Another beautiful Sabbath to reflect on our past week. We have finished up with all the training outside our zone and actually got to spend 2 full days in the "Historical Families Reconstitution Zone".
Before I go any farther I want to clear up a possible misconception about this zone. It is not highly secret or clandestine in any way. We just happen to be in a secured room because that is where they put the project. Also, it is not a place for patrons to use until we get projects completed and then they are posted on the internet for everyone to use to research their lines. So, don't feel like I am breaking confidences if I tell any stories about what we are doing. It is not confidential, just very detailed. In fact, one of the projects was completed last Thursday and they were all so happy. They have been working on this project since 2003. So we may never get to see a project all the way through. I do want to tell you that the work is very exciting. Both days of it!
My days have been broken up a bit because I started Physical Therapy last week. I am walking a lot more now and the last couple of days have not even need to push the wheelchair in front of me to sit down. My new therapist is Oryslava from Ukraine. She was a luger with the Ukraine luge team who came to the Olympics in 2002 and decided to stay. Now, I have had therapy from 3 other therapists and have only had one bruise. Oryslava however bruised my right thigh the first day (Tues) so badly that she was surprised. So the 2nd day(Wed) she said she would leave my IT band alone and work on strengthening exercises for me. She had me doing so much that I actually became nauseated and had leave before they could ice me. I remained nauseated for the rest of the day and all day Thursday I was so sore and nauseated and even Friday morning every time I tried to walk or exert myself. Friday when I arrived at PT before they got me started on anything I said I needed to talk with her. When she learned what had happened she was very apologetic and said, "Most people when they come here will say " No, I can't do that..., etc. " but you tried everything I gave you and you have a positive attitude and were willing so I thought you could handle all this. You have to tell me to stop if it is too much!" I looked at her and said, " Stop, it's too much!" We had a good laugh. She promised to not beat me up so much but we still had a good workout.
I must admit that I am a little sad to be healing so quickly. I have enjoyed having Ed push me around everywhere and we both have enjoyed the handicapped parking. Most of all I have enjoyed the fact that Ed has prepared all the meals and served them to me. He, on the other hand, though he will miss the handicapped parking (not really) will enjoy the fact that I will be able to cook all the meals again. hahaha He will be very relieved that he will not have to haul the wheelchair in and out of the trunk of the car for me.
Ed and I have joined a SLCounty Parks gym facility up by the U and went up on Saturday. I did a little walking on the lap track (2 laps) above one of the skating rinks at the facility. There are two pools, one indoor and one outdoor, two skating rinks and a good sized weight room and a room with lots of bikes, etc. It is a nice facility and quite inexpensive. It will be good for us.
My mother has been giving me lots of the records she has had for our family. I think this is one of the reasons we have been called here. There is a lot of work to be done on my mother's side of the family. I have recently found that my great grandfather had quite a bit of land holdings in Houston, Texas area so I am anxious to look into that.
The Elijah choirs (missionary choirs) will be putting on a concert here at Temple Square sometime in December. When I find out the dates I will post them so if any of you come this way for the holidays maybe you would like to hear us sing some holiday favorites. You would think that practicing at 6:24am would not get a great sound, but we are sounding quite nice. Of course the mix changes every week with people coming and going into the mission, but we have some fun. Our director, Elder Brague, was the band director at Utah State and he is very humorous. He knows how to get us to wake up that early and how to get us to sing without having to lower the key because it is soooooo early!!!
Today Ed and I went to hear Kyle Schmieg give his return talk from his mission. He is surely a wonderful young man. He does not remember us at all, but it was so fun to see him and remember his young years in The Woodlands and see how he has grown. It was great.
I hope everyone has a lovely and safe week.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Our Assignment
Last Friday all the missionaries in our group and our trainers were all very excited for us to receive our assignments. First we had our daily devotional, then we had about 30 min. of final one on one training in the Training Zone and then we went downstairs and were treated to fresh homemade bread and jam that our trainers made for us. After that we went into the chapel (in the JSMB) for what is called the "Go Forth" meeting. We all sat with our trainers, who were just as anxious as we were. Ed and I had to laugh at the opening song, "I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go"! The Presidency did tell us that it was chosen by design.
We had a talk by one of the Councilors in the Mission Presidency and then the Mission President stood up and spoke. He told us that many of us would be receiving our assignments and not have any idea what we would be doing. With 22 zones in this mission and what little we have learned we can certainly understand that. Coming to this mission is definitely not a guarantee that you will be in the Library helping patrons find their ancestors. There is so much that is being done. I had no idea. So, after preping is all with that comment, her proceeded to call out our names and giving the zone name and introducing the Zone Leader. When our names were called he said, "Ed and Nora Moulder to the Historical Families Reconstitution Zone" . I looked at my trainer and said, "What is that?!" She told me a little and then at the end of the meeting we met our Zone Leaders, Elder and Sister Cook. I had met Sister Cook in the choirs already. She is very excited that I will be in her zone. Her husband was very nice and knew that we would have lots of questions so he tried to explain as simply as he could what we would be doing. This is all I have so far: We will be handling old records that have become available to the Church from places mostly in Europe before 1500 and making them ready to be available to the public. This zone used to be called the Medieval Zone, but it has expanded a lot so they changed the name. I know there are some missionaries there who are working exclusively on records from the Pacific Islands, natives who know the language.
