Hello,
Just thought I would show you our Christmas decorations! Not much to write home about but it will do. Bits and pieces gathered here and there. It didn't take too long to decorate this year.

This is the wreath hanging on our door as we enter. I made it from a grapevine wreath that I paid $1.50 for, the pine cones are from Far West. I love them.

This is our little tree. We found it in the front closet wrapped in a plastic bag. Just had to bend the branches out a bit. Lights were already on it. Bonus! It sits on a table. Not real big, maybe 18-20 inches tall.

This is a basket of Far West pine cones. They are kind of unique. Mostly long and skinny and very pretty. I love pine cones.

This is our big splurge. $19.99 at Costco. It is beautiful!

These are finds at Salvation Army. Basket with various dried cones, etc. in it and a little candle holder.

This last pic is just to show you how wide our kitchen is. That is the oven door on the left and the dishwasher door on the right. Can't really open them at the same time and both must be closed to get into food pantry at the end. Dad and I often trip over each other in the kitchen.

We have a few Christmas songs that we play on our computer. Trees and lights and wreaths are springing up all over so it makes you think that it is the season. Happy decorating to all. Enjoy!

Would you say a little overkill for today?! We got home from church and Dad sat at the computer and asked me how to blog. So I set him up and away he went and now I am finishing what I had planned to do today. We are getting ready to watch the Christmas Hallmark show. We usually get quite excited about the Hallmark shows as it is a good time to empty the tear ducts. But Dad said, isn't it amazing about how excited we are about the little things in our life! So I will hurry thru our walk yesterday. On Saturday we go after it is light so I carried my camera.

This pic is just over the hill from the mission office where we spend our time. About a block away. It is the hill that had the home of Governor Boggs. The one who exterminated the Saints. Don't know why we wanted a pic of it, but Dad did. History I guess.




And then the plaque that shows in the sidewalk of the spot.



And then we walked toward town. The first thing we really notice is:

This is the corner of the first home of Governor Boggs. I also have a pic of Dad leaning against the existing building where the house once stood, but didn't think you needed to see that. History again!

This is just a block west of the last pic and right in front of Independence Hall. All of this area is where Harry Truman walked every day. His home is just a couple of blocks from here. Dad likes Harry Truman!

This store is on the other side of Independence Hall and was owned by a Mormon named Whitney. It was the scene of a lot of anti-mormon stuff. It is still occupied. Now by a sort of Spoons and Spice type store.

Now we are headed back to our place and these are some of my favority homes in the area. I really do have an old soul. I just love the old fashioned, old way of doing most everything.

And these old salt box type homes I absolutely love.

And this is an old mansion built by a judge and then a doctor bought it. They are doing some renovation on it. It is huge! Three stories high. I would love to wander around inside.

This is across the street from the mansion and with a little different color paint could be very charming. Do you think I should knock on the door and tell them!

Another of those salt boxes. Love it, love it!

And another that would be absolutely darling with a little fix up and paint.

Well, that is our Saturday morning walk. And it was beautiful. The weather for the last few days has been amazingly warm. All of these homes are on Historic Main Street. That sign is on a lot of sign posts along Main Street. Now mind you, there are a lot of small, run down, unattractive, fixer-uppers in amongst these favorites of mine, but I don't need pics of them. Hope you enjoyed our little walk with us.

Loves to all.

I've decided that being on a misson is unique enough for Elder Linde that I'd better comment on what I have been able to gather as part of a normal mission.
First of all, missions are not for the faint of heart, even for old worn out people like ourselves. they demand a lot of your attention, time and patience. Things that are sometimes in short supply.
After thinking about it, I am not half so critical as I was about young missionaries who sometimes do not finish or barely start their missions before they throw the towell in and decide its not for them. Sometimes its quite understandable.
We have come in contact with enough of them that I both saddened and sobered by the amount of effort that is needed by them to persevere and succeed. Most of them do succeed and are succesful in completing their missions.
Both Shauna and I have had are ups and downs as we learn our duties. She has her desk about three feet behind my desk in the Mission office. We literally are closer all day in this mission than we have ever been in civilian life --most of the time its a plus as we can help each other, but sometimes it feels like we both need to get away from each other for a while.
We sure do miss our families -- This next month is going to be busy what with zone conferences, 20 new missionaries comming in, and lots of Xmas stuff -- so we hope to stay busy.
Love to all our friends and Family Elder Linde

