Living at the Memorial

January 12-18

Our home for this week

SUNDAY  -  The buzzer started going off while I was still in bed.  (This is a chime inside the residence which is activated when a car drives through).  After the second one, I decided that I had better get up so I managed to catch the third one before we left for Church.  (mostly drive thru’s or dog walkers)  Had to hurry right back at the conclusion of the block meetings and get things going.  We had a couple of visitor groups but things are quite slow.  After closing (we usually close about 5:00pm but it is dark by 4:30) there was not much going on so I spent the evening watching NFL Play-off and Australian Tennis I happened to find on ESPN.  Glad to see some Tennis again.  
 MONDAY--   Things were pretty slow but we still had a couple of visitors who said they were just driving up the highway and happened to see the sign on the Interstate so decided to come check it out.  We were the hosts for the Family Evening activity tonight.  It happened by default since we are the only ones here on the premises.  Things went pretty good and had a good turnout as well.  We made another quick trip back to the apt. to get a few more clothes and a few essentials.  

TUESDAY  --  This morning we made a quick stop at the apartment to return  a modem we had been using for over 2 months.  They gave it to us to use while they were trying to get our internet working properly and just hadn’t picked it up until this morning.  From there, in the rain, we drove to Burlington to get Rhonda’s green carry-on that didn’t make the transfer in NY.  It took until Sunday to get to VT but this was our first chance to go get it.  The Dyches watched the place for us but since it rained all day, no one came.  We hurried on our trip and even had to wait at Costco for them to open the doors so we could get a few quick items and then hurry back to the Memorial.  Everything was in Rhonda’s bag except her liquids baggie of make-up etc. but she wasn’t real hopeful of that anyway since the pocket it was in wasn’t even zippered.   I made a quick change of clothes and soon President Stoker brought all the missionaries who were going home over to take the tour.  They usually take them to the Boston Temple but it is closed for cleaning so they ended up choosing to come here.  I took them on the tour and we all had a good visit before they left at closing time.  I tried to relax a little and watch some tennis on TV but the chairs here are really uncomfortable for TV watching. So, I suffered through it anyway.  I still wonder how much snow would be on the ground if we were having snow rather than rain?

Decided to steam clean the kitchen floor while staying there

Steaming the dirt out of the cracks

WEDNESDAY  -    Elder Osborne called early  to say that Elder Johnson was released last night and that he had been called to be the new Director for a 2 year period.  We were both a little surprised at it being two additional years.  The day started off with sunshine and pleasant temperatures (for mid-January in VT).  I even got ambitious and walked down to the main road to get the newspaper.  Then Rhonda walked down to the church to practice the organ.  The weather deteriorated as the day drew on.  Not a lot of activity at the Center but we were grateful for those who came.  Elder Johnson called to talk but I didn’t dare say too much as he didn’t let on any clue that he thought he had been released.  Poor guy. Our last visitors came just as I was getting ready to lock up.  It is amazing how often it happens that way.  I spent the night doing some book reading, a little TV, etc.  Not really much happening out here by ourselves.  

Steamed Clean!

THURSDAY  --  The day started off with a dusting of snow and lightly snowed until just before noon.  I mainly sat around  waiting for visitors and finally got bored enough that I went out and helped Elder Dyches shovel snow from around the monument.  It felt good but my back will suffer for another week.  We finally had visitors come and as usual, they come one group right after another.  Snow started again in the late afternoon.  In the evening, I dropped Rhonda off at the Church to go to Relief Society and then on to the apartment.  I had a good chance to relax for a while before picking her up and going back to the center.    FRIDAY  --  For lack of excitement, I cleaned all the path to the visitor center (snow removal).  Rhonda spent the morning cleaning house for the Osborns.  They arrived a little after noon.  We had a good visit with them and talked a little about the future.  They sent us home for most of the afternoon so we unloaded our “baggage” (plastic grocery bags) at the apartment and went to Lebanon shopping.  Rhonda needed to replace her lost make-up etc.  When we returned home I watched BYU’s basketball game from last night that I had recorded along with some Australian Open tennis.  I just found a place on the TV where I could connect to the tennis channel.   Glad for that!   
SATURDAY  --   Opened up this morning.  Again we spent quite a bit of time discussing things with the Osborns.  Back to the apartment for lunch then back to the Church for a baptism of one of the ward members.  Sister Tarawhiti had asked Rhonda to play for her to sing during the baptism.  It started to snow in the evening so we returned directly to the apartment.  I felt tired so I took an hour and one-half  nap on the bed.  I was much more alert to watch tennis and basketball on TV for the evening

