This is the place!!!

An imposing monument now stands on the place where Brigham Young, being incapacitated with rocky mountain spotted fever, on July 24th, 1847 proclaimed, "It is enough. This is the right place. Drive on." The words "this is the place" echoed through the company as the pioneers reached the Salt Lake Valley. Brigham Young had a vision shortly after the saints were exiled from Nauvoo, Illinois. In the vision, he saw the place where the Latter-day Saints would settle and "make the desert blossom like a rose" and where they would build their State of Deseret. The name Deseret was not deemed acceptable by the government and, following the failed petition the state was named Utah, which translates as "among the mountains".

Mists of Darkness

In Lehi's Dream of The Tree Of Life he describes the mists of darkness. Apart from on foggy days I have seldom experiences true mists of darkness until today. Jodi and I had been to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple in the morning and exited the Temple into gale force winds which were so strong that I could hardly keep my camera still! The upshot of all this wind was the great cloud of dust that was generated and the constant balls of tumbleweed that were flying about! We were planning to go to an outdoor shopping mall later on that day. However, when driving up the freeway we were enveloped by an expanse of dust which subsequently filled the valley! A change of plan was in order and a different mall chosen to visit. Despite the mall being indoors both of us felt like we were coated in a layer of filth! I am glad of the snow today but I feel that it is high time spring should be on its way!!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple

The Oquirrh Mountain Temple was dedicated in 2009 and is the latest mini Temple to be in operation. It is a mere 5 miles from Jordan River Temple and was built to alleviate the pressure of the larger Temples in the Salt Lake Valley. As it s a mini Temple, not all of the facilities are available and it is necessary to make a reservation to attend the Temple, especially during busy periods. The inside is exceptionally beautiful and very reminiscent of the Preston Temple. Some of the rooms have murals painted on the walls and the inside is filled with light from the many windows present.

Walking to church

One of the nice things about Utah is the proximity to a church meeting house. For the passed 6 Sundays I have been to a different LDS church and this week was to be no different. Annie, one of the housemates, attends the Brighton 5th Ward! It was such a beautiful day that Jodi and I walked to church. Very Austenesque one might say.

Here kitty kitty kitty

Sunday afternoon is family time at the Lusty home in Tooele. As church was 1-4pm we headed out and had dinner almost straight away upon our arrival. During the latter part of the evening we we watching a family film, The Blind side, when Sylvia, Matriarch of the Lusty household, heard a cat mewing in the basement. This initiated a cat hunt which involved Sylvia, Joni, Jodi, Nikki and I searching in he basement for the confounded little blighter. It was discovered that the kitty cat had fallen into the basement by crawling through a very narrow air duct in the basement of the Lusty home! After a while it became apparent that we would not find the kitten so Sylvia put some food out for it, hoping to entice it into the open. After finishing the film we went again into the basement and discovered that the food had practically all been eaten, however, the kitty cat was nowhere in sight! After another search, the only practical solution was to purchase a trap to catch the maundering miscreant. Two days later, the cat has not been caught and, during yet another search, a bird entered the house which now has to be removed! The moral of this story is is not to open any external doors until the intruder has been caught!

Dinner is Served

It was decided to go to Mimi's cafe for dinner! Jodi, Lesa and I drove into town and were soon after seated at a table. The waiter seemed rather annoyed that we could not decide what we wanted and kept coming back waiting for our order. Shortly afterwards, as we could not decide what we wanted to eat, we announced that three more people, Angie, Paul and Eric, were arriving to join us. The waiter clearly could not handle this and a different waiter appeared to take our order! The three friends arrived and we finally ordered dinner. Shortly after finishing dinner, Ben (in his slippers) and Luke arrived and stayed for a while! The waiter was rather amused by the constant stream of friends that arrived to partake of food with us! I would highly recommend Mimi's to those travelling to Utah!