I think that I hit a wall last week. I was in a depressed, unhappy, homesick, ugly mood. The whole week was not good. I was planning to call my Mom and Dad and I saw an ad on TV about a family walking along the shore of a lake or the ocean, the Grandpa suddenly does not know what is going on and the young boy goes and takes his hand and walks with him.......you have probably seen it. I just started bawling and thinking of my folks and how I longed to see them and I couldn't quit crying. Then I had a dream about Brett and Angi. It was crazy. And the same week another dream about Megan. I usually don't dream in the present, so if what they say about dreams is true, I must have you'all on my mind and missing you.

Thanksgiving day came and I said I would bring candied yams and hot rolls. I woke up suddenly and had been dreaming that it was 11:30 and I didn't have time to prepare my food for the dinner at 1pm. Well, it was actually 7:30, so I did jump up and begin. Then I forgot to put butter in my sauce for the yams. I added it at the end just before I put it on my yams, but then even forgot to add salt to the sauce so I had to shake it on after all was put together.

And my poor rolls. I don't know if it is an electric oven (which I do not like at all), the change in altitude or climate, my tiny cupboard to roll out my dough on, or just my age. I am beginning to think that I can't do anything right. The first dozen I rolled out, I scraped up and threw in the garbage. My dough was sticky and I couldn't get them off the counter. It was a joke. I finally added flour and got a tray to bake, but they were not very good.

This was our Thanksgiving group at President and Sister Van Komen's home. It was a nice dinner with everyone bringing food. The Van Komen's got the turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and dressing from a local store and I wish you could have seen the dressing. I even offered to bring dressing. (I should have insisted!) It was like a liquid vegetable. It was awful. I did take one small spoonful and had a hard time eating it. And no cranberry sauce! Thankfully someone had made that salad with ground up cranberries in it.



After dinner the Christmas decorations were brought up from the basement and we began our decorating. Lots of decorations and where to put them. It was fun. All of the men put the tree together and put the lights on and then we women did the bulbs and bows. Someone sitting back a ways and telling you where you needed a ribbon or a larger bulb. It was interesting.

That is President right next to Dad.

And this is some of the sisters who were still there at the end. I, of coarse, could not get down on my knees and all the other women are trying to get on the back row so they cannot be seen. So I ended up sticking out front and center and you know how that is not my thing. Sister Van Komen is sitting on the floor on the right.

A different Thanksgiving with all "old folks". When we arrived it was so quiet and I did say that we needed some kids around. I am not used to quiet Thanksgiving day dinners.

Today is Sunday. We first watched SUNDAY MORNING at 8am. It is a very interesting show. Lasts for 1 1/2 hours and today it was all about chefs and food and knife makers. It was quite fascinating. We enjoyed it. Afterward we went for our walk in the cemetary again. Dad got on the internet last night and found George Lucas's tombstone at our neighboring cemetary, so our quest was to find that stone. And, well you guessed it ....

DAD FOUND IT!! We wandered around looking at a lot of tombstones and finally he is waving his arms at me. This is the man who wanted the prophet dead. Dad was not standing too close so I made him move in a little.

This is a closeup of the stone. It shows a hand with a feather pen in it. We don't know if he was a penman or a writer or what.

I came home and started some hot rolls. Can you believe that I am taking rolls to T-day dinner for the seniors. Guess we have joined. I never feel that I am old enough though.

We had a good day at church today. We had to pick up two of our sweet sisters at the VC. It is always good to be with them. Our Bishop is Samoan and not very old. Probably in his 40's. One of his counselors is also Samoan and kind of hard to understand. You must listen carefully. But is was a good meeting and then SS and RS and priesthood. We don't get out till 5 and it is real dark by then. Seems strange.

We love you, one and all.

Mom and Dad, Doug and Shauna, etc.

Today is our day! We got up late and went for our walk in the cemetary. It is a big cemetary with lots of old grave stones in it. Way old. And we are looking for General Samual Lucas, one of the men who wanted to kill Joseph Smith. I really enjoy reading gravestones and dates and lots of them have huge amounts of info on them.
This pic is showing you the wall around the west end of the cemetary. It is a cool rock wall.