The Director's Residence with our car parked in the driveway

I decided it would be nice to show some pictures of inside the home.

From the entry - looking into living/dining rooms

From dining room looking thru Living Room toward front door

Living Room

Dining Room (left)

Dining Room (right)

Kitchen dining nook

Looking into kitchen from Dining Room (notice the clean floor!)

Standing at the kitchen sink is beautiful to look out at the Monument

 

Master Bedroom

Master - the movers had just taken Johnson's stuff out

 

Guest Bedroom - where we stayed

Guest Bedroom

Guest bathroom

 

Missionary Office - this is where we work when not giving tours at Visitors' Center

Back to Vermont

January 5-11

SUNDAY -  I was not feeling very good so I spent almost all day in bed.  I don’t think I have slept so much in a single day since I was in the hospital or something like it.  I didn’t go anyplace or do anything all day.  Rhonda spent a while at Misty's searching for flight options back to Vermont.  We were hoping to take the “Red-eye” flight to Detroit but with the weather problems they were having in the East, the prospects didn’t look good so we abandoned the idea and just stayed in the cabin.  The computer just didn’t show any seats with every flight in the minus numbers as a result of the cold and storm in the Northeast. 

 MONDAY  -  Still not feeling the best but decided to try and get up.  I took one bite of a maple donut and a tooth with a root canal spike came right out.   I called David Hansen’s office and hurried there.  The tooth was broken in half so there wasn’t much to be done except pull the tooth.  Rhonda also had x-rays because she has a tooth that has troubling but nothing to do until after we complete our mission.  We stopped to see LeIla again before going on to Blake Christensen’s so Rhonda could get her haircut.  I checked flights but everything was still showing up either zero or minus numbers so we went back to the cabin.  We tried to check flights again on RSO’s tablet but no luck.  I finally gave up and watched tennis and the BCS championship football game on TV.  It at least had an exciting finish.   