Festival of Colours

Think of the most crazy thing you have ever done in your WHOLE life and triple it! That is how crazy the Festival of Colours was! In India, Holi announces the arrival of spring and the passing of winter. People bury their hatchets with a warm embrace and throw their worries to the wind. It is also to celebrate the triumph over the death of Demoness Holika, who tried to burn Prahlad, a worshiper of Vishnu. As Prahlada continues to worship Vishnu. His father tries to poison him, get him trampled by the elephants, and put him in a room with venomous snakes, but Prahlada survives each and every time. Holika, Prahlad's evil Aunt, has a special shawl that would prevent fire affecting the person wearing it. One day, Prahlad's father, Hiranyakashipu orders his son to sit on the lap of his Aunt Holika ontop of a pyre. Prahlad prays to Lord Vishnu to keep him safe resulting in the burning of Holika and not himself. A bonfire is lit in memory of the miraculous escape that Prahald accomplished when Demoness Holika carried him into the fire. Good triumphs over evil, yet again!!

Back to the task at hand! You are advised to wear clothes that you don’t want to keep or that you don’t mind being not quite the same as they were before the festival as the main aim is to throw coloured powder (edible maize starch which is coloured, flavoured and scented) over your friends and neighbours.

We arrived late due to the sheer volume of traffic on our way to Spanish Fork and thought we had missed the colours finale so went and purchased some colours anyway and proceeded to shower each other with the innocuous powder. We should have done this after we had been into the Temple as we were asked to blow as much dust off you as possible with a giant airblower. As a mark of respect we also had to remove our shoes. The main part of the Temple is upstairs and is a wide open space with paintings on the walls. We did not stay long and proceed back outside into the sunshine.

It transpired that we had not missed the colours finale so we purchased twice as much powder as before and made our way into the centre of the thronging crowd. This was not for the feint hearted! Towards the end of the musical section of the festival they announced that the colours would be going up shortly and with that announcement came several health warnings. Small children and asthmatics were advised to stay away from the centre of the crowd, festival goers in the main body of the crowd were advised to take several good breaths of air and to put something over their mouths before the countdown began. When the countdown was over what ensued can only be described as abject lunacy! Everyone threw their coloured powder up in the air and over the people in close proximity . At one point I wondered if I would ever see the sun shine again! I pulled my upper t-shirt over my mouth in a desperate effort to protect my lungs, luckily I had my sunglasses on but they only afforded me menial protection! After 5 minutes or so the cloud of coloured dust dissipated and people began to breath! Man alive, I have never been so glad to see the sun in all my life!

Utah Weather!

England is well known around the world for its inclement and often changeable weather. Utah is home from home, though, unlike England, the weather forecast is always greater than ninety five percent correct. Every weekend since I arrived here it has snowed! Then just as it is beginning to warm up, tricking you into thinking that Spring is on its way, its snows again! Though the snow is beautiful, I am hoping that this is the last we shall see of it!

37°F | Current: Snow Wind: NW at 5 mph Humidity: 89% Fri 43°F | 33°F Sat 51°F | 33°F Sun 58°F | 40°F Mon 62°F | 47°F

Walking "with" the dog...........

Despite the chill in the air, Jodi and I went for a walk around the beautiful estate where she lives. The house that she and the other girls rent is lovely and spacious but nothing in comparison to the palatial masterpieces further down the valley! Just as we turned the first corner on our walk a rather vivacious Yorkshire terrier came scurrying down the hill after us and it would not take no for an answer! Following several attempts by both of us to command the little blighter to desist and return home, it finally obeyed. Luckily for the dog it was clever enough not to return or else I would have stuffed the furry rat into a letter box and closed the door!! Animals need to realise that personal space is not to be encroached upon!

A house with a view!

The house where I have been staying in Utah has glorious views from almost every window! It is situated on one of the mountains in a suburb known as Cottonwood Heights and is a mile or so from the foot of the steepest part of the mountain. My favourite view is from the landing window, from which you can see down into the valley and the mountains at the otherside. At any time of day this is glorious but my favourite time of the day is early morning while it is still dawn when you can barely see the sun shining on the mountains from the other side of the valley where the house is situated. The back windows look upto the mountain we are situated on and this morning I sat and watched the sun rise out of the kitchen window. The sun rises later in Utah as it has to come high over the mountains before it comes into view so. Though I miss Englands green, pleaseant and historic land, I will miss the mountains when I leave Utah. Wherever you go there is no escaping them.

