Week 45

16 June

Gloria left this beautiful coffee table for us when she left for Chile. It was one of her favorite pieces of furniture.

17 June

Cayelle, when told she could dance in her new smocked dress, decided she liked it after all. The straps were the most difficult part of the dress to make (after the one side seam)—which is not to insinuate any great difficulty—but they add a great touch.

18 June

Lora, bless her heart, offered to help me do one of my tasks in exchange for helping her with sewing projects, so we tackled the back patio. When we were finished, it looked terrific (compared to what it has been for too long).

19 June

And here is the cute apron for Maya that she got in exchange.

20 June

Jennifer and Ryan held an early birthday party for Cassius since we’ll be gone on his actual birthday. He is a sweet, very good-natured boy.

21 June

What—no picture, you say? You mean while you were losing hours flying from Salt Lake to Chicago to Delhi that you didn’t get your camera out? Shame on you—such gorgeous pictures of snoozing people, boring airports, and airline food you could have taken.

22 June

We’re back in India—this is our hotel room in Delhi. In this room I closed the bathroom door only to discover that it was locked from the inside. We had to call the reception for help at 11 at night.

Week 44

9 June

On our way into eastern Arizona, we visited the Painted Deseret and Petrified Forest. The petrified wood is harder than steel and can be quite striking in colors and design.

10 June

One of our favorite places at our family reunion in Snowflake, Arizona, was this Smith Memorial Home; Jesse Nathaniel Smith, my great-grandfather died about the time it was completed, but there is a room dedicated to each of his five wives. Dad is flanked here by his eight children in order of age, left to right.

11 June

We were so eager to be back home after our weeks away that we got up early and drove straight home. It was great to see Lora and Jennifer and their children again. We’ve been able to see all our children and grandchildren in the past couple of months.

12 June

We had piles of mail to catch up on after our sojourn away from home (and this doesn’t include the many books Stephen opened).

13 June

Tupperware home parties—does that ring a bell? Well, years ago I purchased a couple of sets of bell tumblers in the basic colors of bright red, blue, yellow, and green. Somewhere along the way I also acquired a purple one. The famous Tupperware lifetime warranty is that items can be replaced if they are chipped or cracked, so look what I got in replacement for some of my old tumblers!

14 June

You may not recognize this area—this is the botany/duck pond on BYU’s south campus minus the ducks. The entire southern area has been renovated with waterfalls and beautiful walks. I think the ducks will find their way back when the construction is finished.

15 June

Lora was so kind as to prepare this family tree for our heritage family reunion in Arizona. I believe this represents all my ancestors on this line for whom we have a picture. Lynette and I have spent the past year or so collecting great stories about them. The moral is that if we want our posterity to know about us, we need to write about ourselves.

Week 43

2 June

Stephen squats by some of the Civil War books he purchased at Givens Books in Salem, Virginia—he went through 35 boxes of books to see which books the BYU library didn’t own. He purchased 8 boxes of books to bring back. By the way, our country is now commemorating the sesquicentennial of the Civil War.

3 June

Here are two people I came to know at SVU—Pat, the secretary to the president, and Vivien, one of the volunteers at the desk.

4 June

We lived in 303 Carriage Town House, the second unit from the left (see Stephen’s bicycle) for the time we were at SVU.

5 June

Gayle was kind enough to invite several of us to her home for dinner on our last evening in Buena Vista. The knight on the porch is an indication that she is a significant supporter of the university.

6 June

At the Stones River battlefield museum in Tennessee outside of Murfreesboro, we learned more about this significant Civil War battle (31 December 1862–2 January 1863) that determined military control of central Tennessee in favor of the Union. One-third of each army was killed, captured, or wounded—particularly high casualties.

7 June

Our drive west brought us to 97°F weather in Sallisaw, Oklahoma (preparing us for our upcoming trip to India).

8 June

Carrying on with our family’s tradition, Stephen and I like to visit capitol buildings on our travels. Here is a striking view of the dome in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Week 42

26 May

The front room of our apartment features an entertainment center (which is usually closed) and a coffee table, which serves as a place to collect books, papers, and laptops.

27 May

My morning walk can bring many views—this view of the sky with the jet stream was pretty spectacular.

28 May

I forget what a small temple is like until we enter one again. The Raleigh North Carolina Temple has the baptismal font at one end, the dressing rooms on either side of the endowment rooms in the middle, and the celestial room at the other end. The important thing is that it has been dedicated for the purpose of making covenants with the Lord, both for the living and for those who have passed on.

29 May

I like this picture of Rod, Bruce, Madison, Allen, and Clayne because they all have big smiles—they are enjoying their time at SVU, either as president, provost, or volunteer teachers.

