found them--I now have other work to do for these relatives as well.  What a joy it is to participate in this work! It was also nice that today was my father-in-law's birthday. He and my mother-in-lase helped to teach me the importance of family.

At a meeting on Wednesday a journal entry written by one of the men who worked on painting the Salt Lake Temple, and I shared that with my Sweetheart this morning [we got to talk twice today--one of the joys of P day].  That sparked a memory in him of the story of one of the stone masons who worked on the Salt Lake Temple.  He related that story to me, and later in the day sent me the video, which I got to enjoy while I ate lunch.

Early this morning I did two loads of laundry, so I am pretty well caught up on that chore.  I also made flax seed crackers and peanut butter cookies. This afternoon I went out shopping, since snow is predicted for the next two days, and I just do not want to drive in snow if I do not have to.  I first went to the post office, and mailed one package, but not another item, a book, which will go less expensively if I use my own wrapping.

I enjoyed samples at two stores, and picked up my cholesterol-lowering supplement which was on sale this month.  I had thought I brought enough with me, but was one bottle short. I also got a chicken to serve on Sunday for supper.  I also went to a couple of  dollar stores, and a couple of regular grocery stores.

My youngest daughter called while I was out shopping, and we caught up on each other's news.  She had just finished a final in one of her courses.  She has done well in that class, and hopes the mistakes she knows she made will not mess up her record too much! I was glad to have her to confirm that it was OK to buy a Peruvian cap instead of a stocking cap, and a fun tie with a snowman that lights up instead of a more conventional tie to put into a stocking for one of the young elders.

Once back at the apartment I prepared more for Sunday's meal, talked again with my Sweetheart, and now am finishing this blog post!

Phone Time and Shopping and I am Happy a Dear Granddaughter went to the Temple. 8 December 2016

I am delighted that my Virginia granddaughter went with her youth group to the Washington DC Temple for the first time this evening.  I am glad she and her friends were able to do the baptisms for several of our relatives.  It is so nice that these are recorded and posted in real time.  I just looked and found them--I now have other work to do for these relatives as well.  What a joy it is to participate in this work! It was also nice that today was my father-in-law's birthday. He and my mother-in-lase helped to teach me the importance of family.

At a meeting on Wednesday a journal entry written by one of the men who worked on painting the Salt Lake Temple, and I shared that with my Sweetheart this morning [we got to talk twice today--one of the joys of P day].  That sparked a memory in him of the story of one of the stone masons who worked on the Salt Lake Temple.  He related that story to me, and later in the day sent me the video, which I got to enjoy while I ate lunch.

Early this morning I did two loads of laundry, so I am pretty well caught up on that chore.  I also made flax seed crackers and peanut butter cookies. This afternoon I went out shopping, since snow is predicted for the next two days, and I just do not want to drive in snow if I do not have to.  I first went to the post office, and mailed one package, but not another item, a book, which will go less expensively if I use my own wrapping.

I enjoyed samples at two stores, and picked up my cholesterol-lowering supplement which was on sale this month.  I had thought I brought enough with me, but was one bottle short. I also got a chicken to serve on Sunday for supper.  I also went to a couple of  dollar stores, and a couple of regular grocery stores.

My youngest daughter called while I was out shopping, and we caught up on each other's news.  She had just finished a final in one of her courses.  She has done well in that class, and hopes the mistakes she knows she made will not mess up her record too much! I was glad to have her to confirm that it was OK to buy a Peruvian cap instead of a stocking cap, and a fun tie with a snowman that lights up instead of a more conventional tie to put into a stocking for one of the young elders.

Once back at the apartment I prepared more for Sunday's meal, talked again with my Sweetheart, and now am finishing this blog post!

New Missionaries All Finished Basic and Level 1. 7 December 2016

This morning I was able to arrange for the third new missionary to shadow the positions, so that he was fully finished with Level 1 Training. He and the couple that started with him now are prepared to help with guests on the floor, and next week they will have a regular schedule, not just a training shychedule.

I was able to walk that missionary through untangling a Family Tree mess, created by someone who did not recognize that someone born in Pennsylvania, and still living there could not likely be the person who married in Germany and had 10 children there!  It is a bit of a pain to untangle such messes, but once you figure out how to word your reasoning, and put it into discussions, where no one but you can change it, the actual process just becomes pretty simple.