The Cheesecake Factory-Take II

After a long day at school I was starving!!! Despite being on a health drive we ordered curbside-to-go Cheesecake Factory which was to be ready in 20 minutes rather than the 2 hour wait we would have had to endure to eat in the restaurant! This turned out to be a most marvellous plan and, once home, we got into out pyjamas and had a picnic on the bed whilst watching Confessions of a Shopaholic!! A glorious end to a productive day!

Back to school

It has been many years since I attended junior school and today was a blast from the past as I went and volunteered in several first grade classes at Providence Hall. First graders are aged 6-7 and as Easter is approaching, were participating in a centers activity which is where they go around to different stations and make crafts! I was on the Easter basket station and the baskets were made from brown lunch bags. The children really enjoyed making them and some of them were very creative! I even made one myself.

After lunch was science! I LOVE SCIENCE!!!! It was a sink and float activity. As you can imagine 12 containers of water and 25 1st graders can make for a very wet room! Some of the pupils used their worksheets as paper towels until I stepped in and started to mop down the tables! I had a nostalgic moment, back to my own experiences of sink and float activities! Happy times! Once a scientist, always a scientist!

This day was also designated for fire and earthquake drills. Being from England, where earthquakes are a rare phenomenon, I had never taken part in an earthquake drill before. However, the procedure is not rocket science. If indoors, you merely find a place of safety, preferably under a desk or in the corner of a room and as far away from windows as you can possibly be. I for one would have preferred to have been in an older age classroom as the desk I was under barely covered my torso!! At least it as better than nothing and this was, after all, merely a drill! Had it be a real earthquake I may have opted for the corner of the room!! Following the earthquake drill came the fire drill. The alarm was of such an ear piercing pitch that one could not fail to want to be outside and away from its sound waves!! Fortunately it was not a long drill and we were back inside within ten minutes. Better to be safe than sorry!!

Anyone for quilting???

There are many projects that are performed at the various LDS humanitarian centers world wide. When an emergency situation arises anywhere in the world the Church is usually one of the first organisations to send aid to the areas in need. As well as emergency aid supplies, food, clothing and shelter, the Church sends trained volunteers who can speak the language and or have he necessary skills required in emergency situations including those with a medical trained background. Over 600 volunteers from Utah alone went to Haiti to assist with the relief effort.

Emergency supply kits are packed and stored all over the world so that aid can be distributed quickly to the areas in need. I have been involved in the passed with packing hygiene kits, baby kits, school kits and Christmas boxes for underprivileged children.

Today, in Salt Lake City, was quilting day! Quilts are made in various shapes and sizes to fit specific requirements for full size, child and crib. Once completed, the quilts are shipped to homeless shelters, hospitals and to other areas of need around the world. As many quilts are needed, the most efficient way is to tie quilt rather than hand or machine quilting.

The backing, wadding and top layers are stretched across a frame and secured onto nails on each side. Once the frame is tightened and the three layers of fabric pulled taught, a layer of checked material with holes in is placed on top and marks are made with chalk where the holes are, to indicate where the ties are to be placed. Once this has been completed, quilting can commence.

A few rows are tied from the top and bottom and the sides also. Once three or more rows have been tied the material at the top and bottom is wound around the end bars to make the next section of material more accessible. Once the sides are done if there are more than three quilters to a quilt, one quilter will move from the side to the top or bottom to complete the quilt in double time!

Quilting continues until all the dots have a tie in! I found out very quickly that its is more time efficient to sew the ties one after the other followed by the cutting of each joined section to create individual ties. One of the quilts that I was working on today had cheeky little kittens on and it was decided that each should have a "neck tie" rather than marking the middle section of fabric. It was brightly coloured and we tied it with multicoloured wool!!! I think it would be greatly appreciated by a child!!

