UGLY BETTY CONTEST

THE "UGLY BETTY" CONTEST

...and the winnah is...........

This year at Christmas, we decided to follow a little family tradition of driving around town looking at Christmas decorations. At home, we like to visit the residential areas and decide which home has the nicest decorations, then take the homeowners a "prize" (box of candy or something) and tell them how much we enjoyed their efforts.

That wasn't so easy to do here in Joliette. Some of the businesses had decorations, but very few private homes. Most of the ones that were decorated had some sort of a large blow-up scene, mostly Santa Clause, stuck on the front lawn or porch. We wondered why, but as the snow fell and fell and fell, it became evident that anything very lavish would simply be covered with snow by Christmas anyway, so why bother. We decided some of them must go out every few days and move their blow-up ornament up on top of the snow. Others just put them

on their porches, even if they didn't fit.

Our next-door neighbor put this cute little scene on the front lawn in mid-November.

This is how it looked by Christmas! Poor little guy was no-where to be seen. We suppose he may re-appear about April! The apartment on the left is our neighbors'. The apartment on the right is our feeble attempt at some Christmas cheer.

We found it interesting, as we drove about town, that in an area filled with large churches and cathedrals, and with probably 80% or more of the towns and their streets named after Saints, we did not see one single Nativity scene.

Downtown Joliette, however, puts on a great display of lights.

Street after street was decorated with beautiful amber and blue decorations.

We decided, however, that we couldn't award an actual prize to the City of Joliette, and as we looked around the community we saw some pretty "different" decorations, mostly on businesses. So we decided to hold a little different "contest" and award an "Ugly Betty" prize (sadly, the winners will never know they were the winners--we weren't about to tell them!)

This is the "Good Try" winner. This was a HUGE tree, and the HUGE dangling ornaments just looked kind of strange.

This is the "just stick it out there anywhere and get back in the house, it's cold" winner.

This is the "gaudy, and where is the red and green?" winner.


And this, our dear readers, is the "GRAND PRIZE, UGLY BETTY FOR SURE" winner!

This poor old Santa hung out there on the side of this store from November until February, and just so you can see how pleased he was with the situation.........




........We took a close-up of his face! Can't you just tell from his expression that he is thrilled to be there?




So! After all was said and done, we decided that "be it ever so humble," nobody's decorations made us feel as good as our own little tree inside our warm, cozy apartment. So we bought some chocolate 'turtles' and ate them ourselves!




We hope you have enjoyed participating in our little silliness. We enjoyed this "take" on our family tradition, and hope you did too! Merry Un-Christmas! See you next year, Ugly Betty!

PAPER GARAGES

PAPER GARAGES

"but they're only imitation" -- Marie Osmond, Paper Roses

In the Fall, in Canada (at least Quebec) a strange phenomenon starts to appear. From out of nowhere, "paper garages" start popping up. Well, not really paper. They are made of tent materials, a strong coated plastic.

At first, one sees only a few paper garages in a few driveways.

Some are single-car paper garages, some are double-car paper garages.


Some are very long paper garages,......

......deep enough to hold two cars end-to-end.

Some are wide enough to hold two cars side-by-side.

Others are teeny, tiny "paper garages" that are not actually garages, but are front porches.

In some areas, there are whole streets lined with paper garages, one after another in front of nearly every house.

What really is happening is that people are preparing for the harsh Canadian winter that's ahead. The don't have the luxury of, or the space for, a real garage, but they need to protect their cars as much as possible from the weather. So someone came up with the idea of "tents" for cars. When we first saw them going up, we wondered if they would even last the winter, or would they cave in under all the snow? But we've watched the snow pile up higher and higher all around town, and the paper garages seem to not only stand up to the snow, but the snow actually seems to slide off of their roofs. Interesting.

Aren't people creative?

CROSS-COUNTRY TRIP -- Part A

CROSS-COUNTRY TRIP -- Part A

"And awaaaay we go..........." Jackie Gleason

On September 13, 2008, we left the MTC and started our cross-country trek to Canada. We made the decision to drive our own car based on information that we would need a car in Canada and the mission would not have one to provide for us. On the recommendations of the Mission Office, we planned to drive no more than six or seven hours a day. We assumed they didn't trust us old "Seniors" to drive too long each day, and didn't want us arriving in the mission field exhausted. So we planned our trip accordingly.


The first day, we spent a few hours visiting with Elder Wright's brother and his wife in Orem while using their washer and dryer to do a week's worth of laundry from the MTC. At about noon, we headed out. Our car was packed to the hilt! We tried to make careful selections in what we took, but still had a real car-load.


We drove to Cheyenne, Wyoming the first day. We saw a lot of flat land and a lot of HUGE WINDMILLS (used to generate power--what a great idea!)


The second day, being Sunday, we found a ward to attend, then drove to Grand Island, Nebraska. More flat lands, less windmills. Third day, we drove to Omaha, Nebraska. Here we took a brief side-trip to visit the WINTER QUARTERS church history site. We had always dreamed of taking a "Church History" tour, and were thrilled to get a tiny taste of that as we visited Winter Quarters, then later Kirtland, Palmyra, and the Sacred Grove.