The recognition potluck luncheon included about 5 pots of chili, most of which was devoured.  There was some of my chopped salad left, as well as a good bit of rice, so I ate that for supper, along with a little piece of fish.

Choir practice went quite well today.  I think I am finally getting the syncopated rhythm of the version we are doing of "Mary, Did You Know?" I am still struggling some with "And the Glory of the Lord" from the Messiah.  I do so much enjoy singing "Carol of the Bells".

I really did not want to leave the apartment after getting back from choir, but I managed to drag my self and clothes to the laundromat, so that I will have clean skirts to wear for the next week.  Since I have plenty of tops, the skirts are the limiting factor. I really just have 5 winter weight skirts. Anyway, that load of wet clothes needs to be hung up, so I will close for now.



                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Cooking and a Surprising Call! 6 December 2016

I received a call this evening from my Cuban sister.  She informed me that she is will be home by New Year's Day! She will not exactly be released, as she will be continuing to index special Spanish records at her home in Florida.  I thought at first that there might have been some health problems found in her recent visit to                                                                                                    creased pain in the past month.  The mission leadership feel that as the weather gets increasingly snowy and icy, the risk of a fall, exacerbating her pain levels, would not be wise.  I know that she has expressed increasing concern about the winter weather.  I am happy for her that this solution has been found. Her son is coming for Christmas, and instead of him flying home alone, they will drive back East together.

I was blessed to have about half an hour to talk this morning with my Sweetheart.  I almost missed the call, as my phone did not ring, but the voicemail alert was heard.  I will get to talk with him again in about an hour.

I helped several guests today, although what might have been a very extensive interaction was cut short when a missionary with more expertise than me was able to take over.

The Study Group members did not mind doing without a computer display this morning.  We had some lively discussion concerning several types of records.  I was also the presenter for the in-service lesson this afternoon, and I was told that I "wake people up" by my style of presentation.

Cooking was part of my day early and late, if one can call cutting up vegetables for a chopped salad cooking.  Tomorrow is our monthly planned pot luck luncheon, and no one else had signed up to bring vegetables.  At first I thought I would need to go shopping, but I realized that I had plenty of ingredients for a chopped salad.

When I got back to the apartment this afternoon, I needed to spend the first hour getting a meal ready for a sister who just had surgery.  I made Tilapia Scampi, as I knew she ate fish, since she had given me some one time.  That turned out quite well.  I also made rice, and Broccoli and Water Chestnut side dish.  She seemed happy with my choices. Sunday will be the next time I help feed the Young Elders, so I am hoping that the weather is nice enough to go and get a rotisserie chicken on Friday, although I do have some chicken and also some turkey in the freezer, so I could actually construct a pretty decent meal with what I have on hand.

Happy Birthday to my youngest daughter today, and Happy Saint Nicolas Day to everyone else!

Another Long Day. 5 December 2016

I think I will be just a touch glad that we will have two Mondays in a row--the day after Christmas and the day after New Year's--when we will not have early morning choir practice.  There was a sign on the Library this morning announcing the holiday schedule, and contrary to what I heard previously, the Library will be closed January 2. Starting  December 12 through the end of the year we will close at 5 p.m.

I noticed today that it was still somewhat light at 5 when I was walking back to the apartment--I think that this is different than back in Missouri, and might be why the switch back to regular Standard time has not been as difficult for me as last year.  I am typically a morning person, so getting up when it is still dark has not been an issue.  But I remember that last year the switch was really hard.

For the first time since we got a new choir director, he was not especially happy with our performance.   We were supposed to sing a cappella, but needed assistance from the piano.  We got to stay after the devotional to practice for the Christmas program on 19 December, and we did well with  a piece from The Messiah--And the Glory of the Lord, so that was nice. We only have a couple of practices left.

I learned today of a special Devotional and Luncheon which will take place next week.  Mission Conference has been moved to the following week, which is the week of Christmas Eve.  So amazing that the year 2016 is nearly over.

I talked with my youngest daughter today since she texted thanks for the birthday card I sent.  She found out more about some work-related issues today.  We talked about a lot of things.

I finished up a second batch of German indexing tonight.  I learned today that the computer in the conference room where we do study group is gone--it has been intermittent in functioning for several weeks, so we had the first part of the Trainers meeting in the B1 computer lab.  

I helped a guest with a bit of research in the Netherlands, but I am glad he will be back tomorrow so that our best Netherlands missionary can help him.