Occasionally some material has to be purchased to back the quilts with but, on the whole, most of the materials for quilting and other humanitarian needs are donated. Some of the toiletries used in the hygiene kits are manufactued by Deseret Industries, the Church's label.

Look out for a kitten quilt! It could be coming to a hospital near you.....................

Snowshoeing!!!

I was roped into helping with snowshoeing at an Ernst Young EY extreme event on Saturday. Many hours of preparation, which I was not involved with, culminated in a one day event comprising of a dancing heads activity, outdoor musical relay and a snowshoeing challenge! If you have ever been snow shoeing before you will know that snow shoes, though very helpful when walking in the snow, are rather cumbersome. After five rounds of the course, four with snow shoes on, my legs began to feel it!
The teams had 13 challenges on the course and, as the weather go colder, will power to stay out in the cold palpably faded away!! When the sun was shining it was warm enough to be outdoors with merely a hoodie on. However, when the sun faded behind the mountain the temperature plummeted and a mad dash was made in search of warmer clothes!!
The day ended with a dinner and by watching a disastrous basketball game where BYU just could not keep up, despite many avid fans willing them on from the other side of the screen!!! All in all, a fabulous day had by all!!

Mountain Scenes

I have been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to view the beauteous nature of the Utah mountains. Here are a few photographs from Sundance Canyon and Alpine.

Provo Temple

The Provo Temple is situated at the foot of a mountain. It is almost as busy as the Jordan River Temple. As we arrived the missionaries from the Provo Missionary Training Center were arriving to attend the Temple and it was a glorious sight! Next stop-Mount Timpanogos Temple!

"I was an hungered and ye gave me food"

The Vermont 3rd Ward meets from 1-4pm on a Sunday afternoon. In Utah it is more often than not the case that several congregations meet in the same building, with meeting times sometimes overlapping. My particular preference for church is in the morning so that I can enjoy spending the rest of the day with family and friends. Meal times are often skewed and generally I eat less that I during the week but there are always left overs to be picked at.
Following sacrament meeting I could feel my stomach groaning and Ruth, matter of factly, lead me to the clerks office where there was a STASH of snacks! Glory be I was saved! There was a large platter of individually wrapped sweets and biscuits as well as individual packets of peanuts! I decided that peanuts were the slightly healthier option and so opted for those! I am exceedingly glad that the Vermont 3rd Ward Bishopric is concerned over the temporal as well as the spiritual needs of its flock!

Let it snow!!!

On Sunday, I was amazed that for the second time during my stay here in Utah, gratitude for the moisture was expressed in one of the prayers at church. Coming from the often wet and generally humid climate of England, though not like that of Texas or Florida, we seldom have to be thankful for moisture, rather we are thankful for the sunshine when it condescends to show its face and often pray for good weather during periods of seemingly unending precipitation. One mans junk is another mans treasure!

Downfall

I was exited at the prospect of going hiking in Utah as the mountains are SOO beautiful. However, due to inclement weather the hike planned was postponed and the Wright Boys invited Ruth and I to go and watch a film from the BYU international cinema series. All films shown at BYU are edited for content and language so that they can maintain the required standards. The film of choice was "Downfall" which depicts the last weeks of the reign of Hitler and the downfall of Nazi Germany. I have read many articles and watched many documentaries on this subject, however, nothing prepared me for the accurate portrayal of some of the facts. One wonders how people can be so consumed in their end goal that they completely forget what is reality and what is not. It was a sobering end to a productive day.

The sun has got his hat on.............

........................but we have no suncream!!! A friend of Ruth's had invited us to go skiing at the Sundance resort near Provo! I was very excited about this prospect until I discovered that my holiday insurance did not conver me for winter sports. This did not bode well for someone who fractured their left arm at the age of 13, whilst on the carpeted area of the ice rink, who would have, most likely, broken every bone in their body if not insured! With it being such favourable weather I joined the skiers for the drive into the mountains so that I could take photo's of the gorgeous scenery. I have been unusually blessed with many a blue sky on this trip, which makes a change from the dull expanse of unbroken greyness that one is, more often than not, accustomed to in England.
I left the skiers and proceeded down to the lower levels and proceeded to take photographs of the scenery and, particularly, the beautiful river that flowed through the resort. Though there seemed more than ample snow for the participants, apparently Utah had had the least snowfall for many years. That might go somewhat to explaining why England is still under a blanket of snow! Utah-you can keep it in future!
Unfortunately, the happy trio omitted the use of suncream on this excursion and the results were rather striking several hours later! I sported a sunburned underchin and Ruth sported a t-zone burn where her hat had not quite covered her face! Thank goodness for make-up I say! I think we have both learned our lesson and will take the necessary precautions next time!