TUESDAY  --  We got up earlier than we wanted too but decided that we had to go to the airport and at least wait out a couple of flights to see if they were all going out full.  We decided to try for a seat to Detroit at 11:14.  We soon found out that the flight had been delayed until 1:11 so we went and visited with LuAnn for a while to pass time.  We dropped the car off at Diamond parking, having previously left Christy Nielson a key with the hope that if we did get on a flight, she could recover the car for us and if not on a flight, we would have transportation to go back to the cabin.  We did finally make the flight.  Once we landed in Detroit, things were really a mess.   The flight to Burlington was cancelled so we tried for New York.  When we went to the gate to Laguardia, NY they were loading  a plane that was supposed to have left three hours earlier.  The next flight was in 3 more hours and they said they weren’t taking anymore standby names and they had more than enough to fill the plane.  So, we just sat down to wait a while.  The Laguardia line kept getting shorter and shorter and they kept calling names, then more names.  Finally we decided to go over and see what was happening.  Two ladies in front of us ask us where we were going and we said to NY and they said to go ahead of them as they were waiting for the next  plane.  Soon the ticket guy looked up and asked who was going to NY.  We immediately said we were .  He took our passes and said to hurry.  We found our seats but the flight attendant took Rhonda’s bag and said it wouldn’t fit under the seat so she would take it.  Hurry and sit down so we could get airborne.  Soon the flight attendant returned and gave a piece of paper to Rhonda with a checked bag number on it.  Rhonda told her we had a quick turn-around and she said too bad, we would have to go out of security and to baggage claim to get the bag.  We were stressed.  Soon it was past time for the flight from Laguardia NY to Burlington to leave so we figured we would have to wait it out in the airport for the night.  The person in the seat next to me ask about our flight and he checked on his smart phone and said it had also been delayed and that if we hurried we may still make it.  On landing, we pushed through the aisle and found a flight attendant at the top of the jet-bridge.  He looked at the flight to Burlington and said it had loaded but they hadn’t closed the door.  We asked him to call and say we were coming.  He took Rhonda’s bag number and was going to see if he could transfer the bag directly to the Burlington flight.  We took off on a run to a different terminal and once we rounded the corner a lady hollered to see if we were going to Burlington?  We said “yes” and they sent us on the plane.  Last row next to the bathroom but we made it on!  No hurry to get off anyway as we needed to wait for the checked baggage.  We waited and waited but no bag ever arrived.  We finally called the car park place and the shuttle came and returned us to our car.  We arrived in Sharon about 1:30am.  Missing a bag but we were back!  That was an answer to prayer as we didn’t think we would be able to make it for all three transfers in one day going against the clock and especially without good reservations or even a good planned itinerary.
 

This end of the Residence is our office

WEDNESDAY  -  After a short night we went to work 9:00am to open up.  We had a few tours which was nice again.  We stayed all day as Osborne’s were trying to move some of their things into the Memorial Residence as they had been asked by the Mission President to be the acting director while the Johnson’s were gone on Medical leave.  They are gone indefinitely.  Once we left the Center, we just went home and took it easy. 

THURSDAY  We opened up again.  Today, I gave the tours while Rhonda brought her Sargent Steamer and helped Osborns clean some drawers and the bathrooms which were in great need.  They hardly had any place to put things, even in the guest bedroom.  I took clothes so we could change quickly for the drive to Burlington to get Rhonda’s bag but found out it was still in New York.  So, we went back to the apt. and found some food and mainly just relaxed.  I stayed up to watch a BYU basketball game that started at 9:00pm.  At the conclusion, it was past time to go to bed.     

We stayed in the Residence home starting Saturday

FRIDAY  We opened up again and stayed the whole day as Osborns asked us to watch the place while they went with Dyches down to check out the Brigham Young marker in Wilmington, VT.  They went in the FM truck as it is out of our mission boundaries.  We started quickly with visitors but it ground to a halt as the day wore on.  Elder Johnson kept calling trying to talk to the Obsorns.  He seemed stressed that we were here all day but it wasn’t that bad as far as we were concerned. 

 SATURDAY  -  An hour after opening, the Osborns were off to the airport and off to Utah.  The mission president asked them to go the the Visitor Center Director training in case the Johnson’s don’t get back.  I guess we are the assistant to the interim director.   They wanted us to stay in the house on site for added protection for the premises.  It  has rained most of the day, quite steady.  I wonder what the ground would look like if it had all been snow?  At the end of the day we had to make a quick trip to Lebanon for gas and a few essential groceries.   (gas is 20-25 cents cheaper per gallon in NH)  We then stopped at the apartment to gather a few things to “move” to the Memorial for a few days.  Things are OK but it is a little different feeling taking charge of other people’s house, especially on a fill in for the fill in basis.  Watched the BYU game on TV, saw Rhett doing my stats job.

Happy New Year: 2014!

January 1-4:  What a way to start the New Year!!!

Ty ready to go on snowmobile with Grandpa!