Talking with my Sweetheart is a lovely way to end the day.

Long Day, Short Post! 4 December 2016

This was a very busy day, so I will just make a list of what happened.

Read scriptures [2 Nephi 12--Yay! Finally into the Isaiah chapters!!!]
Talked with my oldest daughter, and she had a suggestion for the reception, which makes sense
Talked with my Virginia granddaughter, and she told me about a nice experience she had last week.
Went to the Music & the Spoken Word rehearsal and broadcast--touched deeply by several of the Christmas songs.
Did one batch of Baden indexing, and started another batch.
Agreed to teach a Relief Society lesson in February.
Choir practice.
Fast and Testimony meeting--my Sweetheart told me he bore his testimony today, but I did not have that opportunity, as here the missionaries who are leaving are asked to come up first, and there is no time left after that.
During Sunday School I got a few more records cleaned up in Family Tree.
In Relief Society we sang a lot of Christmas hymns.
Early supper with my Cuban sister.
Rushed to stand in line for the Christmas Devotional.
Lost my ticket.
My Cuban sister found a Guest Services person to give me a new ticket.
Finally got in the building--got seated about 10 minutes late, as the lines were very long.
The most memorable quote concerned how Our Savior came to make peace in this life and eternal life in the world to come possible.
Had hot chocolate and cookies with my Cuban sister.
Prepared document for hosting Young Elder Dinners next Sunday.
Talked with my Sweetheart.
Tried doing a video call with my Sweetheart.  We did not get the audio to work, but it was a blessing to see each other in real time.
Now I am finishing this blog post, so off to bed!

20 Minutes at the Swap Meet:) 3 December 2016

Thanks to one of the assistant Zone leaders coming a bit early to take over as Floor Manager, I was able to get to the Swap meet before everything was put away.  I did find some nice clothes--I am wearing a sweatshirt right now.  My really happy find was a very sturdy old time typing table with sides that come up on both sides.  It will be a nice launching pad for things to take to the Library [instead of the table where I eat] but I think it will make feeding the Young Elders a little less crowded.  I also got a nice file and a magazine holder which is currently holding a notebook with research and a book on learning German--with plenty of room to add research items like the quarter sheets of paper I make notes on at the Library.

This afternoon was my research time, and in addition to helping one of the new missionaries with some paperwork during the first hour, I also have added 15 or 20 new names to my Family Tree, using the Eppingen Ortssippenbuch.  Every time I think maybe I am getting finished with that, another family comes to the fore! I was able to verify that in the indexed records one of the children was recorded incorrectly--the film was ridiculously difficult to read, so I am not surprised.  I am just happy to be here where I can go look at the actual record to make a decision about it.

My Sweetheart sent me a You-Tube video of Josh Groban singing "O Holy Night", one of my favorite Christmas songs.  In addition, a carol that Elijah Choir is doing for the Christmas devotional has been running through my head a good bit of the day. Beautiful music is one of the delights of the season.

Five Hours in the Training Room. 2 December 2016

I am not exactly complaining, but 5 hours in the Training room is a bit much.  Still, I had an opportunity to go to the German-Slavic desk, but the trainee at present tends to need some guidance at times, so I did not leave. I was the only regular trainer available during the day, which was a little unusual. The assistant zone leader was there, but she has lots of other responsibilities, so she is in her own office, not the Training room.  I was glad to get asked about where to find a PowerPoint presentation by someone who is going on to Level 2, since I knew we had moved that to Level 1.

In addition, I was able to get assignments prepared for a couple of in-service lessons, refine and polish one in-service presentation, and get another one well on its way to completion.  I also prepared an extra presentation using Wiki articles on how to use the FamilySearch catalog.  I learned about Creative Commons license regulations, so I know I am OK copying from the Wiki as long as I give the Wiki credit, which is easy enough to do.  But most of it I reworked with my own examples, etc.

Today was my in-service double duty day, also.  Usually Friday mornings everyone has seen the lesson, but today there were two who had not due to the snow early in the week, and several who wanted to see it again.  In the afternoon there are always several who need to see it, and today was no exception.

One of the hazards of being in the Training room is its proximity to the break room where food is often available.  Today there were five kinds of cake, to celebrate one Young Elder's birthday, a temptation I only partly resisted [I had small pieces of three of them].  I would have felt better about it had I just not had any, but that did not happen.  I also had a small French sweet bread, brought by the French sister who will be leaving in January.

