5-February-2023-Sunday
Indeed a pleasant day was had. I must admit, I wondered about it before I got up. I had dreamed that I had had a serious hit to the head. And when I awoke in the middle of the night I wondered if I would even be able to get out of bed. I was feeling shaken, but ready to get out of bed so we went and I improved as we drove over. The chapel was extremely cold again as the furnace is not working and between being groggy and having fingers that felt like frozen bananas, my playing was worse than my normal boring typical playing. I felt very prepared for Sunday school, but it seemed less than stellar also. Let's face it, I just wanted to curl up in a ball and go to sleep. Regardless, the Lord blessed me again with one of His tender mercies and I was able to fulfill (if not magnify) both callings and make it through the block and even study my Scriptures afterwards.
We were again invited to eat with the Sheltons. We broke our fast with homemade egg rolls, which reminded me very much of the egg rolls we would eat at The Shanghai Restaurant in Pocatello. We also had rice, veggies and the two deserts which Dede brought with her to go along with fruit and veggies. We were blessed with great company. The Sheltons were there, her sister's family and the 3 Elders from the branch. Dede and I were asked to give a thought at the end and Dede did so well speaking about "you can make your choice but not pick your consequences. I helped the eldest son find names for their up coming temple trip and we just enjoyed the time.
The trip home was pleasant and even though we left at 5 pm and drove mostly in the dark, there was a full moon and it was a gorgeous evening. Did I mention it was above freezing when we left and only down to 30F when we got home. I think we somehow managed to live through the disastrous cold spell that made national news. Another tender mercy.
6-February-2023-Monday
We are back to near freezing temperatures, which feels normal for what we know. We had a short devotional at 9:30. Took the cards Dede and Sister Buswell have been writing to the Senior Center in Randolph to be delivered with Meals on Wheels and I worked on the video transcript.
We did not have visitors, but spoke with Eric for nearly as hour and enjoyed that thoroughly.
7-February-2023-Tuesday
It is the doldrums of winter at the site, although we had a bright morning and before the wind picked up, it was very pleasant. Regardless, the only people we saw were the two sisters who often come to the site in the winter to walk. They are members of the S. Royalton Ward and are very kind, but they do not come in to talk with us. This however left me time to work on the virtual tour video. I completed a spreadsheet to use with the tour with a list of pictures on the right and suggestions of what to say on the left of the spreadsheet. This sounds wonderful, but the tour video moves right along and so after putting this together, I presented Dede with a tour. It was impossible to watch both the movie and the spreadsheet. Since I had just completed the sheet, I was able to keep up and it was not to bad. I made a few changes and I need to go in an lengthen the pauses between scenes. These pause give the user a clue of what comes next. I will probably end up simplifying the spreadsheet to just scene names and a few broad clues. After I do it a few times I want Dede to try. We can lengthen out pictures times to allow us to get in everything we want to say and can always pause the movie for questions and to finish a thought before the next scene. I understand why they suggested that it would take much more practice to do a virtual tour. Regardless, we would love our friends to spend an hour with us and enjoy a virtual tour of the site. I think we could start signing people up at any time.
Tomorrow for PDAY we are planning to go North and play. The National Association of Dowsers is open tomorrow morning and I want to go there. Dede has found a museum and planetarium within 15 miles and there are covered bridges in the area. A fun day is in store. I promise a picture.
8-February-2023-Wednesday-PDAY
We decided to spend the day in the North Kingdom which is the northern and eastern portion of Vermont above St Johnsbury, Danville to the Canadian boarder. A politician suggested the name in a speech and it became popular. All of Vermont is beautiful, but I really like this area. One sees high mountains with ski resorts, obviously lots of trees, but also larger valleys (with farms) and thus vistas that are harder to find in central Vermont where we live. Thus it was fun. We were within a few miles of the Canadian border at one point.