Sorry, but until we get trained this week, I really have no idea what we will be doing. I do know that we are housed in a secured (locked) room in the basement of the Family History Library. We do not work with patrons. I don't think patrons are allowed in the room because you have to have clearance to enter although there is a doorbell, so I don't know what that means. I do know that we have a lot of flexibility in our zone and that the number of missionaries where we are is very small. Next week I will be able to give a lot more details I think. All missionaries had to sign consent documents that we will not disclosure any sacred or personal information outside our zones. I don't think that is ours. Mostly that is about personal diaries of the prophets and general authorities that are in the Church History Library or the Headquarters Zone where very personal information is handled. I think I will at least be able to tell you what I am working on that will be going public! Anyway, more next week.
We only had a few minutes with the Zone Leaders and then the missionaries, trainers and some of the Presidency walked over to the 11:00 Endowment Session at the SL Temple. Since my mom is an ordinance worker at the temple on Friday she arranged to be on that session and she was able to help me with my wheelchair. I told her I thought I could walk, but it probably was a good thing that I had the chair rather than doing all the standing and going up stairs in this temple. However, I did have a little scare in the wheelchair which I won't go into but needless to say I am getting out of that chair as quickly as possible!!!
Along that note, Ed and I joined the County Park sports facility up by the U of U campus. It is very nice and I was able to get on a recumbent cross trainer and work out for the first time in a long time. It felt very good and I am doing very well today. I have my first physical therapy session here on Tuesday so I am very hopeful that I will be walking normally before long. Ed hasn't had to align my legs for almost a week now and I can tell with the decrease of pain that the hips are in better alignment. I am being very diligent with my home exercises twice a day.
The weather here has been beautiful for us with Ed pushing me around from our apt to the JSMB each day. The Library is even closer, but returning from Church today we started to get sprinkled on before we got home. Ed tried to break into a run for the last block, but the wheelchair just isn't built for that and I was so nervous......it felt like the wheels were going to fall off they were shaking so hard. To him it felt like I was applying the breaks and he kept saying, "don't do that!" I didn't know what "that" was because I was afraid of another face planting and at high speeds! Finally I communicated to him that he couldn't go that fast and he realized it was the chair telling him to stop, not me. We didn't get too wet and the storm held off until we were safely in our apartment. I just need to get well enough to walk on my own!!
I appreciate your comments and emails and appreciate your support. We feel so grateful that we are able to be here. I had no idea it would be this amazing. I hope everyone has an opportunity to do this.
We had a talk by one of the Councilors in the Mission Presidency and then the Mission President stood up and spoke. He told us that many of us would be receiving our assignments and not have any idea what we would be doing. With 22 zones in this mission and what little we have learned we can certainly understand that. Coming to this mission is definitely not a guarantee that you will be in the Library helping patrons find their ancestors. There is so much that is being done. I had no idea. So, after preping is all with that comment, her proceeded to call out our names and giving the zone name and introducing the Zone Leader. When our names were called he said, "Ed and Nora Moulder to the Historical Families Reconstitution Zone" . I looked at my trainer and said, "What is that?!" She told me a little and then at the end of the meeting we met our Zone Leaders, Elder and Sister Cook. I had met Sister Cook in the choirs already. She is very excited that I will be in her zone. Her husband was very nice and knew that we would have lots of questions so he tried to explain as simply as he could what we would be doing. This is all I have so far: We will be handling old records that have become available to the Church from places mostly in Europe before 1500 and making them ready to be available to the public. This zone used to be called the Medieval Zone, but it has expanded a lot so they changed the name. I know there are some missionaries there who are working exclusively on records from the Pacific Islands, natives who know the language.
Sorry, but until we get trained this week, I really have no idea what we will be doing. I do know that we are housed in a secured (locked) room in the basement of the Family History Library. We do not work with patrons. I don't think patrons are allowed in the room because you have to have clearance to enter although there is a doorbell, so I don't know what that means. I do know that we have a lot of flexibility in our zone and that the number of missionaries where we are is very small. Next week I will be able to give a lot more details I think. All missionaries had to sign consent documents that we will not disclosure any sacred or personal information outside our zones. I don't think that is ours. Mostly that is about personal diaries of the prophets and general authorities that are in the Church History Library or the Headquarters Zone where very personal information is handled. I think I will at least be able to tell you what I am working on that will be going public! Anyway, more next week.
We only had a few minutes with the Zone Leaders and then the missionaries, trainers and some of the Presidency walked over to the 11:00 Endowment Session at the SL Temple. Since my mom is an ordinance worker at the temple on Friday she arranged to be on that session and she was able to help me with my wheelchair. I told her I thought I could walk, but it probably was a good thing that I had the chair rather than doing all the standing and going up stairs in this temple. However, I did have a little scare in the wheelchair which I won't go into but needless to say I am getting out of that chair as quickly as possible!!!
Along that note, Ed and I joined the County Park sports facility up by the U of U campus. It is very nice and I was able to get on a recumbent cross trainer and work out for the first time in a long time. It felt very good and I am doing very well today. I have my first physical therapy session here on Tuesday so I am very hopeful that I will be walking normally before long. Ed hasn't had to align my legs for almost a week now and I can tell with the decrease of pain that the hips are in better alignment. I am being very diligent with my home exercises twice a day.