This evening I have been working on getting titles in place for Ortssippenbuch memories, and deleting those pictures from my iPad.  I do have a system that seems to be working OK, but it is slow going, and there are quite a few left to do.

Lots of Phone Time. 1 December 2016

Today started out with a short trip to the Library to help with cleaning.  I cleaned armrests and dusted computer screens. There was very little snow that happened, at least in my area, but I was glad I did my little bit of shopping yesterday.  That left the day open for phone calls!

I started out with a call to my oldest daughter.  We had not talked for more than a week and we had a lot to talk about. 

Next was a call to my oldest sister, and it has been months since I talked to her, so we had some catching up to do.  In addition, I hoped she had some information about a possible family reunion this summer on the West Coast.  She did not, but will do what she can to find out whether the reunion is still in the plans.

I was glad a short time later to get to talk with my Sweetheart--yes, we just talked last night, but we seem to always have things we need to discuss.  In fact, we will chat again in a little while, which will be a happy ending to my phone calls.

As I was getting ready to make some lunch, I talked with my youngest daughter for quite a while. Then I went to the temple.  When I got out of the temple I noticed that I had received a call from my granddaughter--but she did not leave a message, and did not respond to my return call, so that gave me time to talk with my youngest daughter again, as she had some stressful happenings at her work today.  When we were about to say goodbye, I mentioned that I was having trouble using the online system for paying my property and personal property taxes, so we stayed on another half hour while she figured out the confusing form, and got the taxes taken care of. That is a relief.

So everything on my todo list got done--although not much else. Tomorrow is another day to do some other things.  It is all good.

Snow in the Forecast. 30 November 2016

This morning I was not at all displeased that a meeting I had been scheduled to go to had been postponed.  The extra hour gave me the opportunity to reread some of the blog posts about experiences I have had where I was helped by the Spirit, and send them on the the assistant zone leader who makes up a booklet to encourage other missionaries, and to give to departing missionaries.  I was grateful to have the blog to refer to, as I had forgotten many details, and even some of the incidents. "Yay" for journaling, which is part of what this blog helps me to keep up with.

I am very glad that when I went back to the apartment for lunch I decided to check the weather forecast. I had planned to do some shopping tomorrow on my P day--but we have a 70% chance of snow in the morning!  I had not yet cleared the snow off of my car from Monday's storm, having the starry-eyed notion that the sun would do that for me--decidedly not!  So as I was returning to the Library I took a few minutes to clear the car of snow.  Then, once my shift and choir practice were finished, I went to the market to get apples, which were the cheapest I have seen yet, and then to pick up a few things at the dollar store. I really plan to not drive the car at all during snowy weather, and I am just grateful I followed the prompting to check the forecast.

Today was my certifying time, and I had only one missionary show up, and he passed his last 5 modules, so he is now certified.  I was not at all upset that the missionary who was supposed to come at the end of my time was unable to come due to a doctor's appointment.  The module he was supposed to do was the one I am the least comfortable with.

My Sweetheart and I got to talk this evening--we both agree it would be really difficult to make it through without our talk and prayer every night.  tonight another month ends--can it really be almost Christmas?  In my case, I am grateful the time is going quickly!

A Bit of a Later Start. 29 November 2016

Today's start time at the Library was just about perfect--late enough to get to talk with my Sweetheart, and an hour before Study Group, so I had some time to prepare.  Talking with my Sweetheart is always good, and he keeps surprising me with good things--I am so blessed!

Study Group was rather animated, as one of the elders had just discovered how to use a catalog feature called "Places within", and he was enthusiastic about sharing this.  I do not mind at all when someone besides me leads the discussions!  In addition, this was a good segue into the Baden Church Records, and Germany Civil Registration collections which I had planned to share today. The only problem with the group was that we were having so much fun we went 10 minutes over--and I had another assignment!  We had a closing prayer, and I left the other three talking animatedly about what we had studied--a very good outcome, I feel. After serving as Greeter instead of Monitor I had an hour as Helper when no one needed my help, so I got the study group report written up, printed, and sent off.

This afternoon I had an hour of Skill Development time, and I spent this hour getting help from others in the Training room to figure out how to save a OneDrive file to a flash drive.  Thanks to one of the new missionaries who is still in training, I was able to learn how to do that--and later in the afternoon I taught one of the other trainers, who had asked me in the morning how to do it.  We did have enough time together this afternoon for her to learn how to do it also--and how to upload files as well.

