Week of 20260531 - Religious Freedom; Linger Longer; Planters Drilled; Job Seeker Hints; Window Blocked; Bookshelves Retrieved; Rooms Organized
= Sunday, we heard: God strengthens me by giving me mental and physical challenges. None of us is meant to carry our burdens alone. Covenants with God are avenues to power from our Savior. Intelligence is like a muscle that you need to work to increase your capacity. Fortis, a Latin root of "Comforter", means powerful, strong, courageous; The Comforter is a strengthening agent, not just reassurance.
= The church worldwide held a special class today on religious freedom: one of the benefits of the Constitution of the United States. David Palkki led the session and asked me to give an opening prayer. My prayer included gratitude for being able to take the Sacrament openly. [Saints in Izmir could not meet together when I lived in Turkey because they might be accused of seeking proselytes and be thrown in jail.] A member pointed out that Wards are organized on a geographical basis to put us together with people we would not otherwise be with.
= The first amendment was essential to the restoration of the church of Jesus Christ; it would not have been possible if civil rulers dictated what churches could exist. The pursuit of happiness, as thought of by the founders, was not enjoyment of this or that; it was a quest for doing good, not just feeling good. Quoting John Adams - Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
= We had brought an Instant Pot full to church for the "Linger Longer" to take place afterward. The event was so well-attended that there weren't enough tables and people who finished got up so others could sit down! Home, I gently heated Walmart deli pizza I had not been able to fit into the refrigerator, and then cranked up the oven temperature to finish the job. (Next time, I'll just cut or fold the pizza to fit the fridge so I won't have to freeze it.)
= Monday at work, Quinn Millington saw Steph wincing and confirmed that one of her fingers has lost sideways strength. Home, Steph tentatively arranged her craft room. She noted that water blown from the roof blew into the planter outside the craft room window; I bailed it! I revised my talk for tomorrow at Toastmasters.
= Tuesday as we tried to leave the house for Toastmasters, the left sole of the used boot I donned this morning started to fall off, delaying us as I switched to my regular shoes. High points of my talk: 1. Talk to person after person about what you want to do - the more specific, the better. 2. Use job boards to learn what companies want (and perhaps apply to a few). 3. Keep fishing until you're hired.
= After a meal at Guthrie's, we loaded nine boxes from climate-controlled storage; some had been near the bottom of stacks. At Hobby Lobby while Steph looked for beads for bracelets for podcast guests, background violin music included funeral hymns.
= Wednesday after work, I loaded a tall shelving unit from storage. We attended a meeting organizing support of the free Tabernacle Choir watch party on a 33-foot screen with professional sound, outdoors, in Wetumpka (Alabama) on 26 June.
= Thursday, I trimmed new blinds to fill the library window inset, assembled and cut exercise mats to fill the inset, and taped a paper shade between the blinds and mat so the mat won't be visible from the outside. (A bookshelf will be in front of the window.) Steph was not pleased that I had cut up the mats; I ordered replacements. I drilled the self-watering planters above the false bottom; water gushed out of the one by the craft room near the roof overhang. We got the shelving unit out of the minivan onto a rolling platform, wheeled it to the library, and set it upright.
= Friday before the AI meeting, co-workers asked Steph what we do in the temple. If we respond again to that question, we'll probably say: Jesus said baptism is necessary, but many people have died without baptism. We revisit our covenants by making them on behalf of dead relatives who can choose to accept or reject our work.
= Steph had more to say about her use of AI than I did; they'll increase her Copilot limit. We were on the road to the temple by 2:15 and arrived three hours later, shortly before the suggested arrival time.
= Saturday, we hosted Sister missionaries at Waffle House at 1100. We then started our fast from food only; we would need water for what lay ahead. Making multiple trips from regular storage, we moved five tall bookshelves. Then from climate-controlled storage, we moved a narrow bookshelf, a card catalog (!), and many boxes. This allowed us to organize the library, craft room, studio, and (by the front door) a music alcove.
= We learned that a grandson (almost 16) would arrive in Montgomery well after midnight and agreed to bring him to church tomorrow.
For the "linger longer" potluck after church, we provided 8 cups cooked rice, 8 cups vegetables, and 3 cut-up kielbasa. Except for the vegetables, the other items were prepared the night before.
I brought these to apply on site. Only the sauces were used that way.
The "linger longer" was just starting in this view. Before it was done, people were eating in "shifts": not enough tables!
On a previous night, youth had created wanted posters of each other.
Too big for the fridge, the pizzas spent Saturday night in the dedicated freezer.
Water for bonsai
Seeing this compactor surprised me at first. In Ghana, it's common to pick up the dumpster, dump it, and return it.