The weather here has been beautiful for us with Ed pushing me around from our apt to the JSMB each day. The Library is even closer, but returning from Church today we started to get sprinkled on before we got home. Ed tried to break into a run for the last block, but the wheelchair just isn't built for that and I was so nervous......it felt like the wheels were going to fall off they were shaking so hard. To him it felt like I was applying the breaks and he kept saying, "don't do that!" I didn't know what "that" was because I was afraid of another face planting and at high speeds! Finally I communicated to him that he couldn't go that fast and he realized it was the chair telling him to stop, not me. We didn't get too wet and the storm held off until we were safely in our apartment. I just need to get well enough to walk on my own!!
I appreciate your comments and emails and appreciate your support. We feel so grateful that we are able to be here. I had no idea it would be this amazing. I hope everyone has an opportunity to do this.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Our Mission Begins
Sunday, August 15, 2010
We have completed our first week as official missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It has been a full week. I surprised myself on Friday afternoon when we came back to our apartment about 3:30PM and I was so tired I fell asleep! It was the middle of the afternoon and I was struggling to keep my eyes opened. Ed went out and walked again. He will be very happy when we get our assignment next week so we can set up an exercise schedule.
We began our mission on Friday, Aug 6th with a yummy luncheon in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (JSMB). I was so excited to receive our name tags here. I feel so official! We met all the members of the Mission Presidency and their wives. We were seated at a "Texas Table". One of the Presidency are Elder and Sister Boye who are from San Antonio. Another missionary couple, Elder and Sister Wheeler are from Shilling, Texas by Amarillo. There is a Sister Missionary who is from College Station. We felt very proud that Texas was well represented in our group of 20 missionaries.
We also met our Branch President and his wife (who is the RS Pres.). They told us that the branch operates a little differently from other branches in that the missionaries do not receive callings per se, but the President will invite individuals (or you could volunteer) to teach a specific lesson or to play the piano/organ for a month, etc. Every couple will serve together as companions for home teaching. It was very fun to attend out first Sunday meetings and hear the congregation singing. Wow! There were a few people who had family visiting, but there were only 4-5 children in the entire congregation. It was very quite during the sacrament. Nice.
After the luncheon on Friday we had multiple pictures taken. I did not enjoy this part very much. Then we went back to the training room on the 3rd floor of the JSMB and met our trainers. Each of us is assigned and individual trainer. Ed and were assigned to a cute couple who are serving as missionaries from South Jordan, Utah. They drive in each day and attend their home ward. Sister Rogers is very sweet and Brother Rogers is a computer guy, perfect for Ed. We didn't do much in the way of training on our first Friday, but it was good to get started.
We were given the weekend to get our affairs in order and rest up for an intense week. We were very happy for this. We went shopping that evening and basically got everything we needed.
On Saturday we celebrated Autumn's birthday. She wanted to go to Tucano's for lunch. It is a Brazian restaurant we had never been to but she loves it. I think Ashley had introduced her to it. Fortunately it was close by our apartment. We invited my mother to join us and then we all went to our apartment so they could see it. We then played games and ate the fruit pizza I made for her since she doesn't like cake. It will be fun to be close to Autumn/Derrick and my mom and other family members while we are here.
Monday morning begins with a devotional meeting at 7:30AM. From there we go for instruction from the Presidency or for training at our computers. We have an hour for lunch. We have been shown around so we know how to get to the cafeteria in the Church Office Building (COB) where there is a wide variety of food available at very reasonable prices. We also have enjoyed having a cup of soup from the Nauvoo Cafe in the lobby of the JSMB. It is much easier on Ed because he has to wheel me everywhere.
Yes, I am in a wheechair for most of the time. Even though our apartment is just two blocks away I am not yet able to make the walk, but I am confident that I will be able to make it soon.
Things are getting better for me it seems each day. The 3 weeks of traction and the fact that the therapists in Houston showed Ed how to help get my hips realigned has made a big difference.
The new exercises they gave me to do have also helped, so I am encouraged. Ed is certainly ready to have me fixed! He doesn't mind pushing me around but he really doesn't like being responsible for fixing the meals in our little kitchen. I do what I can, but I can't stay on my feet standing very long yet. If I am walking I do much better, but standing is still very painful.
We are seeing a neurologist here tomorrow morning.
We have had a few adventures with the wheelchair. It seems that Ed isn't able to judge the door openings really well. He also doesn't have a great ability to watch for bumps....
Walking home one day we took the crosswalk in the middle of the block between temple square and the conference center. There is a significant dip for a gutter. We made it down the first and scraped the foot rests then crossed the street. Ed didn't learn from the scraping of the feet and charged ahead not noticing that there was another significant dip and a little lip on the street side. I saw it coming but only had time to put my feet down a little bit. The wheelchair hit the lip and stopped and I continued the forward motion. There were several people around us and Ed of course did his usual yell as he realized what was happening. I was airborn for a split second but my feet saved me and I fell back into the chair. I was so happy that I was able to stop myself before face planting on the sidewalk. It was very close.
Thursday last week we went for a tour of the new Church History Library. They described to us some of the work that is done there so we would have a little idea of the work done in that part of the mission. Some of us may be assigned there. I was so impressed with this facility. So much has been done and is continuing to be done. There are a lot more volunteers/missionaries needed.
