Sunday, January 29, 2012

Everyday Life - Part 4

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Each morning, Robin and I read from The Book of Mormon together. He reads in German I read in English.  We usually read about a chapter or so and then discuss what we read – what we can learn from it or how we can apply it to us. It is really a nice way for us to start out the day. 

We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and we know that The Book of Mormon is the word of God. Ezra Taft Benson, who was a prophet in our church, said of the Book of Mormon, “It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that, too. But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called “the words of life” (D&C 84:85), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon” (General Conference, October 1986, emphasis added).

Sometimes, people ask me how I learned German. I usually say I learned it by being in Germany and lots of practice.  Partially true. Ezra Taft Benson talks about a power that is in The Book of Mormon. It is that power that helped (and still helps) me speak German.  When I was in Germany as a missionary, I would read out loud from The Book of Mormon most days.  It was through doing that, that my German really began to improve. Not through studying grammar, not just by being in Germany, it was by reading the words of God.  It was truly a gift (gift of tongues) that came in part through reading The Book of Mormon. When it was important that I spoke German, the words would come.  When I wanted to show off how well I could speak German, it was gone. It still works that way.

Gordon B. Hinckley, who was also a prophet in our church, promised that “there will come into your lives and into your homes an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord, a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to His commandments, and a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God” (Ensign, August 2005, emphasis added). Robin and I have found that to be true in our lives and enjoy reading The Book of Mormon together every day.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

It is still January, right?

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOur winter has been fairly mild this year (you can ignore the fact that it snowed this morning and that we have freezing temperatures right now, up until that point was very mild). I am worried that lack of cold weather has confused my flowers outside.  They don’t seem to realize that they are coming out a bit early. These are my hyacinths. I am really hoping that the cold weather we are having not won’t hurt them. I have moved them closer to the house in hopes that it will keep them a bit warm.  I don’t want to bring them in the house because they will get too warm and start blooming already.  I am ready for spring to come now.  My flowers are too.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Taking a walk in a Cemetery

Today was a cold, foggy day.  It snowed a bit this morning but most of the snow melted away.  For some reason, I decided to take a walk in a cemetery.  Not just any cemetery, the Waldfriedhof (Forest Cemetery).  First, this cemetery is HUGE. Second, it is OLD. Third, it is quite lovely (I think it would be nicer in spring though). So, as I was walking along (by myself, in the foggy, cold) I would hear noises like tapping or walking and turn around and see no one.  I saw no one the whole time I was there.  Note to self: taking walks alone in cemeteries on cold, foggy, wet days is a good way to scare yourself.

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Like I said, the cemetery is lovely.  There are so many well kept grave sites there and each one is different. My favorite of the day is pictured here. The name is: Familie Frosch (Frosch means frog). They had two little frogs on top of the tombstone.  So cute. Cute and cemetery go together, right?

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Everyday Life - Part 3

When the sun shines, the light comes directly in our windows.  I really enjoy the sunshine :) The other thing I enjoy? The prism in my kitchen. As the sun moves across the sky, rainbows dance on different walls in the kitchen. So lovely….

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In our living room we have a glass ball that catches the sun.

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I think someday I will add a few more prisms, but for now, my two “sun catchers” will do.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Everyday Life - Part 2

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI am really grateful for my vacuum cleaner. I could sweep or “swiffer” (sometimes I do) but vacuuming seems more through. Our apartment is just short of 900 square feet and the flooring is mostly white tile (with a grey swirl). EVERY PIECE OF DUST shows up on our floor.  Add to that, I have long hair that seems to fall out all over the apartment and is a magnet for dust and fuzz.  The result: giant, rapidly-multiplying dust-bunnies! A quick shot with the vacuum cleaner and dust bunnies are no more.  I usually vacuum every other day or so.  That seems to be the right frequency for keeping dust bunnies in check.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Everyday Life - Part 1

My life is normal… probably a lot like yours. My days involve doing normal things, like laundry.

Laundry Room

Our laundry room isn’t cute and highly organized, but it is fairly functional.  I have 4 washers and 3 dryers and I can really get lots of laundry done at the same time…. no, not really.  In our apartment building we have what is called a ‘Waschküche’ (wash kitchen) where everyone does their laundry. Saturdays are a very popular day to do laundry – it is the only time I see some of the people who live in the building (5 apartment units, 7 residents). Each apartment has an electrical outlet and the machines are plugged into the outlet for that apartment.

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Washing Machine

Check out my washing machine. I’m sure it is energy and water efficient and that it uses all the latest technology available for washing machines.  Actually, I don’t even know how old it is but it gets the washing done and gets stains out of my clothes so I am glad to have it.  It’s shortest cycle takes about 45 minutes.  A normal cycle takes 1.5 to 2 hours.

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I didn’t take a picture of our dryer, but you can see a bit of it to the left of the washing machine.  It is a condense dryer so there is no need for an external vent. It takes quite some time to dry clothes (also 1.5 to 2 hours depending on what I am drying) but it gets the job done. Much of the time, I skip the dryer and hang clothes to dry anyway. My major exception: towels. I like soft, fluffy towels, so they always get put in the dryer.

Iron

I freely admit that I am really bad at ironing.  I avoid it when I can.  When I lived in Hawaii, there wasn’t much need to iron, just hang the clothes up and the humidity will do the rest. Not so here, some things just need to be ironed.  I remember my mom telling me that after she got married (and when she was sewing a  lot) she wanted a nice iron. A ROWENTA iron. Guess what, I have a Rowenta, but really I don’t know if it is better than other irons or not because I really, really not good at ironing. When I iron, my main goal is to get more wrinkles out than I put in. I am usually successful at that.

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Folding Laundry

The laundry process usually breaks down for me when it comes time to fold the laundry.  It seems there may be a block in my brain that prevents me from doing this part in a timely manner. The clean laundry might sit for quite some time *cough-2 weeks-cough* before it gets done. Robin frequently helps me with this step.  Isn’t that nice?

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Well, enough of my “every-day life” today, I don’t want to bore with the details of normal life… but be ready to hear/see more soon :)