Back to School

On Thursday evening I took a trip back in time and accompanied my friend, Ruth, to an evening lecture at BYU, given by the Martin Hickman 2009 Scholar, Renata Forste on the education of women. The emphasis was on women in less developed countries where healthcare, nutrition and education of children was amongst their primary concerns. Rudy Manikan said "If you educate a man you educate a person, but if you educate a woman, you educate a family." The results showed that the children of women who had been educated to at least high school standard were more likely to be healthy, to eat a balanced, nutritious diet, and to be encouraged to persue some education.
It has always been a personal goal of mine to be educated. I am grateful for the many educational oppertunites I have been afforded, both at home and in the classroom, as they have provided me with opportinuties for an excellent and fulfilling career as well as the many life skills needed to live independantly and to be self reliant.

A day in the life of a volunteer........

If you fail to get up in the morning you fail to get on in life! That was and is still one of my father's most famous sayings! I arrived in plenty of time to be early and wait in line with the other volunteers. You really need to be there before 7:45am to be in a good position to volunteer as the queue is out of the door before 8am!

This is how a typical day proceeds on Welfare Square.

8:00am:registration.
8:10am:job assignments
10:00am:break (chocolate milk is served and its more than delightful to the taste buds)
10:10am:continuation of jobs
12:00pm-lunch is served in the Deseret Industries Cafeteria
01:00pm-continuation of jobs
02:00pm-the end of the working day

Job assignments can be anything from the following list:

Shelf stacking
Fetching stock items from the warehouse to replenish the shelves
Cardboard box compacting
Hosting welfare recipients to obtain their orders
Rotating stock
Straightening shelves
Receiving new stock to the warehouse
Working at Deseret Industries sorting/placing and pricing clothes and non food items
Cleaning toilets
Hoovering
Dusting
Cannery work (by appointment)
Bakery work (by appointment)

Most of the work I have done has been around restocking shelves and ensuring that the shop floor looks neat and tidy. The early shift is certainly a busy one! After 2pm each day there are no "big pulls", another way of saying restocking the shelves, so that the shelves can be run down in order for there to be sufficient jobs for the volunteers who are seeking work. In the morning a frenzied atmosphere is generated from the hive of activity as volunteers make haste to restock the shelves in time for the welfare recipients to obtain their apportionments. These two activities more often than not coincide simultaneously as shopping trolley's and warehouse goods strategically dodge each other around the store. These activities continue in a likewise manner for most of the morning and after lunch until 2pm, especially if the shelves have been run down to use up older stock or there are many welfare recipient visits.

Today I had the opportunity to visit the quality assurance laboratory and, as you might well imagine, I felt quite at home here! They had much of the equipment I am used to in my chemistry laboratory. Several of the employees here explained to me the ins and outs of their department, which I found to be most interesting.

Over 90% of the volunteers who work at the Bishops Storehouse are volunteering in return for food or other needs. Some members work here in lieu of payment of rent or other financial necessities of life and others work for food if they are on longer term welfare and are able to give some time back for the service they receive. There are also transient volunteers, most of whom have no roof over their heads, who come and work in return for food.

Due to the recent economic downturn both in the UK and USA, there have been many members who have lost their positions of employment and are finding it difficult to find further positions. This has resulted in an increase in the number of members requiring welfare and the need for more volunteers to keep the welfare system operating. The Welfare Program of the Church supports those in need back to a position of self reliance by providing the members with immediate assistance with food, rent and bills, in return for volunteer time rendered, as well as assisting members back to work through LDS Employment Services.

