Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Stretching Exercises For Joints
At the MTC we were shown a health DVD for senior missionaries.  Among many things, stretching and exercising every joint in your body twice a day was recommended. I haven't found the time to do this twice a day, but have been able to spare a few minutes each morning for the exercises.  The exact way one was to do this was not presented so I made up some exercises and went for it.  So as not to offend any joint, I exercise even parts of the face whether it is a "joint" or not.  One cannot imagine how many joints and otherwise you can discover in the body.  It is great advice.  I'd recommend it to all seniors.  It doesn't take long and it gets rid of the morning soreness and stiffness big time.   Norm doesn't do it because he's afraid something will fall off!

Monday, September 2, 2013

Labor Day Morning Walk In Old Caldwell
It is a peaceful morning in Caldwell and not hot yet! Our apartment is one block from the historic district.  The home architects of old put our modern home architects to shame, in my opinion.  I don't know that much about architecture, but my eyes show me the endless creativity of the old styles with innumerable roof lines going here, there, and everywhere! There are multiple gables, real and faux, on any side of the house imaginable.  Stained glass and cut glass windows peek out at the most inconspicuous places.  Wow, am I in my element!  I LOVE this.  Of course, we are so busy that I'm fortunate to get one walk in a week at this point.  SIgh.
We love being near (less than a block and in sight) the College of Idaho  as we mentioned earlier. It is comforting that there is a place of learning so near us with cultural events to add to the learning element. Not that we have a spare minute to take advantage of these things with our missionary contacts being the reason we're here. But we do know that good things are very close and that makes all the difference.

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Largest Senior Misssionary Group at the MTC Ever as of 8/9/13 Arriving in Idaho Ready to Work!











The Center Of Our Lives
We all make mistakes!  That's a given. But when we center our lives around our Savior, He gives us strength to face our challenges through His atonement in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross.
Preparation Day
Last Monday, August 26th, we got permission from President Cannon to go into the Boise area to visit church services facilities with the thought that this information may be useful to some of the people we visit.  It isn't essential, but we didn't want to direct people to these resources without having been there ourselves.  We visited and introduced ourselves to the leaders at Boise Deseret Industries, Employment Resources, LDS Family Services, and the Church Cannery in nearby Garden City. We were impressed, as always, with the help available to LDS members and non-members alike  to improve their lives and the lives of their families!

Another Day In The Country
We were making our way through the mazes of country directions and, of course, once again couldn't find a particular address. Mind you, MANY of the homes don't have numbers on them!  We saw this barn shaped building and thought it might help.  When we got close enough to read the lettering, we were shocked to read CLIFFORD'S DOG HOUSE. Norm looked at me and said, " I think we have been doing this too long"!

Cookies, Our Trademark
When we were in the MTC, we learned that one couple in years past were known as the caramel popcorn missionaries.  They brought their popcorn maker to the mission and made popcorn all over the place - even at local high school games!  We looked at each other and wondered what WE could do for a trademark.  Well, at our first Zone Conference, President Cannon introduced me as the "Cookie Sister". Thus we found the answer to our trademark problem!  You should have seen some of the missionary's faces when the word "cookie" was mentioned. As they used to say in  the Laurel and Hardy movies, "You're onto something, Ollie"!   I make  cookies each month for our district meetings with the young missionaries.  We went the extra mile and bought a cookie book, Best Ever Cookies.  It has a section on old- fashioned cookies which are my FAVORITE.  Each month will feature a new cookie recipe. So far so good.