Actually that is one thing we learned. In the last year the Church has seen a decline in the number of senior couples serving. I'm sure part of that has to do with the economy, but it has had an impact on the amount of work that is done.
We have enjoyed going around stores getting the things we need. We are supposed to wear our name tags wherever we go. We are not supposed to wear jeans anywhere except if we are working in a yard or exercising, etc. so we have had many people come up and start talking to us about our mission. Most are surprised when they find out we are from Texas and then they start telling us about their missions or other people they know who are serving or they say, "I really should be doing more research and family history work than I am doing."
This is the transition that I have felt this week. Each day we have been inspired regarding this work, both the genealogy and the family history. A sign in the training room reads something like this: Genealogy without the history is just mythology. We have heard over and over again about the importance of this work and the many individuals who are waiting for their work to be done. We have been counseled to make prayer, scripture study and journaling a more important part of each day so the Holy Ghost will be able to teach us, and guide us to the names and histories of those who are waiting for us to realize the blessings of the ordinances of the gospel.
One of the messages we received from our Mission Presidency is to keep the TV off. This was so funny to me. Ed had told me before we came that he wanted to get a TV. I told him that I didn't think we should be watching TV at all. (Ashley told him the same thing, "You should be focusing on your mission, Dad!") When we arrived at our apartment we found that the previous missionaries had left a TV. It was an old one and after getting it hooked up Ed said that he would want to get a better TV. Then when we heard this counsel from the presidency Ed slowly turned his head towards me and I just smiled. We haven't turned the TV on once during the week. I think we will not be spending money on a new TV anytime soon. Let me just say here, I love my husband dearly.
We have another full week of intense training this week. There is so much to learn. Each day I am so concerned about my ability to remember the new stuff that I was taught that day. There is so much! On Friday we will receive our permanent assignments. We have learned that the Family and Church History Mission has 22 zones where we could be assigned. On Friday, we will meet our zone leaders after getting our assignment and then we finish our training by going to the temple as a group; missionaries, Presidency and trainers. It will be a great way to finish our general training. The following Monday we will report to our assigned places and receive another week or two of training in our specific assignments. Stay tuned!
We have completed our first week as official missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It has been a full week. I surprised myself on Friday afternoon when we came back to our apartment about 3:30PM and I was so tired I fell asleep! It was the middle of the afternoon and I was struggling to keep my eyes opened. Ed went out and walked again. He will be very happy when we get our assignment next week so we can set up an exercise schedule.
We began our mission on Friday, Aug 6th with a yummy luncheon in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (JSMB). I was so excited to receive our name tags here. I feel so official! We met all the members of the Mission Presidency and their wives. We were seated at a "Texas Table". One of the Presidency are Elder and Sister Boye who are from San Antonio. Another missionary couple, Elder and Sister Wheeler are from Shilling, Texas by Amarillo. There is a Sister Missionary who is from College Station. We felt very proud that Texas was well represented in our group of 20 missionaries.
We also met our Branch President and his wife (who is the RS Pres.). They told us that the branch operates a little differently from other branches in that the missionaries do not receive callings per se, but the President will invite individuals (or you could volunteer) to teach a specific lesson or to play the piano/organ for a month, etc. Every couple will serve together as companions for home teaching. It was very fun to attend out first Sunday meetings and hear the congregation singing. Wow! There were a few people who had family visiting, but there were only 4-5 children in the entire congregation. It was very quite during the sacrament. Nice.
After the luncheon on Friday we had multiple pictures taken. I did not enjoy this part very much. Then we went back to the training room on the 3rd floor of the JSMB and met our trainers. Each of us is assigned and individual trainer. Ed and were assigned to a cute couple who are serving as missionaries from South Jordan, Utah. They drive in each day and attend their home ward. Sister Rogers is very sweet and Brother Rogers is a computer guy, perfect for Ed. We didn't do much in the way of training on our first Friday, but it was good to get started.
We were given the weekend to get our affairs in order and rest up for an intense week. We were very happy for this. We went shopping that evening and basically got everything we needed.
On Saturday we celebrated Autumn's birthday. She wanted to go to Tucano's for lunch. It is a Brazian restaurant we had never been to but she loves it. I think Ashley had introduced her to it. Fortunately it was close by our apartment. We invited my mother to join us and then we all went to our apartment so they could see it. We then played games and ate the fruit pizza I made for her since she doesn't like cake. It will be fun to be close to Autumn/Derrick and my mom and other family members while we are here.
Monday morning begins with a devotional meeting at 7:30AM. From there we go for instruction from the Presidency or for training at our computers. We have an hour for lunch. We have been shown around so we know how to get to the cafeteria in the Church Office Building (COB) where there is a wide variety of food available at very reasonable prices. We also have enjoyed having a cup of soup from the Nauvoo Cafe in the lobby of the JSMB. It is much easier on Ed because he has to wheel me everywhere.
Yes, I am in a wheechair for most of the time. Even though our apartment is just two blocks away I am not yet able to make the walk, but I am confident that I will be able to make it soon.
Things are getting better for me it seems each day. The 3 weeks of traction and the fact that the therapists in Houston showed Ed how to help get my hips realigned has made a big difference.