When my shift was over I walked through Temple Square and on to the temple.  Despite the cold, a group of the young sister missionaries were out singing Christmas carols.  It was nice to hear them.
My time in the temple was well-spent, and I returned to my apartment by walking west on North Temple, enjoying more of the Christmas lights and decorations. Now I am waiting for my Sweetheart to call this evening. We will probably talk about our experiences in the temple, 1300 miles apart.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

The Snow Arrived! But the Cold is not Bitter. 28 November 2016

Although my experience of hot weather in the desert area of Phoenix, AZ, several decades ago belied the "it's a dry heat, so it isn't as bad as in St. Louis", the dry cold here--even with snow, has not been too bad so far.  Of course, the temps were not in the teens or single digits--if that happens it will undoubtedly be pretty bitter--but walking to choir practice and then back and forth to the Library was not unbearable.

For the Mission devotional we sang  a beautiful lilting version of "From All That Dwell Below the Skies"--it took a while for me to regain my composure once we finished.  During our practice time we sang several of the carols we are learning--also very touching.

I had study time today, and enjoyed revisiting Baden, Germany, Church Records online,  The beautifully written records from Voerstetten, Emmendingen, are the ones I "cut my teeth on" with learning to decipher the old script.  FamilySearch has the indexes, so I looked up Joseph Fehr's marriage to Christina Gross [this couple were the immigrant ancestors of the St. Charles, Missouri, Fehr lines, and my late husband's 2nd great grandparents], and their son, [his great-grandfather] Johann Jacob Fehr's, birth/christening record.  I plan to share these tomorrow with the study group.

During my time in the Training room I worked on another in-service lesson, and later in the day I prepared an assignment for that in-service and for a 2nd lesson also.  I have 7 or 8 more presentations to prepare to go along with the training modules--and then I will need to come up with about 8 additional lessons before I leave in April. A new trainer has been asked to help in our zone, and I asked her to look at and give me some feedback on what I have done so far, both for the presentations and for the assignments.

In our Trainers meeting today we learned how to use OneDrive, which will help with sharing the in-service lessons, and with other files.

I took some time during my lunch break to go downstairs to the Escalation department and get some names released from temple file.  I learned several valuable pieces of information.  Marriage sealings and child to parent sealings are not dependent on completion of other ordinances.  Female names submitted to the temple take an average of five years to complete, and male names take about eight years.  So I am very glad I am right where I can speed that up for my own family names.

When I looked closely at my schedule for tomorrow I discovered that I do not have to start until 9 a.m.  I am happy to have an extra hour in the morning to get prepared.  Wednesday will be an 8 a.m start, and Thursday, despite having P-day I have to go in at 7 a.m. to help clean, but then I can take a nap if I need to!

Expecting Snow. 27 November 2016

Snow was supposed to come in today, but we seem to have just gotten rain showers.  The chance of snow tomorrow is 90%--we will see if that happens!

I woke up early, and got up to do some work on the Family Tree, both in FamilySearch and in Ancestry.  [I am not sure that was a wise choice as I fell asleep during the talk of the third speaker this afternoon in sacrament meeting.] Putting titles on the memories I have attached to Eppingen records will be a time-consuming job, but I am progressing on that and have worked out a system to make it a bit easier.

At choir practice we got our first introduction to most of the Christmas music we will be singing.  Some of it was unfamiliar, but did not seem to be too hard.  We sang today for sacrament meeting, and I was glad that one of the sisters who, like me, was singing alto previously came to join the second sopranos.  She has a strong voice, and a great ear for the music, so she kept me on track when she was right next to me.

I learned some new tips during the FamilySearch Sunday School class, especially when attaching sources.  Our new instructor gives us half the time to work on our own things, so I almost always pay attention during his instructions, and I am well-rewarded when I do. [I have developed a bad habit in my old age of not paying strict attention in classroom settings.]

I was introduced to the sister who will be helping with the Young Elder Dinners, and who will take my place, presumably, when I leave in 5 months.  I think we will work fine together.

I made fried apples to take to dinner with my Cuban sister.  She fed me rice, fried cabbage with meat sauce, and salad.  Then we topped it off with mint patties, my habitual contribution to our usual Sunday suppers.  In two weeks we will feed the young elders again, and have our new helper be our third sister.  We will only have two weeks to feed the young elders in December, because we will have a branch Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve.

