Retroblogging: Max and Mary Merry Christmas Message c2014

Back from my trip to see the parents, but still sorting through laundry, mail, and mentally trying to wrap my head around going back to work for the first time in the New Year. Will finish up my account of the trip soon, but here's a brief look in the way-back machine to Max and Mary's Merry Christmas letter, only slightly edited.

To note: they didn't actually send this to us kids. I had to beg for one in person.

Dad's e-mail to us:

Kids: Auntie Nettie reminded us after being here for a little while and looking at all the Xmax cards cards on the door that you all didn’t get the 2014 version of the Christmas letter.

Please find attached the 2014 Christmas letter.

Now who can beat this for getting information out too late.
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

December 2014

Dear Family and Friends All Over the Place:

This holiday season finds us back on the East Coast in Kensington, Maryland on a temple mission at the Washington D.C. Temple. Last year we indicated our paperwork was in, and after some delays due to housing availability, we arrived on September 22. Because this was our temple for twenty of the thirty years we lived in Connecticut, we feel right at home and have not stopped since we got here. We work at the temple five days a week, help out at the Visitors’ Center, fill positions in our ward of only temple workers, and try to keep up with all the social activities planned for our group. Naps during the day are a thing of the past. Nevertheless, we are very grateful for this blessing of being able to serve in the House of the Lord and grow spiritually.

 In thinking about writing this annual Christmas letter, I had to read over my sketchy journal to see what we did “Before Mission,” and noted many of the entries had to do with preparing for the mission. There are so many details which have to be considered when leaving home for a year. There were entries about traveling to Logan to visit the aunts, visits from friends and relatives to the [M&M] B&B, trips to California to see the Fresno relatives and for a bittersweet funeral, Amber’s baptism in Moscow, Idaho in February, the Idaho [crew] coming to St. George in July and us going there later in the month to babysit while Mom went to girls’ camp, exploration of the Oregon Coast after that Moscow, Idaho visit, Drew coming over from Mesquite to kayak with Grumpa, and watching Sarah and Cannon grow from babies to toddlers with unique personalities (They are two now.). Because of Facetime, we can still enjoy the grandchildren’s personalities and achievements. And, we might get [Auntie Nettie] down to visit from New York City in January. Our lives are full and rich and just exciting enough! Since I started this letter, Jaime Alice joined the Idaho ... family on December 6, 7#4oz. 21 inches, healthy and exhibiting a strong personality!

Grumpa Max is feeling older as we came out of one day a week work cycle to the Tuesday through Saturday work-week. After working from 12:30 PM to 7 PM the body and mind are looking forward to a quick dinner and off to dream land. We have not seen the sites in the area yet but are planning to use more of our Mondays to explore. Or at least Mary hopes to! We will see what next year’s letter has for a list of happenings.

As we all come to this holiday time of the year again and in anticipation of a New Year, may we all count our blessings and find the good in each other as well as the world. We think of each of you often and count our association with you as a great blessing.

Mary and Max

Friday: Finally Featuring DC

This is going to be a briefer entry. It is almost midnight, again, and since Mom and I actually made it into DC today, there could be lots to report.

Things like:

Mary's first EVER trip on the DC metro.

As led and navigated by me.

Yes, we survived. Yes, we made it to and fro. Yes, we are still speaking.

Though, we may not when she sees yet another picture of herself on here.

The Smithsonians and The Mall and maps

We were there, and oh, there, and there....

The monuments and memorials

We did lots, but it was cold. Not as cold as earlier this week, but cold enough that you can see the ice flows in the Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial.

We headed back before rushhour on the Metro. It seemed wiser. And warmer.

It was a good, mellow, reconnaissance for future trips kind of day.

But, after dinner, things got a little fishy...

(Or maybe that was just my last supper of fried haddock and fries?)

Laundry was being done, under escort at the shared facilities, and Dad started assembling packing boxes.

It's like he thinks I am leaving tomorrow, and I have somehow got too much stuff to schlep back... And/or he's really ready for me to go?

Family Motto: We love each other... From a distance.

But, as I told some of the parents' new colleagues, it has been fun to play hooky this week, weirdness and all,  but I do have to head back to pay the piper.

To be continued from the train, later tomorrow/today

~post and photos via iTouch, 1/9. 11:57pm

Thursday: Tending to Your Temple

Last night/yesterday's post took so long to type out on the iTouch and then to choke through the internet wifi that it was early Thursday morning before I tried to go to sleep.