Our first goal was to visit the Dowsers and we were saddened to arrive and find that despite their Website saying they are closed on Tuesdays, it is actually Wednesday. [A dowser is a person who uses a stick or wires to find buried water or metals. Oliver Cowdery was a dowser and thus my interest.]. So we turned around and went to the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium in St. Johnsbury. The Fairbanks had early mills to create plows and other sharpened instruments in St Johnsbury. Then they invented scales that used levers for balance allowing very heavy things to be measured without an equal counterweight, but also very light things. The Fairbanks scales made them a ton of money and they lived lavishly in a 26 room mansion. That said, they were also very generous building the museum and planetarium as well as founding the academy. The village of St Johnsbury is not large, but it has marvelous civic and religious buildings (great architecture) which usually happen when rich people give back to the community. Also the family served as governors to the state and presidents to other businesses, including railroads and banks. The museum which from the outside looks similar to the Castle of the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC was built because one of the family members loved to collect items (especially animals, birds, fossils etc.) from around the world. He displayed them at his house, but I think his wife got bored with this mess and they set up a wonderful museum, which is being expanded at this time. We spent a couple of hours at the museum including 30 minutes in one of the best planetarium displays I have witnessed. Instead of just having a canned show, the person in charge showed us the sky at this time and explained how to find things in the sky tonight. Since Dede and I were the only one in the show, he also answered questions for us. To say we were delighted would be an understatement. A few pictures: The first two are inside the museum. The third is a marble church across the street. We loved the four circular staircases that led to the balcony. Also going up to the planetarium one took a fifth circular staircase.
This picture shows the construction, but you can see the turret which makes one think of the castle at the Smithsonian. Again for a small town this is a remarkable place.
We ate lunch at Tim's diner. It was good diner food, but impressive to me where a large thank you poster in the diner giving thanks for the many meals that Tim and his diner had given to the community.
Since the Dowsers were closed and also a Maple Sugar Museum in St Johnsbury, we headed into the Northern Kingdom to see (you guessed it) covered bridges and the villages around those bridges.
Our fears about the first covered bridge were fulfilled. We could not find it on Google Maps and it turns out it has been replaced by a single lane steel bridge. However a few miles down river is a wonderful water fall. It is hard to see in the picture as we are standing on a rock pinnacle above the falls (in slick snow) looking down 40 feet at the falls which is mostly covered in ice. It was however beautiful and the sound was interesting as it was muffled by snow and ice.'
As one passes through villages, this church on a small commons is symbolic of many other villages and churches. The next bridge shown here is one of three built with this truss system. It has a king post and then a series that is a cross between a multi King Post and a lattice truss. The location of the bridge was outstanding. Again this bridge is used by snowmobilers to cross the river and is often the case is on top of a small cascade.
This covered bridge was retired, but saved by a farmer who moved it to this small stream and uses it to get equipment across the stream. Other than the roof it is in sad disrepair. It is made sturdy by steel beams which run the length of the road bed to both sides of the stream and which is fastened strong to the bridge using huge ubolts. The truss system is the same as above and without sideboards, it is easy to see how ti worked. Glad the bridge was saved. Sad that it is rarely used or cared for. Interestedly enough it is found on a road called covered bridge road although the road does not use the bridge to cross any water.
This small bridge was delightful. A queen truss it spans a smallish river. While we were there a woman came over to remove the Christmas decorations that Town puts on the bridge for the holidays. Called the Power Plant Bridge.
Last, but surely not least is the Fisher Railroad bridge. The rails are long gone and the roadbed is not a hiking and biking path. The truss is a double lattice to handle the weight of the trains. Unique to the bridge and visible in the last picture is the vestibule on the top
of the bridge to allow the smoke from the steam engines, for which the bridge was built, to carry to escape from the bridge. You can see this from inside on the second photo. Again, one is impressed with the height of bridge to carry the locomotives with their higher smoke stakes.
Finally, although I have not photographic proof, we passed a ranch that was raising bison. They had at least 25 in the lot near their house with adequate fencing to handle the large beasts. I was not aware that bison were raised this Far East. Over-all a great day with much to see and best of all time spent with my favorite companion. [Upon investigation the farm has Elk also. There are several Bison farms in the area.]
9-February-2023-Thursday
We did not make any plans for the morning. Dede will probably not allow that to happen again. Thus we worked on things around the apartment. I worked on the video and then at 10:30 I washed the car. It was so muddy from our excursion yesterday. We had to traverse dirt roads to get to our bridges and we brought back a goodly amount as proof of our trip. By 1:00 it was raining and then snowing and then it got back to raining. It was forecast and I think it was worth it to clear off so much mud mixed with salt.
We actually had 4 people come into the site. The four were non members from Mass and DC who had come up North to ski and had seen the site on the Map and were curious. I told Dede I would like to be a fly in the car when people show up and realize that there is a tour with real live people. I believe that is why many stop and then drive off. Dede and I are very scary people!!!! The four were interested in the history and upfront agreed to a 20 minute tour. They were so polite and asked a few questions before leaving so they could head to Stowe. After so many days, I cannot describe the relief of having visitors at the site.