WINTER QUARTERS, NEBRASKA

Monument in front of the Winter Quarters Visitors Center

A built-in bed, a fireplace, and a hand-hewn table in a typical cabin

Supplies for crossing the plains

Elder Wright (Grampa) looking at a device invented to count the turns of the wheel so they could tell how far they traveled each day.

Violin owned by Isaac Morley that he played as the pioneers crossed the plains




How they built the wooden wagon wheels

Sister Wright (Gramma) pulling her handcart

The Winter Quarters Cemetery. Many pioneers didn't survive the winter.



It was amazing to see what the Saints did during their very brief stay at Winter Quarters on their way west. They built an entire town and planted crops, etc., and left it all behind in the Spring for the next group of Saints to use as they passed through the area.

The Winter Quarters, Nebraska Temple, September 2008


We were thrilled to have the opportunity to visit that historical site. We spent a couple of hours there, and were still able to get in our six hours of travel for that day.

STAY TUNED! NEXT STOP: Kirtland, Ohio

CROSS-COUNTRY TRIP -- Part B

CROSS-COUNTRY TRIP -- Part B

To Kirtland, Ohio

Travel days four and five, we drove to Joliete, Illinois and then on to Kirtland, Ohio. We had a bit of an adventure due to flooding at the Indiana border. There had been a terrible rainstorm the day before, seven inches in one day! Several motels where we tried to get a room were booked solid, because many people had been evacuated from their homes and had sought temporary shelter. The motel clerks just kept telling us to keep going East.

After a while of "going East," Interstate 80 was closed, and we were forced to take a detour that led us, and all the other I-80 traffic, including LOTS of 18-wheelers, on a merry chase through a dozen or more tiny little towns with one lane each way and a stop light on every corner. There were signs telling us to get OFF of I-80, but none teling us when we could get back on. Once the traffic got a little less tedious, we programmed our GPS to find the freeway, and it did!

Once back on I-80, we passed Chicago, Cleveland, and Toledo, but we had no inclination to go into any of the big cities. The countryside became more and more beautiful, with the vast flatlands becoming endless corn fields, and then lush, green countryside. It was a very long day before we found a motel with a vacancy.


Speaking of our GPS, we'd like you to meet "Myrt." Myrt saved our skins on more than one occasion on our trip. About half-way aross the country, we decided to call her "Myrtle" or "Myrt," after the telephone operator in our small home town when we were kids. Myrt had the telephone system in her home, and every call that went through the system, she would answer "Number Please," and then plug in the call. Neither of us ever remember, day or night, weekday or weekend, when Myrt wasn't on duty! She knew everone's number and could answer anyone's questions. That's kind of how we feel about our little GPS. Twenty-Four/Seven, she always knows where we are and how to get us where we need to go!

"Myrt"

Okay, Myrt. Take us to the Canada Montreal Mission Office!

ON TO OHIO

We tried to "time" our trip so that we could spend the weekend in Buffalo, NewYork, with our family. Because we had to push ahead to get around the flooding, we ended up a day ahead of schedule. This gave us a full day in Kirtland, Ohio, which was a great blessing to us.

Elder Wright "hangin' out" in a park overlooking Lake Erie, close to our motel in Mentor, Ohio

HISTORIC KIRTLAND

We visited Historic Kirtland, where the church has restored the whole community of Kirtland, Ohio, where many of the Saints lived from 1830-1838. We saw the Newel K. Whitney Store and home, the library where the Twelve assembled to start their first missions, saw several restored homes that the Saints built and lived in, and learned of the great industry, and the great sacrifice, of the Saints in Kirtland. We even stood in the exact space where the Prophet Joseph Smith taught the School of the Prophets.

These sweet girls were our tour guides. They are full-time missionaries for the church. In the background, you can see several restored homes. Some of the missionaries actually live in restored pioneer homes. These girls live in the Hyrum Smith home, which is located a small distance from Kirtland.

The Newel K. Whitney store. It was amazing how much "stuff" was available in such a small store. It was totally organized. On the counter to the right, but out of the picture, was a ledger showing signatures of customers conducting transactions in a certain time frame. We looked for familiar names, and found Amasa M. Lyman.

Another view of the Whitney Store. When Joseph Smith first arrived in Kirtland, he entered the Whitney Store and was met by Newel K. Whitney. Joseph called him by name, although they had never met, and said "You've prayed me here. Now tell me what you want of me."

The supply, or storage room of the Whitney Store. This room became the "Bishop's Storehouse" and it was easy to imagine our great-great (how many greats?) Grandfather Edward Partridge serving the Saints of Kirtland from this room, as Presiding Bishop of the Church. He was called as "Bishop" in May 1831 (see D&C 51). In Decemer of that same year, Edward Partridge was called to serve as Presiding Bishop in Missouri, and Newel K. Whitney was called as Presiding Bishop in Kirtland.

The Newel Whitney Home

When Joseph and Emma first arrived in Kirtland, they lived with the Whitney's for about six weeks. For a year and a half after that, they lived in homes with the Morley family and the Johnson family.

