Monday, August 24, 2009

August Happenings

Our summer is almost over and we will soon be entering into the lovely Fall months.

We do a lot of cooking for the young adults and other ocassions. The tricky part is in getting it in the fridge until time to transport everything to the church. The fridge measures three feet by one and 1/2 feet. It didn't take us long to love German foods -- especially the bread, cheese, homemade soups, etc. We still prefer American deserts and ice cream.
MY SUPERMAN. We are trying to stay healthy. We have walked everyday except Sunday for 124 consecutive days. That is really a record considering the weather and time constraints.

Jerry in the corn stalks. This picture was taken several weeks ago and now the corn is at least two feet higher.
The homes, roads, parkways, etc. are all so beautiful with flowers of all kinds. We are also harvesting our tomatoes growing out on our patio -- YUM!
This is one of the new hiking trails that we have discovered. I don't want summer to end as we are still exploring trails close to home in Axams -- oh, how beautiful they are.
Yes -- this is a chicken (we think -- at least it was in the chicken coop with the rest of the chickens!)
I never thought I would be taking pictures of CHICKENS. Have you ever seen any like this before? And, yes, we have pictures of cows, goats, rabbits, etc. Yesterday we saw a strange site -- a lady was pushing a very nice baby buggy. Inside was a nice size dog who was thoroughly enjoying the ride.
Youngest member -- one week old Kalie Sue. Her mother is Austrian and her father is a returned missionary from California who served in Innsbruck several years ago. I asked how much she weighed and was told 3,350 pounds. (oops -- I mean grams!)
Our good friend, Konrad Nagele, had surgery to implant an electrical device to help with his Parkinson's Disease. The survery and Priesthood blessing, has done wonders. Three holes were cut into his head, one in back and two in front. He jokingly says the two in front were to remove his "Mormon horns!"
Because of health issues, Paula cannot stay alone. Their son stayed with her for the first week after Konrad's surgery, and now their daughter, Susanne, now living in Salt Lake City, came for a week. Konrad left the hospital for a few hours long enough to attend Sacrament Meeting. When someone is baptized, it is their choice who will perform the baptism. and also plan the program. Because of our love for Karin, we were happy that she asked Jerry to baptize her. We have been looking forward to this day for several months -- and what a beautiful day it was.We were present for several joint teaches with two super young missionaries, Elder Beckstead and Elder Wilcoxom. We were always amazed at her prepration -- studying, praying and seeking to "know" the truth.
We have enjoyed our friendship with Karin. She speaks English very well and is very friendly and outgoing. The custom here is to shake hands with everyone, and for the women to also hug and a kiss each other on both cheeks. I love this custom as it makes everyone feel welcome. Karin is so friendly and enthusiastic that I have to be careful of her handshake -- it can be a hand "crusher!"
I was the ward historian in our Canyon View ward for about a year. I enjoyed the calling because I love history and scrapbooking. Yesterday we had dinner at the church prepared by President Roth and his family. What a meal! Three main dishes with salads, fruit, rolls, and desert. When Jerry was here serving as a young missionary, he was Branch President in Salzburg and President Roth's grandmother was the Sunday School President.

After our dinner, which also included the young missionaries and the newly baptized member, he brought in the Innsbruck Branch's history books. Some were very old and had type written pages with all types of paper and format. Some books had pictures and it was fun to find a picture of Jerry as a young missionary.