Week of 20260705 - Testimonies; Mission Summary Start; Report Stabilization; RV Storage Renewal; Book to Sweden; Matching Recorders; Visit with Barilleaus; Brownie Delivery; "Chance" Encounter
= Sunday, we made it to church during the Sacrament hymn. Some testimonies: There were times I wanted to go back home and cry or not go to work that day. The more that we choose not to give up, the stronger we get to keep on pressing forward. Pray for the strength to keep trying. We’ve been asked to fast for freedom of worship worldwide. It is a tremendous blessing that we can worship how we choose and what we choose.
= Home, I started building a mission retrospective as a blog episode. I transferred content from PowerPoint attempts, then worked from existing blog posts to pull together representative photos and descriptions by subject
= Monday, I repaired a flaw that caused reports to change as they aged. Later, we pulled items from storage. We did Zumba toning. I eventually pulled our stuff out of the closet of the room that our son Quinton is using; he could use the elbow room.
= Tuesday, Steph opened the meeting, and we collectively had a great time at Toastmasters. Next, we ate at Plant Bae (vegan); it's expensive to eat healthy. Then we tried to have Steph's heart monitor more securely fastened: an unpleasant experience. Then at RV storage, we paid to keep a roof over our RV for another year and retrieved more items. Home, we had lasagna with Quinton. He showed us a special brush he had bought for the cat - you can add water through the brush - and an electronic mouse that scoots by itself and lights up.
= Wednesday was a routine day. Work was OK; Steph walked in the heat on break. I watered plants, went to Walmart and Dollar Tree, and made sloppy joes for supper.
= Thursday, I mailed a Book of Mormon to someone in Sweden. I had my hearing aids adjusted. I bought more planters for the future. I bought matching recorders (flutes) so Steph and I can practice together. With effort, I removed the middle seats from the minivan. We responded to a question about the Birmingham Young Single Adult Conference. Steph worked on the podcast. I reserved rooms for the trip and mopped the floor for our coming visit with the Barilleaus.
= Friday, Steph had much to say at the AI meeting at work. I added a report from athenaOne to the reports I have been producing from WebPT and Therabill. We went to Urgent Ortho to obtain a prescription for Steph's pinched nerve, then Tropical Smoothie to wait for it, then Publix to pick it up, then home for the arrival of the Barilleaus. We talked at Olive Garden for almost four hours. They had made our initial experience in Ghana easy and special, and it was great to speak with them again.
= Saturday, I packed. I made and delivered brownies to a friend whose husband had passed away a few months ago. Then I delivered a summary of this week's testimonies from church to a family I had visited with the missionaries a couple of weeks ago. While running errands, I encountered someone I hadn't seen for a long time. Home, I was in bed by 0130; Steph continued to wrestle with editing and the podcast.
The cat wanted company; she reached under our bedroom door.
And of course, some food would be nice also.
The location that housed Toys-R-Us and then Big Lots will soon house Beauty and Beyond, which already has eight outlets in Montgomery and one in nearby Prattville. For their sake, I hope they haven't reached too far with this move.
This looks easier to drive than our model, but we don't need either.
9385 Park Crossing, Montgomery AL
Sundays, 9 AM
We're blessed to have six missionaries. Utah, Arizona, Idaho, and Texas are represented here.
An Interfaith picnic for Air Command and Staff College and Air War College students and faculty is being hosted outside an on-base chapel at Maxwell AFB.
You can guess by the state of the parking lot that we lingered after church.
Our flag deserves better treatment, but it's mean to complain; this is an anniversary.
Steph had anticipated light and noise from fireworks during recording and tried to block them out. Light wasn't a factor; nothing stopped the noise.
There were flowering plants where we work.
We got smart about climate-controlled storage; Steph has a chair there now.
The door separates sections of the common hallway.
Amazing find, or a secret identity unmasked
(i.e., with weights)
We see these more and more.
The library where Quinton's stuff is now is so cramped that backing a chair into the closet was the best way to get it in front of the desk.
Hello Kitty is not helpless.
This truck has its own claw.
Steph opened the meeting.
Ben McGhee assigned Table Topics today.