This pic is from the cemetary looking toward our building. You can see our car sitting there and our building is at the top left of the pic, behind that little house that you see.

After our walk today, Dad asked what was on our agenda. I couldn't think of a single thing. I like days like that. So he decided to go golfing. After breakfast he headed out and found a place and rented some clubs and had to buy some golf balls. He played 18 holes and had a very enjoyable afternoon. And me, well, you know that being home is my favorite thing. So it wasn't hard for me to find something to do.

First I streaked my hair. Then I got out a little stool that I bought at Salvation Army and started sanding it and getting it ready to paint. Did a couple loads of wash. And I am hanging everything these days. Don't use the dryer at all. You know, if you shake things out real good they dry OK. Haven't washed any levis yet, they might take several days to dry. Made a pot of potato soup. Some brownies. And some turkey burger shepherd's pie. Don't know what it will be like. I thot maybe like a turkey dinner. The turkey burger, green beans, and cream of chicken soup instead of tomato, and then mashed potatoes on top. I have got to get some things in the freezer since I do not like fixing dinner at 5:30 at night.

I think that we need to have a day to do whatever we feel like. It is quite refreshing. This is going to be a short week. Thanksgiving at the President's home with some of the seniors.

Later. Loves to all

A couple of the contrasts in our life. We are serving a mission but sometimes it doesn't feel like it. It kind of feels like we are just taking care of kids. And basically, we are. They start here at about 19 years of age and go up a couple of years, but there are some of them who look and behave like they are almost 16. So our mission is to really serve the kids so that they can do their work better and easier. Like this week I hand stitched a seam in someone's suit coat and put a patch on his pants that was completely worn through. Dad is counseling girls and guys on where to go to get their oil changed and what kind of oil to buy and why. His phone is usually quiet between 9pm and 8am, but the rest of the day it is ringing continually. Two phones. The one on his hip and the one on his desk. And if both of those are busy, they just call the office and ask for him. He has a hard time going to the bathroom in private. They have actually found him there before!

We bought some ant traps for the Elders who moved into the little home that we were in. Elder Ale came in one day and asked me how we controlled the ants in the bathroom. So I bought him some ant traps and he was so grateful. He reported that they are working too!

This is one of the contrasts. We go to Costco mostly to buy snacks and treats for the missionaries. They come in a lot and are always looking for something to munch on. So tonight we went to Costco and picked up licorice, tootsie rolls, nuts, fruit snacks and goldfish----and then Dad asked if I wanted a poinsettia. What a question! He has brought one home for me quite often on our anniversary, so I guess this is a little early, but it is beautiful! I love it.

Next to the poinsettia is my load of wash. Drying! There is a washer/dryer upstairs that was so expensive that everyone went to a laundromat down the street that just opened and did their wash for half the price. When the owner got 0 kickback one month and about half the next month, he asked why. They told him it was the price. So he told the guy who owns it and he pulled the price down to match the laundromat, but the dry cycle is not long enough to get much of anything dry. It is 24 minutes long. So I am boycotting and just bring my laundry down and hang it on my little clothes dryer. You know how I like to line dry anyway, so it is working out good. Except that I can only dry a load at a time, so there is usually a load of clothes drying in my room.

And this is Dad's 'on the side' job. A used car salesman! Yup, those are his four cars that he is wanting to sell. One is a Toyota Avalon that the president has driven for about two years. Never had a kid behind the wheel and it is beautiful. A Toyota Corolla, maybe two, and a Chevy Malibu. He has put new brakes on one and had them all detailed, so they are ready to drive off the mission office parking lot. Any takers?!

I just tried to get rid of some of the cement in front of the cars and I lost the pic. Anybody help! Well, enough for tonite. Tomorrow is Saturday and we have the weekend off.

See you later. Love from us.

I tried all day to get a pic to post tonight, but I was not able to. At the end of work someone came in and said the sun was like a ball of fire, but by the time I got out there to get a pic, of coarse, it was gone. And then I tried to get a pic of Dad at the office. He had his most harrowing day yesterday. If I had been brave enough I would have taken a pic, but I thought he might throw something at me if I tried.