The new exercises they gave me to do have also helped, so I am encouraged. Ed is certainly ready to have me fixed! He doesn't mind pushing me around but he really doesn't like being responsible for fixing the meals in our little kitchen. I do what I can, but I can't stay on my feet standing very long yet. If I am walking I do much better, but standing is still very painful.
We are seeing a neurologist here tomorrow morning.
We have had a few adventures with the wheelchair. It seems that Ed isn't able to judge the door openings really well. He also doesn't have a great ability to watch for bumps....
Walking home one day we took the crosswalk in the middle of the block between temple square and the conference center. There is a significant dip for a gutter. We made it down the first and scraped the foot rests then crossed the street. Ed didn't learn from the scraping of the feet and charged ahead not noticing that there was another significant dip and a little lip on the street side. I saw it coming but only had time to put my feet down a little bit. The wheelchair hit the lip and stopped and I continued the forward motion. There were several people around us and Ed of course did his usual yell as he realized what was happening. I was airborn for a split second but my feet saved me and I fell back into the chair. I was so happy that I was able to stop myself before face planting on the sidewalk. It was very close.
Thursday last week we went for a tour of the new Church History Library. They described to us some of the work that is done there so we would have a little idea of the work done in that part of the mission. Some of us may be assigned there. I was so impressed with this facility. So much has been done and is continuing to be done. There are a lot more volunteers/missionaries needed.
Actually that is one thing we learned. In the last year the Church has seen a decline in the number of senior couples serving. I'm sure part of that has to do with the economy, but it has had an impact on the amount of work that is done.
We have enjoyed going around stores getting the things we need. We are supposed to wear our name tags wherever we go. We are not supposed to wear jeans anywhere except if we are working in a yard or exercising, etc. so we have had many people come up and start talking to us about our mission. Most are surprised when they find out we are from Texas and then they start telling us about their missions or other people they know who are serving or they say, "I really should be doing more research and family history work than I am doing."
This is the transition that I have felt this week. Each day we have been inspired regarding this work, both the genealogy and the family history. A sign in the training room reads something like this: Genealogy without the history is just mythology. We have heard over and over again about the importance of this work and the many individuals who are waiting for their work to be done. We have been counseled to make prayer, scripture study and journaling a more important part of each day so the Holy Ghost will be able to teach us, and guide us to the names and histories of those who are waiting for us to realize the blessings of the ordinances of the gospel.
One of the messages we received from our Mission Presidency is to keep the TV off. This was so funny to me. Ed had told me before we came that he wanted to get a TV. I told him that I didn't think we should be watching TV at all. (Ashley told him the same thing, "You should be focusing on your mission, Dad!") When we arrived at our apartment we found that the previous missionaries had left a TV. It was an old one and after getting it hooked up Ed said that he would want to get a better TV. Then when we heard this counsel from the presidency Ed slowly turned his head towards me and I just smiled. We haven't turned the TV on once during the week. I think we will not be spending money on a new TV anytime soon. Let me just say here, I love my husband dearly.
We have another full week of intense training this week. There is so much to learn. Each day I am so concerned about my ability to remember the new stuff that I was taught that day. There is so much! On Friday we will receive our permanent assignments. We have learned that the Family and Church History Mission has 22 zones where we could be assigned. On Friday, we will meet our zone leaders after getting our assignment and then we finish our training by going to the temple as a group; missionaries, Presidency and trainers. It will be a great way to finish our general training. The following Monday we will report to our assigned places and receive another week or two of training in our specific assignments. Stay tuned!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Joy in the Moment
The sad part about this post is that I am writing it from home.
Unfortunately, the problem with my back has returned and I cannot walk well enough to make the rest of the planned trip in Europe feasible. So we flew home yesterday, Wednesday from Amsterdam instead of making the scheduled flight to London Stansted airport. We were to visit for 3 days in London and then leave (again from Stansted) to fly to Majorcca for a week.
The funny thing is that overnight Stansted airport was one that has been indefinitely shut down because of the volcano in Iceland! The ash cloud is heading for the coast of Spain.
I have thought this morning how we could have been involved in some of these delays. Hmmmmm
Regardless of these events, we did have a wonderful time for our week in Amsterdam. We were able to get a wheelchair at the Van Gogh museum and Ed wheeled me around. We saw the Rijks museum the same way. We were not able to get back to Den Haag to see "The Girl with the Pearl Earring". There was too much walking involved.
We did experience wonderful Dutch pannekeuken, pancakes that are more like crepes and taste wonderful. They are full plate sized and thin. We asked the waitress what kind she like most and she said "apple and bacon", so that is what we had. It was yummy. Thanks to my sister Lois for this "must try" tip.
The Rijks Museum was a real eye treat for me. Ed was very patient. He wheeled me into a room and then let me maneuver myself around the many people to see the things I wanted to see while he saw what he wanted and then would find a place to sit until I was done. The museum was under a major reconstruction so only a small part of the museum was opened.
Seeing the very large and famous "Night Watch" was rewarding to say the least, but I found that there were many of the old less famous dutch masters who I also admired.
All in all I feel that the more places I visit, the more I realize that it is the people that I admire and love. Every country has it's natural beauty, but I become attached to a place because of the people I meet as much as anything else. In fact, the countryside or the cities or the history or the architecture or the food or the art all are made richer because of the people I meet who tell me about their country, the places they love to visit, the food they like to eat, etc. I believe that is why I fall in love with each place I visit and feel sad when I leave because I know that the joy of those moments in my life will never be repeated.