I think the firm that created our addition was A+ Home Improvements. So, I zeroed in on this until I realized that the phone number isn't a Montgomery phone number. (And, the owner's name wasn't familiar.)
Steph, checking on me at work
The craft room is taking shape, for now.
The track in the ground says that the runoff misses the planter. But apparently there was enough that reached the planter...
...that the plants were floating.
Enough for now, but the dirt is still soaked.
Thinly sliced meat, cut up
And vegetables, and udon noodles
I was almost in the minivan when the sole came loose; I came back in to put on regular shoes.
Stateside dumpster handling
Yes, someone cut a rectangle from the outer layer of the tailgate. Repair interrupted?
Stretched for legibility (since I was not alongside):
Chugach Logistics and Facility Services JV [joint venture] is a contractor that supports U.S. military bases. The logo is what caught my eye.
It's a subsidiary of Chugach Government Solutions; here's a better image of the logo, from https://www.chugachgov.com/subsidiaries/
We roll through six railroad crossings to get to Toastmasters. We've been blessed not to have to wait. (In the early evening, we were once pinned by a train that blocked *both* ends of a small stretch of road we were on. We couldn't go forward or backward very far.)
Ken Hairston, describing his role as ah-counter
Tammy Williams; Ben McGhee positioned for his role as timer, and Steph as Toastmaster of the Day
[Ben put up a green background to signal that Kenny's met the minimum time for this Table Topics response.]
Liz Burgess is enjoying the question she'll ask Steph to respond to.
Mr Chen's market and restaurant
[but the restaurant is closed on Tuesdays]
The doorknob hanger says: In a meeting - ask Dad.
Their only main dish is large chicken fingers.
Move MGM [Montgomery].
Color run/walk 2026, at the YMCA Soccer Complex
Steph led a spirited fitness warmup for a color run a few years ago.
Runners/walkers shake washable paint powder on themselves, into the air, etc.
Prayer reminder, not unusual in the South
In the aisle outside our climate-controlled storage
Unstacking boxes above to reach boxes below
With the aid of flashlights. There's light in the aisle but not in the unit.
Boxes are marked on four sides, but we didn't always describe the contents well or correctly.
Steph found it, her Lutterloh system.
"Make Patterns. Any Size. In Minutes.
Just bust + hip. Two measurements unlock 280 custom-fit patterns. Since 1935."
See https://www.lutterloh-patterns.com/en-ww
Just Married. Straightforward enough...
But it also says: Honeymoon Fund Cash App $joykathrynjkd
Gifts at the reception are appreciated and brides have registries and guests give gifts at the reception. Are times changing yet again?
Hunting for bracelet beads, Steph saw something else.
From our climate-controlled storage
Hope they didn't have to leave it there for very long.
Do the colors represent different types of fiber optic cable?
On the back of a Florida sedan being towed by an Indiana RV: "You are important to God. Google John 3:16."
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
I had to pull some items out..
(Then I had to move more items to tip the unit to fit under the rolling door.)
Then angle it to go into the minivan. (It fit; I just had to move lunch bags that were in front of it.)
Cleared to get the shelf out, but now the stuff has to back in.
I think fuel for farm vehicles is taxed differently. But this doesn't look like a farm vehicle.
Pearl couscous; eggs with cheese and bacon bits; Chick-fil-A sauce
Dirt track leading all the way out of the housing area
New warehouse for Alabama Beverage Control.
"The Alabama ABC Board has generated more than $9.7 billion in net revenues since the Alabama Legislature created it in 1937."
https://www.wheredoesthemoneygoalabama.com/#:~:text=The%20ABC%20Board%20controls%20alcoholic,stores%20and%20the%20independent%20market.
I did a photo inventory of some of the items in our safe deposit box so I wouldn't have to open it to know what major items we have cached there.
(Over a certain age, you can go to a ranger station and pay one fee for this pass to National Parks and its required hang tag.)
This is not a fire department vehicle, but he created a business logo that looks like a fire department logo.
A food truck touting authentic Mexican food, based out of Eclectic, Alabama
My barber. Open carry firearms not a problem. However, if a gunfight erupts, accuracy is appreciated.
Our across-the-driveway neighbor's lawn was replaced with turf very recently. The turf turned from brown to green.
Some older tomatoes (in the center) are almost ready to pick. Peppers are on the right, younger tomatoes are in one of "our" containers to the left.
The library blinds needed replacement.
I pulled these too-wide blinds out of storage and trimmed them to fill the window opening in the library.
The head piece required a hacksaw.
One of these wasn't latched; it is now.