At one point he had a phone on each ear and I had answered my phone and the call was for him! He was so frustrated at the end of the day that we drove around old town Independence looking for a place to eat. They were either all empty, or Dad went in and said no, we don't want to eat there or they had Budweiser and Coors signs filling the windows. Somehow it was not appropriate to walk into a restaurant with suit and tie and a name badge with all that on the window. So we went over to another busy street and found a Country Cafe. And it was country. Three electric guitars playing and the old guys singing along. It had quite a few people in it and so we ate and the food was OK, but the music was fun. After eating we went to a movie. Saw the latest Christmas Carol. Dad loved it and I spent part of the time sleeping, but it was a very interesting show. Don't know how they did it.

The reason for Dad being so stressed? The day before some Elders called and they had been in an accident. They ran a STOP sign and got hit on the passenger side front wheel. Dad called his auto guy and he said he would send a tow truck and get it here and fix it. When he called the missionaries back to tell them what would happen, they said that there were already two tow trucks there and the police wanted the car off the road. So he talked to the tow guy and told him where to take it, and it would cost about $200. OK. The car should have been here by five or six pm. It did not arrive that night. Did not arrive the next day, so Dad called SL and they said to report it as a stolen car. So then the phone calls began trying to find the police that handled the accident. He told his story three or four times and still couldn't find much info. Then he got a call from an auto body shop saying he had his car, and he had paid the $500 towing fee and what did he want done. Dad about flipped. Told him not to touch the car and he would not pay that kind of a towing fee. He was not even supposed to have the car. So he had to write a report about everything that had happened and faxed it to SLC. They were in charge now. So he relaxed a little today until he started getting calls from SLC from his superior and the church's lawyers and who knows who else. The police, the missionaries involved, the tow guy, our auto body guy. Well, this afternoon he was given permission for our guy to send his tower and bring the car back and get it fixed and they would take care of the crazy towing fee. Everyone thinks that they are out to get us. There was a lot of opposition from different areas in Kansas City about the temple that is going up there. I think they are a bunch of scammers. So tomorrow should see our car back in Independence and getting fixed up.

We just keep learning new things about our jobs. I found out that I was supposed to be sending birthday cards to all the missionaries. So I colored and got 8 cards ready to send out for the rest of the month. Now I need to go back and take care of the first two weeks. Any ideas for some cute birthday cards would be appreciated. I just used a print out of some that I found in the drawer. But I need to get a little creative with little or no money. I have colored pencils and some colored markers, lots of colors.

Darn, I forgot a pic. This is how it looked today as we walked out our front door. I was awake at 2:30am and looked out the window and exclaimed out loud, Doug, it is snowing. Turn off the alarm and let me sleep then, he said. As you walk out our door and look to the right, there is a street and then this cemetary is right there. On the left of the pic is a wall made from rocks along the front and that is the busy street where all the police drive fast and loud. So our first snowstorm and it is cold today. Several sisters were in today and among those was one from Samoa. She was so excited. Her first time to see snow and she told me that she ran outside with bare feet and played in it as her comp took pics. It was so cute.



That's all folks. See you tomorrow.
Love you all, M & D, G & G, Doug and Shauna

Hey, I am getting better at this. It is not taking me nearly so long to do it. I can upload my pics alone and then begin my dialogue.
I hate to say it, but more new experiences today. Dad has been quite stressed today. He got a lot done at his desk amidst the calls from missionaries, but the big one was this afternoon when he was on the phone and so I answered, Sister Linde, and the Elder said he needed to talk to Dad, it was an emergency. They were in an accident. So he hung up one phone and picked up the other and sure enough, an accident. All were OK, but tomorrow they will probably feel it in their bodies. Our Elder didn't stop for a stop sign and someone hit him, so his fault and he will have to pay the ticket. Several calls back and forth, talking to the police, a body shop here in town, tow company to bring the car in. Oh, it gets involved and has to be taken care of right now. Dad was glad to get out of there at 5pm.

This is our dining area. It is just at the end of the living room. Dad beginning his lunch. Soup and sandwich nearly every day. I need some new food ideas.
Our Adam-ondi-Ahman leaves hanging over the table. A bouquet of lavender picked at the office on the table. And that big white thing is a milk jug from Costco. Here you can buy just one gallon at a time. Big, tall, straight jugs. And notice the place mats. How we have enjoyed them.