Tried. Tired. Anagrams.

My brain wouldn't shut off, but when it finally did, something triggered a coughing jag of epic proportions. I am slowly getting over this flu, but am still hacking, sneezing, tired, wheezing, and nursing sore abdominals. I don't know when I finally dozed off, propped up and swaddled in blankets, but it was late enough to hear the winds roaring  and feel the temps dropping.

When I finally emerged in the morning, something  told me that I wasn't the only one NOT feeling our plan to head into the City-center to be tourists. I think my first words weren't "Good morning," but: "I'm a wimp, I don't want to be out in the cold today."

No one debated.  It was all of 10 degrees when I made my pronouncement. And 10 was warm compared to the rest of the country.

So, it was a lazy, stay local, kind of day.

Eventually we all got showered, dressed, read, putzed around and eventually headed over to "the pickle deli." Because what you do when you are from NYC the Land of the Jewish deli is come to DC, to go to a Jewish deli. Totally makes sense, right? But these Mormons down here, they love them this local hangout they've nicknamed the "pickle deli" because of the free pickled item buffet you can browse while waiting for your meal. www.theparkwaydeli.com on Grubb Street. I'm not kidding, Grubb Street.

And the pickling is adventuresome: 1st sampler by dad: sandwich sweets, beets, jalapeño, some krauts, and a pickle

Beets, good. Sandwich sweets, good. LOVED the jalapeño. The pickle was okay, but soured with continual bites. Also, I learned, at almost 43, I DO NOT LIKE KRAUT.

Sampler 2, by Mom: more beets, usual dill diner pickle, sandwich pickles, and deli spear, more jalapeños, and a test to see if I would eat the hot pepper

Those jalapeños were so good, and of course I ate the hot pepper. Just hot enough.

When at a Jewish deli you order a,

Turkey burger and fries, right?

Mom did.

Or a turkey BLT pannini with fries, right?

Dad did, which is weird because he used to be a pastrami or corned beef guy. I don't like either of those flavor profiles.

I am a brisket lady.

A warm brisket on rye lady with a side of onion rings dame

When in a Jewish deli...don't get a falafel wrap, I always think.

Maybe I should have gotten the matzoh ball soup and the brisket, but no. I am living pleasantly in my state of denial at least a few more days. (Plus, pounds equals insulation right now. Hello? It is cold!) As it was I had to defend my right to my precious rings. My preccccccciouuuses.

At least we didn't order any of the hammenstaten, or cheesecake, or fritters, or pie, or rugelach, or eclairs or cannoli  (!!!????) we saw in the cases on the way in and out.

Then it was a quick swing by the temple grounds and the visitors center to see some of the places Mom and Dad see everyday.

Hazy afternoon suns make for silhouette shots of the temple

I am trying to remember exactly, but I think it has been 25 years since I have been here. Unlike when you are small and then you revisit as an adult and everything is smaller, this place is actually bigger now, at least on the inside. Renovations, new technology, and underground expansions will do that.

Being greeted by this Christus hasn't changed, which is lovely.

Displays include:

Explanations of Old Testament temples, like Solomon's here

And how they relate to modern Mormon temples.

There are lots of theater and screens showing various clips, presentations, and inviting you to view the new feature film: Meet the Mormons.

Sit in the booth and find out about the Book of Mormon in a variety of languages.

I do remember seeing older films in smaller rooms like this one.

There are new displays about the Church's many varied international and national humanitarian efforts.

Not to mention a new homey setting where the Church's genealogical offerings are available to start people on ancestry research.

It actually a good thing we didn't go to DC, as it turned out the Center would be closed for the rest of my trip.

That would have put a shadow on things, for sure.

One of the displays still being installed is a very large display of the temple itself, with an open cross section of the interior, so visitors can get more of a sense of what goes on inside. Visitors can ONLY visit the Visitors Center, not the interior of the temple, so pictures, displays, and models are helpful. It is NOT like a cathedral or the Vatican, or even some of the big synagogues or mosques abroad. No tours. Ever. Except during open houses after they are built or remodeled and then, only before dedications. So visitors centers like this are important, especially in DC with so many international visitors and opportunities for religious diplomacy.

Rest of the day was pretty quiet. Mom and I did venture out for a quick walk up the block to visit the old church bookstore I remembered from early trips down to this complex to see Grandma Ollie though now in a new location/new management. We also ducked into some local shops, but quickly returned home.