Unfortunately, the problem with my back has returned and I cannot walk well enough to make the rest of the planned trip in Europe feasible. So we flew home yesterday, Wednesday from Amsterdam instead of making the scheduled flight to London Stansted airport. We were to visit for 3 days in London and then leave (again from Stansted) to fly to Majorcca for a week.
The funny thing is that overnight Stansted airport was one that has been indefinitely shut down because of the volcano in Iceland! The ash cloud is heading for the coast of Spain.
I have thought this morning how we could have been involved in some of these delays. Hmmmmm
Regardless of these events, we did have a wonderful time for our week in Amsterdam. We were able to get a wheelchair at the Van Gogh museum and Ed wheeled me around. We saw the Rijks museum the same way. We were not able to get back to Den Haag to see "The Girl with the Pearl Earring". There was too much walking involved.
We did experience wonderful Dutch pannekeuken, pancakes that are more like crepes and taste wonderful. They are full plate sized and thin. We asked the waitress what kind she like most and she said "apple and bacon", so that is what we had. It was yummy. Thanks to my sister Lois for this "must try" tip.
The Rijks Museum was a real eye treat for me. Ed was very patient. He wheeled me into a room and then let me maneuver myself around the many people to see the things I wanted to see while he saw what he wanted and then would find a place to sit until I was done. The museum was under a major reconstruction so only a small part of the museum was opened.
Seeing the very large and famous "Night Watch" was rewarding to say the least, but I found that there were many of the old less famous dutch masters who I also admired.
All in all I feel that the more places I visit, the more I realize that it is the people that I admire and love. Every country has it's natural beauty, but I become attached to a place because of the people I meet as much as anything else. In fact, the countryside or the cities or the history or the architecture or the food or the art all are made richer because of the people I meet who tell me about their country, the places they love to visit, the food they like to eat, etc. I believe that is why I fall in love with each place I visit and feel sad when I leave because I know that the joy of those moments in my life will never be repeated.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
More from Amsterdam....
Sitting here in Amsterdam using the MacDonald's free internet and eating dinner while I post my blog I will have to pause every few minutes to make sure the pigeons do not swoop down and steal my fries...and we are inside!!!
We have had a wonderful time here in Amsterdam except that Saturday Ed's cold from last week hit me with a vengance and spent the day in bed several boxes of Kleenex, orange juice and some powdered decongestant that Ed bought at the local pharmacy. I slept and he ventured out to get food for himself and get more familiar with the tram and bus routes so we could find out way to church today. It was not a fun day for me more because I was losing a day of exploring and seeing the sites, but I couldn't do much about that. Today I am well enough to go out.
We went to church this morning and found to our delight that there was a Sunday school class in English and that they have wireless translators for Sacrament meeting. They were having trestimony meeting this week and it was very special to listen to the testimonies of these gtood saints. It was a small group, but many bore their testimonies and we learned that many of them had not been members of the church for very long. What I loved was when one woman stood up and then the Bishop stood up with her and she started and she was speaking spanish and he was translating to the congregation in Dutch while our translator (a sister missionary from the US) translated to us in English from his Dutch!!! hahaha I just love this world!
On Friday we decided to go to Kuekenhof and see the flowers. We loved walking around this very famous and very beautiful botanical garden. Unfortunately, we are in the middle of the season so most of the tulip beds were just green plants, but there were enough that I am satisfied and very happy to have been there. I asked Ed what we should say about Kuekenhof and his response was, "We saw lots of tulips. Im doing well, I'm going, I'm smiling, don't ask me to blog!" :) Yes, ED is being a great sport. Nothing has wowed him yet so we will see. He is enjoying figuring out the trams, the money and figuring out where we are going. He thinks the transportation system here is amazing. He thinks this is better than anywhere else in the world.
We have both loved seeing the bikes....the bike parking lots and free bike racks have been very interesting. We had to stop and examine one in Leiden to see how it works. It was ingenious.
After going to Kuekenhof we went further on to The Hague (De Haag). I forgot to bring the information and couldn't remember the museum where "The Girl with the Pearl Earring" is located but I thought that most everyone would know where she was. Well.......wewere sent on a wild goose chase just to end up 2 blocks from the central station where we began and we missed the museum by 15 minutes. We had a fun adventure but I hope we will have the time to go back and see the painting. Having lost a day to illness I am not sure we will have enough time.
We have seen much of the city just by staying on the trams and riding around. It is a wonderful city. I love seeing the families all riding their bikes along the special lanes for bikers. Little children in carts that are mounted on the bike frames....it is amazing.
I have many pictures but will have to be better organized to download them onto the blog.
I will try and do that another day.
Until then, we will continue to enjoy our adventure here!
We have had a wonderful time here in Amsterdam except that Saturday Ed's cold from last week hit me with a vengance and spent the day in bed several boxes of Kleenex, orange juice and some powdered decongestant that Ed bought at the local pharmacy. I slept and he ventured out to get food for himself and get more familiar with the tram and bus routes so we could find out way to church today. It was not a fun day for me more because I was losing a day of exploring and seeing the sites, but I couldn't do much about that. Today I am well enough to go out.
