And here's some more things I've learned

I've learned that the body is more adaptable than I thought, and on the other hand, I've learned that the expectation here is that it takes about a month to become acclimated. So we're adapting to being always short of sleep and always tired, but the training has been so much fun and the people so wonderful that we're still going fairly strong.

I say "fairly" because we got up at 4:45 this morning so we could go and practice with the big Elijah Choir, and I must say that it was worth the extremely daunting journey over there. It was daunting because we're suddenly in a cold snap and it rained this morning, so it was only in the high 40's or very low 50's when we left, and then all the doors to the hotel were locked (we don't have our security badges yet). But we saw someone go in the west door, so we went back around there and Bob hauled my scooter up 6 stairs, only to discover that door was locked as well. Fortunately one of the presidency came along at that time and let us in, so we did get to the rehearsal on time, but just barely, and we were frozen through. I'm happy to say that it was well worth it -- the conductors are wonderful and the music very nice. We'll be very happy there.

And I've learned that you run into people you know everywhere you turn here in SLC. At rehearsal this mornng I ran into a fellow alto from the Southern California Mormon Choir, serving on the same floor where we're being trained. We are invited to dinner Sunday by a fellow missionary whom I used to visit teach in Texas who is also in the choir, and we're looking forward to that. The day before that (Saturday) we're invited to a barbecue by a cousin-by-first-marriage, whom I dearly love, and I'm looking forward to that. And I've learned that even with all this exercise, we've been eating so well here that we are going to have to start being a lot more careful or we won't have anything to wear.

And I've learned that I sure do love my family and friends, and would love to hear from them! Thank you, Debby, for calling so often! We love this work and are excited about being part of it.

Some things I've learned in Salt Lake City

1. The absolute very best way to begin the Sabbath is to walk to the Conference Center for the choir broadcast.

2. The absolute very best way to conclude the Sabbath is to walk to the Joseph Smith Building for a sacrament meeting -- through the celestially beautiful Plaza, and into the most beautiful chapel I've ever been in; and then to walk back home through the celestially beautiful Plaza.

(When I say walk, what I mean is that Bob does the walking and I ride the scooter and try not to run over anyone I'm not personally acquainted with.)

Here's some other things I've learned in Salt Lake City:

1. There is no humidity here, and Texas noses have a little problem with that. Okay, a big problem.

2. Everyone in our apartment building is nice. Everyone in our mission is nice. The temple Square sister missionaries are all cute, without exception, and nice.

3. It's a small world -- serving in my mission is a sister I used to visit teach in Texas, and also another couple who are mutual acquaintances with some dear friends of ours from Simi Valley as well as some other friends in Newbury Park. We all were once in California, and now we're all in Utah.

4. My refrigerator looks beautiful adorned by the Woodyettes art work!

5. The monthly missionary Swap Meet is a hoot.

6. There is no place to park anywhere in Salt Lake City without driving down to Murray and hitch-hiking back to town. And yet, oddly enough, everywhere I go I see cars parked on the streets. How do they do that?!

7. I have so many pictures to share that I need to find out from Amy, my blogger Guru, how to post them on Flickr or some such place.

8. Setting up housekeeping from scratch is no joke. It's amazing the things you forget to buy or bring (hence the enthusiastic attendance at the Swap Meets). We'll be donating an awful lot of things back when we leave, or else we'll have to hire a moving company to get us back to Texas.

9. I miss my family an awful lot, but I'm handling it much better than I expected to. But I see folks who have given up a lot more than I have, and are back here for their 4th, 5th, and even 6th mission, so I try not to whine too much.

10. I miss my little Frisco 4th ward choir and all my friends in it!!

11. I'm a little nervous about beginning training tomorrow. Plus, I've been home from church for over an hour and still have my pantyhose on. This can't be right! But I feel too righteous to get into my grubbies, so I'm soldiering on.

12. I have the best missionary companion in the entire world. I'll repeat that -- IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!! I am so fortunate, and love him so much.

And I love you all as well. God bless!

We're official . . .

. . . with badges and everything. This is my third attempt to attach photos so you can see how saintly we look all duded up as missionaries. And I have to stick in a photo that shows you how effectively we get around. It's a 15 minute walk over to the Joseph Smith building -- uphill both ways, or so it seems, and lots and lots of construction and missing sidewalks to detour around. Bob is getting a workout, but I'm sitting "pretty," at least if you consider Maxine pretty. I love my little Go-Go scooter and it sure is a life-saver in this neck of the woods.

We had a lovely luncheon today and got lots of information, with much more to come when we start training on Monday. My brain will probably explode, but it will be all good stuff that leaks out. At the end of the 2-week training period we'll get our assignments. We'll get trained on PAF, NewFamilySearch, and lots of other neat stuff, even if we get assigned to Church history or administration. We also get 4 hours every week and one whole day each month to do our own research, and our free time is pretty much ours to do with as we wish. We're already going to a picnic Monday at Heritage Park (we'll probably freeze, but it will be fun). Utah weather is interesting, to say the least. For me one of the most exciting things is the choir. The Elijah Choir is huge and sings all over the place around here, but we have to start with the Men's and Women's choruses and work our way up. The problem (for Bob, anyway) is the 6:15 a.m. choir rehearsal. I personally can't think of a better way to start the day, but Bob will likely have to work up to it. Hopefully his love of singing will save the day.