January 1, 2014      WEDNESDAY    Up early, especially after a late night, and pack for a trip to Utah, hoping to find a flight.  We opened up the Memorial and I spent most of the first couple hours hustling and trying to make a big dent taking down the Christmas decorations we had previously put up.  They were now making Johnson’s nervous.  Rhonda helped with decorations but finally went to the computer and started to look for a flight home.  Seats on the flights we had scheduled have seemed to evaporate.  She finally found a possibility:  Burlington to LaGuardia, to Denver, and Salt Lake.  We knew we might have to spend the night in Denver but it looked like the only way out.  Osborne’s came and worked the last 1 ½ hours of our shift so we could go.  In New York we called Rhett to see if he had any of the Expedia hotel accommodations we had used on the way out.  He looked and then we thought we found a flight late to Salt Lake on United so we had Randy searching as well.  The United flight was full so we called Rhett back and had him book the hotel in Denver.  Caught the shuttle and booked an early wake-up call and shuttle back to the airport in the morning.  Once in the hotel room we checked on the flight to Salt Lake and found it was overbooked so we re-scheduled to a later flight possibility, changed our wake-up with the front desk and then tried to get a couple of hours sleep before the morning.  (We did luck out and fly 1^st class both to New York and to Denver). 


THURSDAY    What seemed like the middle of the night (4:20am) the desk clerk called and said we were supposed to be on the shuttle to airport.  I told her we had changed flights and she then remembered and said “sorry”.  Tried to get a little more sleep but it was useless.  The hotel wasn’t ready for breakfast so we had to take the 6:00am shuttle anyway.  Checked in at the desk to make sure we were registered as Sky West which gives us better flight privileges on Sky West flights.  We were soon called up and given 1^st Class seats on the short trip to Salt Lake!   Got our Trax tickets and were soon to the car in Nyra’s garage.  I had worried that it wouldn’t start since it hadn’t started for a couple of months but no problem.  We were soon at Wendy’s for our traditional lunch even if it was only 10:30 in the morning.  While driving, Misty called so we took a side trip thru Peoa.  Rhonda wanted to take Paisley to stay at the cabin so she came with us.  We sopped at the sawmill to talk to David and then we all went to Subway to have lunch.  Stopped in  Heber to get some things to eat and then off to the cabin to inspect the plumbing problems, etc.— 
A couple hours later, Ryan and family  arrived so I met them at the pond and ran a shuttle to the cabin.  (our Honda made it up just fine without our chains)  It was good to see their family again.  We spent most of the night visiting and doing things with them.  

FRIDAY  I cooked the usual pancake breakfast along with a pound of bacon.   The kids wanted to play outside so I got out the snowmobile and took them for a ride.  That didn’t seem to satisfy Ryan.  He wanted to dig the 4-wheelers out of the bottom garage.  He tried to start LeIla’s but the battery was dead.  I started the green one but it was behind the razor and tucked away pretty good.  We finally did some grunt switching and shoveled most of the pile of snow that had come off the roof so we were finally able to get it out and going.  We all went to lunch at the Subway in Midway.  Misty and the rest of kids joined us there.  Then it was back to the cabin where Rhett’s family soon came.
Rhonda when through our winter clothes and finally found some things for Rhett’s kids and they all went sledding down the steep road.  They would sled down and then Ryan/Rhett would pick them up on the 4-wheeler and drive them back to the turn in the road where they would load up and go again.  This went on until nearly dark.  David arrived and we all sat down to a nice roast beef dinner that Rhonda had prepared.  The kids played while the adults talked.  Finally the small kids were laid down while the other ones watched a movie while the adults played a couple of hands of Crazy Rook.  Just before midnight Rhett’s and Misty and David left for the night.
 


SATURDAY  Breakfast again and then what kids were left were soon back outside.  More snowmobile rides, etc.  Ryan’s family left for Logan about 1:30.  By then, Misty had returned so we took her and her kids and headed to Mona to see Kevin and his burns and the burned down house.  When we got back to Orem, I stopped to see LeIla while the others did some shopping then they picked me up and I took Aspen and Braxten to the BYU game.  I think they did a lot of running around while I was doing stats.  After the game, Misty took her kids home for the night