We went to church this morning and found to our delight that there was a Sunday school class in English and that they have wireless translators for Sacrament meeting. They were having trestimony meeting this week and it was very special to listen to the testimonies of these gtood saints. It was a small group, but many bore their testimonies and we learned that many of them had not been members of the church for very long. What I loved was when one woman stood up and then the Bishop stood up with her and she started and she was speaking spanish and he was translating to the congregation in Dutch while our translator (a sister missionary from the US) translated to us in English from his Dutch!!! hahaha I just love this world!
On Friday we decided to go to Kuekenhof and see the flowers. We loved walking around this very famous and very beautiful botanical garden. Unfortunately, we are in the middle of the season so most of the tulip beds were just green plants, but there were enough that I am satisfied and very happy to have been there. I asked Ed what we should say about Kuekenhof and his response was, "We saw lots of tulips. Im doing well, I'm going, I'm smiling, don't ask me to blog!" :) Yes, ED is being a great sport. Nothing has wowed him yet so we will see. He is enjoying figuring out the trams, the money and figuring out where we are going. He thinks the transportation system here is amazing. He thinks this is better than anywhere else in the world.
We have both loved seeing the bikes....the bike parking lots and free bike racks have been very interesting. We had to stop and examine one in Leiden to see how it works. It was ingenious.
After going to Kuekenhof we went further on to The Hague (De Haag). I forgot to bring the information and couldn't remember the museum where "The Girl with the Pearl Earring" is located but I thought that most everyone would know where she was. Well.......wewere sent on a wild goose chase just to end up 2 blocks from the central station where we began and we missed the museum by 15 minutes. We had a fun adventure but I hope we will have the time to go back and see the painting. Having lost a day to illness I am not sure we will have enough time.
We have seen much of the city just by staying on the trams and riding around. It is a wonderful city. I love seeing the families all riding their bikes along the special lanes for bikers. Little children in carts that are mounted on the bike frames....it is amazing.
I have many pictures but will have to be better organized to download them onto the blog.
I will try and do that another day.
Until then, we will continue to enjoy our adventure here!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
First Day in Amsterdam
It is 10pm on our first full day in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and there is still a slight sunset.
We made the flight from Houston leaving there at 3:40pm and arriving a little early at 8:00AM this morning in Amsterdam. It was so foggy when we landed that I could not see the ground until just before the plane touched the ground but the fog burned off and the day was beautiful, sunny, blue sky, slight breezy (in fact it was chilly enough for our jackets).
We had decided that since we did not really have a schedule we would use the train and tram to find our hotel and we did fine, even with a few steps, hauling our luggage around. We were determined to follow the Rick Steves (and many others) advice to only have one bag each (which we decided to check) for our six weeks here. That means lots of laundry for me, but it has been worth it so far. We did pack rather heavy carry-on bags which did prove to be a bit daunting for me while trying to load into the very fast tram. I fell over a little bit and actually had a dutch woman with a baby in a stroller get up and offer me her seat. I think she was afraid I might fal on her baby. It wasn't quite that bad, but I told Ed that he would have to handle the two heavy bags next time. I also think he should be behind me or at least helping me up the stairs....don't you? He was so worried about paying for our tickets that he had no idea I wasn't behind him anymore and was struggling with the bigger of the two bags (which held his clothes!!) and my carry on. But once I was upright and firmly holding the rail I was fine and we arrived at our stop and got off and walked the few blocks to our hotel. The doorman greeted us warmly coming directly to me and taking my bags. What a guy!!
Once situated in our room we spoke with our concierge and had some of our questions answered. He directed us to a grocer store a brief walk away, a pharmacy and a phone store.
We took some time checking these places our and then took the tram to the city center. On the tram I showed Ed how to put in the strip of tickets to pay for our trip and without luggage it was a very pleasant ride to Central Station.
We walked around Central Station for a while and then decided to take a canal tour. The tour takes 1 1/2 hours. I had not slept on the plane coming over. Ed had slept a bit, but on and off so for us to sit in a boat on the water and listen to a narration of the architecture and history of the city was asking a lot of our bodies. It was very fun to see this city from the canals.
After the canal boat tour we decided to walk back to our hotel. We thought we were about half way there from the canal tour place by the Rijksmuseum but I think we decided we had miscalculated a bit. Even so, meandering through streets with beautiful homes, dodging bicyclists everywhere, seeing little families playing together, young women helping older grandmas.....it was very nice. The bicycle parking lot at Central Station tells a wonderful story.
We have been struck by how healthy everyone here looks. Business people in suits whiz by on their bikes talking on cell phones. The lane in the street dedicated to them is very serious. Everyone obeys the rules. There were more bikes than cars on the streets. We have also been struck by how tall everyone is, men and women. There are also very cute children.
On our way back to the hotel we decided to stop at the grocer and buy something for dinner and breakfast and lunch in the morning. Shopping was very fun. Lots of different looking foods. We haven't been too brave yet although we did stop and have lunch at a little place that had deli type sandwiches. We found the place by walking along the street and noticing a line of young people at this one door. We decided to check it out and it looked good. We were not disappointed. I also noticed at the store many men with lots of little children shopping for food. It was very cute although the dad and daughter behind us at the checkout was not so enthralled with us when we took a little more time after realizing that there are no free bags at checkout and since we didn't bring our own like everyone else we had to ask someone behind us in line to grab one for us which we had to pay for before we could finish and get out of their way! Oh these tourists!!!!
