Week of September 4, 2016

Sunday we did the usual—Tabernacle Choir broadcast, church, dinner.

Ensign Peak from the State Capitol Building

Monday was Labor Day. Ted and I walked from our apartment on 200 North and West Temple up to the top of Ensign Peak by way of the Capitol Building. It took about 3 hours. I was worn out by the time we got to the trail head for Ensign Peak, so it was no wonder that I had to stop several times along the way to rest and get up my resolve to move on. At one point I wasn’t sure I was going to make it to the top. I finally made it, and I’m glad we did it, but it was a real test of endurance.

We really made it to the top!!! Wahoo!!

In the afternoon we went to lunch with Elder and Sister Aromaa. They are leaving to go home and they have been good friends and huge help in researching the Scandinavian lines. I will really miss them.

Tuesday we started teaching the last class of new missionaries that we will teach. They are an odd group, very quiet and unresponsive. They know what’s going on, they just don’t talk much. It’s interesting the differences in classes that we’ve had. This is the last class before the computer assisted training is implemented. It’s sort of sad to see this phase pass. I have especially enjoyed getting to know the new missionaries and forming some friendships along the way. We will be taking over the Family Tree classes which are a review of the initial training. We will be teaching one series of ten classes each month. It will be an interesting change.

In the morning before our first class I did some personal research with the help of Sister Aromaa. I have been finding the records of a family in Finland and was able to go back several generations. I found that two of the generations are already in FamilySearch, but the information is not all correct.

Wednesday during class I spent most of the time working on looking for information on the Finnish families. The research is very similar to the Swedish records, but they are not as complete. It is sometimes difficult to figure out where someone went and when. Part of the issue is that the records are older, so they are more difficult to read. I need to put my best effort into figuring out who belongs in which family then get Sister Aromaa to verify what I have done. If she agrees with me, I will feel I can continue doing the work without her immediate help. She has given me her email address so I can send her records I can’t read and she will interpret for me. Very sweet of her.

I went walking with Sister Tauzin in the evening. Her daughter has moved near to her home in France so she is now excited to go back to her home and fix it up. I am happy for her. It is such a blessing to walk with her and enjoy her friendship.

Thursday during our lunch hour I went to the international floor to see if I could get Sister Aromaa to read some records for me but she busy with someone else. I asked Elder Aromaa to help me and we had a good visit until they left for lunch. He wasn’t able to help me with all the records, but he said he’d tell his wife I needed help and maybe I could get some of her time on Friday.

Friday I taught Partners in the morning. I ate a quick lunch then went to the international floor so I could get set up and started into the research before Sister Aromaa arrived. She walked right to me and I moved quickly from one form to the next, having her confirm with me what they said. I had a couple of things wrong, but I think I just wrote on the wrong paper since it seemed fairly obvious. She gave me some good guidance on what to do next to prove out some records that were in question. I feel pretty good about what to do after she’s gone. I will hopefully be able to get someone to help with the writing, but I’m pretty sure I know the direction to go for the research. I’ve come a long way.

I have been walking the stairs at the library to get exercise. I walk up to the 3^rd floor (2 flights), down to B-2 (4 flights), then back to wherever I’m working or teaching (1-3 flights). I do this 4-5 times a day. I hope it strengthens my legs and tightens my muscles. It’s not much, but it’s a way I can exercise and still do what I need to do.

Swap Meet extravaganza!

Saturday we were out early to set up for the swap meet. We had so much stuff it took nearly an hour just to empty the sheds and get things out. We spent most of the time hanging clothing. I had made a sign that there were sheets and towels in the shed so we had several more takers this time. We also told people to take the hangers except the skirt hangers. We still ended up with three bins of hangers, but we will use many to hang things next month. At the end we got rid of all of the remaining furniture, most of the summer clothing, most of the odd dishes—we kept those with 2 or more matching pieces. We put most of the clothes in bins, leaving them on their hangers, so we could use the hanging bar for new donations during the month. Someone thought we should keep the books and shoes, but we got rid of most of the shoes and all of the books. It’s silly to hang onto so much when we get more stuff each month. We have so many going home that we should have plenty so I’m not worried.

In the afternoon we met Heather and Scott at a park for a picnic and visiting. It was fun and we were able to have a good visit. Quinn is really getting chunky—she is such a doll. It was fun to see the family.