Pearls Before Canine

Coda has been enjoying (?) having Amanda home. They played dress-up together last night, and Amanda let Coda borrow her pearls. We thought she looked so elegant. She was a little stand-offish, however, and we had a hard time getting this picture. I think it looks like a fun new fashion trend for dogs!

Pflaumkuchen

Amanda brought home a recipe for German plum cake, which she tried out on us last night. It turned out beautiful, and aside from a little bit of under-cooked dough in the very center, it was just perfect. Amanda was nice enough to share it with the Black Eyed Susans after band practice today. They had worked very hard on our new Christmas music, and were very appreciative of a little snack afterwards!

To the Temple

Amanda and I went to the temple together this morning. We intended to listen to some music in the car, but visited with Crystal on the way down and just talked, talked, talked on the way back. I wonder if we will get it all talked out before she returns to Germany.

We stopped for lunch at Chipotle on the way home. Mexican food is what Amanda says she misses the most in Germany. She almost finished this giant burrito before she finally gave up! I chose the burrito bowl and felt very smug about my healthy choice.

Day at the Movies

Amanda is on mission release, which means she is not required to follow mission rules while she is home. So, we decided to go to the movies and invited Miss Carol to join us. It was a great afternoon, not only because "The Help" is such a great movie, but because we had all read the book and could comment on that afterwards.

Miss Carol did great with just a cane (notice the horse head). She even climbed about 8 steps before we took our seats! She's come a long way since breaking her leg in three places in March!

Amanda's Home!

Amanda's plane arrived at 5 p.m. yesterday. Since Ed works right next to the airport it seemed logical that he should just pick her up, and I could wait at home while making a nice dinner. Crystal and Brittany suggested I should find a way to get to the airport! So, not wanting to appear to be a bad mother, and not wanting to have two cars at the airport, I decided to try out Maryland's public transit system. My friend, June, took me to the Metro, which I took into Baltimore, and from there I transferred to the light rail. The ride to the airport would have only been about an hour if I had made my connection, which I didn't. This gave me time to watch people pick up their free, government-subsidized cell phones across from the light rail stop. I also enjoyed(?) a half an hour of  very loud music blaring from the shop behind the train stop.

It was all worth it when we were there to greet Amanda after her long flight (Berlin-Amsterdam-Atlanta-Baltimore). She looks great, and hasn't stopped talking! We've got a lot to catch up on. Tomorrow we start her round of doctor appointments, but today we'll just enjoy. She doesn't have to follow mission rules, as she is temporarily released, so maybe we'll go to a movie!

Good News, Bad News

I have some good news and some bad news. First the bad news. Amanda, who is on a mission in Germany, was finally able to get an x-ray of her sore foot. She'd been trying for 7 months to find out why she was in so much pain. It turns out there is a broken screw in the plate that was installed during her surgery last summer. The treatment will require the head of the screw or possibly the whole plate to be removed.

The good news is, it should only take a month to recover from this procedure, after which she should be able to walk without pain.

The other good news is that she'll be able to return to her mission in Germany afterwards!

Another good news is that she'll have the procedure done in Maryland, and we'll be seeing her in TWO days!

And the best news of all, she'll be able to attend her sister, Brittany's wedding. This is good news indeed! We're accepting it as a tender mercy of the Lord!

Sweet Violets

The Black Eyed Susans enjoyed singing this interactive version of Sweet Violets, which we did for the ward Fall Festival! The audience was encouraged to fill in the insinuated rhyming words. If you listen carefully, you can hear Ed, our best audience member!

Fall Festival

Our Ward Fall Festival was moved to the church tonight (rather than the Weatherbee's house), because it rained, but we had a great time, anyway. The sister missionaries, Sisters Richardson and Lieber clogged for us, which was a huge hit. It was fun to see them in a little different light. In addition to being great people and wonderful missionaries, they're also talented dancers.



June Crue also favored us by singing Blue Skies. I've been learning to play this style for a couple of months, and we had a great time doing it together.



The Black Eyed Susans enjoyed playing three songs as well. If I weren't so tired I'd post one. Maybe tomorrow. I'm going to bed!

Black Eyed Practice

Our band is getting ready for the ward Fall Festival this Saturday. We have a few new faces, and we're missing a few old ones. Helen, myself and Carrie are from last year, but June and Alisa are new to the band. They promise to be a good addition with their golden voices and love of music. And, Alisa already knows how to play the guitar!

We're doing three songs, a set of fiddle tunes that includes Soldiers Joy, the Eight of January and Sherman's March, followed by Sweet Violets, and Jambalaya. I'll also accompany June on a lovely rendition of Blue Skies. I'm thinking she might surprise a few members of the ward!

Coda and Sock Monkey

I took time out of my busy day today to play with the dog. She's so cute. Ed and I bought her a little sock monkey toy. She appreciates new toys so much. She tries to be just a little bit gentle with them and have fun at the same time. I'm working on a new trick with her. I'm hiding a ball under a cup and mixing two cups up. (The old pea under the walnut shell game.) It's been fun watching her learn how to tip the cup over to get the ball. Who knew that that was half the battle?

Mushrooms

When it rains for 5 days straight this is what you get! I think they're really beautiful! I hope Coda doesn't think so.  We don't want her eating strange fungi!

Dark and Wet

It was dark and wet this morning. It has rained for about three days now. We lost power for two hours this morning. This is what it looked like at 5:30 when the power went off.

I decided to go to the gym for the first time in a month. They didn't have power, either, which wasn't too bad, as I could use the exercise bike and weight machines.  One thing I didn't realize, however, was how bad a gym could smell when it doesn't have air constantly recirculating. It was a definite relief, when after about 15 minutes power (and air) was restored!

Raggedy Mandy

Amanda will not be able to be at Brittany's wedding in October, as she is serving a mission in Germany. We thought it would be nice to have some way of helping us remember her on that special day. So, I've spent the past several days sewing a Raggedy Mandy doll, which we'll bring to the reception with us. She can sit on one of the rustic benches by the fireplace and watch the contra dancers kicking up their feet. Amanda says she hopes someone asks her to dance! I think she's irresistible!

I actually made two dolls. The first one, which I like to call Chuckie Amanda, turned out to be too frightening, and I had to go back to the drawing board. The nice thing about Chuckie Amanda was those big brown eyes. But the giant face and contorted mouth all combined to give her somewhat of an evil appearance. I might have to stuff her into a brown paper bag so I don't have to look at her!

Home Again

We got back last night, I from Utah and Ed from LA. It's sure good to be home. Lenny had overworked himself today, and asked me and Coda to come feed the horses this afternoon. It was so fun to see them again. Coda had spent the last few days with Lenny, and she's always thrilled to go back to the farm. It was my first time doing the horses all by myself. I hope I remembered everything! Miss Carol is doing better, and getting around pretty well with her walker. We had a nice visit on the back porch. What a beautiful fall day we had!

While trying to find time to relax I also went to the dentist, the car mechanic and spent some time making wedding plans. Maybe tomorrow will be my day of rest!