Week #42, 25 September - 1 October 2017

 Our week began with a visit from Bill and Joyce Bolerjack.  Bill came fresh out of the University of Arizona to Mohawk Valley School, in 1963.  I was in the eighth grade at the time and we were all excited as students to have a music teacher, the first one for at least all the years I had been in school. He was single and he and our family hit it off from the start.  He taught band, choir, drum and bugle corps, and taught me private piano and voice lessons.  Bill got along well with the students and made a great addition to the good teachers we had.  He spent almost every Sunday at our house and going to church with us.  He taught us the fine art of playing the card game, cribbage.  Many a Sunday evening ended with games of cribbage and then Bill playing the piano while we sang song after song after song.  

 Bill and Joyce were happy to see some of the sights around Nauvoo and she was particularly taken with the beautiful flowers at the temple.  Since the wagon ride was not operating, we drove around explaining various areas and buildings.  We drove right down to the river at the end of Parley Street and told them the story of the saints leaving Nauvoo.  

 We sampled bread after hearing how it is made in a beehive oven and listened to the candle making presentation.  Joyce was interested in the various rug weaving processes and enjoyed the explanations.

We enjoyed an evening at Rendezvous In Old Nauvoo with smiles, laughter, cheering, and fun.  Joyce commented that it was a happy story of a sad time.  She said our telling them about Nauvoo helped the play make sense.

 We stopped in at the Family Living Center where they had a first time experience with making a rope.  Bob took the lead with turning the first wheel.

Joyce stepped up and gave the other end a spin.

Bill got into the act with whipping one end and Joyce whipped the other.

When everything was set, Bob held the rope in the middle, I had the camera focused, and Bill and Joyce cut the ends on the count of three.

The Hotel Nauvoo Buffet is always a good way to end a day or begin an evening.

After dinner Joyce wanted to go back to the flowers to get a nice picture of her and Bill for their Church's directory.  

We really did play a lot of cribbage and Bill had a system where we changed partners after every game.  He kept thinking he would get a partner he could win with!  He then wanted to play one on one with me for old times sake as he had brought the cribbage board my parent's had given him for Christmas in 1963.  In spite of him saying the board was programed for him to win, I won both games!  We had a great time.

 We tried two different eateries this week, Taco John's and Big Muddy's.  The taco is a hard corn tortilla with a soft flour tortilla on the outside.  The filling is in the corn tortilla and then a layer of refried beans is between the two tortillas.  It came with potato oles.

 At Big Muddy's, which sits right on the Mississippi River in Burlington, Bob had a stake sandwich and I had a Reuben.  It was the best Reuben I have had in years.  The corned beef was very tender and not stringy and the sauerkraut was not too strong.   Both sandwiches were both delicious and we think we could even go back again sometime.

Baby Wyatt was blessed on Sunday.  We were happy to FaceTime the family to be a part of the event.  He certainly has grown since I was there in August when he was born.

Catching mom and baby on the screen.

We have enjoyed general conference weekend and listening to the apostles and other speakers.  So many words of inspiration and direction were spoken  We were reminded of the importance of obeying the voice of the prophet, reading the Book of Mormon, serving others, relying on the Savior, keeping the commandments, and that our Heavenly Father loves each one of us individually.  Now, the task to pick an area to work on for personal improvement.  We were saddened to learn that Robert D Hales passed away at 12:15 p.m. today.  He will be missed.

Temple Fact:  It is easy to admire the beautiful craftsmanship of the wooden handrails in the stairways of the current Nauvoo Temple.  I was excited when I read the article "Faith, Determination, And A Deadline," in the August 2017 Ensign.  The author tells how his father, Tim Barrus, was hired to mill some cylindrical parts out of solid maple to help support the handrails.  He tested the cuts, milled the parts, and delivered them with confidence.  To his dismay the parts were rejected because of imperfections in the maple wood that chipped easily.  He said he would replace the parts at no cost and went to work.  The day before the deadline he still did not have a way to make the parts without imperfections.  He worked all evening and into the night becoming frustrated and wanting nothing more that to accomplish the task at hand.

After a few moments of being along, he knelt down and offered this prayer:  "If you want these parts on the delivery truck tomorrow morning, I'm going to need Your help."  After his prayer, he sat back down at the keyboard and a design came to his mind he had not considered before.  He could visualize the process and began immediately programming the computer, testing the cut, and was humbled to see it worked perfectly.  He was able to complete the order and have it ready for shipping 15 minutes before the delivery truck arrived.  

I now admire these beautiful cylinders made of solid maple in a whole new way.

Elder Neil L Andersen said:  "Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is not something ethereal, floating loosely in the air.  Faith does not fall upon us by chance or stay with us by birthright.  It is, as the scriptures say, 'substance. . ., the evidence of things not seen.'  Faith emits a spiritual light, and that light is discernible."  (Ensign, Nov 2015, p 65.)