Finally -- on line!

As it turns out, my last post was my last day online for more than a week. The technicians just left a little over an hour ago, but now we have a landline, TV hookup, and wireless internet service. I can't even remember all that happened this last week, but I can say that we were treated beautifully by Bob's brother-and-sister-in-law and were in such beautiful surroundings that it was hard to leave, except that we were so excited to finally get a look at our new apartment and discover to our delight that it was perfect for us. It should only take one or two more shopping trips to get what we need to set up housekeeping comfortably. We're very happy with our apartment, and Bob got me a scooter for the walk between here and the buildings we'll be working in, and that will be a huge help. I wish I could have used it for the unpacking and putting away, because right now the only parts of me that don't hurt are my head, shoulders, and arms.

We had a lovely experience meeting with the housing coordinator when we signed our lease, and know that we're going to love all the folks we work with in this mission. We officially start tomorrow at a luncheon and orientation, and then training begins in earnest Monday. I don't think we'll ever achieve the status of "highly trained staff" that they brag about in their leaflets, but we'll certainly know a lot more than we do now!

I'll be posting some pictures as soon as I can coordinate with Bob. The house where we were staying was up on Ensign Peak, behind the Capital building, and they had a spectacular view from their kitchen window and front porch. Bob got some wonderful pictures and I'd like to share them with everyone. This last week was like a dream vacation, as Bob's relatives had both a Mason & Hamblin grand piano in their living room, but a full Allen organ as well. I was in heaven and tried to get in all the playing I could before the long drought begins.

AND -- we got to sing in a ward choir last Sunday that was directed by Vanja Watkins, who, as anyone involved in church music knows, is terrific. She's sweet as a peach and isn't a bit weird, like some composers I know.

A Highly Erudite and Philosophical Discussion of Gender Differences in Long-Distance Travellers

We're in Moab tonight, and the rest of the trip tomorrow should be a breeze.

Why is it, I wonder, that so many men and women, particularly older women, are able to travel long distances in the same vehicle? Women are delicate creatures, with tiny, sensitive bladders and finicky appetites, and are prone to want to stop and get out of the car at least once every 5 or 6 hours. Men tend to have gallon-capacity sized bladders and iron control, and while they normally have rather hearty appetites, when they are faced with driving more than 500 miles (let alone 1250) just want to drive and drive and drive and drive. Stopping the car, except for gas, takes some major negotiating. Women find that 2 meals, spaced 12 hours apart with just a big bag of trail mix for sustenance in between, will tend to make them a tiny bit cranky; men will just pull their baseball caps down further on their foreheads and hunker over the steering wheel, and every once in a while will shout encouragingly "Isn't this great?!" I'm not in any way implying that this is US, it's simply a question that popped unbidden into my head about 17 times today. Besides, it can't be Us -- I make a very good trail mix.

Heck and High Water

We had quite a send-off this morning. For most of the morning our only concern was getting a U-Haul Trailer's worth of stuff into our little Kia Optima. There are so many of those sucker bags in our trunk that if any of them ever get the slightest puncture and start filling up with air, our car will rise 4 feet off the ground, spewing garments out of every opening. It was quite warm and muggy, which made everything a tad more irritating. Then, as we were lamenting being more than 2 1/2 hours behind schedule, the weather suddenly became cooler, the breeze freshened, the skies darkened, and rain began to fall. As we started over to Amy's for a final good-bye it was raining fairly hard, and it was so hard as we approached Christi's house that we phoned ahead and asked her to push the button so we could drive into her garage. It didn't stop raining until we were almost to Wichita Falls. So the breakfast at Le Peep's, which we had been planning for several weeks to have on our way out of town (by way of celebration) became a Sonic breakfast burrito in Denton, eaten in the car in the middle of so much rain that I felt very guilty about the poor car hop who had to bring it to us. We haven't yet broken into the Mwa-ha-haaa state of mind (see Amy's post), and probably never will, because the rest of the day has gone very smoothly and we're now safely tucked away, full of a lovely dinner, in Tucumcari.

We've come to a breathing place right at the moment, and I can ruminate a bit about the wonderful blessings we received yesterday: a fabulous day -- hectic as all get-out, but so wonderful. It was a day as well of many different emotions; sadness at having my last gig with the ward choir, a choice group of friends who make lovely music every Sunday; terror at having to deliver talks in sacrament meeting; regret at having to say goodbye for a whole year to some people we have come to cherish; deep gratitude and humility as a servant of the Lord, a man we love, enjoy, and admire, laid hands on our head and pronounced marvellous blessings upon us, which will give us confidence and excitement about everything we do this next year; and deep happiness and joy as we shared time with our beloved families.

Amy did such a good job describing the day that I will just link her latest, right here.

We have a pretty good handle on the packing and will be able to leave on time tomorrow. I doubt there will be much that's blogworthy before we arrive in Salt Lake City, but you never know!