Another pic of Dad peering beneath the leaves. Dad is looking straight into our kitchen. Our little kitchen.

This is me at the other end of the kitchen. The cupboard at the end is a pantry and very handy. On the left wall is the frig, 8 inches of counter, the stove, and another 8 inches of counter. On the right is the sink in the middle and the microwave, I am in front of, and then another 1/3 of that wall, counter space. There is not much area to work in. Hence, we usually do the dishes immediately and try and clear the cupboards for next time. I have tried to find a different place to put the microwave, but so far, no luck. I am not tall enough to put it on top of the frig, and I don't want it on the table where we eat. Any ideas? I guess we are getting used to it.

And some of you will enjoy the next pic. Yes, we do have an IN-SINK-ERATOR. Scraps ready to go down.

Pushing them in.

and WHOOSH......all done! We are enjoying it. There is no recycling here. None at all. Haven't even seen any big containers to drop stuff off at, it either goes in the disposal or the can.

And yahoo, Dad getting in his 3rd brand new car and driving it off the lot. This one is for the President. A Toyota Avalon. Now Dad has 4 cars FOR SALE. If anyone wants a car, this is a good place to get one. Toyota Corollas, Chevy Malibu and the pres's old Avalon.

Guess what? Another new experience. On Thursday we knew that several missionaries were going home. I was Sister Higbee's comp for the day and about 3pm all of those going home, go to the mission home. They have an interview with the pres, they have dinner at the home and a final testimony meeting. Then they all leave early on Friday morning and the pres and wife take them to Far West and Adam-ondi-Ahman. They don't get back until about 5pm. Which is when we are leaving the office. As we walked out there were three different families all waiting for the van to return with their missionary in it. Sure enough, they pulled in about 5:15 and some to waiting, anxious arms.

Little brothers were anxious to hug big brothers.




And moms were crying and squeezing. One mom told me that as soon as they get home the waiting call for another son will be opened and off another will go.

OK I did invite you to our new little home this weekend, so WELCOME to our new digs. You saw the pic of the building in my last blog. This is the front of the building with Dad standing there. Our place is on the right, basement I guess you would say. But our window is just as big as everyone else's, so it doesn't feel like a basement at all. Just that we have to look up! And that is good. We should not be looking down. That outside door is always locked, which we love. You feel very secure in here. And what with all the police activity that we hear. The police dept. is about four blocks down the street and we are just off the main street and it is not uncommon to hear sirens two to three times a night. And lots of them. It just adds to the train whistles that we still hear very well.



And now Dad is in the building at the bottom of the stairs at our door.

OK. Open the door and to the right is the computer corner. That is where I am right now and I might say feeling pretty confident in what I am doing. I didn't have to call Adrian the other night as I posted all my pics accidentally without putting any words in. I figured it out for myself. Yipee! And yesterday we called Megan and she walked us through getting music on our blog. And it is working. Dad has even added songs on his own.

Just inside the front door and to the left is another door. It is actually a closet door, but much more than that. It contains drawing and pics from some sweet grandkids that have arrived since we got here. I hope you can recognize your pics. We love them and they remind us of you and we talk about all of you a lot.

This is a very handy closet. Not only coats and food storage, but extra bedding for your visits. Yes, and even a blow up air mattress. We are so thankful that we did not bring ours from home. Brooms and vacuum and clothes basket and yes, Linda, even quilt batting on the top shelf that was there when we came. That was something that I did not send to the bat cave. Have I told you about the bat cave? I haven't seen it yet, but it is where all the extra things are stored and then brought out when missionaries need them. You would not have believed what we sent to the bat cave. Loads of dishes, silverware, a mean, lean, fat cooking machine, or whatever they are, little rugs, more clothes baskets, ugly blankets used for bedspreads and the ugliest dust ruffle I have ever seen.