The people here have been very nice to us generally. Most of them speak such great English. It is embarrassing that we do not speak another language but one man said to us, "you don't need to. You country is so big why would you need to, except for maybe Spanish?" He was very gracious.
We came back to the hotel and both fell asleep for a couple of hours and now we will be up late again. Oh well, we will sleep until we like in the morning and have another wonderful day exploring this wonderful, exciting place.
We made the flight from Houston leaving there at 3:40pm and arriving a little early at 8:00AM this morning in Amsterdam. It was so foggy when we landed that I could not see the ground until just before the plane touched the ground but the fog burned off and the day was beautiful, sunny, blue sky, slight breezy (in fact it was chilly enough for our jackets).
We had decided that since we did not really have a schedule we would use the train and tram to find our hotel and we did fine, even with a few steps, hauling our luggage around. We were determined to follow the Rick Steves (and many others) advice to only have one bag each (which we decided to check) for our six weeks here. That means lots of laundry for me, but it has been worth it so far. We did pack rather heavy carry-on bags which did prove to be a bit daunting for me while trying to load into the very fast tram. I fell over a little bit and actually had a dutch woman with a baby in a stroller get up and offer me her seat. I think she was afraid I might fal on her baby. It wasn't quite that bad, but I told Ed that he would have to handle the two heavy bags next time. I also think he should be behind me or at least helping me up the stairs....don't you? He was so worried about paying for our tickets that he had no idea I wasn't behind him anymore and was struggling with the bigger of the two bags (which held his clothes!!) and my carry on. But once I was upright and firmly holding the rail I was fine and we arrived at our stop and got off and walked the few blocks to our hotel. The doorman greeted us warmly coming directly to me and taking my bags. What a guy!!
Once situated in our room we spoke with our concierge and had some of our questions answered. He directed us to a grocer store a brief walk away, a pharmacy and a phone store.
We took some time checking these places our and then took the tram to the city center. On the tram I showed Ed how to put in the strip of tickets to pay for our trip and without luggage it was a very pleasant ride to Central Station.
We walked around Central Station for a while and then decided to take a canal tour. The tour takes 1 1/2 hours. I had not slept on the plane coming over. Ed had slept a bit, but on and off so for us to sit in a boat on the water and listen to a narration of the architecture and history of the city was asking a lot of our bodies. It was very fun to see this city from the canals.
After the canal boat tour we decided to walk back to our hotel. We thought we were about half way there from the canal tour place by the Rijksmuseum but I think we decided we had miscalculated a bit. Even so, meandering through streets with beautiful homes, dodging bicyclists everywhere, seeing little families playing together, young women helping older grandmas.....it was very nice. The bicycle parking lot at Central Station tells a wonderful story.
We have been struck by how healthy everyone here looks. Business people in suits whiz by on their bikes talking on cell phones. The lane in the street dedicated to them is very serious. Everyone obeys the rules. There were more bikes than cars on the streets. We have also been struck by how tall everyone is, men and women. There are also very cute children.
On our way back to the hotel we decided to stop at the grocer and buy something for dinner and breakfast and lunch in the morning. Shopping was very fun. Lots of different looking foods. We haven't been too brave yet although we did stop and have lunch at a little place that had deli type sandwiches. We found the place by walking along the street and noticing a line of young people at this one door. We decided to check it out and it looked good. We were not disappointed. I also noticed at the store many men with lots of little children shopping for food. It was very cute although the dad and daughter behind us at the checkout was not so enthralled with us when we took a little more time after realizing that there are no free bags at checkout and since we didn't bring our own like everyone else we had to ask someone behind us in line to grab one for us which we had to pay for before we could finish and get out of their way! Oh these tourists!!!!
The people here have been very nice to us generally. Most of them speak such great English. It is embarrassing that we do not speak another language but one man said to us, "you don't need to. You country is so big why would you need to, except for maybe Spanish?" He was very gracious.
We came back to the hotel and both fell asleep for a couple of hours and now we will be up late again. Oh well, we will sleep until we like in the morning and have another wonderful day exploring this wonderful, exciting place.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
New Adventure: Getting Ready
Well, another trip on the horizon and I am looking forward to this new adventure. This trip is different because Ed is now fully retired so this doesn't have any work constraints (or help with the cost). This is the postponed 25th anniversary trip we have always talked about and I will get to see at least one of the places on the "must see" list I gave Ed before we got married....the Chartres Cathedral in France. Of course we will see so many other things that we are excited about, not the least of which is the tulips in Holland, but I am getting ahead of myself.
Tomorrow we plan on packing our bags so we are sure we have everything and going to the bank to get some pounds and euros. We have loaded our Kindle's with plenty of books; loaded the ipod with lots of music and books; loaded the programs we need on Ed's little notebook and made sure I have all the data/photos on my external hard drive backed up. I think we are ready to go!
First stop, The Netherlands!
Tomorrow we plan on packing our bags so we are sure we have everything and going to the bank to get some pounds and euros. We have loaded our Kindle's with plenty of books; loaded the ipod with lots of music and books; loaded the programs we need on Ed's little notebook and made sure I have all the data/photos on my external hard drive backed up. I think we are ready to go!
First stop, The Netherlands!
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