Here were in-person participants today; Grady was heading to the lectern.
Visit us at towertoastmasters.org
Speaking, we often look at the screen behind us even though we could look down at the monitor for the same view.
Online participants can see both the speaker and the audience.
Ben, responding to a Table Topic instead of assigning one.
Grady, as General Evaluator, calling on his team
Toastmaster of the Day handing the meeting to the presiding officer.
This would have been a quiet place to sit, but it doesn't provide shade, unfortunately.
Partly in honor of some advice we had heard from other Toastmasters, we ate at Plant Bae, a vegan restaurant.
The meat replacement works, but don't get the smoothies.
.
This mural commemorating Bloody Sunday has free "mural" parking.
Crossing the bridge from Selma, voting rights marchers were attacked by lawmen wielding nightsticks and tear gas. Over 80 protesters of 600 were severely injured. The violence, broadcast, had nationwide impact.
What a field day for the heat... A thousand people in the street... singing songs, and a-carryin' signs... Mostly say, "Hooray for our side" -- Buffalo Springfield
Do you need a sign to tell folks you're humble?
(The entrance to Jackson Lake Island)
A pond with sprinkler has been added where we store our RV.
And this oasis has been added, we assume for the owners.
I'm glad they're getting to enjoy their property.
Our neighbors have a bus to vend shave ice.
Quinton ordered a pet brush that dispenses water.
Steph, in her craft environment
He also bought this moving "mouse" for Elsa to chase.
A friend of Quinton's painted his portrait.
I let it run until we lost it. [oops]
Quinton found it later.
Notice that it also lights up.
Moved from small pots to our "dirt" right away
Moved from large pots much later
Add water until the indicator floats up, like this.
Remember the commercials with the duck?
Crayola Silly Scents toothpaste
Bubble Gum
Chocolate
Mint Chocolate Chip
Outsized pothole near the Walmart on Atlanta Highway
A package to Sweden, to a person who didn't want to read holy scriptures in soft copy.
[I might not do this again; shipping was expensive.]
Sam's Club somehow gathered donations for Children's [Hospital] of Alabama from many firms..
Bowlero [bowling alley] is now Lucky Strike. This is a corporate rebranding, not a change of the business. -- https://www.bowlerocorp.com/bowlero-rebrands-as-lucky-strike-entertainment
Testing; it fits behind the back seats.
A quick meal: instant coconut jasmine rice, Korean BBQ Spam (grated)..
Some cut-up peppers, and sweet-and-sour sauce.
The cat found a place to relax.
I mopped our public areas, moving the table and chairs out of the way while the floor dried.
Someone was pushing a grocery cart up Burbank Drive [very much uphill].
The second ship by this name, it resupplied other ships by sea and (via helicopter) by air for 30 years, supporting operations in Vietnam, Lebanon, Operation Desert Storm, fleet operations, and exercises. -- vetfriends.com/branches/navy/units/uss-sylvania-afs-2
Fittingly, the person who served on this vessel now enjoys Lake Life.
Steph, flanked by Kenya and Kathy, related her recent experience using AI.
Someone's vehicle needs work.
We retrieved this unique pen-and-ink drawing of the Savior in the Salt Lake Temple from our storage just before the Barilleaus visit.
"A sight for sore eyes", we were glad to see the Barilleaus (Bert and Tina).
We talked for four hours. We appreciate Olive Garden for letting us settle there that long.
This missionary was featured in a church video.
I don't remember this location.
They continue to be an example to us.
They drove us to and from the restaurant.
Bert has been set apart as a temple sealer! Only a relatively few people in the world have been delegated this authority.
It was Saturday: time to get serious about packing for the trip to Virginia.
I watered the plants again until the water ran out at the upper edge of the false bottom.
Someone has a unique lawn decoration.
Leaving an address below Southern Boulevard, I headed north on Narrow Lane Road.
I didn't know license tags would peel.
[The pedestal once held Robert E Lee, facing north.]
Folded double laundry hamper
Roadrunner - If the catches you, you're through.
I had intended to freeze these but took them on the trip instead.
Plants watered thoroughly
Folded double laundry hamper
