Sunday after I sent out the Journal, I took my usual Sabbath nap. When I woke up from that nap, the world was white and snowy. It was pretty in a disgusting sort of way.
 |
| What it looked like when I woke up from my Sabbath nap. |
 |
| Sunday evening. |
On Monday I was not called in to school. I had big plans for the day, mostly things I needed to do outside. There was still snow on the ground that morning. I didn’t want to deal with snow, so I worked inside painting, waiting for it to melt. I worked on several barn quilt panels. I painted the front door. Finally at noon the temperature warmed into the 40's and the snow was gone. I hustled outside and got to work. I finally finished planting my fall bulbs. I dug up all the dahlias and gladioli and got them ready for their winter sleep. I grubbed out and pulled up dead annuals and weeds in the flower beds. I mowed the lawn (leaves) for the last time this year. When Josiah got home from school, he helped me finish up. We put the windows in the barn. He hauled all the piles of weeds and plants to the compost for me. The garden is almost ready for winter now.
 |
| Burning leaves - one of my tasks on Monday. |
Irvin Gingerich came by while I was painting the front door to pick up the turkeys. He didn’t have anything to transport them in, so I rustled up some empty feed sacks and twine. The turkeys were so big we had to stuff them into the sacks. They weren’t happy about it, but they didn’t have far to travel. Now we don’t have to buy feed or bother with turkeys until the new ones arrive in the spring. The chickens are only laying a few eggs a day now, five or six on a good day. They still eat 50 pounds of feed a week, though. It would be practical for us to cull the flock and get rid of the old hens, but we can’t do it. After a lifetime of serving us, we let our hens die of old age.
The big adventure of the week began on Thursday. That morning we left to go to Tennessee to visit Rachel, Tabor, Hazel, and June. We set out at 7:30 a.m. Our first stop was Kirtland, Ohio, three and a half hours later. We’ve been to the Church history sites at Kirtland several times, but most of the time we stop at the visitor’s center to use the restrooms. We only stayed in Kirtland a few minutes and then we headed on. It was a long, long drive – thirteen hours in all. We arrived at the Thayn’s house at 9:00 p.m. We ate a quick dinner and headed for bed, tired out from being in the car all day.
 |
| At Kirtland. |
 |
| The creek in Kirtland. |
 |
| Our first stop at Kirtland. |
 |
| Chrysanthemums at Kirtland. |
We had a wonderful visit with the Thayns in Gallatin. It was the first time Josiah and I had been to their house and the first time we’d ever been in Tennessee. Stacey and Hannah had been there before when June was born. It is a beautiful state. On Friday Rachel and Tabor took us to see some of the sights. We went to Harpeth River State Park and hiked to the Narrows of the Harpeth, a 100 yard tunnel, hand cut through solid rock in 1818. The tunnel spans a bend in the river and was used to channel water to a metal foundry. It was one of the great engineering feats of its time. We had a picnic lunch there.
 |
| June and Hazel getting ready to go for the day. |
 |
| The Harpeth River. |
 |
| Hiking to the Narrows. |
 |
| The Narrows Tunnel. |
 |
| A snake on the trail. |
From the park, we drove into Nashville. We went to a park in the city and to get a great treat – popsicles at a place called Las Paletas. They make wonderful gourmet popsicles. I had a pistachio first, the others had flavors like coconut, lime, and avocado. They were so good, we went back for seconds.
 |
| Popsicles at Las Paletas. |
After Las Paletas, we went to the Parthenon in Centennial Park. This is a full sized replica of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. We walked around that and visited other things in the park. By then it was dinner time and we were hungry. We drove into downtown Nashville and ate dinner at Jack Cawthon’s Bar-B-Que. We had Tennessee style bar-b-qued pork and chicken. It was delicious. Then we went back to the Thayn’s and spent the rest of the evening relaxing and enjoying each other’s company.
 |
| The Parthenon. |
 |
| At the Parthenon. |
 |
| The Thayn family. |
 |
| Dinner at Jack Cawthon's Bar-B-Que. |
On Saturday there was a Fall Festival and Craft Fair at a local school in Gallatin. Rachel has a handcraft business called Painted Bunting Handcrafted Goods and she had paid to set up a table at the Craft Fair. We brought along some of our Potter County Barn Quilts and set up with her. It was a small fair. Rachel sold a few items. While they were there, the rest of us roamed the festival with Hazel. After that we went home and spent the rest of the day playing games and being together.
 |
| At the craft fair. |
 |
| Playing games. |
 |
| Hazel. |
Sunday was their Stake Conference and we attended that. The rest of day we spent playing games and napping.
 |
| Quiet Sunday afternoon. |
 |
| Playing games Sunday evening. |
Early Monday morning we left to come home. It was another long drive. We left Gallatin at 7:00 a.m. We stopped in Kirtland again. We arrived home at 8:45 p.m. The house was cold. We were tired from traveling. It was too short a trip. We had such a good time with the Thayns. I love being with my children and their families.
Now we're back home and back to the old schedule. I had to fire up the wood stove first thing this morning to get the chill out of the house. It was 25° outside and frosty this morning. A Potter County welcome home after the warm weather in Tennessee. Still, it is good to be home again. It’s always nice to be home.