Parlor in the Whitney Home

Newel Whitney was a superb and prosperous businessman. They had a lovely home, which they willingly shared with Jospeh and Emma and other church members.

From September, 1832 to February, 1834, Joseph and Emma lived in converted rooms in the Whitney Store. After that, for four years, they had their own home near the temple.

Joseph and Emma's bedroom (note trundle bed for baby) in a room above the Whitney Store

Emma's Kitchen, on the main floor in back of the store









The School of the Prophets, also above the store

It was a thrill to stand in this room and contemplate all the revelation and teaching and learning that 0ccurred here. Even though the buildings are "restored," they are in the exact locations, so we were "standing in the space" where they occurred.









The Town Library

This building was a public gathering place and meetings and instructions were held here. It was here that the Twelve met and received instruction before leaving on their first missions.

Sometimes referred to as "The First MTC."

KIRTLAND INDUSTRIES

Paddle wheel that supplied power to the sawmill.

A small creek was dammed up each evening, creating a pool of water that, when opened, ran enough water to keep the paddle wheel turning all day.

The Saw Mill

The Saints milled lumber to build their own homes, and also sold lumber for income.

The Ashery

The only "ashery" on the North American continent, this was a very luctrative business that made and sold pottash and other products. As were many of the businesses in Kirtland, the Ashery was owned by Newel Whitney. He donated it, and most of all his holdings, to the Church. The Saints donated their time working here, and income from the Ashery was a major source of income for building the temple.

It was amazing to see all that occured in Kirtland in only eight years. By 1838, there were 2,000 members of the church living in Kirtland. The church was growing rapidly in Missouri, also. Hisoric Kirtland is beautifully restored, and gave us a great appreciation of what happened there.

When Joseph was told to move the church headquarters to Kirtland, he was told (D&C 38:32): "...go to the Ohio; and there I will give unto you my law; and there you shall be endowed with power from on high." It was a time of key revelations (65 sections of the D&C were recorded), an organizational period (First Presidency formed, Presiding Bishop and Patriarch called, and first Quorum of the Twelve and Seventy called, etc.). It was also a time for teaching the members and the leadership (School of the Prophets). It was also a time to contstruct a temple. When all that was done, things fell apart in Kirtland and they were told to move on to Missouri. Satan had a hand in the sad events at the end of the Kirtland era, but it was most certainly a part of a bigger plan. Joseph, and the church membership, needed that time in Kirtland as a time of peace, revelation, learning, and preparation for what was ahead.

THE KIRTLAND TEMPLE

After we left Historic Kirtland, we went to tour the Kirtland Temple. After going through several ownerships and court battles, the temple is currently owned by the Community of Christ church, which used to be the Reorganized LDS Church. Once they finally obtained legal ownership, they applied to put the building on the National Historic Register. In order to do that, they had to restore it as much as possible to its orginal state.

We took a paid tour of the building and grounds, then went inside the temple. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but it looks very much like the Nauvoo Temple.

The Community Church changed the wording on the plaque at the top of the door, because they didn't want to give credit to the Latter-Day Saints (we guess), but the Historic Restoration folks required that the plaque be restored to its exact original wording.

The tour was very intersting, but sad in a way, to hear of all the strange usages and treatments that this sacred place was subjected to. The Community Church currently uses it as a "gathering place" and for paid tours, but it is a blessing that this beautiful building has been restored. It was a thrill to see it, and see what the Saints accomplished. The building itself was a wonder for that day and age, and is still awesome today.

STAY TUNED: Next Stop: NEW YORK

CROSS-COUNTRY TRIP -- Part C

CROSS-COUNTRY TRIP - Part C

On to New York!

On our trip across the country, we saw a lot of motels........

.......and a lot of "rest stops." We found it interesting that the farther East we drove, the nicer the rest stops were. Starting out, rest stops were few and far between and consisted of restrooms, maybe a drinking fountain or bottled water dispenser, and a map on the wall.

Later, they were more frequent and consisted of restrooms, a picnic area, and a "Travel Plaza" where your could buy food and drinks, even from some well-known fast food places.

Closer to New York, the rest stops became large and beautiful parks and picnic areas...........





.....and large, beautiful buildings with marble floors, several restaurants, internet areas and several pay telephones and souvenir shops.




Then, when we got to Canada.........."What's a Rest Stop?"


On travel day seven, we drove from Kirtland, Ohio, to Buffalo, New York, where we spent a wonderful weekend with our children and grandchildren, Marcel, Jackie, Rianne, and Dallin. We watched "Dynamic Dallin" in gymnastics, saw "All-Grown-Up Rianne" go for and land her first job, learned about card-making and blogs from "Very Creative Jackie," mowed lawns with "Green Thumb Marcel," attended a ward picnic and church services, visited and visited and visited, and ate and ate and ate GOOD food, both at their home and at Red Robin (where we were introduced to yummy veggie-burgers). We had not seen them in almost three years, and it was a great visit!

STAY TUNED: NEXT STOP--Palmyra and the Sacred Grove, then on to Canada!