The trimmed blinds fit nicely
They will be backed by a paper shade.
Interlocking exercise mats, about to be repurposed
I considered attaching the paper shade to the top of the window recess, but then I realized that the bottom wouldn't stay put.
So instead, I taped it to the back of the repurposed mats.
The result. Not gorgeous, but it will block heat and cold, won't be visible from the outdoors, and will be behind bookshelves on the inside.
I drilled. By the time I switched hands to take the photo, the flow had reduced somewhat. This new hole is barely above the false bottom that lets this be a self-watering planter. Runoff that blows in from the roof can now drain right out.
I used the same procedure on other planters: one hole on each end.
This planter didn't have dirt yet. That made it easier to show where the drill comes through.
Rolling a shelving unit on a four-wheeled cart around corners into the library
It barely clears the light when moving it from its face to standing up.
Riced cauliflower and other vegetables
Choice of sauces. Guy Fieri's Flavortown Money Honey BBQ Sauce wins out.
I used ramen to bulk-up soup.
Red maple near the courtyard of the building we work in.
We missed the opportunity to go around this slowdown on our way to the temple. (Just as well; there isn't a good parallel road near this point.)
Go to church, or the devil will get you.
[The undershot water wheel has been repaired. The message on the sign has faded, as has the image of the devil.]
Barbed wire, representing a crown of thorns
Continuing construction near Alexander City
The road finally opens up.
We seldom see advertising by a criminal defense lawyer. Injury, yes. Criminal defense, no.
We saw this vehicle about two hours earlier. There's no good way to buck the general flow of traffic to and through Birmingham.
The road is crowded again.
Ambulance, using the shoulder
The back side of Vulcan: the world's largest cast iron statue. (It's on a pedestal.)
As the highway curves, the position seems to shift.
Until he's blocked by trees and we drop below the ridge he's on the far side of.
Looks nice, but needs work
Nice business name and logo
It's amazing that people apply graffiti at great heights.
We're lined up to head north from the heart of Birmingham.
Notice the turf truck; familiar?
Traffic to the east is blocked and will have to take a different route.
Stopped between west- and north-bound routes: a decision point
The truck-on-a-stick that used to be lit at Christmas is gone.
Work for deceased ancestors is organized and crowd-sourced. I'm about to receive an endowment (training, covenants, and blessings) as proxy for this individual: my great-granduncle on my father's side.
Someone else was baptized on his behalf in Cebu City in the Philippines; Jesus showed that baptism is necessary and suffered for our sins as proxy for us; Paul spoke of baptism for the dead. Theophilus can accept or reject this work.
Theophilus' relationship to me
Steph will receive an endowment as proxy for the wife of my 1st cousin on my father's side, twice removed. Emma's mother died 10 months after Emma was born. Emma lived to be 95.
Emma's relationship to me
In the background is a Ward building across from the temple
Over the entrance: Holiness to the Lord [as on Aaron's headplate when he ministered in the temple] - The House of the Lord
He claims the device is self-balancing once you get on it.
We saw this person when we bought snacks at a Shell station within sight of the Ward building across from the temple.
He then took it down a *very* steep ramp at the edge of the station and had no trouble doing so.
The blur at the left is Vulcan from the front, at a distance from the highway, after sundown.
Northbound traffic is delayed, but now we're heading south.
At 1030, the direct sun hasn't reached these yet. (dormant tulips; maturing tomatoes; peppers)
But it has reached the dead bonsai and the flowers on the back porch.
I had moved these young tomatoes to make drilling their planter easier.
Our bed is often Elsa's bed when we're home during the day.
I moved my "desk" out of the library for the next step.
Bringing multiple shelving units from storage
Masking tape applied two years ago when the shelves were moved into storage is still holding the pegs to keep them from getting lost during moves.
The dining room table would normally be in this spot; I moved it to bring in the shelving units.
The tank claims 21 gallons, but the "empty" light was on.
A golf cart on our street
Celebrating that we're done with the big shelves
A smaller shelving unit, from climate-controlled storage. (It wound up in the studio.)
Stepping aside so I can bring the stepstool past her to unstack boxes.
Backing out of the unit with a box, removed from above my head, on my head.
I have to lower myself slightly to clear the overhead door.
I'm in the main aisle outside our unit.
Steph, stepping down from searching for items
Someone in our housing area had roof damage.
Progress in the craft room
Progress in the library. (Not all the loose shelves were in place yet.)
Our younger son and I built the shelving unit that's in front of the printer.
This building at Old Wetumpka Highway in the Madison Park area has been a school for the handicapped, an alternative school, a locally run community center, and now a future community center run by the city.
Move MGM [Montgomery].
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