Fall Break - Day 2

Saturday we hit the ground running! Jessica and Andrew took us to a family orchard about 30 miles away, Morris Orchard.

It was a mom and pop operation as ours had been, so I was a little bit afraid I might get teary. And that did happen, but it was still wonderful to be in a working orchard again!

All those apples! And their fragrant aroma! I could scarcely breathe in enough of it.

Like my parents had done, they had some guides around the store to help you determine which apple was best for your purpose. (I wanted to ask if they had any Northern Spy apples, but my family advised me to not do so. When I thought about it, I realized that made sense - we were in the South, after all!)

Stamen Winesaps - my parents grew these. And one of my least favorite apples. They are supposed to have a winey flavor (hence the name). They don't. (At least, according to this nice Morman girl!)

Titan likes to grad his Boompa's hand and lead him around. Here they are, coming up to the apple store together.

Jessica told the owner that I had had an orchard, and she let us go back into the warehouse and see the grader. Their equipment was more modern than my parents', but it was still vintage.

We next wandered outside and down to the goat pen where Andrew helped Cambria feed a goat with a very unusual horn.

It was curled and flat, like a saucer!

T-man fed the goats, too.

I fed the goats as well, but when this girl unexpectedly meandered up to the fence...

... I was all over it! Such a sweet little jenny.

And then another donkey ambled up - I had not seen them out in their field; maybe they were hidden behind some brush?

Cambria following in Grammy's hoof prints.

While we were hanging about the goat/donkey pen, some friends of Jessica and Andrew arrived - Jordan and Meredith Molstre and their children.

Titan was so proud of this tiny green pumpkin that he found in the field.

I love the look on Cambria's face as she looks at her Boompa.

After the orchard, we went home for lunch and naps. Craig had bought a gift for each of the kids before we left.

Titan's giant teddy was a huge hit!

And look at how happy Cambria is over her Tic-Tac-Toss game! Good choices, Boompa!

During nap time, Titan had to wiggle around a bit to make sure there was room in his bed for both the teddy bear and himself.

The adults also napped, and then when everyone got up, Jessica asked me to do a craft that Laurie, Andrew's mom, had sent the kids for Halloween.

 It involved painting jars, which made me nervous... 

... but Jessica assured me that she was fine with her kids and me painting at the kitchen table.

 I put blobs of paint on the jar and then T-rex spread it around. It kept the mess down (somewhat.)

 Cambria worked independently and did well - I think she may be a lefty like her mama!

Next, we headed over to the ward Halloween party and for some Trunk or Treat. Jessica took some fall photos of all of us in our costumes in the woods by their home first.

Titan was the CUTEST vampire! He kept trying to scare me, but then would look at me solemnly and say, "It's just me." Too cute!

 Cambria was quite the colorful witch.

 I love these two so much!

 Jessie dressed as a witch and Andrew as a vampire to match their children.

 So Craig and I followed suit!

We headed over to church next, and I saw this as we pulled into the parking lot:

A funeral home hearse! Complete with a casket in the back! It turns out that one of the ward members works at a funeral home and borrowed it for the party!

Dinner was a chili cooking contest, and Jessica made the YUMMIEST white bean chicken chili. Only, she forgot to add the chicken! But it turned out that that didn't matter - she won second prize for best chili!

Trunk or Treat in the parking lot.

We were pretty tired and so we headed home after the kids had gotten their candy. But one more adventure was awaiting us - the deadbolt on the apartment door jammed and we found ourselves locked out of our home! A call to maintenance and and hour and a half later, we were inside. Good thing the night wasn't too chilly!

Fall Break - Day One

Craig and I were up early on Friday for the day-long drive to Lynchburg, Virginia.

We brought along a "little" travel buddy - Craig has bought Cambria and Titan each a gift, including this giant teddy for Titan. (Craig explained to me that he'd gotten it because he knew how much Curt had loved his giant snowman) and that he was hoping Titan might have a similar experience.

We travelled south and east from Indiana...

 ... through Ohio...

... and West Virginia...

 and arrived in Virginia in the late afternoon.