30 May

This is a view of Thomas Jefferson’s beloved Monticello from the back—I think this view is nicer than in the front. We enjoyed seeing his Great Clock (with two faces—one on the outside porch and one directly behind in the entryway), his library, his polygraph machine with two pens (to make a duplicate copy of what he was writing—a precursor to carbon paper and copy machines), and other innovative features.

31 May

Stephen took his class (and families and significant others) to Buena Vista’s answer to Los Hermano—Don Tequilos.

1 June

Is this supposed to be a painless way to get your taxes and hair done at the same time--tax office and beauty shop together?

Week 41

19 May

My morning walk took me south of the campus today; in the middle of town I saw this chicken coop next to a large, well-tended garden.

20 May

On our way to and from campus we pass this log, which has been partially sawed through many times. I’m not sure what function it fulfills.

21 May

Today we drove up to Valley Forge in Pennsylvania. We discovered that this huge National Historical Park is a favorite spot for hikers and cyclists. This sample cabin is similar to what the soldiers would have built to shelter them from the cold and elements.

22 May

Our kitchen table in our apartment is adequate for two, but no more.

23 May

This sign announcing the population of Buena Vista greets one on the road to SVU. The current population is just under 6,500. The LDS population accounts for 12%, which is one of the highest LDS percentages east of the Rockies.

24 May

Stephen and I ordered hot dogs at the local establishment, Frank’s for the Memories (never mind that superfluous apostrophe, which seems to pop up unbidden). We were offered our choices from among 35 possible toppings. The establishment closes at 5 pm every night, so it doesn’t really cater to the night crowd.

25 May

Stephen and I enjoyed our dinner at the Edelweiss Restaurant in Staunton. (We tried to go on Monday, but it was closed.) The warm brötchen were perfect! In addition to our delicious Wienerschnitzel and cod, we had rotkohl, Bavarian cabbage, spaetzle, and green beans. Ah, southern German cooking!

Week 40

12 May

These beautiful yellow flowers on the SVU campus drew my attention because each petal has a fluted shape—maybe I can find out what they are. That was pretty quick—a google search for “yellow flowers with fluted petals” came up with the Jethro Tull flower (a cross of Early Sunrise and Zamfir, introduced in 2006), commonly known as tickweed or coreopsis.

13 May

Stephen and I availed ourselves of a free walking tour of Lexington, Virginia. Some famous individuals associated with Lexington are Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Cyrus McCormick. We were privileged to see a rehearsal of Virginia Military Institute (VMI) cadets for their annual New Market day ceremony.

The famous Lexington brick design in the sidewalks is echoed . . .

. . . in the town garbage towns.

14 May

The McLean home (now rebuilt) in Appomattox Court House, Virginia, was used for the surrender meeting between General Robert E. Lee and General Ulysses S. Grant on 9 April 1865.

15 May

We’re having fun getting to know other volunteer couples here at SVU: Allen and Jerri, Vivien and Clayne, and Bruce and Sharon (in front).

16 May

This remarkable statue of a knight on a horse in front of Main Hall at SVU is entitled “The Whole Armour of God.” The statue was a gift to the university from Glade Knight, chairman of the board of trustees.

17 May

Many days here in Buena Vista have brought rain with them. The rain is dripping down in front of our neighbors’ window and is splashing in the parking lot.

18 May

This cast bronze sculpture of the first vision by Kraig Varner (2001) shows the Father and the Son atop a great and soaring pillar as they appeared to the boy Joseph Smith.

Week 39

5 May

The ten-minute walk from our housing up to the SVU campus includes these uneven rock stairs or the path beside them—take your pick. I usually go up the stairs while Stephen strides up the path.

6 May

Stephen and I kind of stumbled on this campus-wide meeting (with sandwiches and brownies) at which President Rodney Smith of Southern Virginia University announced that he will resign his position in late August after about seven years here.

7 May

Double-picture day again (I just can’t get it all in). Stephen and I drove through gorgeous horse country (think Secretariat) to arrive at the Fredericksburg Civil War battlefield—the monuments and graves we saw were for the Union side, which ultimately came off victorious.

And then we were able to meet Robert and Nancy at the Washington DC Temple and stay at their home for the evening.

8 May

A big hooray for beautiful pink Mother’s Day roses from Robert and Nancy and a somewhat more subdued hooray for the potted super Olympia white begonia plant from the ward—sigh!

9 May

We didn’t realize that one of the perks for teaching at SVU would be a meal a day at the cafeteria for each of us. I could get used to not cooking a noon meal Monday through Friday. And I often spoil myself by drinking the chocolate milk. And there is always an ice cream cone to end with, if one wishes.

10 May

This is the grand, southern Main Hall that houses the administrative offices at Southern Virginia University (and still has some dorms on upper floors, I believe).

11 May

These dancing butterflies paused long enough for me to get a shot of them (you’ll have to ignore the cigarette butts that I didn’t notice earlier).