It was cold enough to make Dad check on the truck,

The local "crick" to freeze,

And for Mom to burrow back under the covers again while others of us read.

We (Mom and I) keep saying we ARE going into DC tomorrow (really later today) ....

but... It's 1am NOW.

I should at least try and post this today.

~ post and photos by iTouch

And Wednesday's Adventure? Sewers & Shopping

Maybe I documented too soon. Maybe I cast a curse?

Wednesday's adventure in vacationing involved plumbing, as in crawling out of bed, heading directly to the bathroom -- as you do -- to be waved off by Dad. Early, frequent riser that he is, he discovered that the gurgling on the pipes was the sewer lines backing up in his ground floor apartment's bathtub and toilet.

And not just his, but the neighbors', the laundry room, and other area buildings.

I can't make this stuff up.

Things weren't awful, but the potential was there. Fortunately, they also got creative so we could complete ablutions. Luckily some 2nd floor apartments are vacant awaiting tenants, keys available, and building management is VERY proactively involved. Thankfully gravity runs down, so Mom and I ran up and down stairs to vacant units in jammies and robes, with shower caddies and towels to get ready for the day.  I was having dorm flashbacks. (And previous apartment flashbacks. I've had to deal with that mess before. And tried to bleach my memory of the experience and cleanup.)

Then, we deserted the field for shopping/retail therapy and left Dad to man the fort and monitor the situation.

This is not an accurate photo of how briskly cold the wind was in the parking lots.

Thank you Kohl's, for your clean, working restrooms. I did my annual winter vacation stocking up of jeans and unmentionables, usually in UT but this year in MD. MD where they sell you the ubiquitous  plastic shopping bags you usually get at purchase. Yes, I will pay a nickel for a bag to cart my bras and undies out to the car, thank you very much. No one needs to see my granny panties... Oh wait.

Then it was off to another series of shopping strip malls on the other side of town. Don't ask me where. Even my mother got temporarily turned around in Rockville, which she never does. We ended up at one of those Marshalls/TJMaxx/Ross' discount stores where you never know what you'll find or see. Random things just amuse me, things like:

Lurking skeevy santas

I know when you've been sleeping, muhahahahaha!!!!!!

Yikes!

Or this, which I wish I could get for a yard or a office entrance.

Why do you keep your poisons artfully arranged under glass?

Near the typewriter you wrote the ransom note on?

Why would you bronze up a big fish, a Buddha, and a squirrel?

So I can write this blindingly bad not-punny joke.

Big Fish turns to Buddha and asks: What do you  think of Squirrel over there?
Buddha: He's a tough nut to crack.
Big Fish: Buddha, your jokes flounder.

I didn't ever claim to be funny, funny.

I think I was hungry.

I do silly things when I get hungry.

After a pitstop in a Carter's baby outlet so Grandmary could buy presents and I could snap pictures of these onsies but not "snap them up," it was time for lunch.

Diners are both excellent and awful things when people can't make food preference choices.

Menus are so varied, it's hard to narrow down. Thankfully the Silver Diner lunch specials insert helped us, and the Amtrak ambassadors' not-so-subliminal suggestions helped me decide.

Me: Crab cake platter with Old Bay seasoned fries

Mom: Veggie chili and a turkey BLT with mozzarella

Really excellent diner, with lots of veggie, flextarian, gluten-free options. I'm none of those things and was still considering this  or one of the bison options.

Good conversation with Mom 

and then back to check on Dad and the plumbing. Thankfully it had been resolved, out by the street manhole, and not inside buildings!

The rest of the day involved an early birthday polish-free (my choice) pedicure

and an at-their-home mother/daughter haircut experience by one of the fellow temple workers.

Yes. My annual parental vacations usually involve annual shopping stock ups, quarterly hair shearing, and/or beautification rituals. You have your traditions, I have mine.

Plus, your family has a way of cutting through things ...

But I digress. It's late and my blog and I'lll digress if I want to.

These peeps. They are mine.

Also to note, someone pictured above was NOT best pleased with their pictures yesterday and I got a NO just as this was NOT taken.

Posterity needs must, I say.

What, aside from frigid cold and winds will tomorrow/Thursday bring? Almost afraid to ask.

~post and photos iTouch, late to publish 1/7 wednesday