Cambria was so excited to see us and tell us about the haunted gingerbread houses she and her brother had made to celebrate the season.

 I was thrilled to see that the Halloween pillowcases I had made the kids were being put to good use! (This is Titan's.)

(Cambria's.)

We had a pizza dinner with the missionaries and then sat around and chatted, making plans for the next two days.

I am so excited to be with my family again!

Donkeys in an Unexpected Place

You just never know where you are going to find a member of the equine family. Craig and I are in Lynchburg, Virginia for my Fall Break visiting Jessica and her family. This morning we went on a trip to an apple orchard and there I got a surprise.

My family wanted to wander down the mountain and out into the pumpkin field, more than I am physically able to do, so I hung out near the goats, sitting on a park bench and enjoying the fresh air.

Suddenly, this little jenny ambled up - she'd been hidden in some brush down the hill.

 As you might guess, I stood up and went over to say "hello." She was so sweet and very, very gentle.

 She enjoyed the attention, especially when I scratched her ears.

 Then, another surprise. This little guy came up to visit as well.

I hadn't seen him in that mountain pasture, either. (I have a piece in my collection, Hagen-Renaker's china donkey foal, Harry, and this donkey looks just like him!)

About this time, Cambria came back with Craig, and, just like her Grammy, she made a beeline to see the donkeys.

 She gave the male soft rubs on his side...

 ... and rubbed his fuzzy ears. (Like the jenny, he really enjoyed that!)

I shared with her the legend of the donkey -  that the reason they have a cross-shaped mark on their withers and back is because a donkey carried Mary and Baby Jesus, and so Heavenly Father honored all donkeys in remembrance. (Another legend is that, if you are in the barn at midnight on Christmas Eve, the donkeys will kneel to honor the Christ Child. Lovely stories!)

 We spent about an hour at the orchard, and while the apples and cider were delicious, the best part (for me, anyway) was visiting with the donkeys.

My Interview on Korean Radio

A month or so ago I was asked to participate in a documentary being done by Busan eFM, a Korean radio station. The purpose was to raise awareness of the abilities of people with disabilities; in Korean culture, those people are not valued or considered able to join the work force. The two women making the documentary are looking at exploring what people with disabilities can do, and since the United States has many disabled people in the work force, they flew here to interview some of them.

Kathy Nimmer was one of the people with whom they wished to visit, and they asked her to invite a principal (Linda Fields), a new teacher she was mentoring (Danyelle Lewis), and a colleague who knew her well and had worked with her (me.) Kathy is an amazing lady who won the Indiana Teacher of the Year in 2015 and was named one of four finalists for National Teachers of the Year the following year. She is blind and uses a guide dog, and teaches English at the high school while mentoring new teachers part time.

I was thrilled at the opportunity, but also a bit nervous. Would I be able to understand them? Would they understand me? Would I represent Kathy and her community well?

 Shin (on the left) and Jenna (right) were very fluent. Jenna even sounded as though she was American. They were friendly and obviously cared deeply about the topic they were documenting.

 They had sent ahead a list of questions and that helped me feel prepared and ready to go.

I spent about twenty minutes conversing with them and then Kathy was invited to join us.

 I had brought a necklace Kathy had made me to show them. They were amazed that she could make something so intricate, keeping the color patterns intact at the same time. (I find it pretty amazing, too. She made this necklace for me to wear to the YWCA Salute to Women when I won the Woman of Distinction award in March of this year. Go here to read about that.)

Shin, Nacho, Kathy, Jenna, and me.

The ladies brought me a gift to thank me for my participation in their documentary.

 It was wrapped in pretty paper. They also gave me their cards with contact information.

Inside that package was a beautiful Korean bookmark!

The documentary in the Korean language is scheduled to be broadcast in November, while the English one is to be aired in December. Both Shin and Jenna assured us that they will send us a link to the recording so that we can hear it. 

It was a pretty exciting opportunity to get to meet with these women and talk about a dear friend while advocating for people with disabilities. Certainly not your usual Monday, that's for sure!