We were able to walk while it was snowing which was nice because we were not dressed appropriately for rain. We talked to Bob Dunkle who told us about changes made at the temple this week and we missed out Wednesday when we normally go to the temple and when he works. It was interesting. I had opened my phone to get appointments and then felt inspired to look for a tour Dede and I could take as we had been to the temple two weeks in a row and that would have been three. Was I inspired? I think so, but must admit today I wish I had been in the temple. We have reservations for next week as Bob said the temple was fuller yesterday than normal with people wanting to see the changes. I will count this as my tender mercy for the day. I think God inspired me to do something fun with Dede even though going to the temple would have been a great option.
10-February-2023-Friday
I will start with my tender mercy today. Yesterday I started the day with a sincere prayer to Heavenly Father to send someone to the site. I did the same today. One would think this would always be part of our prayers, but it is not. We might skim over it or give thanks that we are at the site, but not always ask for God's help in bringing in people. Today we did the same and we had three people first a single member of the church and then a couple. Then as we were leaving a couple walked in for the Buswell's to provide a tour. God is so merciful and kind and thus we have a tender mercy.
Our first visitors was a single gentleman and convert to the church. Upon retirement he decided he would move to a different location each year so that he could experience different parts of the world. Not only USA, but also Europe for a year. He said God allowed him to break his leg at Alta while skiing so the gospel could be introduced to him. He has been in Nashua NH since April and will move to Boise or Spokane depending on where he can live close to a temple. He works in the temple and remembered seeing us on several Wednesdays. What a wonderful treat for us to meet him.
Our second visitors live in Maine. They met years ago at BYU and have lived all over as he was in the military. He had come to the site often as a youth when he lived in Maine. They have been to most church history sites and it was a joy to visit with them and feel of their testimonies. They will go to the Boston Temple tomorrow and thus enjoy the changes that came out Tuesday. [Note Dede and I are signed up for an Endowment session and an initiator session as we heard that is where we will hear the most changes. I am excited.]. I was somewhat amazed, that the SL Tribune had an article about the changes quoting temple workers by name.
After our shift, Dede wanted to go into W. Lebanon and visit at least two of the three Asian markets there. After having delicious egg roles last Sunday, we hope to repeat the experience at our apartment. We visited all three. The first was the best. We bought everything we need, plus some frozen soup noodles and a steamer. From Amazon today we received an order that contained chop sticks. We are horrible with these eating utensils and upon the suggestion of Anna, Sara and Sam will pop popcorn and practice eating popcorn with chopsticks to refine our skills or perhaps create skills. Dede is watching a YouTube now which shows how a lefty should use chopsticks. There should not be a difference between a righty or a lefty, but she just exclaimed she is not coordinated enough. She will succeed. She will develop the skill quickly and leave me behind, but it will be because she will work so hard at it.
After shopping for normal food, we decided to eat our Valentine's Meal tonight. We were able to score a reservation at the Angkor Wat restaurant in Woodstock. The chef is a Cambodian and has won awards. May I say wow that was so good. When we arrived we were the only people. Within an hour the place was nearly full. I can see why, the food was amazing, but from what I heard around me, I do not think many of the people had eaten there before, similar to us. The waitress like all waitresses in VT was a gem and I am happy, full and contented. The food was so good it almost rivaled my companion in goodness. (NOT)
11-February-2023-Saturday
And another week closes. We had time this morning to run to Tunbridge and see if we could have breakfast at the general store on Tuesday morning for a valentines' breakfast for the missionaries and then I washed the car. I also worked on taxes. Meanwhile Dede accomplished about 4 days worth of work. She is amazing.
We had another great day at the site. When we arrived the Buswell's had 4 guests. One a member and her three friends from a NH University. They were super nice youth and Dede immediately made friends with each and knew their lives' stories before we took over giving them a tour. She has such a talent with people. We were so excited to have four people whom we shared with the Buswell's. Who then can comprehend the delight of having two more groups come in to visit. One couple were not members, but had seen the sign on the way to Canada and decided to stop for 5 minutes. We gave them 10. The second couple were members. He was in a huge hurry, but the longer Dede taught him, the more comfortable he became. He wife knowingly told him, you will feel the spirit of the site if you just let yourself. This is so true. It is definitely not me. A bit more Dede, but really it is the Spirit of the Lord that dwells in this dedicated place we call a mission.
We left right at closing and drove to Rutland for their branch party. It was 50's based and they did a little dancing, but they had games so that all could be involved and have fun. They had children and they had some of the older single sisters there. I danced a few dances with Dede. May I say I moved better at 50 than at 65? But what fun. We got home and will turn around in the morning and drive the hour back to attend our block meetings. And we will know that we are blessed for the opportunity.
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