All volunteers who arrive early enough in the day will be in receipt of a meal ticket at 12:00pm. Lunch is served in the DI cafeteria just around the corner from the Bishops Storehouse. The lunch that is served is nothing short of a banquet! You can have a main course plus soup, a roll, dessert and two drinks! If you have a salad you cannot have a dessert for some reason! The meal for me was just too big for in the middle of the day so I merely had the soup, salad and roll and those items alone were plenty for me!!! Since I did not have a dessert I felt it incumbent to have a glass of chocolate milk! The chocolate milk is manufactured at the dairy and it is the best I have tasted. Today, whilst eating lunch, I felt truly humbled to be in the presence of those who have very little in this life. Judging from the other people I volunteered with today, I was the only person, aside from the employed staff, who was not in receipt of welfare and who was merely volunteering because I wanted to give of myself in service to those who need it most. I felt fulfilled from the work I had accomplished today! Each volunteer day brings new people and there is never a dull moment on the shop floor!!

Lets play ball!

Sunday 7th March was a special day in many peoples lives. Not only was it the blessing of Jerusha Pixie Jean Halford, Daughter of Erin and Tobias Halford, in Billingham, England, it was the blessing of Evan Rod Lusty, son of Kendra and Ryan Lusty, brother of Jodi Lusty. This day was one of mixed emotion as Evan Robert Lusty, partriarch of the Lusty household, passed away in December 2007. Sylvia and the girls, Joni, Jodi and Nikki attended the blessing as well as many extended family. Ryan blessed baby Evan and it was wonderful to be present at such an event.

Following the blessing, a taco lunch was served at Ryan and Kendra's. One by one the guests left and sooner or later it was just the Lusty family left. However, before that happened, a delightful family came to visit, the husband being one of Ryan's good friends, and stayed for about an hour. While the children were playing a ball was being thrown and it was only a matter of time before someone was injured and that person was me!! If you have ever had the unfortunate experience of having a ball tossed into your eye you will know that it is not a pleasurable one!! After applying some ice for several minutes, followed by at least 10 minutes of eye watering, I could finally open my eye and it took a further hour to regain its dignity. However, all is well and there is no bruising! Thank goodness for ice!!

In as much as ye have done it unto another

"Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that
thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me." Luke 18:22

I have had the privilege of working at Welfare Square in the Bishops Storehouse for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The church is wholly self sufficient due to the monthly donations from members. Tithing funds are always used for the following purposes—to build and maintain temples and meetinghouses, to sustain missionary work, to educate Church members, and to carry on the work of the Church throughout the world. Welfare funds are generated from a different source. Once a month, on the first Sunday of the month, members fast for two consecutive meals and donate a fast offering, which should be at least the value of the two meals not eaten. It is more often the case that a more generous donation is made. The funds from fast offerings are used to fund the Welfare Program which is primarily to help those members who are on low or no income to feed their families. Outside of the USA or in places in the USA who do not have Bishops Storehouses the Bishop works with the Relief Society President to ascertain the need of the members in need. Following this assessment, the Relief Society President then takes the individuals in need to a local supermarket to purchase them the necessities they need for their family. Welfare is not for luxury items, however, emphasis is placed on a balanced and nutritious diet.

Bishops Storehouses are located in many places in the USA. Most of the food that is found in the storehouse is produced by the Deseret manufacturing plants, the Church's production label. The Church has farms, both arable and pastoral, orchards and many other sites of production around the world that feed into the Welfare program. The raw goods are shipped to Welfare Square, and other Deseret manufacturing sites and from these are produced cheese, bread, applesauce, pasta sauce and many other goods.

Once canned, the goods are distributed to Bishops Storehouses in the USA. Following an assessment by the Bishop and Relief Society President, the members in need take a form to the Bishops Storehouse which lists the exact quantities of specific items they are to receive. Once at the storehouse, a customer host works with the recipient to obtain the items required according to the assessment so that each receives only according to the needs required. Over 95% of the workers are volunteers who give of their time freely to support the Welfare Program. Some of the volunteers, of which a small number are not members of the LDS Church, are on welfare assistance and give of their time in return for the food and other necessities of life which they receive.