Now you are looking at the living room from the other side. See the computer in the corner! It is very comfortable and nice looking. I like it. The table sitting in front of the couch is one that we found down in our storage area in the next bulding. We don't use that area, but have a key to it. I was vacuuming the other day and pulled the coffee table out and the leg broke off. It had been broken before and was hanging by a thread. The couple upstairs are on a different kind of mission. They take care of the grounds at Far West and the mission home and office and during the winter they work on wood things, so we are going to see if they can put the leg back on. In the meantime, we have a slightly large table there. But it is sturdy.

This if our bathroom. It is small. Room for about one person. And the first time I showered, Dad flushed the toilet and scalded me. The shower is awful. I am going to buy a new showerhead. And there are three little mirrors that open like I like. Know what I mean? Those big mirrors in our bathroom are so great. I love them more all the time. But I have to lean over so and it kills my back, so I stand out in the hall where there is a mirror and put on my face. Notice our faithful hand towel? We brought it with us and hope to wear it out before we go home. We will not bring it home with us! We both just love the texture of it. It is so old and soft! Gosh, are we getting old or what! And on the floor, I crocheted a rug like the one we had at home. Dad really likes that so I made it on the way out here. Feels like home!

This is the bedroom on the left. It is the GUEST room, my dressing room, closet, sewing room, office, drying room, chaos room, craft room, I am thankful for it room! The couple upstairs have only one bedroom since the washroom juts into their apartment and I don't know how I would live with one bedroom. And the bedtop is my drop everything place. I try to clear it off daily but it doesn't happen all the time. You know me!

Oh, this pic is even better. It shows the sewing maching, top of the bed, and top of my dresser which acts as a bookcase, filing cabinet, loose change cans, pencils, pens, to do baskets, etc. It is great and so like me that it kind of makes me sick.

This is the bedroom on the right. It is where we sleep and Dad has his closet and dresser and top of the dresser that is his catch all place. Ugly white bed. I love white linen, but we need some color on top of the bed. I tried to find a ShopKo out here but haven't seen any. Been looking for a quilt top of color to put on top. And the dust ruffle I did send to the bat cave. It was red and brown stripes and I couldn't look at that every day. Yesterday I did make a black fleece curtain that is hanging behind the curtain on the window. On the outside of the building is a huge light and of coarse that is where our bedroom is. Dad has a hard time sleeping at night and with that bright window, it was nigh impossible. I looked at Hancocks and WalMart, but could notvfind room darkening fabric, so I bought a piece of black fleece for $6 and a spring loaded curtain rod and it works good. I don't like the dark room, but Dad is sleeping better.

I have just realized that I have no pics of our dining area or our kitchen. Come back tomorrow and you can have dinner with us. This is the west wall in our dining area. It is the WALL OF FAME. If you are anybody we know and love, you get your pic up there. So keep those pictures coming. These are mostly off the calendar that Janae made for us last year. Aren't they fun! But we do need more. There are some not represented. And I am going to call Erin in a few days with a list of things to send to us. Pics are among those things.

This is a pic of leaves that I collected at Adam-ondi-Ahman. I was calling Erin about how to preserve them when I decided to hang them up for awhile. I don't know how well they will preserve anyway. She suggested Mod Podge. So I will try that after we enjoy them.

That is the tour. It is 9pm and I have just taken two loaves of Rhodes white bread out of the oven. Took it out of the freezer at 1:30 just as we were leaving for church and it is just out of the oven.

Sorry the kitchen is not there. Come back tomorrow and you can come to our kitchen and dining area. Did you notice the bare walls in most of the rooms? I have been scouring Salvation Army every Saturday for something to put up. Not much luck yet. I did find a small piece of music for How Great Thou Art mounted on a board, but need something else to go with it. It is quite small. And we can always use pics of YOU. But they do say that you are supposed to sacrifice while on a mission, so we are doing without some of the things we love. I have started a new plant collection though. I just cannot seem to be without plants around me. I am trying to find a shamrock or prayer plant, you know what I mean, and hope I don't have to wait until March when they are in the Salt Lake stores at least. And Erin, if that one plant ever grows those little babies on the side of the leaves, I would love a leaf. The gal upstairs gave me a beautiful asparagus fern and had me cut it down to about 4 inches high. It was hard for me to cut it off. But I have about 3 new fronds coming out. I am excited. I love to watch plants grow.

Time for bed, good night and how we love you all.

ALL IS WELL