Got to talk with my Virginia granddaughter this morning, and my youngest this evening.  Just waiting now for my Sweetheart to call.  I started a batch of German indexing--death certificates from 1862.  I actually prefer the older church records to the civil records, maybe because I have done so much more of them.

Two New Generations on the Allwardt side! And Some Eppingen Conflicts cleared up. 26 November 2016

While I have been working on Eppingen, someone else has found my 3rd great-grandparents and a 4th great-grandfather on my Weisshahn line in Mecklenburg-Schwerin!  That is a great cause for rejoicing!  Ancestry has parish records that give the birth and christening of my 2nd great-grandmother, Maria Elisabetha Weisshahn.  There are a few problems with the source attached, but I have found the correct source and have written to the submitter--who must be a cousin, and LDS to boot!!!

In my work at the Library today I got a hug from a young woman who found her ancestors when I suggested she keep looking a little further on the film--and found the marriage record she was seeking in the following month.  I told her it was not me, it was the Spirit, since I ordinarily would not have suggested that.  She was very happy!

I was also able to clear up some conflicts in the Eppingen records.  In one case, the priest had recorded the father of a Johannes as Johannes.  That did not match any other records, as in that family there had not been another Johannes for at least 2 generations!  It was a blessing that at the end of the record the father, Friderich, had signed his name and declared he was the father of the child.  I was also able to find the record of his marriage to the mother.

In another case I found that a man had changed his surname from Kesselrung to Kesler between when he was born and when he died!  So I can detach him from my Kesler line and attach him where he belongs.

I helped one guest with German translation, and was relieved when even the more experienced missionaries could not make out the names of places that I had trouble with.

Late this afternoon I was able to go to the temple.  When I went home I walked through Temple Square to experience the beautiful lights.  Unfortunately, a lot of other people were also there to experience the lights!  I expect I will have some other opportunities to enjoy them without the crowd.

I had a rare treat this morning as I got to talk with my oldest granddaughter for a bit.  Then this evening my Sweetheart and I talked and prayed together.  I have much to be thankful for!

Post Office, Pleasant Walk, and Practice of German Script. 25 November 2016

I had a hard time getting started this morning.  I awoke at the usual time, but it took a long time to read my chapter in Das Buch Mormon since I kept falling back to sleep, even though I was sitting up.  Once I did get up and start moving I did OK.

After talking with my Sweetheart I decided to combine my trips to the Post Office and to the temple, and to put off doing laundry.  The day was chilly but sunny, and the navigator on my phone showed a post office about half a mile away.  The reason for my trip there was to mail a birthday card which, it turned out, I had correctly estimated was a bit over the one-stamp weight limit.  I figured that after my Thanksgiving meal yesterday, a little extra walking would be a good thing.

I decided to take a less-direct route to the temple, and just sauntered along, stopping to read a few historical markers as I noticed them.  I have driven on most of the streets I walked, but there is a whole different level of learning that occurs when not whizzing by. I doubt I will go to any of the stores I passed, but it is nice to know where the theaters are located, including the new one, and I found a couple of interesting-looking stores.

As it happened, the temple was not open today, so I just went back to the apartment, and got my clothes to the laundromat.

Most of the rest of the day I spent on family history research and on studying for my next Level of learning at the Library.  I focused today on German script, taking a three-episode handwriting course, and enjoying a BYU script tutorial that features quick quizzes, and pretty immediate feedback.  I could easily spend lots of time on that!  A better use of my time, though, will be to go back to index German records.  The US Marriage records project is pretty well complete, apparently, since I often get the "there is no work available for this project" screen when I try to index or arbitrate.  I learned some things in both the handwriting course and the tutorial which will help in indexing and in my own research.

The research I did today was actually in looking for the parents of a wife of my grand-uncle.  I knew they had to be found somewhere in the United States Census records for 1900 and 1910, since there children were born in Wisconsin, and they died after 1910.  The computer program apparently was not recognizing the father until I searched with the mother's name--then it got the 1910 census as a hit.  But the 1900 census did not come up until I searched with the wife's name as the principal, and the daughter as an additional person.  That gave me both census records to glean info from.  I have not yet entered their data, as I decided I should really get busy on the language course.  Even though I get two hours a week at the Library to study, it is hard to do a course which is lecture based in that environment.