There are other branches of the Welfare Program that include LDS Employment Services, Humanitarian Aid Center, and Desert Industries, the non food side of the Welfare Program, which includes clothing and other home goods.

I have feel truly blessed by being able to serve at the Bishops Storehouse. I will have the opportunity to vary this work and to be able to work in the cannery and bakery in due course. The most simple of tasks, such as stacking shelves or restocking the fruit stand, is a contribution to the welfare effort and I am grateful for this opportunity to serve.

Jordan River Temple

The Jordan River Temple is the most frequented LDS Temple in the world. In order to relieve the strain and provide further opportunities for members to attend, two more Temples, Draper and Oquirrh Mountain, have been constructed in close proximity and a new Temple, Daybreak, is under construction. I opted to go early in the day when it would be less busy. I caught the Jodi express to the front of the Temple and arranged when we would meet for the return journey before she departed. Despite being open from 5am, the Temple was getting busy at 8am, mostly with people going before work and those who were not in full time employment. Due to the size of Jordan River Temple there are escalators and Temple reception workers to aid with the flow of people through this exalted edifice. I felt at peace as I served in the Temple and cherished the opportunity of spending an entire day within its walls. I took a short break for lunch and, fortunately, the sun was shining so I seized the opportunity of taking some photographs while the weather was favourable. This was most fortunate as when I exited the Temple there was a snow storm coming over the mountains and this resulted in a rather cold walk to fetch some dinner. The weather here is somewhat similar to England at times!

Riding the Bus

The time finally arrived that I would need to have a phone. Having decided against hiring a car and killing myself by driving on the wrong side of the road, the bus was the only option left to me! I looked up the times online, or so I thought I had, and commenced my journey. The recreational centre was on the way so I popped in to enquire about lane swimming before walking the rest of the way to where I could pick up the route 72 bus. All was going well until I had waited at the bus stop for half an hour without even seeing another bus going in the opposite direction. A young mother walked by and helped me out by calling the bus company and they informed her that the next bus would be along in 2 minutes. They were correct and sure enough the bus arrived! The fares here are very helpful for you can purchase a ticket which will last you for 3 hours, regardless of the direction of travel. I managed to get to the AT&T store, purchase a phone and credit and get back on the bus going back home all within about half an hour! I was thrilled not to have to wait a further 1.5 hours for the next one to arrive! The buses run semi regularly during the morning and then not over lunch, it seems, then sporadically during the afternoon! The moral of this story is to read all information thoroughly before commencing ones journey!

Volunteering

My friend, Jodi, had signed herself up to do the morning volunteer shift at the American Diabetes Association Expo, held at a local conference center. We had to be there at 8:30am, which is a great sacrifice for young professionals as Saturday is the one day you get a lie in! That said, we arrived and were assigned to our posts and proceeded with the job at hand. The first part we were assigned to was admissions and this involved handing out bags for the expo freebies and taking tickets. Several pharmaceutical companies had generously donated free bags, though some were of a more sturdy nature. Upon first glance I could tell that there were not enough of the sturdy bags to go round! We gave out the regular bags first which were still pretty good though made of plastic and not canvas, and people kept coming back and asking for the stronger bags! However, once these had gone we had to give out flimsy carrier bags. The moral of this story is that you have to get up early in life to get the best out of your day!

We then moved onto exit stamping. If people wanted to exit and return later that day they needed proof that they had once obtained ticketed entry to the expo. The only mark that was acceptable for re-entry was the mark of the turtle!!! The kids loved it and some of the adults remarked on its cute nature! Despite the fact that people were only supposed to have their hand stamped if they wanted to gain re-entry, most of the children wanted one so we happily obliged. It gladdened many a weary parents heart to see their tired and fractious children proudly bearing their stamp!

One way home we stopped in a Kneaders for lunch and I may say that I was happily pleased at the healthy lunch we were able to purchase.